The Quest For Peace And Justice - 1586 Words

When people think of speeches, they usually refer to important people talking about important topics. The idea of importance often differs time to time ranging from Abortions to Gun Laws. Martin Luther King, JR. is one of those important figures, as he led a variety of peaceful protests from the boycott for Rosa Parks to demonstrations in Birmingham in the fight for Civil Rights. Not to mention, he led the nonwhites in a peaceful resistance of nonviolence against unfair racial views. Out of all of his speeches, one unique one which stands out is â€Å"The Quest for Peace and Justice.† It shows the concept where mankind has still not matured enough to where each person of differing race is able to live next to each other peacefully. Unless mankind can get past the walls of racial injustice, ignorance of poverty, and the true evil of war, then the battle against racial prejudice will end in the worst scenario possible. Mankind already has the ability to solve all of its obstacle s by uniting together as a family connected by love and god. In fact, there are two other speeches comparable in terms of influence and emotion. The most commonly known â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech on August 28th, 1963 and â€Å"A Time to Break Silence† as King believes the people must see the war from the perspective of the Vietnamese as a peaceful approach is the best approach. Of course, â€Å"The Quest for Peace and Justice† is inferior to those two simply because it is overloading on information, unclear, and unheardShow MoreRelatedSummary Of Imagery In Oresteia1572 Words   |  7 PagesFrom fate to justice; how the net imagery in the Oresteia changes throughout the play and how does it establish the superiority of a formal justice system to one based on the individual quest for revenge There is no doubt that the house of Atreus did not have an easy history. However, it made me question the true motives of the actions the characters in the Oresteia perform. Are they a form of justice or revenge? In the system that was practiced throughout the play, revenge drives the charactersRead MoreMartin Luther King s Fight Against Injustice1726 Words   |  7 Pagesjoin him in the fight for civil rights. Anywhere he left was an oasis of love and justice allowing all ethnicities to do what not just one color could do but all. Martin Luther King caused even Malcolm X to think about his bad ways to get noticed. Dr.King was pastor that was still recognized as a great man. Martin Luther King fought for many things but one of the most important topics he talked about was peace. Peace is hard to achieve but that did not stop Martin Luther King. â€Å" I refuse to acceptRead MoreThe Bible and The Qur’an Essay747 Words   |  3 Pagesthere is a significant relationship between beliefs and the notions of inner and world peace within a religious tradition. Inner peace refers to the ways in which the sacred texts and principal teachings structure an individual’s quest to achieve personal peace and satisfaction. World peace is also achieved through the sacred texts and teachings however, it is the ways in which these teachings contribute to peace on both national and international scales (King, 2009). Through these sacred texts, principalRead MoreThe Function of the Quest or Journey Motif in the Apology and the Crito966 Words   |  4 PagesThe quest, in the classical era to the modern notions of the word has meant a coming of age or to notio ns of learning where at the beginning there was nothing known. The quest in its very nature is a search to find an answer, an artifact of power and wealth or perhaps even for peace; in the platonic dialogues they play a crucial role in the Apology of Socrates and the Crito. The Apology in the trial and death of Socrates is an example of a quest or journey motif applied, whether or not quest or journeyRead MoreArthurian Legend - Essay1388 Words   |  6 Pagesits basic form between the 12th and 15th centuries. It continues as a popular subject in modern times. The  legend  presents  Arthur as a leader in ancient times who defeats the Saxons and other enemies. He thereby unites the people of Britain in peace and harmony. Eventually his kingdom weakens from within—in part because of the illicit love between Arthur’s queen, Guinevere, and the knight Lancelot—and Arthur himself is struck down by his own illegitimate son, Mordred. Many stories then say thatRead MoreComparative Essay719 Words   |  3 PagesComparing Aung San Suu Kyi’s excerpt from â€Å"In Quest with Democracy† and Martin Luther King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† Aung San Suu Kyis and Martin Luther King Jr. are among the great activists the world has ever witnessed who have gallantly championed for the liberation of the masses from oppressing institutions and systems of power. Both authors had rooted their campaigns in the tenets of their religious faith, which endeared themselves with the masses. Change is inevitable and their effortsRead MorePrimary Source Analysis Example991 Words   |  4 Pagesinternational organisations. The main focus of the speech is a want for peace and an outline of how to achieve such peace, and to persuade the congress in favour of Wilson’s idea of a supranational organisation. Even despite the tough aims the speech to me does not come across passionate, instead quite candid overall. However, there are elements within the speech that show passion, and that is mainly where the USA is involved, ‘unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us’ keeping USA safe andRead MoreBrokers of Deceit by Rashid Khalidi1062 Words   |  4 Pagesxxxvi) Palestinian human rights, peace processes, and their right to self-determination was not brought back up again until George hw bush took office in the 90s. Brokers of deceit is concise and easily accessible examination of how over more than thirty decades the U.S. has been gaming the peace process for it’s own benefit rather than to achieving a lasting and just peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people. Khalidi participated in peace negotiations in the 1990’s as an advisorRead MoreFBOs in Civil Society1697 Words   |  7 Pageswatchdogs and whistle blowers of social injustices like rascism, physical abuses, corrupt activities by the state, democratic issues and good governance etc. Ian Linden postulates that the establishment of the then Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) now Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ) in 1972 made it possible for the Bishops of the Roman Catholic in Zimbabwe be aware of the atrocities that were being perpetrated by the Security forces. The Commission was formed as a responseRead MoreReflection On The Flint Water Crisis1188 Words   |  5 Pagesus consider water for a moment. The indispensability of water for life cannot be overstated. It is a known fact that about 70 percent of our body mass is made up of water, and one-third of the earth is covered with water. Fascinatingly enough, the quest for life in outer space and in other planets always starts with the possibility of the existence of water. And scientists are confident enough to affirm the probability of the existence of life forms where traces of water can be found. The point is

Work Related Stress and Its Management - 5352 Words

Work-Related Stress and its Management Peter S. Carlson MGMT 305 Dr. Peter H. Antoniou December 6, 2012 Abstract This paper will discuss the topic of work-related stress and its management. It will present a general introduction or definition of stress and will discuss several subtopics related to work stress. This paper will present several subtopics including a model of stress known as the General Adaptation Syndrome, the causes of stress, the consequences of stress, and how to manage work-related stress. A solution for the problem of work-related stress will be presented. This paper will present a solution that entails how to cope with stress, and how to eliminate, or at least reduce, the amount of work-related stress. In general, this†¦show more content†¦However, if the stressor persists, then the individual will not be able to handle the stress for long. In this stage, the individual’s energy is being depleted. The third and final stage, Exhaustion, is when an individual’s level of resistance to the stressor decreases dramatically until it goes below the normal level. In this stage, an individual’s energy has run out and he or she is unable to maintain normal body functioning. If the stressor continues, long-term damage could occur to the person’s body. The body’s immune system is weakened which can result in being more prone to sickness. An alternative to the Exhaustion stage is the Recovery stage. This stage occurs when an individual is able to successfully cope with and overcome the stressor (Wikipedia, 2012). This paper will be specifically discussing and analyzing work-related stress. So, what is work-related stress? Work-related stress, also known as occupational stress, is stress related to the workplace. Work-related stress can occur in an individual when his or her workplace has a highly demanding environment or job and he or she does not have the ability to completely deal with the demanding workplace or complete the demanding job (Wikipedia, 2012). There are several other factors that can cause work-related stress which will be presented in this paper. Now that a definition and model of stress have been presented, this paper will focus on the causes of stress, known as stressors, as itShow MoreRelatedCore Activities Of An Office Administrator At Danlnia Furniture Ltd1529 Words   |  7 PagesOffice Adminis trator at Danlnia Furniture Ltd including; meetings management, information management, Reception duties and website management It will explain the role of organising, planning and co-ordinating in each one of the core activities. The developments in two working practices will be evaluated from the perspective of both an employer and an employee. The report will then also go on to identify and describe four causes of stress that are created through working. The report will then provideRead MoreIs Your Stress Impacting Your Family? Importance Of Caregivers Managing Personal Stress?804 Words   |  4 PagesIs Your Stress Impacting Your Family? Importance of Caregivers Managing Personal Stress As parents and caregivers, we might not always make ourselves a priority. Daily pressures can add up, causing us to stress out. When you do start to stress out, are you able to not only recognize it, but also take steps to de-stress? A New Year signals a new beginning, so in 2016, let’s slow down and take a look internally at what we can do to understand and lower the levels of stress we experience. What is StressRead MoreThe Concept Analysis of Stress in the Nursing Field980 Words   |  4 PagesConcept Analysis of Stress: The nursing field is an occupation that is naturally subject to a high degree of stress because professionals in this field deal with grief, suffering, and death cases. The vulnerability to stress in the nursing occupation is also fueled by the fact that several nursing tasks tend to be mundane and unrewarding. In normal standards, nursing tasks range from being distasteful to degrading, disgusting, and frightening. Generally, many visits by patients to health careRead MoreClinical Human Factors That Affect The Individual s Act Physically And Psychology Within Different Settings998 Words   |  4 Pageseach health professional must learn and abide by; It’s the study of how individual’s act physically and psychology within different settings. Human factors are used to describe interactions between 3 aspects; individuals at work, the task at hand and the workplace. Knowledge of each factors reduces the risk of injury within the workplace. The factors which have the abili ty to entice other factors for better or worse are: leadership, stress, fatigue, work environment, safety culture, communications andRead More The Management of Stress Essay1447 Words   |  6 Pagesnot the answer I’m looking for. The correct answer is stress. Everyone has stress in his or her life at one point or another. It’s one of many inevitable parts of life. Whether it’s busting out a research paper for Psychology at the last minute, expecting your first child to be born, to making sure you’re up in time to catch the Saturday morning cartoons, it’s clearly evident that everyone goes through stress. The real question is, how is stress handled in our society? A person is defined by how theyRead MoreEssay on Stress and Law Enforcement1154 Words   |  5 PagesManagement and Dealing with Stress in Officers It is important that law enforcement officers are able to handle stress and build his or her zone of stability. Officers have a ready-made support system in each other. They better understand the special problems and feelings that come with the job that friends and family members dont. That doesnt necessarily mean that this relationship with their fellow officers will cure all. Sometimes, because of the macho image that police officers upholdRead More stress and law enforcement Essay1121 Words   |  5 Pages Management and Dealing with Stress in Officers nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;It is important that law enforcement officers are able to handle stress and build his or her zone of stability. Officers have a ready-made support system in each other. They better understand the special problems and feelings that come with the job that friends and family members don’t. That doesn’t necessarily mean that this relationship with their fellow officers will cure all. Sometimes, because of the â€Å"macho† imageRead MoreStudy Habits1368 Words   |  6 Pagesparticularly prone to stress (DZurilla Sheedy, 1991) due to the transitional nature of college life (Towbes Cohen, 1996). They must adjust to being away from home for the first time, maintain a high level of academic achievement, and adjust to a new social environment. College students, regardless of year in school, often deal with pressures related to finding a job or a potential life partner. These stressors do not cause anxiety or tension by themselves. Instead, stres s results from the interactionRead MoreTeen Stress Essay758 Words   |  4 PagesStress has and will always be a part of human life. It is not uncommon to find teenagers battling with stress due to over load of work. Real life stories from teenagers who have experience times of great sadness and stress seem to be the order of the day. According to youth -development experts at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, stress is defined as a condition that is characterized by feelings of frustration, worry, sadness, and withdrawal that commonly last from a few hours to a fewRead MoreOccupational Stress, Employee s Health And Well Being, Ob Theories Essay1544 Words   |  7 Pages The essay covers topics like occupational stress, employee’s health well-being, OB theories (relevant to the above question), importance of overcoming work related stress, etc. It is widely recognised that healthy employees are happier and more productive at work. Experiencing stress at work decreases employee’s health and affects their well being and eventually has an impact on the working of the firm or the organisation . Also, work related stress develops and increases the levels of anxiety

Process of Auditing Assurance and Services

Question: Discuss about the Process of Auditing Assurance and Services. Answer: Introduction Auditing is the process of inspecting different kinds of accounts of an organization. Many financial accounts need to be created at the time of carrying on the business operation of an organization. It is necessary to verify the viability of those accounts. The role of the auditors is to inspect those accounts of the organization by conducting various kinds of tests on those accounts. This total process is called Auditing (Louwers et al. 2013). There are certain liabilities that an auditor needs to remind at the time of performing the audit operation for an organization. These are called the liabilities of the auditors. It has been seen that the world economy often faces financial crisis due to some major reasons. As a result, the businesses around the world have to face the adverse effect of this financial crisis; and this fact contributes to the bankruptcy, winding-up and liquidation of top corporations. On the other hand, the burden of the auditors increases at this kind of times, as they have to face some potential liabilities while performing the audit operation. As a result, the auditors have to comply with additional rules and regulations of auditing as well as of the government (Donelson, Kadous and McInnis 2013). One of the greatest cases of bankruptcy in the world history is the case of Lehman Brothers. The company had to face some major financial crisis due to various reasons and the company went bankrupt. The aim of the report is to highlight the case of Lehman Brothers in order to evaluate the potential liabilities of the auditors at the time of financial crisis. The Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers The case of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is one the largest case of bankruptcy in the whole world. The company filed the petition of bankruptcy on 15 September in the year of 2008. At the time of bankruptcy, Lehman Brothers had total assets worth $639 billion and total debt worth $619 billion. The amount of assets of the company was more than any of the bankrupted company at that time like WorldCom and Enron; and this is the reason why the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is considered as the largest bankruptcy in the world till date. At the time of bankruptcy, Lehman Brothers was the fourth largest banking company in the world with an employee base of more than 25000 in the whole world. It is considered that the collapse of Lehman Brothers largely contributed to the global financial crisis as assisted in the erosion of more than $10 trillion market capitalization from the global equity market in the month of October 2008. It was the biggest decline in a monthly basis in the stock market at that period. In the year of 2007, the company closed many of their subsidiaries, as it might be the preparation of the petition of bankruptcy. In the year of 2008, the company was facing several losses due to the major crisis in the mortgage sector (Polito 2014). The Lehman brothers incorporated Lehman Brothers in the year of 1850. The names of the three brothers are Henry Lehman, Emanuel Henry and Mayer Henry. The company had to face many difficulties and challenges in order become one of the largest business powerhouses in the world. However, despite facing all the difficulties, Lehman Brothers had to come to its knees after the decline in the mortgage market of that time. There were some specific reasons that contributed to the collapse of Lehman Brothers. In the year of 2003 and 2004, the economy of United States witnessed a boom period as the housing industry of the country was developing in a fact pace (Jones and Presley 2013). By watching the development in the housing sector, Lehman Brothers acquired five mortgage lenders. Initially the acquisition of the five companies seemed highly profitable for Lehman Brothers as the company registered record amount of revenue at that period. The company registered mortgages worth $146 billion tha t was 10 percent more than 2005. The company recorded record amount of profit from the year of 2005 to 2007 as the net income of the company was $4.2 billion and the amount of revenue was $19.3 billion (Quax, R., Kandhai, D. and Sloot 2013). However, from the beginning of 2007, market situation was gradually started to change as the housing market in the United States was gradually entering into a downturn situation. The stock had its biggest drop in five years on 14 March 2007. Lehman Brothers still registered record revenue at that time even in the presence of various problems in the market. The downfall of the company was started from the month of August 2007 when the stock price of the company fell sharply due to the recession in the housing market in United States. As a result, Lehman Brothers did lay off 2500 employees who worked at the mortgage sector of the company and winded-up the BNC unit along other business units. On 17 March 2008, the shares of the company declined by 48 percent that was a real concern for the company (Fernando, May and Megginson 2012). On 9 June 2008, the company witnessed a loss in the second quarter worth $2.8 million and the gross assets of the company were decreased by $147 billion. Le hman Brothers stated reducing the cost of operation in various units, but stock of the company was plunging in rapid way. On 15 September 2008, the company totally collapsed and announced they bankruptcy. The Lehman Brothers collapse effect stayed with the global financial market for weeks. At the time of collapse of the Lehman Brothers, Ernst Young was the audit partner of the organization. It has been said that the audit firm was well aware about the reasons of the collapse of the corporation. However, they did not take any actions against it. This act of Ernst Young raises questions about the liabilities of the auditors at the time of financial crisis. It is desired that the auditors of any organization need to be more cautious at the time of economic recession (Fitzpatrick IV and Thomson 2016). Liabilities of the Auditors Although financial crisis has a negative affect the economy as well as businesses, it can be considered as the scope to change the loopholes in the financial system. There is a connection between financial crisis and the liabilities of the auditors that can be raised due to the financial crisis. The main responsibility of the auditors is to deliver the responsible opinion about the financial statements of an organization stating that the statements are free from material misstatement (Xu, Carson, Fargher and Jiang 2013). Hence, at the time of financial crisis, the auditors have to face some more liabilities. The major liabilities are discussed below: It is the utmost responsibility of the auditors to formulate an audit opinion based on the financial statement of the organization that reflects the correct are fare financial picture of the organization. The unqualified audit report indicates that all the aspects in the financial statement of the company correctly reflect the reality of the organization. At the time of financial crisis, the liability of the auditors increases even after the balance sheet date. It is the liability of the auditors to test and inspect the various documents of the company after the date of preparing the balance sheet to the date of preparing the financial statement of the organization. It is wholly based on the managers to decide the materiality of an accounting event. In this kind of time, it is the liability of the auditors to determine the fair value of the assets is properly established (Carson et al. 2012). It is the liability of the auditors to ensure the quality control of the accounting works in the organization (Arruada 2013). At the time of financial crisis, it vastly depends on the auditors to help the business organizations to retain the quality and control in the financial works. There are certain procedures that are applied by the auditors to manage quality control. The auditors ensure the quality control by competing and signing all the necessary sections of the audit program. This can be used as a proof in the near future. On the other hand, it is utmost important for the auditors to properly sign and date all the audit related documents in the organization so that the opinion of the auditors can be used as future references. One of the most important ways to ensure quality control is to analyze all the relevant financial balances of the organization. This is the main area in the financial statement where most of the manipulation and fraudulent is done. Hence, the auditors ne ed to give special attention to this aspect. Another most important liability of the auditors at the time of financial crisis is to analyze and inspect all the amounts of profit and loss statements. There are instances where the amount of profit or loss was changed by manipulation to change the financial position of the organization. Thus, it is the extra liability of the auditors to check and inspect the various amount of profit and loss statement (Humphrey, Samsonova and Siddiqui 2013). At the time of financial crisis, it is the liability of the auditors to evaluate the internal control system of the audited organization. It is necessary for every organization to have internal control system at the time of financial crisis so that the auditors can find manipulation and fraudulent in the financial statements of the organization (Brown, Pott and Wmpener 2014). As per the International Auditing Standard, two types of misleading information can be seen. They are Fraud and Error. This type of fraud and error collectively contribute to the financial condition of the country. At the time of financial crisis, it is the liability of the auditors prevents various kinds of frauds and errors in the financial books of the audited organization. On the other hand, at the time of financial crisis, the auditors need to implement effective internal control system so that the accounting of the organization can be done in the proper way. It is the financial liability of the auditors to detect frauds. It is the liability of the auditors of any organization to check that all the accounting works of the organization is done by complying with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The auditors also need to see that whether the organization is complying with all the rules and regulations of the government of the country. It is the liability of the auditor to follow all the guidelines and principles of audit profession. On the other hand, the auditors need to maintain the principles of auditors independence at the time of auditing (Johnstone, Gramling and Rittenberg 2013). Another crucial liability of the auditors at the time of financial crisis is to make correction and adjustments in the financial statements of the audited clients. The auditors have to make necessary adjustments in the financial statements in order to make judgments on the financial position of the organization. Hence, it can be said that there is a direct liability of the auditors towards the financial statements of the audited organizations. At the time of auditing the financial statements, it is the liability of the management of the company to provide all necessary information to the auditors to in order to assist them in the auditing process (Lennox 2016). There are other crucial liabilities of the auditors at time of financial crisis. The auditors are liable for any kind of criminal activity in the financial statements of audited client. The auditors are responsible to detect any kind of criminal activity in the financial documents like frauds, omission, manipulation and others. Another important liability of the auditors is to assist the central government of the country in investigating and collecting any kind of information. It has been seen that many companies become insolvent at the time of financial crisis. In this kind of position, it is the additional liability of the auditors to assist the organizations in the liquidation process (Ho, S.J. and Mallick 2015). All these above-discussed aspects are the liabilities that an auditor has to face at the time of financial crisis. However, there are others reason apart from these major reasons. Recommendation The above discussion sheds light on the liabilities of the auditors at the time of financial crisis. It has been seen that the auditors have to face some additional liabilities in this kind of situation. Based on the above discussion, some recommendations are provided below: It is recommended that the auditors need issue their audit report based on the analysis of the financial documents of the audited client. At the time of financial crisis, the financial as well as accounting operations of an organization cannot be operated in a proper manner. Hence, it is suggested to the auditors that they should thoroughly examine the different accounts of the organization and pass the audit judgment according to the test results. It is recommended that the auditor should take all the necessary steps in order to maintain quality control in the operations of the audited organization. The auditors should maintain all the audit documents by signing them and keeping in a safe place. It is highly recommended that the auditors should take into consideration all the facts and figures of the profit and loss statement of the audited organization. This step needs to be taken so that the fraudulent and errors in the profit and loss statement can be identified. It is recommended that the auditors should make all the corrections and adjustments as per the audit test results. There should not be any kind of influence or biasness in the audit reports. It is recommended that the auditors need to check that whether the financial statement of the organization is complied with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or not. Conclusion This report is about the potential liabilities of the auditors at the time of financial crisis. In this regard, it was necessary to shed light on the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The report says that Lehman Brothers used to be one of the best housing mortgage companies at that period. However, due to the effect of economic downturn in the housing sector of United States, the company became bankrupt in the year of 2008. Auditing had a role to play in the collapse of Lehman Brothers as Ernst Young, the audit partner of Lehman Brothers did know about the upcoming collapse. Hence, it can be said that the auditor have to face some additional liabilities at the time of economic downturn. Some of the major liabilities of the auditors at the time of financial crisis are discussed in the report. One of the major liabilities of the auditors is to examine the various aspects of profit and loss statement of the audited client. On the other hand, the auditors need to made sure that the audited o rganization is following the GAAP principles to make the accounting and financial statements. Other liabilities are discussed in the report. After that, some recommendations are made based on the study. References Arruada, B., 2013.The economics of audit quality: Private incentives and the regulation of audit and non-audit services. Springer Science Business Media. Brown, N.C., Pott, C. and Wmpener, A., 2014. The effect of internal control and risk management regulation on earnings quality: Evidence from Germany.Journal of Accounting and Public Policy,33(1), pp.1-31. Carson, E., Fargher, N.L., Geiger, M.A., Lennox, C.S., Raghunandan, K. and Willekens, M., 2012. Audit reporting for going-concern uncertainty: A research synthesis.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,32(sp1), pp.353-384. Donelson, D.C., Kadous, K. and McInnis, J.M., 2013. Litigation Against Auditors. Fernando, C.S., May, A.D. and Megginson, W.L., 2012. The value of investment banking relationships: evidence from the collapse of Lehman Brothers.The Journal of Finance,67(1), pp.235-270. Fitzpatrick IV, T.J. and Thomson, J.B., 2016. Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, what lessons can be drawn?. InBanking Crises(pp. 213-220). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Ho, S.J. and Mallick, S.K., 2015. A Copayment Auditing Scheme for Financial Misreporting.The International Journal of Accounting,50(1), pp.53-74. Humphrey, C., Samsonova, A. and Siddiqui, J., 2013. Auditing, Regulation and the Persistence of the Expectations Gap.The Routledge Companion to Accounting, Reporting and Regulation, p.163. Johnstone, K., Gramling, A. and Rittenberg, L.E., 2013.Auditing: A Risk-Based Approach to Conducting a Quality Audit. Cengage Learning. Jones, B. and Presley, T., 2013. Law and accounting: did Lehman Brothers use of repo 105 transactions violate accounting and legal rules?.Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,16(2), p.55. Lennox, C., 2016. ACCOUNTING WORKSHOP. Louwers, T.J., Ramsay, R.J., Sinason, D.H., Strawser, J.R. and Thibodeau, J.C., 2013.Auditing and assurance services. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Polito, R.R.N., 2014. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Quax, R., Kandhai, D. and Sloot, P.M., 2013. Information dissipation as an early-warning signal for the Lehman Brothers collapse in financial time series.Scientific reports,3. Xu, Y., Carson, E., Fargher, N. and Jiang, L., 2013. Responses by Australian auditors to the global financial crisis.Accounting Finance,53(1), pp.301-338.

Tuskegee Experiment Essay Example

Tuskegee Experiment Essay In 1932, in the area surrounding Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, the United States Public Health Service (PHS) and the Rosenwald Foundation began a survey and small treatment program for African-Americans with syphilis. Within a few months, the deepening depression, the lack of funds from the foundation, and the large number of untreated cases provied the government’s reseachers with what seemed to be an unprecedented opportunity to study a seemingly almost â€Å"natural† experimentation of lantent syphilis in African-American men. What had begun as a â€Å"treatment† program thus was converted by the PHS reasearchers, under the imprimatur of the Surgeon General and with knowledge and consent of the Prewsident of Tuskegee Institute, the medical director of the Institute’s John A. Andrew Hospital, and the Macon County public health officials, into a persecpective study-The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male (Jones1-15). Moreover, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which began in 1932 and was terminated in 1972 by the protest of an enraged public, constituted the longest nontherapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history. Since the premise on which the experiment was based did not involve finding a cure or providing treatment, the question then remains why did the study begin and why was it continued for four decades? In Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphhilis Experiment, James Jones describes the fate of the 600 Black victims. Ultimately, 399 men, who were in the late or tertiary stages of syphilis, participated in the experiment. In addition, 201 men who were free of the disease were in cluded in the study. Both groups of men were neither told the truth about their ailment or lack thereof, nor were they informed that they were part of a medical study. We will write a custom essay sample on Tuskegee Experiment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Tuskegee Experiment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Tuskegee Experiment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Medical personnel assured the subjects that they were suffering from â€Å"bad blood,† a euphemism that in the local parlance, reffered to many ailments. None of the men knew that the â€Å"bad blood† which coursed through their veins was contagious. None understood how the disease was transmitted; no one explained to them that congenital syphilis was passed on from female to fetus. It was an experiment based on deception, a characteristic that it retained for the next forty years. Through a historical analysis of the xperiment several questions arise, particularly the issues of the men’s participation in the experiment and the black professionals who witnessed the study. Why did these Black men take part in this study? Why did the Black healtth professionals not challenge the study? The answers to these questions are interconnected and lies captive in a term Jones calls racial medicine (Jones 15). Prior to 1932 information concering the origin, conception, devel opement, and the complications of untreated syphilis was known to medical science. The one element left to be known about this diease was a cure. By this time, scientist were well aware of the fact that syphilis was a highly contagious diease caused by treponema pallidum, a microscopic organism resembling a corkscrew. The disease may be acquired, meaning passed from person-to-person either during sexual intercourse or mixing of bodily fluids, or congenital meaning obtained through birth. The disease progresses in three stages: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The characteristics for the first two stages exhibit chancre sores, various mild rashes, bone and joint pain, as well as cardiac palpitations. Following the secondary stage is a period of latency where all symptoms associated with syphilis disappear, a period that may last from a few weeks to thirty years. At this time, delusion of health is shattered and the symptoms revisit with a harsher intensity. It is at the tertiary stage that the majority of the damage is done. Tumors begin to coalesce on the skin forming huge ulcers covered with a crust of dried exuded matter. Bones are attacked by tumors and in some cases eaten entirely away. The tumors also attack the walls of the heart or blood vessels causing aneurysms, balloon like sacs filled with blood. If the aneurysm burst, death is instantaneous. Syphilis can attack the brain in a condition known as paresis, in which the brain softens and produces paralyis and insanity. Optic nerves can be attacked causing blindness or inflicting deafness (Jones 2-4). The progression of th de disease in each stage had been known prior to 1932, the year the Tuskegee experiment began (Jones 2-4). In fact a similar study that observed the effect of untreated syphilis in man took place some forty years before Tuskegee in an experiment that took place n Olso, Norway (Jones 10). It is from this first study that much of the knowledge known about untreated syphilis previous to Tuskegee was uncovered. The difference, however, is that the men in Olso went untreated because there was no known treatment and in the case of Tuskegee treatment was deliberately withheld. In fact the discovery of the Salvaran treatment for syphilitic patients prompted the end to the Olso study in 1910. Racial differences create a plethora of opportunities through which a people can be labeled inferior. Jones explains that physicians and scientist have always been fascinated by the â€Å"large number of ways in which blacks appeared to be different† (Jones 16). Thus, the question Jones’ presents of racial medicine becomes a more contingent issue for why the experiment began and continued for decades. Preceding this fascination or preoccupation with establishing differences between the races is a reason, one that Jones describes as: There was a compelling reason for this prepccupation with establishing physical and mental distinctions between the races, one that transcended the isinterested pursuit of empirical facts. Most physicians who wrote about blacks during the nineteenth century were southerns who believed in the existing social order. They justified slavery, and after its abolition, second-class citizenship by insisting that blacks ere incapable of assuming any higher station in life here ‘different’ unquestionably meant ‘inferior. ’ Th us, medical discourses on the peculiarities of blacks offered, among other things, a psudoscientific rationale for keeping blacks in their places (Jones 17). Jones discusses the racial attitudes that help to sustain this study. White physicians and scientist shared in the prevalent racism that saturated the United States especialy the South. Many of the white physicians involved were convinced that syphilis was a black disease and that it was more prevaleent among blacks then whites. Jones concludes, â€Å"whether by accident or design, physicians had come dangerously close to dipicting the syphilitic black as the represenative black† (Jones 28). To deny that race played a role in the Tuskegee study is naive. All 600 subjects (399 experimantals and 201 controls) were Black. The officials in charge of the study failed to obtain informed consent from the subjects in a study of a disease with known risk to human life. little respect was shown to the subjects. The reseachers were not compelled to explain to the men whatexactly was occurring to them. The reasearchers were evidently never troubled by any ethical questions raised by the study of this nature. Denying the men salvarsan or mercury in the 1930’s, current treatments for syphilis during this time, or penicillin after is was discovered and identified as a cure for syphilis in the 1940’s. By failing to obtain informed consent and offering incentives for participation, it is quite obvious that the PHS doctors were performing unethical annd immoral experiment on human subjects. From the moment the experiment begun, the immorality of the experiment was blatantly apparent. Instead of obtaining consent from the participants, the PHS offered the men incentives to participate: free physical examinations, free rides to and from the clinics, hot meals on examination days, free treatment for minor ailments, and a gurantee that a burial stipend would be paid to their survivors. This modest stipend of $50. 0 represented the only form of burial insurance that many men had (153). When the subjects were administered painful lumbar punctures in 1933 ( commonly known as a spinal tap where a needle is driven into one’s vertebrate and fluid is suctioned from the spinal cord, a procedure that exposed the patients paralysis or death) their cooperation was obtained under false prete nses. Dr. Vonderlehr, one of the leading reseachers in the study, wrote letters to each patient inviting him to a special experiment, adding that â€Å"remember this is your last chance for special free treatment† (Jones 127). The physicians continued to conceal the truth that this procedure was diagnostic rather than therapeutic by telling the patients that they were receiving â€Å"spinal shots† (Jones 127). To understand why so many black men welcomed the opportunity of receiving what appeared to be free health care, though they received bad treatment, one must understand the social and economic conditions of rural Macon County, Alabama at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Census of 1930 revealed that blacks made up 82 percent of Macon’s twent-seven thousand residents. Blacks outnumbered whites four to one and neraly half of the resisdents lived below poverty level. It was all to common to visit houses without indoor plumbing and no other means of water supply save a swallow well that occupied the same territory as that of sewage (Jones 61). The fifth chapter of Jones’s Bad Blood: The Tuskegge Syphillis Experiment entitled â€Å"The Dr. Ain’t Taking Sticks† describes the destitute environment in which Blacks lived: housing conditions were terrible. The typical dwelling was a tumble-down shack ith a dirt floor, screens, little furinature, a few rags for bedding, and a privy only when underbrush was not nearby. Drinking water came from an uncovered, shallow well, often totally unprotected from direct surface drainage. The people who lived in his rural slum ate a pellagrous diet [of] salt pork hominy grits, cornbread, and molasses formed the standared fare of the majority Macon County’s black residents, while red meat, fre sh vegitables and fruit, or milk seldom appeared on their tables. As a result, chronic malnutrition and a host of diet-related illnesses were serious health problems (Jones 62). Medical facilities were present, however, the treatment that each gave was limited. The United States Veterans hospital located on the campus of Tuskegge Institute did not have an outpatient clinic and did very little for the surrounding community. The intellectual aloofness found at the Veterns Hospital was similar at the John A. Andrews Hospital also located in the vicinity of Tuskeggee Insistute. The John A. Andrews Hospital did have an outpatient clinic but the impact that the hospital had on the community was not substantial (Jones 64). It was the norm for many Blacks to go to from â€Å"cradle to the grave† without having experiencing any type of medical care (Jones 65). Since doctors were only consulted in dire emergencies, many blacks suffered with syphilis and its complications. So in 1930 when the Surgeon General announced that a syphilis control program was being created in Macon County blacks werein some cases excited about seeing a doctor and in other cases instructed by their employer to see a doctor without any explanation. Initially, the program was indeed a type of syphilis control program. Later that year, however, it was recommended that the syphilis control program be terminated and plans for a comprehensive health and welfare program be instituted. In 1932, the United States Public Health Service officers returned to Tuskegee and converted the treatment program into a â€Å"nontherapeutic human experiment† (Jones 90). The goal of the progam now was to aquire as many autopsies as possible that will support the argument that people of African descent reacted differently to venereal diseases such as syphilis and that this disease in character was a black disease. Once the Tuskegee expiriment began it thrived from its own momentum. The â€Å"intellectuals† who were aware of the study did not reject to it. The black professionals affiliated with Tyskegee institute at the time the experiment was taking place did not object either. The question remains why did Black healtth professionals not challenge the study? The information concerning the details of the experimnet was not at all private; the disclosure of information concerning Tuskegee seemed very calculated. In fact they appeared in many of the major health and medical journals of the time period,places were the average person may not ordinarily look. However, Black health professionls like Dr. Paul B. Cornely of Howaed University,a black public health leader since the 1930’s knew about Tuskegee but did not object. He understood the nature of the study and followed it closely, never questioning it. He explained in retrospect: I was there and I didn’t say a word. I saw it as an academician. It shows you how we looked at human beings, especially blacks who were expendable I have guilt feeling about it, as I veiw it now because I considered myself to be an activist. I used to get hot and bothered about injustices and inequality, yet right under my nose something is happening and I’m blind (Smith 103). Many Black professionals hide behind the suppositions that what was occuring at Tuskegee Institute would draw much needed attention to the desolate social, economic, and medical environments of the Black community. There is no doubt that the history of racial subjugation, class-consciousness, and professional status contributed to the response or lack thereof from black professionals and intellectuals. Historian Tom W. Shick argued that black medical professionals did not or could not challenge the experiment because they were not seen as equals in the medical profession, i. e. blacks did coexist with whites (Journal 103). Jones states that class-consciousness permits black professionals to deny that the experimnet was racist. There existed a dilemma for the black professionals involved: â€Å"on the one hand scientific energy and money were to be devoted to the study of diseased blacks, long ignored by science and medicine; but, on the other hand, the whole notion of framing the experiment as a study of the ‘the diseased’ instead of ‘disease’ smacked racism. (Jones 167). In Bad Blood, Jones presents the questions of why these 600 black men participated in the study and why did Black professionals allowed this experiment to continue without any objections. t is quite evident that ultimately, the reasons why the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male begun and continued was because of raism. Racism created the economic and social impecunious conditions of the 1930’s that would allow these men to accept their offer. racism created the conditions that woul d allow black people to â€Å"turn the other cheek† as their brothers were being victimized, exploited and murdered. Racism in this case and many other instances of historical racial oppression offered no alternatives.

16 jobs you can do from anywhere in the world

16 jobs you can do from anywhere in the world Remote jobs are the way of the future. In 2016, 43% of employed Americans spent at least some time working remotely. If you’ve ever fantasized about the digital nomad lifestyle, you’re in luck – it’s a good time to make the switch, and it might not even involve a drastic change from your current career path.Here are 16 jobs you can do from anywhere that strikes your fancy.Media buyerMedia buyers negotiate with advertising agents to secure ad placements that get the most bang for a client’s buck. As a media buyer, you may be purchasing ad space for traditional media – TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines – or for digital media, such as display, video, and paid social and search.With digital ad spend forecasted to total over half of total U.S. ad spend by the end of 2021, there’s a tremendous opportunity for media buyers with experience in programmatic and digital.Project managerIf you possess strong leadership skills as well as m ultitasking and problem-solving abilities, project management might just be the remote job of your dreams.As a project manager, you’ll plan project timelines, manage resources, coordinate team schedules, and ensure successful completion of milestones. Besides regularly working with internal staff, you may also be involved in client onboarding.Online instructorIf you love to teach, you’re in luck: There’s diverse opportunity in the online education sector. Adjunct professor, math tutor, teaching assistant, ESL teacher, special needs instructor – the list of potential online jobs goes on.As an online educator, you’ll spend your days preparing and updating course materials, instructing students, moderating forums, and grading student work.Customer service repToday, the list of SaaS startups and web hosting companies is endless – and so is the demand for customer service reps, such as live chat agents. If you’re tech-savvy and good at res ponding tactfully in high-pressure situations, then this is a great opportunity for you.As a customer service rep, you’ll respond to questions about products and services, offer technical support, and resolve customer complaints.Onboarding specialistIf you have a background in HR and recruiting, consider taking it online and becoming an onboarding specialist or hiring manager.Onboarding specialists source, screen, and recommend new candidates as well as help to coordinate new hires. Many companies also require onboarding specialists to handle new customers and clients.Administrative assistantAre you a wizard at Microsoft Office? Are your organizational skills and multitasking abilities above average? If so, then you’d likely make a great administrative assistant.Often called virtual assistants or VAs, online administrative assistants perform a wide variety of clerical tasks – from handling phone calls and emails to coordinating schedules, performing data entry, drafting and filing paperwork, and even handling travel arrangements for clients.Digital marketing managerDigital marketing is a booming industry. SaaS companies and startups often hire content managers, social media managers, SEO professionals, email marketing specialists, and paid search experts – all of which can be done entirely online.If you’re just breaking into the challenging and ever-changing world of digital marketing, consider getting your feet wet with a do-from-anywhere job as a digital marketing assistant.Payroll supportIf you’re detail-oriented and comfortable working with spreadsheets, then you might enjoy working remotely as a payroll support clerk.In this role, you’ll be responsible for managing employee timesheets and other payroll records, filing taxes, processing payments, and communicating with staff about payroll issues.TranscriptionistTranscriptionists convert recorded speech into text format – here’s an example trans cript. Some transcription providers specialize in academic, legal, insurance, corporate, or medical transcription services.As a transcriptionist, you’ll need strong spelling and grammar skills and a fast typing speed. You’ll be expected to transcribe a wide variety of audio, including podcasts, videos, lectures, conference calls, focus groups, and interviews. If you speak another language, you can also offer translation services.A closely related job is video captioning – perfect for movie buffs.Event plannerIf you want to work remotely but still interact with other people daily, then event planning could be the perfect online job for you.Your duties as an online event planner will include managing event logistics and budget, generating audiences and speakers, and handling event registration. You’ll also act as the liaison between exhibitors, event producers, and other staff.Designer or illustratorMany companies – particularly start-ups and digital agencies – regularly require the services of creative professionals like designers and illustrators.As a professional designer, you’ll use your expertise in programs like Illustrator and PowerPoint to create visuals, charts, diagrams, infographics, and other marketing materials for your clients.Conversion optimization skills are in especially high demand. If you have them, consider marketing yourself as an expert landing page or email newsletter designer.Video or audio editorVideo and audio editors use a combination of technical and creative skills to create and edit trailers, films, podcasts, advertisements, games, radio broadcasts, and music.To qualify for this online job, you’ll need to be proficient in industry-standard audio and/or video editing software such as Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Pro Tools.Voice talentHas anyone ever told you that you have a great voice? If so, then you might consider becoming a professional voiceover artist.As a voiceover artist, you’ll be lending your voice to TV and radio programs, documentaries, commercials, audiobooks, and games. To be successful, you’ll need a home studio with professional audio recording equipment so you can record and master your tracks.InterviewerCompanies and clients hire interviewers to interview authors for autobiographies and magazine or news stories. Your job as a professional interviewer will be to conduct interviews over the phone or via Skype, asking questions and recording participant responses with digital recording equipment. You may also be required to produce a transcript of the call.To succeed as a professional interviewer, you’ll need excellent communication skills.Writer or editorThere’s no shortage of do-from-anywhere jobs for skilled writers and editors, especially when it comes to digital media. Competition for the best jobs is fierce, though, so consider specializing in a specific medium, such as press rele ases, grants, proposals, marketing copy, or online courses.Technical, medical, and scientific writers and editors are in high demand, and the work can pay very well.Travel consultantTravel agencies, airlines, resorts, rental companies, and cruise lines hire travel agents to assist clientele with business and leisure trips.Your tasks as a travel consultant will include booking reservations, handling cancellations, providing customer service, arranging accommodations and rentals, and confirming client itineraries. For a travel agent, good phone skills are a must.Whatever your talents are, there’s probably a remote job out there that’s a great match for your skills and experience. It may take a little digging to find it, but it’ll be worth it!About the Author:Â  Chloe Brittain is a freelance writer and the owner of Opal Transcription Services, a North America-based company providing interview transcription services to companies in the U.S., Canada, and abroad. Con nect with Chloe on LinkedIn and Twitter (@opaltranscripts).

Crime Myths and Facts Essay Example

Crime Myths and Facts Essay Example Crime Myths and Facts Paper Crime Myths and Facts Paper One problem that has been plaguing societies throughout history is crime. The following essay will provide discussion on the topic and contrast crime myths and Even contemporary society Is struggling to come to fair terms about effects of crime on society and Individuals, fair and effective law enforcement and Judiciary systems, educative corrections system and proactive and effective crime prevention. This assignment will focus on comparison and contrast between crime myths and crime facts, as an example using myths about crime and youth gangs and crime and mentally ill. Starting point for discussion is to examine the definitions of relevant terms. Crime and Justice: A Guide to Criminology defines crime in two ways, dictionary definition as 1. An act committed or an omission of duty, injurious to the public welfare, for which punishment is prescribed by law, imposed in a Judicial proceedings usually brought in the name of state 2. Serious violation of human law: steeped In crime 3. Any offence, esp. on of grave character 4. Serious wrongdoing; sin 5. Lolls a foolish or senseless act: a crime to work that or a legal definition as intentional violation of the criminal law committed thou excuse and penalized by 2006, p. 5) Media has played an important role in portrayal of crime and crime like activities in society. Ericson, Barrage and Chain (1987, p. 50) have noted that one of historic obligations of the media is to entertain. This obligation is directly related to the need to fulfill the demands of audiences, which in turn are used to increase markets and expand revenues from advertising. Crime, deviance and control items have served these commercial needs of the news media. Rawlins (1998, p. 346) argued that In the less accessible areas of society, these media representations become an imperative and often only enter?f?Owe to reality of which few of the general public have immediate knowledge. Through sensationalist crime reporting in media, crime myths were embedded in main frame society (Rawlins 1998, p. 346). One of wide spread myths is the term As mentioned by Polk (1995, p. 0) media have popularized the idea of youth gang violence in Melbourne, one report quoting forensic specialist as being concerned that Victoria was towards becoming a state of warring She states that in Australia, stories appear in the press of attacks on the elderly by teenage offender. However, the empirical data paints quite deferent picture. In relation to youth gang activity the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence (ABACI 1991 ) research confirmed the unjustifiable nature of media generalizations In relation to youth gangs. Furthermore, the most significant ABACI finding was that vast proportion AT crime committee Is AT opportunistic In nature, ratter tan mainly organized. A study conducted by Impair and Warren (1994, p. 43) went even further declaring that there is?C,-1?0 a distinct absence of internal structure and criminal purpose among most groups of male The most important empirical evidence in contrast to popular youth gang myth is the Standing Committee on Social Issues (1995) research which found no evidence of highly structured gang existence in Australia and indeed was disputing relevance of the term to Australian youth activity. Another myth in general community is relation between youth and violence. We can see from police arrest data for Victoria (Victoria Police 1993) for 1991-1992 year that there were some crimes where youth played a significant role. As we can see from Table 1, these tend to be property crimes, theft and vehicle theft. These findings re reinforced by ABACI (1991) findings which found that youth illegal activities revolved around anti-social behavior and low-level property crime. When it comes to crimes of violence, however, the picture is quite different where 21 per cent of robbery offenders, 11 per cent of minor assaults offenders, 12 per cent of rape offenders, 10 per cent of serious assaults offenders and Just 5 per cent of homicide offenders were Juvenile. The general conclusion that we can draw from these figures is that violent crime is most likely to involve persons aged 18 and over. Table 1 Percentage of Offenders Under the Age of 17 Proceeded Against by Offence, 1991-92, Victoria Offence Homicide Serious Assault Percentage Young Offenders Minor Assault Robbery Burglary Theft Motor Vehicle Theft Fraudulent Offences 5 10 11 21 29 28 4 Source: Victoria Police 1993. If we pose the question whether there is a growing tide of youth crime, again, contrary to popular opinion, answer is negative. Police arrest data from Victoria over the ten-year period from 1982 to 1992 clearly shows there is no increase in the proportion of offences made up of Juveniles. This has been present at least since the time of the ancient Greeks and across a wide range of cultures. In recent times, this belief has been influenced by he media and television programmed, which, it is estimated, link mental illness to violence between 62-86% of the time. High-profile killings by people with a serious mental illness are given wide coverage in the press, creating an impression that the general pubic is at danger from unsupervised violent mentally ill persons living in the community. Although homicide perpetrated by someone suffering from a serious mental illness is rare compared with the total number of people with mental illness living ordinary lives, such tragedies attract intense media and public scrutiny. Public once Is raises Day a construction AT mental Illness as dangerous In ten meal portrayals. However, whether it is true that the rate of homicide committed by people with serious mental illness is increasing, either in absolute terms or as a proportion of total homicide in the community, is unclear (Simpson, 2003). One of the most important research projects in this area has been conducted by Taylor and Gun (1999) in which they examined data on homicides committed in England and Wales between 1957-1995 and concluded that there was little fluctuation in numbers of people with a mental illness committing criminal homicide ever the 38 years studied, and a 3% annual decline in their contribution to the official statistics and that the general public were at lower risk from offenders with mental illness than from non-mentally ill offenders. In relation to people with in the community, they conclude that is no evidence that it is anything but assisting to claim that their living in the community is a dangerous experiment that should be (Taylor and Gun, 1999). When people generally think of crime, it is usually about offences such as murder, robbery or burglary. If they are asked to describe the criminal, many would provide ascription of untrustworthy, shifty demeanor, maybe uneducated or unemployed person. However, many theorists would argue that mainstream criminologists are wrong when they are mainly focusing on conventional street crime or youth offending. According to the Sutton and Haines (2006, up. 155-170), white-collar crimes are far more devastating than those normally associated with criminal violations. White-collar crimes are certainly punishable by law; however, they are generally regarded by the courts and by sections of the general public as much less reprehensible than crimes usually punished by the courts.

Techniques in the Management of Dyspnea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Techniques in the Management of Dyspnea - Essay Example It is a generally stressful experience and can cause limitations in one’s functions and activities. When patients’ conditions deteriorate then the dyspnoea can also get worse. In effect, the more that they would be exposed to the risk factors associated with the condition, the more that they are likely to experience dyspnoea. This paper shall seek to establish the different techniques by which dyspnoea can be managed or treated. This paper is being carried out in order to arrive at a comprehensive and scholarly discussion on the subject matter. Physiology of dyspnoea In considering the physiology of dyspnoea, this is a condition which can arise from respiratory diseases which present in various abnormalities inside the afferent pathways, the efferent pathways, or the central control centres of the respiratory system (Irwin, et.al., 1997, p. 5). Dyspnoea is said to be caused by the interruption of the relationship between the force produced by the respiratory muscles and the consequence change in the muscle length (Weisman, et.al., 2002, p. 92). Based on the Thoracic society, the respiratory output is caused by the respiratory neurons during automatic reflex breathing. Corollary discharges play a role in respiratory effort and can sometimes cause dyspnoea. The mechanical receptors in the joints and muscles of the chest are also programmed to send signals to the brain. According to Altose, et.al., (1989, p. 145) vibrations during inspiration activates these receptors which can change dyspnoea scores among COPD patients. From the above possible physiological pathways, feelings of dyspnoea may manifest. Now, different techniques on the management and treatment of dyspnoea shall be discussed. Techniques in the management of dyspnoea Symptomatic management The first step in the management of dyspnoea is its symptomatic management. Dyspnoea is one of those symptoms which need fast and efficient management. Failing to immediately manage it can lead to str ess, anxiety, loss of consciousness, angina, and other serious conditions. The symptomatic management can either be through the implementation of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions. Treatment of dyspnoea The treatment of dyspnoea was considered in a study by Sassi-Dambron, et.al. (1995). The authors carried out a randomized clinical trial in order to establish a pulmonary program focusing on coping strategies for dyspnoea without exercise training. About 89 patients with COPD were enrolled in the study. These respondents were assigned to either a pulmonary rehabilitation treatment or general health education groups. The pulmonary training involved progressive muscle relaxation, breathing retraining, pacing, self-talk, and panic control (Sassi-Dambron, et.al., 1995). The study involved tests of 6-minutes walking distance, quality of well-being, psychological function, and dyspnoea measures at baseline, after treatment, and 6 months after treatment. After the 6-week tre atment, the study was able to establish that there was no difference seen in the control and in the test group in the different variables used to measure dyspnoea (Sassi-Dambron, et.al., 1995). This study implied that even with the application of dyspnoea management strategies, the lack of exercise training would still produce a negative outcome for the patient in terms of dyspnoea release. It is therefore important to consider a

Explain three (3) world arguments for birth control and two (2) world Essay - 1

Explain three (3) world arguments for birth control and two (2) world arguments against birth control - Essay Example This paper discusses some of the argument for and against birth control in how it also affects world population, the quality of life, and sustainability of subsistence supplies. The first argument against birth control is that any form of birth control is necessarily an ethical question. It means birth control is largely unethical because it is against natural law which is for any native population (human or animal) to be allowed to reproduce to full capacity. The ethics of population control goes beyond mere religion because it is a universal issue that in turn affects the very right of every living organism to be born. On the other side, Nature expectedly will cull the population to limit its growth through diseases which eliminate the sick, the weak, and the infirm. Birth control is just superfluous because Nature will take care of over-population and further, any control is dangerous as it can lead to eugenics (Chesterton & Perry, 2000). A second argument against birth control is that any form of birth control is a variation of a mass suicide. Some authors like to call it the modern version of race suicide as it eliminates the entire race or an ethnic group as its population will gradually dwindle over a period of time. The natural tendency is to let populations flourish and not allow them to perish (Parry, 2013). The first argument is birth control is much preferable compared to allowing conception that is unwanted that will in turn result into the more gruesome abortions. Many pregnancies had ended in tragedy because some females decide to terminate the gestation and this endangered the maternal health in addition to the emotional toll it exacts on the expectant mother. Many of these unwanted pregnancies are from the teenagers and young adults unable to comprehend the complexity and implications of parenthood and birth control will spare them from this agony. A second argument for birth control is it allows for a better

Social Learning Theory Essay Example for Free

Social Learning Theory Essay Key Figures: Montgomery, Rotter and Bandura Key Concepts: Individuals learn through observing others’ behavior, attitudes, and effects of those behaviors. Explanation of Disorder Personality: overly aggressive individuals (i.e. serial killers) Validity: When individuals observe others engaging in certain behaviors, it does not necessarily mean that they are learning that behavior. People need a good reason to want to learn behaviors through observation. Comprehensiveness: Social learning theory derived from Montgomery’s proposal that social learning occurred in 4 stages: imitation, close contact, understanding of concepts and role model behavior Applicability: This theory is used in television and movie rating systems that in the United States. It informs parents on what their children are watching and the type of content in this medium. The rating system is based on age suitable material to assist parents in deciding if certain content is appropriate for children. It can also be applied through guided class participation seen in schools all across the United States as well as all over the world. Cultural Utility: Guided participation Trait Theory: Key Figures: Allport and Cattell Key Concepts of Personality Formation: The trait theory implies that people personalities are composed of wide temperaments. It focuses on the differences between individuals. Explanation of Disorder Personality: Traits alone do not necessarily determine psychopathologies such as antisocial behavior or bipolar disorder. There are other factors to consider. Validity: If a child is born with a trait for a certain personality characteristic such as shyness it does not necessarily mean they will be shy adults. It would also depend on things such as parental interactions, cultural encouragement and cognitive awareness. Comprehensiveness: In 1936 Allport categorized personality traits into three levels: 1) Cardinal traits, 2) Central Traits and 3) Secondary Traits Applicability: Cattell condensed the number of personality traits from Allports preliminary list of over four thousand down to one hundred seventy one. He then rated a large number of individuals for these one hundred seventy one different traits. Then he started using a factor analysis which is a statistical technique and ultimately reduced his list to 16. Cattell believed that these traits are the basis of all human’s personality. This is one of the most commonly used personality assessments. Cultural Utility: In certain cultures men and women are encouraged to express certain personality traits over others. For example in some cultures men are discouraged from showing vulnerability and encouraged to show more aggressiveness. Women are generally less encouraged to be aggressive.

Love...Never having to say your sorry :: essays research papers

â€Å"Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry.† Essay #3 Draft - Nicole   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My childhood years were very lonely at times, for I did not have any siblings to play with. I spent most of my time with my maternal grandparents. We always lived close enough to my grandparents that I could walk to their house on a daily basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When I was four years old my grandparents moved away to Florida. I spent my summers and most major holidays with them in Florida. I went every summer like clockwork. Days after school let out I would be on an airplane flying into the Tampa airport. My summers turned into great adventures traveling and site seeing many places. I always felt so loved and secure when I was with my grandfather. He was more like the father that I never had. When my grandfather and I were together we were inseparable day or night. My only mental memories as a child are with my grandfather. My childhood was truly lived when I was with him. I was my grandfather’s â€Å"Little Angelâ€Å".   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Things changed when I became a teenager. My last summer visit with him was when I was 15 years old. When I was sixteen, the engine in my car blew up. I did not have the money to buy another car, so I asked my grandfather if I could borrow some money. My grandfather said that he would â€Å"loan† me the money, but I would have to pay him back. I agreed to the terms and took the money with no hesitation; needless to say, I never paid him back. When I did not pay back my grandfather for the car loan he was very disappointed. My reneging on the deal closed a door on the relationship between my grandfather and I. One that I would never open again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My grandfather became very sick with emphysema and struggled with the sickness for 6 years, so much that at times he would be holding onto life by a machine and had tubs breathing for him. He was always such a strong man emotionally and physically that seeing him in this condition saddened me. I knew that his life here on earth would soon be ending, so I managed to visit a few more times, not near as many as I should have. Life had dealt me a few wild cards and I felt as though I had let my grandfather down.

Johann Sebastian Bach

The Baroque period happened right after the Renaissance, an era best defined by the emergence of unique styles. Baroque literally means â€Å"bizarre†, and this is used to describe architectural designs during that time. Buildings of this design were observed to be highly ornamented and decorated. Later, the term has also been applied to music.This style differs greatly from the Renaissance and the Classical style of music by means of instruments used, amount of experimentation, and techniques utilized in composing and in performing the musical pieces.Musicians of this time experimented greatly on music genres, used different playing styles, evolved and changed a lot of traditional musical notations, improved on the complexity of instruments, and highlighted a point in history where music has changed dramatically. This era was indeed a turning point for music, giving birth to composers destined to be remembered until now. One of these geniuses is Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach wa s born on the 21st of March, 1685 to a well renowned family of musicians.His father was Ambrocious, the court trumpeter for the Duke of Eisenach and a musical director for the town and his mother was Maria Elisabetha Lammerhirt. Many of the Bachs were known for being instrumentalists, church organists, and singers all through out the town. Johann Sebastian Bach, as early as eight years old, begun singing in a choir they and his friends have founded at their school. Prior to this, he has been taught on how to play the violin and the harpsichord by his father and the organ by his uncle. He immediately became proficient with these instruments, particularly the organ.But fate has not been very kind to him, and at an early age, he lost his mother, father, a brother and a sister (Boyd, 1983). These early tragedies did not slow Bach down, and at a young age of 18, Bach started to be known all through out his village and other neighboring towns. He became a regular singer at choirs and a mu ch praised organist at congregations. He traveled to different places, and was hired by different courts as their chief musician and composer. He was able to start a family by marrying Maria Barbara, who gave birth to four children.His wife then died shortly after while Bach was out on a traveling performance. Bach then remarried, this time with Anna Magdalena, who remained faithful in taking care of their children and in copying Bach’s manuscripts. He lived his life well, created a family, and composed hundreds of pieces before lying to rest on July 28, 1750 (Boyd, 1983). The life of Bach can be seen as a flow of history told by his compositions. His famous pieces, usually short scores collected in a book, are manifestations of his life at the current time the music was composed.Take for example his work â€Å"Mass at B Minor†, started at about 1724 and completed at 1749, just a year before his death (Smith, 1996). This is a 4-part piece which depicts Bach’s li fetime devotion to religion. As a student years back, he studied Theology, and even topped his class at a very young age. Another piece Bach is known for is the lengthy â€Å"Brandenburg Concertos† which he completed at around 1721 or earlier. These 6 concertos are dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, who was pleasured by Bach’s innate talent for music. Bach used this piece to apply for a position on the Margrave’s court as a musician (Chee).Finally, his work entitled â€Å"The Musical Offering† marks the timeline in his life when he played for the King of Prussia, Frederick II at around 1747. This King’s theme started as an improvised piece by Bach, and later became a full length book used by many of his successors (Rasmussen, 2001). Bach is a very accomplished musician. His life was not always that perfect, in fact he had a lot of pitfalls and severe tragedies such as death of a loved one. But he showed the world that b y having a passion for something like music, one can surpass all trials presented to him.And by dedicating his life to his work, he became a composer-legend the world will never forget. References: Boyd, M. (1983). Bach. Timeline retrieved from http://www. jsbach. org/timeline. html Chee, B. The Brandenburg Concertos. Inkpot Issue 95. Retrieved from http://inkpot. com/classical/bachbrandenburg. html Rasmussen, M. (2001). Bach, Mozart, and the ‘Musical Midwife', The New Federalist, Retrieved from http://www. schillerinstitut. dk/bach. html Smith, A. (1996). Bach’s Mass in B Minor as a Musical Icon. Lecture retrieved from http://jan. ucc. nau. edu/~tas3/musicon. html

Questions and Answers on Computer Memory

Many changes have been seen lately in both 1/0 and memory. What are some of the newer technology innovations you have seen In regards to 1/0 and Memory? What are the different types of Memory and how much Is recommended? In the past 10 years there have been many changes In technology. We went from burning CDC to downloading songs to an MPH player. We went from a big boxed TV's to Flat screen TV's that you can control with your hand and voice. The memory on these things has Improved as well. With the Cad's only being able to hold around 700MS, while MPH players can hold up to BIBB or more. And hard drives use to only go to 1 TAB, now there are hard drives that can hold up to TPTB or more. My favorite new technology Is the smart phones. Who would have thought back In 2000 that our phones would be miniature computers, and that there would be an App for everything. From banking to real estate, to even ordering your food right from your phones APS. It's amazing What are the different type s of Memory and how much is recommended? There are several kinds of memory such as RAM, SD and USB.With how much memory is commended is up to the user. If you're going to use the computer for just email and homework and normal tasks then you won't need as much memory or RAM as someone who is using his computer to play video games. That's cool that you work for Apple. I have never owned or really used a Mac Computer but that feature that Lion offered called â€Å"Resume† sounds awesome. I can think of thousands of times that would have come in handy. With working on projects for work or even writhing reports for school and then the power goes out and there goes all your hard work erased.

Duckback Marketing Plan Essays

Duckback Marketing Plan Essays Duckback Marketing Plan Paper Duckback Marketing Plan Paper Executive Summary Set up in 1920, Bengal Waterproof Ltd (BWL) has the distinction of being Indias first waterproof products company. BWL is famous for its Duckback brand, the company is a leader in the domestic market for protective wear and rubberised consumer durables. Besides millions of households, its customers also include government institutions and defence establishments. Ironically, its strong brand equity was also the reason for the companys lacklustre marketing initiatives. Meanwhile, consumer preferences have changed. Now, the company has had to re-engineer processes and introduce new products in the market. An investment of Rs 40 crore is on the anvil on manufacturing processes and on marketing initiatives. The company now proposes to set aside a sizable chunk of the proceeds from sales for brand-building and advertising initiatives. Duckback basically has two major segments- the luggage segment and the rain wear segement. Here we analyse the basic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the company, followed by Porter’s five forces analysis. We proceed to find out its major competitors,substitute products, target markets and product lines in both the segements. And then we move on to propose a marketing strategy to improve its market share. Introduction Duckback was founded by Surendra Mohan Bose, who was a freedom fighter and in this connection he was also arrested in 1914. In 1919, he started Bengal Waterproof Works along with his three brothers in Kolkata. Initially, it only manufactured raincoats under the Brand Name ‘Duckback’. The name Duckback was conceived from the idiom ‘Like Water Off a Duck’s Back (water does not stay on a duck’s feathers and hence the name was perfect for a waterproofing solution). In 1938, Mr. Bose purchased the closed Dicon Rubber factory and in the same year, its entire manufacturing operations were shifted from Kolkata to Panihati in the 24 Parganas (North) district in West Bengal. In 1940, Bengal Waterproof Works was converted into a limited company and renamed Bengal Waterproof Ltd. ? S. W. O. T Analysis Strengths: Indias first waterproof products company 88-year-old company with a very strong brand recall The company is a leader in the domestic market for protective wear and rubberized consumer durables Customers like government institutions and defense establishments Excellent distribution channels and quality standards Catering to markets like the UK, Germany, the US and Canada. Best known for its traditional products such as hot bags, ice bags, rainwear and gumboots Low and affordable cost structure Weakness It has been in the soft luggage segment since 1986 although it has not enjoyed good shelf-space till now. Armchair Marketing lacklustre marketing initiatives. Opportunities New product offerings can help reposition the Duckback brand in the retail market. Large school bags market, mostly catered by local players till date. Tie up with some major multinational brands. South is a major market for the company Scope for market expansion in other regions of India. Threats Rainwear is a seasonal business – Major contributor to revenues. Weak brand name in the premium segment. Porter’s 5 Forces Model: The threat of substitute products: The existence of close substitute products increases the propensity of customers to switch to alternatives in response to price increases (high elasticity of demand). Duckback faces a very major threat for its rainwear product in the form of Umbrella. Buyer propensity to consume is low in luggage and rainwear segment. Buyer switching costs is very small. Perceived level of product differentiation is not much as far as hospital and rainwear industry is concerned. The threat of the entry of new competitors Profitable markets that yield high returns will draw firms. This results in many new entrants, which will effectively decrease profitability. Unless the entry of new firms can be blocked by incumbents, the profit rate will fall towards a competitive level (perfect competition). Barriers To Entry Rainwear industry largely being unorganized and involving very low cost for set up, barriers to entry are very low. On the other hand, for hospital equipments considerable amount of barriers to entry exist on account of high set up costs and requirement of high quality standardized products. In case of luggage industry it can be said that though low barriers to entry exist in the lower segment, high amount sophistication required in the premium segment make entry difficult for new entrants in this segment. Access to Distribution Channels: Incase of distribution channels for rainwear and luggage, the access to channels is easy. Hence new competitors can very easily enter into these segments. Though, distribution channels will be difficult to capture for the hospital equipment industry as this industry requires direct selling and contact with hospital administrations. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry For most industries, this is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry. Sometimes rivals compete aggressively and sometimes rivals compete in non-price dimensions such as innovation, marketing, etc. Number of competitors: For all the product lines of Duck Back, the number of competitors competing is very high, more in the unorganized sector than in the organized sector. Rate of industry growth: In case of Rainwear Industry, the rate of industrial growth is very minimal, making it highly unattractive for competition. Diversity of competitors: High diversity of competitors exist for the various product lines of the company. Level of advertising expense: Advertising expense in the rainwear and hospital equipment industry is minimal or almost nil, whereas in case of luggage industry as there are few major players catering to a major chunk of the market, a high advertising expense is incurred by the companies to show the differentiated f eatures of the product. The bargaining power of customers This force refers to the ability of customers to put the firm under pressure and it also affects the customers sensitivity to price changes. Buyer concentration ratio: As buyer concentration ratio is very low for all the product lines, customers do not enjoy any major power on suppliers in terms of price or type of products. Firm Concentration ratio: In case of luggage premium segment, a high concentration ratio exists which gives customers a very low bargaining power as not many options are available for the customers. Buyer switching costs relative to firm switching costs: Buyer switching cost are very low. Thus giving rise to high competition. Buyer price sensitivity: Low price sensitivity exist for the various products as all the products constitute very low proportion of the income of the consumers. The bargaining power of suppliers Also described as market of inputs. Suppliers of raw materials, components, and services (such as expertise) to the firm can be a source of power over the firm. Suppliers may refuse to work with the firm, or e. g. charge excessively high prices for unique resources. Presence of substitute inputs – There are number of substitute inputs available as firm can use Nylon, PVC, and other substitutes for manufacturing its products. Supplier concentration to firm concentration ratio Supplier concentration ratio is high as compared to firm concentration ratio, bargaining power of suppliers is high. Cost of inputs relative to selling price of the product – Cost of inputs is low relative to selling price of the product. Products and Corresponding Target Markets The product range of Bengal Waterproof Limited, sold under the Duckback trade name can be divided into the following segments: 1. Clothing waterproof and weatherproof 2. Footwear – industrial, protective and special purpose 3. Rubber products for industrial use 4. Rubber products for medical and laboratory use 5. Inflatable structures and goods 6. Soft luggage A detailed description of the target market based on different demographic parameters, industry and societal trends, and customer needs is analyzed and given below. 1. Clothing waterproof and weatherproof The product line under this segment is as follows: a)Raincoats: The product line depth under this category includes the conventional single piece raincoats, raincoats with leggings and hood, designer raincoats, feather weight raincoats. Target Market: i. Based on Geographic location The aim would be to target customers all over the country with special emphasis on the rainfall intensive regions – namely the western coastal region covering the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa and the eastern states of West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. A potential market in the north-eastern region is not being exploited at the moment due to the prevalent unsuitable conditions which pose a difficulty in operationalizing the marketing plans. Any stabilizing in the future would present an opportunity to enter these markets. i. Based on profession The marketing efforts are to be concentrated on two segments – school children and the working class. This is because of the perception of raincoats as being ‘so-not-cool’ amongst the youth. For these two segments, the utility factor matters more than the appeal. Designer raincoats Raincoat : leggings and hood The designer raincoats and the feather weight raincoats would focus on school children; and the conventional single piece raincoats and the raincoats with leggings and hood would focus on the working class. These would cater to their need of travelling on a two wheeler or while commuting from their residence to the place of work via public transport, when it is raining. b)Umbrellas: Conventional black, designer umbrellas, travel umbrellas. The conventional black umbrellas are targeted at the consumers who need to carry an umbrella and maintain a formal look about them or for those who prefer the traditional looking umbrellas to the designer ones. Designer Umbrella The designer umbrellas are targeted at school children, the youth and women. These provide an opportunity to make a style statement while retaining the idea of an umbrella. Travel umbrellas focus on the need of customers to carry umbrellas in their bags. With an increase in the percentage of working women, it provides them with a convenient option of carrying an umbrella in their travel bags and purses. c)Wind cheaters: Derby super comfort jackets, all weather jackets Windcheaters This segment particularly focuses on the youth who need to make a style statement along with fulfilling the need of weather protection. The Derby Super Comfort jackets focuses on all weather protection, targeting the youth with its unique styling. The all weather jackets are designed keeping in mind the requirements of the general population who look to protect their clothing from rain and dust while travelling. 2 Footwear – industrial, protective and special purpose The different products in this category include: a)Safety and work footwear : The following industries are the ones which require footwear designed for specific purposes. i. Mining ii. Steel iii. Glass iv. Cement v. Electrical Within this category, Boot and shoe lining soles are also included. These products will not require much of a capital investment to produce nor do they require a high operational cost. However, for the industries which use them they form a critical component as worker safety is a primary concern for them. As such, we will be catering to a niche market where our advantage of being an experienced manufacturer will stand us in good stead, and higher profit margins can be expected as there are not many other competitors in this category. b)Dielectric and conductive footwear : These form an integral part in the operations of the semiconductor manufacturing industry and the electronics industry. The manufacture of special components requires that latex based products for insulating purposes. The high involvement of such equipment provides a viable economic opportunity for the company to invest in a larger scale of operations for this type of specialized footwear. Dielectric footwear Gumboots c)Special purpose footwear: These include footwear such as Gumboots, Super gumboots and snow ankle boots. The defence services also require boots for different terrains. Our aim would be to build the footwear which would be consistent with the production facilities and would not entail a huge investment. Duckback already has a relationship with the Indian Navy and the Indian Army because of its inflatable structures being used by these institutions. We would try to leverage this relationship to establish a foothold into the special purpose footwear. 4. Inflatable structures and goods: The primary market for these structures is the Defence Forces. The company makes a range of inflatable boats, assault boats and life jackets for the Indian Navy and the Army. With the Defence Sevices going for an upgrade in their equipment, there is a possibility of bulk purchase tenders coming in the market. Our focus would be to use the goodwill and experience gained in the previous transactions with them and to continue as a supplier to them and try to capture a larger share of the pie. Another niche market is making inflatable boats for recreational activities like adventure sports and whitewater rafting. With people becoming more aware of adventure sports and having a higher disposable income, this sector is expected to achieve a high growth and our aim would be to emerge as a major supplier for this sector. As a part of a promotional campaign, we can associate the Duckback brand name with a few adventure activities to achieve recognition amongst the organizers of such events, who are going to influence the buying process. In order to cater to the servicing requirement of inflatable boats and life rafts the Company should set up service stations in the dock areas. Inflatable Boats 5. Rubber products for medical and laboratory use One of the main reasons for which we suggest that BWL foray into this Industry are the high rate of growth coupled with the previous experience of the company in making the hospital equipment. With a large number of hospitals and healthcare centers being opened across the country, there lies a huge potential market for these products, on a large scale. The emphasis here is to identify the major players in the market and to establish a relationship with them on a long term basis. This means that BWL would focus on strengthening its relationship with the existing business consumers and try to forge a relationship with new n emergent players, on a B2B platform. There are various factors, which govern the growth of the medical and healthcare industry. Some of the key factors are: Continuous investments in research development has resulted in increased productivity and better quality of drugs, medicines, medical instruments, hospital equipment, and other medical supplies used in medical industry. Provides employment to large chunk of human population. Increased costs in the medical treatment in the developed nations have driven patients to migrate to Asian countries and India provides a cost-effective solution. Rise in ailments among the ageing population both in developed and developing nations has led to the increase in demand of variety of drugs or medicines. Innovative techniques of drug discovery and drug development, new cures and treatments, gene testing for insurance, genetic predictions of disease and related issue, human cloning and reproductive technologies are the other key drivers of the medical industry. SHARE OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SUPPLIES IN 2006 The division of the rubber equipment in the medical industry is indic ated by the pie chart shown above : The products in this category which lie in our region of interest include: CORRUGATED DRAINAGE SHEETS HOT WATER BOTTLES ICE BAGS AIR CUSHIONS MACKINTOSH SHEETING 6. Soft Luggage PART 1 Major Competitors: Samsonite VIP Future Prospects The future prospects for any Company in the Luggage Industry look good majorly on account of high growth in the travel and tourism industry. The current industry size of the luggage industry id close to Rs. 00 crores and is expected to experience a growth rate of 15-20% in the current times. Another major point to be noted here is that the major growth that is expected to happen is in the premium segment of the luggage industry which is expected to grow at the rate of 30%. Target Customers Duckback can divide its target customers into various sergments viz. Lower segment customers, middle segment customers and upper segment customers. Based on the demand analysis of the industry, it can be said that Duckback need to focus on the upper segment customers on account of high demand in this segment. Duckback can also focus on the middle and lower segment of the market as this segment is still untapped by any major player and has been dominated by only the unorganized sector. Duckback can build its image in this segment and target customers looking for a durable but an inexpensive brand. Target market demographics Upper Segment: The target segment for this segment would be the upper middle class where people like to travel alot, abroad as well as in India and they look for convenient luggage which is easy to handle, safe and also looks attractive. Middle Segment: In the middle segment, one of the major target customer group are the sales persons that travel frequently and require bags that are durable, safe and easy to handle. This group does not much focus upon the aesthetics. Lower Segment: Duckback should try and withdraw itself from this segment altogether as this segment is dominated by the unorganized sector and catering to this sector would not go along with the image that is to be projected for Duckback. Products Positioning: Duckback has to focus on premium segment of the luggage industry with major stress upon four attributes viz convenience, variety, aesthetics and safety. The products offered in the various segments of the luggage industry will be positioned in different manner in the eyes of the consumer. Presently the image of Duckback is that of a product which is inexpensive, affordable and easily maintainable and which caters mostly to the lower class segment. Its competitors like VIP and Samsonite feel that though Duckback is a very reliable product, it would not prove to be much of a competitor especially in the premium segment. So, we should position Duck back as a lifestyle brand and not just any other bag. General Strategies: Presently, Duckback enjoys a good position in the eyes of the customers of the lower segment. So it should continue the same strategies and also work increasing its penetration in the lower segment. At the same time, it should also concentrate on embarking into the premium segment. It should position itself as a lifestyle brand and not just as any other bag. So for this, it should change its image into a much more trendy and suave baggage company. They can have luggage designed for the upscale market: with special features such as imported leather etc. They can come up with luggage made of floral upholstery fabric to appeal to the feminine buyer and impart a sense of aesthetics. The biggest challenge for them is to design luggage that looks sophisticated but at the same time is durable, withstands manhandling by dozens of baggage jockeys. So they can come up with suave designs to look good, and also include tougher ballistic nylon, retractable handles and wheels to ensure easy utility and durability. Soft Luggage: The product line of Duckback should include the soft luggage segment. The reason for this is that customers are now giving more emphasis on the convenience and the aesthetics attributes of the luggage. Hence they are preferring the soft luggage. All the major players are also shifting their focus to the soft luggage segment. Another reason that can be attributed to this is increase in the cost (approx. by22% in last 1 month and almost by 100% in past 1 year) of the polypropylene, a raw material (contributing to approximately 75% of the material) used for making of hard luggage. As a result, the hard luggage industry has in fact shown a negative growth of 15% in the past while soft luggage industry growing at a rate of in excess of 40%. Pricing Strategy: As Duckback has a huge section of its customer base in the lower income segment, its prices should not be too high compared to its competitors. As of now Duckback is considered to be a very affordable brand by its customers, so it should continue with these pricing strategy. And maybe it can come up with some discount schemes and gift incentives to increase its penetration in the lower income segment. And for the premium segment, if we price the premium item too low, customers will not believe the quality is good enough. Distribution Channels: Premium Segment: For the premium segment, the Company can have exclusive outlets at prominent malls, shopping centres etc. for its products as this will help Duckback distribute its products in the right kind of ambience along with showcasing of all its range together. This will promote in the strengthening of the image of the Company. Medium Segment: For the medium segment, besides exclusive outlets, use of local distribution channels will be more beneficial as it will increase the reach of the products to the entire middle class which generally picks up luggage off the streets. Direct B2B Selling: Another channel that can be used to widen the market of the products is the direct B2B Selling. Duckback can try and have direct tie ups with companies, schools, colleges, airlines, etc that give bags to their employees or as reward to their customers. This will help Duckback to reach a wide range of customers and be a known name. Promotional Activities Advertisement: Innovative Advertising using banners at airports, railway stations, metro stations etc should be used where the visibility of the brand is high amongst the target consumers. Television: Till now, Duckback has not tried to connect itself with the consumers directly. It has not advertising as a promotional tool. Its marketing strategy has concentrated more on B2B selling. But with its foray into the soft luggage segment, it needs to forge a relationship with the consumer and the first step towards this relationship building is to use a visual medium to connect to the minds of the consumer. Promotion: Various promotional strategies can be used by the company. Company can have stalls at International Trade Meets such International Conventions, Trade Meets etc, which display new product range of the company along with certain kinds of loyalty coupons given to the target customers. Road shows: Another way to increase the visibility of the product is to organize road shows at various prominent locations in various parts of the cities and showcase consumer centric products of the company such as luggage, rain wear etc. This will increase brand recognition among the consumers and thus would encourage repeat purchase. TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION, ADAPTATION AND INNOVATION A continuous process should be carried out to improve the present technology for the existing products and also to introduce new products. The endeavor should be to increase the amount of R D involved in various projects and to introduce new technology to improve upon the current methods of production. Benefits derived as a result of the above efforts are expected to be : Reduction in cost. Higher production efficiency. Improvement in quality. Increased customer satisfaction. Also, the Company has not imported any technology during the last five years reckoned from the beginning of the financial year. This is an impediment to the growth of the company as the company is lagging behind in this aspect. A formidable threat the company faces is from the international market, especially China which can flood the markets with their low cost pro ducts. Technology import will impart us the ability to produce low cost products without compromising on quality.