Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Cognitive Function Inquiry Essay examples - 1203 Words

Cognitive Function Inquiry Growing up in an era so blessed with technological improvement makes it very easy to have a fascination with computers: we see, interact with, and use computers almost every day. They have influence on everything from the brewer that makes your coffee, to the street lights that control the overflow of cars during rush hour. By the way, those cars are controlled by computers, too. We know a significant amount about computers today, more than we did ten years ago, and in ten years from now we will know exponentially more than we know today. Yet the greatest computer of all still eludes us in how it functions- the human brain. Believe it or not, your brain is a computer just like the one I’m typing this paper†¦show more content†¦Logically I was lead to believe that it had something to do with the storage of memories. Certainly if the human brain is anything like my home computer, when it doesn’t have enough space for all the information it is constantly taking in , it must get bogged down at some point - but it doesn’t! This is a result of how our neurons work together to store memories; instead of holding just one single memory, neurons work in networks holding multiple memories, increasing storage to astronomical numbers (Scientific America). Storage may not be a limiting factor in the memory process, but at the same time there must be something limiting the amount of data we can take in. In the same way a computer stores memory, it also takes time to save memories. While we can handle multiple tasks at a time, only so much information can be absorbed and saved by the brain at any moment. The concept of this limited amount of data we can take in is referred to as, â€Å"Cognitive Bandwidth† (Dunning). So although in theory we have unlimited storage space, we are still limited by the number of concepts we can begin to absorb at any given time. While there is not a set number on this cognitive bandwidth, it still provides an insight into how to better use our brains; spacing out the information we plan to take in allows more bandwidth to be available for each memory. I’m talking to you procrastinators, cramming in all your studying at once truly does make it more difficult to remember orShow MoreRelatedTeaching As Inquiry Model, Form The New Zealand Curriculum Essay1553 Words   |  7 PagesUsing the teaching as inquiry model, form the New Zealand curricu lum (2007) as a guide the effectiveness of my plan and my teaching can be gauged. The inquiry model is defined as a critical element of the 2007 curriculum. As Erb (2011) states: It confirms that different teaching strategies work differently for different students, it involves teachers looking at what is most important based on past teaching experiences in terms of what and how to teach. The inquiry process involves teachers criticallyRead MoreProject Management1168 Words   |  5 Pagesinformation. We try to edge in on small areas than to look into things as a whole. Systems Theory as a Conceptual Field of Inquiry The benefit of systems theory is its latent to offer a framework for a concurrently significant and normative exploration of the relationship between our awareness and formation and the world we claim to represent. Studies of human awareness and cognitive development have started to rely more on system theory. System approach does much to provide the complex dynamics ofRead MoreThe Physiological Effects Upon the Brain and Body During Processes of Spirituality1509 Words   |  7 Pagespoints in another direction humans believe in a higher power. However, as researchers look for answers and they find new questions. Opening a Pandoras box spirituality and religiosity create questions that open up vast amounts of discussion on cognitive ability and spirituality. Finally, neurobiologists and neuropsychologist are researching and looking at spirituality and meditation to determine answers to questions about brain activities during spiritual processes. Through the use magnetic resonanc eRead MoreCognitive Affective1347 Words   |  6 PagesThe Study of Cognitive   amp; Affective Bases of Psychology Cognitive and affective psychology is the empirical branch of psychology, which aims to answer all questions regarding human activities, related to knowledge and emotions, such as, how we think, learn, and remember. It is grounded on the theory that thoughts and emotions affect our behavior; furthermore, behavior can be changed through a modification of our thoughts or emotions. Cognitive psychologists examine how our minds obtainRead MoreHow Nutrition Impacts Child Development Essay1135 Words   |  5 PagesThis inquiry topic focuses on how nutrition impacts child development. Nutrition is one of the key factors of development. This topic would fit under Bronfenbrenner’s microsystem level. Nutrition directly deals with the child. Good nutrition has an impact on a child’s development. Inquiry Providing programs and information about nutrition will teach parents how important nutrition is for a child. One of the problems with keeping good nutrition is that agriculture is decreasing. Urbanization isRead MoreChildhood And Adolescence : Toward A Field Of Inquiry1072 Words   |  5 PagesArticle 1 Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence: Toward a Field of Inquiry Yongmin, S. (2008). Children s well-being during parents marital disruption process: A pooled time-series analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(2), 472-488. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ Yongmin attempted to show with this article how marriage can â€Å"change† for a married couple when their children turns the age(s) 12-17, also known as the beginning of adolescence. His research focusesRead MoreThe Army Design Methodology ( Adm )1477 Words   |  6 Pagesthe above-mentioned misstep is Operation Iraqi Freedom. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, coalition forces swiftly destroyed Iraqi military forces using technological overmatch, superior readiness, and proficient integration of the war fighting functions. However, the US military continued to see operations in Iraq as a medium-structured problem. Assuming perfect knowledge of the environment, the US military established linear projected conditions for success. Unbeknownst to the US military, theRead MoreCognitive Psychology And Our Understanding Of Human Mind1219 Words   |  5 Pages Pollyanna Patriota de Almeida Evaluate the contribution of cognitive Psychology to our understanding of human mind. Home Essay 2 Introduction The Cognitive psychology is an area of knowledge that study how people are able to understand, learn, remember and think about certain situations in life, that is, to study the mental processes of individuals. The cognitive psychologist s task is to discover laws that establish connections between the behavior and the varietyRead MoreShould School Be Students?1366 Words   |  6 Pagesis also important because it develops students socially. Social development is important because it will help students be able to function within society. School develop students socially by developing social skills such as: communication, being able to collaborate with others, leadership skills, etc. Both cognitive and social development are needed for people to function at a high level within the world we live in today. As a teacher, it is important that we best develop students. I believe theRead MoreThe Goal of Education is the Student Discovering the Power of his/her Own Mind1566 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"I know of no more important goal in education than that the child shall discover the power of his or her own mind. And I know of no more important source of that discovery for every child, than the inquiry that lives in continuing exploratory in the classroom. (Lindfors, 1999, p.247) Kindergarten is the place where children explore real experiences and know how world works. They start gradually to construct knowledge and transform their curiosities into thoughts and questions. By

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Matrix And Analysis Bcg Matrix - 1361 Words

BCG Matrix Business Unit Matrix and Analysis This matrix chart seeks to help companies analyze their individual business units or product lines to determine how to allocate internal resources. This matrix is used most frequently in brand marketing, product management, and strategic management within an organization. The matrix divides each product or business unit into four different categories based on a combined analysis of market growth and market share (Rothaermel, 2015; Ioana, Mirea, Balescu, 2009; Betts Taran, 2003). UPS divides itself into three different segments, two which are based on geographic location and another that contains the divisions of the company that is not its core business focus. The first segment is classified as U.S. Domestic Package and includes the entirety of the company’s ground and air transportation services in the United States. This segment earned the company $35.85 million in revenue for 2014 and allowed the company to secure an approximate market share of 54% (United Parcel Service of America, Inc., 2015; Trefis Team, 2014). The company’s international Package division realized revenues of $12.99 million on the ground and air delivery services the company provides international customers (United Parcel Service of America, Inc., 2015). Internationally, the company only holds an estimated market share of 25% (Levine-Weinberg, 2016; Carey, 2015). The smallest segment of the company, with only $9.39 million in annual revenues and an 8%Show MoreRelatedBcg M atrix Analysis2570 Words   |  11 PagesBCG Matrix Model BCG Matrix Model The BCG matrix or also called BCG model relates to marketing. The BCG model is a well-known portfolio management tool used in product life cycle theory. BCG matrix is often used to prioritize which products within company product mix get more funding and attention. The BCG matrix model is a portfolio planning model developed by Bruce Henderson of the Boston Consulting Group in the early 1970s. The BCG model is based on classification of products (and implicitlyRead MoreSwot Analysis : Bcg Matrix1565 Words   |  7 Pagesdescription of two planning techniques. The first one is BCG matrix followed by SPACE matrix. BCG matrix This matrix’s name stands for Boston Consulting Group and it’s a framework, which is used as a planning tool that helps organisations evaluating the strategic position of the business’ brand portfolio and their potentials. It classifies business portfolio into four categories based on industry attractiveness and competitive position. The BCG matrix’s purpose is to help an organisations having betterRead MoreMarketing Analysis Using Bcg Matrix1760 Words   |  8 PagesMarketing Analysis Using BCG Matrix Introduction BCG matrix is also referred to as growth share matrix, Boston matrix, portfolio diagram or product portfolio. BCG matrix is a graph created by Bruce D. Henderson to help corporations analyze the business units and the product lines being created for Boston Consultation Group. The matrix helps in the group allocation of resources and is also used as an analytical tool in the product management, brand marketing, strategic management and the portfolioRead MoreThe Jackson Memorial Health System: BCG Matrix Analysis1255 Words   |  5 Pagesshare. The hospitals total revenue for the latest fiscal year was $4.8 billion, and on this it lost $34 million, an amount the county covers through a sales tax levy (Beckers, 2012). BCG Matrix One tool that can help an organization to understand its competitive positioning is the BCG Matrix. This matrix is based on the product life cycle theory and is typically used to help organizations make decisions about what products or services should be given priority over scarce resources (VBM, 2012)Read MoreEasyJet Plcs Competitive Position: A BCG Matrix Analysis696 Words   |  3 PagesBoston Consulting Group growth/share matrix analysis With the BCG Matric analysis, we can argue that Easy Jet enjoys a viable competitive position because of its actual market growth. However, its prices have been compared with those of rival firms. This has clarified that Easy Jet emphasizes on being a low-cost carrier with no surplus in-flight services. Writers such as Quelch Deshpande (2004, p. 71) argue that the Boston Consulting Group growth/share matrix has offered an opportunity to establishRead MoreAn Analysis of the Pharmaceutical Industry using Porters Five Force model, PEST, BCG Matrix and predicting future prospects.3078 Words   |  13 Pagesregulations  ·Long approval wait time  ·Technology as an important factor  ·Lower levels of marketing and customer relations in comparison to other markets - Sales share of the worlds top 75 prescription medicines 2002 Source IMS Industry Environment Analysis In 1997, the $65 billion industry was composed of three strategic groups: patented prescription drugs, generic prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs. Firms such as Merck, SmithKline, Eli Lilly and others produced various types of brand nameRead MoreGe Matrix1190 Words   |  5 PagesThe GE matrix is an alternative technique used in brand marketing and product management to help a company decide what product(s) to add to its product portfolio, and which market opportunities are worthy of continued investment. Also known as the Directional Policy Matrix, the GE multi-factor model was first developed by General Electric in the 1970s. Conceptually, the GE Matrix is similar to the Boston Box as it is plotted on a two-dimensional grid. In most versions of the matrix: * theRead MoreHaribo Case Study1079 Words   |  5 PagesTable of contents Introduction 1 1. MODELS amp; ANALYSIS 2 1. Models choices 2 2. Use of models 2 1. Porter’s five forces 2 2. BCG Matrix 3 3. Ansoff matrix 4 4. SWOT analysis 5 Bibliography 7 Table of figures Figure 1 : Porters five forces 2 Figure 2 : BCG Matrix 3 Figure 3 : Ansoff Matrix 4 Figure 4 : SWOT Analysis 5 * Introduction Nowadays, in a growing world trade, more and more companies are developing themselves atRead MoreStrategic Business Unit ( Sbu )1439 Words   |  6 Pageson the level of autonomy SBUs may sometimes need to work closely with parent company. SBUs can use as a tool for diversification strategy by parent company. The main goal of this report is to provide an in-depth analysis about the products of PepsiCo. In addition, these will also analysis the marketing strategies used by the company Features: The key features for a company to considered as SBU’s are: †¢ Located within the organizational structure, †¢ Organizational units without legal personality, †¢Read MoreBcg Growth Share Matrix772 Words   |  4 PagesDublin Institute of Technology MSc COMPUTING SCIENCE (Information Technology for Strategic Management) BCG Growth Share Matrix Research Assignment No. 2 The BCG Growth-Share Matrix The BCG Growth-Share Matrix is a portfolio planning model that was developed by Bruce Henderson of the Boston Consulting Group in the early 1970s. It is based on the observation that organisations business units can be classified into four categories based on combinations of market growth and market share

Saturday, December 14, 2019

What Is Geography Free Essays

What is Geography Week 2 Geographic Thought and History I have always thought that geography was the study of land, how it was formed and where it will be in years to come. I have realized that there is more to geography than this. A literal translation of geography would be â€Å"to describe or write about the Earth† (â€Å"What is Geography: 2012). We will write a custom essay sample on What Is Geography or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first person to use the word â€Å"geography† was  Eratosthenes, who was an ancient Greek. Geography has been called â€Å"the world discipline† and â€Å"the bridge between the human and the  physical science†(Sullivan 2000). There is human geography, physical geography, Marxist geography and also feminist geography. Human geography is a branch of the social sciences that studies the world, its people, communities, and cultures and has an emphasis on relations of space and place. Human geography differs from physical geography mainly in that it has a greater focus on studying human activities and is more open to qualitative research methodologies (â€Å"What is Geography â€Å" 2012). Physical geography is that branch of  natural science which deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like heatmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and  geosphere, as opposed to the cultural or  built environment, the domain of  human geography (â€Å"What is Geography â€Å" 2012). This is the geography that most people think of. There is also is a type of  critical geography  that uses the theories and philosophy of  Marxism  to examine the  spatial relations of  human geography. In Marxist geography, the relations that geography has traditionally analyze such as natural environment and spatial relations are reviewed as outcomes of the mode of material production (â€Å"What is Geography â€Å" 2012). As I mentioned previously there is also feminist geography which is an approach in  human geography  which applies the theories, methods and critiques of  feminism  to the study of the human environment, society and geographical space (What is Geography† 2012). What I find most interesting is the discipline of cartography, which is the mapping of the world. I find it interesting on how they could design a map in the ancient era and actually use it for exploration. Maps started out as two dimensional charts to what we use now, Google earth. In the late 20th century, advances in electronic technology have led to further revolution in cartography. Specifically  computer  devices such as computer screens, plotters, printers, scanners (remote and document) and analytic stereo plotters along with visualization, image processing, spatial analysis and database software, have democratized and greatly expanded the making of maps, particularly with their ability to produce maps that show slightly different features, without engraving a new printing plate (Sullivan 2000). Websites such as Google Earth use Google Earth which is simply based on 3D maps, with the capability to show 3D buildings and structures (such as bridges), which consist of users’ submissions using  SketchUp, a  3D modeling  program software. The technology that is used is pretty amazing even to the point that these types of features are used in the military to pinpoint certain targets. Works Cited Department of Geography and Environmental Resources, â€Å"What is Geography. † Last modified 2012. Accessed October 3, 2012. National Geographic, â€Å"What is Geography. † Last modified 2012. Accessed October 4, 2012. http://education. nationalgeographic. com/education/media/what- Sullivan, Dan (2000). â€Å"Mapmaking and its History†. Rutgers University. Retrieved 10/3/2012 from http://www. math. rutgers. edu/~cherlin/History/Papers2000/sullivan. html. How to cite What Is Geography, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Effects of the Constitution Bill of Rights and Dec Essay Example For Students

Effects of the Constitution Bill of Rights and Dec Essay laration of Independence People in the United States can participate in government activities by voting and opposing their views. People are protected under the Constitution and Bill of Rights. These documents lay down the blueprint for freedom. As a man, women, or child, you are affected by these important documents they guarantee your basic rights like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and economic freedom. Lincoln best put it in his Gettysburg address stating, A government of the people, by the people, for the people. It is the First Amendment that justifies this belief: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nations most cherished symbol of liberty and Jeffersons most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in self-evident truths and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country. During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolution. They demanded a bill of rights that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. Several state conventions in their formal ratification of the Constitution asked for such amendments; others ratified the Constitution with the understanding that the amendments would be offered. On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States therefore proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution that met arguments most frequently advanced against it. The first two proposed amendments, which concerned the number of constituents for each Representative and the compensation of Congressmen, were not ratified. Articles 3 to 12, however, ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution of America was implemented with the following words, We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Though the Constitution of America was integrated on a democratic basis, the American leaders were doubtful as to its validity. They had seen too often corruption distorting democracy and so, were not ready to accept it without certain amendments. These amendments were specifically written to safe guard the rights of people. Amendment IV safeguards the right of people and their privacy. While citizens of other countries are terrorized by unwarranted searches and violations to their homes by the police, or upholders of law, American citizens need not have such fear, even if they are guilty. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. People the world over are fearful of keeping weapons in their homes regardless of the crime penetrating the streets. In the US citizens have the right to keep guns for whatever reason they may feel necessary. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.(Amendment .

Friday, November 29, 2019

Clinton Scandal Essays (452 words) - Lewinsky Scandal, Linda Tripp

Clinton Scandal Let American Consumer Counseling Help you Get Out of Debt! Clinton Scandal The evidence against President Clinton for sexual misconduct is very strong. There have been too many scandals that have surrounded his presidency. This forces the citizens of the United States to deny his plea of innocence. In the spring of 1995, Monica Lewinsky graduated from Lewis and Clark College. She then started an unpaid internship at the White House. Allegedly in November of that year, she became involved in a sexual relationship with President Clinton. Shortly after this point Lewinsky was hired as a full-time White House employee. She left the White House for a public affairs position at the Pentagon. Here she became friends with Linda Tripp, a former White House employee, who worked in the same office. During this time President Clinton apparently sent gifts to Lewinsky, most importantly in the case against him a dress, which she saved as a souvenir, had the President's DNA on it. With things heating up in the Paula Jones case, the President asked Lewinsky to lie about visits to his office. Turning her back on Lewinsky, Tripp taped telephone conversations between herself and Lewinsky about the affairs with Mr. Clinton to setup him up. Lewinsky, allegedly quoting Mr. Clinton, said, "Look them in the eye and deny it." After anonymous tips are given to a firm connected with the Paula Jones case, Lewinsky decided to leave the government and find a new job. On January 7, 1998, Monica Lewinsky signed a sworn affidavit in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, stating she did not have an affair with the President. Following this, Linda Tripp brought the recorded phone conversations to Independent Counsel for the Paula Jones case, Kenneth Starr. With assistance from the FBI, Tripp wore a wire while Lewinsky lead her step-by-step through her entire sexual relationship with Mr. Clinton. The following day, Lewinsky gives Tripp points on how to respond to Paula Jones' lawyer's questions. After receiving news of this Starr requested from a federal panel, the ability of an expansion of his ongoing investigation. The following day, President Clinton, who was under oath, denied an affair with Lewinsky. Four days later, the story of the tapes became public knowledge. The President stated in an interview with Jim Lehrer of PBS on the same day, "There is no improper relationship"(Clinton 1998). He also stated in this interview that he "didn't ask anybody not to tell the truth."(Clinton 1998). In using a double negative, Mr. Clinton could possibly be telling the people of the United States that he did have an affair, without expanding on it. With all of the allegations against the President seeming to the public to be against his favor, he will be found guilty and should be impeached. If this is a conspiracy against him, the conspirator or co-conspirators will face major indictments.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Supply and Elasticity

Supply and Elasticity Define Supply and explain what Causes Change (shifts) of Supply and how Supply Determines Prices Supply refers to the ability and readiness of sellers to create and offer different quantities of a commodity at different prices, or during a certain phase (Arnold 2010). Similar to demand, supply can also change. The supply of a commodity can increase or go down. Supply increases when suppliers can produce and are ready to sell the good at each price.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Supply and Elasticity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, sellers could produce and be ready to sell 50 dresses at $20 each in May, while in June they could have the capacity to produce and be willing to sell 70 dresses at $20 each. If supply increases, the entire supply curve shifts to the right as shown in fig (a). Fig (a) Shifts when Supply Increases On the other hand, supply decreases when sellers decide to produce and sell l ess of a good at all prices. For instance, sellers can produce and be willing to sell 50 dresses at $20 each in May, while in June, they could have the capacity to produce and be willing to sell 25 dresses at $20 each. If supply decreases, the entire supply curve shifts to the left as shown in fig (b). Fig (b) Shifts when Supply DecreasesAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Many factors affect the supply of goods and interfere with supply curves. These factors include prices of other commodities, technology, prices of related resources, prospects of future price, the amount of sellers, government restrictions and taxes (Arnold 2010). Price of Related Resources Resources are central in the manufacture of goods. For instance, manufacture of tables needs wood. Table production becomes less expensive when the price of wood decreases. The profits from manufacturing tables increase as price of tables remains the same even ass cost reduces. Consequently, the economic incentive to manufacture more tables boosts. Table manufacturers will make and sell an increased number of tables at each price. Therefore, the supply curve of tables will rise and this curve will shift to the right direction. Manufacture of tables becomes more expensive when the price of wood increases. As a result, the supply of tables will fall and the supply curve of tables will shift to the left direction. Prices of other Goods Changes in price of a single commodity affect the supply of other goods. For instance, a company that manufactures plastic cups may start manufacturing glass cups, when the price of glass cups rise. Quantity of Sellers When an increased number of sellers begin selling a commodity due to high profits the supply curve moves to the right. When the number of sellers reduces due to losses the curve shifts to the left. Technology Technology refers to expertise in use of resources during production (Arnold 2010). An advance in technology refers to the capacity to yield increased output with a fixed measure of resources and this lessens costs in unit production. For instance, lest assume that it takes $80 to create 20 units of a product. The cost of production per unit is $4. Suppose an advance technology can produce 40 units at a cost of $80, the cost of production falls to $2, for every unit. When the per-unit cost of production falls, quantity of supply increases.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Supply and Elasticity specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reduced costs of each unit boost profitability and these acts as an incentive to manufacturers to create more products. For instance, if farmers discover a way to grow peas using the same quantity of resources, cost of production per unit decreases, profits rise and farmers get the incentive to grow and sell more peas at each price . The curve of supply here shifts to the right. Future Price Expectations Producers may stop producing a commodity if they predict that it will sell at a higher price in prospect. In this situation, the supply curve will shift to the left. For instance, if wheat producers expect that the prices of wheat will rise next year, they may stop selling wheat pending next year. Equally, if wheat producers expect that the price of wheat will fall next year, they will sell more wheat this year. Government Restrictions At times, the government may decide to cut supply through imposing an import quota. For instance, a U.S. import quota on Chinese mobile phones will cut the supply of China mobile phones in America and the curve will shift to the left. Similarly, the supply of Chinese mobile phones increases upon removal of the import quota and the supply curve shifts to the right. Taxes and Subsidies Taxes increase the costs of commodities. When the rates of taxes rise, producers tend to produce less commodities and the curve shifts to the left. Besides, when the rates of taxes decrease, producers tend to produce more goods and the supply curve turns to the right. Explain what is Price Elasticity of Supply and its Determinants and why does it Matter whether Supply is Price Elastic, Inelastic or Unit-Elastic? According to the law of supply, higher prices increase the amount of supply. The price elasticity of supply gauges how the amount of supply changes with price (Mankiw 1998). The supply of a product becomes elastic when the amount supplies responds to pr ice change significantly. Supply becomes inelastic when the amount supplied reacts to price changes insignificantly. The flexibility of sellers to change the quantity of good they produce affects price elasticity. For instance, land at the beach is inelastic, since production of more land is impossible. On the other hand, commodities like cups, seats and radios have elastic supplies, since companies that produce them ca n extend the time for work in response to a higher price. The main determinant of the price elasticity of supply in markets is the phase of time under consideration. Supply becomes more elastic after an extensive period than after a short duration (Mankiw 1998). Companies cannot change their quantity of production over a short phase.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, the amount supplied in the short run does not change in reaction to changes in price. On the other hand, companies may create new plants, or close old ones in the long-term. Besides, new companies can penetrate a market as the old ones end. Therefore, the amount supplied can react to price significantly, in the long-term. Price elasticity of supply matters because it helps in determining how price is reacting to changes in demand. For instance, coffee demand may change due to introduction of substitutes at a lower price, or due to people’s sensitization about the negative impact of caffeine in coffee. When the price elasticity of supply is high, the price changes insignificantly compared to when the price elasticity of supply is low. A slight change in price can make companies to cut the quantity supplied down to the lower quantity demand, with high price elasticity (Taylor 2006). Therefore, the elasticity of supply affects the equilibrium price and change in quant ity. After considering supply elasticity, we can foresee what happens to prices following a shift in the supply of a commodity. We can as well forecast what the impact of a change in demand on price. References Arnold, R 2010, Microeconomics, Cengage Learning, London. Mankiw, G 1998, Microeconomics, Elsevier, New York. Taylor, J 2006, Principles of macroeconomics, Cengage Learning, London.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Greenleaf by Flannery O'Connor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Greenleaf by Flannery O'Connor - Essay Example She is inwardly tormented by a world that is not of her making and outwardly by a wild bull that is eating away at what little peace she has left on earth. The Greenleaf sons were content with their modern dairy operation while Mr. Greenleaf and his wife, "... lived like the lilies of the field, off the fat that she struggled to put into the land". "Greenleaf" is a story of families and faith. . Mrs. May had hired the Greenleafs after her husband passed away and left the dairy farm to her and her two sons. When they were hired, Mr. Greenleaf and his two sons brought along Mrs. Greenleaf and 5 little girls. At this point in their history the families were not remarkably different. Mr. Greenfield's total possessions were little more than a "... pieced-together truck, his wife and five daughters". Mrs. May had inherited little more than that from her husband. Her friends were awestruck that she had gone "...practically penniless and with no experience, out to a rundown farm...". Still, Mrs. May viewed herself as a remarkable woman. The hired help were a necessary annoyance. The sons also grew in different directions. The Greenleaf boys, O.T. and E.T., spent a successful stint in the Army and returned with their new wives to set up a successful dairy business. Tormented by her own sons' failures, Mrs. May attributed E.T.'s and O.T.'s success to government handouts.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

An Exploration into the Role of Nutrition Information in Influencing Literature review

An Exploration into the Role of Nutrition Information in Influencing Consumer Choice - Literature review Example The strong association between nutrition and health, alongside the ever rising problem of obesity justify a study into nutrition consumerism. The main aim of this literature review is to explore the role of nutrition information in influencing consumer choices. Objectives The following objectives will guide this review of literature towards achieving the stated aim: To perform a prudent search for relevant literature detailing the role of nutritional information on consumer choices To review the literature noting highlights and emerging themes To arrive at a conclusion based on the literature review on the role of nutritional information on consumer choices Literature Review The approach followed for sourcing the literature involved a search for research and theoretical work through the key phrase â€Å"Role of Nutrition Information in influencing Consumer Choice.† The search was focused on a number of peer-reviewed journals for the research articles. Further, a look at the bi bliographies of the journals was used to find more relevant literature. The sources selected for use were restricted to the last decade in order to ensure this literature review is up-to-date, valid and relevant. ... Factors determining Consumer Choices in Nutritional Purchases A number of studies have explored the factors determining consumer choices when making food purchases. One of these is by Petrovichi and Ritson (2006) who investigated the factors that influence individual decisions to engage in dietary health preventative behaviour in Romania. Conceptually, the close relationship between health and nutrition translates to an association of managing nutrition practices to prevent or manage health. The methodology adopted by the two researchers entailed face-to-face issuance of questionnaires to 485 adult respondents. This study established that the respondents’ health motivations, beliefs that diet choices have the capacity to prevent diseases, financial status of households and the level of educational influenced their nutrition and health and thus food purchase decisions. Ling and Horwath (2001) established that the perceived benefits of certain dietary products influenced consume r food purchase decisions. Through a cross-sectional telephone and mail survey, the scholars gathered data from 1200 households. They showed that the perceived benefits of fruits and vegetables in diet tipped the decisional balance towards purchasing these food items. Godwin, Speller-Henderson and Thompson (2006) undertook a consumer survey involving 160 participants and established that knowledge about nutrition greatly influenced consumer preferences in food purchases; the majority of respondents perceived themselves as knowledgeable enough to understand nutrition labels and use these to make purchase decisions. To conclude this part, the general factors that influence consumer purchase decisions include knowledge on nutrition; health

Monday, November 18, 2019

Critically discuss whether it is important for children to feel that Essay

Critically discuss whether it is important for children to feel that they 'fit in'. How can practitioners support the development of a sense of belonging - Essay Example Fitting in has come to take on a negative tone where it is believed that children are forced to adopt the mannerisms of the group that they wish to join in order to feel accepted. Not only does it create a situation where children end up losing themselves, but it makes these individuals live a lie, where they pretend to behave in a certain manner so that they can be able to achieve popularity in their environment, especially in school. This paper seeks to show that despite fitting in being considered important, it is detrimental to the development of children because it ends up not giving them an opportunity to belong. In most cases, children seek to fit in so that they can be considered by their peers to be popular and this is especially the case in schools. Schools tend to bring large groups of children together in a manner that creates a situation where there develop a diverse number of social networks among them (Faircloth and Hamm, 2011). These social networks are vital for children within these institutions because they assume the role of socialising them as well as ensuring that they are able to have a circle of friends on which they can rely. However, these social networks tend to be extremely hierarchical and this in such a manner that the most popular children end up being considered to be at the top of the hierarchy while the least popular end up at the bottom. This creates a situation where there is constant competition among children from an early age to ensure that they are able to join the popular children and through them to also gain popularity. While it may seem to be a commendab le system because it gives children the opportunity to learn the means through which they can be able to survive in a competitive world as adults, it also brings about problems for these children (Cialdini and Goldstein, 2004). This is especially the case where children end up having to reject their own personalities and adopt the behaviours of the group that

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Identification of Plant Material: Corallocarpus Epigaeus L

Identification of Plant Material: Corallocarpus Epigaeus L 6. MATERIALS AND METHODS 6.1 Collection The plant material was collected from the Tirupati, Andhra pradesh, India in the month of February 2014. The plant taxonomical authenticated by Prof; Dr. K. Madhava chetty, Department of Botany, SV University, Tirupati. The voucher specimen of Corallocarpus epigaeus L has been preserved in our laboratory for further collection and reference. Chemicals Various reagents like Mayer’s reagent, Wagner’s reagent, Hager’s reagent, Dragendroff’s reagent, ÃŽ ± napthol solution, Fehlings solution A B, Barfoeds reagent, Millons reagent, Ninhydrins solution, cuso4, ethanol 95%, potassium hydroxide, concentrated HNO3, pyridine, sodium nitroprusside, sodium picrate, concentrated HNO3, pyridine, sodium nitroprusside, sodium picrate, concentrated H2SO4, Glacial acetic acid, Ferric chloride, Ammonium hydroxide solution, Potassium dichromate solution, Thionyl chloride solution, Phenolpthalein, Chloroform, etc. were received from standard suppliers to Dept of Pharmacology, SIPS-Proddatur. 6.1.1 Preparation of Whole Plant ethanolic extract of Corallocarpus epigaeus L The fresh leaves of Corallocarpus epigaeus L. The sieved powder was stored in airtight container and kept at room temperature for further study. The dried powdered material (250gm) was extracted with 95% ethanol using soxhlet apparatus for about 72hours. Figure no 12: SOXHLET APPARATUS DISTILLATION APPARATUS After extraction with solvent, the marc was dried in hot air oven below 50o c and was concentrated by distilling off the solvent and evaporating to dryness. The dried extract was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening for detection of various phytoconstituents. 6.1.2 Qualitative Phytochemical Analysis74 The ethanolic extract Corallocarpus epigaeus L was subjected to various analytical tests in order to identify various phytoconstituents. Test for Alkaloids Mayer’s test To 1 ml of the extract, a drop or two drop of Mayer’s reagent was added by the side of test tube. Appearance of a white or creamy precipitate indicates presence of alkaloids. Wagner’s Test To 1 ml of the extract, few drops of Wagner’s reagent was added. Development of reddish brown colour indicates the presence of alkaloids. Hager’s Test To the 1 ml of the extract, few drops of Hager’s reagent was added. A prominent yellow colour indicates the test as positive. Dragendroff’s Test To the 1 ml of the extract, few drop of Dragendroff’s reagent was added. A prominent yellow colour indicates the test as positive. Test for Carbohydrates Benedict’s Test To 5 ml of Benedict’s reagent, 1 ml of the extract solution was added and boiled for 2 minute and cooled. Formation of red precipitate shows the presence of carbohydrates. Molisch’s Test To 2 ml of extract, two drops of alcoholic solution of ÃŽ ±-naphthol was added and shaken well. Later 1 ml of concentrated sulphuric acid was added slowly along the side of the test tubes and allowed to stand. A violet ring indicates the presence of carbohydrates. Fehling’s Test To 1 ml of the extract, add equal quantity of Fehling solution A and B were added. Appearance of red precipitate indicates the presence of sugars. Barfoed’s Test To 2 ml of the extract, 2 ml of Barfoed reagent was added and mixed well. It was heated for 1-2 minute in boiling water bath and cooled. Formation of red precipitate Indicates the presence of sugars. Test for Protein and Amino Acids Million’s Test To 2 ml of the extract, few drops of Million reagent was added. A white precipitate Indicates the presence of proteins. Ninhydrin Test To the 2 ml of the extract, two drops of Ninhydrin solution was added. A characteristic purple color indicates the presence of amino acids, proteins and peptides. Biurett Test To 1 ml of the extract, one or two drop of 1% copper sulphate solution was added and tothis 1 ml of ethanol (95%) was added, followed by excess of potassium hydroxide pellets. The pink layer in ethanolic layer indicates the presence of proteins. Xanthoprotein Test To 1 ml of the extract, add 1 ml of concentrated Nitric acid was added resulting in the formation of a white precipitate which is then boiled and cooled. Then 20% sodium hydroxide in ammonia was added. Orange colour indicates the presence of aromatic amino acids. Test for Glycosides Legal’s Test 2 ml of extract was dissolved in the solution of pyridine. Then sodium nitroprusside was added, to make it alkaline. The change in the colour from yellow to orange was not observed, which indicates the presence of glycosides. Baljet’s Test To 1 ml of the extract, 1 ml of sodium picrate solution was added. The colour from yellow to orange reveals the presence of glycosides. Borntrager’s Test To 1 ml of extract, few ml of sulphuric acid was added, boiled, filtered and extracted with chloroform. The chloroform layer was than treated with few ml of ammonia. The formation of red colour indicates the presence shows the presence of anthraquinone glycosides. Keller Killani Test The extract was dissolved in acetic acid containing traces of ferric chloride and was transferred to a test tube containing sulphuric acid. At the junction, the formation of reddish brown colour, which gradually turns to blue, confirms the presence of glycosides. Test for Flavonoids Shinoda Test To 1 ml of extract, magnesium turnings was added and 1-2 drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid was added drop wise. Formation of pink to crimson colour indicates the presence of flavonoids. Alkaline reagent Test The aqueous solution of the extract was treated with 10% ammonium hydroxide solution. Yellow fluorescence indicates the presence of flavonoids. Tests for Tannins and Phenolic compounds Ferric chloride Test To 1 ml of the extract, add few drops of neutral 5% ferric chloride solution. Formation of dark greenish colour shows the presence of phenolic compounds. To the extract add potassium dichromate solution, formation of a precipitate shows the presence of tannins and phenolic compounds. Test for Triterpenoids Two or three granules of tin metal were added to thionyl chloride solution present in a test tube. Later 1 ml of extract solution was added. The formation of pink colour indicates the presence of triterpenoids. Test for Saponins The 1 ml of the extract was diluted with distilled water and the volume was made up to 20 ml. The suspension was shaken in a graduated cylinder for 15 minutes. Appearance of foam indicates the presence of saponins. Tests for Fixed Oil Spot test A small quantity of the extract was pressed between two filter papers. Appearance of oily stain on the presence of fixed oils. Saponification Test A few drops of 0.5 N alcoholic potassium hydroxide solution was added to a small quantity of extract along with a drop of phenolphthalein. The mixture was heated on water bath for 2 hrs. Formation of the soap or partial neutralization of alkali indicates the presence of fixed oil. Tests for Steroids Libermann Buchard Test 1ml of the extract was dissolved in 2 ml of chloroform in a dry test tube. 10 drops of acetic anhydride and 2 drops of concentrated sulphuric acid was added to it. The solution turns to red, then blue and finally bluish green, indicating the presence of steroids. Salkowski Test The extract was dissolved in chloroform the extract in chloroform and equal volume of concentrated sulphuric acid was added. Formation of bluish red to cherry red colour in chloroform layer and green fluorescence observed acid indicates the presence of steroids. 6.2 INVITRO ANTICANCER ACTIVITY Cell Lines COLO 320 cell lineswere obtained from sugen Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Tirupati and cultured in RPMI 1640 medium (Difco, invitrogen corp, Canada). General information74 Organism Homo sapiens, human Tissue Colon Product Format Frozen Morphology Cells are rounded and refractile Culture Properties Loosely adherent, multicell aggregates Biosafety Level 1 Disease DukestypeC,colorectaladenocarcinomas Age 55 years Gender Female Ethnicity Caucasian Storage Condition Liquid nitrogen vapor phase GenesExpressed Serotonin,norepinephrine,epinephrine,Adreno Cortico Tropic Hormone (ACTH), parathyroid hormone. Tumorigenic effectsYes, in nude mice CommentsCells are weakly positive for keratins Culture Method The base medium for this cell line is formulated RPMI-1640 Medium. 6.2.1 Tryphan Blue dye Exclusion Assay Method75 Table 5: List of instruments Table 6: List of Chemicals Experimental Design The designed study consists of three groups viz: Negitive control, Control, Test. In the Negative control group the cell lines were incubated with the medium for a period of 24 hours. This group was designed to rule out the possibility of any growth inhibitory effect of certain compounds of medium. The control group was designed to rule out the effect of any residual or traces of solvent with which the extract was prepared on the growth inhibition of cell lines. Here the solvent employed was ethanol and hence it is added at the concentration of 0.1% (v/v) in distilled water. In test group different concentrations of test extract i.e, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 µg/ml are incubated with colo 320 cell lines for a period of 24 hours. This group was used to study the effect on cell line viability. Table7: Experimental Design to Study the Effect of Ethanolic Extract of Corallocarpus epigaeus L on colo 320 Cell Line Viability by Tryphan Blue Assay Procedure 1. An aliquot of cell suspension being tested for viability was centrifuged for 5 min andsupernatant was discarded. The size of the aliquot depends on the approximate number of cells present. The aliquot is taken such that it contained a convenient number of cells to count in a haemocytometer when suspended in 1 ml PBS and then diluted again by mixing with 0.4% Tryphan blue (e.g., 5 Ãâ€"105 cells/ml). 2. The cell pellet was resuspended in 1 ml PBS or serum free complete medium. Serum proteins stain with Tryphan blue and can produce misleading results. Hence determinations must be made in serum-free solution. 3. Mix 1 part of 0.4% Tryphan blue and 1 part cell suspension (dilution of cells) cells were mixed and allowed to incubate at room temperature for approximately 3 minutes, Cells were counted within 3 to 5 min of mixing with Tryphan blue, as longer incubation periods will lead to cell death and reduced viability counts. Mixing was performed in a well of a microtiter plate or a small plastic tube using 10 to20  µl each of cell suspension and Tryphan blue. 4. A drop of the Tryphan blue/cell mixture was applied on to haemocytometer. The haemocytometer on the stage of a binocular microscope and cells were focused clearly. 5. The no. of unstained (viable) and stained (nonviable) cells were counted separately in the haemocytometer. Seeding of Cells COLO 320 cells were cultured to reach the 80-90% confluency using RPMI 1640 medium. After reaching the desired confluency, culture was collected and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes to get cell pellet. The pellet was resuspended in 1ml of fresh culture media. Cell concentration was determined by Tryphan blue assay was performed by mixing 50  µlitres of culture and 50  µlitres of 0.4% tryphan blue dye. Finally cells seeded in 24 well plates at the concentration 10000 cells/ml and incubated at 5% co2 incubator at 370 c for 24 hours. Drug Treatment Cells were maintained in 24 well plates in triplicate for every concentration, and treated with different concentrations of (10, 25, 50, 75, 100 µgm). Corallocarpus epigaeus L, test compound and control groups were treated with medium and ethanol. The treated cells were incubated for 24 hours in 5% co2 incubator at 370c. Invitro Cytotoxic Assay After 24 hours incubation the cells were collected from each well in eppendroffs and centrifuged at 3000rpm for 10 min to get cell pellet, to the pellet 50 µlit of each medium and tryphan blue was added and mixed well to suspend the pellet. Cytotoxicity was screened by performing tryphan blue assay. Percent of growth inhibition was calculated by using the following formula 6.2.2 Micro Culture Tetrazolium Assay76 Plant Material Used: Whole plant ethanolic extract of Corallocarpus epigaeus L. Principle This assay is based on the capacity of mitochondria succinate dehydrogenase enzymes in living cells to reduce the yellow coloured watersolublesubstrate3(4,5dimethylthiazolyl)2,5diphenyltetrazoliumbromideintoaninsolublepurplecolouredformazanproductwhosecolouredismeasuredbymeansofELISAreaderat540nm.Onlyviablecellswithactivemitochondria reducesignificant amountsof MTT, since reduction of MTT can only occur in metabolically active cells. Figure 13: Reduction of MTT to a formazan compound by mitochondrial Enzymes Cell Lines Human colorectal adenocarcinoma- colo 320were obtained by sugen Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Tirupati from an authenticated supplier. Stock culture of these cell lines were cultured in RPMI -1640 with 10% inactivated newborn bovine serum, Penicillin (100 IU/ml), Streptomycin (100 µg/ml)) under humidified. The cells were dissociated in 0.2% trypsin and 0.02% EDTA in phosphate buffered saline solution. The stock culture was grown in 25cm 2 tissue culture flasks and cytotoxicity experiments were carried out in 96 well microtiter plates. Procedure Cell lines in the exponential growth phase were selected, washed, trypsinized and suspended in complete culture media i.e, RPMI 1640. The microtiter plates and incubated for 24hrs during which a partial monolayer was formed. They were then exposed to various concentrations of the extract (1-100 µg/ml). Control wells received only the maintenance medium. The plates were incubated at 37 °C and 48 hrs and cells were periodically checked for granularity, shrinkage and swelling. After 48 hrs, the sample solution in wells was flicked off and 50 µl of MTT dye was added to each well. The plates were gently shaken and incubated for 4 hrs at 370C in 5%CO2 incubator. The supernatant was removed and 50  µl of DMSO was added. The plates were gently shaken to solubilise the formed formazan. The absorbance was measured at 540nm. The percentage of growth inhibition was calculated using the following formula, Values of absorbance were converted into percentage of residual viability. Usually the Inhibition concentration 50% (IC50) is chosen as the best biological marker of cytotoxicity. The IC50 value represents the concentration of the test extracts that reduced 50% of cell inhibition. Statistical analysis Statistical evaluation of data was done by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test on viability using computer based fitting program (Prism graph pad prism version 6.03) statistical significance was set at p,0.05. IC50 was calculated by linear interpolation method using the formula IC50 = Ãâ€"(D-C)+C Where A = The first point on the curve, expressed in percent inhibition, that is less than 50% B = The first point on the curve, expressed in percent inhibition, that is greater than or equal to 50% C = The concentration of inhibitor that gives A% inhibition D = The concentration of inhibitor that gives B % inhibition

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Human Genome Project Essay -- Science Scientific Research Papers

The Human Genome Project Introduction The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a plan to develop a detailed genetic and physical map of the human genome. As a result of this project, it is predicted that vast increases in technology and biological approaches to the molecular world will occur. It was speculated that this project would take two decades. Some scientist did not even think it could be done because the technology was not ready for this kind of project. Multiple issues have arisen since the original concept for this genome project was introduced. Never before had mankind faced such issues in one project. These issues include such topics as biotechnology, ethical dilemmas, social and individual implications, health and medical care, and scientific research. When the project was started in 1990, technology could only sequence 300 base pairs at a time. This made mapping (location of genes) and sequencing (the number and pattern of "letters") of the entire 3 billion base pairs seems like an insurmountable task (Collins & Jegalian, 1999). Limited technology drew critics of the project with doubt that a complete map could be accomplished. Development of technology proved to be the least controversial issue. Ethical issues often became the center of concern. Also, the fear of attempting to clone a genetically superior race became a key issue. Many of the other issues stemmed from ethical concerns. Health and medical care implications could have a profound effect on society and individuals through prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of genetic diseases. Thanks to the HGP things like insight into basic biology, development of new technology, and medicine may be increased drastically. History The official start of t... ...Human Genome Project: where did it come from, where is it going? American Journal of Human Genetics, 51, 1-6. - Spengler, S. (1997). Emerging technologies from the Human Genome Project for understanding susceptibility and risk. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 4, 235-238 - van Ommen, G., Bakker, E., & den Dunnen, J. (1999). The human genome project and the future of diagnostics, treatment, and prevention. The Lancet, 354 (suppl 1), 5-10. - Young, D. & Leonard, D. (1999). Issues in genetic testing. Clinical Chemistry, 45(6), 915-926. Websites - http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/genome/ - http://www.celera.com/ - http://www.nih.gov/ - http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/NEWS/about_HGP.html - http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/HGP/ - http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/home.html - http://www.sciencemag.org

Monday, November 11, 2019

The Rise and Fall of ABC Learning

Q1: The aspects of the business strategy of ABC Learning resulted in increased business risk for the company including: the rapid expansion of market share, over-indebt, and blinding overseas investment. Rapid expansion of market share: ABC, which at its peak had almost 2200 centres in four countries, also had a flawed strategy to handle significant and rapid growth. When A. B. C. Learning Centers listed on the stock exchange in March 2001, it was a tiny operation with a market capitalization of just $25m. But five years later that number is approaching $2. bn as the company has quickly become Australia's leading operator of childcare centers. ABC pursued acquisition after acquisition – buying up as many existing centers as they could, and expanding their appetite by establishing more and more sites off the back of increasing debt. The company's acquisitions are getting larger so there is always a risk with this strategy that they will pay too much for a business or be unable to integrate it effectively. This meant that every new ABC sign that appeared on the horizon – equated to more and more debt. Ultimately ABC could no longer sustain their rapid expansion. With a falling share price and closer examination of their books it became clear ABC’s true value was significantly lower than previously thought. Over-indebted: In 2005, in order to satisfy the expansion plan, raising capital for domestically and globally expansion was done through issuing shares to public. ABC borrowed an enormous amount of money from Australian big four banks: CBA, NAB, Westpac and ANZ). In the wake of the global financial crisis, it couldn’t refinance its huge debts, so the administrators were called in. In the end, ABC got too big for its own good, also made itself to the end. Blinding oversea investment: After becoming the dominant player in the domestic market, ABC Learning has pursued an aggressive overseas expansion. The high levels of debt and dilutive capital raisings that have been required to fund its international ambitions have not pleased investors, and doubts about the company’s ability to repeat its local achievements in the US market have weighed on the share price. As the case told, artificially create apparent shareholder value may be misleading to potential investors in the company. Q2: Intangible assets are defined as identifiable non-monetary assets that cannot be seen, touched or physically measured, which are created through time and/or effort and that are identifiable as a separate asset. There are two primary forms of intangibles – legal intangibles (such as trade secrets, copyrights, patents, trademarks, and goodwill) and competitive intangibles (such as knowledge activities, collaboration activities, leverage activities, and structural activities). Legal intangibles are known under the generic term intellectual property and generate legal property rights defensible in a court of law. Competitive intangibles, whilst legally non-ownable, directly impact effectiveness, productivity, wastage, and opportunity costs within an organization – and therefore costs, revenues, customer service, satisfaction, market value, and share price. ABC Learning valuated billions of dollars worth of now discredited intangible assets that made up most of ABC’s balance sheet. It increased profits rapidly through acquisitions, and cause the underlying problem when valuated the assets it acquired. Especially given that 70 per cent of its assets were intangibles. The inherent risk associated with the valuation of the assets was enormous and should haven been a red flag,’ said Dr Ross. In other words, it means that ABC did not have a particularly strong balance sheet. The company lists total assets of $4. 5 billion – of which, more than $3 billion relate to intangible assets (which are predominantly child-care licences and a small amount of goodwill). As a result, ABC has negative net tangible assets. Q3: Principle-based: Accounting standards may take the form of general principles, relying on interpretation and judgment by the financial statement preparers before they can be implemented. Historical cost depreciation provides a better example of a principles-only standard. Whereas, Rule-based: Alternatively, standards may take the form of a series of rules, limiting the flexibility and use of judgment allowed in their implementation. Rules-based standards often provide â€Å"bright-lines† tests which can easily be avoided. As a result, representational faithfulness may be avoided and a low degree of comparability will often result. Numerous exceptions may also result. The advantage of principle-based accounting standard is potentially very flexible with those new and changing products and environments. As such, they should also require less maintenance. For this case, applying principle-based accounting standard would be more flexible with changing conditions, and the trade-off for this flexibility is that strong enforcement is needed to keep the auditors honest; the accountants should be more latitude to address unique situations, and it may reduce manipulation of the rules as it provides financial statements which reflect much closer to the firm’s actual performance. While the rule-based accounting standard may include a lack of flexibility, hence require almost continual maintenance at times. Therefore, the fundamentally change from â€Å"bright-line† rules-based accounting standards to principles-based accounting standards help prevent another ABC-like fiasco. The dangers in removing â€Å"bright-line rules† describes as follows: it is more difficult to audit relative to compliance, and concern over consistent and reliable interpretations across entities. In this case, the system may be less regulated, and to the extent that they rely on individual judgment to interpret and implement the standards, there is a danger that they can be used to manipulate financial results. Q4 Agency cost of debt refers to an increase in cost of debt when the interests of shareholders and management diverge. In this case, the relevant agency cost that lenders face may include large dividend payments that result in less money in the bank for loan repayment and new debt competes with old debt for repayment. Because the lack of symmetry information desires between the management of ABC learning and lenders, managers intended to maximize their personal wealth which may mean lenders’ welfare is not maximized. Based on the hypotheses that the higher the debt equity ratio the more likely managers are to use accounting methods that increase income, managers of ABC Learning may violate debt arrangements by manipulating equity. Moreover, the lenders are likely to face risk shifting in this case. Therefore, agency cost happens when ABC Learning engages in behaviors that benefit more than lenders. For lenders, they could minimize the agency cost in shortening debt maturity, it can reduces the agency cost of borrowing in two ways. First, the increase in equity value from increasing the risk of he firm's assets is a decreasing function of debt maturity (Barnea, Haugen, and Senbet, 1980). Second, shortening the maturity of debt reduces the likelihood that a firm will have to exercise an option to invest before outstanding debt matures (Myers, 1977). They also can set up a debt covenant to mitigate the risk, and from a lender’s perspective, not only does a covenant reduce default risk but is also mitigates the debt-equity agency cost. Often, individual stockholders as owners of a corporation do not have direct control over the agency contract, but as stockholders they do have certain rights granted to them. Q5: It seems that previous and current auditors had divergent opinions about the company. The new audit team from Ernst ; Young took a very different view from ABC’s previous auditors from Pitcher Partners in several aspects such as the treatment of revenues and earnings, the valuation of intangible assets, for example, after taking over the Pitcher Partners’ place, Ernst ; Young did not allow ABC to place the same high value on the licenses to run childcare centers as Pitcher Partners had done. Ernst ; Young disputed the Pitcher Partners work and the situation escalated to the extent that the ABC board was forced to call in another accounting firm, KPMG, for its opinion. One of the reasons for divergent opinions of auditors is the accounting policy choice, The accounting policy choice research area investigates the inter-relations among the contracts existing between various stakeholders of the firm, the associated economic incentives of the contracting parties, and the consequent accounting choices made by managers to influence the payoffs to the various contracting parties. The other reason is the degrees of concern of the company are different, in other words, the extent of knowledge for the auditors are different, Pitcher Partners did not have a deep knowledge of the Full Operational Status of the company, so they can not valuate the objective value on the childcare licenses. The recommendations of CLERP 9 to promote auditor independence as follows: Non-audit consultancy income for auditors has been limited and must be clearly disclosed. Auditors must provide their firms with a declaration that they are free from any relationship that may interfere with their independence. And the audit partner must rotate off a company’s audit after 5 years( or 7 years in the case of small or rural firms). Reference list: Accounting Policy Choice, viewed at 10/05/2010. http://www.business.uq.edu.au/display/research/Accounting+Policy+Choice Adam Schwab, ABC learning the hard way as profits  slump, 26 February 2008, viewed at 10/05/2010. http://www.crikey.com.au/2008/02/26/abc-learning-the-hard-way-as-profits-slump/ Ken L, John H, John S, Jennie R, 2009, Company accounting, 8th edition, John Wiley; Sons, Australian,p149. Jeremy Sammut ; Gaurav Sodhi, The ABC of child care policy failure, viewed at 9/05/2010. http://www.cis.org.au/executive_highlights/EH2008/eh71308.html John C. Easterwood , Palani-Rajan Kadapakkam, Agency conflicts, issue costs, and debt maturity, viewed at 10/05/2010. http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LnzP1BQzKTGJxN2BX6hnvcHzdJcSYW2TGPQNtZLgNtR20dwgMfgc!783601474!-129296667?docId=5000275458 Natasha Bita ; Andre Fraser, Imploding as easy as ABC, November 15, 2008, viewed at 10/05/2010. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/imploding-as-easy-as-abc/story-e6frgaio-1111118041306 Tim Searles, Not so easy at ABC, 3 Mar 08, viewed at 9/05/2010. http://www.intelligentinvestor.com.au/articles/A-B-C-Learning-Centres-Limited-ABS/Not-so-easy-at-ABC.cfm?articleID=391596 Understand The Difference Between Principle-based Versus Rule-based Accounting Standards, November 10th, 2006, viewed at 10/05/2010.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The History of Color Television

The History of Color Television The earliest mention of color television was in a 1904 German patent for  a color television system. In 1925, Russian inventor Vladimir K.  Zworykin  also filed a patent disclosure for an all-electronic color television system. While both of these designs were not successful, they were the first documented proposals for color television. Sometime between 1946 and 1950, the research staff of RCA Laboratories invented  the worlds first electronic,  color television system.  A successful color television system based on a system designed by RCA began commercial broadcasting on December 17, 1953. RCA vs. CBS But before RCA, CBS researchers led by Peter Goldmark invented a mechanical color television system based on the 1928 designs of  John Logie Baird. The FCC authorized CBSs color television technology as the national standard in October of 1950.  However, the system at the time was bulky, picture quality was terrible, and the technology was not compatible with earlier black-and-white sets. CBS  began  color broadcasting on five east coast stations in June of 1951. However, RCA responded by suing to stop the public broadcasting of CBS-based systems. Making matters worse was that there were already 10.5 million black-and-white televisions (half RCA sets) that had been sold to the public and very few color sets. Color television production was also halted during the Korean War. With the many challenges, the CBS system failed. Those factors provided RCA with the time to design a better color television, which they based on Alfred Schroeders 1947 patent application for a technology called shadow mask CRT. Their system passed FCC approval in late 1953 and sales of RCA color televisions began in 1954. A Brief Timeline of Color Television Early color telecasts could be preserved only on the black-and-white  kinescope  process introduced in 1947.In 1956, NBC began using color film to time-delay and preserve some of its live color telecasts.  A company named Ampex  made a color videotape recorder in 1958 and  NBC used it to tape  An Evening With Fred Astaire,  the oldest surviving network color videotape.In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the NBC station in Washington, D.C. and gave a speech discussing the new technologys merits. His speech was recorded in color, and a copy of this videotape was given to the Library of Congress.NBC  made the first coast-to-coast color broadcast when it telecast the  Tournament of Roses Parade  on January 1, 1954.The  premiere of Walt Disneys Wonderful World of Color in  September  1961 created a turning point that persuaded consumers to go out and purchase color televisions.  Television broadcasting  stations and networks in most parts of the w orld upgraded from black-and-white TVs to color transmission in the 1960s and 1970s. By 1979, even the last of these had converted to color, and by the early 1980s, black-and-white sets were mostly small portable sets  or those used as video monitor screens in lower-cost consumer equipment. By the late 1980s, even these areas switched to color sets.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Annotated Reference List Example

Annotated Reference List Example Annotated Reference List – Article Example Annotated Reference List Bendeman, Hanneli. "Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the workplace - the South African experience". African Journal on Conflict Resolution 7, no. 1 (2007): 137-161The journal takes a look at how South Africa is embracing the path of Alternative Dispute Resolution. According to this journal, the way out is to continue exploring the possibility of all alternatives that can dispense justice to all. Labor courts are used for resolving serious issues like unfair dismissal, strikes, and discrimination at workplaces.Conflict Resolution Quarterly 31, no. 4: (2014): 357-386. The journal talks about the processes of resolving conflict at workplace. The processes have permeated many organizations in North America for the past thirty years. According to the author, arbitration and mediation processes were the first ones to be used in organizations. This article takes a look at the trends in workplace conflict management and the ADR education and proposes where the field should be in the coming years. Chambliss, Daniel F. and Russell K. Schutt. Making Sense of the Social World: Methods of Investigation. Los Angeles: Sage, 2003. The book is a student-friendly and engaging introduction to the social research for students. It gives a balanced coverage of qualitative and quantitative methods, providing substantive examples and some research techniques. It covers all essential elements of research methods, including causation, validity, and techniques of analysis. Cloke, K., and Goldsmith, J. Resolving Conflicts at Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000. Cloke and Goldsmith state that every conflict at workplace produces an emotional response. However, most workplaces as well organizational cultures require the workers to check their emotions when they enter their workplace or leave the emotions at home. According to this book, workers can temporarily hold back their emotions, but they cannot eliminate them completely. Coates, Mary Lou, Gary T. Fu rlong, and Bryan M. Downie. Conflict management and dispute resolution systems in Canadian nonunionized organizations. Kingston, Ont: IRC Press, 1997. The purpose of this book is to develop a better understanding of the conflict management and dispute resolutions in the nonunionized workplaces in Canada. It tries to examine the role of conflict management and dispute resolution. It also takes a look at how employers are managing and resolving conflicts within their organizations.Colvin, Alexander J.S. "American workplace dispute resolution in the individual rights era". The International Journal of Human Resource Management 23, no. 3 (2012): 459-475. This article gives a theoretical conceptualization of the increase of alternative dispute resolution and the impact it has on the American employment relations in the individual rights era. It further examines the question of whether the new individual rights employment rights-based system has replaced the old one.Dickinson, David. Alte rnative dispute resolution. IZA World of Labor, (September 2014): 71. The article talks about the alternative dispute resolution procedures. It produces procedures such as mediation and arbitration as the best ways of resolving contract, wage, and grievance disputes. However, the procedures lead to changing levels of success and acceptability of the results depending on their design.References Bendeman, Hanneli. "Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the workplace - the South African experience". African Journal on Conflict Resolution 7, no. 1 (2007): 137-161.Conflict Resolution Quarterly 31, no. 4: (2014): 357-386. Chambliss, Daniel F. and Russell K. Schutt. Making Sense of the Social World: Methods of Investigation. Los Angeles: Sage, 2003. Cloke, K., and Goldsmith, J. Resolving Conflicts at Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.Coates, Mary Lou, Gary T. Furlong, and Bryan M. Downie. Conflict management and dispute resolution systems in Canadian nonunionized organizations. King ston, Ont: IRC Press, 1997. Colvin, Alexander J.S. "American workplace dispute resolution in the individual rights era". The International Journal of Human Resource Management 23, no. 3 (2012): 459-475.Dickinson, David. Alternative dispute resolution. IZA World of Labor, (September 2014): 71.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Organic Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organic Food - Essay Example The consumption of organic food has increased owing to the fact that people consider it to have a better taste. It is also believed to be environment friendly owing to the lack of chemicals used in its plantation. Studies have analyzed the fact that organic food consist of a greater amount of anti-oxidants in comparison to the conventional foods. It has also been proved that organic foods do not have traces of chemicals on them. Organic foods have a few drawbacks as well. These include the fact that they rot at a fast pace owing to lack of usage of preservative chemicals. They are also expensive in comparison to the conventional foods. The break out of salmonella disease in the United States owing to the consumption of organic peanuts also raised doubts about the credibility of organic foods. Studies have also claimed regarding the lack of strong benefits of organic foods. Despite of this, further studies and researches have proved that organic foods are beneficial. It is believed th at to prevent disease with organic foods, regulatory bodies should be made strict to check the production of these foods. Organic Food Every individual in today’s world has become health conscious and is aware of the fact that healthy eating and lifestyle changes can result in the promotion of good health. This has led to the encouragement of food choices that serve to enhance the health status of an individual. Organic food has been an essential part of this health conscious drive. According to the Department of Agriculture in the United States, organic food is that food which â€Å"is generally free of synthetic substances; contains no antibiotics and hormones; has not been irradiated or fertilized with sewage sludge; was raised without the use of most conventional pesticides; and contains no genetically modified ingredients.† The organic food was officially recognized and permitted in the United States in the year 2002. This food was originally classified to be more nutritious and healthy for the consumers. But researches were conducted to rebut this claim and to signify the fact that there is no added benefit by the consumption of these foods (Bittman 2009; Severson et al 2009). The subject of organic food has been central to many arguments as there are claims by the producers of these foods that they are beneficial for the health of the people but this has been strongly disagreed upon by a few researchers. The organic food industry has been booming in the United States at a very fast pace. It has been seen that the sales of the organic foods has increased from 11 billion dollars in 2001 to 20 billion dollars in the year 2009. In the year 2006 alone 16.7 billion dollars were achieved from the selling of organic drinks and edibles. Furthermore, a survey conducted by Harris in the year 2007 highlighted the fact that approximately 30 percent of Americans purchase and consume organic food at some point. The survey further elaborated the fact that it was a strong belief of most of the Americans that organic food is better than the conventional food. The American first lady, Michelle Obama also created an initiative for the promotion of organic foods. She started a small plantation of organic foods in the White House to support the increased usage of organic foods for the promotion of healthy eating habits amongst the Americans (Bittman 2009; Severson et al 2009). Organic food has become a top choice owing to many factors. Many people prefer to consume organic food owing to the consideration that organic food is of a greater nutritive value in comparison to the non-organic food. The restricted use of pesticides for organic foods is also considered to be an added point. This is owing to the fact that pesticides are used for the

Saturday, November 2, 2019

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

Mugwumps - Essay Example There were massive amounts of government corruption during the Grant administration and the resulting problems drove a wedge in the Republican Party, the Mugwumps supported Democratic reform candidates such as Grover Cleveland. According to Gerald W. McFarland, â€Å"Between 1870 and 1896, the Mugwumps, most of whom were members of the Republican party’s reform faction, frequently engaged in protests against â€Å"unsuitable† party candidates† (McFarland 40). These protests helped bolster the chances of those candidates running on a reform platform and partially assisted in the election of Grover Cleveland. However, the decision to go against ones political party was not taken lightly, as Allan Peskin writes, â€Å"To be a Republican or to be a Democrat-these were not lightly-made decisions but were shaped by self-interest, ethnicity, and, above all, history, most notably the polarizing trauma of the Civil War† (Peskin 703). As a result of the election fraud and other types of corruption that caused the backlash and mugwumps to begin their attempts at reform. The infamous Tammany Society was extremely influential during this time period as well, primarily in New York which following the Civil War had an inordinate amount of influence on national elections and politics. This was in no small part due the large influx of immigrants through Ellis Island. According to Peter Argersinger, â€Å"The highly competitive political system of the late nineteenth century, as Samuel T. McSeveny has written, â€Å"led to repeated charges, countercharges, and denials of corruption, coercion, bribery, and fraud-allegations that have been echoed by subsequent political biographers and historians. Taken at face value, these outcries would lead one to believe that the two parties alternated in cheating their opponents out of deserved victories† (Argersinger 669) It is no small wonder then that so many individuals

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Comparison - Essay Example At the end of the play, Nora’s secrets get reveled to Torvald and she discovered that despite of her eight years marriage with Torvald, she must find courage to leave him. â€Å"Trifles† written by Susen Glaspel is based on a true story. It revolves around investigation of the murder of a farmer John Wright. The prime suspect of the murder is John Wright’s wife, Mrs. Wright; who claims she was sleeping when someone strangled her husband. The investigation is carried out by the sheriff, his wife, the attorney and two neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Hale. In this play, it has been shown that men discourage women and their capabilities. The investigation carried out by the men is entirely based on forensic evidence where women critically analyzed the case accordingly. Therefore by comparison, we will be able to observe that both dramas discus about what it means to be a woman; how men are found to be holding power over women; role of two genders have always seen to evolve an d change especially in the case of women that they have always struggled for their rights. Also we shall see how women can take an action and stand up for themselves. However we shall also put light on the difference of both women’s character. In comparison of both dramas, gender identity has found to be the main aspect in which a evaluation can be made. In â€Å"Trifles†, it has been seen that the sheriff, the attorney and Mr. Hale ignore the point of view of Mrs. Wright and neglect the critical evidences of the dreary marriage life that Mr. and Mrs. Wright had. Basically the argument of this drama is ‘how woman worry over trifles’ and one can analyze that the play successfully depicts the qualities of women as they tend to worry over minor things. In the same way the play â€Å"A Doll’s House† depicts the characters of woman living a troublesome married life. Nora’s husband Torvald in

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Educating Rita Essay Example for Free

Educating Rita Essay Willy Russel’s 1985 play Educating Rita is a story of a women’s struggle escape her repetitive boring working class life and move into a wider, educated world. Russel uses characters, settings and many techniques to effectively explore this potentially difficult topic in an interesting and entertaining way. ‘Into the world’ is a potentially difficult topic in that it involves person, life-changing events that may become hard for the audience to relate to or understand. Russel avoids these problems by challenging stereotypes and melodrama by using characters in an interesting way. The play is a two-hander which means that only two characters are speaking in the play. By having only these two characters, it keeps the audience engaged and they become more familiar with the characters and can relate to them easier, engaging the audience. Other characters are mentioned, but are never seen in the actual play. The outside world is only seen through Franks and Rita’s eyes, which interests the audience into learning the characters struggles and experiences. Russel uses very good stage settings to make the play more interesting. The whole play being set in one room, Frank’s office, is not very common in theatres or plays. Having this shocks the audience and instantly becomes more interesting because of its difference. On a symbolic level, the furniture is very interesting. The squeaky door represents a Frank’s barrier, and isolation from the outside world. The window, although transparent, represents a weaker barrier he has with his students. However, Rita finds her way in; showing her determination from Frank’s lost spirit. This struggle of becoming a more educated person becomes interesting for the audience as they can compare it their own struggles Since the play has only two characters involved, the audience becomes very close to these characters, which makes it more interesting and entertaining. Rita is a working class person who has a strong desire to learn â€Å"everything†. Her character is very entertaining because of how real and believable her character is. Her passion and very ‘out there’ personality drives her into pushing frank to teach her. This is seen when she oils the door, making it easier for her to enter into Franks office, or in a symbolic sense, remove and barriers. Humour is seen very much throughout the play. Rita, being very outspoken, says what is on her mind and speaks the truth about what she thinks. Coming from a lower class then Frank, her understanding of certain things adds humour to the play, making it entertaining for the audience. This type of humour is displayed in the opening scene â€Å"Is it supposed to be erotic This was the pornography of its day, wasn’t it? when Rita is referring to a religious nude painting. Although being very outspoken, Frank realises her truthfulness and laughs. It is entertaining for the audience for someone from the working class to say their opinions on a religious artwork without taking into any consideration of what it might represent or what value it might be worth. Humour is also seen through Frank to make this play more entertaining. Frank, being a grumpy old teacher, is sick of his boring life. He constantly hides his whisky behind books , â€Å"Dickens† which can symbolise his shame. Frank uses a lot of sarcasm which makes this play more entertaining for the audience: â€Å"Yes, that’s it, just pop off and put your head in the oven†. Another aspect of this play which makes it interesting is that fact that the characters challenge stereotypes. Russel has portrayed Frank as a smart, sophisticated teacher who would not do much wrong. However, he hides alcohol behind high-level education books. By challenging a stereotype like this, it keeps the audience on their toes in wondering what he will do next. Characters of his knowledge are stereotypically portrayed as happily married, however he is not. This is seen by him constantly going to the pub and drinking throughout the play. The plot of Educating Rita is a potentially difficult topic to make interesting and entertaining to the reader. The overall plot is Rita learning as much as she can from a grumpy old teacher who isn’t happy with his life, but thinks that Rita is a fresh breath into his office. This story is very interesting because it makes a potentially difficult topic into a comedy, which makes it entertaining. Rita’s accent fits very well with the plot of a lower class person trying to achieve a better education, but is very unusual to see in a theatre play. However, because of the accent, the audience becomes interested in the difference. Another aspect that Russel focuses on is avoiding melodrama. In many plays and shows seen today, the drama in the story is blown up and over exaggerated. However, in educating Rita it is completely opposite. This is seen when Rita and Denny fight. Frank says â€Å"Let’s leave it for tonight. Let’s go to the pub and drink pots of Guinness and talk. † Rita then replies with â€Å"I’ve got to do this Frank. I’ve got to. †Her strong passion motivates and interests the audience because they may have faced similar struggles. Although Into the World is a very difficult topic to achieve, Russel has managed to make it both interesting and entertaining. Two-hander plays are difficult to capture personal changes however through plot, characters, symbolism and the idea of challenging stereotypes, Russel is able to turn it into an engaging story.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

What Is Service Marketing Mix Marketing Essay

What Is Service Marketing Mix Marketing Essay Marketing mix is the key concept in the marketing task. It is the strategy used to perform marketing functions. Marketing mix according to De Aze (1985) is the planned package of elements which will support the organization in reaching its target markets and specific objectives. Marketing mix helps to position the library or information service very firmly in the perceptions of their communities served the wider community for the public library, academic community for the academic library or the clients and customers for the business or specialist information service. Marketing mix needs more properly to be termed marketing mixes, to encourage librarians and information managers to perceive the value of different marketing mixes for specific market segments or groups of users. These are inter-related, interdependent, and also a combination of many factors. C:UsersAjayDownloads69e6aa0beac8f353cdcc2768df8d9bdb_LARGE.png Product: As seen in the goods-service continuum, your product can have both tangible and intangible aspects, and is the thing you offer to satisfy your customers wants and needs. Within this element, you need to consider such things as your product range; its quality and design; its features and the benefits it offers; sizing and packaging; and any add-on guarantees and customer service offerings. Price: Sound pricing decisions are crucial to a successful business and should be considered at both long-term strategic and short-term tactical levels. Within this element of the mix you should consider list price and discount price; terms and conditions of payment; and the price sensitivity of your market. Worth remembering is the connection of price to your position in the marketing specifically that only one operator in any market can be the cheapest. Jostling between competitors for this position is rarely wise. Promotion: This is the element of the marketing mix that most people mean when they talk about marketing. But jumping straight into decisions about what promotional tools to use without considering their relationship to the rest of the mix can be a sure-fire way to waste money. There are many different promotional techniques, each with their own strengths but essentially they can be broken down into four broad categories: Advertising; Public Relations; Sales Promotions; and Direct Selling. These techniques are used to communicate the specific benefits of your product to your customers. Place: Marketers love models that explain the way they work; they love it even more when elements of each model begin with the same letter hence the use of the word Place to describe distribution channels. Your choice of such channels is important, as is the variety of channels you use. For example, a common issue for businesses beginning to trade on-line is how that will affect their off-line business, for example selling directly through the web could alienate retail outlets that have been the mainstay of your business in the past. People: The impact that your people can have on your marketing cannot be underestimated. At its most obvious, this element covers your front line sales and customer service staff who will have a direct impact on how your product is perceived. You need to consider the knowledge and skills of your staff; their motivation and investment in supporting your brand. Any element of the marketing mix will also have its impact on other elements of your business, but the people element is one where the importance of regarding marketing as an integral part of the way you do business is crystal clear. Process: The process part of the mix is about being easy to do business with. If youve ever become frustrated at call centers that cant answer your questions, or annoyed when you cant buy something in a shop because the computerized till doesnt recognize that it exists, even when you can see it on the shelves, youll know how important this element can be. The more high contact your product, and the more intangible, the more important it is to get your processes right. Remember to look at this from your customers point of view. The process problems that are most annoying to a customer are those that are designed for the providers convenience, not the customer. Physical Evidence: When you sell tangible goods, you can offer your customer the chance to try before they buy, or at least see, touch or smell. With services, unless you offer a free trial, your customer will often be buying on trust. And to help them do so you need to provide as much evidence of the quality you will be providing as possible. So physical evidence refers to all the tangible, visible touch points that your customer will encounter before they buy, from your reception area and signage, to your staffs clothing and they images you include in you corporate brochure. 7ps service marketing mix in mc Donalds After segmenting the market, finding the target segment and positioning itself, each company needs to come up with an offer. The 7 Ps used by McDonalds are: Product   Product is the physical product or service offered to the consumer. Product includes certain aspects such as packaging, guarantee, looks etc. This includes both the tangible and the non tangible aspects of the product and service. McDonalds has intentionally kept its product depth and product width limited. McDonalds studied the behaviour of the Indian customer and provided a totally different menu as compared to its International offering. It dropped ham, beef and mutton burgers from the menu. India is the only country where McDonalds serve vegetarian menu. Even the sauce and cheese used in India are 100% vegetarian. McDonalds continuously innovates its products according to the changing preferences and tastes of its customers. The recente xample is the introduction of the Chicken Maharaja Mac. McDonalds bring with it a globally reputed brand, world class food quality and excellent customer specific product features.   McDonalds Indian Menu: Vegetarian McVeggie McAlooTikki Paneer Salsa Wrap McCurry Pan Pizza McPuff   Non vegetarian Chicken Maharaja Mac McChicken Burger Shahi Chicken McCurry Wrap Chicken Mexican Fillet-O-Fish Chicken McNuggets   Price   Pricing includes the list price, the discount functions available, the financing options available etc. It should also take into the consideration the probable reaction from the competitor to the pricing strategy. This is the most important part of the marketing mix as this is the only part which generates revenue. All the other three are expenses incurred. The price must take into consideration the appropriate demand-supply equation. McDonalds came up with a very catchy punch line Aap ke zamane mein ,baap ke zamane ke daam. This was to attract the middle and lower class consumers and the effect can clearly be seen in the consumer base McDonalds has now. McDonalds has certain value pricing and bundling strategies such as happy meal, combo meal, family meal and happy price menu to increase overall sales volumes. Place   The place mainly consists of the distribution channels. It is important so that the product is available to the customer at the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity. Nearly 50% of U.S.A is within a 3 minute drive from a McDonalds outlet. There is a certain degree of fun and happiness that a customer feels each time he dines at McDonalds. There are certain value propositions that McDonalds offer to its customers based on their needs. McDonalds offers hygienic environment, good ambience and great service. Now McDonalds have also started giving internet facility at their centers and they have been playing music through radio instead of the normal music. There are certain dedicated areas for children where they can play while their parents can have some quality time together. Promotion The various promotion channels being used by McDonalds to effectively communicate the product information are given above. A clear understanding of the customer value helps decide whether the cost of promotion is worth spending. There are three main objectives of advertising for McDonalds are to make people aware of an item, feel positive about it and remember it. The right message has to be communicated to the right audience through the right media. McDonalds does its promotion through television, hoardings and bus shelters. They use print ads and the television programmers are also an important marketing medium for promotion. Some of the most famous marketing campaigns of McDonalds are:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   You deserve a break today, so get up and get away- To McDonalds   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aap ke zamane mein ,baap ke zamane ke daam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Food, Folks, and Fun Im loving it. People   McDonalds understands the value of both its employees and its customers. It understands the fact that a happy employee can serve well and result in a happy customer. McDonald continuously does Internal Marketing. This is important as it must precede external marketing. This includes hiring, training and motivating able employees. This way they serve customers well and the final result is a happy customer. The level of importance has changed to be in the following order (the more important people are at the top): 1. Customers 2. Front line employees 3. Middle level managers 4. Front line managers Processes   McDonalds worldwide is well known for the high degree of respect for the local customs and culture. McDonalds has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit Indian tastes and preferences. Keeping in line with this, McDonalds does not offer any beef or pork items in India. In the last decade it has introduced some vegetarian and non-vegetarian products with local flavors that have appealed to the Indian palate. There have been continuous efforts to enhance variety in the menu by developing more such products. It is completely transparent and visible to the customers, allowing them to judge hygiene standards where the process takes place. The customers are even invited to check the ingredients used in the food. McDonalds has also re-engineered its operations repeatedly in its 11 years in India to address the special requirements of a vegetarian menu. Vegetable products are 100% vegetarian, i.e. They are prepared separately, using dedicated equipment and utensils. Only pure vegetarian oil is used as a cooking medium. Cheese and sauces are completely vegetarian and egg less. Separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products is maintained throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving. Food manufacturing transparent to customers across the counter. Training to the licensees about how to operate the franchise. Invented the most efficient cooking equipment with use of latest technology. New methods of food packaging and distribution are followed Physical evidence   The physical appearance affects not only the impression outsiders have of a business but also the way that business functions. McDonalds focuses on clean and hygienic interiors of its out lets at the same time they are attractive. It maintains a proper decorum at its joints. Staff members dress in McDonalds Dress code with Green shirts, Blue trousers, Black caps and Customized Ronald McDonalds tie. Building maintenance and visible cues are provided by the golden arches, the trademarks and the logos in the premises. The delivery scooters also add to the physicality of the company. 7ps service marketing mix in Pizza Hut After segmenting the market, finding the target segment and positioning itself, each company needs to come up with an offer. The 7 Ps used by Pizza Hut are: PRODUCT Worldwide and in India, Pizza Hut has come to become synonymous with the best pizzas under one roof. This is because at Pizza Hut the belief is that every pizza has its own magic, thus making it a destination product which everyone seeks. It is this belief that has ignited the passion to create, innovate and serve the finest product the industry has to offer, while setting standards for others to strive to replicate. Pizza Hut is committed to providing uncompromising product quality, offering customers the highest value for money and giving service that is warm, friendly and personal. A critical factor in Pizza Huts success has been its unique dining experience. Crewmembers at Pizza Hut strive each day to provide customer mania the kind of service that ensures that every visit of the customer is a memorable one. Over the years Pizza Hut has also developed and successfully introduced a range of products especially suited to the Indian palate. These products like Chicken Tikka, Spicy Korma, Spicy Paneer and the Masala and Tandoori pizzas have been a tremendous success. What has also given Pizza Hut a competitive edge is that in addition to an extensive range of internationally renowned pizzas like The Italian, the proprietary Pan Pizza and Stuffed Crust, in India the menu offers the option of a complete meal. It includes appetizers, a Salad Bar where the customers can make their own fresh salads, a range of soups, pastas and desserts PRICE In the past, Pizza Hut has successfully used the high/low pricing strategy when setting the retail price of its products. The high/low retail pricing strategy allows Pizza Hut to charge a price that is above the competition, but also promote frequent sales to lower the price below them. Both Pizza Hut and the beverage Mountain Dew are Pepsi subsidiaries, bundle pricing will be used.. Pizza Hut will be able to sell two products together at a single price to suggest a good value. Different groups of customers are willing to pay different prices for the same product. Pizza Hut can sell The Extreme to the customers who will pay the higher price to be the first to buy and also to the bargain hunters Finally, this strategy will emphasize product and service quality. Pizza Hut sets a high initial price for its products to send a signal to customers that its products are quality and the service is excellent. PROMOTION The objectives of promotion are to introduce a new product, stimulate demand, change the short-term behavior of the customers, and encourage repeat or greater usage by current customers. Pizza hut uses many promotional strategies. The main promotion is a coupon to purchase. This promotion is also distributed mainly by mail (VIP members), but also by fliers on college campuses around the country in order to reach the target market. They are using billboards on main stream places to get there customer. They are also distributing door to door brochures to capture more and more customers. Pizza huts also using marketing techniques. These are the strategies Pizza hut is using for its marketing. Pizza huts trys to attract the younger generation as their main market segment. Apart from this Pizza Hut is using intense marketing strategies they are also giving ads in magazines. Advertising camping will creates awareness of the products in our target markets. PEOPLE Here the job design is not the most difficult task to do. Also there is no specific requirement for recruiting process. After talking one of the employees in Pizza Hut, we came to know the criteria of selection. The girl was from west India, she was only 10th passed out. After this we it was confirmed that there is no proper requirement of the educational background. The only factor they were considering on the communication skills, how they communicate with the customers. Since the communication is the most important factor between the customer and employee because the whole process is depended on giving the orders for food. For this the Management conducted the training process for the new employees. The Training is given for total 5 days. Out of 5 days, they have 3 days for kitchen training and other 2 days in the main dining, that is, how to take orders and basically how to communicate with customers and make them happy by their services. PROCESS The design of the process of the pizza hut is very efficient .pizza hut do not follow any kind of hierarchy , all the employee is at the same level ,pizza hut has a very prescribe and well known process by adopting various technology software which help them to upgrade their supply management and also manage their crowd of customer efficiently. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE The ambience of the pizza hut is good enough to catch up the people .they provide a very good dining experience with high quality of atmosphere in terms of their physical evidence. And pizza hut always try to upgrade with changing environment and modernization is key of success of the pizza hut.