Thursday, October 31, 2019

Strategic Brand Management REPORT on Dove in the UK Essay

Strategic Brand Management REPORT on Dove in the UK - Essay Example The Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) framework has been intended to assist management during the process of brand-building. According to this model, building strong brands entails four steps, including: (1) ascertaining the proper brand identity, in terms of depth and breadth brand awareness, (2) crafting suitable brand meaning through unique, favorable, and strong brand associations, (3) obtaining positive and accessible brand reactions, and (4) fashioning brand relationships with clients which are characterized by passionate and active loyalty. Achieving the four steps, further involves the establishment of six brand-structuring blocks— brand salience, imagery, judgments, feelings, and resonance. The CBBE model offers a yardstick through which brands can evaluate their progress in their brand-crafting efforts plus acting as a steer for marketing research programs. This report seeks to expound the concept of strategic brand management with special reference to the personal nurturing brand â€Å"Dove† and the â€Å"Real Beauty Campaign† (Keller 2007). Corporate entity Dove is owned by a conglomerate company known as Unilever – one of the world’s largest corporations dealing with FMCG. ... The most well-known brands in terms of earnings include thirteen â‚ ¬1billion brands: Knorr, Axe/Lynx, Becel/ Flora, Lipton, Hellmann's, Omo, Lux, Surf, Dove, Blue Sunsilk, Band/Rama, Rexona as well as Heartbrand ice creams (Jakobsen 2010). The brands are marketed under the corporation vision of bringing vitality to peoples’ lives. Unilever aims at improving the lives of people in a sustainable manner by investing in worldwide community initiatives including, carbon dioxide gas reduction, lessening water pollution, and promoting sustainable practices throughout Unilever’s supply chain. In regard to this, Unilever spend about â‚ ¬91 million on society projects globally in the year 2008. The company also boasts of approximately 270 manufacturing plants across the six continents in the world. All these strive to register better performance with regards to issues of safety, efficiency, quality as well as environmental impacts (Simon 2000, pp. 79). Dove and the Campaig n for Real Beauty This report focuses on the Dove brand and the Real Beauty campaign which was at first unveiled in 2004 and still subsists today. Even though the Dove brand has been present in the market since 1950s, it was not until the already mentioned campaign got launched that the brand achieved a strong standing in the minds of customers (Aaker & Keller 1990). The study for the campaign was founded upon quantitative data that had been collected from a global survey of about 3,200 women picked from ten countries including: Argentina, Canada, Brazil, France, Japan, Italy, Netherlands, the UK, Portugal, and the US. The findings validated Dove’s hypothesis which stated that the definition of the term beauty was both limiting and unattainable, by putting more

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Safe Haven Essay Example for Free

Safe Haven Essay A young woman flees her house after being shown in possession of a bloody knife. She is shown moments later buying a bus ticket, her hair now cropped and bleached, and stops at a small North Carolina town called Southport. At the general store, she introduces herself as Katie. After acquiring a job as a waitress and buying a small house on the edge of town, Katie becomes friends with her neighbor, Jo and meets handsome Alex Wheatley,the manager of a local convenience store, and his two children, Lexie and Josh. Alexs wife tragically died of cancer a few years prior. Alex immediately takes a liking to Katie, doing small helpful things, such as leaving an old bike at her house. They go on a family trip to the beach, and Alex asks her to go canoeing with him, after which, they fall in love. Lexie immediately accepts Katie, while Josh is initially resistant, believing Katie to be his late mothers replacement, but eventually accepts her as well. Meanwhile, Kevin, a husky Boston police officer, searches for Katie and, using his authority as a police officer, sends out reports saying that she is a wanted murderer. Upon seeing her picture in the police station, Alex confronts Katie and becomes angry that she didnt trust him enough to even tell him her real name, Erin. The picture flashes to Kevins boss confronting him at work, pointing out he always carries a water bottle that turns out to be filled with vodka, and reveals that Erin was Kevins wife. Directly afterward, Katie is shown packing while talking angrily with Jo. Alex drives over to Katies house to talk to her, only to discover that she left. He drives to the nearest ferry and admits hes fallen in love with her and promises to protect her no matter what. Initially, Katie wants to flee but then she decides to stay in Southport and she and Alex help prepare the town for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration. Later, Katie tells Alex that Kevin is her husband, whom she stabbed with a kitchen knife in order to protect herself from his drunken assault. Meanwhile, Kevin breaks into Katies grandmothers home and finds the phone number to the Southport restaurant that employs Katie. He finds the location and makes his way there, very noticeably drunk. Arriving just on time for the Fourth of July parade, Kevin begins his search for Katie through the crowd, belligerent. He finally finds Katie dancing with Josh and watches as Alex leans over to kiss her, which makes him angry. Later, Katie has a dream that she is standing on the docks watching the fireworks when Jo comes up and tells Katie that he is here. Katie wakes up in the convenience store next to a fast asleep Lexie. While she is walking around in the store, Kevin makes his appearance and confronts her, drunk and sobbing and asking her to talk. He asks her to go back home with him, but she refuses and tells him to leave. He pulls out a revolver while Katie asks Lexie to stay up in the second floor of the store, scared that she might see Kevin and become frightened. Meanwhile, Kevin is pouring gasoline all over the store, with the intent to burn it down. He sits down on the steps with a lighter, deep in thought, and Katie fakes sympathy for him and agrees to return home with him, only to push him into the water by surprise. However, a firework spark lands on the gasoline, igniting a fire that spreads all over the store. Alex, busy shooting off fireworks, sees the burning store and quickly makes his way across the lake by boat. He manages to make his way up to the second floor and rescue Lexie from the burning building. Meanwhile, Katie is wrestling with a soaked Kevin who is attempting to shoot her. After a long struggle, she grabs a hold of the gun and kills him. Soon after, Alex finds Katie and they embrace. In the aftermath, Alex riffles through a desk belonging to his late wife, where he finds multiple letters she prepared ahead of time for memorable events such as Joshs eighteenth birthday and Lexies wedding day. Alex gives Katie a letter with the words For Her on the envelope. The letter talks about how if someone is receiving this letter, then Alex loves her without a shadow of a doubt. She says she is thankful for whomever is now reading the letter and thanks the reader for making Alex feel young and in love again. The movie ends by revealing that Jo was actually Alexs dead wife who left town moments before.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Strategic Priorities Of Glaxosmithkline Plc Economics Essay

The Strategic Priorities Of Glaxosmithkline Plc Economics Essay Part I Pharmaceutical Business Model The business model of companies in pharmaceutical industry for almost two decades is blockbuster model. The blockbusters (drugs that have sales over $ 1 billion per year) have turned out to be a significant factor that driven the pharmaceutical industry from 1990s. There were 65 blockbusters in 2002 increased from only 7 blockbusters in 1990 (Deutsche Bank, 2003 cited in Froud et al, 2006: 169) but, by 2006, the number was raised to 114 (La Merie Business Intelligence, 2007). Exhibit 1 shown that the sales of top ten blockbuster companies from blockbuster drugs alone were accounted larger than one-fourth of world pharmaceutical market in 2006. This blockbuster model was adopted in order to maximize revenue because it was seemed to be possible approach to satisfy high growth expectation of financial community (Business Insight 2003: 10). To conclude, the blockbuster business model was underpinned big pharmaceutical companies success over the past decade. This model is embedded in phar maceutical industry. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exhibit 1 Top 10 Blockbuster companies, 2006 Company Sales of Blockbuster US$ billion Number of Blockbuster As % of World Pharmaceutical Market Pfizer 28.8 9 4.48 GlaxoSmithKline 24.3 12 3.78 AstraZeneca 21.1 11 3.28 Sanofi-Aventis 19.9 9 3.09 Johnson Johnson 17.5 8 2.72 Roche 16.1 7 2.50 Amgen 13.4 5 2.08 Merck Co. 12.7 4 1.98 Wyeth 10.0 5 1.56 Eli Lilly 9.4 5 1.46 Total 173.2 75 26.94 Source: La Merie Business Intelligence, 2007 Challenges of Big Pharmaceutical model To begin with, the big pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and GSK are over-reliance on the sales of blockbuster drugs. In other words, the companies are generated their main revenue from small number of drugs from their product lines. For example, in 2006, Pfizer had 9 blockbuster drugs which generated almost 60 % of total sales. GSK had 12 blockbuster drugs that contributed 56 % of total sales. Another example, in 2007, we can see that 12 blockbuster drugs of GSK accounted for almost 60 percent of companys total drug sales (see Exhibit 2). Therefore, companies are exposed to high insecurity if they cannot find replacement of products which have equivalent financial size. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exhibit 2 GSKs contribution of blockbuster to total drugs sales, 2007 Products Sales US$ million As % of total drugs sales Seretide/Advair 7,001 18.26 Flixotide/Flovent 1,243 3.24 Valtrex 1,869 4.87 Lamictal 2,195 5.72 Imigran/Imitrex 1,371 3.57 Seroxat/Paxil 1,107 2.89 Wellbutrin 1,059 2.76 Coreg 1,175 3.06 Avandia products 2,439 6.36 Augmentin 1,061 2.77 Hepatitis 1,059 2.76 Infanrix/Pediarix 1,087 2.83 Total 22,663 59.1 Source: Company annual report, 2008 Next, the less productive of RD pipeline and increasing cost of RD. There is a downward trend of the number of New Molecular Entities (NMEs) and Biologics License Applications (BLAs). In 1996, there are almost 40 approvals of NMEs and BLAs but, by 2007, the figure was decreased to 18 (Riley 2008). In addition, the cost to develop a drug is ten-fold increase from $138 million in 1975 to $ 1.318 billion in 2006 (PhRMA 2009) (see Exhibit 3). Hence, from the opposite direction of RD cost and RD productivity, we can conclude that the overall efficiency of RD in industry is lower than in the past. Finally, the expiry of patent and the impact of generics. For example, the best selling drug of GSK Seretide/Advair which generated US$ 7,653 million or 17 % of total turnover in 2008 will be expired in 2010 in the US and in 2013 in the EU. In this case, there is a possibility that GSKs turnover might drop sharply after the expiry of Seretide if the company cannot develop product or new source of income to make up for the loss of Seretide/Advair sales. In addition, the increasing in number of patent expiries of blockbusters has a positive impact to the growth in generic market. As exhibit 4 shows, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the global generic market was 16.4% during 2004 to 2007. In contrast, growth rate of overall pharmaceutical industry was at a CAGR of 8.3% in the same span. Another factor driven the growth of generic drugs is the greater attentiveness of payors as a result of current economic recession such as tightened healthcare budget of governments or private p ayors. It is likely that the price of drugs will be pushed down by the greater bargaining power. For instance, Japan had cut the price of drugs on the National Health Insurance (NHI) in 2008 by average 5.2% (Business Insight 2008). All in all, economic and stakeholders in the demanding side of the industry are now shaping the new form of the pharmaceutical market. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exhibit 3 Cost of developing new drug, 1975 2006 Source: PhRMA, 2009 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exhibit 4 Global Generics Market, 2004 2007 Source: Business Insight, 2008 The Strategic priorities of GlaxoSmithKline PLC In 2008, Andrew Witty was selected to be a CEO of GSK. After two months of being a CEO, he announced new strategy to steer GSK in global pharmaceutical market. There are three new strategic priorities; grow a diversified global business, deliver more products of value and simplify the operating model. This section will discuss how these new strategic a response to problem pharmaceutical business model problem. Grow a Diversified Global Business In this strategic, the company is trying to lessen its risk by widening and balancing its products across all geographic boundaries. In other words, company tries to reduce reliance on blockbuster drugs for companys growth as Witty said The biggest thing Im trying to change is to go from saying its okay to have a blockbuster once every five years to a situation where we are delivering several new products every year (Goodman 2008). As a recession in the USA, it had a huge impact in the US sales which is a main market for company that accounted for 40% of total revenue in 2008. The sales in the US decreased by 4.2% in 2008 compare to 2007 while Europe market and rest of the world market sales were increased by 16.3% and 16.6% respectively (GlaxoSmithKline 2009). Therefore, at this moment, the US market is saturated; company is now focusing on the market which has high growth such as Africa, China and India but also not ignore the US market. It shows that company is adapted to the curr ent market situation. There are many actions that have been taken by the company that response to the business model problems. First, company is focusing on vaccine, biopharma and consumer healthcare which have high potential growth which in turn might create revenue to make up the loss of sales from expired patent blockbusters. Second, fulfill the potential of emerging markets and Japan market. Japan, alone, accounted for 10% of global pharmaceutical market (Medicines Australia 2009) which is the second largest from the US. It is a big market and a high growth market with market value of US$ 68.6 billion in 2008 and sales growth of 17.2% over 2007 (Business Insight 2009). In emerging markets, particularly, the seven pharmerging market including China, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, India, Turkey and Russia seem to be the major driven of growth in the global pharmaceutical industry (see Exhibit 5). Better approach to generic is driven this growth. It is likely that GSK is now more con centrated on generic drugs, for example, company acquired branded generics from both Bristol-Myers Squibb and UCB as well as formed alliance with South Africas Aspen Pharmacare and Dr Reddys of India (Hirsler, 2009). To conclude, this strategic priority seems to be positive reaction of the company regarding the over-reliance on blockbusters, market decline in the US and the impact of generics as Johnson et al. (2008) suggested that diversification is suitable when current markets saturated while need for more rapid growth. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exhibit 5 Sales in 7MM and pharmerging markets ($m), 2003 2007 Markets 2007 CAGR 2003-07 7MM 466,145 5.62% Pharmerging markets 58,652 15.79% 7MM = USA, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, UK Pharmerging markets = China, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, India, Turkey and Russia Source: Riley, 2008 Deliver More Products of Value GSK is lack of therapy area diversification and technology concentration. We can see that there are only 6% of biopharma in GSKs pipeline. Moreover, oncology area represented only 1% of GSKs Sales in 2007 while this area had global market growth of 3%. In order to maintain growth in the long term, GSK need to adjust its RD issues (Riley 2008). Therefore, company announced plan as follow. First, company will focused on eight areas of therapy. Second, externalize RD as its take a long time to create and develop by in-house. Third, GSK will create new biopharma and oncology RD unit in China that have lower cost than established in developed countries which in turn help company to control RD budget. Finally, divided RD units into small group and financed dependent upon its performance which in turn will stimulate innovation. To conclude, GSK redefined its RD pipeline and structure is reacted directly to the problems of RD as mentioned previously as well as problem of over-reliance on blo ckbusters. Simplify the Operating Model GSK is trying to reduce cost in running business. First, develop commercial model; for example, integrate the back office finance system into one system across organization. Second, reduce cost in manufacturing. Company has a plan to cut two-third waste in production by 2015 (Jack, 2009a). As a result, company will be able to redeploy the money from cost reduction into investment. Overall, this strategy is not related directly to the problems of business model, however, the amount of reduction in working capital can be put to RD or other investments which might turn to be in form of company growth (Bender and Ward 2009). In conclusion, it is obvious that new strategy of Andrew Witty is reflected directly to the problems of business model which are heavily reliant on blockbusters, RD problem and impact of generic drugs. However, company is likely to put their focus on small molecules which is the core heritage of the company and the existing products as well as diversify its portfolios and adapted itself into recent market environment. Part II Will new strategy succeed? The new strategy of GSK is likely to lead the company to succeed in the future as it is reflected straightforwardly to the problems of business model. Additionally, it is not simple to point out or evaluate the firms performance as Rosenzweig (2007) argued that the success or performance is not totally forced by internal factors; in contrast, it is relative to a company itself and environment as a whole. Therefore, successful of strategy in this paper will be defined as if company can increase its shareholder values in the long term. In addition, how will company succeed will evaluate by if the new strategy will increase value of its shareholder. Rappaport (1998) pointed out that shareholder value can be driven by seven factors; raise sales growth, boost operating profit margin, lessen cash tax rate, reduce incremental investment in capital spending, reduce investment in working capital, increase time period of competitive advantage, and reduce cost of capital. Regarding companys diversified global business strategy; there are many significant improvements as a result of applying this strategy. First, there is sales growth compared with quarter in previous year in every quarter from third quarter of 2008, after announcement of new strategy, in British pound term. Furthermore, GSK had an increasing in third quarter 2009 of sales 19% in Japan, 25% in emerging market, and 8% in consumer products (Jack, 2009b). In first quarter of 2009, company experienced decline in US market by 22% company Overall, this strategy reflects directly with sales volume which leads to growth in sales. Therefore, company increases its shareholder value as it can raise its sales growth. Deliver more products of value; from this strategy, company should be able to create more revenue from its value added activities. From the company financial data comparing nine month of 2008 and 2009, we can see that GSK had an increasing in gross profit and operating profit 16% and 8% respectively (see Exhibit 6). However, gross margin and operating margin were decreased slightly by 0.4% and 2.39% to 74.05% and 29.48% respectively. Therefore, company unable to raise its shareholder value by this strategy as it was failed to increase operating margin. Moreover, company has less efficiency as its return on capital employed (ROCE) was dropped (see Exhibit 6 and 7) from 22.18% in three quarter of 2008 to 19.71% in three quarter of 2009. There is a probability that company is unable to deliver more values from money that put it investment. However, value added activities of this industry is more likely as RD process. It takes long time to get outcome from money that invested today. For example, to evaluate the RD performance, we should not consider only the approval of new drugs only, as it takes 10 15 years to develop a new drug which mentioned in part I but also we need to take in account the drug development in the early phase, this drugs which are in process cannot generate profit for company today. Overall, we can see that in this strategy. The company is unable to enhance in shareholder value as it cannot increase it operating margin. This is mean that at this period of time a company is inefficiency to control their selling, administration and RD expense. The third strategy, simplify the operating model. There is one mission in this strategy that related directly to increase shareholder value which is reducing working capital. As in September 2008, company was able to reduce its working capital by 500 Million GBP, therefore, shareholder value is increasing as money from working capital can be return to shareholder in form of dividend or can reinvest in company at low cost of capital. This strategy should able a company to lower cost of operation, in contrast, exhibit 6 shows that selling and administration expense was increasing by 24% while turnover increased only 16%. It seems that company cannot succeed its goal by this strategy. If we take a look at stock price of company, we can see that price is hit the highest in 52 weeks in December 2009 (see exhibit 8). This can indicate that market gains confidence about the company performance. However, P/E ratio 13.79% of the company as 14 December 2009 is still lower than competitors; Pfizer at 15.19% and Novartis at 16.1%. This can be interpreted that price low of GSK is low than competitors. All in all, despite the confidence of the market about GSK, in my opinion, up to the present moment the new strategy is not successful in term of maximizing its shareholder value. As we can see from the numbers such as ROCE and operating margin that company cannot build up or even maintain these ratios. However, it needs to be seen it long run whether strategy will succeed since only internal factors cannot make company to succeed. (2420 Words) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exhibit 6 GSK; Nine Month ended Income Statement, 2008 and 2009 Source: GSK Press Release, 28 October 2009 Available at : www.gsk.com [accessed 13 December 2009] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exhibit 7 GSK; Nine Month ended Balance Sheet, 2008 and 2009 Source: GSK Press Release, 28 October 2009 Available at : www.gsk.com [accessed 13 December 2009] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exhibit 8 Stock Price of GSK, London Stock Exchange, 2years ended 14 December 2009 Source: http://uk.finance.yahoo.com

Friday, October 25, 2019

Questions and Answers About Luxury Products Essay -- customers, brand

Questions and Answers: (2) How does a brand name or country of origin work as a heuristic? (3) Do ratings change as a function of the country of origin? (4) Are there any significant differences or similarities between domestic versus foreign brands for EACH fashion product (eg. A Chinese luxury brand versus an Australian luxury brand)? (5) What are the implications for companies and businesses that use country of origin as a way of advertising / promoting their product and brands? a) Based on the results in question 4a, (2) How does a brand name or country of origin work as a heuristic(2 marks)? Heuristic or rules of thumb are general decision making strategies people use that are based on little information, yet very often correct; heuristics are mental shortcuts that reduce the cognitive burden associated with decision making (Shah & Oppenheimer, 2008). In this case, consumers always see an Italian product with the exemplar of luxury brand. Thus, they may assume all Italian based product is always expensive, exclusive, unique, high price and comfortable. Meanwhile, consumer may also assume that all products from China were all low quality, cheap and not long lasting based on what they heard and see on the television or friends. (3) Do ratings change as a function of the country of origin? Explain why or why not. (4 marks) Yes. It is because the perceived theoretical relationship between the cue of country of origin and the attributes of a product is largely conducted by product-country images, among which quality as a representative of a country’s production has an important effect on consumers’ evaluations of products (Broniarczyk & Alba, 1994). For example, Korean music has been famous worldw... ... Decision Outcomes†. Student Pulse.http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/180/2/decision-making-factors-that-influence-decision-making-heuristics-used-and-decision-outcomes Klein, Jill Gabrielle, Richard Ettenson and Marlene D. Morris (1998). "The Animosity Model of Foreign Product Purchase: An Empirical Test in the People's Republic of China", Journal of Marketing, 62(1), 89-100 Shah, A.K., & Oppenheimer, D.M. (2008).Heuristics made easy: An effort-reduction framework. Psychological Bulletin, 134(2), 207-222. DOI: 1.1037/0033-2909.134.2.207. Shimp, Terence A. and Subhash Sharma (1987), "Consumer Ethnocentrism: Construction and Validation of the CETSCALE", Journal of Marketing Research 24(3), 280-289 Tversky, Amos and David Kahneman. 1974. â€Å"Judgement under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases†. Science 185: 1124-1131. http://turtletrader.com/heuristics.pdf Questions and Answers About Luxury Products Essay -- customers, brand Questions and Answers: (2) How does a brand name or country of origin work as a heuristic? (3) Do ratings change as a function of the country of origin? (4) Are there any significant differences or similarities between domestic versus foreign brands for EACH fashion product (eg. A Chinese luxury brand versus an Australian luxury brand)? (5) What are the implications for companies and businesses that use country of origin as a way of advertising / promoting their product and brands? a) Based on the results in question 4a, (2) How does a brand name or country of origin work as a heuristic(2 marks)? Heuristic or rules of thumb are general decision making strategies people use that are based on little information, yet very often correct; heuristics are mental shortcuts that reduce the cognitive burden associated with decision making (Shah & Oppenheimer, 2008). In this case, consumers always see an Italian product with the exemplar of luxury brand. Thus, they may assume all Italian based product is always expensive, exclusive, unique, high price and comfortable. Meanwhile, consumer may also assume that all products from China were all low quality, cheap and not long lasting based on what they heard and see on the television or friends. (3) Do ratings change as a function of the country of origin? Explain why or why not. (4 marks) Yes. It is because the perceived theoretical relationship between the cue of country of origin and the attributes of a product is largely conducted by product-country images, among which quality as a representative of a country’s production has an important effect on consumers’ evaluations of products (Broniarczyk & Alba, 1994). For example, Korean music has been famous worldw... ... Decision Outcomes†. Student Pulse.http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/180/2/decision-making-factors-that-influence-decision-making-heuristics-used-and-decision-outcomes Klein, Jill Gabrielle, Richard Ettenson and Marlene D. Morris (1998). "The Animosity Model of Foreign Product Purchase: An Empirical Test in the People's Republic of China", Journal of Marketing, 62(1), 89-100 Shah, A.K., & Oppenheimer, D.M. (2008).Heuristics made easy: An effort-reduction framework. Psychological Bulletin, 134(2), 207-222. DOI: 1.1037/0033-2909.134.2.207. Shimp, Terence A. and Subhash Sharma (1987), "Consumer Ethnocentrism: Construction and Validation of the CETSCALE", Journal of Marketing Research 24(3), 280-289 Tversky, Amos and David Kahneman. 1974. â€Å"Judgement under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases†. Science 185: 1124-1131. http://turtletrader.com/heuristics.pdf

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Concluding Case †Custom Coffee & Chocolate Essay

Billions of people across the globe choose to have a cup of coffee each morning to start the day or as a morning work break but coffee has become more than just a drink. Coffee has become an ingrained part of various cultures and coffee shops can be found in most every city around the world. It is little wonder that coffee ranks among the world’s largest commodity markets second only to oil (â€Å"Dangerous Grounds: About the Show†, 2013). Given diversity and competition in the market, the small startup company of Custom Coffee & Chocolate will require a clear mission statement, detailed business analysis, and tactical plans that will help it to increase market share within the Seattle community. A mission statement describes a company’s fundamental purpose and how that company is unique within its product and services offerings. In writing of the company’s mission, each word must be carefully selected for consistency and there must be a commitment from the stakeholders to focus resources in the accomplishment of this mission (Ireland & Hitt, 1992). Bonnie Brewer and Stacy Kim have passed a milestone having developed regular customers within the five months of opening the first coffee house. As a statement for moving forward, â€Å"Custom Coffee & Chocolate’s mission into the community is to provide the highest quality, socially ethical coffee and chocolates while serving to keep the Seattle community connected and invigorated. † The next step towards developing a tactical business plan is to identify internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats. A common challenge among small startup companies is finance. Within the first six months, Brewer and Kim have exhausted both their savings and initial small-business loan placing the company in a precarious position. For further development of the business, these proprietors will need to seek further investment capital through another partner, reduction in salary, or incur more debt with another small-business loan. Being located near a university is a strength that entails a surrounding population that is educated and can appreciate socially and environmentally sustainable coffee and chocolate. Coffeehouses for this type of customers are not only a place to purchase caffeine but also a social gathering place for study and recreation. Many coffeehouses are able to differentiate themselves from larger chains such as Starbucks by creating a more inviting environment that encourages guests to stay longer and experience the ambiance (Grant, 2005). Custom Coffee provides currently provides quality product but needs to improve the service it provides to the area. Companies such as Starbucks, Tully’s, and Seattle’s Best have made their starts in the Seattle community and in some cases grown to be national and multi-national organizations. In some cases such as Tully’s coffee, the competition was too much and have gone into bankruptcy (â€Å"McDreamy’ saves Seattle coffee chain,† 2013). The tactical plan for Custom Coffee & Chocolates will comprise of two milestone events. Within the first year, the company will take out another small-business loan to improve its utilization of technology. The store will install high-speed wireless for its guests as well as invest in improving its website and web search analytics. Brewer and Kim will implement an in-dorm delivery service while also standardizing hiring and training practices for the new, part-time staff that will be required. The hours of operation will be lengthened to better serve students’ late night study habits as well as an increase in marketing to the university clubs and organizations. This will lead into an event schedule that may include coffee and chocolate tastings as well as an open mike night. The goal of these changes will result in the company being financially stable within the first year and better positioned for expanding into a few other locations within the second or third year. In conclusion, a company must identify its reason for existence, analyze the market, and then make a plan based on both that mission and market analysis. The Custom Coffee & Chocolate store has many challenges that lay ahead but with clear vision and planning, it is positioned to become an ingrained part of Seattle’s university communities having successfully passed the first six months of operation. A key to this success will be for the company to focus into a niche where many of the nationally franchised coffee shops lack (Grant, 2005). Custom Coffee will exceed with socially and environmentally responsible products as well as providing a friendly, social gathering point for the local community.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Pandora Internet Radio Essay

One of my favorite radio medians is Pandora Internet Radio. I enjoy Pandora for the simple fact of variety there over a 700,000 songs in the database. There are many great radio stations out there. However, after awhile they continue to cycle through the same songs over and over. With Pandora the listeners can suggest specific artists, or genres of music, or a comedian and Pandora not only plays that artist, but artist that are similar to them through that station. Through the Music Genome Project, a team of musician-analysts listens to songs. They study the details of the song to compile a list of artist with similar sounds to create the different playlists. As a member of Pandora you are allowed to create up to a 100 unique â€Å"stations.† (Pandora, 2013) Pandora’s mission statement: â€Å"We believe in the value of music and have a profound respect for those who create it. We like all kinds of music, from the most obtuse bebop, to the most tripped-out drum n bass, to the simplest catchy pop tune. Our mission is to help you connect with the music YOU love† (Pandora, 2013). Pandora has a single mission and that is to play music the listeners will love. They have added comedy to target listeners who enjoy standup comedy and lighten their day with a laugh (Pandora, 2013). I have an app on my phone and can listen to Pandora wherever I am. I plug my phone into speakers and listen to Pandora everyday. I did further research on the about Pandora page on Thursday March 28th. When entering the Pandora site, the first thing you will notice is the blue screen with Pandora written across it in white. That screen then brings you to their home page. The logo is the name Pandora that can be found in the upper left hand corner of the screen. According to the 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, blue is the color of leadership and is used to communicate stability (Ries, 2002). Under the law of shapes the rectangle is the most preferred shape is more of an eye catcher than the other shapes. The logo in the app store is a white square with a blue uppercase P and Pandora written underneath it in blue as well. Pandora means â€Å"all gifted† in Greek, Pandora received many gifts from the God’s including the gift of music (Pandora, 2013). Tim Westergren, a long time musician started Savage Beast Technologies in 1999, later on launching Pandora in 2005. One of the main competitors is iHeart Radio; iHeart offers there listeners to not only find artists, but also allows them to look up radio stations from around the United States. The iHeart logo is a lower case I with a satellite around it shaped as a heart in white and the background color is red (iHeart, 2013). Slacker Radio is another competitor of Pandora. Slacker is an interactive radio that also allows the listener to chose an artists, or specific genre of music and creates a playlist according to music choice. The logo for Slacker is an orange circle with white wings with a white uppercase S that looks like a tilted music note in the middle of the circle (Slacker, 2013). Pandora uses a Wordmark logo; iHeart and Slacker both use a Pictorial Mark to display their different brands. As a customer of DirecTv I received a newsletter in the mail informing me that there was a Pandora app on DirecTv. Although I already have an account that I can listen to on my phone or computer, I was unaware that there was an app through DirecTv. This advertisement strategy was a great idea and I immediately followed the steps to get Pandora on my television. Pandora can be located on over 200 consumer electronic devices varying from smart-phones to TV’s to set-top boxes to Blu-ray players and is able to stream visual audio, and interactive advertising to computers. There interactive advertising extends from computers, smart-phones, iPads, in-home connected devices and even cars. While a song is playing there are artist biographies and discographies. They also offer lyrics to many of the songs. There is an email sign up to receive alerts whenever Pandora Media, Inc. post new information and updates. There is a thumb’s up and down button at the bottom of the page for listeners to like or dislike the songs they are listening to. Pandora offers a sense of community through users profile pages. Under the profile page listeners can follow other Pandora members similar to a Twitter page. The music feed allows listeners to see what others are creating or listening to for stations. This is a great place for listeners to broaden the music they listen to by seeing what others like. There are many underground bands and artists that have not reached the mainstream that have their music through Pandora. The target market of Pandora is everyone who enjoys music no matter age, gender, or preferred genre. The target customer listens to music at home, gym, or while in the car. With such a large variety of music, everyone can enjoy listening to Pandora. There is music for children all the way up to the elderly. Pandora wants to satisfy everyone. The iPhone 5 users have a few more features through Pandora there are more sharing options located on the screen, to allow users to share their music with Facebook and Twitter. The original Pandora is a free app they however do have options to upgrade for $3.99 to listen without commercials. Pandora recently partnered up with Chrysler’s Uconnect Access, this allows Pandora users to sync their favorite radio stations and listen through the radio in the car. This partnership brings Pandora up to 20 US automotive brands (Yeung, 2013). Pandora has Facebook and Twitter accounts to interact and keep listeners updated on new information and the latest apps they offer. There is also the updated email alerts. The Pandora app is available through all apps stores, and in 2008 Pandora became one of the most consistently downloaded apps in the Apple store (Pandora, 2013). Today Pandora offers many different apps many are free and others do need to paid for.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

blackholes essays

blackholes essays Stars are affected by two main forces: Nuclear fusion, and gravitation Black Holes are the result of an imbalance of these two forces. Nuclear fusion- the outward force from the star's centre and gravitation- the force pulling inwards. These two processes balance one another until all the star's hydrogen is exhausted, allowing gravitation to take over. Once gravitation dominates, the star becomes unstable and starts to collapse. As the core compresses, it heats up and results in a supernova explosion in which the material and radiation blasts out into space. If what remains of the star is greater than 3 times the mass of our sun, it will continue to collapse and form a black hole. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity suggests that the most densest and massive objects conceivable, such as black holes, have gravity that is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape their grasp. I do not fully understand Einsteins general theory of relativity but Im going to try and give everyone a very basic understanding of why Einstein thought space and time are not separate but closely connected known as space-time. When we describe the position of a flying plane we can use length, width and height these make up the three dimensions of space. But another dimension can be used time, these four dimensions make up space-time. The fundamental aspect of general relativity is effect that matter, with a gravitational field, has on the curvature of space, rather on the four dimensional space-time. One way to visualise Einsteins view of gravity was to think of the rubber sheet analogy described in many texts. In order to understand this, consider a sheet of rubber, with a weight placed on it, to represent a star. The weight will form a depression in the rubber, causing the sheet near the star to be curved, rather than flat. If one now rolls marbles on the ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

What is Freedom †English Essay

What is Freedom – English Essay Free Online Research Papers What is Freedom English Essay Wallace: I AM William Wallace! And I see, a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. Youve come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? Scotsman: Fight? Against that? No, we will run, and we will live. Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and youll live. At least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to thatfor one chancejust ONE CHANCE to come back here to tell our enemy that they may take out lives, but they will never take OUR FREEDOM!!! The quote above dates back to the 1995 movie Braveheart starring Mel Gibson as Sir William Wallace of Scotland. In this quote, Wallace is talking to Scotsmen at Stirling Bridge, where the Scottish Army had a stunning victory over the English Army. The Scottish people who came to fight felt that it was impossible to defeat an overwhelming English Army. However, with the courage of a man named William Wallace, the Scotsmen were guided into battle over the English and because of Wallace’s relentless patriotism and strong desire of freedom, the country of Scotland was regained from the British Rule. Wallace’s act of courage and plea with his fellow citizens to risk their lives came out of a greater belief in freedom that parallels the theme of fighting against oppression throughout history by great men. In The Tyranny of Freedom, Gerry Spence claims, â€Å"a state of perfect freedom is a state of nothingness.† According to society, the definition of freedom generally means when members of society are free to do whatever they want. However the true question is, does a place where such freedom truly exists? The answer is yes. That place is our mind. In our minds, we can imagine the state of nothingness and live in the so called ultimate freedom. However, in the United States of America, ultimate freedom is found from the history that is given a lot of pride. In history, freedom has been achieved from the rebound of World War II to the times of Immigrants. During World War II, the Japanese Army at Pearl Harbor attacked the United States of America. The attack was classified as one of the worst attacks on this country’s soil. The United States Government was forced to take logical and rational decisions on a counter attack with the Japanese. On August 6th and 9th, 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the first atomic bombs used in warfare. The aftermath of the Atomic Bomb was so unbearable, that the government of the United States of America had to take charge in the rebuilding process of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In rebuilding Japan, the United States gave special civil liberties to the Japanese after realizing the harm they gave to the citizens of Japan. For many centuries, decades, and years, the United States of America has been a country in which immigrants would flood the borders. Currently the number of immigrants allowed in this country has been limited, however the borders continue to remain flooded. Walt Whitman describes America as, â€Å"not merely a nation, but a teeming nation of nations.† The main reason why everybody wants to go to US is because if they would go somewhere like France of Japan although they would get higher wages, there is a much greater chance of getting harassed, arrested or deported in those countries as opposed to the United States. In addition, the price tag of freedom in this country is so precious that it can never be taken away from you. In some countries, freedom is considered evil, religious freedom isn’t considered, and economically the United States of America allows its citizens to grow and become a successful member of society in its free enterprise market. After seeing how freedom has been portrayed in this country, it leaves the reader back to the original question of freedom being a state of nothingness. In the farms or in the city, there will always be limitations to what freedom is. However in the farms the limitations are considered less compared to those in the city. In conclusion society often associates freedom with the ability to make an unconstrained choice between options. For example, an individual can wake up one morning and choose to wear a black sweater or instead choose a green one. These kinds of choices are made daily. Some choices are made with not so much as a ripple of consequence in our daily existence, while others are life changing events, such as the choice to marry, or the choice to kill, or the choice to go to school, etc. All these choices that an individual makes is known as the freedom that is not so much in the state of nothingness. Research Papers on What is Freedom - English EssayThe Effects of Illegal Immigration19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraQuebec and CanadaNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeCapital PunishmentWhere Wild and West MeetPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Essay

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Business of Petroleum Companies for Woodside help

The following study analyzes three different global petroleum companies namely Woodside, Chevron and Petro China. The analysis has been done on the basis of the business operations of these companies. The following companies have been strategically selected to make sure that they come from different regions of the world. The selected companies are there from different parts of the world namely USA, China and Australia. The selection of the companies from the different regions of the world has been done to identify the different strategies of the organizations in different areas. The following study will clearly sort out the different ideas regarding the business operations, strategies and the financial considerations of these corporations. Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation that has its headquarters in California and has its operations spread in 180 different countries in the world. The company has annual revenue of around $140 billion (chevron.com 2018). Apart from producing and exporting petroleum the company has also alternative energy manufacturing facilities where they produce solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, bio-fuel and many other such similar products. The company owns a number of different assets that makes them one of the topmost companies in the oil sector. The company owns a number of subsidiaries and has also stakes and shares in many of the different oil companies of the world. Apart from this it owns a large number of oil fields and has a number of strategic oil reserves. Chevron’s operations is spread over 180 different countries in the world and thus it can be truly said to be a global company. The annual revenue of the company is slated to around $141.722 billion. The company has a net oil production of 2.6 million barrels per day and a reserve capacity of around 11.1 million barrels of proven reserves. The total sales revenue of the company stands at a huge amount of $110.2 billion with its assets amounting to $260.1 billion.   A table showing the financial summary of the company is provided below;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2017   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 141.722 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 2.480 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 9.195 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 265 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   US$ 148.124 billion The management of Chevron Corporation has been dedicated to continue generate different industry leading operational and financial results and advancement of important projects to drive the future growth of the organization as well as the countries where it operates. The rise in the energy demands of the world has driven the strategies of the mentioned oil company of America. The compelling growth profile of the organization, combined with the fall in the spending levels of the capital is believed to be the extreme catalyst for the creation of strong and compact strategic values for the companies ahead (Forsgren 2017). The upstream portfolio of the mentioned organization leads the following industry in quality and breadth. The management of the company has formulated the particular strategy to plan a disciplined investment approach and have been constantly involved in management of the portfolio to increase the value of the shareholders of the company. Thus the company strategies hav e been formulated in the perfect way to achieve the best results in the industry. The mentioned company has also formulated a downstream policy where the production is dedicated for residential purpose, supplying to the companies, petrochemicals supply and also supply to small or large business concerns. Both the upstream as well as downstream policy are important for the effective strategy of the business.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company ranks 63 rd in annual brand finance report and is the 5 th largest oil company of the world  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A number of legal issues are being faced by the company in different countries  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Integration of producing, refining and then selling products  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Poor financial projections for the coming years.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Massive geographic presence across 180 countries of the world  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rise in debts has been another major disadvantage for the company. The debt of the company has reached around $ 40 billion from $ 28 billion in a span of just one year.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   11.2 million barrels of oil reserves which is one of the largest. It has 48485 productive wells  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The implementation of new technologies by other companies have been a disadvantage for Chevron The management of Chevron Corporation has been a driving force for the oil economy of USA. The presence of the company in almost every part of the world is an added advantage for them as they export their products in these countries and earn a huge amount of revenue which in turn is utilized for their productive growth. The management however needs to overcome some of the main disadvantages to attain the topmost position in the oil sector. The mentioned company is Australia’s largest oil and gas company. It is not only the only dedicated oil and gas producing company in the island continent but also its largest operator.   The company is listed in the Australian Securities Exchange and has its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia (woodside.com 2018). The main assets of the company include the number of facilities in Australia as well as in other parts of the world. This includes Development projects in USA, Canada, Myanmar and many more such areas. Other assets include exploration facilities in Peru, Morocco, Senegal, Canada and many more as such. The Australian oil company produced huge amount of oil in the year 2016 and created a new record surpassing the earlier one by producing a huge amount of LNG and also by achieving healthy amount of sales of the following product. According to the financial reports of the company the annual revenue of the company in the year 2017 stood at $4075 million and net income figured out at more than $850 million (Dissanayake, Nayana, Bo and Peng 2015). The shareholders of the organization earned an amount of more than 100 cents from each of the share of the company. The main strategies of the company include the increase in the production level and also to speed up the different developmental projects of the world. Among the most important strategy which is believed to be the topmost priority of the organization is the operational clearance for the Wheatstone LNG facility and also to concentrate on the key focus areas to be the best company of the world (Jin et al. 2016). Its exports or the upstream strategy is mainly to a number of Asian and African countries along with supplies to New Zealand. The company is the largest supplier of domestic fuel in the island continent and has largescale operations that have its wings spread across the length and breadth of the mentioned country.     ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leading market position in Australia helps to secure a sustainable and competitive position  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Legal problem regarding land acquisition  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Largest producer of LNG in Australia  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Increase in the production from shale plays is a disadvantage for the organization  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   High quality strategic assets in different areas of the world  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Huge operating risks associated with exploration and production of oil and gas in Australia The management of Woodside Corporation has plans to implement the best strategies to keep up with the upward growth and demand of oil and other petroleum products like Shale and Natural Gas. The optimization of the existing assets of the company along with the proper commercialization of the products is important for the growth of the business. Petro China Limited is one of the largest oil companies of the world and the largest among the various oil producing companies in China (petrochina.com 2018). The company is listed in Hong Kong stock exchange, Shanghai stock Exchange as well as New York stock exchange. The company has its headquarters in Beijing China and produces a number of different oil and petroleum products apart from producing oil. The other products include Lubricants, Natural Gas, Shale, LNG and many other such different items (Caineng et al. 2016). The assets of the company include the large number of oil mines and factories another development centers in China and Asia as well as in different areas of the world (petrochina.com 2018).  Ã‚   The financial summary of the mentioned company is quite impressive in nature which can be seen in the table below;  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.616 trillion Chinese Yuan  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   60.6 billion Chinese Yuan  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2.396 trillion Chinese Yuan  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.372 trillion Chinese Yuan The mentioned Chinese company has based its strategy on the maximization, diversification and proper replacement of different hydrocarbon resources that adheres to the principles of attachment of equal importance to oil and gas that helps to increase the exploration of the domestic resources as well as the increase in the investment to acquire facilities outside China (Subhankulova et al. 2015). The management of the company also has a proper internationalization plan in the offing which will surely make them one of the best in the business (Jin et al. 2016). The company supplies refined oil and fuels to facilitate transportation in China. It is believed to be the driving force of the nation. The company has extensive operations involving exploration, mining, digging for oil in various countries of the world.   The company exports oil as well as is the largest supplier of different kinds of fuels for use in the households as well as for commercial purpose. The aim of the company is to manufacture the secondary fuels from oil and then market it for use in the future (Forsgren 2017).  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Controlled by the China National Petroleum Company  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cost of different hazards to the environment and cost of taking precautionary risk is a huge challenge for the Management of the organization  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Huge scope of Operations as it is the biggest producer in China  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Decline in the operations of China  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Presence of Huge number of employees which is over 500,000 is a big form of advantage for the organization  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The biggest disadvantage lies in the controversy surrounding the Western gas to East Pipeline project controversy The following report has clearly highlighted the stature of Petro China in Asia as well as the world. It has aims to increase its production and act as a driving force to the economy of China. However the recent incidents related to oil spill and other major accidents has led the company to huge losses. The management must take the appropriate actions to take care of the following and lead towards prosperity. The three companies as mentioned in this report have their own base of operations and a different form of project execution. Among the mentioned three Chevron Corporation and Petro China are the largest in stature and they have the resources to be the world’s best in terms of global oil production. However it can be seen some common problems involving scandals, accidents and debts has crippled the management of the industries and have acted as a barrier to their smooth growth. However the exploration, extraction and production of substitute oil products like shale gas, LN G have paved the way for the changing paradigm of the companies towards a more bright and innovative future "Woodside Energy | Home."  Woodside.com.au. N.p., 2018. Web. 10 Apr. 2018. Caineng, Zou, Yang Zhi, Pan Songqi, Chen Yanyan, Lin Senhu, Huang Jinliang, Wu Songtao et al. "Shale gas formation and occurrence in China: an overview of the current status and future potential."  Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition)  90, no. 4 (2016): 1249-1283. Chevron Policy, Government and Public Affairs. "Chevron Corporation - Human Energy."  chevron.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 10 Apr. 2018. Dissanayake, Nayana, Bo Xia, and Peng Wu. "Measuring sustainability performance within the Australian energy industry." In  Proceedings of the 19th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate, pp. 135-143. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2015. Forsgren, Mats.  Theories of the multinational firm: A multidimensional creature in the global economy. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017. Jin, Liu, Du Jianping, Peng Yunhui, Zhou Zhi, and Petrochina Zhejiang Oilfield. "Shale Gas Drilling and Completion Technologies in Jingmen Area of Dangyang Synclinorium."  Unconventional Oil & Gas  2 (2016): 013. Lima-de-Oliveira, Renato, and Timothy Sturgeon. "From Resource Extraction to Knowledge Creation: Oil-Rich States, Oil Companies and the Promotion of Local R&D." Petrochina"  Petrochina.com.cn. N.p., 2018. Web. 10 Apr. 2018. Rincà ³n, Luis E., Monica J. Valencia, Valentina Hernà ¡ndez, Luis G. Matallana, and Carlos A. Cardona. "Optimization of the Colombian biodiesel supply chain from oil palm crop based on techno-economical and environmental criteria."  Energy Economics  47 (2015): 154-167. Subhankulova, Rimma, Kirill Furmanov, and Natal'ya Ivanova. "Assessing Comparative Advantages in Operating and Capital Expenditures of Oil Producing Companies." (2015): 271-289.

Friday, October 18, 2019

3. How does Poe use setting as a Gothic element in The Fall of the Essay

3. How does Poe use setting as a Gothic element in The Fall of the House of Usher, William Wilson, and The Tell Tale Heart - Essay Example Thus, references to ‘a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year’, ‘clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens’, ‘passing alone, on horseback’, ‘singularly dreary tract of country’, ‘the melancholy House of Usher’, etc in the story clearly indicate that the author makes use of the setting of the story as a means to create the Gothic mood. A reflective analysis of the Gothic elements in this story confirms that there is an absolute emphasis on setting – both exterior (landscape) and interior (houses and mansion). The author makes use of the fungi covered front of the mansion to create the unusual setting of the story. Similarly, Edgar Allan Poe employs savage actions in the Gothic setting in the story â€Å"William Wilson† which tells about the life and crime of the narrator. The author obviously brings out the Gothic setting of the story when he refers to ‘large, rambling, Elizabethan house, in a misty-looking village of England’, ‘vast number of gigantic and gnarled trees’, ‘dream-like and spirit-soothing place’, ‘the stillness of the dusky atmosphere’, etc. â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† by Poe is another significant example of how the author uses setting as a Gothic element. In this story, the dark, disconcerting location, death and decay, and the existence of evil and madness, etc bring about the Gothic elements and Poe’s works are celebrated for the exceptional use of medieval settings, shadowy atmospheres, and mysterious and violent

Eliminating Preventable Morbidity and Escapable Mortality Essay

Eliminating Preventable Morbidity and Escapable Mortality - Essay Example This paper declares that morbidity and mortality have increased as world societies increasingly get sophisticated. Governments and non-state actors have attempted various strategies that are meant to address the question. Some of the strategies have produced remarkable outcomes while others appear less sustainable. Generally, the development of sound strategies for addressing this challenge has involved structural changes, training, empowering of the vulnerable groups, insurance, technological advancement, and a range of other strategies that are meant to shield populations from the causative factors of mortality and morbidity. This essay makes a conclusion that the challenge that faces the chosen approaches often involve the lack of sustainable mechanisms that can be relied upon to manage the processes of treatment and dispensing other services and strategies that are meant to protect the populations of the world. The different strategies and players should coordinate their services in ways that would ensure some form of balance and effectiveness in the services. Vulnerable groups should be identified in accordance with the demographics of place, gender, socio-economic status and other factors. Equally, some of the most common diseases and conditions should be identified in order to make it possible for the right intervention measures to be used. Essentially, the long terms strategy should be the reversing of trends and influences.

The Great Migration, Cause and Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Great Migration, Cause and Effect - Essay Example The first great wave of migration began during the period of World War I. The manufacture of war supplies had demanded increased production while the draft, and disruption of immigration, left the factories short of much needed labor. As the pool of labor dwindled, companies began to look elsewhere for workers to fill the positions. The southern African-American population made up a substantial resource for unskilled workers and northern companies made extraordinary efforts to recruit them. Companies sent agents to the South and offered the African-Americans high paying jobs, transportation north, and housing arrangements upon arrival at their new location (Crew). The economic and social climate in the South during this period made the offers too good to resist and set off the first great wave of migration. The opportunity for greater wealth was a powerful motivation for the migration during the war. Blacks were leaving behind the rural life they knew to seek a new destiny. Many were leaving behind their families, wives, and children with the hope of creating a better future, and the opportunity for more money did not disappoint them. While most laborers in the South were earning little more than $2,00 per week, a letter published in 1919 explains to his friends back home, "Never pay less than $3.00 per day [...] Remember this is the very lowest wages. Piece work men can make from $6 to $8 per day " ("Don[']t Have to Mister"). Spurred by these tales of high pay, people left behind their social ties and the only way of life they knew with the promise of one day sending for those they left behind. If money had been the only factor, their decision to leave might have been more difficult, but there were other considerations in the South. The social and political climate in the South made the African-Americans even more eager to leave their rural way of life. The constitutional amendments passed after the Civil War that were to protect the rights of blacks were largely ignored in the South. Local laws, hostile prejudice, and Jim Crow laws left them vulnerable to violence, imprisonment, and death. The economics of sharecropping had also taken its toll on the farm workers. Bad crops, low prices, and unpredictable weather had left most of them in debt to the white landowners (Crew). By 1910, emancipation had a hollow meaning and the living condition of the former slaves were no better than they had been 50 years earlier. Migrating north offered them an escape from the ever-present oppression and the economic means to finally carve out their own identity. It is estimated that by 1919, the number of Blacks that had migrated north numbered near 1 million. Most settled in the industrial cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC, and Pittsburgh. Many of the new arrivals found the promise of better pay and human dignity a reality and were pleasantly surprised to find that the letters they read from people who had migrated before them had been accurate about the opportunities for work. They also enjoyed a new sense of identity, in a new place with attitudes more sensitive to their condition. In a letter dated 1917, a worker in Philadelphia expresses the simple joy of even the most modest

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Teaching Plan for Practical Skill and Techniques of Peripheral Essay

Teaching Plan for Practical Skill and Techniques of Peripheral Intravenous Cannulation - Essay Example This teaching plan shall provide an easy format to help teach medical staff like the nurses, midwives, physicians and surgeons on this procedure. The objectives of this teaching plan are to enable the student to know the devices and equipment used for this particular procedure. While learning, the students should know various parts of the body which are the best insertion sites. The students should also be able to completely do the procedure successfully and be aware of any associated complication and how to handle them. There are several learning theories that have been brought forward, the three main ones are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. These theories merely try to explain how we learn. The behaviorist theory focuses mainly on the observable change .To modify people’s attitudes and responses, behaviorists believe that you either change the stimulus conditions in the environment or change what happens after a response happens. Behaviorists generally ignore t he internal factors of learning but on the contrary the cognitive learning theorists stress the importance of what goes on within the learner. Cognitive learning allows a student to think critically and gather information to acquire and develop his/her skills. It is therefore important in plan to teach certain skills that a conducive environment is provided to ease understanding of complex procedures. Lastly the constructivism focuses developing one’s learning from personal experiences. This simply applies a teacher must take into consideration the experience of the student thus provide sufficient room for practice either through simulations or with a real patients. Individuals may prefer a particular method of learning or different style and it’s the teacher’s judgment to decide which theory works for his student. The most common method used by many teachers is when students perform the cannulation under the supervision of a competent clinical procedure teachin g staff. There are several preferred learning styles by the students may opt one being the practical on an actual patient. In this case the practitioner or teacher must be present and ensure that the student has sound understanding of the procedure and anticipated outcomes. These may be both complications and expected anticipation. The other method could be the use of a simulated environment this can be used especially with students who have high anticipation to lower the pressure of dealing with an actual patient. For such students I would focus on building their psychomotor skills so that they build up confidence and it’s more practical to teach the students in parts. In such an environment the students can discover and learn different methods of performing the skills and also learn to correct errors that they make without fear of harming patients. These students would have enough practice before they can actually perform their first clinical procedure in an actual environm ent. Another technique that also uses non patients is use of videos from audio visual libraries to give the students a view of â€Å"real† patient scenarios. Although it has its disadvantages it also helps especially by filling the gap when real patients are not available. Similarly models may be used in teaching procedures like the intravenous cannullae insertion. This is very useful especially for students who have never performed such

Research Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Research Article - Essay Example According to the authors, this study is the first step in definition of differences related to location and kind of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and awareness of mutation-specific dangers may offer critical information for evaluation of clinical risk which will assist women and their physicians to establish the finest treatment plan for them. Everybody has BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes; which carries instructions for manufacturing proteins that are tasked with fighting tumors through fixation of mistakes in the DNA. Nevertheless, some unfortunate individuals experience mutations in these genes that increase their vulnerability of getting ovarian and breast cancers as well as other cancers such as prostrate, pancreas, peritoneum and fallopian tubes). It is approximated that 1 in 300 to 1 in 800 individuals have one of these destructive mutations. Nonetheless, some populations have much higher prevalence. Having BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations raises the risk of having both ovarian and breast cancers by various percentages. A JAMA study enlisted over 30,000 women from 33 countries on six continents; all having BRCA mutations known to raise the risk of cancer. Over 90 percent of the women were white while almost 10 percent were Ashkenazi Jews. The women were categorized into â€Å"bins† on the basis of where mutations occurred in the genome. They then examined to know how many women in every bin were diagnosed with ovarian/breast cancer while being monitored. It was discovered that 46 percent of the 19,581 women having a BRCA1 mutation tested positive for breast cancer, 12 percent tested positive for ovarian cancer,5 percent had both and only 37 percent were cancer free. In addition, the average age during diagnosis was 39.9 year s for breast cancer and more than 50 for ovarian cancer. On the other hand, amongst the 11,900 women having BRCA2 mutation 52 percent tested positive for breast

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The Great Migration, Cause and Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Great Migration, Cause and Effect - Essay Example The first great wave of migration began during the period of World War I. The manufacture of war supplies had demanded increased production while the draft, and disruption of immigration, left the factories short of much needed labor. As the pool of labor dwindled, companies began to look elsewhere for workers to fill the positions. The southern African-American population made up a substantial resource for unskilled workers and northern companies made extraordinary efforts to recruit them. Companies sent agents to the South and offered the African-Americans high paying jobs, transportation north, and housing arrangements upon arrival at their new location (Crew). The economic and social climate in the South during this period made the offers too good to resist and set off the first great wave of migration. The opportunity for greater wealth was a powerful motivation for the migration during the war. Blacks were leaving behind the rural life they knew to seek a new destiny. Many were leaving behind their families, wives, and children with the hope of creating a better future, and the opportunity for more money did not disappoint them. While most laborers in the South were earning little more than $2,00 per week, a letter published in 1919 explains to his friends back home, "Never pay less than $3.00 per day [...] Remember this is the very lowest wages. Piece work men can make from $6 to $8 per day " ("Don[']t Have to Mister"). Spurred by these tales of high pay, people left behind their social ties and the only way of life they knew with the promise of one day sending for those they left behind. If money had been the only factor, their decision to leave might have been more difficult, but there were other considerations in the South. The social and political climate in the South made the African-Americans even more eager to leave their rural way of life. The constitutional amendments passed after the Civil War that were to protect the rights of blacks were largely ignored in the South. Local laws, hostile prejudice, and Jim Crow laws left them vulnerable to violence, imprisonment, and death. The economics of sharecropping had also taken its toll on the farm workers. Bad crops, low prices, and unpredictable weather had left most of them in debt to the white landowners (Crew). By 1910, emancipation had a hollow meaning and the living condition of the former slaves were no better than they had been 50 years earlier. Migrating north offered them an escape from the ever-present oppression and the economic means to finally carve out their own identity. It is estimated that by 1919, the number of Blacks that had migrated north numbered near 1 million. Most settled in the industrial cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC, and Pittsburgh. Many of the new arrivals found the promise of better pay and human dignity a reality and were pleasantly surprised to find that the letters they read from people who had migrated before them had been accurate about the opportunities for work. They also enjoyed a new sense of identity, in a new place with attitudes more sensitive to their condition. In a letter dated 1917, a worker in Philadelphia expresses the simple joy of even the most modest

Research Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Research Article - Essay Example According to the authors, this study is the first step in definition of differences related to location and kind of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and awareness of mutation-specific dangers may offer critical information for evaluation of clinical risk which will assist women and their physicians to establish the finest treatment plan for them. Everybody has BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes; which carries instructions for manufacturing proteins that are tasked with fighting tumors through fixation of mistakes in the DNA. Nevertheless, some unfortunate individuals experience mutations in these genes that increase their vulnerability of getting ovarian and breast cancers as well as other cancers such as prostrate, pancreas, peritoneum and fallopian tubes). It is approximated that 1 in 300 to 1 in 800 individuals have one of these destructive mutations. Nonetheless, some populations have much higher prevalence. Having BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations raises the risk of having both ovarian and breast cancers by various percentages. A JAMA study enlisted over 30,000 women from 33 countries on six continents; all having BRCA mutations known to raise the risk of cancer. Over 90 percent of the women were white while almost 10 percent were Ashkenazi Jews. The women were categorized into â€Å"bins† on the basis of where mutations occurred in the genome. They then examined to know how many women in every bin were diagnosed with ovarian/breast cancer while being monitored. It was discovered that 46 percent of the 19,581 women having a BRCA1 mutation tested positive for breast cancer, 12 percent tested positive for ovarian cancer,5 percent had both and only 37 percent were cancer free. In addition, the average age during diagnosis was 39.9 year s for breast cancer and more than 50 for ovarian cancer. On the other hand, amongst the 11,900 women having BRCA2 mutation 52 percent tested positive for breast

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Parenting in Diverse Cultures Essay Example for Free

Parenting in Diverse Cultures Essay Culture may influence child activities and behaviors through the organization of the physical and social settings of every day life. Social as well as cultural norms, values, and conventions can direct and control the childs behavior through the progression of social evaluation. Throughout childhood and preadolescence, due to childrens particular need for peer assimilation and closeness, peer evaluation and social recognition in the peer group can play a critical role in the mediation of cultural influences on individual functioning. Moreover, in the development of socialization, culturally shaped parental belief systems and parenting practices can mediate and restrained childrens acquisition of cultural messages. Finally, formal training in educational institutions such as the school constitutes another significant channel for the transmission of human knowledge and cultural values from adults to children in modern societies. Culturally diverse children can have an expectation concerning confidentiality as do American-born children. Also, this concept in fact runs counter to therapeutic attempts to enlist the parents as partners in their childrens treatment. Discretion with culturally diverse adolescents can be particularly challenging. Often, culturally diverse families experience conflict while children reach adolescence and instigate to identify mainly with the values of their American peer culture. On the contrary to the elongated American adolescence phase devoted to ongoing education and the development of peer relationships, culturally diverse parents can have experienced their own abbreviated adolescence cut short by the need to find employment, by early marriage, and/or by parenting. They do not recognize the push for independence among American adolescents. Culturally diverse adolescents can want to pursue the activities of American youth despite knowing their parents would condemn. Researchers are interested in parental ideologies concerning childrearing as they may provide useful information concerning the explanation of different parenting behaviors across cultures. Moreover, it is a practical assumption that parental cognitions, ideas, and beliefs serve a mediating function in development of cultural influences on parental attitudes and behaviors toward the child (Goodnow, 1995). Indeed, it has been found that parents in diverse cultures have different expectations and goals regarding parenting and that socialization goal are linked with parental judgment and valuation of normal and abnormal child behaviors (Hess, Kashiwagi, Azuma, Price, Dixon, 1980). In traditional Chinese cultures, for instance, â€Å"filial piety† is a Confucian doctrine dictating that children vow obedience and reverence to parents. Chinese parents, in turn, are accountable for â€Å"governing† (i. e. , teaching, disciplining) their children, and are held responsible for their childrens failures. While individualistic values are underlined in Western cultures, with children being mingled to be independent and self-assertive (Hess et al. , 1980), Chinese children are socialized to be moderate, well-mannered, reciprocally dependent, and concerned with the collective. Cross-cultural differences in parenting ideology can be illustrated also in different values concerning child independence in collectivistic and individualistic cultures. A sense of autonomy is measured crucial to adaptive development in many Western cultures (Maccoby Martin, 1983), but might not bear such implication to the adaptive development of children raised in other cultures. Indeed, there is little emphasis on socializing children to be independent in Japanese culture (Rothbaum, Pott, Azuma, Miyake, Weisz, 2000). While American mothers are more likely than Japanese mothers to persuade their children personal autonomy and forcefulness such as defending ones rights, Japanese mothers are more likely to socialize their children to be polite and deferential to authority figures (Hess et al. , 1980). Weisz, Rothbaum, and Blackburn (1984) argued that diverse emphases on self-sufficiency might account for such cross-cultural differences as Japanese children showing more self-control and sympathy to others and American children being more self-expressive. Parental belief systems consist of a wide range of thoughts, perceptions, values, and expectations regarding normative developmental processes, socialization goals, and parenting strategies (Goodnow, 1995). Cultural disparities in parental beliefs and values are a major source of involvement to cross-cultural differences in parental attitudes, actions, and behaviors in parenting. Nevertheless, it must be noted that the links between parental beliefs and behaviors characteristically range from weak to modest in the Western literature (Sigel, McGillicuddy-DeLisi, Goodnow, 1992). It is largely indefinite how belief systems might be linked with parenting practices at the cross-cultural level, as these two constructs have not been obviously differentiated in several cross-cultural studies. Parents of diverse culture have the same hopes as well as dreams for their children and families that the general population does. Most desire their children to get a good education and become prolific members of society. In the more traditional families, these desires comprise learning about tribal values, beliefs, and customs. These families want successful children in a manner reliable with cooperative, noncompetitive tribal, community, and family values as well as aspirations (Burgess, 1980). Parents in diverse culture often take an dynamic role in socializing their children concerning the consequences of their ethnicity in the larger society (Harrison et al. , 1990). Oppression provides the framework of teaching about the assaults of typical culture. Parents teach their children to watch for subtle clues about whether they are welcome in a given situation (Cross, 1995). As children mature, they are more well-informed about differences in race, and they come to recognize themselves with a particular tribe; though, they appear to prefer toys, activities, and friendships from the prevailing culture. Parents (Dawson, 1988) emphasize the significance of self-esteem in their children: â€Å"If my children are proud, if my children have an individuality, if my children know who they are and if they are proud to be who they are, theyll be able to meet anything in life† (p. 48). Positive self-esteem provides self-assurance, energy, and optimism to master lifes tasks. This positive sense of self and confidence is significant for parents as well as children. Parents who feel capable in their parenting are more able to involve themselves in their childrens lives outside the home. Parental involvement is significant to the future educational development of their children (Dawson, 1988). In diverse culture families believe that their children should have the opportunity to grow into adulthood with the considerate that they are worthwhile individuals who are equal to all other Americans. American children should believe that they are respected for their culture, as they value the worth of others. They should believe that they are valued in American society and that they can attain in any way they choose according to their individual talents (Noley, 1992). In diverse culture, children view themselves more pessimistically than do their dominant culture counterparts, let say self-concept of Native American children is negatively linked with chronological age and years of schooling. Soares and Soares (1969) found that in spite of living in poverty, disadvantaged children in elementary school did not essentially suffer from lower self-esteem and a lower sense of self-worth. These findings suggest that just being poor is not the leading factor in the low self-esteem of Native American students. Though, researchers have long been interested in family influences on child social and cognitive functioning. The general consent is that family, as a main socialization agent, plays a significant role in the development of individuals adaptive and maladaptive functioning. This belief has been sustained by the results of numerous empirical studies concerning the associations amongst parenting practices, family organization and family socio-ecological conditions, and child adaptive and maladaptive functioning in diverse settings, although different opinions still exist (Harris, 1995). Among family variables, parenting beliefs and practices compose a central theme in the cross-cultural study of upbringing. Several explanations for cross-cultural variations in parenting have been suggested. First, an anthropological viewpoint proposes that differential vulnerability to threats to the survival of children accounts for the changeability in parenting practices (LeVine, 1974). on the other hand, it has been suggested that parental needs to engender the values and attitudes essential for becoming a competent adult, able to achieve expected roles in his or her respective culture, may be related to diverse parenting practices across cultures (Hoffman, 1987). It has also been argued that cross-cultural differences in parenting attitudes and behaviors can reflect variability in beliefs pertaining to childrens distinctiveness and to the world in general (Super Harkness, 1986). Reference: Burgess, B. J. (1980). Parenting in the Native-American community. In M. D. Fantini R. Cardenas, Parenting in a multicultural society (pp. 63–73). New York: Longman. Cross, T. L. (1995). The worldview of American Indian families. In H. I. McCubbin, E. A Thompson, A. I. Thompson, J. E. Fromer (Eds. ), Ethnic minority families: Native and immigrant American families (Vol. 1, pp. 143–58). Boston: Sage Dawson, J. (1988). â€Å"If my children are proud†: Native education and the problem of selfesteem. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 15 (1), 43–50. Goodnow, J. J. (1995). Parents knowledge and expectations. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed. ), Handbook of parenting, Vol. 3, Status and social conditions of parenting (pp. 305-332). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Harrison, A. O. , Wilson, M. N. , Pine, C. J. , Chan, S. Q. , Buriel, R. (1990). Family ecologies of ethnic minority children. Child Development, 61, 347–62. Hess, R. D. , Azuma, H. , Kashiwagi, K. , Holloway, S. D. , Wenegrat, A. (1987). Cultural variations in socialization for school achievement: Contrasts between Japan and the United States. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology,8, 421-440. Hess, R. D. , Kashiwagi, K. , Azuma, H. , Price, G. G. , Dixon, W. P. (1980). Maternal expectations for mastery of developmental tasks in Japan and the United States. International Journal of Psychology,15, 259-271. Hoffman, L. W. (1987). The value of children to parents and parenting patterns. Social Behavior,2, 123-141. LeVine, R. A. (1974). Parental goals: A cross-cultural view. Teachers College Record,76 (2), 226-239. Luftig, R. L. (1983). Effects of schooling on the self-concept of Native American students. The School Counselor, 30 (4), 251–60. Maccoby, E. E. , Martin, C. N. (1983). Socialization in the context of family: Parentchild interaction. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed. ), Handbook of child psychology, Vol. 4, Socialization, personality, and social development (pp. 1-102). New York: Wiley. Noley, G. (1992). Educational reform and American Indian cultures. Tempe, AZ: Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Arizona State University. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 362 341) Rothbaum, F. , Pott, M. , Azuma, H. , Miyake, K. , Weisz, J. (2000). The development of close relationships in Japan and the United States: Paths of symbiotic harmony and generative tension. Child Development,71, 1121-1142. Sigel, I. E. , McGillicuddy-DeLisi, A. V. , Goodnow, J. J. (1992). Parental belief systems: The psychological consequences for children. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Soares, A. T. , Soares, L. M. (1969). Self-perceptions of culturally disadvantaged children. American Educational Research Journal, 6 (1), 31–45. Super, C. M. , Harkness, S. (1986). The developmental niche: A conceptualization at the interface of child and culture. International Journal of Behavioral Development,9, 545-569. Weisz, J. R. , Chaiyasit, W. , Weiss, B. , Eastman, K. L. , Jackson, E. W. (1995). A multimethod study of problem behavior among Thai and American children in school: Teacher reports versus direct observations. Child Development,66, 402-415. Weisz, J. R. , Rothbaum, F. , Blackburn, T. C. (1984). Standing out and standing in. American Psychologist,39, 955-969. Weisz, J. R. , Suwanlert, S. , Chaiyasit, W. , Walter, B. R. (1987). Over- and undercontrolled referral problems among Thai and American children and adolescents: The wat and wai of cultural differences. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,55, 719-726. Weisz, J. R. , Suwanlert, S. , Chaiyasit, W. , Weiss, B. , Walter, B. R. , Anderson, W. W. (1988). Thai and American perspectives on over- and undercontrolled child behavior problems: Exploring the threshold model among parents, teachers, and psychologists. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,56, 601-609.

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Tea Party Movement

The Tea Party Movement Demetrius Zissimos Following the 2008 economic crisis, a wave of anger flushed throughout the U.S. creating to separate groups, both upset and both clamoring for a change. The Tea Party Movement, a movement founded by a large majority of elder conservatives, a conservative middleclass and large amount of upper class Americans disgruntled with government power and taxes, and the Occupy Wall Street movement, founded by a majority of a younger liberal crowd upset at the power of corporations and their control over the government, were born. Both ideologies gained a large following as they gathered in cities all over the U.S. and in the case of OPW (Occupy Wall Street) all over the world. Both demanded change, using social media and modern technology to their advantage. Yet although there may be a few similarities within their frustrations with the government, they are separated by vast differences found in their ideologies, methods, membership, approval rating, and overall impact within the political syst em. The Tea Party at its core claims to protest foremost the size and power of the government. It states that the government is too large and its taxing of the people has become out of control. These taxes, as a lot of the members within the Tea Party would argue, are only used to fund government programs that are really handouts given to those who are merely taking advantage of the system. Yet at the same time, a large amount of the Tea Party’s population are elderly, and thus rely heavily on government programs like social security and Medicare. It’s hard to understand how a group can argue against the government social programs, while taking advantage of such programs themselves. Their justification for what most would call a double standard also gives light into more topics that fit into the Tea Party’s platform. They explain that they earned the usage of such social programs after working in the U.S. and paying taxes for so long. Their issue with the other socia l programs is that the government is helping people who do not benefit society, making illegal immigrants a large majority of the â€Å"people† mentioned. This hostility towards illegal immigration amplifies a distrust against the Obama administration, who they claim to be way too lax on the issue. At this point, the hostility against immigrants attracts a certain kind of intense and overzealous crowd to the movement, one easily described as opinionated and very racist. The far right conservatives joined the movement, those who focused on certain ideas that are extreme to say the least. Such examples are the claims made by the Tea Party that Obama is a terrorist, was not born in the U.S., and is actually Muslim despite his public talks of being a Christian. This blind hatred is unfortunately a common theme, spurred on as government leaders like Sarah Palin speak as leaders for the movement. Including their blind allegations against President Obama, Tea Party politicians have a history of extreme and controversial thoughts that have given the movement a reputation of racist and extremist conservatives and served equally as a publicity stunt used to gain as much attention as possible. Especially concerning women’s rights and rape, Tea Party politicians have been quoted making outrageous statements that cost them seats in government positions. The Tea Party has history of relying on extreme and insensitive statements to gain attention and gain a following of hardcore conservatives who blindly follow anyone that hits a particular point they feel to be underrepresented. Evidence is found in their â€Å"15 Non-negotiable Core Beliefs†, which involve â€Å"English is our core language,† â€Å"Illegal aliens are here illegally,† and â€Å"Traditional family values are encouraged.†(2) These traditional family values normally involve stripping women of the right to control their own bodies, even under extreme conditions, and are a large attraction by the extremist, normally sexist conservative. These few examples of core beliefs show a movement that is so focused on gathering followers that it loses track of what the movement actually started as, toning down government spending, taxes and power. This creates a stark difference compared to Occupy who manages to keep a relatively focused mission of a few core beliefs, instead of casting a broad net to get any followers they can. Such extremism is a huge difference between the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street because although Occupy took extreme measures of showing anger, they first off never created a political party, and second of all are not quoted having such extreme view points as those in the Tea Party. Occupy consists of a membership made up mainly of a younger crowd than that of the Tea Party, with three general stereotypes used to define its membership, middle class liberal Americans, hipsters, and unemployed college graduates. These three groups find a common ground speaking out against the relatively light taxing of the rich compared to the middle class, the government’s inability to investigate and punish corporations and their executives that caused the 2008 collapse and speak for a reform of the system of financing in which politicians rely on large corporations in order to gain political power. Although Occupy is upset with the federal government like the Tea Party, their main enemies are large faceless corporations. These corporations are not being held responsible for their reckless actions that affect the â€Å"99 percent.† The movement claims to speak against the one percent of the population that holds a huge majority of the nation’s wealth, and rules unfairly over the rest of the country, coining the term the â€Å"99 percent† or the majority of the people. This idea of the majority would likely align the movement with ideals of Mill’s liberalism, although they also share similarities with Marxism in their conflict of the one percent, who could be seen as the bourgeoisie, and the 99 percent or the proletariats’, and the small revolution they committed by publicly organizing and disrupting Wall Street. But ideologically, Liberalism is the best fit for Occupy as both speak for the rule by the majority the 99 percent. Also both see that the government has a role of protecting the majority, something that Occupy argues the government did not do. The Tea Party can also find similarities with Mill’s Liberalism, in that both have government holding very little power. Although the Tea Party is not really considered with the wide majority, they do argue for certain â€Å"liberties† like gun control. Marxism however is a hard fit for the Tea Party, as both have very little in common. In regards to Fascism, both Occupy and the Tea Party are on opposite ends of the spectrum, as neither want a complete control by the government, and Fascism is strictly against the rule of the majority. Although Occupy Wall Street had an altogether more effective protest force than the Tea Party (Estimates put the largest protest for Occupy Wall Street at over 1.4 million people in 950 cities in 84 countries, and the largest Tea Party protest at 311,460 people in 346 cities.(1)), Occupy didn’t create its own political party like the Tea Party did. This hurt the movement, in that it became mostly focused as a movement and ideology, without much of a political impact. Even though the Democratic Party has shown small influences from Occupy in their speeches, very little can actually be proven to be done by the movement politically, while the Tea Party has had a more impactful political career. The Tea Party is credited to bringing more attention and energy back to the Republican Party after the 2008 presidential elections. Although the Tea Party didn’t gain any real traction in the government, it can be argued that the Republican party has adopted a few of the issues firs t argued by the movement, although those issues are very watered down, and try to avoid the extremist views of the Tea Party movement. But Occupy still holds a better public opinion, as 54 % of people have shown agreement with Occupy, while 20% of the population has shown agreement with the much more extreme Tea Party(1), a fact that can be explained through the extreme statements that the Tea Party used as a claim to fame. Yet to its benefit, Occupy Wall Street has a message that has reached not only a large population in the U.S. but also in other countries. It can be argued as well that Occupy never meant to gain a true political following, as they kept a relatively vague mission statement, and never had true leadership taking the reins. The 2008 economic collapse was an event that spurred an angry population into action, action that eventually involved millions of people, all of whom were unified by a common cause. Whether they were following the radical views of the Tea Party, or aiming for a more protected majority like Occupy, both movements have had everlasting effects, not only on the political spectrum but also within the people. Both movements while separate in following, ideology and overall methods both share the common ground of being vehicles to show displeasure against a government that has become distanced from those it is mean to protect. This cause at its core is admirable and American to its foundation as we are a country born of civil disobedience and protest against a government that takes advantage of its people. Work Cited: Brownsend, Jeremy. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) vs The Tea Party: A Brief Comparison. (n.d.): n. pag. Fact and Myth. 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. About Us Tea Party. Tea Party. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. Skocpol, Theda, and Vanessa Williamson. Perspectives on Politics. The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism. 1st ed. Vol. 9. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. N. pag. Mar. 2011. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. Ray, Michael. Tea Party Movement. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 12 June 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. Sledge, Matt. Reawakening The Radical Imagination: The Origins Of Occupy Wall Street.The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. Murray, Mark. The Tea Party, Four Years Later.NBC News. NBC News, 16 Apr. 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2014. Sorkin, Andrew Ross. Occupy Wall Street: A Frenzy That Fizzled.Occupy Wall Street A Frenzy That Fizzled. New York Times, 17 Sept. 12. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.