Research on Nursing Program - 1146 Words

DEFINITION: Research is a process in which the investigator actively determines the question to answer, creates a data collection and analysis plan as well as a plan to control for events (known as threats) that would influence the outcome(Burns and Grove,2005).Nursing research is a systematic enquiry that seeks to add new nursing knowledge to benefit patients, families and communities. Research based practice is arguably the hallmark of professional nursing and is essential for high quality clinical and cost effective nursing care (ICN 2009) RESEARCH PARADIGMS A paradigm is a world view, a general perspective on the complexities of the real world. Paradigm, the term was coined by KUHN (1970) to describe a heuristic framework for examining the natural sciences and ‘disciplinary matrix’ (p. 182) for social sciences. Paradigms are patterns of beliefs and practices that regulate inquiry within a discipline by providing lenses, frames and processes through which investigation is accomplished.(Weaver and Olson2005). In the field of nursing disciplined inquiry is being conducted with two broad paradigms ( Polit Beck, 2006). The way in which a particular scientific paradigm is expressed allowing the researcher to organise a research study that is philosophically coherent (Lucock, 2000).There are two major used in nursing research are positivist paradigm and naturalistic paradigm. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The research question is the first and foremost initial step in theShow MoreRelatedNursing Research Questions: Community Programs for Substance Abuse920 Words   |  4 PagesNursing Research Questions: Community Programs for Substance Abuse: Substance abuse is one of the major issues affecting the community since many young people are either involved in the use of illicit drugs or the illicit use of legitimate drugs. As a result of this pressing issue, its important for various stakeholders to be actively involved in helping young people involved in substance abuse. The involvement of community members and leaders in fighting substance abuse is also fueled by theRead MoreNursing Workforce : Emerging Nurse Shortages1369 Words   |  6 Pagesinevitable, along with this increase in population more registered nurses are required to help. â€Å"According to the July 2001 report, Nursing Workforce: Emerging Nurse Shortages Due to Multiple Factors, a serious shortage of nurses is expected in the future as demographic pressures influence both supply and demand†; it is important we bring attention to this issue (Nursing Shortage). Nurses are essential to providing the safest care and improvement of patients all over the w orld. This profession wasRead MoreStandard Two : Planning And Evaluation1180 Words   |  5 Pagesevaluation efforts involve and engage all Academic Program Managers (APMs) / Academic Directors, the Director of Assessment, the Deans and the Provost, as well as representatives from divisions beyond Academic Affairs. Evaluation activities are supported through the budget planning/ allocation process, undertaken annually with the input of each department and the BOT. Planning Planning and evaluation efforts are supported through institutional research, which is multi-faceted and allows the institutionRead MoreQuantitative Reserch Study1130 Words   |  5 PagesRunning head: QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH STUDY Quantitative Research Study Knowledge Pressure Ulcer Prevention among Nursing Professionals Jeamol Joseph Grand Canyon University NRS-433= Introduction to Nursing Research 24 July, 2011 Quantitative Research Study Nursing research is a process which helps to improve the patient outcomes through a thorough analysis of data collected and making new contributions to the healthcare field. Evidence based nursing is the process by which nurses makeRead MoreEvaluation Of A Nursing Internship Experience Based On An Educational Program For Wound Assessment And Documentation1451 Words   |  6 Pagesand the delivery of quality patient care. This paper will describe and summarize graduate nursing practicum experience in developing an educational program for wound assessment and documentation. The nursing practicum is an opportunity for graduate nurse to apply theoretical knowledge and gain experience based on personal goals and learning objectives. It will also include practicum goals, objective, program effectiveness, and the practicum contribution to the graduate nurse professional developmentRead MoreData Evaluation with CARS Checklist: Factors That Affect Student Success in Nursing School1762 Word s   |  7 Pagesthat can negatively or positively affect student success in nursing school. List of Sources Alameida, M.D., Prive, A., Davis, H.C., Landry, L., Renwanz-Boyle, A., Dunham, M. (2011). Predicting NCLEX-RN success in a diverse student population. Journal of Nursing Education, 50(5), 261-267. Bosch, P.C., Doshier, S.A., Gess-Newsome, J. (2012). Bilingual nurse education program: Applicant characteristics that predict success. Nursing Education Perspectives, 33(2), 90-95. Bronner, M. (1982).Read Moremale nursing student experience1675 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ A Critique of Male Nursing Students Education Experience A Critique of Male Nursing Students Education Experience In this paper, the article titled â€Å"Men Student Nurses: The Nursing Education Experience† will be critiqued. This paper will discuss the purpose of the article including the purpose of the study, the research question, and the central concepts. It will also discuss the research methods and design, the sample which includes the procedureRead MoreThe Texas State School Of Mines1473 Words   |  6 Pageschange to academic programs,† (Our History) therefore the University purchased â€Å"The Hotel Dieu School of Nursing.† (Our History) â€Å"The school was sold to the University of Texas at Austin System,† (Our History) where it had â€Å"became one of the six UT system schools of nursing headquarters in Austin, Texas.† (Our History) This made â€Å"schools located in Austin, Galveston, San Antonio, El Paso, Arlington and Houston. By the time the school became disengaged from UT systems school of nursing in 1976, it wasRead MoreComparison of Gcu Aacn641 Words   |  3 Pagesand Program Competencies (for your selected specialty track, links located in the Course Materials) with the AACNs Essentials for Masters Education for Advanced Practice Nursing (link located in the Week 1 Topic Materials)? Explain your rational. http://www.gcu.edu/About-Us/Mission-and-Vision.php http://www.gcu.edu/College-of-Nursing-and-Health-Care-Professions.php As for me, the Comparisons that can be found between the Grand Canyon University (GCU) Mission and Domains/College of Nursing (CON)Read MoreEducation is the key to a successful career there are many differences and opportunities between600 Words   |  3 Pagesan Associate degree in Nursing and a Baccalaureate degree in Nursing. The difference between an Associate degree in nursing and Baccalaureate degree is that, an Associate degree is two-three years, while a Baccalaureate degree is four years. According to Methodist College of nursing â€Å"The numbers of Nurses graduates from Associate-degree programs are 59%, followed by Baccalaureate programs 37% and then diploma programs 4%†, this indicates that there is a rapid growth in nursing education Over the

Importance of School Paper Free Essays

Importance of our School Newspaper Have you ever wondered? What is the importance of a school newspaper. Some may think, it is our way of being updated with what is happening in the school. Some may think it is just a paper for entertainment purposes. We will write a custom essay sample on Importance of School Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now And some might think it’s nothing. But the truth is, a school paper is the one that answers our questions, one that keeps us updated, and the one that keeps us interested in our school surroundings. It is made in a logical and comprehensive way, in way such as that the reader can easily understand the newspaper. A school paper is also made through rigorous editing, processing and writing. A school paper gives that answers to the questions that we have in our school. Whatever that question maybe? The question may be about student achievements, school activities, new people such as teachers and staff etc. This shows how our newspaper can be very useful to us, as students. And we are not the only ones being given this information. The staff and other people are also informed of our school through our school’s newspaper. This chain of information that is being made makes it possible for the people inside and outside our school be more vigilant and active in our school surroundings. A quote by David Bryne â€Å"People hear about stuff from their friends or a magazine or a newspaper. † . This quote is a statement of how information passes from one person to another. But not all the time this information that is being passed is true. That is why there are some people who say that a newspaper is the disgusting of all media. Because as much as people want to make a really good newspaper. The Bias of the persons making it is sometimes still there. That’s why you can never really tell if an newspaper is fair in its job to give fair and correct news to everyone. The newspaper that we have now also updates us with the most recent and important news. Without it we will be ignorant in judging our surroundings, and that makes us not good. And because we have this common norm that people who are updated are the people who are what they say â€Å"IN in our society†. That is depends upon you if it’s true. But it is of course much better to be updated in the happenings and the events in our own school. And because we are updated with our school, we become interested in our own school. Interest makes sure that our curiosity is always there. That is why when we receive a copy of the Forum, we become excited. The school newspaper is also made with essays. And those essays have their own structures and functions. For example an essay has three main parts. The introduction, which contains the Hook and the Thesis Statement. The body, which is the very soul of the essay. And the conclusion. Which ends and sums up your ideas for the essay . There are also types of essays. Some of these are descriptive, research, contrast, comparison, literary, persuasive, argumentative and such. These are not all used in an newspaper but still is useful to know some of them. A school newspaper is made by a team that rigorouly edits, processes, and approves the essays that are used for the newspaper. These are all headed by the EIC(Editor in Chief), which gives directives to the editing chief of each section. And then the editing chief of each section gives a writer a certain assignment for them. This is also the hierarchy of how the people who make the newspaper make them. First a writer will pass it to his or her chief. Then the chief checks it for grammar, annotations and such. If he or she finds some corrections he will not accept it and will return it to the writer. After he returns it to the writer, he will check it again and make sure that it is reviewed again and good material already. Then the chief will pass it to his EIC which will also check and review it for grammar and capitalization and such. He makes sure that there is nothing that was overlooked by the section chief for he is liable for anything that is in that paper. He also compiles all the work done by the writer and reviews all those thoroughly. He or she also has the most highest position in the office. Here now we see how a newspaper is made. Here now we see how hard it is to make. The hard work and the time that was used for the creation of the newspaper was important. Because we know that the newspaper is not just a piece of paper lying around waiting for some to read. It is something that allows us to learn. It is a paper that gives all that we need. The people who made this newspaper made sure that it is made clearly and intently, with it’s own purpose. We see here what are the types and the structure of an essay. Because this information is crucial to the formation of person . Now we learn that a newspaper influence almost everything in our daily lives. For it is our lives, it is the one that contains what are lives are meant for. Here now we learn that it is important to make sure that we take care of our newspapers. That we make sure that it is used according to how it must be used. We learned this that it answers our questions, updates us, keeps us interested. We know also that it is made in a logical and comprehensive way. And lastly we know that it is made by people who made sure it is the best newspaper. That’s why we can only say one thing. A newspaper is indeed important in our life How to cite Importance of School Paper, Papers

The Internet Has Caused More Harm Than Good free essay sample

Internet is a good resource for finding information. Often, students are able to find their information from internet for their studies. As for the adults, they are also able to get information from the internet for their work. Internet can also let some students to relax after studying for the whole week by playing some games online. Therefore, I think internet will do good to both the young and old. It is because for the young, like the kids, they can learn some information from those educational websites.They can learn beforehand and they will benefit from the internet. The teenagers wise will be able to find information from the internet whenever they are not sure of. They can also learn more things from the websites such as they can read newspapers online rather than having to buy the newspapers and they can save the trouble. They can go to the online dictionary to search for the words that they are unsure of, instead of having to look for the book. We will write a custom essay sample on The Internet Has Caused More Harm Than Good or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is because they will feel that it is troublesome and they would not feel like studying for it. The old, likewise, the adults will benefit too. It is because the adults can find work relative information from the internet and it can help them with a lot for work. The teachers can find valuable resources to teach their students so as their students will learn more information from the internet rather than just book information.However, internet can also cause harm, as the students will be affected with their studies if they are being attached to the internet rather than doing homework. The teachers will also have a hard time teaching them if they only think about their online games rather than studying. It is because this will cause them to slack on their studies and they will concentrate more in their games and not studies. Hence, I think if they want to use the internet, personally I think that they should organize themselves as in when they should use the internet and when they should do their work given. Although it will cause harm to them but in general, as they plan themselves well they still can benefit from the internet by getting the extra information out of the classroom. In conclusion, I feel that the internet will do well to the students rather than harm as we can get valuable and additional information from the internet. Plan your day well to benefit from the internet.

Other Minds Essays (2363 words) - Philosophy,

Other Minds annon The problem of Other Minds is a truephilosophical enigma. It is apt to strike children with no philosophical education whatsoever, yet remains intractable to many academics. Broadly speaking, the problem can be divided into three questions. Firstly, how do I come to believe that there are minds in the world other than my own? Secondly, how can I justify my belief that there are minds in the world other than my own? Thirdly, what can I state about the mental states of minds other than my own?. The question we are dealing with here falls largely into the third category, although of course issues relating to the other two will also be involved. Firstly, it is imperative to assert that, in looking for knowledge, we are not aiming for logical certainties - we are not aiming to show that any propositions about other minds can be demonstrated with absolute certainty equivalent to that of mathematical truths. Philosophy ever since Descartes has tended to be defined by scepticism: either it aims to produce sceptical theories or it aims to refute them. And sceptics tend towards extremity in their doubts. It must be stated here and now that there are not, and never can be, any theories that prove demonstratively that other minds exist, or that I know others mental states. This is not what should be aimed at in attempting to solve the problem. As Austin puts it To suppose that the question How do I know that Tom is angry? is meant to mean How do I introspect Toms feelings? is simply barking up the wrong gum-tree. Most philosophers agree that their theories only bestow a greater or lesser amount of probability onto statements about other minds (although there are exceptions, e.g. Peter Strawsons attempt to argue transcendentally for the existence of other minds through our own self-consciousness). There have been a number of different attempts to do this. J.S. Mill, who produced the first known formulation of the Other Minds problem, used the so-called Argument from Analogy both to explain how we come to believe in other minds and to justify this belief. Briefly, the argument holds that I am directly aware of mental states in myself, and I am aware of the behaviour of mine that results from and is caused by these mental states. As I can observe similar physical behaviour in others, I draw the analogy that it is caused by the same (or at least similar) mental states to my own. As in all arguments from analogy, I assume that because x is similar to y in some respects, it will be similar in others. So as I know how I behave if I am feeling, say, angry, I assume in someone elses case that his behaviour is an indication of the mental state I call anger. My opinion in this respect is aided by the fact that most humans behaviour when they claim to be angry is broadly similar. The argument from analogy, also employed by Bertrand Russell in a slightly simplified form, is subject to a devastating criticism. Unlike most analogies, in the case of other minds, there is no conceivable way of verifying the conclusion we make. We have no way of discovering whether someone else is angry or not, and our position means that this is a necessary disadvantage. The only way to have someone elses experiences would to become that person, and in doing that, I would no longer be myself and I would no longer be having someone elses experiences. Thus it is impossible to conceive of any set of experimental circumstances under which I would be able to ascertain whether or not the human who is expressing anger-behaviour really is angry or not. And as Norman Malcolm has pointed out, as there are no conceivable criteria I could use to determine whether someone is angry or not, simply claiming that they are angry is a meaningless statement. Many philosophers, perceiving this fatal flaw in the argument from analogy, have attempted to produce theories on other minds that are not based on analogy. Malcolm himself held that the problem lies in the belief that in looking for evidence of other minds, we need to start off from our own case and then look for evidence that other cases resemble my own in other humans. He claimed, characteristically following Wittgenstein, that statements about mental states in others have no special status but rather that they are primitive, natural expressions of the state in question. In other words, 'my leg hurts' is equivalent

Anti Death Penelty essays

Anti Death Penelty essays Virtually every major program designed to address the underlying causes of violence and to support the poor, vulnerable, powerless victims of crime is being cut even further to the bone... In this context, the proposition that the death penalty is a needed addition to our arsenal of weapons lacks credibility... Scott Harshbarge, Attorney General of Massachusetts Across the United States, police officers are losing their jobs, prisoners are obtaining parole early, courts are clogging with cases, and crime is on the rise. Over two-thirds of the states use capital punishment, which is a grave mistake by any measure of cost effectiveness. The government spends hundreds of millions of dollars in order to punish a few individuals each year. Yet, these actions do nothing to slow the rise in violent crimes. Moreover, the death penalty has been used to portray toughness on crime, but it actually leaves communities worse off in their fight against crime. At the same time that states are pourin g money into the capital punishment black hole, lack of funds is also causing the criminal justice system to break down. Consequently, the public is left with fewer resources, which otherwise could benefit their entire community. Every working person in the United States pays taxes to fund the government. However, is the death penalty a cost-effective way to use the taxpayer's money? After evaluating the cost of the death penalty and the effects of paying that cost, one would agree that the death penalty is not a cost-effective way to fight crime and thus the government should abolish the death penalty. The death penalty is much more expensive than life imprisonment. In Texas, "the death penalty cost taxpayers an average of $2.3 million each year, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years." Death penalty trials are also longer and more expensive than ordinary murder trials. A North Carolina...

An Overview Of John Bergers Article Ways Of Seeing

An Overview Of John Berger's Article Ways Of Seeing John Berger wrote an article entitled Ways of Seeing . In this article of his, he imposes his opinion of works of art , what constitutes a work of art. He also talks about reproductions of art. His perception of reproductions is that they pervert the original piece, and that by reproduction the beauty and value of the piece is taken away, that the piece is not the same because it does not represent anymore what the artist originally intended. I do not agree with Berger. I do not see reproductions of art to be perversions of the original, and I also do not agree with his outline for a work of art . Reproduction allows people to see something they might never have, they allow the artist to gain more exposure, whereas if there had been no reproduction, only a handful of people might have seen it. As to what a work of art is, that is something I believe to be totally up to the observer. What one may perceive to be beautiful, an opinion perhaps brought on by personal experiences, another may not see the same way. A work of art I truly enjoy and respect is Salvador Dali s Table with Landscape . The joy of the painting for me comes from the intricacies that Dali weaves into the painting. The painting has many levels to it, a succession of realizations occur if the painting is studied long enough. When I first saw this painting, I saw a cup on a table, with a lot of scenery in the background. I do not consider myself someone who appreciates art in any particular form, so at first all I saw was a bland table with a cup on it. When I looked closer however, I began to see much more to the picture. The neck of the cup seemed to be part of a face, the mouth and nose of the face lying in the table. The scenery that I had previously disregarded as unimportant revealed itself to be much more. At the very top of the painting was a mountain landscape, and below it, mixed into the scenery, standing behind the cup on the table, was a dog! A dog? I said. Why on earth would Dali put a dog in his painting, and moreover, why would we make it such a concealed part of the painting. I did not understand at first Dali s reasoning for this strange painting, but as soon as I let go of my confusions, the painting started to make sense to me. I no longer cared what the painting had meant to Dali when he was painting it, but rather I was interested in what the painting meant to me. Perhaps this was wrong of me to totally disregard the painter s initial reason for creating the picture, but what concerned me most was the idea of the painting that was taking shape in my mind. I saw the painting as a part of my mind, seemingly one huge mass of thoughts and ideas thrown together making completely no sense. But when I looked closer, I could pick out individual parts of the painting. The parts might not have been related, but never the less they were separate. I found that my mind was the same way. It was a huge mass of ideas thrown together, but if I took the time to think, I could separate all the diff erent things I was thinking, and individually they all made sense. This is something I would do when I am confused, if there is too much going on in my head that it seems it is all one big mess, I take the time to separate the ideas and I slowly begin to understand my situation better. When I tell people about this painting and what it means to me, they often have no idea of what I could possibly mean, but the fact that they don t understand me is inconsequential, because the painting is special to me for my own reasons, and that is what is important to me. Before in this essay, I referred to Dali s painting as a work of art . What is a work of art ? Who determines what is or is not a work of art ? Berger talks about works of art , mainly when he refers to common paintings that most people recognize by name. Is this to imply that a piece of art has to be well known in order to be considered a work of art ? What about before these works of art were famous. They were merely canvases filled with paint, the same as they are today, yet at the time when they were produced, they were not immediately considered revolutionary and inspirational for their time. It took people to who had the means to view these paintings to give them such a distinction. Once again, I will repeat, people who had the means. The poor people of the time could not afford such luxuries to view pieces of art, so a painter obtained his praise from the high class solely, and only once the painting was famous enough to gain exposure could the lower class see it and make thei r own judgements, too late of course since the piece had already been dubbed a work of art and was revered. The fact that the piece was considered a work of art by one group may mean nothing to another person. This is because what one person may see to be an example of beauty in a painting, another person might have a different opinion. That is why I say a work of art is completely in the eye of the beholder, that is, art is a personal thing and we cannot expect a person to see exactly what we see, and appreciate it the same way as we may. Berger is strongly against reproduction of art. He says it perverts the original piece and takes away from its meaning. I cannot totally disagree with Berger that the idea of art may change with other people s perceptions, but I cannot agree with him that it is necessarily a bad thing. With the reproduction comes the void of what the painting means. The artist is no longer always there to tell you what he felt when painting that specific piece. That however, is to me the beautiful part of art. Being able to interpret the painting for your own reasons is a freedom that allows us to be creative. Berger argues that this sense of understanding the painting is called mystification (Berger, 108). It is nothing less than the painting working upon us (Berger, 109). He considers the artist to be a seducer, to make us think we understand the painting. Well then, which is it, do we understand the painting or don t we? It is true that we cannot understand the painter s perspective from looking a t the painting itself, but we can understand the painting for our own reasons, based on our own experiences. In the painting I described earlier, there are many possibilities as to what someone s first interpretation might be, or what would be the first thing they saw in the painting. I myself initially saw a cup on a table, but someone else might see the face in the cup first, or the dog in the background. All these reasons are because the painting means something different to each person. Also, would other people see all the aspects of the painting as I did, or would they merely see one thing surrounded by a massive amount of random items in the painting that seem to have no connection. The fact is, it does not matter. The way I interpret the painting will most probably be different from someone else s interpretation, that is because we look for different things in the painting. Our minds are stimulated in different ways. If we were not allowed to see the painting in our own light , if we were forced to see what the painter had originally intended, then our creative forces would be crippled, and our own ideas would mean nothing. In reality, our own ideas mean everything to us, they make us who we are, allow us to think freely, and draw our own conclusions. As I said, I do not believe a work of art can be decided upon by a small group of people, because then only their points of view are considered when making the decision. Berger was entitled to his own opinion on art reproduction. His own opinion is valid purely for the fact that it is his opinion and cannot be proven wrong by anyone because a person s opinion is his or her own idea, not a true or false statement.

Impending Extinction of Steelhead Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Impending Extinction of Steelhead - Essay Example This is attributed to human activities. Along with the scientific developments came the human population explosion. Hundreds of habitats are being destroyed to serve as agricultural or residential lands. Excessive harvesting of animal meat has led to the decline of reproducing population. Irresponsible disposal of garbage and chemicals has further narrowed life opportunities for organisms. This paper will explore on the reasons for impending extinction of the steelhead. It will also look at the measures taken by concerned entities in preventing this from happening. Our focus would be in the steelhead habitat in the Washington State. This paper is aimed at providing the reader knowledge of what is currently being done today to address the environmental problem. Steelheads are characterized by a dark-olive color, shading to silvery-white on the underside with a heavily speckled body and a pink to red stripe running along their sides. They can reach up to 55 pounds (25 kg) in weight and 45 inches (120 cm) in length. An adult female steelhead will prepare a redd (or nest) in a stream area with suitable gravel type composition, water depth, and velocity. It then deposits 4 to 5 eggs in "nesting pockets" within a single redd. The eggs hatch within 3 to 4 weeks. The juvenile steelhead ... It then deposits 4 to 5 eggs in "nesting pockets" within a single redd. The eggs hatch within 3 to 4 weeks. The juvenile steelhead rears in the freshwater for 1 to 4 years before migrating individually to the open ocean. It stays in the marine environment for 1 to 5 years after which it returns to the freshwater streams and rivers of their birth in order to mate. This process is called anadromy. Unlike other Pacific salmonids, steelheads can spawn more than once and will but will again migrate through estuaries to the ocean. Migrations can reach hundreds of miles as evidenced by a fish tagged in the Sea of Japan and caught six months thereafter in the Skagit River of northern Washington. Some streams host two runs of steelhead, a summer run (returning in summer and early fall and spawning in early to mid-winter) and a winter run (returning in early winter to late spring and spawning within this time frame). FOOD Young steelheads feed primarily on zooplankton. Adults feed on aquatic and terrestrial insects, mollusks, crustaceans, fish eggs, minnows and even other small fishes including other trout. PREDATORS: Fish, mammals, and birds are the primary natural predators of steelhead. Fish predators include the northern pike minnow, walleyes, and smallmouth bass, channel catfish, sculpins, white sturgeon and even some adult salmonids like adult bull trout, rainbow/steelhead trout, cutthroat trout, brook trout, and brown trout. Fish-eating birds present in the Upper Columbia Basin include great blue herons, gulls, osprey, common mergansers, American dippers, cormorants, Caspian terns, belted kingfishers, common loons, western grebes, black-crowned night herons and bald eagles. Mammalian

Learning Science, Mathematics and Technology with Children's Essay

Learning Science, Mathematics and Technology with Children's Engagement in Play - Essay Example It will be learned that Science, Math and Technology concepts and skills are acquired while children engage in play. Math and Science are all around. Children usually see numbers on television channels, telephones, their house numbers, on tag prices, etc. They may also witness their mothers in the kitchen as they cook following recipes that specify the measured ingredients. Science is likewise ever-present as they discover how things work, observe change in things, use their senses in learning about their world. Technology is likewise accessible to them. This is not limited to what most adults know about technology as electronic gadgets or computerized contraptions. Technology includes processes people use to solve a problem deliberately. Adults should respect how young children want to try their hand in working with technology (Mortlock, 2005). It is for the children to discover how technology will work for them and make tasks more convenient such as using cups or buckets in the san dbox to create more defined mounds of sand instead of just a hump they shape out of their hands. The following will discuss how science, math and technology interplay in the messy play of infants, sand play of toddlers and block play of pre-schoolers. These activities come naturally for children that they do not need any specific instructions from adults. Messy But Busy Babies† In the Stages of Cognitive Development of Piaget, children from 0 – 2 years of age belong to the Sensorimotor Stage. This period is characterized by interactions with the environment based on the child’s reception of sensory input and muscular reactions. The task of this period is to develop the concept of object permanence, the idea that objects exist even when they cannot be seen or heard. (Brewer, 2001). Infants are sensorial learners and they are awed by the possibilities of the objects around them. When they engage in messy play, they get to touch things and feel its textures, see the object up close so details may be inspected. They even get to smell or in most cases, taste objects because it is in their nature to learn about things by putting it in their mouths. Science is at work when they notice changes in things, such as when a drop of paint blots on the paper when an object passes on it. They also get to notice tracks or prints of objects such as car wheels or rollers when these make impressions with paint on paper. They learn math when they see the colors and shapes of the toys they play with and get to feel the dimensions of shapes when they touch these with their hands. They would know that circles have no angles and that squares have 4 sides. When they are handed things like sponges or small rubber stamps for printing, they realize that these may serve as technology to leave imprints when dipped in paint. Allowed to explore paints and things during messy play gives them several learning opportunities about how things work in the world and what they can do with these things to cause an effect such as rolling a plastic care over paint and seeing the tracks they can make from it. Curious Tykes in the Sandbox Toddlers continue to enjoy sensorial play and they love playing with open-ended materials such as sand and water. They learn many scientific concepts with sand. Pouring various amounts of water on sand creates different textures and this dictates how firm the sand will mold into the

Skills required by a project manager Essay Example for Free

Skills required by a project manager Essay The project manager is normally given the authority and the sole responsibility of ensuring that the direction with which a specific project is followed. He works absolutely under the guideline and the goal of the designated project or the whole organization. One of the major responsibilities is to ensure that the end items of the project are met i.e. when, by whom, what, costs, resources, discipline etc within the firm. (Cable and Adams, 1989) Although the project manager usually reports to the general manager of the company, he or she has the authority of defining the organizational structure and ensures that there is effective management of all the sectors in the production units. Since the project manager controls the effectiveness of the tasks being undertaken, in most cases, he or she is able to assign and monitor the budgets within their jurisdiction. The project manager also communicates all matters concerning the company to the general manager or the president for clarification on any matter that is pending. The project manager also communicates with the customers directly especially when dealing with formal projects. In order to therefore perform the above tasks, a project manager should be able to possess excellent skills and qualifications. One of the skills that is necessary is the ability to communicate effectively both with the management and the customers thus requiring good communication skills. The project manager should also be able to organize issues and monitor their implementation especially by junior officers. (Adams, 1990) In cases when the project manager is required to appoint an assistant project manager, the project manager must be able to be fair and treat other people equally regardless of their age, gender, race or disability. Since project manager is able to plan and execute a project successfully, he or she must be able to possess a wide combination of skills both gained in an academic standpoint and in an experimental view point. The character of the person should also be absolutely dynamic in that the project manager must be able to have problem solving abilities. The factor of being hardworking, honest and dedicated cannot also be overlooked. With such qualities, the project manager will therefore be able to ask penetrating questions, resolve interpersonal conflicts and identify unspecified assumptions. A project manager is expected to have high degree of interdependence geared towards accomplishment of tasks available. He or she is expected to stand apart from the junior employees by virtue of position held and help those under them in elucidation of matters relating to the jobs and also advocating for employees’ rights where there is prejudice. (Adams, 1990) The overall responsibilities for the project manager would be; risk analysis, time estimating, quality control, benefit realization, resource planning, and customer liaison. Managing risks and issues, planning and defining scope of the project, documentation, activity sequencing, team leadership, budget development, developing schedules, tactical influencing and creating charts and schedules (Cable and Adams, 1989) High level posting Since the company needs to have a project manager from the production department, the following are the requirements for this position. The person should have at least ten years experience in the position of project management in a busy manufacturing company. He or she must be a great team player who is ready to work with other people in the company. The person should also have a proven track record of hard work especially with the support of relevant academic background. Reference Adams, J. (1990):   Roles and Responsibilities of the Project Manager, Project Management Institute Cable, D., and Adams, J. (1989): Organizing for Project Management, Upper Darby, PA: Project Management Institute, Dinsmore Paul C., (1990):   Human Factors in Project Management.   New York: AMACOM,

Essay on the Dark Side of the Mind Exposed in Cask of Amontillado

The Dark Side of the Mind Exposed in Cask of Amontillado "A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong." With that statement, Montresor begins his tale of revenge deciding that the act must be slow and sweet and that in order to fully enjoy it, his adversary must be aware of his intentions. Hidden within those same few lines, lies not only this horrid plan, but also the true interest of its' true author. In his Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allen Poe reveals his supreme interest in the dark side of the human mind and heart. Much of what a story means, much of its effect on the reader depends on the eyes through which it is seen and on the voice that tells it to us. In Cask of Amontillado, those eyes and voice belong to Montresor. The story is written in second-person perspective. In relaying the events of the day, Montresor refers to the reader as 'you' several times. This does not only act to pull the reader into the story, but it also provides a valuable insight into the mind of the author. By referring to the reader as 'you' a connection is established between Montresor and the reader. This connection suggests that the reader can sympathize with the actions of Montresor by relating them to some event in the readers' past or imagination. Poe suggests that we, as a body of readers, all want to commit acts such as that committed by Montresor and therefore can understand him and his dark actions. To fully understand the dark side of the human mind and heart, the mind of Montresor has to be examined. The question as to what fiendishly evil act Fortunato committed that was so seve... ...each step, Montresor pulls Fortunato in a little further by provoking him with threats of getting his archenemy Luchresi to test the wine. Without breaking from his calm shell, Montresor is able to lead Fortunato to his doom never once faltering or stumbling. In his Cask of Amontillado, Poe dives into a study of the darkness of the human mind and heart. He looks at the worst crime possibly committed by one human to another and ponders over the mind of the criminal. Montresor, calm, cool, and collected, is able to fulfill a plan that he had made long before. Fifty years later, he conveys the story to the world so that the dark side of all people may be matched against that of him. A man that truly lives by the motto of his family, "nemo me impune lacessit" [no one provokes me with impunity], Montresor becomes a study for Poe and a mirror to all mankind.

Real Men Drink Coke

CASE ASSIGNMENT: COKE ZERO Chapter # 8) Do Real Men Drink Diet Coke? When a couple of marketing managers for Coca-Cola told attorney Elizabeth Finn Johnson that they wanted to sue their Coke Zero colleagues for â€Å"taste infringement,† she was baffled. She tried to talk them out of it, but they were determined. They argued that Coca-Cola Classic should be protected from the age discrimination it would suffer with the introduction of a newer, younger soft drink that tasted exactly the same as the original. Frustrated, Finn Johnson held up the Coke can and shouted, â€Å"It’s not a person! Title VII doesn’t cover these things! † What she didn’t know was that the marketing managers were actors. Hidden cameras had been planted around the meeting room to capture the reactions of several unsuspecting attorneys who had been asked to consider the case, including an immigration lawyer who was asked if he could get the Coke Zero marketing head deported back to Canada. The short videos were strategically placed on websites like YouTube. om to promote Coke Zero as the hip, new alternative to Diet Coke for men. The Coca-Cola Company knows it has to be creative if it’s going to sell more soda after sales dropped two years in a row in 2005 and 2006. Morgan Stanley analyst Bill Pecoriello explains, â€Å"Consumers are becoming ever more health-conscious, and the image of regular carbonated soft drinks is deteriorating rapidly. † In an attempt to appeal to con sumers concerned with nutrition, Coke introduced Diet Coke Plus in 2007, a sweeter version of Diet Coke fortified with vitamins and minerals. But what they really needed was a way to reach young male consumers, and Diet Coke Plus, marketed with tag lines like â€Å"Your Best Friend Just Got Friendlier! † wasn’t going to do it. A few new products appealed to certain male demographics, such as Coca-Cola Blak, a cola with coffee essence created for older, more sophisticated consumers who are willing to pay more, and Full Throttle Blue Demon, an energy drink with an agave azule flavor (think margaritas) designed to appeal to Hispanic men. However, research showed that there was still a big demographic hole to fill as young men between the ages of 18 and 34 were abandoning the Coca-Cola brand altogether. They didn’t want all the calories of regular Coke, but they weren’t willing to make the move to Diet Coke, either, which has traditionally been marketed to women who want to lose weight. Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer for Coca-Cola North America, says that the men who weren’t put off by the â€Å"feminine stigma† of Diet Coke often rejected it anyway because of its aspartame-sweetened aftertaste. What we were seeing before Zero launched was that more and more younger people were interested in no-calorie beverages but weren’t going to sacrifice taste,† Bayne said. â€Å"So when they got interested in no-calorie, they were like, ‘Forget it, I’m not going to Diet Coke. ’† Testing showed that the name â€Å"Coke Zero† would be an effective way to sell a low-calorie cola to men without using the word â€Å"diet. † And advances in artificial sweeteners made it possible for Coke to finally create a product that tasted more like the â€Å"Real Thing. So expectations were high when Coke Zero was introduced in 2005 with a big marketing push, including a commercial that remade the famous 1971 â€Å"Hilltop/I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing† ad—this time with rapper G-Love on a rooftop singing that he’d like to teach the world to â€Å"chill. † Unfortunately, the commercial didn’t catch on, and neither did the product it was selling. Despite disappointing sales in the U. S. , however, Coke Zero was an immediate hit in Australia, selling more than three times the number of cases expected during its first year on the market. In the U. S. , the packaging was white and silver, making it difficult for consumers to see the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke. In Australia, the bottles and cans were black, making the product stand out on the shelves and look more like the â€Å"bloke’s Coke† it was intended to be. The U. S. marketing team took notice and reintroduced Coke Zero with a black and silver label in 2007. Coca-Cola is now investing more money in Coke Zero than any other brand its size, hoping it will someday be a megabrand for the company alongside Coca-Cola Classic and Diet Coke. Chief Marketing Officer Bayne is enthusiastic about the impact it may have on the company. â€Å"We do see this as potentially a bit of a white knight. There’s huge opportunity to grow here. † SOURCES: Jerry Adler, â€Å"Attack of the Diet Cokes,† Newsweek, May 14, 2007; â€Å"Coke’s New ‘Coke Zero’ Faces Tough Going, UPI NewsTrack, June 13, 2005; Duane D. Stanford, â€Å"0: That’s Zero. As in No Calories,† The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 20, 2007; â€Å"Coca-Cola Co. ,† MMR, October 30, 2006; http://www. cocacolazero. com. Open-ended questions 1. Describe the specific type of consumer that the Coca-Cola Company is targeting with each of the following products: Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke Plus, Coca-Cola Blak, and Full Throttle Blue Demon. What types of demographic segmentation is each product’s marketing most likely to include? 2. Some industry analysts think soft-drink companies should develop products that will bring new customers into the market rather than just creating variants on the old. They warn that products like Coke Zero will cannibalize lost market share from other soft drink categories instead of increasing the number of consumers overall. Which Coca-Cola products are most likely to lose customers to Coke Zero? 3. Why do you think that the hidden-camera videos used to promote Coke Zero were an effective way to reach its target market? Do you think a similar strategy with a viral marketing campaign on the Internet would appeal to the target market for Diet Coke Plus? 4. Do you think Diet Coke could have been repositioned to change consumers’ perceptions of it enough to be considered a drink equally appealing to men? Why or why not? CASE ASSIGNMENT: Terracycle (Chapter # 10) Turning Worm Poop into a Product Environmentally friendly products have never been as hot as they are now, and the number of brands touting their â€Å"green† credentials has never been higher, but TerraCycle Plant Food may be the ultimate organic product to ever hit the market. A college student named Tom Szaky founded TerraCycle in 2003 after buddies from Canada, â€Å"where they have more liberal rules about growing certain plants,† he says, taught him how to use worm droppings as cheap and eco-friendly fertilizer. Szaky based his business model on recycling, starting with the trash that TerraCycle turns into compost and feeds to millions of red worms. The worm castings are then liquefied and put into previously used plastic water and soda bottles. Even the company’s shipping cartons come from recycled materials. TerraCycle’s organic plant food hit the shelves in 2004 with labels boasting that it â€Å"Contains Liquefied Worm Poop! † It didn’t take long for the products to take off. By 2006, the company had been named â€Å"The Coolest Little Start-Up in America† by Inc. agazine and had passed the $1 million mark in sales, growing as much as 300% from the previous year. They snagged shelf space in retail giants such as Target, Walmart, and Home Depot. Founder and president Tom Szaky liked to refer to his company as â€Å"the anti-Miracle-Gro. † But the industry giant disagreed. It turns out that Scotts Miracle-Gro thought that, if anything, TerraCycle w as encroaching too closely on the industry giant’s territory. In March of 2007, Scotts sued Szaky’s fledgling company for trademark infringement and for making â€Å"false claims† that its organic products are superior to synthetic versions. Small companies can easily fold under the weight of such a lawsuit. Even if they win, the legal costs can cripple them. So TerraCycle took their case to the Internet with the blog www. suedbyscotts. com, hoping to stir public support and raise contributions for its legal fees. â€Å"I knew there was no way I could out-lawyer Scotts,† Tom Szaky says. â€Å"So as I thought about it, I wondered what core competency our company had that we could exploit. Guerrilla marketing seemed to be the obvious answer. He adds that they hope to get so much public support for their cause that Scotts will drop their suit. The blog offers a comparison chart titled â€Å"David vs. Goliath† that illustrates the differences between the two companies. A photo of TerraCycle’s modest headquarters behind a chain-link fence in New Jersey is contrasted with Scotts’s grand, pillared entryway in Ohio. It lists TerraCycle’s â€Å"CEO major perquisite† as â€Å"unlimited f ree worm poop,† whereas Scotts’s CEO enjoys â€Å"personal use of company-owned aircraft. The blog also counters Scotts’s claims that consumers might be confused by its â€Å"overly similar yellow and green packaging† by posting photographs of TerraCycle’s wacky and unusual bottles in their variety of shapes and sizes beside Miracle-Gro’s uniform and professional looking ones. Scotts is insisting that they change their labels, but TerraCycle’s general counsel, Richard Ober Jr. , says that changing packaging now would hurt their sales momentum. â€Å"There’s the loss of customer recognition. † Su Lok, a Scotts spokesperson, argues that the blog is just one of TerraCycle’s PR â€Å"tactics† nd insists that none of their arguments has merit. â€Å"We’ve spent a lot of time building up brands that consumers trust,† she says, â€Å"and we are going to protect those brands. † So far www. sued byscotts. com has gained massive media attention, leading major newspapers and magazines to cover the story and hundreds of bloggers to defend TerraCycle’s cause. Although online donations have totaled less than $1,000 to date, overall company sales surged 122% within weeks of the blog’s launch. And TerraCycle’s main Web site, which averages about 1,000 visitors a day, spiked to as high as 13,000. They expect to bring in revenue highs approaching $5 million by the end of 2007. Ira J. Levy, an intellectual property lawyer, warns that Scotts may have more to lose by pursuing TerraCycle than it’s worth. â€Å"By pursuing a trade dress case,† Levy says, â€Å"they can allow a small player to promote itself on the national stage. When word gets out that the mega-conglomerate is suing the little guy, you risk having bloggers launching boycotts, and the plaintiff ends up injuring his own business. † Which is precisely what Tom Szaky hopes will happen. The lawsuit isn’t something he would have wanted to fight, he says, but it’s a chance to generate buzz. â€Å"It’s like The Art of War,† he says. â€Å"You need to have a villain to be up against, and for us, that’s Scotts. † SOURCES: Jack Neff, â€Å"When the Worm Poop Hits the Fan, Market It,† Advertising Age, April 23, 2007; Adam Aston, â€Å"Now That’s Really a Turf War,† BusinessWeek, April 23, 2007; Gwendolyn Bounds, â€Å"A Growing Dispute: Fertilizer Start-Up Uses Web as Defense,† Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2007; Mike Hofman, â€Å"Legal Lemons, PR Lemonade,† Inc. June 2007; Rob Walker, â€Å"The Worm Turns,† New York Times Magazine, May 20, 2007; www. terracycle. net; www. suedbyscotts. com. Open-ended questions 1. What type of consumer product is TerraCycle’s plant food: convenience, shopping, specialty, or unsought? Why? 2. Go to www. terracycle. net and look at the types of produc ts the company sells. Describe their product mix. How wide is it? Which basic product lines does it sell? How long are they? 3. Do you think that product line extension or product line contraction would make more sense for TerraCycle at this stage of the company’s growth? Why? 4. How well do TerraCycle’s bottles perform the four packaging functions discussed in this chapter? Go to www. suedbyscotts. com to see what TerraCycle’s products look like compared to the Miracle-Gro line. Do you think TerraCycle’s package design distinguishes their products well enough from those of the industry giant, or are they similar enough to cause customer confusion? CASE ASSIGNMENT: Nordstrom’s (Chapter # 15) How to Succeed by Selling Just One Shoe Upscale retailer Nordstrom has been famous for superior customer service for over 100 years. Robert Spector, coauthor of The Nordstrom Way, says his favorite story is of a woman with one leg who jokingly bet a Nordstrom salesperson that he wouldn’t sell her just one shoe. He was more than happy to split up the pair, though, to her surprise, and Nordstrom gained a life-long customer in the process. â€Å"Who knows how many times she’s told that story? † Spector asks. â€Å"Do you think that that’s worth the price of a shoe? I do. † This kind of word-of-mouth publicity means that Nordstrom spends much less on traditional advertising than its competitors do. And the stories told by satisfied customers are much more persuasive than an ad in the Sunday paper. Patrick McCarthy, who was the first salesperson to generate $1 million, cites an example of a customer who was traveling and accidentally left his plane tickets in the store. An employee who found them paid for a cab to the airport with her own money so that the customer wouldn’t miss his plane. This, McCarthy says, is an example of â€Å"heroic service,† and at Nordstrom they expect nothing less. Industry observer Lior Arussy calls Nordstrom’s business strategy â€Å"greed through love. † They have perfected the art of focusing on the right customers and giving them undivided attention. A salesperson will often continue the relationship with a customer for years. They may exchange business cards, set future shopping dates, and call customers when new merchandise comes in. â€Å"It’s a heart experience,† says McCarthy, who kept handwritten notes on all 12,000 of his personal customers over the years. Most companies are head experiences—bean counters are running them. When the heart is running them, it becomes exciting. † Nordstrom is also known for its generous exchange policy. In a familiar story that has been forwarded around the Internet for years, a man claims he was allowed to return snow tires, even though the store never sold auto parts. It may be an urban myth, but it reinforces the company’s reputation for putting custom ers first. Even though the company loses some money on returns, they believe it’s worth it to keep customers coming back. Nordstrom has 157 stores in 27 states, but they plan to open 19 more by 2010, expanding into Boston, Ohio, and other untapped U. S. markets. Eric Nordstrom, the company’s president, visits each potential location himself before signing off on it. He says his gut instinct about a location is almost as important as the demographics and statistics they analyze. â€Å"Plenty of places look good on paper and we say no. † Even though Nordstrom values the traditions that come with its long history, Nordstrom direct president Jamie Nordstrom says that they’re not afraid to evolve with the times. We see the way people shop changing very dramatically,† he says. The company analyzed barriers between its sales channels and realized that it was limiting sales opportunities. Customers who purchased Nordstrom merchandise online couldn’t return it in the retail stores, for example, and customers who shopped in the stores couldn’t always find the same products online. The company now aims for a â€Å"seamless† shopping experience across all sales channels, whether mail order, online, or in-store. The company has also benefited from a new computerized inventory system that gives buyers and salespeople the necessary data to make smarter decisions about what is needed in the stores—and what isn’t. Choosing the right handbags to stock, for example, in the right styles, quantities, and colors, enabled them to sell more items at full price, which in turn improved the bottom line. Eric Nordstrom says that they want a customer’s experience to be â€Å"aspirational and upscale, so people feel they are treating themselves. Therefore, he says, the company refuses to hop on the price-promoting bandwagon. â€Å"We don’t rely on promotions, be it one-day sales, coupons, or ‘friends of friends’ sales. We think our regular pricing has to have integrity. † In 2006 when many retailers were struggling, Nordstrom thrived, posting $8. 6 billion in sales, a 10. 8 percent increase from the year before. â€Å"We have momentum,† Eric Nordstrom s ays, â€Å"but it’s not easy sustaining it. Retailing is not for everybody. It’s a competitive, high-energy business. Every day, you’ve got to open your doors and sell something. Even if it’s just one shoe. SOURCES: Monica Soto Ouchi, â€Å"Sharper Focus Helps Nordstrom,† Seattle Times, February 27, 2007; â€Å"Sticking with the Family Formula,† WWD, May 22, 2006; Dave DeWitte, â€Å"Nordstrom Leader Says Retail Business Is Changing,† Gazette, October 12, 2006; Monica Soto Ouchi, â€Å"Nordstrom Sees a Fashion-Forward Future,† Seattle Times, May 23, 2007; Alexandra DeFelice, â€Å"A Century of Customer Love,† CRM Magazine, June 1, 2005. Open-ended questions 1. What type of retailer is Nordstrom? Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type. . How would you describe Nordstrom’s level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service? Why? Give an example of a store that woul d be on the opposite end of the continuum and explain their differences. 3. Which of the six components of Nordstrom’s retailing mix do you think have been the most important to the company’s success? Why? 4. What are the primary challenges Nordstrom faces in the current retail climate? How has the competition changed in recent years, along with consumer expectations? CASE ASSIGNMENT: HBO (Chapter # 16) HBO’s Blood Virus When prominent occult film bloggers and fans began receiving strange letters written in dead languages and mailed in wax-sealed black envelopes, a shockwave of curiosity and excitement rippled through the horror-film fandom. A legion of bloggers and message-board posters set to work translating the letters from languages like Babylonian and Ugaritic into English, discovering that the missives led them to a mysterious and macabre Web site featuring an image of a seductive lady vampire. The site advertised a beverage called TruBlood—a synthetic blood developed by the Japanese, which vampires could drink as an alternative to feeding on humans. As visitors explored the site, they discovered short webisodes for the then-upcoming HBO television series that incorporates the TruBlood beverage into its storyline. The letters and Web site were developed as part of a viral marketing campaign by HBO and Campfire Media, an independent agency founded by two of the creators of the successful 1999 film The Blair Witch Project. Viral marketing is the propagation of brand or product awareness through pre-existing social networks, using unconventional media, with the hope that the campaign spreads as a cultural phenomenon. In addition to the letters, Campfire established a fictional blog and MySpace pages written by characters from the show, launched a human–vampire dating service, advertised TruBlood on vending machines, and strategically leaked tidbits of information and multimedia about the show. Campfire employees closely monitored popular horror blogs and message boards in order to gauge and encourage public interest, as well as orchestrate the release of new materials. The campaign was an incredible, if somewhat subversive success—not only did Campfire generate momentous interest in the show, but a number of individuals actually tried to locate a TruBlood distributor. â€Å"We didn’t mean to dupe people,† said Zach Enterlin, HBO’s vice president of advertising and promotions. â€Å"We just wanted a campaign that breaks through and resonates a little bit. It’s a testament to how true to form the ads are. Some people aren’t paying close attention. † Viral marketing campaigns are ideal for shows like True Blood, whose fans fervently share and discuss ideas within Internet communities. In addition, as it’s based on the popular Sookie Stackhouse series of books by Charlaine Harris, True Blood came with an avid built-in fan base of those already familiar with the story. Viral marketing has been a successful part of many advertising campaigns, such as those of 2008 films Cloverfield and The Dark Knight. Cloverfield, a film in which gargantuan monsters rampage through New York City, is captured on handheld video cameras. It was introduced to viewers through an untitled, unexplained teaser trailer that played before 2007’s Transformers movie. As speculation mounted, Cloverfield marketers unveiled a number of enigmatic Web sites, as well as a tie-in campaign for the fictional Slusho! beverage and a Japanese drilling company, both of which play a part in Cloverfield’s mythology. In May of 2007, 42 Entertainment began a viral campaign for The Dark Knight, a sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins. The campaign focused on the film’s antagonists: a Web site titled â€Å"I believe in Harvey Dent† was created as an advertisement for district attorney candidate Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart), as was a site titled â€Å"I Believe in Harvey Dent Too,† a defiled version of the former which slowly revealed the first image of The Joker (played by Heath Ledger) as visitors sent e-mails through the site. The Joker’s catchphrase â€Å"Why so serious? † spread virally on the Internet, and was used as the URL of a Web site that sent visitors on a Joker-themed scavenger hunt. As True Blood’s premier drew near, HBO and Campfire turned to less obtuse, if still unorthodox, methods of advertisement. A prequel comic book about an elder vampire and the development of the show was handed out for free at 2008’s San Diego Comic-Con, the largest pop cultural convention in the world. The first episode of True Blood was distributed on DVD for free to thousands of moviegoers at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, and was made available for rental from Blockbuster Video several days before it aired on television. True Blood premiered on HBO on September 7, 2008—six months after Campfire’s subtle marketing campaign began. According to Nielsen Co. , the first three-quarters of 2008 saw HBO’s viewership drop by nearly 23 percent compared to the previous year. However, thanks to interest in new shows such as True Blood, HBO saw a 2. 4 percent increase in fourth-quarter viewership compared to 2007. Without question, the success of True Blood is due in part to the novel marketing developed by Campfire Media. SOURCES: Sam Schechner, â€Å"Winfrey Firm to Produce HBO Shows,† Wall Street Journal, December 17, 2008; Guy Brighton, â€Å"Campfire’s True Blood Campaign,† New York Times, February 19, 2009; Lynette Rice, â€Å"Ad Campaign for HBO’s True Blood Confuses Thirsty Consumers,† Entertainment Weekly, July 22, 2008, www. ew. com (accessed February 23, 2009); www. bloodcopy. com; www. hbo. com/events/trueblood/; Douglas Quenqua, â€Å"The Vampires Are Coming, but Only After Months of Warnings,† New York Times, July 15, 2008; Jeff Beer, â€Å"Campfire Sinks Its Creative Teeth into True Blood,† ttp://creativity-online. com/? action=news:article&newsId=130134§ionName=behind_the_work (accessed February 19, 2009). Open -ended questions 1. What is the communication process for viral marketing? Is it different from conventional marketing? How so? . 2. What was the initial promotional mix of the True Blood campaign, and how might it suggest an o bservance of IMC? 2. Did Cloverfield use a push or pull promotional strategy? What about The Dark Knight? Explain. CASE ASSIGNMENT: Walmart (Chapter 20) How Low Can Drug Prices Go? When Walmart rolled out its new prescription-drug plan in 2006, lowering the prices on 331 commonly prescribed medications to a flat $4, Frank Ganci’s doctor told him to check it out. He has no health insurance and his prescriptions were costing him $110 a month at his local pharmacy, so switching to Walmart meant that he could get the same three medications for $12. Now he says he’s a loyal Walmart customer: â€Å"If they don’t make up the money on prescriptions, they’re going to make it up on my clothes and food purchases. Industry analysts speculate that Walmart is counting on customers like Ganci to spend the money they saved at the pharmacy on other products in the store. Walmart insists that it can earn a profit on the $4 prescriptions alone, however, since more expensive medications are not discounted. â€Å"It can only be in our program if it is profitable,† says Bill Simon, a Walmart CEO. It’s true that pharmacies can buy some types of generics from manufacturers for less than $4. For example, a month’s supply of fluoxetine, the generic version of Prozac, can be obtained for 75 cents. But store overhead and pharmacists’ salaries bring the true cost closer to $15. It would be difficult for smaller pharmacies to match the $4 price point, which has some of Walmart’s competitors complaining that it violates predatory pricing laws. â€Å"You can’t just sell something below your cost to drive out the small guy,† says Rick Sain, co-owner of a drugstore in Tennessee. â€Å"You have to at least set a fair price. That’s what all the states that have fair trade laws in place are looking into it—because you cannot dispense a prescription for $4. They are saying you can. † Walmart later increased the price of certain generic drugs from $4 to $9 in order to bring the company into compliance with all â€Å"low-cost laws,† according to a company statement. John Rector of the National Community Pharmacists Association says, â€Å"We don’t know for certain whether it can make a profit on the $4 drugs so they don’t violate these laws. But we strongly doubt it, and the fact is [raising some prices] gives us insight into what its business practices are. Stores like Target and Kmart quickly lowered their own prices to match Walmart’s, but Walgreens and CVS both announced that their prices would remain the same. Tony Civello, CEO of Kerr Drug, insists, â€Å"We will not treat your prescription like t-shirts and blue jeans. Walmart may choose to use some limited prescription drugs as a loss leader. But our patients’ healthcare is not a loss leader. We will not compromise that. † Bill Vaug han, a policy analyst for Consumers Union, argues that the price slashing is actually step in the right direction. It’s the beginning of better competition in a sector where it’s literally pennies per pill,† he said. When a generic drug is introduced, pharmacies can charge as much as they like for it. One study found that markups were often as high as 4,000 percent. Few people compare drug prices from one pharmacy to the next, so pharmacies are able to mark up prices substantially. Walmart’s prescription program seems to be raising consumer awareness as it demonstrates how low the prices of the drugs can go. The discounts are especially welcome among uninsured Americans and seniors living on fixed incomes. Legislators have listened to constituents who rely on the $4 plan and efforts are under way in states like Colorado and Minnesota to either repeal predatory-pricing laws or exempt prescription drugs from them. The prescriptions in Walmart’s $4 program now make up more than 35 percent of all prescriptions they fill, and the company boasts that the program has saved consumers more than $340 million in drug costs already. Walmart executive H. Lee Scott is enthusiastic about its future, saying, â€Å"The $4 prescription program is absolutely one of the coolest things that we have done in a long time. SOURCES: Martin Sipkoff , â€Å"Walmart, Other Discounters Facing Predatory-Pricing Concerns,† Drug Topics, April 2, 2007; Sue Stock, â€Å"Walmart Drug Plan in N. C. ,† News & Observer, October 20, 2006; Jessie Male, â€Å"Generic Concern: Will Walmart’s $4 Prescriptions Do Much to Change Consumers’ Pharmacy Habits? † Grocery Headquarters, November 1, 2006; Pallavi Gogoi, â€Å"Drug Wars at the Big-Box Stores,† BusinessWeek, May 24, 2007; Milt Freudenheim, â€Å"Side Effects at the Pharmacy,† New York Times, November 30, 2006. Chapter 20 Open-ended questions 1. Do you believe Walmart is engaging in predatory pricing with its $4 generic drug program? Why or why not? 2. Do you think that predatory pricing laws should be amended to exclude prescription drugs? Explain. 3. If you owned a pharmacy next door to a Walmart store, what strategies could you try in order to compete? Would you match their prices if possible, or would you find other ways to add value? What could a small pharmacy like yours offer customers that Walmart’s might not?

International cuisine assignment Essay

Answers: 1. Below are six dishes and seasonings commonly eaten by Southeast Asians or Pacific Islanders: Adobo is the most popular dish in the Philippines. It is meat which is usually cooked with vinegar, garlic, pepper and sometimes soy sauce and coconut milk can also be added. The meat may be pork or chicken. Adobo is usually eaten with steamed rice and eaten as a meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Lumpia is another food from the Philippines. It is usually eaten for merienda or a meal in between lunch and dinner. Merienda is comparable to English high tea. Lumpia is similar to a spring roll. It is usually made of vegetables such as cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots and ground meat wrapped in a thin piece of pastry. Its roots come from the Chinese who brought it to the Philippines. Pancit is another foo from the Philippines which is usually eaten for merienda. The food is also introduced by the Chinese migrants to the Philippines. It is fried noodles with assorted vegetables, shrimp, pork, chicken or ham. It is usually accompanied with calamansi, a citrus fruit similar to lime, which is squeezed onto the noodles. Halo-halo, which literally means to mix, is a favorite dessert among Filipinos especially during the summer. It is made of assorted beans, fruits such as banana, coconut flesh, jackfruit and tapioca balls which are layered on top of shaved ice. The dessert can also be topped with custard or ice cream. It is eaten by mixing all the ingredients which is served in a tall glass. Milk and sugar is also added according to taste. Nuoc Mam or fish sauce is usually used as seasoning to every dish in Vietnam. It is extracted from fermented fish and used in cooking or as a dipping sauce during meals. The Vietnam fish sauce is said to be more pungent than other Southeast Asian fish sauces. It is usually done by adding a bit of shrimp paste into the sauce. The Nuoc Mam Sauce is made from Nuoc Mam with fresh chilies, garlic, sugar, lime and vinegar. This is used as a dipping sauce for meals. Nam Prik is another condiment used in almost all Thai dishes. It is a spicy paste prepared in a variety of ways. One most commonly way of preparing this is by mixing roasted green onions, garlic, softened dried chilis grounded together with Nam Pla of â€Å"fish water† until it becomes a creamy paste. This may be served as a dipping sauce with toast triangles or rice crackers as an appetizer. 2. A. The two countries that will be discussed in this section are Italy and Germany. Three traditional foods from Italy are calzone, risotto and panettone. Knodel, sauges and beer are some of the traditional foods from Germany. B. Calzone originated from Naples in Italy, which is considered the culinary capital Southern France. It is pizza dough folded over a filling of cheese, ham or salami and is baked or fried. The southern part of France is agriculturally poorer than the northern part. Risotto is a creamy rice dish cooked in butted and chicken stock and usually flavoured with parmesan cheese and saffron. This dish originally came from Milan. Last is the panettone which is a special dessert traditionally served during Christmas. It is a type of fruitcake. The climate in Germany is generally cold and damp. Certain crops that grow in such weather conditions include potatoes, cabbage and beats. Knodel is a type of dumpling from Germany usually stuffed with potatoes and cooked with or without yeast. Sausages or wurst are the most common German food. There are four basic types of sausages: Rohwurst which is similar to liverwurst and is ready to eat; Bruwurst of the frankfurter which is scalded which can be eaten as is or by simmering it first; Knockwurst which is like cold cuts and Bratwurst which is raw and must be fried or grilled before eating. The cold climate in Germany encourages people to drink alcohol to keep them warm. Beer usually accompanies sausages. Such as in sausages, there are four types of beer: Pilsner which is light in color and has bitter taste; Lager which is aged about 6 weeks and is the most common type of beer in Germany; Bock which has the strongest flavour; and Marzenbier which is midway between Pilsner and Bock and is usually served during Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival observed from September to October and is celebrated by sausage-eating and beer-drinking and polka bands. 3. A. Similarities in cuisine between China, Japan and Korea are mainly because Japan has very strong Chinese influences while Korea has been controlled by China and Japan throughout much of its history. As early as 0-300 AD, record showed the extensive contact between Japan and China. The Japanese consider China as an ancient civilization from which its own culture stems from. Japan is often considered the daughter of Chinese civilization. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Japanese scholars were sent to China to help establish their own identity. The Japanese brought a number of teachings and culture from China which they adopted to Japan. These include: Buddhist teachings, Chinese customs and cultures, bureaucracy, architecture and city planning. These factors have influenced Japanese cuisine. Marine trading between China and Japan was also prevalent during 600-1600AD. Many similar ingredients found in both countries can be owed to this phenomenon. Korea, being under Japan and China through mush of its history, adopted many of these countries customs and culture. Its proximity to the two countries also suggests extensive trading and contact and therefore being influence by culture, tastes and manner of cooking. Their proximity also suggests similar weather patterns and therefore similar vegetation and animal breeds which are used in cooking and meal preparation. Another factor is the isolationist foreign policies of Korea and Japan. Because of this, they were not open to Western culture and have stuck to their Chinese roots. Their differences are due to environmental situation and climate. Although eating raw fish was said to have originated in China, pollution of their rivers made this an impractical custom. Only the Japanese traditionally eat raw fish since they have preserved the cleanliness of their rivers. The travel time of trading goods has also initiated differences in preserving foods. In Korea, food that came from mainland China are preserved in salt and chili to preserve them throughout the changing seasons. B. All three countries prevalently use soybean products in their meals. Tofu which is a soybean by-product is used in soups and viands while soy sauce is often used as a condiment for pre seasoning and as a dipping sauce. Soybean products are also used instead of dairy products. Another similarity is how these countries consider food. Food is considered to be more than just a meal, it is used because of its health benefits and for spiritual purposes. Thus they all used a lot of medicinal herbs in their menu such as ginseng. They also classify food according to spiritual balance such as the yin and yang. As food for the soul, the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans put emphasis in how the food is prepared and served according to their beliefs and customs. C. Japanese cuisine is different from Chinese and Korean in the sense that most of their food is cooked in or over water while other Asian food use oil such as peanut and corn oil, as a medium for cooking. In this way, Japanese have the least events of heart disease and high cholesterol levels. Japanese cuisine is also notably simple as compared to Chinese and Korean fares. As opposed to Chinese and Korean dishes, Japanese use seasonings sparingly, letting the subtle flavors of the ingredients take centerstage. Unlike the Koreans and Chinese who are fond of preserved foods, the Japanese put importance on the freshness of the food and prize the first picks of a season’s harvest. D. As mentioned above, the Japanese uses few spices and value the natural flavors and freshness of foods. Most chefs describe Japanese cuisine as simple and pure. E. Korean food is very spicy and put emphasis in the colors of the food for aesthetic presentation. Kimchi, an example of a spicy food, is vegetable preserved in chili peppers. The colors that constitute Korean dishes are white, red, black, green and yellow. 4. It is interesting to note how culture, climate, religious beliefs, geography, political arrangements and migration patters affect the types of food served in a region or country. In Europe for example, alcohol is normally served with meals because of the climate. It is generally cold in Europe. This also explains the type of crops that grow in such conditions. They usually have potatoes and cabbage. This food pattern was also adopted to Northern America because of migration patterns. In agriculturally abundant regions of Europe, they use tomato and other vegetable produce such as eggplants for their food. They also use dairy products as opposed to countries such as Korea, Japan and China where they use soy products instead of milk. They also use herbs such as basil to flavour their foods. In terms of religion and tradition, countries in Europe eat certain foods during festivals such as Christmas and feast days of saints and during lent. Politics also play a role in influences on food. For example, in Europe, they are able to discover new ingredients from their conquests of other lands. Chutney, which is a condiment of spiced fruits in the British Isles is originally from India. Geography also plays a critical role. Countries near bodies of water tend to eat mostly seafood while those in the inland have meats in their diet. Those who migrate or travel a lot usually discover the method of pickling and come up with different kinds of relish and cured meat.

American Music essays

American Music essays This book is an in-depth look at contemporary American popular music and the kind of musicianship that is appropriate to it. Stith attempts to explain dynamics of rock musicians by studying how the skills, ideas, and human identities associated with this population manage to be created and transmitted in the context of industrialized culture. In addition, he is trying to examine how musicians begin to take on and are characterized by that identity. Stith is interested with this phenomenon because these people were not successful or had not received a record contract, yet their identities remained intact. Stith gathered his data through six years of sporadic field study throughout Colorado, Illinois, Washington, California, Missouri, and southern France. He used both observational and interview methods in his study, however, it was participant observation that was used as a primary data-gathering technique. He presented himself as a musician and indicated in some form that he was interested in forming a group. At times he presented himself as a performer, other times as a role organizer, yet never hiding the fact that he was involved in social research. His secondary data-gathering technique was that he conducted several informal interviews with several members of these rock groups that he was associated with. These interviews were conducted during down-times, usually times where the group was hanging out, eating, traveling, etcetera. The size of the sample Stith studied and the ways in which the data-gathering techniques were administered differed from group to group, usually because his role within the population wasnt always constant. The interview questions that were asked were hardly ever uniform, they were administered differently to suit different individuals in specific situations. ...

Distinguish among the five types of customer markets Essay

Distinguish among the five types of customer markets - Essay Example Consumer durables are another subtype. Converse to the characteristics of FMCGs, these goods have low volume but high unit value. This can further be categorized into white goods and brown goods. Refrigerators, pressure cookers, dishwashers, washing machines, microwave ovens, etc are primary examples of white goods. Electronic items such as personal computers, video game consoles, multi-media players, etc are good examples of brown goods. Consumer Market is characterized by aggressive marketing campaigns, for consumers tend to be disloyal to brands and can easily switch from one to another. Also, competing companies are focused on innovating and improvising their products and production models to garner greater market share. *Business Markets â€Å"buy goods and services for further processing or for use in their production process, whereas Reseller Markets buy goods and services to sell at a profit.† (Part 2, p.66) The metals industry is a good example of Business Market. Her e, raw metals (sometimes in the form of ores) are bought by private companies from government agencies. The former then go on to process and add value to the metal before selling it to other industries or end consumers. A good example of Reseller Market is the retail industry, which comprises of Supermarket chains, Specialty stores, Chemists, and other retail dispensaries.

Financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial services - Essay Example Transactions on derivative contracts occur between two parties in which a financial agreement is done whose payments depend on the value of the underlying assets and securities. Derivative contracts are broadly categorized into lock and option products. Lock category derivative contracts bind the two parties into an obligation of executing the contract according to the terms and conditions over the period for which the contract is agreed upon. Option product derivatives are contracts that provide the right to the buyer but not the obligation to execute the contract over the period of the contract (Whaley, 2007, p.121). The derivative contract includes an agreed upon price between the two parties to buy or sell the product within a specified period of time. The derivative contracts may be traded in the exchange in which case these are called exchange-traded-derivatives or may be privately traded in which case these are called Over-the-counter derivatives. Over the counter derivatives are not traded in specialized exchanges. Recent examples of banks and companies making heavy losses from using derivatives The financial meltdown of 2007 in US was largely due to the fall in the mortgage prices which served as underlying assets for loan products. Irresponsible lending, relaxed policies of the banks, corporate houses and happy-go-lucky attitude of the regulators in assessments of the derivative products led to the fall of big banks like Lehmann Brothers. After a meagre financial recovery from the support of the government, derivative market is again one of the biggest markets in today’s global financial scenario (Schwartz and  Smith, 1997, p.499). Banks today are carrying out transactions on derivative markets on a much larger scale than ever before. The banks are more opaque and are indifferent to the risky derivative products. Banks, however, are unwilling to disclose the face of the derivative contracts to their investors. It is understood that a change i n the underlying market factors would lead to massive losses of the world economy as a result of devaluation of the underlying assets. The size of the derivative markets has grown from $500 trillion in 2007 to $707 trillion in 2011. Lack of transparency in trading of derivative contracts reflect the risk involved as a result of probable fluctuation of underlying market factors. This can be observed in the light of recent examples. J P Morgan has registered a loss of $6 billion due to trading in risky derivatives. The increasing size of derivative markets and declining due diligence in investments in order to achieve higher profits imposes higher risk. Several high ranked officials from big companies like Meryl Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup commented that the banking industry is vulnerable in the wake of huge losses in derivative markets. After the earthquake in Japan, J P Morgan decided to reverse their position in derivatives due to the huge losses to be incurred. In 2011, D eutsche Bank decided to reduce the foreign currency exposure of Post bank by â‚ ¬8.1 billion looking at the heavy losses in their investment in derivatives. Deutsche bank themselves lost $1.74 billion in US derivative markets. A huge foreign exchange option for Hewlett Packard was executed early in order to reduce the losses predicted out of market uncertainty. Due to lack of transparency on the investments in derivative ma