Saturday, December 28, 2019

The Relationship Between Nutrients And Mood - 1360 Words

Many studies have been conducted -- with interesting results -- showing the relationship between nutrients and mood. Research shows it is clear that no one single nutrient (with the exception of lithium) can provide a reliably effective treatment for mood disorders. Rather, the evidence implies that a broad range of nutrients are involved in achieving optimum mental stability: †¢ Clinical Trials Clinical Trial Table 1: Micronutrient-mood case studies and case series (PDF) Clinical Trial Table 2: Micronutrient-mood randomized controlled trials (PDF) †¢ Mechanism Of Nutrient Action Various micronutrient-related factors are associated with increased risk of psychiatric illness, and micronutrients play essential roles in an array of brain†¦show more content†¦Gastrointestinal tract disruptions and psychiatric disorders show remarkably high co-morbidity.29 For example, most studies that have investigated the co-morbidity of irritable bowel syndrome and psychiatric disorders show prevalence of psychiatric disorders in irritable bowel syndrome patients to be 90% or greater. 30 Higher, genetically-based micronutrient requirements Research is uncovering major genetic risk factors in psychiatric illness.31 Up to one-third of gene mutations result in decreased enzyme binding affinity for corresponding coenzymes, including vitamins and minerals.32 As a result, individuals with certain genotypes may have significantly higher requirements for essential micronutrients in key mood-related brain pathways. 32 33 44 Low micronutrient intake exacerbates the problem Low micronutrient intake may contribute to psychiatric illness.34 35 36 Intake of many micronutrients is inadequate in the United States, as shown in Figure 2. RDA levels are deemed to be â€Å"sufficient to meet the dietary requirements of nearly all (97 to 98 percent) of healthy individuals†, but do not ensure mental health for at-risk sub-populations:13 â€Å"intake at the level of the RDA or AI would not necessarily be expected to replete individuals previously undernourished, nor would it be adequate for disease states marked by increased requirements.† 37 †¢

Friday, December 20, 2019

The Influence of Culture on Negotiation - 1342 Words

Company Observation Essay The Influence of Culture on Negotiations Negotiation Elements and Cultural Dimensions adopt a much less confrontational style in order to avoid direct, aggressive conflict. These cultures may adopt a more collaborative orientation toward the negotiations. In developing a strategy, it must also include levels of risk a party is willing to take for sharing the information, revealing positions, and general considerations on how to best approach a collaborative negotiation strategy. According to Hofstede, some cultures also tend to be fearful of unfamiliar risks. Hofstede’s four dimensions of culture reveal that cultural variation plays a role in negotiations. The next paragraph provides another view of†¦show more content†¦The final area demonstrating culture’s affect on negotiation styles is risk-taking or the willingness of a party to share information, seek alternatives through new approaches, or tolerate ambiguity in order to find a joint resolution. Among all respondents about 70% prefered high risk-taking. However there were significant variations by culture. The Japanese for example have only 18% choosing a high level for risk-taking. More significant risk takers were France (90%) India (89%) and the U.K (88%). Development of a Strategy An important aspect in developing a cross-cultural negotiation strategy revolves around preparation. First, in addition to analyzing the current issues that brought the parties, it is better to study the other negotiator’s culture and history. Next, it is necessary that a negotiator be self-aware of his or her own culture. Finally, to do a relationship with the other parties involved before the negotiations begin is time well spent. The negotiator’s skills in research and preparing the environment will impact the negotiation positively. Knowledge gained concerning a culture’s various interests is also significant to the cross-cultural negotiator. For exa mple, for those that generally have a low tolerance for ambiguity, precise information is very important. A strategy for conducting cross-cultural negotiations can be developed. Chris Moore and Peter Woodrow have identified five strategies based on theShow MoreRelatedInfluence Of Japanese Culture On Business Relationships And Negotiations1781 Words   |  8 Pages possible to meet a buyer’s wishes† (The Influence of Japanese Culture on Business Relationships and Negotiations, 1992, p. 56). Because the seller is in the lower position, they should use honorific language when addressing the buyer or they risk alienating a potential customer. Japan’s vertical structure can also lock Americans out due to the reciprocal relationships many businesses have with large banks and corporations. This structure is called keiretsu, of family of companies. 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Reaso nably, the above scenario depicts different cultures engaging in a negotiation processRead MoreCulture Difference in Business Negotiation1456 Words   |  6 PagesÃ¥  ·Ã¯ ¼Å¡08203241 è â€Ã§ ³ »Ã¦â€" ¹Ã¥ ¼ Ã¯ ¼Å¡*********** è ® ºÃ¦â€"‡æ  â€¡Ã© ¢ËœÃ¯ ¼Å¡Ã¦â€"‡åÅ'â€"Ã¥ · ®Ã¥ ¼â€šÃ¥ ¯ ¹Ã¥â€¢â€ Ã¥Å  ¡Ã¨ °Ë†Ã¥Ë† ¤Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¥ ½ ±Ã¥â€œ  2010Ã¥ ¹ ´6æÅ"ˆ Titleï ¼Å¡the influence of cultural difference on business negotiation 〠Abstract】International business negotiation is playing a more and more important role in modem society. We can see clearly that there are great differences in international business negotiation. 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The objectives of this literature are: †¢ Identify the strategies and tactics for different ways of arguing †¢ Identify how culture influences the ways of arguing †¢ Evaluate the effectiveness of ways of arguing at different cultures †¢ Identify the interaction of the two strategies when different cultures meet In this literature, most of the literature collected is through online platforms, such as UWE online library and Google Scholar while hardcopy books that wereRead MoreThe International Business Negotiations Influenced By Chinese And American Cultures And Differences743 Words   |  3 Pagesbusiness negotiations influenced by Chinese and American cultures and differences Jialin Zhao CMN6060 Professor Stephen Novick October 26, 2016 Abstract Cultural negotiations are business negotiations with different cultural conditions. Under the background of economic globalization and international economic integration, the business ties between countries are becoming more and more closely. In order to avoid cultural conflicts, it is important to understand the different cultures of differentRead MoreInfluence Of Cultural Differences On International Business Negotiations Essay1077 Words   |  5 Pages2. The influence of cultural differences on international business negotiations In the negotiation practice, many negotiators often do not understand or pay attention to the important influence of the cultural importance of the negotiations. During the international business negotiating the process, some negotiators may have been aware that the different or hard to understand the concrete manifestation. However, some foreign negotiators, in order to maintain a harmonious relationship between theRead MoreThe Iranian Revolution755 Words   |  4 Pagesengage in direct talks, as marked by a meeting between both sides in Geneva in 2009. The US recognises the role Iran could play in the stability of the region with its involvement in the Syria civil war by supporting the Assad regime, its incredible influence in Iraq, and the proxy war with Saudi Arabia in the form of the Houthi-Sunni conflict in Yemen. These factors appear to have encouraged Washington to change its approach to Iran from isolation to one of cautious engagement. The conflict between

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Traditional Medicine Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Traditional or Alternative Medicine. Answer: In the recent healthcare system in Australia, Europe and North America, traditional medicine (TM) is highly embraced, however, is also referring to Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). There are attractive features of the TM that includes cultural acceptance, greater accessibility in different parts of the world and require lesser technology and low cost. However, in developed countries, CAM is being used for the prevention of disease and in the maintenance of illness apart from conventional care for acute and chronic health conditions. CAM is a holistic approach that encompasses the mind, body and spirit for the treatment of the person being less invasive as compared to conventional practices (Mehta, 2012). In Australia, it is slowing incorporating into the mainstream, however, remains a controversial topic. Therefore, the following essay discusses the pros, cons of CAM and critique through a literature search that includes 12 articles from the year 2012 to 2017. In the current healthcare system, CAM has gained popularity where it has mainstreamed the conventional and traditional treatment. The pros of this therapy make it popular and widely popular as compared to the traditional medicine approach used in the new healthcare system. In this section, the merits of CAM are being discussed as opposed to the traditional medicine approach. This treatment is emphasized on the whole body care, which is different from the conventional medicine being a holistic approach. There is whole body treatment where the growing trend is not only towards the physical body, but also towards the emotional and spiritual health of the patient (Harris et al., 2012). According to Wardle, Lui Adams, (2012), there is a growing interest for the CAM, as it is a holistic approach and on rise. Personal attention is another benefit of the alternative medicine as it provides personal attention. The followers who follow this therapy not only focus on the physical health, but a lso the mental and social health aspects of the illness affecting an individual. This factor provides healthier focus on the causes of the ailments rather that result in the imbalances in the body originally (Wu et al., 2014). CAM has one more advantage that it focuses on the prevention. The traditional medicine provides intervention after the disease onset; however, alternative medicine focus on prevention of the disease before it occurs in addition to the care delivery (Hawk, Ndetan Evans, 2012). After the literature search, I found that there are wide applications of CAM for the treatment of diseases ranging from mental health problems like mood disorders to fatal diseases like cancer. According to Libby, Pilver Desai, (2013) the study conducted described the use of CAM in the treatment of emotional and mental problems in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) individuals. Data was collected from the 599 individuals with PSTD and descriptive analyses showed 15 cases where CAM was used for treatment. CAM was used as an alternative to the conventional medicine in the mental health care. In another systematic content analysis, according to Shim, (2015) there are two CAM interventions herbal medicine and ac upuncture that are popular in U.S. and Japan. The results showed that herbal medicine is integrated into the mainstream medical system in Japan and least in America. Acupuncture is less commonly practiced in America, Japan, and herbal medicine being most favorable in Japan and least in America. According to Thomson et al., (2012) CAM is widespread and highly prevalent in Australia among the adult population. The results of the cross-sectional study showed that CAM is highly popular in Australia, however, people does not seek advice from their physicians before and after using CAM that require further consideration. According to Kang et al., (2012) there is increase in CAM use among breast cancer patients in Korea. Around 57.4% of patients were reported to use this therapy that included exercise therapy and consumption of vitamins and minerals that boosted their immune system, promoted health and prevented recurrence. In another study through structured interviews, it showed that they used CAM among cancer patients as it helped them for sustenance of strength and gained ability to perform activities. In a cross-sectional, study through interview-administered questionnaire conducted by Jazieh et al., (2012) the results showed that complementary therapies are highly prevalent in Saudi Arabia with interventions that indicate religious background and strong cultural beliefs when people are suffering from life-threatening diseases. CAM is also used in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among the patients who experienced adverse side effects of conventional medications. Alternative medicine is also used in residential palliative care among German patients with advanced cancer in the form of prayer and supplements as studied by Paul et al., (2013). Similar study conducted by Weizman et al., (2012) also showed that CAM is prevalent among the IBD patients and helps to reduce the adverse effects of the conventional medicines. The above primary studies conducted on CAM in different countries for life-threatening diseases depicts that CAM is a holistic approach and achievable option to cure problems and its integration in the current healthcare system. Although, CAM is gaining popularity in the current healthcare system, there are challenges faced that acts as obstacles in the path of its integration into the countrys medical and healthcare system. This is scarcity of evidence based practice and lack of research regarding the CAM that are scientifically documented with rigid clinical trials. Although, CAM are beneficial, there is lack of clinical trials with unknown long and short term risks associated with its administration. There is also lack of evidence-based practice to confirm that CAM administration guidelines comply with the Australian standards and have the potential to integrate into the current healthcare system (Reddy, Grossman Rogers, 2013). There is limited scientific research regarding CAM as compared to traditional medical treatment where the evidence is limited and many questions left unanswered. Several studies are under way and research is still going on. There is a big confusion between the words safe and natural as many herbal medicines and dietary supplements fall under CAM that are misinterpreted as natural. This raises a red flag and the manufacturers make unprecedented claims that the alternative medicine products contain secret ingredients and have miracle cures (Ekor, 2014). Another big challenge is whether the CAM treatment is effective, safe contains standardized ingredients and regulated. Almost half of the healthcare professional are not aware of the complementary practices and highly expose the disadvantages of this approach compared to traditional medicine (Koithan et al., 2012). Another big disadvantage of alternative therapies is the potential dangerous interactions and side effects. This approach is dependent upon the medical conditions and the diseases the person might be suffering from and can sometimes project adverse side effects (Epstein Krasner, 2013). These alternative medicines are not scientifically tested and there is no regulation by the government agencies. The Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health do not provide regulation guidelines for alternative medicine and still require scientific proving with strict quality check and testing protocols. There is no such standardization of the medicines used in alterna tive medicine therapies, as there is varying degrees of responses and results in treating the treatment. According to Tautz et al., (2012) in a cross-sectional study, CAM was used in breast cancer, however, there was less compliance to CAM and reluctant to initiate this practice in the standard oncology care. This is the reason CAM is still a holistic approach and lack of training and knowledge about the CAM options for the patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. This is the main con of CAM that restrains them from seeking this medicine therapy. The differences in extraction process leads to chemical variances that can lead to varying degrees of pharmacological activities and mechanisms that can cause interferences with the prescribed medications. As there is lack of evidence-based research and scientific proof, it may take a longer time for an individual to seek expert opinion on the effect of the alternative medications. This can result in the progression of the disease like cancer that remains undiagnosed until the benefits are completely known. This lack of research and variance in the treatment options makes it difficult for the complementary therapies to integrate in the current evidence based healthcare system (Frawley et al., 2013). From the above discussion, it is evident that the traditional or alternative medicine therapies have the potential to integrate into the current healthcare system, although has certain cons and limitations. The main argument in this discussion was whether the traditional and alternative medicine has the ability to provide the individual and patient-centred care treatment and their choices on how the integration should take place. There are various benefits of CAM like pain management, cancer and IBD treatment and mental health. Alternative medicines have the potential to relieve pain as compared to traditional treatment options. Similarly, alternative therapies in conjugation with chemotherapy help in increasing the survival rates and reduce potential side effects. It also helps to lessen the adverse side effects of the cancer that are experienced by the patients due to prescribed medicines. Alternative medicine therapies are less expensive as compared to the conventional or traditio nal medical treatments. Another great advantage is the use of alternative medicine in the mental health for curing disorders like PTSD and mood disorders. It helps to provide overall well-being to the mental health patients as it focuses overall body care that encompasses healing of body, spirit and mind. The relaxation treatment options like meditation, massage therapy helps a mental health patient in relaxing and in stress reduction. However, the other side of the argument was the cons and potential issues associated with traditional or alternative medicine. There are no proper guidelines and updated research regarding the safe and reliable use of the alternative medicinal approach. There is lack of evidence-based research that proves the compliance of these treatment systems into the current healthcare system. There is no such controlled trial or testing of the alternative medicines to know the safety and quality of ingredients used in the alternative medications. Although, both the systems have place in the society, there is still lack of research to suggest its integration into the current healthcare system. In this discussion, both the perspectives are valid as the role of a nurse is to provide high quality of care and ensure patient safety regardless of the origin of the medicinal treatment in the current healthcare system. The research articles used for the essay research are mainly peer-reviewed primary source journal articles. The government websites, cross-sectional studies, interviews, questionnaires and descriptive studies that are primary sources have been included in the information. Some articles were of good quality as the studies conducted showed positive results and no alternations from the main research. The articles comprised of the primary studies that are qualitative as well quantitative in nature. The studies in the articles are structured interviews, scientific experimentation that studied the efficacy of traditional and CAM treatment conducted in different countries. The articles chosen studied the use of CAM in the treatment of various life-threatening diseases like cancer, IBD and mental health disorders like mood disorders and PTSD. Some articles used had descriptive studies conducted in the form of structured interviews and questionnaires on the various observational outcomes of the CAM on life threatening diseases. In those articles, the effectiveness of CAM is not studied properly as the results deviated from the main research. Out of 20 articles, 12 articles were considered eligible for the research retrieved from Cochrane, Medline and Ovid. The articles were mainly cross-sectional studies conducted in the form of interviews and questionnaires given to the participants. This might be a drawback in the research study as the structured interviews contain closed-ended questions. The perceptions and perspective of the patients regarding the use of CAM might require open-ended questions, as they are descriptive. This is the reason the articles were carefully selected that is current and is not older than 7 years from 2012 to 2017. The articles are published in renowned journals retrieved from authentic databases that make it globally accepted and provide credible information for the research. References Ekor, M. (2014). The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety.Frontiers in pharmacology,4, 177. Epstein, R. M., Krasner, M. S. (2013). Physician resilience: what it means, why it matters, and how to promote it.Academic Medicine,88(3), 301-303. Frawley, J., Adams, J., Sibbritt, D., Steel, A., Broom, A., Gallois, C. (2013). Prevalence and determinants of complementary and alternative medicine use during pregnancy: results from a nationally representative sample of Australian pregnant women.Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,53(4), 347-352. Harris, P. E., Cooper, K. L., Relton, C., Thomas, K. J. (2012). Prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by the general population: a systematic review and update.International journal of clinical practice,66(10), 924-939. Hawk, C., Ndetan, H., Evans, M. W. (2012). Potential role of complementary and alternative health care providers in chronic disease prevention and health promotion: an analysis of National Health Interview Survey data.Preventive medicine,54(1), 18-22. Jazieh, A. R., Al Sudairy, R., Abulkhair, O., Alaskar, A., Al Safi, F., Sheblaq, N., ... Tamim, H. (2012). Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with cancer in Saudi Arabia.The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine,18(11), 1045-1049. Kang, E., Yang, E. J., Kim, S. M., Chung, I. Y., Han, S. A., Ku, D. H., ... Kim, S. W. (2012). Complementary and alternative medicine use and assessment of quality of life in Korean breast cancer patients: a descriptive study.Supportive Care in Cancer,20(3), 461-473. Koithan, M., Bell, I. R., Niemeyer, K., Pincus, D. (2012). A complex systems science perspective for whole systems of complementary and alternative medicine research.Complementary Medicine Research,19(Suppl. 1), 7-14. Libby, D. J., Pilver, C. E., Desai, R. (2013). Complementary and alternative medicine use among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder.Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy,5(3), 277. Mehta, D. (2012). Complementary and alternative medicine. InPhysicians Pathways to Non-Traditional Careers and Leadership Opportunities(pp. 309-314). Springer New York. Paul, M., Davey, B., Senf, B., Stoll, C., Muenstedt, K., Muecke, R., ... Hbner, J. (2013). Patients with advanced cancer and their usage of complementary and alternative medicine.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology,139(9), 1515-1522. Reddy, K. K., Grossman, L., Rogers, G. S. (2013). Common complementary and alternative therapies with potential use in dermatologic surgery: risks and benefits.Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology,68(4), e127-e135. Shim, J. M. (2015). The influence of social context on the treatment outcomes of complementary and alternative medicine: the case of acupuncture and herbal medicine in Japan and the US.Globalization and health,11(1), 17. Tautz, E., Momm, F., Hasenburg, A., Guethlin, C. (2012). Use of complementary and alternative medicine in breast cancer patients and their experiences: a cross-sectional study.European Journal of Cancer,48(17), 3133-3139. Thomson, P., Jones, J., Evans, J. M., Leslie, S. L. (2012). Factors influencing the use of complementary and alternative medicine and whether patients inform their primary care physician.Complementary therapies in medicine,20(1), 45-53. Wardle, J., Lui, C. W., Adams, J. (2012). Complementary and alternative medicine in rural communities: current research and future directions.The Journal of Rural Health,28(1), 101-112. Weizman, A. V., Ahn, E., Thanabalan, R., Leung, W., Croitoru, K., Silverberg, M. S., ... Nguyen, G. C. (2012). Characterisation of complementary and alternative medicine use and its impact on medication adherence in inflammatory bowel disease.Alimentary pharmacology therapeutics,35(3), 342-349. Wu, C. H., Wang, C. C., Tsai, M. T., Huang, W. T., Kennedy, J. (2014). Trend and pattern of herb and supplement use in the United States: results from the 2002, 2007, and 2012 national health interview surveys.Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine,2014.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Market Research and Project Management

Question: Discuss about the Market Research and Project Management. Answer: Introduction: Customer satisfaction is an essential element for organizations to achieve competitive advantage in the market (Steven, Dong and Dresner 2012). Specifically, aviation industry has experienced continues changes for past few decades, as more number of people are looking to avail airline services. For that reason, maintaining the satisfaction level of the customers with provided quality of services has emerged as one of the major challenges for the airline organizations. Moreover, introduction of private global companies in the Malaysian market has enhanced the significance of maintaining proper onboard experiences in order to achieve sustainable expansion in the market. In this study, the focus would be on the provided quality of onboard services by Malaysian Airlines for keeping the satisfaction level of the customers at the desired level. Malaysian Airlines was established on October 1972 with the objective of providing domestic and international airline services to the customers (malaysiaairlines.com 2017). Presently, Malaysian Airlines is facing challenges to compete with the other prime organizations regarding the provided quality of services. In this study, the focus would be on the kind of impact that proper onboard experiences can have on the satisfaction level of the customers. The study would also focuses on providing suggestions to Malaysian Airlines regarding the kind of onboard services they will have to provide in maintaining the satisfaction level of the customers at the desired level. Research aim: The study aims to analyze the impact of onboard experiences provided by Malaysian Airlines on the customer satisfaction. Research objectives: The study would consider following objectives, To highlight the significance of maintaining superior quality onboard services for achieving sustainable expansion in the market To identify the factors that affects quality of the onboard services provided by the Malaysian Airlines To critically evaluate the impact of provided quality of onboard services by Malaysian Airlines on customer satisfaction To provide effective recommendations regarding the best possible way to enhance the quality onboard services for Malaysian Airlines Literature review: The significance of maintaining customer satisfaction: As opined by Baker (2013) customer satisfaction is a great indicator for moving the business forward. Thus, it actually helps organizations to assess the kind of demand it would have to face in near future. For that reason, organizations have always focused on developing effective strategies so that the satisfaction level of the customers remains at the optimum level. Specifically, in the present extremely competitive industry like aviation sector, organizations will have to be extremely careful in maintaining the customer satisfaction level. As per the article by Namukasa (2013) customer satisfaction can be use as a indicator to understand the loyalty and purchasing decision of the people. It has been assessed that satisfied customers are more likely to come back to that particular organization in future. Therefore, it would help organizations to retail its customers for long period of time. Moreover, satisfied customers also help organizations to use the word of mouth publicity in an effective manner. As a result, it helps organizations to establish strong brand image on the market (Wu and Cheng 2013). Furthermore, satisfied customers also help organizations to differentiate itself from all other business entities in the market, which eventually create positive impact on the overall business perspective. Importance of maintaining superior quality in onboard services: As highlighted by Suki (2014) with the increasing level of competition in the airline sector, every aviation companies have focused on providing superior quality of onboard services to maintain the satisfaction level of the customers at the optimum level. For that reason, airline organizations have focused on segregating the customers in different class including first class, business class and economy class. Different organizations have focused on providing different luxurious facilities to its entire customers so that they remain loyal to the organization. For instance, first class services include luxurious cabin with excellent personalized services to fulfil all the requirements of the customers. On the other hand, business class customers are provided with spaciousness, comfort and advance technologies so that they do not feel bore at the time of travelling (Osman and Sentosa 2013). Moreover, economy class customers are also provided with excellent services to maintain the satis faction at the desired level. Moreover, airline organizations have focused on providing onboard connectivity services to the customers so that they remain updated about the flight details. In fact, airline organizations are currently trying to provide onboard Wi-Fi services to the customers for achieving competitive lead in the market. Impact of quality onboard service on maintaining customer satisfaction rate: As suggested by Hussain, Al Nasser and Hussain (2015) it is necessary for the organizations to focus maintaining the quality of onboard services for achieving optimum satisfaction level of the customers. In fact, organizations need to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented strategies for maintaining the satisfaction level of the customers in an effective way. For that reason, airline companies focuses six service metrics or standards including overall service, personnel service, information given, n-board comfort, on-board cleanliness and on-board food services, which can directly impact on the satisfaction level of customers. For instance, on-board food services and cleanliness can have direct impact on the satisfaction rate, which eventually create adverse impact on the businesses. For that reason, majority of the airline companies focuses on utilizing Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) for understanding the satisfaction level of customers continuously (Liat, Mansori and Huei 2014). Literature review: From the above discussion, it is obvious that maintenance of standards in the provided quality of on-board services is essential for maintaining the satisfaction level of the customers at the desired level. However, due to continues changes in the customer preferences, airline sector has to change the provided onboard services for maintaining the satisfaction of the customers at the desired level. Moreover, increasing demand of airline industry has also increases the level of challenges associated with the business process. Therefore, the study will focus on understanding the exact amount of impact that provided onboard services can have on the customer satisfaction level. Methodology: Research philosophy: Research philosophy represents a significant part of research methodology that tries to cover all possible aspect of the topic. Effective use of research philosophy allows study to create different assumptions and beliefs regarding the consumer satisfaction perspective. Positivism, realism and interpretivism are the three parts of research philosophy that studies use for fulfilling objectives (Mackey and Gass 2015). Now, in order to understand the impact of onboard services on customer satisfaction, the focus would be on positivism philosophy. The study would consider positivism, as it would allow predict and explain different factors associated with the topic. Moreover, it would allow the study to establish hypothesis regarding onboard services and customer satisfaction concept. Positivism philosophy would also allow the study to include logic regarding different concept, which eventually add value to the study. On the other hand, due to limitation of time, the study would not consi der other philosophies. Research approach: According to Silverman (2016), research approach is another crucial factor that can have major impact on the successful completion of the study. Inductive, abductive and deductive are the three parts of the research approach that studies try to use for successful completion of the topic. For highlighting the significance of onboard services on the satisfaction level of the customers, the study would consider deductive approach. It has been assessed that deductive approach would allow the study test the formulated hypothesis in an effective way. Moreover, it would also allow the study to include different previous theoretical concept about the onboard services and customer satisfaction within the airline industry. Therefore, it would also help to add value to the research study. In addition, deductive approach would also help the study to minimize the risk level as much as possible. Conversely, the study would not consider other approach, as it does not require introduction of any new theories or concepts. Research design: Research design represents a general plan that a particular study will consider for fulfilling all the research objectives in an appropriate manner. Conclusive and exploratory are the types of research design that studies consider for completing all the requirements within given timeframe (Flick 2015). In order to analyze the significance of the onboard services on customer satisfaction concept, the study would select exploratory research design. The study would consider exploratory design, as it would help to analyze different research questions in an effective way. Moreover, selection of exploratory design would allow the study to become flexible. Therefore, it would help to make necessary changes in the research process. Exploratory design would also help the study to understand the future challenges associated with research topic. Therefore, it would help to provide proper and effective recommendation about the research topic. Data collection and analysis method: Data collection represents a significant part of the methodology, as entire outcome of the study heavily depends on the collected information. Now, studies can consider primary or secondary data collection process for capturing appropriate information (Panneerselvam 2014). In order to understand the impact of onboard services on customer satisfaction level, the study would consider primary data collection technique. The study would consider primary technique, as it would help to portray the present picture of the market effectively. Moreover, it would also help the study to highlight all possible factors that can have impact on the research topic. For understanding the impact of onboard services on customer satisfaction, the study would consider both qualitative and quantitative approach. Selection of both the approach would help the study to identify the trend and also differences in perspective in an effective way. The study would utilize sampling technique for the fulfilment of the research objectives. According to Neuman and Robson (2012), probability and non-probability represents two part of sampling technique that studies consider for completing all the requirements within the given timeframe. However, non-probability sampling technique would be considered for this study to collect proper information about the research topic. The study would consider 100 regular customers of Malaysian Airlines for the collection of quantitative data. On the other hand, the study would select 5 senior managers of Malaysian Airlines for capturing qualitative data about the research topic. The study would select online survey technique for imprisoning quantitative data. On the other hand, telephonic interview will be conducted for the collection of qualitative information. The study would consciously try to include different statistical tools like mean, median and mode for ensuring the collected information can provide desired outcome. Formal plan: Research process: According to Miller et al. (2012), planning or proper selection of research process is vital for completing all the activities with the given timeframe. For that reason, the study would select systematic approach to ensure successful accomplishment of all the objectives. Firstly, the study would evaluate among the different topics related to aviation industry for selecting an interesting topic. Therefore, it would allow the research to select topic with different alternatives. Secondly, the study would focus on the formulation of clear aim and objectives for ensuring proper future path. Thirdly, the study would focus on developing literature review section based on onboard services on customer satisfaction. In this step, the study would select and analyze different previous models and theories related to onboard services and customer satisfaction concept. Here, focus will be on including different perspective of different articles so that it can add value to the research study. Fourt hly, the research process will focus on developing effective research methodology for ensuring it can accomplish all the requirements in an appropriate manner. This step would also include selection of data collection technique so that the collected data can fulfil the research objectives. It would also focus on identifying best possible data analysis technique for achieving desired outcome effectively. Timeline: Activities WK 1-2 WK 3-4 WK 5-6 WK 7-8 WK 9-10 WK 11-12 WK 13-14 Selection of research topic Identification of previous journals and articles Formulating layout Literature review Configuration of the research plan Methodology selection Selection of primary data collection process Identification of statistical tools for data analysis Expected outcomes Development of Rough Draft Final Submission Table 1: Gantt chart (Source: Created by the author) References: Baker, D.M.A., 2013. Service quality and customer satisfaction in the airline industry: a comparison between legacy airlines and low-cost airlines.American Journal of Tourism Research,2(1), pp.67-77. Flick, U., 2015.Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project. Sage. Hussain, R., Al Nasser, A. and Hussain, Y.K., 2015. Service quality and customer satisfaction of a UAE-based airline: An empirical investigation.Journal of Air Transport Management,42, pp.167-175. Liat, C.B., Mansori, S. and Huei, C.T., 2014. The associations between service quality, corporate image, customer satisfaction, and loyalty: Evidence from the Malaysian hotel industry.Journal of hospitality marketing management,23(3), pp.314-326. Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015.Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge. malaysiaairlines.com, 2017.Home | Malaysia Airlines. [online] Malaysiaairlines.com. Available at: https://www.malaysiaairlines.com [Accessed 4 Feb. 2017]. Miller, T., Birch, M., Mauthner, M. and Jessop, J. eds., 2012.Ethics in qualitative research. Sage. Namukasa, J., 2013. The influence of airline service quality on passenger satisfaction and loyalty: The case of Uganda airline industry.The TQM Journal,25(5), pp.520-532. Neuman, W.L. and Robson, K., 2012. Basics of social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Osman, Z. and Sentosa, I., 2013. Mediating effect of customer satisfaction on service quality and customer loyalty relationship in Malaysian rural tourism. Panneerselvam, R., 2014.Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.. Silverman, D. ed., 2016.Qualitative research. Sage. Solomon, M.R., 2014.Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being(Vol. 10). Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Steven, A.B., Dong, Y. and Dresner, M., 2012. Linkages between customer service, customer satisfaction and performance in the airline industry: Investigation of non-linearities and moderating effects.Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review,48(4), pp.743-754. Suki, N.M., 2014. Passenger satisfaction with airline service quality in Malaysia: A structural equation modeling approach.Research in transportation business management,10, pp.26-32. Wu, H.C. and Cheng, C.C., 2013. A hierarchical model of service quality in the airline industry.Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management,20, pp.13-22.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Police Cuuroption Essays - , Term Papers, Research Papers

Police Cuuroption Police corruption is a complex issue. Police corruption or the abuse of authority by a police officer, acting officially to fulfill personal needs or wants, is a growing problem in the United States today. Things such as an Internal Affairs department, a strong leadership organization, and community support are just a few considerations in the prevention of police corruption. An examination of a local newspaper or any police-related publication in an urban city during any given week would most likely have an article about a police officer that got caught committing some kind of corrupt act. Police corruption has increased dramatically with the illegal cocaine trade, with officers acting alone or in-groups to steal money from dealers or distribute cocaine themselves. Large groups of corrupt police have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, as well as many other cities. Corruption within police departments falls into 2 basic categories, external corruption and internal corruption. In this research project, I will concentrate on external corruption. Recently, external corruption has been given the larger center of attention. I have decided to include the fairly recent accounts of corruption from a few major cities, mainly New York, because that is where I have lived in the past year. I compiled my information from a number of articles written in the New York Times over the last few years. My definitional information and background data came from books that have been written on the issues of police corruption. Those books helped me create a basis of just what the different types of corruption, as well as how and why corruption happens. Corruption in policing is usually viewed as the mistreatment of authority by police officer acting officially to fulfill personal needs or wants. For a corrupt act to occur, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously: 1) mishandling of authority, 2) mishandling of official capacity, and 3) mishandling of personal attainment (Dantzker, 1995: p 157). It can be said that power, inevitably tends to corrupt. It is yet to be recognized that while there is no reason to suppose that policemen as individuals are any less fallible than other members of society, people are often shocked and outraged when policemen are exposed violating the law. The reason is simple; their deviance elicits a special feeling of betrayal. Most studies support the view that corruption is endemic, if not universal, in police departments. The danger of corruption for police, is that it may invert the formal goals of the organization and may lead to the use of organizational power to encourage and create crime rather than to deter it (Sherman 1978: p 31). Police corruption falls into two major categories-- external corruption, which concerns police contacts with the public; and internal corruption, which involves the relationships among policemen within the works of the police department. The external corruption generally consists of one or more of the following activities: 1) Payoffs to the police, by people who essentially violate non-criminal elements, who fail to comply with stringent statutes or city ordinances. 2) Payoffs to the police, by individuals who continually break the law, using various methods to earn illegal money. 3) Clean Graft where money is paid to the police for services, or where courtesy discounts are given as a matter of course to the police. Police officers have been involved in activities such as extortion of money and/or narcotics from drug violators. In order for these violators to avoid arrest, the police officers have accepted bribes, and accepted narcotics, which they turned around and sold. These polic e know of the violations, and fail to take proper enforcement action. They have entered into personal associations with narcotics criminals and in some cases have used narcotics. They have given false testimonies in court in order to obtain dismissal of the charges against a defendant (Sherman 1978: p 129). A scandal is perceived both as a socially constructed phenomenon, and as an agent of change that can lead to realignments in the structure of power within organizations. New York, for instance, has had more than a half dozen major scandals concerning its police department within a century. It was the Knapp

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Free Essays on Manliness Belittles Women

Manliness belittles Women There is a major setback plaguing our society. This setback has been lurking about ever since men were young boys growing up. Americans idea of manhood is disgraceful. â€Å"Nurturing† parents tried to obtain a certain idea on how a young boy is to act and play with others. Most parents did not like their boys playing with girl dolls and forced them play with action figures instead. This image causes a problem with men, trying to act more manly and manliness sets the stage of belittling women. Some men feel ashamed of their own sensitivity because they are taught to consider these as feminine and weak or negative qualities. They often subject women into becoming subservient, using women as sex objects, and, most importantly, abuse. Women have internalized being subservient and accepted a system where, in relation to men, they are less strong, less creative, and less worthwhile in every way. Men expect his wife to be subservient by cooking and cleaning, washing their clothes, and staying at home to raise children. Most men think that a woman’s place is in the home not out in the workforce. With this being said, a woman must try twice as hard inside the workforce to obtain a status compared to a man’s little effort. She is not meant and designed to work, as the man works, and bring home the money because, according to a man, that is his job. These duties are what a wife is supposed to do and if she does not complete these tasks, nobody will. A male would rather starve and go hungry than to warm up his own food from inside the refrigerator. Also, some men feel that â€Å"stay-at-home-dads† are immoral because it portrays a feminine quality within their character. Men have different perception s about important things such as work or children. A majority of women describe themselves as being "lucky" if their partners "help" them with the children, "contribute" to house-work, cook, and "assist" her in other ... Free Essays on Manliness Belittles Women Free Essays on Manliness Belittles Women Manliness belittles Women There is a major setback plaguing our society. This setback has been lurking about ever since men were young boys growing up. Americans idea of manhood is disgraceful. â€Å"Nurturing† parents tried to obtain a certain idea on how a young boy is to act and play with others. Most parents did not like their boys playing with girl dolls and forced them play with action figures instead. This image causes a problem with men, trying to act more manly and manliness sets the stage of belittling women. Some men feel ashamed of their own sensitivity because they are taught to consider these as feminine and weak or negative qualities. They often subject women into becoming subservient, using women as sex objects, and, most importantly, abuse. Women have internalized being subservient and accepted a system where, in relation to men, they are less strong, less creative, and less worthwhile in every way. Men expect his wife to be subservient by cooking and cleaning, washing their clothes, and staying at home to raise children. Most men think that a woman’s place is in the home not out in the workforce. With this being said, a woman must try twice as hard inside the workforce to obtain a status compared to a man’s little effort. She is not meant and designed to work, as the man works, and bring home the money because, according to a man, that is his job. These duties are what a wife is supposed to do and if she does not complete these tasks, nobody will. A male would rather starve and go hungry than to warm up his own food from inside the refrigerator. Also, some men feel that â€Å"stay-at-home-dads† are immoral because it portrays a feminine quality within their character. Men have different perception s about important things such as work or children. A majority of women describe themselves as being "lucky" if their partners "help" them with the children, "contribute" to house-work, cook, and "assist" her in other ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Is it5 a good argument critical thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is it5 a good argument critical thinking - Essay Example Analyzing a shorter argument involves numbering their premises and the conclusion and lastly representing their relationship with arrows. On the other hand, an arrow is used to represent a statement that gives logical support for another statement. However, if there are multiple statements, which give relationship for one another, the relationship is represented by a plus and an arrow. Therefore, there are two types of support, the independent and dependent support. Independent support does not depend on another statement while dependent support depends on another statement. When it comes to longer arguments, there is a need to summarize than to diagram them. Diagramming longer arguments is tiresome than summarizing them. Diagramming an argument has several factors connected. In diagramming, a conclusion is first identified, and then attention is paid to the premise and the conclusion. Sentences are neither broken up nor numbered since sentences don’t represent a single statement (Barnet, 1999). Another aspect of critical thinking is evaluation of arguments and truth claims. When evaluating an argument, there are two questions to be asked. Is the argument a good argument? And secondly, are the premises acceptable? For an argument to be rated as a good argument, it must have several characteristics. For example, the argument must be precise and clear. This means that somebody must understand the argument for it to be a good argument. Additionally, the premises must be relevant with the topic. The argument must be consistency and additionally, it must be fair. On the general knowledge, a good argument highlights out all bodies that surrounds critical thinking (Ruggiero, 2004). It is obvious that arguments have premises and conclusions. But when is it necessary to accept premises. There is the use of the principle of rational acceptance. This means that a claim is accepted if the claim does not occur in a conflicting side with the personal

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Transitions for children with special needs Literature review

Transitions for children with special needs - Literature review Example These points of transition are especially significant in the lives of the child and their family, involving considerable stress and challenges for families, children, receiving, and sending staff. Several theoretical frameworks exist that are significant in the conceptualization of the process of transition, especially for children with special needs. These include the Bio-ecological Model, the McCubbin and McCubbin Resiliency Model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation, and the Conceptual Transition Model. Avalos-Snyder & Haugen (2014: p54) expounds on the Bio-ecological Model, discussing its focus on the development of children with special needs within the context of their immediate environment and their family, as well as the more distal and larger influences portended by the wider community. Relationships and interactions are viewed as being influential on the child’s development, occurring with the passing of time. Transition of children with special needs to school is characterized in this manner, in which the child is placed in the middle of the entire process and is influenced by their interactions with the immediate environment. McCubbin and McCubbin’s resiliency model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation, as discussed by Rosenkoetter et al (2008: p34), concentrates on the vulnerabilities and strengths of the child’s family, such as the family’s ability to assess their child’s situation, problem solving, family functioning patterns, and their utilization of coping skills. The model uses these factors together in combination with consideration of the resources that are available to the family in its exploration of how these families adjust to change in the initial stages, as well as how they adapt to crises that they face. Dockett et al (2011: p49) applies the resiliency model of family stress, adaptation,

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Herbal remedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Herbal remedy - Essay Example The NCCAM is a government initiative that is sponsored by National Institute of Health and Department of Health and Human Service, USA. Garlic is one of the most important herbs which are extensively used as complementary and alterative medicine. The information about garlic can be easily accessed through the following web-link. Website address: http://nccam.nih.gov/ Process to access information about garlic One can either use Google as search engine for finding the website of NCCAM or just type the above mentioned web address on the address bar at the top of the Google homepage. Once the homepage of NCCAM is accessed, select the link to Herbs At a Glance, which is on the vertical bar at the left side of the homepage, under the title of Health. The new link has huge options of herbs with medicinal value. Choose garlic as your final link and access all types of information regarding it. Why garlic is important herb? I was interested in garlic because since the olden times, it has bee n part of our food culture. It has also been known for its highly effective medicinal value. The webpage provides detailed information about it. Salient information gleaned from the garlic webpage Garlic is a plant in the form of bulb that belongs to lily family. The bulb consists of cloves which are used in various ways. The paste of garlic cloves gives exotic taste to the food.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Porter Five Forces Analysis Economics Essay

Porter Five Forces Analysis Economics Essay In 1979 the renowned business strategist Michael E. Porter identified five competitive forces that influence planning strategies in a model called porters five forces. It is a management tool that allows an external analysis of an enterprise, through the analysis of the industry or sector to which it belongs. The competitive forces that this tool considers are: Barriers to entry Threat of substitutes Buyers power Supplier power Degree of rivalry Sorting these forces thus allows a better analysis of the business environment or industry to which it belongs and, thereby, based on this analysis, to design strategies to exploit the opportunities and address the threats. Barriers to entry This point refers to the potential entry of companies that sell the same type of product. If the companies enter to the industry easy, the competition will be more cutthroat. When trying to enter a new business to an industry, it could have entry barriers such as lack of experience, customer loyalty, scarcity  of resources, market saturation, lack of distribution channels, government restrictions or legislationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The analysis of the threat of entry of new competitors it is interesting because it allows us to establish entry barriers that prevent the entry of these competitors. Supplier power It refers to the ability to negotiate with suppliers that have, for example, while there are fewer suppliers, the greater its bargaining power, and that absent such input supply, they can easily increase their prices. Some of the most typical reasons that suppliers might have power are: Many suppliers of a particular product There arent substitutes The product is very important to buyers Switching to another (competitive) product is very costly The analysis of the bargaining power of suppliers, we can design strategies to achieve better agreements with suppliers or, in any case, strategies that allow us to acquire or have more control over them. Buyer power It refers to the ability to negotiate with consumers who have or buyers, for example, while there are fewer buyers, the greater its bargaining power, and that absent such a demand for products, they can claim for lower prices. Besides that there are many buyers, the bargaining power of buyers also might depend on: Volume of purchase The product is not very important to buyers Customers are price sensitive Switching to another (competitive) product is simple The analysis of the bargaining power of consumers and buyers, we can design strategies to attract more customers or obtain greater fidelity or loyalty of these, for example, strategies such as increasing advertising or offering more services or warranties. Availability of substitutes It refers to the potential entry of firms that sell products substitutes or alternatives to the industry. The principal problem could be the similarity of substitutes. For example, if one customer likes coffee but the price of coffee rises substantially, that customer may change the cup of coffee for a tea. In analyzing the threat of substitute products income allows us to design strategies to prevent penetration of companies selling their products or, in any case, strategies that allow us to compete with them. Degree of rivalry This point refers to companies that directly compete in the same industry, offering the same type of product. The degree of rivalry among competitors will increase as raising the amount of these, go matching in size and capacity, lower product demand, prices fall à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The analysis of the rivalry between competitors allows us to compare our strategies and competitive advantages of other rival companies thus know, for example, whether to improve or redesign our strategies. Case study Barriers to entry The threat of new entities entering the oil industry is insignificant due the high barriers to entry that exist. Oil industries need a huge capital associated with the activities, but it depends on the area of the market. In addition, it is required an enormous capital for the development of oil fields. For these reasons the threat of new entries are insignificant, these costs cannot be supported by everyone. This does not only include costs for exploration of new fields, but also for drilling, oilfield services, scientific research, materials and energy, all of which create substantial barriers for potential entrants. Other areas of the oil business require highly specialized workers to operate the equipment. Another barrier prevalent here are economies of scale. Due to the increased unit costs in the exploration and production of oil, only big oil companies and refineries that are able to take advantage of economies of scale can survive. This makes things very difficult for new pla yers, since they usually dont have access to a big number of oil reserves. The need to secure access to distribution channels can also create barriers to entry. Usually only major oil companies possess well established channels of distribution. Oil pipelines for some companies, as means of distribution, are costly and require time to build. This creates obstacles for new entrants. However, some of the greatest impediments for potential entrants come from different government policies that favour national companies in different ways. Oil is state owned resources and governments tend to give access to these raw materials to national companies. Most of the oil-rich countries also allow other companies to engage in the exploitation of oil fields, but in partnership with the national company. Supplier power There are a lot of oil companies in the world, but only a small handful of powerful companies dominated the oil business. The large amounts of capital investment tend to eliminate a lot of the suppliers of rigs, refining à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ There isnt a big competition between them, but they have a bit power over smaller companies. Big oil companies, like Petrobras , have a complex chain of suppliers, ranging from suppliers of oil (fields), to suppliers of engineering, field development management, pipeline installations, specific equipment and materials, or even scientific researchers and engineers. Oil is a scarce resource and we have to speak about OPEC nations. Open nations were the ones to actually nationalize oil production in their countries and take over most of the business from big oil corporations. As OPEC nations own 2/3 of the worlds proven reserves, with oil that is one of the cheapest to produce, they in fact possess significant bargaining power to oil corporations. Therefore OPECs bargaining power is one of the most bargaining powers when it comes to granting oil-fields-concession rights to international companies. The conclusion within this point is that the power distribution between oil companies and their suppliers is that it all depends on the type of the supplier. Big oil companies can exert power due to their position, However, the suppliers of oil fields, with OPEC countries as a specific example, which hold most of the easy-to access oil reserves in the world. Buyer power The oil industry in different comparing with others because the Price of the product is determine on a global level, based on the economic relationship between global demand and supply of oil. The oil customers are refiners, major international companies, national oil companies, marketers, distributors, traders and the countries themselves. The last point it is important due the countries can be the only customers that can exert some degree of bargaining power, through different volumes of demand. These countries are the US, the EU, China and Japan, which account for more than half of the world consumption of oil over the world. Although nowadays countries are experiment with other renewable energies, in the next decades oil will be need and rise especially for transportation and industry. So the conclusion is that only the largest buyers can exert some bargaining power in this market. Availability of substitutes Oil is a dominant and prevailing source of energy, still irreplaceable in many sectors, especially in transportation and industry. The oil exploitation technology is every day more sophisticated, for this reason oil is likely to stay one of the cheapest sources of energy in the following years. However the policies of the countries are working in renewable energies like as: coal, natural gas, renewables (wind, solar energy, From the substitutes, based on the Energy Information Administration, natural gas Governments around the world think also that fossil fuel make a big harm to the planet. The projections are that gas is going to gain significant market share in the industrial, residential and commercial sectors. This is a bad notice to oil industries. Renewable energies, like wind-, hydro- power or hydrogen are expected to slowly but surely increase their market share in the future. However, without major proactive governmental policies aimed at reducing the impacts of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, the process of adopting renewable energies on a large scale is going to be rather slow. So long as these sources of energy have relatively high production costs, they will not be economically competitive to fossil fuels. The conclusion within this point is that oil energy will predominate the following decades, but the intensive search for alternative energy resources will be a real threat for this product. Degree of rivalry The competitive environment in the oil industry can be described as: a few big and strong players and several smaller players with less power. Most of the oil companies are inside the OPEC, so they operate as a single entity, reducing rivalry or competition among these companies. However, it is true that exist a big rivalry between producers when they need to replace drying fields. This leads to make alliances, acquisitions or mergers. In the end, other factors are: the high fixed and storage costs and the lack of product differentiation. http://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/oil_services.asp http://www.smalltimes.com/articles/article_display.cfm?Section=ARCHIC=EnergARTICLE_ID=325165p=109 http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgibin/article.pl?articleId=24938 http://www.fngas.com/green.html http://www.newser.com/article/d977f9io0/bargaining-power-shifts-in-the-globalhunt- for-crude-western-companies-look-to-expand.html http://www.financialexpress.com/news/occidental-ousts-shell-in-developing-oman-oil-field/131414/

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

George Dawes Greens The Juror: Annie :: essays research papers

George Dawes Green's The Juror: Annie I have sustained some of the most appalling trials of this century. Over me I have felt distress, bleakness, sorrow. However none of them were as smashing as Annie's. Have you ever heard about Annie? Oh yes Annie Laird, one of the most kind jurors I have ever met. In George Dawes Greens The Juror, He sumarized the events and, thoroughly explained the pain and anguish Annie had to go through. The woe in which her life revolved after mentioning those lousy words  ¨I need a little excitement in my life  ¨1, well, if Annie needed to add a touch of excitement to her life she should have tried Disneyland not jury duty. What I am about to air is what happened in our little run with the mob. Truly that has a bit of foul humor because I can't run. If you keep on reading you will understand the risks of serving for jury duty  ¨Who will protect you? ¨2 Before I met her, Annie was an unadorned artiste who had just transferred out of Manhattan and into the country. To a small cottage by a lake. Her child, Oliver, who loved to ride his bike, moved in as well. I have to say that when I met Annie for the first time it was as Juror N ° 224. She was a sparkling maid. Who would have thought a rotten soul such as the teacher would try to harm her? I confess that her recoil in the following days impressed me. This time the trial was against Louie Boffano. He was the head of the mob. He and his right hand The Teacher were as bad as they come. The case was the murders of Salvadore Riggio and his grandson. Mr. Boffano was being accused of ordering them. By this time Annie and I already knew the teacher, but we acknowledged him as Zach Lyde. He had a very piquant approach toward Annie; he bought three of her artworks for twelve thousand dollars each. Nevertheless, how were we to imagine that he was part of the mob? By the time that night had come, Zach Lyde was having dinner at Annie's house. Oliver stayed at a friend's house; Juliet's house. Then came those frightful words from the teacher  ¨Annie, listen to me now, you're in danger and your son is in danger ¨3 After this, disaster struck Annie's life. From this moment on Annie would feel disquietude and distress. Her house was bugged, her friend's house was bugged, and she could not tell anyone.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Porter Analysis IKEA

In United States as in Sweden, we can observe there are some companies operating in the furniture industry and there are many on the market retailers like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Costco, Euromarket, etc†¦ The import of products from China for all these companies allows them to sell at low cost. These elements therefore tell us that the furniture industry is very competitive. There is an analysis of the rivalry of IKEA in this sector: IKEA works in a highly competitive industry highlighted by other low priced furniture producers like Galiform (England), Wal-Mart (USA), Euromarket (USA), Argos (England), and others. IKEA has wisely attempted to compete by entering the markets that typically pose the largest competition, such as China and Japan » (Caplan, 2006). IKEA reach a wider market to increase his customers and his market share. The company is, in the world, the leader in the industry of discounted furniture. For the customers, IKEA is the most in delivering the complete pack age, there are equivalent to those of furniture IKEA but value for money, IKEA is leader. The trust in customers about product quality, the global brand name and the design very popular design has given IKEA a competitive edge.To conclude, IKEA diversify this products with the food, textile and mobile industry so we can add Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda for UK food or Virgin, Vodafone and O2 for mobile to the list of IKEA’s competitors. Threat of New Entrants: Capital requirements – The need to invest large financial resources make it difficult for a competitor to enter a new market, because they have to commit money up front with no guarantee of returns in the end. This positively affects IKEA, in a short term because any new entrants will have to invest a large amount of capital in order to compete with them.IKEA has already a vast supply chain and its brand is already unique and known in a large scale and a new entrant in the furniture market would need a very lar ge amount of money to establish its brand and practice low prices as IKEA do. Supply-side economies of scale – â€Å"Economies of scale are factors that cause the average cost of producing something to fall as the volume of its output increases†(The economist). IKEA is positively affected by supply side economies of scale, because it is large enough for it. They make economies of scale as they use better technology and they also have a very large supply chain.Due to this, when new competitors enter this market, they will have a higher cost of production, because they have smaller economies of scale. Demand side benefits of scale – â€Å"Network effects arise in industries where a buyer’s willingness to pay for a company’s product increases with the number of other buyers who also patronize the company†(Harvard Business Review). This is a good point to IKEA as it has a large number of customers than the new entrants. The customers would prefe r to buy IKEA products than the products of the new entrant.Incumbency advantages independent of size – IKEA has an advantage because they have an established brand, this is a strong competitive advantage in a short term compared to new competitors. In this case entry barriers in the furniture market are high; this is an advantage to IKEA. On the other hand, IKEA stores are not present in many small towns; this is an opportunity for the new competitors to move into small and midsized cities where there are smaller stores and less selection. Even though it is not easy because new entrants would have to provide a large supply chain.Threat of Substitute: The threat of having substitutes in the home furnishings industry seems very low as there is no specific product, which can substitute the furniture. If we look at the definition of â€Å"substitute† proposed by Jean-Marc LEHU, we can say that in the industry of furniture manufacture, probability of substitutes is almost impossible. Possible threat of trend changes exists, i. e. there is growing orientation towards greater manufacture of furniture made from other materials than wood, that is, various metals, plastics and glass.However, despite the reduction of wood in furniture manufacture in the past years, wood is expected to stay one of the most important raw materials for furniture manufacture, because of its advantages when compared with other materials. As the market is becoming more environment concerned many firms are giving slogan to go green. But the basic functional demand has remained the same. So it is safe to say that there are no threats of substitutes. Buyer power: When we speak about buyers who are concentrated, we understood that there are few buyers and many sellers.In the home furnishing industry, there are indeed many sellers, of different sort, like furniture retailer, department store or big brand too. But in the same time, the number of all consumers is not comparable. Nowada ys, each person in the world needs home furnishing, never mind the country or the social status. So we cannot say that buyers are concentrated in the home furnishing industry. When the home furnishing industry concerns individuals, they don’t buy large volume except for special occasions. Home furnishing concerns purchase of something reflective or rather useful.We cannot buy home furnishing the same way as we buy food. Conversely, companies can buy easier large volume than individuals, but they don’t represent the bulk of buyers. As mention previously, there are many home furnishing stores around the world in order to satisfy or attract more and more consumers. These numerous competitors are in different sectors in office their size. Each company have to make their different with their price, products and service as add value, to response buyer’s needs. The most of the companies in the home furnishing industry try to make the difference in having low price to l ure buyers.For consumer, when a product, that he wants, it’s too expensive or not at his taste, it’s really easy for him to go to other stores. And buyers know that there are numerous alternatives sellers that give them power. Switching costs means that if a consumer compares the similar product from one seller to another seller, there is not a high difference of price. Indeed, in home furnishing industry, we cannot that the entire price are practically in the same price. We can remark too that the most of the products are similar that means they’re â€Å"standardised†.We can take the example of a whisk in five different stores (four presents in Ireland and one in France) Stores Price IKEA 6â‚ ¬50 Debenhams 5â‚ ¬ Mark & Spenser 7â‚ ¬50 Woodie’s DIY 5â‚ ¬ Alinà ©a 5â‚ ¬90 That chart show that all of the stores have practically the same price for exactly the same product. So we can say that buyers have a high power of negotiation with the several alternative sellers, the low switching costs and with the products that are standardised. Supplier Power: The supplier power in the home furnishings industry is quite low for numerous reasons.According to a French documentary, the number of supplier all over the world is huge. Most of these suppliers are located in the developed countries (Japan, Australia, Europe, Canada†¦). Each company has its own supplier. The suppliers have no influence because they can be substituted. (Gà ©rard Poitou-Weber, 2007). Yet, the customers in this industry are fragmented. The companies of this industry are implanted worldwide; every country has at least 5 companies of home furnishings that informed us how this market is developed.It appears that the suppliers of every home furnishings store are neither powerful nor famous. Each company is provided by different suppliers. The biggest companies have at least 500 suppliers from 20 or 30 countries (El pais, 2006). Based on this inform ation, we can suppose that it could be difficult for a supplier to become a key competitor. Of course, they still can integrate the market, but it’ll on a small scale. Suppliers have not that much power because they depend a lot on the companies they provide.It’s the companies from home furnishings industry which decide who will be their suppliers and they have a lot a choices. Most of the suppliers would go bankrupt without IKEA, M&S or Alinea. Big companies nearly impose the price of the items they want to buy from the suppliers (Alexandre DEBOUTE, Le Figaro, 2010). To conclude, the example of IKEA’s suppliers can illustrate the lack of power for the suppliers. The Franchisor IKEA Website provides us a large amount of figures that can show the low power of their suppliers.Ikea owns 338 stores but have about 1300 suppliers from 53 different countries. None of them can seriously think about integrate the market and try to compete with IKEA. IKEA also owns manufa cturing company like SwedwoodManufacturer. So it is evident that IKEA can threats the suppliers to enter into their business. In a nutshell, the supplier power in the home furnishings industry can be defined as quite low because of the numbers of suppliers, the numbers of home furnishings companies and the status of the biggest companies.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Professions in French

Professions in French If youre going to live and work in France, get to know the terms for the  professions in Fench. Its impossible to list all possible professions, but there are some common ones you should know. Note that many French professions have only a masculine form. Even if you are a female professor, for example, you would have to say that you are un  professeur, which takes the masculine form, including the masculine article,  un.   The terms below are listed in alphabetical order according to the English word for the profession for easy reference. The first column contains the word for the profession in English, while the second contains the correct French article- ​un  for masculine terms and  une  for feminine words- followed by the word in Fench. Click on each French term to hear the proper way to pronounce it. Note that while in English, it is to simply say the word for the profession, such as actor, in French the word is almost always preceded by the article. Study the table, and listen to the pronunciations in French, and youll soon be saying  un  boucher,  un  boulanger, un  fabricant de bougeoirs- the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker- like a French-speaking native. French Professions Profession in English French Translation actor un acteur actress une actrice artist un(e) artiste baker un boulanger, une boulangre butcher un boucher carpenter un charpentier cashier un caissier, une caissire civil servant un(e) fonctionnaire cook un chef dentist un(e) dentiste doctor un mdecin electrician un lectricien employee un(e) employ(e) engineer un ingnieur fireman un pompier lawyer (barrister) un avocat, une avocate maid une femme de chambre manager un grant mechanic un mcanicien nurse un infirmier, une infirmire painter un peintre pharmacist un pharmacien, une pharmacienne plumber un plombier police office un policier receptionist un(e) rceptionniste secretary un(e) secrtaire student un tudiant, une tudiante teacher un professeur* waiter un serveur waitress une serveuse writer un crivain Notes About Un, Une, and Etre In Canada and parts of Switzerland, the feminine form une professeure exists. In France, however, this is usually considered incorrect. On the other hand, you can say une prof., a slang way of saying a professor or a teacher. Note that the feminine article,  une, is fine in this case if you are referring to a female educator. Do not use an article between the verb  Ãƒ ªtre  and someones profession, as in these examples:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Je suis peintre. - Im a painter.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il va à ªtre mà ©decin. - Hes going to be a doctor. Social Norms In France, asking about what someone does for a living is considered a personal question. If you have to ask, be sure to preface your question with Si ce nest pas indiscret  ... ,   which translates as, If you dont mind my asking ... After you learn the terms for professions in French, take a little extra time to learn what a  typical French conversation  between two people would look like. This will give you a chance to see how French articles, as well as  noms  (nouns),  conjonctions  (conjunctions),  adjectifs  (adjectives), and  adverbes  (adverbs) fit into a dialogue in French.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Sony Case Study Essay

Sony Case Study Essay Sony Case Study Essay Sony Corporation – Restructuring Continues, Problems Remain Sony in crisis again: 1. Obstacles: don’t question its business. 2. Reorganize the programs (financial performance and competitiveness of the company) 3. The attempts failed because of the silo culture. 4. Reducing business categories and products models. 5. Another reorganize of the program in 2009 (reduction in the employee and manufacturing sites)ïÆ'   make all Sony parts to work together and move to innovation. 6. Did not give attention to the market research. The restructuring efforts: 1. Another re-structuring in 1994 & 1996 2. Sony organized into 10 company structure ïÆ'   no improvement in the financial performance. 3. SWOT: another restructuring was in 1999 when Sony tried to exploit the opportunities offered by the Internet ïÆ'   PlayStation (p5) 4. New change in the top management of Sony. 5. The CEO suggest that Sony transform into a Broadband Network Solution company by launching a wide range of broadband products and services ïÆ'   did not get the expected results. 6. Analysts were of the opinion that the erosion in Sony’s profits was due to the expenses the company had incurred on implementing its many restructuring plans. 7. New idea of restructuring plan called â€Å" Transformation 60† - 3 years plan- aimed to optimizing manufacturing infrastructure and reducing fixed costs by combining the operating divisions and shifting component sourcing to low cost markets like china. Reduce cost by: Downsizing and consolidating the manufacturing, distribution and customer service facilities Streamlining procurement. 7000 employees were laid off in Japan and 13,000 at other locations in world. Several corporate and administrative functions which were overlapping were integrated. 8. This restructuring plan was not successful mainly because of the significant drop in sales in some products. 9. In 2005, Stringer became the CEO. He identified five main challenges for Sony: p6 1) Getting rid of its silo culture, 2) Attaining profitability across businesses 3) Making products in line with industry standard technologies. 4) Improving the competencies in software and service 5) Divesting the company of its non-strategic assets. At the same year, Sony started to adopted the new organizational structure by reorganized the company into five business group: the electronics business, the games business group, the entertainment business group, the personal solutions business group, the personal solutions business group and the Sony financial holding group). The results of this new structure: Sony expected to achieve coordination across different areas including planning, technology, procurement, manufacturing, sales and marketing. Eliminate product and design redundancies. along with this new strategy, Sony also announced an internal slogan called â€Å"Sony United†. This focused on promoting teamwork and cooperation and bringing together key resources. The outcome: 1. One of Stringer’s first tasks was to revive Sony’s television business (flat panel televisions). 2. In 2006, nine factories were closed down and over 5700 jobs were eliminated. 3. To focus on the growth markets, Sony discontinued the manufacture of around 600 of the total 3000 products it manufactured. 4. Although the electronics business remained a problem, the sales of flat panel TV improved and so did the sales of PCs and camcorders. 5. Analysts were of the view that Stringer’s efforts had succeeded in putting the company back on the right track. 6. in 2007, Sony announced that to strengthen its product development capability and improve profitability in the electronics segment, some more changes had to be made in its organizational structure. The company established the B2B Solutions Business Group ïÆ'   aim to enhance its B2B business growth. 7. As a result of the joint venture with Samsung for making panels was one of the reasons for Sony doing well in the television market (B2B strategy). 8. In 2007, Stringer announced that

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Illegal employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Illegal employment - Essay Example Hence, this research will focus mainly on evaluating whether the rights of illegal migrant workers are given protection. It will also be analyzed whether the EU policies and laws on these workers veer towards a more liberal and humanitarian approach as embodied in the EU Constitution. These aims can be achieved through careful scrutiny of policies and laws under which illegal migrant workers can assert protection of rights or bring to action their claims and grievances. International cooperation must also be examined as to the impact it has on migration in a region such as the EU. Through analyzing and evaluating the rights of illegal migrant workers through means of thorough study of the existing policies and laws concerning these workers, it will be found out whether or not the migrant workers are given equal protection under the law. The influx of migrant workers, both legal and illegal in status has been considered a major concern for the governments of Western European countries. Questions with regards to their legality and their impact on the host countries’ economy have caused controversy and heated debates (Layton-Henry, 1990). OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) member countries have also stepped up their efforts to fight illegal entry and employment of migrant workers, yet, illegal entry of migrant workers into the EU member states has continued to increase. As a result, the OECD most recently augmented cooperation at both EU community level and the national level. The OECD (2000) has also affirmed its policies to curb and prevent illegal employment of foreigners. Due to the influx of migrant workers throughout Europe, the OECD has shown that they indeed fight for migrant workers rights and are not lax in this area on both the community and national level. A major concern on the part of European nations in regards to immigrants in general is the hardships that the nation

Friday, November 1, 2019

Integrated Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Integrated - Research Paper Example Aristotle's categorization of animals categorized together animals with the same characteristics into genera and then differentiated the species within the genera. He categorized the animals into two forms: those without blood, and those with blood. These differentiations correlate closely to the current distinction between invertebrates and vertebrates (Taylor, 1955). The animals with blood, corresponds to the vertebrates, included five genera: mammals (viviparous quadrupeds), oviparous quadrupeds (reptiles and amphibians), birds, whales, and fishes. The whales are included in this list because, at this time of history, they had not yet been determined to be mammals. The animals without blood were categorized as crustaceans; cephalopods (such as the octopus); insects (which included the scorpions, centipedes, and spiders, in addition to what, is currently defined as insects); "zoophytes† shelled animals (such as most echinoderms and molluscs) (Taylor, 1955). Aristotle's ideas on earth sciences are found in his treatise Meteorology. The modern world might translate meteorology to mean the study of weather, but Aristotle made use of the word in a much broader way, covering all the affections that human beings might consider to be general to water and air, and parts and kinds of the earth and the affections of the parts of the earth. Aristotle discusses the nature of the oceans and the earth. He achieved this by working out the hydrologic cycle: "Now the sun, moving as it does, sets up processes of change and becoming and decay, and by its agency the finest and sweetest water is every day carried up and is dissolved into vapor and rises to the upper region, where it is condensed again by the cold and so returns to the earth." (Aristotle, Tara?n & Gutas, 2012). He also talks about winds, earthquakes, lightning, thunder, comets, rainbows, meteors, and the Milky Way (Anderson & Stephenson, 2004). His idea of Earth history has some remarkably modern-sounding no tions. According to Aristotle, The same parts of the earth’s surface are not always dry or moist, but they change just as rivers come into being and dry up. Therefore, the connection of land to sea changes, a particular place does not always remain sea or land throughout all time, but where there was a sea, there comes to be dry land and where there is now dry land, and there one day comes to be sea. However, these changes to follow set cycles and order. The principle cause of these developments is that the internal of the earth grows or decays, like the bodies of animals and plants (Aristotle, Tara?n & Gutas, 2012). The whole critical process of the earth happens so gradually and in periods of time which are so long compared with the length of human lives. This explains why these changes are not observable by human beings. One of the primary concerns of Aristotle’s philosophy was his systematic notion of logic. Aristotle’s aim was to develop a universal procedu re of reasoning that would enable human beings to learn about all conceivable touching on reality. The first process entailed describing objects on the basis of their characteristics, actions and states of being. In his philosophical treatises, he also discusses how human beings can next get information about the objects through inference and deduction. To Aristotle, a deduction

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Aurora, Colorado Movie Theater Shooting Assignment

Aurora, Colorado Movie Theater Shooting - Assignment Example As such, this brief analysis will consider the means whereby a litany of reporters and news agencies have dealt with the situation, the way in which the police and prosecutors have responded to this, and the harmful precedent that this has set for the world of journalism and the furtherance of the trade. Firstly, though the veritable firestorm of media activity surrounding this particular case has somewhat subsided recently, the press ravenously sought to find any and all relevant, juicy, or pertinent information with regard to the case in the early stages after the violence took place. This was primarily accomplished by seeking to engage individuals that experienced the violence firsthand or had lost friends or family in the massacre in the theater. Initial eyewitness reports that were gained by several news outlets sought to portray a situation where a type of coordinated attack involving two or more individuals was something that could likely have happened based upon eye-witness t estimony. However, as key instances of the case were better understood, the media began to more appropriately list the real perpetrator as a lone-wolf acting alone. Moreover, as time has gone on and the trial has been set for Holmes, little if any media attention has taken place. Although it is the expectation of this student that this will change when a verdict nears in the case, such an action may very well be indicative of a press that operates on the very edge and can afford no more than a brief coverage of an event until the viewership/readership is bored and ready for the next story. However, due to the fact that as yet no verdict has been proclaimed by the court, overall coverage of the issue itself has abated and the viewpoints expressed have tended to mirror what was originally discussed once the details of the case were clearer. Secondly, with regard to the sheer shock that the shooting engendered within the nation, it is not a surprise that the media instantly sought to g ain access to the information surrounding the events that led up to and culminated in the massacre at the theater in Aurora. However, what was particularly shocking was the sheer persistency with which the media sought to engage those individuals who had experienced the shooting and survived as well as those individuals who had lost family members in the shooting (Ingold 1). Since the very beginning of investigative journalism there has been the thin line between getting the story and respecting the rights of a traumatized individual; however, these rights were egregiously ignored in the case of the Aurora shooting interview and subsequent attempts to glean information from the ultimate shareholders. This was so much the case that the police and prosecution were forced into the public arena to announce that the actions that were being undertaken by various media representatives and their reporters were unethical at best and downright harmful to the furtherance of the investigation a t worst. Although there was and is no criminal code, other than harassment and filing an restraining order, with regard to keeping an overzealous reporter at bay, the problem that many of these shareholders faced

Monday, October 28, 2019

Big Movie Essay Example for Free

Big Movie Essay Big (Movie) Big, a movie which stars Tom Hanks, is about a 13 year old boy Josh who wished to grow up and become â€Å"big. † He made this wish upon a fortunetelling machine in an amusement pier, which came true the following day when he woke up and became a grown up man. The conflict in the story revolves around his dilemma to cope with the abrupt changes which took place overnight. In physique, he looks like an old man, but he is still a 13 year old boy mentally and emotionally. Thus he had the difficulty to mingle with gown up people, including his problem in getting a job and engaging in romantic relationships (Internet Movie Database). Certain conflicts happened during the course of the story. First, is brought by the abrupt changes in his physique which would prompt the boy to act according to his new appearance. Second, his integration amongst the adults while he still continues to have his kid best friend also adds up to his identity dilemma. And third, due to these conflicts, he is torn between opting to remain as an adult with his found girlfriend, or whether he must return to his old kid self. To address these conflicts, one must look at the reason why it started. The conflicts all started with one wish. When Josh wished he would be a grown up, and it suddenly came true, ignited all the conflicts. Hence, the reason that pushed him into making that wish is essential in the story. What prompted the wish? His seemingly troubled character and the pressures that he usually gets from his parents made him wish to become bigger and independent. The crisis that he is experiencing as a childhood made him to want to become a grown up, and explore the world the way that he isn’t allowed to do while he is still a teenager. This only shows the great importance that parents play in a child’s development most importantly in his adolescent years. Families, particularly parents, hold a vital part in a child’s rearing. Their influences, serve as either an inspiration to their children; or it creates a negative impact, such as pressure for the child. Thus, it is necessary that they get a closer look into the child’s thoughts and emotions for them to be able to properly guide the child towards his adolescent years. Moreover, as shown in the movie, Josh’ struggle to fit into the new world of adults is a proof that the gap in his adolescent growth made him unequipped to cope with the more complicated world of adults. This gap in his growth, both in biological and emotional aspects, rendered him the incapability to properly adjust to the bigger world. This instance shows the utter importance of identity development during adolescent years. Hence this proves that the social transitions that adolescents encounter are rigid part of one’s identity. In addition, the dilemma of being an adult while continuing the childlike behavior that Josh still keeps in the company of his best friend is another facet for his dilemma. The crisis on whether he should act as an adult, or still maintain the inner kid that he really adds more to his identity problem. Given these situations and identity crisis that were shown in the movie, it is necessary to stress the absolute importance of parenting roles in the development of a child’s identity, most especially if he is in his critical adolescent years. First, the parents must avoid letting the kid feel pressured. Parents must always be there for constant reminders and guidance, but in such a way that the kid wouldn’t feel anxious towards the things that are being expected of them. In addition, power struggle between the parents and the kid shall be avoided. Implication of excessive authority from the parents towards their kids breeds awkwardness in the relationship and at most times, the kids would feel embarrassed, resented and bitter towards the role that they play in their family. Thus it results to feeling of inferiority and sometimes pushes the urge of being more independent and free from the scrutiny of their elders. It must be fully recognized that adolescents have their usual pursuits for independence. And the parents must fully understand that such thing is normal for the development of their kids, thus parents must not consider it as a gesture of rejection of kids to their parents, or a sign of them losing control over their kids. Instead, parents must take it positively as a growth and maturity stage of kids during their adolescent years. Therefore it is important that elders welcome this stage without dominating the way that the child should undergo his growth. Rather, they should pose as a consistent figure of a confidant for teenagers especially at their most critical stages. Moreover, as teens are normally in the stage of their increased curiosity towards the discovery of many things, they tend to become influenced by outside peers and may undergo crucial changes and adverse behavior. This would now require an even more challenging role to penetrate the development of a child. The parents and the whole family must make the child feel that whatever decisions and changes that he may undergo, the whole family shall always be there to offer a hand. The commitment of the family to support him will be a very effective guard that can help in developing a greater sense of responsibility and maturity towards the changes the he will undergo. Thus, as shown in the movie, the growth and development of a kid is dependent upon effective parenting. Though choices made by the kids are solely based on their own judgment, still, how they were brought up and how they felt inside the house with their families play a large part in coming up with such decisions. It is therefore an integral part of an adolescent undergoing his personal development that he constantly interacts with parents and family members. Personal relationships are indeed vital in the molding of someone’s personality, thus, how he chooses to mingle with other people and how he chooses options for growth are products of these closely knitted personal relationships. And as seen in the movie wherein the conflict started from a wish, and ended with a wish – it exemplifies that choices are made internally. Options are weighed based on the values that have been instilled within a person through the way he was reared up by his parents. Being a young boy made him impulsive in making his choices; skipping through his adolescent stage made him weary about his life and doubtful on the choices that he has made; and finally, the maturity he earned by closing in the gap of his childhood days and turning abruptly into an adult lead him to another choice – that is to start from where he had left off. He went back to his adolescent years, again from his own choices, and eventually learned from the mistakes he had through the help of his best friend and mother who was glad that he was back. Big at Internet Movie Database. Retrieved November 7, 2007