Thursday, October 31, 2019

Presidental Powers and Limitations Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Presidental Powers and Limitations - Term Paper Example Under section 1 of the article II, the executive power is vested in a President for his or her term in the office that is set for four years. Appointment and Removal Power The enactment of civil service laws directs the federal government to appoint 90 percent of executive branch positions through merit systems; however, the president still has powers to appoint senior officers to set direction to his governance. C Q Press (2012) describes the various power of the President in that he can appoint ambassadors, judges of the Supreme Court, ministers and consuls and other officers of the US for which no provision has been made. The President also has powers to fill up any vacancy during the recess of the Senate through special rights called commissions. Similarly, the President can also enter into treaties with other countries under the advice and consent of Senate. C Q Press (2012) speaks about the discerning powers of the president which can be listed as per the following. Clemency Se ction 2 of the article II specifies the President as ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of the military with necessary powers to grant pardons for offences against the country except impeachment. The glaring example of the clemency right rested with the President can be given as the pardon granted to Richard Nixon by his successor Gerald Ford for offenses committed by the former during the Watergate episode. Bill Clinton granted 140 pardons on the last day of his term as President. Law Enforcement The President being the chief executive officer of the nation can even deploy the armed forces to enforce the law within the country. All these years Congress has been instrumental in enhancing the law enforcement duties of the president. The incident during John F. Kennedy' time is worth noting when he directed army troops to quell riots following a court order directing the University of Mississippi to admit a black student, James Meredith in its student body. Budgeting Section 3 of Artic le II of the Constitution provides powers to the President to undertake fiscal policies and budgetary procedures as one of the important prerogative. Over last few decades, the Presidents of US have increasingly used their powers in outlining federal spending. Legislative Proposals The Constitution of the US authorizes the President to recommend necessary legislation which he feels necessary and expedient. The past history shows how President has used legislative powers to give a direction to the nation. Franklin D. Roosevelt using his powers as President recommended several important legislative proposals to overcome the crisis that country faced during the time of the Great Depression in ‘30s. Convene or Adjourn Houses Under Section 3 of the article II, the President has right to convene and adjourn either single or both the houses as he may feel necessary and recommend the measures in the best interest of the nation. Veto The constitution has provided the President with vet o powers that can be used against any piece of legislation to become law against their wishes; however, Congress still can convert it into a law by passing it with two-thirds majority in both houses. The U.S constitution provides a variety of special powers to the President that can be described as per the following. Emergency Powers Schmidt et al. (2011) argues that the Us President may exercise certain

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Eating Habits Among Teenagers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eating Habits Among Teenagers - Research Paper Example These two programs bring into the consciousness of the American public the fact that childhood obesity has become quite a problem. Statement of the Problem According to the American Heart Association (2012) childhood obesity is still a problem in the United States. One in six children, ages two to 19 are obese and one in three are considered overweight. Further, children who are obese have a 70% of becoming obese adults. Unfortunately, these statistics are higher for this age group than they were in the 1970s. Part of the challenge is that children are exposed to more fast food choices and junk food than in other generations (Salvy, de la Haye, Bowker, and Hermans, 2012). Obese children also have a tendency to associate with other obese children which makes it difficult for obese children to understand that they are obese (Salvy et al., 2012). Dorfman and Wootan (2012) add that children are exposed to a variety of adds for fast foods and other unhealthy foods, which contributes to th e problem. Also, children generally eat what their parents eat, and if parents have poor eating habits, their children also have poor eating habits (Dorman & Wootan, 2012). What is clear, is that there must be something that changes the way that Americans think about food and how they teach about food to their children. Also, the entire community must be involved in order to understand how to curb this problem (â€Å"Let’s Move†, 2012). Literature Review Much of the literature has studied childhood obesity as a whole and has not specifically separated teen eating habits from the rest of the literature. Several studies have also been done regarding the specific causes of obesity without providing an idea of interventions. Some of the literature shows the relationship between the parents’ attitudes about food and how they influence the way that the teen eats. Honisett, Woolcock, Porter, & Hughes (2009) reported on a program in Australia called, Kids - 'Go for your life', in which the creators of the program brought together primary school, early childhood services, family daycare programs and kindergartens to teach them about healthy eating and physical activity. The way the program brought these agencies together was to provide a membership (free) that provided resources, training, and a reward program. When the organization goes through the program and makes a commitment to promoting healthier schools, they also receive a sign to place at their front door to show they are committed to healthy eating and physical activity so that the community will also know. Sealy (2010) points out that children begin to understand eating habits from their parents, and often, parents rely on fast food when they have little money or when they are rushed. Backett-Milburn, Wills, Roberts, and Lawton (2010) also interviewed teens and found that parents controlled what children ate at home. Coppinger, Jeanes, Hardwick, & Reeves (2012) found that teenagerâ€℠¢s eating habits varied between genders. For example, the authors found that boys are more prone to eat junk food or other unhealthy food than girls. The authors also found a connection between BMI and a child’s breakfast consumption. If the child ate breakfast regularly, they had â€Å"significantly lower BMI Z scores† (p. 46) than those who did not. Older boys were less likely to eat breakfast than other children. The literature on eating habits of teenagers is not restricted to the United States. In fact, much of the

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Case Study: Methanol Poisoning of a Child

Case Study: Methanol Poisoning of a Child Introduction In this PBL, we observe a case of methanol poisoning in a child. We will first define the unfamiliar term of tertiary care centre and proceed to understand acid base homeostasis in the body, the basis for methanol poisoning. Then we will look at how ethanol and methanol are metabolised in the body followed by how methanol poisoning actually works. We will also discuss how the osmolal gap is obtained using osmolality and osmolarity and lastly child abuse. Learning Objectives Definition of unfamiliar terminology An overview of acid base homeostasis in the body How ethanol and methanol are metabolised in the body How does methanol poisoning work Osmolality and osmolarity Child abuse 1. Unfamiliar term: Tertiary care centre A tertiary care centre is where a patient goes to when primary and secondary care have not been able to adequately treat the patient. Tertiary care centres are equipped with highly trained staff and highly dedicated medical equipment to cater to complex treatments or procedures as required by the patient. An example of a tertiary care centre would be the colorectal unit at The Royal London (1). Amareen was transferred to a tertiary care centre to receive more suitable care mainly due to the fact that she was so young and suffering from methanol poisoning. 2. Overview of acid base homeostasis in the body Acid base homeostasis is the regulation of hydrogen ions. The higher the concentration of hydrogen ions, the lower the pH and vice versa. Acidic solutions have a high pH whereas alkaline solutions have a lower pH. The normal pH in the body is in the range of 7.35-7.45. A pH lower than 7.35 results in acidosis whereas a pH higher than 7.45 results in alkalosis. Acid base balance has its basis in the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation shown in Figure 2. If we rearrange the equation, we see that bicarbonate and carbon dioxide directly affects the acid base balance. Figure 2: Henderson-Hasselbalch Equation (3) There are three main ways in which the body controls the acid base balance. These three systems usually work together. Firstly, there are physiologic buffers, each of which consist of a weak acid and its base salt or a weak base and its base acid. Physiologic buffers react immediately within seconds to the change in pH in the body. These buffer systems occur in both intra and extracellular parts of the cells. The main buffering systems for physiologic buffers are extracellular bicarbonate-carbonic acid buffering system, intracellular protein buffers and phosphate buffers in the bone. An overview of the physiologic buffer system is shown below in Figure 1. Figure 1: Physiologic buffer systems (2) If physiologic buffers are not enough to return the pH back to its normal value, pulmonary compensation can take place in the lungs. This works by eliminating or retaining carbon dioxide. Increased ventilation effort (hyperventilation) and decreased ventilation effort (hypoventilation) are the two ways pulmonary compensation works. The changes in pulmonary compensation is rapid within a few minutes. The final compensatory mechanism, renal compensation in the kidney, starts when the previous two mechanisms have failed to regulate the pH level in the body. The kidneys maintain balance by excreting or conserving bicarbonate and hydrogen ions in the body. However, this compensatory mechanism is a long term regulator and takes longer, usually a few hours, to respond to a change in acid base balance. The normal arterial blood gas values for partial pressure of carbon dioxide is 35-45 mmHg/ 4.7 kPa-6.0 kPa and bicarbonate concentration is 22-26 mmol/L. A change in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide or bicarbonate concentration from normal levels results in respiratory or metabolic disorders respectively. This together with acidosis or alkalosis determined by the pH results in 4 main disorders arising. Figure 3 below shows the 4 different disorders and their respective compensatory mechanisms. Figure 3: Diagnosis of the four main acid base disorders and respective compensation mechanisms (4). In Amareen’s case, metabolic acidosis occurs. The major cause is the high production of formic acid which is not excreted quickly from the body. This has caused a decrease in the bicarbonate concentration due to H+ combining with bicarbonate. By the law of mass action using the Henderson- Hasselbalch equation, there is extra CO2 generated thus Amareen shows respiratory compensation via tachypneic breathing whereby the peripheral chemo receptors in the lungs are stimulated which stimulates the alveoli to try to exhale the excess CO2. The exhalation of CO2 would in most cases be enough to correct the metabolic acidosis but in this case as methanol was ingested, external treatment was mandatory to save Amareen’s life. 3. How methanol and ethanol are metabolised in the body Ethanol metabolism Ethanol, commonly known as drinking alcohol, is metabolised primarily by alcohol dehydrogenase in the liver. Once ingested, ethanol is quickly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and small intestines with concentrations reaching at maximum level at 20-60 minutes (5). Ethanol is metabolised to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase and then to acetate in the mitochondria via aldehyde dehydrogenase. Acetate is then metabolised to Acetyl CoA and subsequently to CO2 and H2O by the Krebs cycle in the mitochondria. Ethanol can also be metabolised by two other pathways: by cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) in microsomes of the endoplasmic reticulum when there is a high ethanol consumption and by catalase in peroxisomes (6). The three ways ethanol is metabolised are illustrated in Figure 4 below. Figure 4: Oxidative pathways of ethanol metabolism in the body (7) Methanol metabolism Methanol, commonly known as wood alcohol, can be absorbed by the body via inhalation, ingestion and skin exposure (8). In this specific case, Amareen ingests methanol. When methanol is ingested, it is quickly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract with concentration reaching a maximum level at 30-90 minutes after ingestion (8). Methanol is primarily metabolised in the liver. In the first step, methanol is metabolised to formaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase. Then formaldehyde is subsequently metabolised to formic acid by formaldehyde dehydrogenase. Formic acid is finally metabolised into carbon dioxide and water in the presence of tetrahydrofolate. This final step proceeds very slowly and hence there is an accumulation of formic acid in the body which is the chief cause of methanol poisoning and will be discussed in the next section. Methanol metabolism is illustrated in Figure 5 below. Figure 5: Metabolism of methanol (9) 4. How does methanol poisoning work Symptoms and Causes The main characteristics of methanol poisoning are metabolic acidosis and ocular damage. Formic acid, the metabolite of methanol and not methanol itself is considered to be toxic. The severity of the toxicity correlates with the degree of metabolic acidosis rather than concentration of methanol. (10, 11) The accumulation of formic acid in the body has many detrimental effects if left untreated. The effects of methanol poisoning can be grouped into different phases (12). The phases are described in Table 1 below. Table 1: Different phases of methanol poisoning Formic acid has been shown to inhibit cytochrome C oxidase activity in mitochondria (14) which is similar to the action of cyanide, hydrogen sulphate and carbon monoxide (15). Cytochrome C oxidase is the last enzyme in the electron transport chain of the mitochondria which results in the synthesis of ATP (16). Thus, by inhibiting cytochrome C oxidase, there would be significant reduction in the synthesis of ATP resulting in cell hypoxia leading to cell injury and death (17, 18). The amount of formic acid in the blood is proportional to the increase in the anion gap which measures the contribution of unmeasured anions to acidosis by using the formula [Na+] + [K+] – [Cl-] [HCO3-] (19). A high anion gap of 20mmol/dL was observed in the arterial blood gas of Amareen when she was transferred to the tertiary care centre. A high anion gap indicates the loss of bicarbonate ions without concurrent loss in chloride ions. Thus, a low serum bicarbonate level is a reliable indicator of the severity of methanol poisoning. Other causes of a high anion gap are diabetes keto acidosis, lactic acidosis, ethylene glycol and salycilate. Diagnosis Diagnosis for Amareen was relatively easy as a history was available from her parents stating that she had ingested methanol. This allowed doctors to treat Amareen quickly and correctly to prevent blindness or even death. If a history is unavailable, a test for the osmolal gap (refer to on how osmolal gap is derived) is very useful. A high osmolal gap (>10 mOsm/kg H20) indicates the presence of significant amounts of low molecular weight substances such as methanol. When methanol is metabolised, the osmolal gap returns to the normal and the anion gap increases due to formic acid formation which causes bicarbonate ions to decrease via the Henderson Hasselbach equation. A high serum methanol concentration of 35 mg/dL (> 0mg/dL), low serum bicarbonate level of 18mmol/L, low pH of 7.32 and a high anion gap of 20mmol/dL confirms Amareen’s diagnosis of metabolic acidosis cause by methanol poisoning. Treatments In this case, Amareen is treated with an ethanol drip. This is because like methanol, ethanol uses alcohol dehydrogenase as its first stage of metabolism and that ethanol has a higher affinity for alcohol dehydrogenase than methanol in the ratio of 20:1 (8). Therefore when ethanol enters the bloodstream, they will competitively bind to alcohol dehydrogenase thus inhibiting the formation of formic acid. In a clinical setting, a target level of 100-150 mg/dl is used to saturate alcohol dehydrogenase with ethanol (20). However, ethanol can be a challenge to administer due to irregular rate of metabolism making a steady target level difficult to maintain and it can also cause intoxication (20). Amareen later receives fomepizole treatment after the ethanol drip was not so effective. This is a better treatment because fomepizole has an even higher affinity for alcohol dehydrogenase than methanol in the ratio of 8000:1 (21). This prevents methanol from being metabolised. The advantages of fomepizole are the ease of administration, long duration of effect and that it doesn’t cause intoxication (22). However, fomepizole is very expensive and is less widely available (23). Due to both ethanol and fomepizole being ineffective in reducing the serum concentration of methanol in the body, haemodialysis was started. Haemodialysis is the most effective way to remove methanol and formic acid from the body (24). This works by passing blood from the body through a dialysis machine that contains a series of membranes to filter out unwanted substances and replenish essential minerals to the blood and then pumping blood back to into the body. The reason why haemodialysis was not immediately administered was probably due to it requiring a neck line which is very invasive and can result in multiple complications for Amareen who is only 5 years old. 5. Osmolarity and Osmolality Osmolality refers to the osmolar concentration of plasma per kilogram of solvent. Osmolality is measured using osmometers. Osmolarity on the other hand refers to the osmolar concentration of plasma per litre of solution. This value is calculated using a set formula from measured concentrations of Na+, K+, glucose and urea. The equation is 2[Na+] + 2[K+] + Glucose + Urea (all in mmol/L). Using osmolality and osmolarity, the osmolal gap can be calculated which is the difference between the actual osmolality and the calculated osmolarity which normally lies in the range of 8-10 mOsm/kg (25). 6. Child Abuse There are four main categories of child abuse (26). Physical abuse which involves bodily harm for example bruises, burns and fractures. Emotional abuse that involves persistent emotional ill-treatment or neglect causing adverse effects on the childs emotional development. Sexual abuse by forcing a child to perform sexual activity. This includes ‘non-contact’ sexual activities such as producing child pornography. Lastly, negligence which is the failure of carers to provide the basic physical and psychological needs as well as supervision from harm to the child which results in an adverse effect on the child’s health and development. An example would be protecting a child from dangerous substances which Amareen’s parents have failed to do. References NHS. Barts Health General surgery for patients: NHS; 2014 [cited 2014 11 November]. Available from: http://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/our-services/services-a-z/g/general-surgery/for-patients/. College AC. Electrolyte Fluid Balance: Austin Community College; 2014 [cited 2014 11 November]. Available from: http://www.austincc.edu/apreview/EmphasisItems/Electrolytefluidbalance.html. Keener P. Okeanos Explorer | Expeditions | INDEX 2010: Indonesia-USA Deep-Sea Exploration | Expedition Purpose 2014 [cited 2014 11 November]. Available from: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/10index/background/edu/purpose.html. Droual R. The Urinary System: Fluid and Electrolyte Balance: Modesto Junior College; 2014 [cited 2014 11 November]. Available from: http://droualb.faculty.mjc.edu/Course%20Materials/Physiology%20101/Chapter%20Notes/Fall%202011/chapter_19%20Fall%202011.htm. Jones AW, Jonsson KA, Neri A. Peak blood-ethanol concentration and the time of its occurrence after rapid drinking on an empty stomach. J Forensic Sci. 1991;36(2):376-85. Zimatkin SM, Deitrich RA. Ethanol metabolism in the brain.: Addiction Biology; 1997. p. 387-400. Zakhari S. Alcohol metabolism and epigenetics changes. Alcohol Res. 2013;35(1):6-16. (IPCS) IPoCS. Methanol. Environmental Health Criteria 196. Geneva: WHO; 1997. Stà ¼rmann K, Ryan MT. Alcohol-Related Emergencies:A New Look At An Old ProblemEmergency Medicine Practice. 2001;3(9):9. Jacobsen D, McMartin KE. Antidotes for methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1997;35(2):127-43. Swartz RD, Millman RP, Billi JE, Bondar NP, Migdal SD, Simonian SK, et al. Epidemic methanol poisoning: clinical and biochemical analysis of a recent episode. Medicine (Baltimore). 1981;60(5):373-82. Tephly TR. The toxicity of methanol. Life Sci. 1991;48(11):1031-41. Martin-Amat G, McMartin KE, Hayreh SS, Hayreh MS, Tephly TR. Methanol poisoning: ocular toxicity produced by formate. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1978;45(1):201-8. Nicholls P. The effect of formate on cytochrome aa3 and on electron transport in the intact respiratory chain. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1976;430(1):13-29. Alonso JR, Cardellach F, Lopez S, Casademont J, Miro O. Carbon monoxide specifically inhibits cytochrome c oxidase of human mitochondrial respiratory chain. Pharmacol Toxicol. 2003;93(3):142-6. Fontanesi F, Soto IC, Barrientos A. Cytochrome c oxidase biogenesis: new levels of regulation. IUBMB Life. 2008;60(9):557-68. Shah S, Pandey V, Thakore N, Mehta I. Study of 63 cases of methyl alcohol poisoning (hooch tragedy in Ahmedabad). J Assoc Physicians India. 2012;60:34-6. Jammalamadaka D, Raissi S. Ethylene glycol, methanol and isopropyl alcohol intoxication. Am J Med Sci. 2010;339(3):276-81. Sejersted OM, Jacobsen D, Ovrebo S, Jansen H. Formate concentrations in plasma from patients poisoned with methanol. Acta Med Scand. 1983;213(2):105-10. Jacobsen D, McMartin KE. Methanol and ethylene glycol poisonings. Mechanism of toxicity, clinical course, diagnosis and treatment. Med Toxicol. 1986;1(5):309-34. Bestic M, Blackford M, Reed M. Fomepizole: a critical assessment of current dosing recommendations. J Clin Pharmacol. 2009;49(2):130-7. Hall TL. Fomepizole in the treatment of ethylene glycol poisoning. Cjem. 2002;4(3):199-204. Rathi M, Sakhuja V, Jha V. Visual blurring and metabolic acidosis after ingestion of bootlegged alcohol. Hemodial Int. 2006;10(1):8-14. Suki WN, Massry SG. Therapy of renal diseases and related disorders: Springer; 1991. Kapur G, Valentini RP, Imam AA, Jain A, Mattoo TK. Serum osmolal gap in patients with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome and severe edema. Pediatrics. 2007;119(6):e1404-7. NICE. When to suspect child maltreatment. July 2009.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Subversion of Class and Gender Roles in Jane Austens Persuasion Essay

Subversion of Class and Gender Roles in Jane Austen's Persuasion      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Jane Austen's Persuasion, Mrs. Croft makes but few appearances and delivers little dialogue.   Nevertheless, Austen gives her significant narrative and thematic importance.   Mrs. Croft provides a foil for several of the Elliots, while developing a commonality with the frequently ostracized Anne.   This bond between Mrs. Croft and Austen's heroine valorizes Mrs. Croft's radical views concerning feminism and marriage.   Beyond signifying a paradigm shift in such social morals, though, the roles of Admiral and Mrs. Croft allow Austen to subvert the dominant upper class culture.   By exhibiting superior but genuine manners, by demonstrating the complacency of the dominant culture, and by exerting their own counterculture, Admiral and Mrs. Croft expose both the foolishness and the artifice of their upper class acquaintances.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Austen clearly contrasts Mrs. Croft with Sir Walter, Elizabeth and Mary, and therein reveals the selfish and impractical nature of luxury, saying, "none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days" (50).   She admits to the confinement of a frigate, but notes that "any reasonable woman may be perfectly happy in one" (50, italics mine).   Meanwhile, Sir Walter cannot imagine life without "[journeys], London, servants, horses . . ." (10), and, for Elizabeth, "the sacrifice of one pair of horses would be hardly less painful than of both" (10).   Mrs. Croft thus highlights the Elliots' frivolousness.   The Crofts also illustrate Sir Walter's vanity, by moving his several looking glasses into storage, since Admiral Croft requires only one.   Similarly, Mrs. Croft exposes Mary's self pity, allowing us to co... ...ne Elliot as worthy not only of the noble relations of their family, but also of the superior culture of the Crofts.    Works Cited and Consulted Austen, Jane.   Persuasion.   1993.   Ware, Herts:   Wordsworth, 1996. Craik, W. A. Jane Austen in her Time. London: Nelson, 1969. DaDundo, Laura. "Jane Austen" Concise Dictionary of British Literary Biography. Vol. III. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992. Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. Handbook to Literature. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1986. Magill, Frank N., ed. English Novel: Richardson to Hardy. Pasadena: Salem Softbacks, 1980. Southam, Brian. "Jane Austen." British Writers. Vol. IV. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribners, 1981. Tanner, Tony. "In Between: Persuasion." Persuasion. By Jane Austen. Ed. Patricia Meyers Spacks. New York: Norton and Co., 1995.   

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Impacts on Social Media Essay

As we begin to discuss social media and is impact on mass communications as a whole, we must first define what it is and how it came to be. The Dynamics of Mass Communications defines social media as a set of Internet tools that encourages content sharing and community relationships. Users are able to create online communities by exchanging, distributing and receiving content information. Social media has rapidly integrated itself into our personal and professional lives over the past decade or so. Information is more available to the public today because of social media. The history of social media started with the BBS (Bulletin Board System) in the late 70’s. Most BBSs were involved in illegal or other shady practices like adult content, virus codes, and instructions on hacking and phone hacking, but BBSs were the first type of sites that allowed users to log on to it and interact with one another. This interaction was a lot slower than what individuals are used to in today’s society. Genie was created by a General Electric subsidiary (GEIS) in 1985 and was an early online service. It was a text-based service, and was considered the first viable commercial competition to CompuServe. This specific service was created to make use of time-sharing mainframes after normal U>S. business hours. Not too long after, America Online (AOL) started as an online service and made great strides with making the Internet more universally accessible within the United States. In 1988, IRC (Internet Relay Chat) was developed and used for file and link sharing and even keeping in touch with others. Readers could classify it as the father of instant messages as we know it today, though it was limiting access to most people. Touching the topic of early social networks, dating sites are sometimes considered the first social networks. Dating sites began to crop up just as soon as people began to get online with the Internet. These sites allowed users to create profiles with a photo and contact other people. Let’s not forget about Classmates.com, but dating sites and Classmates.com rarely  allowed you to keep a friends list and profiles appeared to be severely limited. The actual social networks like Six Degrees and LiveJournal were a tad bit more advanced than what dating sites had to offer. Six Degrees allowed users to create a basically-static profile while LiveJournal was created in 1999 and was a social network built around blogs that were constantly updated that encouraged other users to follow one another and form groups to interact. It wasn’t soon after that social interaction had found its way to online games. World of Warcraft is one the most famous for allowing players to interact both in the game would and on related forum and community sites. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games became popular in the early 2000’s though there were indeed other role-playing and other games prior to that. Additionally, the early 2000’s brought more advanced social networks and social media to the playing field. Some examples that most people are familiar with would be Friendster (2002), YouTube (2005), MySpace (2006), Facebook (2004), Tumblr (2006), Twitter (2006), and Instagram (2010). All these networks took a toll on millions and billions of people around the globe. People are more connected and up to date because of them. Social Media as a whole has brought a lot of positive effects to the world as we know it today. Social Networks started as a place to connect with your friends in an easy, convenient, and free from charge way. Social networks play an important role with social media. It has allowed individuals to connect with old friends from school, co-workers, and even with complete strangers. It has also provided us with the opportunity to build back a lost relationship or even better relationships with whom that are unable to meet us personally, and involve them with our lives and even take input into their personal lives with specific events that are happening with us. We are now able to communicate our thoughts and perceptions over different topics with a large number of audiences. Our voices are heard louder than ever with the help of social media and social networks. For example, with the Trayvon Martin case, people used social media to conduct marches and protests. On social networks, like Instagram, users blocked out their profile picture to show their involvement for wanting justice for that specific case. We have the option to make groups with people who are like minded and share the  related news with them and ask for their opinion or input about the topic. Far as businesses, they are using social media and social networks to promote their own products and there are a number of customized applications that are being made on social platforms, whose main and only purpose is to promote the product or brand given to them. The negative effects of social media seem to be quite questionable. Studies have shown that the extensive use of social media can quite frankly cause addition to the users. Throughout the day, people tend to feel the need to post something on their pages and check other posts as it has become an important part of everyday life. Extreme usage of social media had resulted in isolation of the individual. The level of human interaction has decreased tremendously and people appear to be less active. Individuals would rather check their smart-phones or tablets than actually picking up a book or a newspaper per say. Interpersonal communication has reduced and there aren’t many face to face communications and meetings being held because many people have lost their full ability to converse while being in the same room. Social Media is also affecting the productivity of people. Users are more distracted. Again, I must state that people are so caught up in texting, blogging, updating a status, and posting any and everything that it to the point where they cannot get specific things done. A prime example would be texting while driving or being on a social network while attempting to write a research paper or even complete homework. According to media bistro, the average person spent three hours and seven minutes online each day in 2012. It appears as online media becomes more popular; other media sources become less popular. People are not reading magazines, newspapers, listening to the radio, or watching television as much as they used to. As the popularity of social networks and online video increases, so does our time online. YouTube has more than one billion users that visit their website each month. Seventy two hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. The list just goes on and this also goes for Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Pinterest, Hulu, and Instagram. It seems nowadays that there are social and user-generated sites for just about every activity you can possibly imagine. There are social shopping sites and social financial planning sites. There are even sites to share goals and meet like-minded people. Sites to plan your travels and share them with others. There are so many apps and sites that accommodate the average person for me to say that social media has indeed made life better for people. Social media has become a huge part of millions of lives worldwide. On the other hand, social media has made everyday life harder or horrific for everyday people. Because social media has grown in popularity and mainstream, it can be used by stalkers to track their victims or even find new ones. Social networks make these privacy settings available to users to help prevent stalkers and predators from being able to see their update. In addition to stalkers, we must also consider cyber-bulling. Cyber-bulling has increased over the years and has affected a lot of social network users. These things can make it harder on individuals. One final thing that needs to be discussed is the fact that the people who have degrees to be covering the news face their job being at risk. News stations and news broadcasts are now up with competition against social media and social networks. This is because people use their mobile devices to obtain the news now a days. This is because it is more convenient to access things from your phone than to take time out to turn on the television or go buy a newspaper. This could make everyday life harder for them if they lose their job. Social media has come a long way since the days of BBSs and IRC charts and social media continues to evolve on a daily basis. With major social networks and social media sites making changes and improvements, it’s sure to keep evolving in the coming years. While in many ways social media has allowed us to share everything from the simplest to most sacred events of our lives with more people in real time, it has also taken away from the action of â€Å"living in the moment.† The one thing we can all conclude is that social media is not just a phase, and it most definitely won’t be going away anytime soon or at least until something better comes along. WORS CITED http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/how-social-media-made-me-better-person http://www.digitaltrends.com/features/the-history-of-social-networking/ View as multi-pages

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 1

The mall was so peaceful. There was no hint of the terrible thing that was about to happen. It looked like any other shopping mall inNorth Carolina on a Sunday afternoon in December. Modern. Brightly decorated. Crowded with customers who knew there were only ten shopping days until Christmas. Warm, despite the chilly gray skies outside. Safe. Not the kind of place where a monster would appear. Keller walked past a display of â€Å"Santa Claus Through the Ages† with all her senses alert and open. And that meant a lot of senses. The glimpses she caught of herself in darkened store windows showed a high-school-aged girl in a sleek jumpsuit, with straight black hair that fell past her hips and cool gray eyes. But she knew that anybody who watched her closely was likely to see something else-a sort of prowling grace in the way she walked and an inner glow when the gray eyes focused on anything. Raksha Keller didn't look quite human. Which was hardly surprising, because she wasn't. She was a shapeshifter, and if people looking at her got the impression of a half-tamed panther on the loose, they were getting it exactly right. â€Å"Okay, everybody.† Keller touched the pin on her collar, then pressed a finger to the nearly invisible receiver in her ear, trying to tune out the Christmas music that filled the mall. â€Å"Report in.† â€Å"Winnie here.† The voice that spoke through the receiver was light, almost lilting, but professional. â€Å"I'm over by Sears. Haven't seen anything yet. Maybe she's not here.† â€Å"Maybe,† Keller said shortly into the pin-which wasn't a pin at all but an extremely expensive transmission device. â€Å"But she's supposed to love shopping, and her parents said she was headed this way. It's the best lead we've got. Keep looking.† â€Å"Nissa here.† This voice was cooler and softer, emotionless. â€Å"I'm in the parking lot, driving by theBingham Street entrance. Nothing to report- wait.† A pause, then the ghostly voice came back with a new tension: â€Å"Keller, we've got trouble. A black limo just pulled up outside Brody's. They know she's here.† Keller's stomach tightened, but she kept her voice level. â€Å"You're sure it's them?† â€Å"I'm sure. They're getting out-a couple of vampires and†¦ something else. A young guy, just a boy really. Maybe a shapeshifter. I don't know for sure; he isn't like anything I've seen before.† The voice was troubled, and that troubled Keller. Nissa Johnson was a vampire with a brain like the library of Congress. Something she didn't recognize? â€Å"Should I park and come help you?† Nissa asked. â€Å"No,† Keller said sharply. â€Å"Stay with the car; we're going to need it for a fast getaway. Winnie and I will take care of it. Right, Winnie?† â€Å"Oh, right, Boss. In fact, I can take 'em all on myself; you just watch.† ‘You watch your mouth, girl.† But Keller had to fight the grim smile that was tugging at her lips. Winfrith Arlin was Nissa's opposite-a witch and inclined to be emotional. Her odd sense of humor had lightened some black moments. â€Å"Both of you stay alert,† Keller said, completely serious now. â€Å"You know what's at stake.† â€Å"Right, Boss.† This time, both voices were subdued. They did know. The world. The girl they were looking for could save the world-or destroy it. Not that she knew that†¦ yet Her name was Iliana Harman, and she had grown up as a human child. She didn't realize that she had the blood of witches in her and that she was one of the four Wild Powers destined to fight against the time of darkness that was coming. She's about to get quite a surprise when we tell her, Keller thought That was assuming that Keller's team got to her before the bad guys did. But they would. They had to. There was a reason they'd been chosen to come here, when every agent of Circle Daybreak in North America would have been glad to do this job. They were the best. It was that simple. They were an odd team-vampire, witch, and shapeshifter-but they were unbeatable. And Keller was only seventeen, but she already had a reputation for never losing. And I'm not about to blow that now, she thought. â€Å"This is it, kiddies,† she said. â€Å"No more talking until we ID the girl. Good luck.† Their transmissions were scrambled, of course, but there was no point in taking chances. The bad guys were extremely well organized. Doesn't matter. Well still win, Keller thought, and she paused in her walking long enough really to expand her senses. It was like stepping into a different world. They were senses that a human couldn't even imagine. Infrared. She saw body heat. Smell. Humans didn't have any sense of smell, not really. Keller could distinguish Coke from Pepsi from across a room. Touch. As a panther, Keller had exquisitely sensitive hairs all over her body, especially on her face. Even in human form, she could feel things with ten times the intensity of a real human. She could feel her way in total darkness by the air pressure on her skin. Hearing. She could hear both higher and lower pitches than a human, and she could pinpoint an individual cough in a crowd. Sight. She had night vision like-well, like a cat's. Not to mention more than five hundred muscles that she could move voluntarily. And just now, all her resources were attuned to finding one teenage girl in this swarming mall. Her eyes roved over faces; her ears pricked at the sound of every young voice; her nose sorted through thousands of smells for the one that would match the T-shirt she'd taken from Iliana's room. Then, just as she froze, catching a whiff of something familiar, the receiver in her ear came to life. â€Å"Keller-I spotted her! Hallmark, second floor. But they're here, too.† They'd found her first. Keller cursed soundlessly. Aloud, she said, â€Å"Nissa, bring the car around to the west side of the mall. Winnie, don't do anything. I'm coming.† The nearest escalator was at the end of the mall. But from the map in her hand, she could see that Hallmark was directly above her on the upper level. And she couldn't waste time. Keller gathered her legs under her and jumped. One leap, straight up. She ignored the gasps- and a few shrieks-of the people around her as she sprang. At the top of her jump, she caught the railing that fenced off the upper-level walkway. She hung for a second by her hands, then pulled herself up smoothly. More people were staring. Keller ignored them. They got out of her way as she headed for the Hallmark store. Winnie was standing with her back to the display window of the store beside it. She was short, with a froth of strawberry curls and a pixie face. Keller edged up to her, careful to keep out of the line of sight of the Hallmark. â€Å"What's up?† â€Å"There's three of them,† Winnie murmured in a barely audible voice. â€Å"Just like Nissa said. I saw them go in-and then I saw her. They've got her surrounded, but so far they're just talking to her.† She glanced sideways at Keller with dancing green eyes. â€Å"Only three-we can take them easy.† â€Å"Yeah, and that's what worries me. Why would they only send three?† Winnie shrugged slightly. â€Å"Maybe they're like us-the best.† Keller only acknowledged that with a flicker of her eyebrows. She was edging forward centimeter by centimeter, trying to get a glimpse of the interior of the Hallmark shop between the stockings and stuffed animals in the display window. There. Two guys in dark clothing almost like uniforms-vampire thugs. Another guy Keller could see only as a partial silhouette through a rack of Christmas ornaments. And her. Iliana. The girl everybody wanted. She was beautiful, almost impossibly so. Keller had seen a picture, and it had been beautiful, but now she saw that it hadn't come within miles of conveying the real girl. She had the silvery-fair hair and violet eyes that showed her Harman blood. She also had an extraordinary delicacy of features and grace of movement that made her as pretty to watch as a white kitten on the grass. Although Keller knew she was seventeen, she seemed slight and childlike. Almost fairylike. And right now, she was listening with wide, trusting eyes to whatever the silhouette guy was saying. To Keller's fury, she couldn't make it out. He must be whispering. â€Å"It's really her,† Winnie breathed from beside Keller, awed. â€Å"The Witch Child. She looks just like the legends said, just like I imagined.† Her voice turned indignant. â€Å"I can't stand to watch them talk to her. It's like-blasphemy.† â€Å"Keep your hair on,† Keller murmured, still searching with her eyes. â€Å"You witches get so emotional about your legends.† â€Å"Well, we should. She's not just a Wild Power, she's a pure soul.† Winfrith's voice was softly awed. â€Å"She must be so wise, so gentle, so farsighted. I can't wait to talk to her.† Her voice sharpened. â€Å"And those thugs shouldn't be allowed to talk to her. Come on, Keller, we can take-them fast. Let's go.† â€Å"Winnie, don't-â€Å" It was too late. Winnie was already moving, heading straight into the shop without any attempt at concealment. Keller cursed again. But she didn't have any choice now. â€Å"Nissa, stand by. Things are going to get exciting,† she snapped, touching her pin, and then she followed. Winnie was walking directly toward the little group of three guys and Iliana as Keller reached the door. The guys were looking up, instantly alert. Keller saw their faces and gathered herself for a leap. But it never happened. Before she could get all her muscles ready, the silhouette guy turned-and everything changed. Time went into slow motion. Keller saw his face clearly, as if she'd had a year to study it. He wasn't bad-looking-quite handsome, actually. He didn't look much older than she was, and he had clean, nicely molded features. He had a small, compact body with what looked like hard muscles under his clothes. His hair was black, shaggy but shiny, almost like fur. It fell over his forehead in an odd way, a way that looked deliberately disarrayed and was at odds with the neatness of the rest of him. And he had eyes of obsidian. Totally opaque. Shiny silver-black, with nothing clear or transparent about them. They revealed nothing; they simply threw light back at anyone who looked into them. They were the eyes of a monster, and every one of Keller's five hundred voluntary muscles froze in fear. She didn't need to hear the roar that was far below the pitch that human ears could pick up. She didn't need to see the swirl of dark energy that flared like a red-tinged black aura around him. She knew already, instinctively, and she tried to get the breath to yell a warning to Winnie. There was no time. She could only watch as the boy's face turned toward Winnie and power exploded out of him. He did it so casually. Keller could tell that it was only a flick of his mind, like a horse slapping its tail at a fly. But the dark power slammed into Winnie and sent her flying through the air, arms and legs outstretched, until she hit a wall covered with display plates and clocks. The crash was tremendous. Winnie! Keller almost yelled it out loud. Winnie fell behind the cash register counter, out of Keller's line of sight. Keller couldn't tell if she were alive or not. The cashier who had been standing behind the counter went running and screaming toward the back of the shop. The customers scattered, some following the cashier, some dashing for the exit. Keller hung in the doorway a second longer as they streamed out around her. Then she reeled away to stand with her back against the window of the next shop, breathing hard. There were coils of ice in her guts. A dragon. He was a dragon.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Analytical Essay Sample on Casinos in Cincinnati How to Make the Economic Progress

Analytical Essay Sample on Casinos in Cincinnati How to Make the Economic Progress Casinos in Cincinnati Essay Introduction The provisions within the entertainment within a given location have been included to establish the developmental features to boost the economic progress. Cincinnati has been developed through the involvement of development aspects promising to boost the economy and satisfy the population that promises to offer economic support. However, the obstacles to achieving development have been mentioned to be included in the constraint that personalities face in providing the social amenities. Casinos have been developed to offer a substantial entertainment form within the society to present the resources needed to offer economic development. Casinos have also been the leading forms to accord recreational traits needed by the population in Cincinnati to achieve the entertainment form desired. The design involved in the erection of the structures. The development of casinos has promised to increase the returns needed to achieve community development, and provide employment ventures for the co mmunity members who are presented with the challenge of adapting to harsh environmental provisions. The states within the US hold a defined measure to offer developmental attributes to community member. Cincinnati in Ohio has identified the casinos as a leading measure to accord the attributes needed to acquire returns that boost developmental activities. The processes to develop the casinos in Cincinnati have been linked to the presentations that the casinos hold to developing the area, with the provision placed on their location and result accorded. The voters in Ohio had passed an amendment to accord the approval of casino construction within the state. Though the gambling problem identified, they allowed the bill to be passed to favor economic progress (WynnÐ µ 111). The casinos in Cincinnati were to be constructed on a parking lot that had occupied a space of 20 acres. However, this location had not favored the development attributes that had been anticipated to limit ideologies centered on progress (CottÃ'â€" 19). The motive for the construction of the casinos had depended on building the outlook of the downtown area with the infrastructure focused on eliminating unstable environmental conditions (Coolidge). With the development attribute in place, there was the promise to accord features to be incorporated in the new look of Cincinnati. Before the construction of the casinos, there was the need to analyze the impacts of the structures on the development of the available provisions within the scenery. The entity had been su bjected to inform on the possible threats that the casinos would present on the community that had been composed of a wider demographic. The Broadway Commons District Study was included in the analysis of the impacts of the development of the structure to avoid a bias argument on the need to include the public in decisions regarding development attributes (LeMaster). The strategy applied the incentive from small organizations with Bridging Broadways an example to engage in open forums to share ideologies on the construction measures. The meetings managed to acquire the desired measures that encouraged members to be informed on the construction process. The meeting had been completed to accord extensive design inputs that developed the resources leading to the casinos for easy access. An example of a casino to be developed in the area has been the renowned Horseshoe brand that promises to build a modern branch within the downtown areas (Horseshoe Casino). The creation of features to include food courts and adjacent entertainment system would create the link desired to the community through interaction, with pedestrian input and external visitors included in the calculation of the structure formation. The construction of the casinos had been a partnership effort that involved non-profit generating organizations and staff within the city. Bridging B roadway’s leading mission is to help attain the sustainable form of development required to accord the area developmental traits. This project had been aimed towards generating development of the economy and issue and adding opportunity to the members that desired the chance to participate in developmental projects. The casinos contribute to the development of a transport system that promises to develop business opportunities and pedestrian access form that links the neighborhood to the visitors within the casino. The outstanding design input within the casino is the outward facing provision included in the design that promote the accessibility suggested uplifting the opportunities presented by the members of Cincinnati community. The chief desire presented in the completion of these casinos includes generating a positive relationship with clients who promise to develop the business into flourishing opportunity within the community. With the unique design and positioning allowing an added number in the community, the casinos attract over 6 million visitors to the community annually who generate high revenue (Whiteman et al). The casinos build the economy of Cincinnati with an estimated revenue of $350 million dollars annually. The underutilized downtown space has found the input to develop the community in a significant manner that offers sustainability during a harsh economic period. The design inputs placed on the development of the casinos have promised to find the perfect fit to place the structures in a competitive spot. The competition under consideration involves eliminating the threat of including external resources to serve as leading entertainment forms in leading sites within the community. The careful selection of the applied strategies in construction of a stable structure to avoid accidents would take the opinion of qualified professionals who promise to deliver substantial results to avoid future misfortunes (Whitaker). The casinos located within Cincinnati have all included the sole purpose needed to attain development within the community. The competition has been placed in the capacity of the structures to hold a maximum number of clients. With the location in Cincinnati, the measures needed by the city officials to pass policies to promote development are included in their budget. The casinos located in Cincinnati have been named and competition elimination has been surfaced through expanding the facilities. Horseshoe that promises to open in Feb 2013 would find location in the Broadway Commons situated in the northeast junction within downtown Cincinnati (Landers). The casino is projected to occupy a space of 354, 000 sq feet with restaurants and ample parking space. Argosy casino has been projected as a gambling establishment to contribute in the community development. Belterra, Vevay features a fifteen-storey building with 308 rooms for guests and spa facilities (Cincinnati USA). Grand Victoria, Rising Sun, casino finds the location within the Ohio river a few minutes west of Cincinnati. The Hollywood Casino has been located in Lawrenceburg, few minutes from Cincinnati to accord services within the 24 hours all days. These are the casinos that have developed the economic output of the community with the promise to accord added opportunity to the unemployed members. The satisfaction needed is acquired through offering affordable packages with visitors promised a magical tour of Cincinn ati. Through advertisement on websites and leading articles, the casinos’ policies and packages are relayed to the public with the booking option provided online. The websites created to support these casinos have also emerged as the renowned measures to sell the packages offered to visitors. The increasing number of casinos within the community promise to offer opportunities for healthy competition needed to sustain development. The increasing visitors’ number has prompted the expansion of the available spaces to accommodate an added tourist number. The horseshoe casino has been developed to cater for the constraint that limited access to the community through the pedestrian method in travelling. When the work is completed, Horseshoe promises to offer the competition needed in developing Cincinnati’s economy t the desired level. Conclusion Cincinnati within the state of Ohio holds famous casinos that have helped in the development of the economic status within the environment (EÐ °dÃ'â€"ngton 183). However, the competition presented with the increasing number of these facilities may develop monopoly in service delivery. There is the need to expand the advertising strategies to attract visitors from other states and external countries to contribute to the revenue generation. This provision is necessary to accord the Cincinnati population the opportunity to gain employment in the facilities. Through the casino business, Ohio has witnessed a significant growth in articulating measures needed to implement development policies (Plain Dealer Staff). Cincinnati has been the leading example of the set establishment in completing the opportunities that may be granted the populating. Development attributes needed to upgrade the casinos and design the preferred structure is boosted by public incentive. This is applied through th e forums that promote the participation of the members and community input in designing the facility. The outstanding features of the casino should include accommodation and spacious parking to incorporate foreign visitors. Casinos are linked to gambling that present risky provisions to the development attribute of the participant hence the need to provide regulation without hindering the economic contribution (WÐ °lkÐ µr Ð °nd BÐ °rnÐ µtt 182).

Monday, October 21, 2019

Modern African Artists Their Struggle for Tradition and Self essays

Modern African Artists Their Struggle for Tradition and Self essays How does an artist work out of and from a tradition that has colonized his or her people' By colonizing one's people, one also colonizes the art of one's people. Indeed, through the act of colonization itself, a nation such as Britain has deemed an African's very self hood, very person not to be part of the artistic production of tradition, but merely an object of exploitation. African artists almost as a whole must grapple with the fact that their nation has been oppressed and colonized by Western forces, yet many of these artists also wish to draw upon the rich artistic resources of Moreover, these African artists do not wish to merely recopy and recapitulate old, African forms of art, nor could they, anymore than they could recopy and recapitulate aspects of African tribal art within their own social experience. Such African artists currently live in a world of modern commerce that valorizes the individual artistic experience, as opposed to the communal and tribal tradition that produced most traditional works of African art. They must appropriate both the West and their African pasts anew, to create works that are creative in their syncretism, and representative of both traditionsnot an easy task. African artists cannot entirely embrace the West, nor can they entirely reject it if they wish to move forward in their own nation's art, in their own self-expression as an artist in and individualistic and Western-influenced world, and also to profit personally as all artists must on some level. Rather than attempt to reconfigure their own traditions, many African artists have approached Western art and culture in a spirit of parody and satire, familiar tools of the oppressed to communicate their displeasure with humor. Also, African artists whom are betwixt and between cultures, located both in colonial nations and in cultural communities that ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Rainy days and Mondays - Emphasis

Rainy days and Mondays Rainy days and Mondays How many words can you use to say, Rain all day? A wet start to the day with some heavier bursts of rain around. It is likely to stay wet for much of the day with further rain at times. Nice work, BBC Weather.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Comte and Durkheim Concern with Social Order Essay - 1

Comte and Durkheim Concern with Social Order - Essay Example They are the pillars of comte’s study to bring social stability. They are the two aspects of a theory and correlative to each other. Dynamics (process of evolution) can only be occur in society when the society in stable or equilibrium (static) phase. Comte does not place individual as the base of society. According to his studies, base of a society is family. Families become tribes and tribe nations or all other elements of society build upon family element. Family makes a man adoptable to the society he lives and responsible and a functioning member of his surroundings. He says binding forces and key factors for the stability of society are language, division of labor and religion. Without knowing language, you won’t be able to communicate and share knowledge to each other and in society. Religion binds and stabilizes the society by some common beliefs. He says religion acts as positive guide. And division of labor keeps the chain intact in society on the basis of sim ilarity of class (Comte & Lenzer, 1998). The relation and interaction of family element with the rest of society explains Comte’s theory of labor division. They are correlative and interdependent to each other it helps in holding together the social structure firmly. His studies states that everyone has his own roles to play in a society such as husband is dependant upon his wife for his needs and it binds them together in a society. Division of labor explains and creates interdependency and social control. According to his law, human brain, communities and world history has gone through a process through three phases for its evolution and development. The theological stage is consumed by a search for the necessary things of life, and people used to believe that all the things have been created by god and supernatural forces. According to Comte, positivism can overcome and replace the negativism.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Cuban Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cuban Revolution - Essay Example The Cuban Revolution immediately won the support of the masses and, indeed, the revolutionary leaders' popularity only increased, and expanded to include Latin American populations, as a result of political rhetoric which emphasised Cuban independence from US domination and the imperatives of adopting socialism to improve the socio-economic status of the majority (Sweig, 2004). Indeed, in assessing the causes of the Cuban Revolution and the reasons for its success, it is important to highlight the political and economic background. Politically, Cuba, as was the case with Latin American nations in general, had little autonomy and independence from Spain had not led to full-fledged sovereignty but to domination by the United States. Economically, the majority suffered from chronic and absolute poverty while a minority commanded and owned much of the nation's wealth and resources. The fact that the Cuban Revolution was motivated by the aforementioned conditions and determined their reve rsal ensured its popularity in both Cuba and Latin America. Indeed, the majority of the Cuban populace embraced Castro and his guerrillas, who appeared as young idealists. As rebel soldiers made their way to Havana they were welcomed as conquering heroes by throngs of local villagers who lined the roads and cheered the troops as they passed (Sweig, 2004). Proceeding from the above stated, it is evident that the United States' policies towards Cuba are among the most significant of the revolution's causes. Before 1959 the history of U.S.-Cuban relations played out in the context of U.S. hegemony over the island. Though previous administrations had resisted U.S. influence, few had rejected it outright (Perez-Stable, 1998). Indeed, throughout the history of U.S.-Cuban relations the Cuban elite, those of European origin whose wealth tied them to U.S. interests, had actively welcomed U.S. dominance. Thus, Cubans themselves, especially the elite class, together with U.S. policymakers were responsible for stifling Cuban nationalism and for providing the atmosphere in which the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro fundamentally changed the course of Cuban history and of Cuban-U.S. relations (Perez-Stable, 1998). Before Castro, U.S. officials had worked closely with Cuban leaders. Prior to the U.S. intervention in the Cuban War for Independence many Cubans actively sought U.S. rule. The Cuban elite feared the establishment of a truly democratic republic, or in their words, a Negro Republic (Perez-Stable, 1998). They played on U.S. racial fears and cultural stereotypes, marginalizing their own countrymen. The United States wanted to maintain the status quo and unfettered access to the Cuban economy; the Cuban elites wanted stability and to continue to reap the financial rewards of close ties with U.S. business interests. The Cuban elite also wanted power for themselves. Hence, after Spain surrendered to the United States, some members of the Cuban elite embraced U.S. control over their nation (Perez-Stable,

Life Style assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Life Style assignment - Essay Example He believes in justice and prefers to swim against the current and do not blindly follow the established ideas unless they are authentic and are in favor of people. It has become an axiom that the established norms and ideas are right and work for the benefit of humanity. However there is an option that can prove this maxim utterly wrong. In the practical world where new strategies function to influence people the individuals with qualities of a salmon can prove to be a great help. The persuasive nature can influence the mode of thinking of people for good. Freedom of choice and independency is essential for every individual. Indolence and independency can take away the worth gradually making the individual completely useless. So in this scenario independency is indispensable to enable the individuals know their worth and they can be beneficial. Vigilance keeps you aware of your surroundings and enables you to remain up to date about the changes that are constantly affecting the market and business world. So in this case vigor can help you to remain active against the current that drives you back. The conventional and outdated ideas can adversely affect the working of the company so a vigorous individual can avoid this. Once you consider yourself in the shoes of the customers you can comprehend their needs. You should be demanding and should bring changes in the products in order to fulfill the demands of the customers that are changing with the dynamic world. Any sort of malpractice can affect the fame and quality of the product. So instead of succumbing to the unfair act, a rebellious salmon can cease the progress of the activity in order to maintain the quality. Implementing your ideas forcefully can develop animosity among peers. So you can avoid this quality of a salmon and become humble instead. However in different cases this quality can be used to make new strategies work. The qualities of being competitive and

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Gun Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Gun Control - Essay Example The gun control law will be brought to action after the Governor Dannel Molly signs it and this legislation would make Connecticut third state that has brought into action such toughest Gun Control Laws. 100 different types of guns are banned with a strict background on past sold weapons. Furthermore the newspaper posted Connecticut shot dead incident at elementary school Newtown that took place on 14th of December. According to this incident Adam Lanza - a twenty years old man shot 20 children with 6 adults and soon after killing them, he killed himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School. President of Iran Ahmadinejad sent condolences to the U.S President over the shooting incidence in Connecticut’s elementary school. He strongly condemned the violence attacks and hit hard the U.S policies and laws on gun control. In addition to accusing the shooting at elementary school incident he also high lightened the recent killing incidents of Colorado cinema creating hassle and harassmen t across American public. The president of Iran spoke about the inappropriate and loosely bound laws of gun control that had been provoking killing attacks back in 2007 in Virginia Tech that shot down 32 people (English.farsnews.com, 2013, April 21).   The Australian newspaper reporting the voice of Australia and the media also reported and published gun control laws, their appropriateness and in suitability. The Australian Newspaper published this very auspicious news when there was massacre and bloodshed reported in the major states of U.S and invoked the attention to the strong, strict and controlled gun control laws of Australia in comparison to the U.S. the media took the... Gun Control Responsible citizens are considered to contribute to society benefits by using firearms in a correct way. For ensuring gun control U.S government and defense department has chalked out some rules for the possession of firearms. Some of the points included for registered are extracted from the Federal Gun Control Act developed in 1968 in the U.S for possession of fire arms are responsible citizens abiding law, not addicted to drugs and alcohol, possessing U.S citizenship and must not be dropped out from military services (Moore & Reed, 1995). Not only crime issues but other issues such as hunting whether as a sport or for food purposes, has also reflected the serious issues of gun control legally and politically. Hunting is dangerous for wildlife and the natural environment as well. Even shooting has been a part of Olympic games and the use of pistols, guns, rifles etc had been a normal activity during sports in Olympic since 1912 (Moore & Reed, 1995). This paper has extracted content from various papers and stories from different countries such as Australia and its newspaper The Australian, Iran and its newspaper Fars News Agency and U.S and its newspapers Los Angeles Times. Severe punishment enforced by gun control laws and reforms and imprisonment laws must be enforced to avoid the misuse and unauthorized possession of guns and ammunitions. On the other hand gun control laws must not be enforced with such tightly bonded realm where law abiding and responsible citizens are also punished by restricting them to the use of firearms.

Need to have a great topic for this term papeer Paper

Need to have a great topic for this papeer - Term Paper Example Cooper argues that Jamaican dancehall culture brings to the fore the animal nature of males and females, violence and sex being recurrent themes therein. Cooper notes that while women are always portrayed as mindless bodies their function primarily being to provide the males with sexual pleasure, the theatrical message that it brings out is that the woman’s body has absolute authority and that men give homage to the woman’s principle. In other words, the woman’s fertility and sexuality is ritualized in a manner that the not so keen eye may easily ignore. Dancehall is basically speechifying with accompaniments of music like basic drum beat. In the past, dancehall’s lyrical contents were violent, and this made it to encounter a lot of criticisms of rival raga performers. In performance, sound clash dancehall is more of dance and addresses cultural issues like gender equality. On the other hand, calypso is slower, more political and music driven. Dancehall ra ises your feet into dancing, even is you were under stress because once you hear it, you just dance because you can’t help. ... She gives an analysis of sound clashes that are experienced in the Jamaican dancehall culture movement across boarders. Cooper defends the dancehall culture stating that in its explicit homoerotic nature, the dancehall is a place where women derive liberation outside the rigid social conventions of daily routine. The female gender also gets in control even as her identity is misrepresented by the culture. Cooper’s argument and thought Cooper joins in the argument that seeks to challenge the problem of social inequality through the hybridization of the dance hall culture in form of the aesthetics that hint to the American culture. This is infused into the Kingston hardships which she argues are the agents of the social inequality. This is a feature in the Jamaican Dancehall Culture that has indeed served as a highlight to the plight of the socially alienated groups within the society. The alienation is manifested in terms of reggae fusion, anti-gay lyrics and the dance fusion. It has in every sense helped to bring forth the fears of social degradation due to the overshadowing effect of the popular culture. Analysis of Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large, Carolyn Cooper Many types of music portray women as weaker sex that can easily be sexually exploited. They are portrayed naked in the dance floor, as well on video and books covers. However, Carolyn Cooper, as a cultural studies lecturer tries to change this view in Sound Clash: Jamaican dancehall culture. She attempts to fight this moral decay in the society, by replacing it with values that show respect for women. However, men are portrayed as decent beings, but only in dressing, in the society. They dress properly, but

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Unhappy Customers Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Unhappy Customers - Personal Statement Example Unhappy customers On the other hand a satisfied customer pulls number of other customers towards the organization and service. Customers help defining success in a way that they set benchmarks for what is in demand, and things that need to be avoided or are out of date. For them its more about quality than the costs, they are willing to pay more for comfort and quality rather than low quality and more hassle of repair and low productivity. The policies so made should be customer centric. Customers’ response is related to the online sales and services as well as the physical world businesses responses. A relationship matrix can be defined in this way to identify all the factors and benefits that may be achieved through successful implementation of customer response and satisfaction. A prime example in this regard was seen when a musician had his guitar damaged in an aero plane flight and when the compensation was demanded, it was not provided; the same musician went on to make a song on the Unit ed Airlines services and this incident and ended up with millions of views to his video and song, this earned the company a bad name, and in the end they had to apologize and provide compensation, all to customer dissatisfaction (Cheryl Hamilton 2010). Customer Relationship Management is an approach towards establishing a relationship with the customers and working to their satisfaction and demand, in other words, a key to success. C.R.M stresses upon focusing on individual customer rather than masses, this helps knowing the customer behavior, the past experiences. The entire process would focus on the manufacturing strategy, the services to be provided after the product is prepared. Customer identification, differentiation, and personalization are few important terms and phenomena that need to be taken into consideration while dealing with the customers since every customer has a different taste than other, and so is the demand and requirement. The differentiation aspect helps identifying the customers that are more regular, have larger stakes on hold, and are slightly sensitive to the subject and services, and since all resources might not be available every time, implementing them at the right place and towards the right custome r becomes important. Paretho Principle is another similar concept related to the customer response. It is also known as the 80-20 rule, and according to it, the 20 percent customers that makes up for 80 percent of the sales. It is being stated that cost of making a new customer is far higher than retaining one. Even the 5 percent customers retained, results in 25 percent increase in overall productivity of an organization (Ronald S.Swift 2001). Besides customer satisfaction the individual characteristic of the product or service defines the rate of customer turnover from any company or brand. Customer response is considered a Key performance Indicator (K.P.I) and based on its value; the company’s performance is measured in the marketing world. Surveys are being conducted about particular product or service, or the overall experience of the customers with the company, based on their response in the rating scale, further strategies are being devised that helps molding the struc ture of company according to the need of customers. A company must be open to claims, and repairs, however the best policy is to prevent rather than repair, it helps in many ways, not

Need to have a great topic for this term papeer Paper

Need to have a great topic for this papeer - Term Paper Example Cooper argues that Jamaican dancehall culture brings to the fore the animal nature of males and females, violence and sex being recurrent themes therein. Cooper notes that while women are always portrayed as mindless bodies their function primarily being to provide the males with sexual pleasure, the theatrical message that it brings out is that the woman’s body has absolute authority and that men give homage to the woman’s principle. In other words, the woman’s fertility and sexuality is ritualized in a manner that the not so keen eye may easily ignore. Dancehall is basically speechifying with accompaniments of music like basic drum beat. In the past, dancehall’s lyrical contents were violent, and this made it to encounter a lot of criticisms of rival raga performers. In performance, sound clash dancehall is more of dance and addresses cultural issues like gender equality. On the other hand, calypso is slower, more political and music driven. Dancehall ra ises your feet into dancing, even is you were under stress because once you hear it, you just dance because you can’t help. ... She gives an analysis of sound clashes that are experienced in the Jamaican dancehall culture movement across boarders. Cooper defends the dancehall culture stating that in its explicit homoerotic nature, the dancehall is a place where women derive liberation outside the rigid social conventions of daily routine. The female gender also gets in control even as her identity is misrepresented by the culture. Cooper’s argument and thought Cooper joins in the argument that seeks to challenge the problem of social inequality through the hybridization of the dance hall culture in form of the aesthetics that hint to the American culture. This is infused into the Kingston hardships which she argues are the agents of the social inequality. This is a feature in the Jamaican Dancehall Culture that has indeed served as a highlight to the plight of the socially alienated groups within the society. The alienation is manifested in terms of reggae fusion, anti-gay lyrics and the dance fusion. It has in every sense helped to bring forth the fears of social degradation due to the overshadowing effect of the popular culture. Analysis of Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large, Carolyn Cooper Many types of music portray women as weaker sex that can easily be sexually exploited. They are portrayed naked in the dance floor, as well on video and books covers. However, Carolyn Cooper, as a cultural studies lecturer tries to change this view in Sound Clash: Jamaican dancehall culture. She attempts to fight this moral decay in the society, by replacing it with values that show respect for women. However, men are portrayed as decent beings, but only in dressing, in the society. They dress properly, but

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The rates of reaction Essay Example for Free

The rates of reaction Essay Below are the results of the preliminary testing: Time in seconds As you can see from the results table above the column of 7:3 is not filled up and this is due to timing we did not have enough time in the lesson to complete the full test so we had to leave it, what this informs us is that we either have to reduce the time intervals because of our intervals being 30 seconds it is taking much longer than any body elses, or we have to work at a faster rate. The other reason to why we did not have time to do the last experiment was due to we forgot on several occasions to wash out the conical flask and we often remembered after we added the acid inside and the magnesium, so we had to take it out spill the acid and the magnesium turnings and start all over again because it is not called a fair test if we do not wash the flask out. Other problems that we faced which delayed out time was to put the burette upside down in the water bath, this is because everytime we tried to do this the water contents inside the burette would spill out so we would have to refill the water and try again. From the preliminary testing what I can evaluate is that for some reason there does not seem to be that much difference between the amount of hydrogen produced depending on the amount of concentration . The results seem to be fairly close together and stay in the range of 20 60cm. What I thought would happen is that there would be a drastic change in the results but then if I think about it there would not be a drastic change because we have not used drastic changes in the concentrations so we would not see the clear effects. If I wanted to see big changes in the hydrogen produced then I would have had to have a variety of ranges in the concentration and change is drastically e. g. from 100% to 50%. We ended up doing the experiment with the same concentrations that we used in our preliminary testing this is because we did not mark this problem before, we did not pay attention to the results that much and that was a mistake. I only realised this piece of information when I was analyzing the results and this was too late. The next time when we conducted our proper experiments what happened is that although we used the same magnesium substance magnesium turnings, what was going on was that the rate of the reaction was happening too quickly so in the space of 30 seconds 40cm of water would have been lost, and we were finding that before 210 seconds all the water was finished ,we did not believe it at first so we started up another experiment along side one and it was true the reaction for some reason was really fast and it had defiantly increased in speed since the pilot testing. We then had to change the type of magnesium we were using to magnesium ribbon and we decreased the amount that we were using as well from 0. 2g we decided to use 0. 1 g so that incase the mass of the magnesium was the cause of the fast reaction, by reducing the weight maybe the reaction will slow down. After we changed the magnesium from turnings to powder the reaction between the magnesium and the sulphuric acid was going at the correct speed as before and the reaction happening seemed to look correct. The results tables for the three tests are below: Results 1: Concentrations:100% Above are all the results that we obtained from the three experiments that we conducted. What I am going to do now is collect the mean results and to this what I have to do is add up the cm of hydrogen produced for the concentration of 100% and for 30seconds and divide it by 3 and so on: TIME concentrations. What I can see from this table is that the most amount of hydrogen is produced when the concentration of the sulphuric acid is at its most powerfullest so when the concentration is pure acid. I can tell this because the most amount of hydrogen was produced at the end of the 100% reaction at an average of 73. 3cm. so these results back one part of my prediction and it proved to be correct, but what I can also tell from average results is that as time goes on the amount of hydrogen produced decreased, so this proved my theory of what I thought might happen to be wrong. What I thought would happen is that as time went on the reaction would increase which would mean that the volume of hydrogen produced would be increased, but this was proved wrong because from my average table I can see that at the beginning 90 seconds was when we saw a greater difference between the first volume of hydrogen produced to the next amount in the space of 30 seconds for example from 30 seconds to 60 seconds the volume of hydrogen produced increased from 24.3 to 41. 3 this is an increase of 20cm of hydrogen and from that the volume goes up to 54cm this is an increase of 13. 3cm,but from 90 seconds onwards up to 210 seconds the rate at which the volume increases at is not that sufficient, it increases. By 6,4 then 3.this shows that as time is going on the energy with in the reaction is running out which means that less heat is available for the particles to collide harder and faster to produce the reaction that we are able to see, what is happening as time goes on is that the reaction is loosing he heat energy which is causing the particles to move at a slower speed which means that they are now weaker and that they will not collide more often to produce the hydrogen which in over all basically means that less hydrogen will be produced. After I have produced this table what I have done is that I have plotted these results onto a graph, this graph has all the average results on there so that I am able to compare the results and discus any anomalous results. From the average results graph what I am able to see is that as the levels of sulphuric acid in the solution decreases the amount of hydrogen produced decreases as well. I am distinctively able to see the decrease as the concentration decreases and this is because the lines on the graph decrease at each stage. The average results graph also shows me that during the first 30 60 seconds as the magnesium ribbon comes in contact with the sulphuric acid the levels of hydrogen produced are low, but the thing is that they are low in volume but during the first minute or so is the period of time where I am able to see the greater range between the volumes. So when time does increase the volumes are higher in rate, but not higher between the ranges of each 30seconds. There seems to be more variation during the first minute and a half rather than afterwards. This is visible on the graphs by the steepness of the gradients in the first 30 60 seconds after 90 seconds the gradient starts to curve this is applied to all of the four concentrations. Other general trends that I am able to se by looking at the graph is that as the time approaches to 210 seconds the lines seem to start to curve, this means that if we were to keep recording for a longer period of time the rate at which the hydrogen was being produced would of decreased and the reason to this is that once the energy in the reaction is lost it takes a longer period of time for the particles to come in contact with each other and collide to produce a reaction. I can also see that all four lines end at different volumes of hydrogen. I think that they all end correctly as they do not over take on and other, the reason why I say that they all end correctly is because as the concentration decreases the amount of hydrogen produced should decrease therefore the 100% concentration line should be the line which goes up the highest and the 7:3 concentration line should be the line where the line should end at the lowest amount of hydrogen produced in the whole experiment and this is what has happened therefore the lines are correct in that sense. Evaluation: I think that after we dealt with all the mishaps that we had during the course of the experiments the results obtained were of a good standard and they were reliable results which enabled me to analyse and evaluate them, therefore letting me produce line graphs for the results. I think that the results that I obtained from my experiment are clear and accurate enough, I can say this because when we conducted the experiment for the last three tests we made sure that we followed the safety measurements to ensure that results will be accurate, we did not make any mistakes and remembered to change the water in the measuring cylinder and we also remembered to wash out the conical flask each time we finished with a particular concentration unlike in the preliminary testing . We also made sure that we kept an eye on the time so that we did not exceed the time limit of each experiment and we also made sure that we recorded the results of how much hydrogen was produced as accurately as we could trying to get it to the nearest cm. , because we did all of the above thats why I can say that the results obtained and accurate enough to be used to draw good conclusions and graphs for this investigation. I have found some anomalous results and patterns in the individual experiments not the overall average. If you look at Test 1 graph, then you would see that the lines on the graph seem to over lap each other which is not meant to happen, because in theory what is meant to happen is as the concentration decreases so is the volume of hydrogen produced there for the lines should be in order with the 100% in coming up top followed by the 9:1, 8:2 and the 7:3 results line. But in test 1 results what has happened is that the results for the 9:1 concentration has overlapped with the 100% results. The reason for this is that the results of how much volume of hydrogen was produced for the 9:1 results was higher than the 100% results by 5cm. From the very beginning the 9:1 concentration produced higher results than the 100% concentration at 30 seconds 26cm of hydrogen was produced for the 9:1 testing whilst only 22cm of hydrogen was produced for the 100% concentration, at 150 seconds both sets concentrations had produced the same amount.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Vertical Marketing System

Vertical Marketing System 1. Describe the concept of a Distribution Channel and what is a VMS (Vertical Marketing System)? A marketing channel is a series of marketing organizations that leads a product from producer to final user. A distribution channel consists of firms that have combined for their common good. Each channel member depends on the others. Distribution channels move products and services from businesses to clients and to other businesses. Also known as marketing channels, channels of distribution consist of a set of interdependent organizations such as wholesalers, retailers, independent producers and sales agents involved in making a product or service available for use or consumption. For example, a Ford dealer depends on Ford to design cars that meet consumer needs. In turn, Ford depends on the dealer to attract consumers, persuade them to buy Ford cars, and service cars after the sale. Each seeks to maximize its own profits, and there is little control over the other members and no formal means for assigning roles and resolving conflict but if all of them cooperate with each other, they can more effectively serve and satisfy the target market.Marketing channels perform many key functions such as some help complete transactions by gathering and distributing information needed for planning and aiding exchange, by developing and spreading persuasive communication about an offer, and by entering into negotiation to reach an agreement on price and other terms so that ownership can be transferred. Vertical marketing systems (VMS) is a distribution channel that provides channel leadership and consists of producers, wholesalers, and retailers acting as a unified system and consist of Administered, contractual, and corporate marketing systems. One channel member owns the others, has contracts with them, or has so much power that they all cooperate. Corporate VMS integrates successive stages of production and distribution under single ownership.Contractual VMS consists of independent firms at different levels of production and distribution who join together through contracts to obtain more economies or sales impact that each could achieve alone. Administered VMS, the leadership is through the size and power of one or a few dominant channel members. 2. What is a PUSH strategy as opposed to a PULL strategy in distribution channel management? A push strategy involves pushing the product through marketing channels to final consumers. The producer directs its marketing activities (primarily personal selling and trade promotion) toward channel members to induce them to carry the product and to promote it to final consumers. Personal selling and trade promotions are often the most helpful promotional tools for companies such as Nokia for example offering funds on the handsets to persuade retailers to sell higher volumes.In pull strategy, the producer directs its marketing activities (primarily advertising and consumer promotion) towards final consumers to induce them to buy the product. If the pull strategy is effective, consumers will then demand the product from channel members, who will in turn demand it from producers. Example Kraft products use heavy advertisement and consumer promotion to pull its products. 3. Define Retailing and Wholesaling. How do the two interact and describe the different types of wholesaling? Retailing includes all activities that are involved in selling goods or services directly to final consumers for their personal, non business use. It plays a very important role in most marketing channels. It is also undergoing so much change today due to factors like store size, price competition, and demographic shifts. Therefore retailers operate in a harsh and fast changing environment which offers threat as well as opportunities. Some of the trends in retailing include the rapid growth of nonstore retailing, retail coverage, the growing importance of retail technology etc. Department stores, like Burdines and Macys, discount stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart, are all examples of retail stores. Wholesaling includes all the activities involved in selling goods or services to those who are buying for the purpose of resale or for business use. Wholesalers add value by performing functions such as transportation, Selling and promoting, Buying and assortment building and Warehousing etc. Like retailers, wholesalers should target carefully and position themselves strongly. Wholesalers continue to increase the services they provide to retailers like retail pricing, cooperative advertising, marketing and management information reports, online transactions etc. Wholesalers benefit from retailers because they serve as their advertisement. If a retailer is happy with his wholesaler, he/she has a high chance of telling his/her friends about it; thus, word-of-mouth advertising. Wholesalers then get to have more customers and more sales, earning them better reputation, quality and more profit. Without retailers, wholesalers would just have their stocks inside their warehouses, untouched. They would not be able to get back their expenses if they would not sell their merchandise to retailers, and hence would not get any profit. In the same way retailers benefit from wholesalers because they are the ones who give them material to sell. If a wholesaler is satisfied with the retailer, he/she might give them more concession and benefits, and give them better deals so they can both thrive in their own businesses. Different types of wholesalers are: * Merchant wholesalers are the largest single group of wholesalers, accounting for approximately fifty percent of all wholesaling. Merchant wholesalers take possession of the goods. They include full-service wholesaler (wholesale merchants and industrial distributor) where they provide a full line of services like carrying stock, maintaining a sales force and offering credit etc. and limited service wholesalers (cash-and carry wholesalers, truck wholesalers, drop shippers, rack jobbers, producers cooperatives, and mail order wholesalers) – these wholesalers offer fewer services to suppliers and customers. * Brokers and agents do not take title to goods and their main function is to facilitate buying and selling, for which they earn a commission on the selling price. A broker brings buyers and sellers together and assists in negotiation. Whereas agents represent buyers and sellers on a more permanent basis. * Manufacturers and retailers branches and offices are wholesaling operations conducted by sellers or buyers themselves rather than through independent wholesalers. Separate branches and offices are dedicated to either sales or purchasing. 4. What are the four promotion mix elements and explain how each are utilized. What is the major difference between Advertising-Publicity-Sales Promotion. A companys total promotion mix also called its marketing communications mix consists of the specific blend of advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion Advertising is any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Advertising includes broadcast, print, internet, and outdoor etc. Sales promotion – is a short term incentive to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. It helps to stimulate demand for a product. Sales promotion includes discounts, coupons, displays and demonstrations. Personal selling means personal presentation by the firms sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relations. Personal selling includes sales presentations, trade shows, and incentive programs. Public relations is building good relations with the companys various publics by obtaining favorable publicity , building up a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories and events. Public relations include press releases, sponsorships, special events and Web pages.Direct marketing involves making direct connections with carefully targeted individual consumers to both obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships through the use of direct mail, telephone, direct-response television, e-mail, and the Internet to communicate directly with specific consumers. Some of the major differences are as follows: Difference between Advertising and Sales Promotion * Advertising uses the media to inform and convince; whereas sales promotion is the offering of an enticement to tempt a customer into a purchase. * The time frame for advertising is long term where as for sales promotion the time frame is short term. * The primary objective of advertising is to create a stable brand image whereas for sales promotion the primary purpose is to get sales quickly. * In case of advertising requests are emotional or purposeful in nature where as in the case of sales promotion appeals are reasonable or logical. Difference between Advertising and Personal selling * According to personal selling it involves personal interaction between two or more people, so each person can observe the others needs and characteristics and make quick adjustments. Advertising is impersonal and cannot be as directly influential as can company sales person. * Advertising can carry on only a one way communication with the audience but according to personal selling both have to communicate in order for business to run. Difference between Advertising and Public Relation/Publicity * The public relation exposure received is only spread once. An editor wont publish the same press release two or three times in their magazine. Since one pays for the space, one can run the ads over and over for as long as one has the funds to pay for it. * Publicity is a kind of interaction, which is communicated through the mass media. The purpose of publicity is to demonstrate attention to a company and its products without having to pay the media for it but for advertising huge costs are incurred. 5. Describe the five international product and promotional strategies which are Straight Extension, Communication Adaptation, Product Adaptation, Dual Adaptation, and Product Invention. Five strategies for adapting product and marketing communication strategies to a global market Straight product extension means marketing a product to all countries without any change. For example Kellogg cereals and electronics like Black Decker tools and cameras are sold successfully in about the same form around the world. Straight extension is appealing because it involves no additional product development costs, manufacturing changes, or new promotion. Product adaptation involves changing the product to meet local conditions or wants in overseas markets. The adaptation of the product is carried out for reasons such as to meet the local regulations, to meet the customer needs and wants such as size; packaging preferences, quality; appearance and also to meet the beliefs of the consumer like McDonalds, for example, adjusts its menu for each foreign market, vegetarian hamburgers in India as many people dont eat non-vegetarian due to religious beliefs, mutton pot pies in Australia, and McSpaghetti in the Philippines. Burger King also has tried to adapt the market and satisfy their customers. Product invention consists of creating something new for a specific country market. It might also mean to maintain or reintroduce earlier products forms that happen to be well adapted to the needs of a given country. For example, Brewing companies have sold alcohol free beer in countries where sales of alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Communication adaptation is a global communication strategy of fully adapting advertising messages to local markets. Coca-Cola for example sells its low calorie beverage as Diet coke in North America, the United Kingdom, and the Middle and Far East but as Coke light elsewhere.Another example is Marlboro cigarettes; essentially use the same message in their international promotion programs. Dual adaptation involves altering both the product and the communications to reflect differences in both product function and use. Slim-Fast for instance get used to both product and promotion and abide by varying government policies around the world. 6. Describe the emergence of social media ( twitter, facebook, blogs ) and how marketers have adjusted and utilize it to connect with consumers. Social media is a term used to illustrate the type of media that is based on interaction between people online. Social media have been updated to reach consumers through the internet. In the early days of the internet, conventional forms of media (magazines, newspapers, and marketing brochures) were simply moved from print to online; interaction is still primarily one way. Forums and blogs began to change that, allowing prospective buyer to ask issues of dealer, and of each other. Now, Face book, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media tools have exploded this means. Conversations are less expensive than broadcasting from a media standpoint. This type of media has become appealing to big and small businesses. More and more people are using social media sites like Twitter and Face book to talk about companies and products with their friends and colleagues. The success of sites such as Face book and Twitter has confirmed that people feel the pull of social media globally. Social media is rapidly launching itself as a direct marketing channel and as such should be regarded as a valuable tool for any brand and marketing savvy company. Reliable brands are making the most of social media to reach customers and to build or retain the reputation. For example PepsiCo and even Starbucks look at social media as the best way to get direct dialog with their fans and for the company to hear from those fans without filters. As social media continue to grow, the ability to reach more consumers globally has also increased. Twitter, for example has expanded its global reach to many countries. This means that brands are now able to advertise in multiple languages and therefore reach a broader range of customers and clients. Social media can be used as a marketing tool but it requires concentration, supervision, practical knowledge and experience of the subject. One has to deliver materials in a customized way to suit the marketing needs of the clients. By using twitter, these brands through research and testing are learning and understanding more about social media and their customers. Marketers make links by adding value like putting some interesting resources or things that attract the consumers on their site and then they try and build trust and later build the relationship, so that the consumer feels comfortable and buys the product. Be it blogging, face booking or twittering, the same principal in understanding how to reach customers are similar. For example, HR Block reaches out to twitter members who have questions about taxes and need someone to support as customer service for those dissatisfied with their HR Block experience. The purpose for those who make contacts on Face book may vary. Some people are there to promote their businesses while others are there to become fashionable and get known like public figures, band, businesses and associations of all types who have created face book pages, where they often want to share a status update, a photo, a product or an event with many supporters. Famous personalities possibly will want to share special news or donations may want to put out calls for help to both their Face book fans and their Twitter followers, all at the same time. The main goal for using social media marketing is to increase buyer commitments, gather supporters to drive word-of-mouth and to increase brand loyalty.