History Reflection Paper

The materials and objectives of SUPS History has given me the confidence to feel capable of meeting college standards upon my arrival to a university. The first term paper I was assigned stressed me out! I was so overwhelmed by the thought of having to write at a college level and how my professor, Ms. Kelly, was going to grade us by college standards. Although I was a nervous wreck, I scored a solid 80%. As I reviewed my actions taken towards completing the essay, I realized that I had waited till two days before the due date to start it and I didn't feel confident in my thesis or essay layout.I remember making myself a mental note weeks before it was due to conference with my teacher for reassurance of the deletion of which my essays focus was going however, I mutinously procrastinate and pushed It to the back of mind. When I actually did start It, It was too late to make a conference. From that first essay Eve learned a lot. Procrastination not only escalated my stress levels but hindered myself from performing at its most greatest capability, which could have earned me a higher score.As the year progressed, I adjusted my habit to starting the term paper at least eight days prior to its due date, giving myself plenty of time to review, research, and conference with Ms. Kelly. Although I didn't conference with Ms. Kelly for every essay, I at least had the time to have some other educated person proof-read it. My term paper grade remained a 80% until recently when I was marked a 75%. Although my grades weren't as pretty as I would have liked them to be, I can understand how I mess up and learn from my mistakes.As a maturing student, Eve learned to take criticism against my work respectfully and rather than being offended or Jumping to conclusions, I absorb the side comments and apply them as best as I can the next time around. For my most recent assignment, I only scored so low because of a misread of the directions. But see, I even learned from that so I'll b e sure to clearly comprehend directions from now on! Furthermore, I've also mentally grasped the formatting of in-text citations, citation pages, and title pages along with the significance of research.Effective research comes from reliable sources, such as the books and documents found on the Syracuse library website. It has become a habit of mine to verify information and check source accuracy. For instance, when I'm researching science related topics for my HUBS (Human Body Systems) class, Eve refrained from the typical Coach answers, Yahoo or Wallflowers and directed my attention to the official Mayo Clinic and Webmd site as well as documented experiments and publishing. Something new this year that I never thought I'd enjoy all that much were the group discussions.Normally I hate group discussions because the same two or three people will cut everyone else off just to hear their voice more critical thinking, analytical practices. I felt motivated to Join in and address mentiona ble areas and topics of whichever book it happened to be that we talked about. Experiencing group discussions in Ms. Kelly's class has strengthened my inference in getting involved in debates and group talks with people that aren't necessarily my friends. Eve found that the best way to really interpret meaning and messages within a book is by really discussing with others.While it was uncomfortable at first, Eve learned to appreciate them. Getting to experience SUPS History has honestly changed me as a student in many ways. Eve learned so much from managing my time to the importance of criticism and book discussions. Although the year was challenging and involved much work effort, it was all worth it in the end. I feel stronger as a writer and I am grateful for critiques. Every critique Ms. Kelly has made was made with reason and aided me in my development as a writer, which can help me to continue growing as a student overall.

Human Physical Appearance and Women Essay

Throughout these moments in time, the term beauty has slipped out of control and become something utterly dissimilar. The significance of beauty has developed into something so unappealing, so unpleasant, so repugnant, that even now society is coming to the apprehension that the way they are portraying the description of beauty is erroneous. Over time, ‘beauty’ has evolved to something rather peripheral. Being beautiful is turning into an undesirable act, that most girls will go into extremes, just to get a sense of feeling ‘beautiful. ’ Although beauty is now considered something by which your looks will define, during Greek times â€Å"beauty was a virtue: a kind of excellence. Person’s then were assumed to be what we now have to call – lamely, enviously – whole persons. If it did occur to the Greeks to distinguish between a person’s â€Å"inside† and â€Å"outside†, they expected that inner beauty would be matched by beauty of the other kind† (313, Sontag). Nevertheless, there was once a time where beauty was interpreted or described as something internal, unlike now, beauty goes more towards the looks. â€Å"Beautiful† people have lots going on for them. They are more confident, make more money, and get promoted faster than their â€Å"less attractive† colleagues. But for the career – driven women, beauty is a no-win situation; the public wants you to be attractive, but, at the same time, not so beautiful that it is off-putting. People might say that looks shouldn’t matter, but in the real world, they do. Women try so hard to look their best, and at the same time, feel their best. Women struggle a lot in trying to â€Å"fit in† to what society sees as being beautiful. Women nowadays alter their body parts, faces, and their diets in order to feel satisfied with themselves. A universal obsession that girls have been approaching with is that that they must be required to look a certain way to be thought of as pretty. Girls look up to celebrities and models and see how skinny, scrawny, almost skeletal, and undernourished they are and they get this idea that they must look like that in order to be noticed. A widespread trend that has been going around has been that of the name anorexia and bulimia. Starving yourself, or eating excessively and then purging – girls see it as something they must do in order to feel good about themselves. They glimpse these famous figures with their collarbones showing, thigh gaps, small waists, and they get this state of mind that they must achieve that to feel beautiful. Society and mass media are barraging women with images that portray what is considered to be the â€Å"ideal body. † Such standards of beauty are almost completely unattainable for most women; a majority of the models displayed on television and in advertisements are well below what is considered healthy body weight. Mass media’s use of such unrealistic models sends an implicit message that in order for a woman to be considered beautiful, she must be unhealthy. And this is what beauty is defined as in our time. Body image is a complicated aspect of the self-concept that concerns an individual’s perceptions and feelings about their body and physical appearance. Females of all ages seem to be so vulnerable in this area, starting off in their pre-teen years, going along throughout their existence. Body dissatisfaction is something that goes through most women or young girls at some point in their lives. Females have been found to experience dissatisfaction with physical appearance at a much higher rate than males, and women of all ages and sizes display body image disturbance. Concern over weight and appearance related issues often surfaces in a woman’s early life. Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating patterns have been found to be an especially prevalent issue in adolescent and college females. Body image becomes a major issue as females go through puberty; girls in mid-adolescence frequently report being dissatisfied with weight, fearing further weight gain, and being preoccupied with weight loss. This is a problem that we are now facing, and because of this many girls are suffering and going through difficult times, juts to feel good about themselves. The 20th century has seen a huge upsurge in the importance placed by Western society on physical beauty, particularly for women. The fashion, cosmetics and plastic surgery industries have thrived on 20th century preoccupation with physical appearance. It is a preoccupation that affects women in every sphere, whether they choose to pander to it or not. Definitions of beauty in the 20th century, when referring to human physical  beauty, are nearly always constructed in terms of outward appearance and sexual attractiveness. Images in the media today project an unrealistic and even dangerous standard of feminine beauty that can have a powerful influence on the way women view themselves. From the perspective of the mass media, thinness is idealized and expected for women to be considered â€Å"attractive. † Images in advertisements, television, and music usually portray the â€Å"ideal woman† as tall, white, and thin, with a â€Å"tubular† body, and blonde hair. This representation that is being portrayed has been a vast difficulty that girls are coming across of. They don’t feel beautiful, thus altering their ways of eating and the way they look very drastically in order to fit in. Only a very small percentage of women in Western countries meet the criteria the media uses to define â€Å"beautiful†; yet so many women are repeatedly exposed to media images that send the message that a woman is not acceptable and attractive if she does not match society’s â€Å"ultra-thin† standard of beauty. In recent years, women’s body sizes have grown larger, while societal standards of body shape have become much thinner. This discrepancy has made it increasingly difficult for most women to achieve the current sociocultural â€Å"ideal. † Such a standard of perfection is unrealistic and even dangerous. Many of the models shown on television, advertisements, and in other forms of popular media are approximately 20% below ideal body weight, thus meeting the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa. Research has repeatedly shown that constant exposure to thin models fosters body image concerns and disordered eating in many females. Almost all forms of the media contain unrealistic images, and the negative effects of such idealistic portrayals have been demonstrated in numerous studies. The mass media’s depiction of women portrays a standard of beauty that is unrealistic and unattainable for a majority of women in society. Models shown in all forms of popular media are often under what is considered healthy body weight, which sends a powerful message that women must sacrifice their health to be considered attractive by societal standards. The negative effects of ultra-thin media images of women have been well documented; research has shown that females who are repeatedly exposed to and internalize the thin ideal are at greater risk to develop body image disturbance and eating pathology. Although it is clear that the media influences the way women view themselves, it is unclear how this process takes place. The social comparison theory, cultivation theory, and self-schema theory can be used to examine how media images of women come to affect the way women feel about their bodies and physical appearance. These perspectives also give some explanation for why some women show resilience to the negative effects of the media, while others are dramatically impacted. Nevertheless, beauty has become something rather disturbing and unwell. The image of beauty has been portrayed onto something so popularized that mostly all women around the world are being affected by it. Women are changing their ways and changing themselves to feel as if they fit in to what society expects of it. Beauty is still evolving, and is changing throughout the time, not for the better but for the worst.

Critique of a research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Critique of a research paper - Essay Example A clearly focused issue is similar to the research problem. Identifying a research problem is not always easy since every problem has compounding factors. Researchers, therefore, have to be keen when giving the exact problem being studied. This is why the researchers need a clear focus; a well-defined research question which can guide the research study. The clear focus eliminates frustration, confusion, wastage, and saves time (Blessing & Forister, 2013). In the report, a clear focus that would guide the research would be; â€Å"are nurse-led rheumatology clinics qualified for providing the same services offered by rheumatologist-led clinics?† The report is on a â€Å"Randomized controlled trial of a nurse-led rheumatology clinic for monitoring biological therapy† (Larsson et al., 2013, p. 164). The aim is to judge the nurse-led rheumatology clinic against rheumatologist-led clinic, in monitoring of biological therapy. It has focused on patients in remission or those w ith low disease activity, and are undergoing biological therapy. The main issue is that, there are nurse-led clinics that have previously been successful. In the UK, for example, some rheumatology nurse-led clinics showed a high level of effectiveness. It is due to such results that the researchers came up with the thought of a nurse-led intervention in Sweden. In Sweden, it is the rheumatologists who manage such clinics. Larsson and others assumed that there would be no significant differences in treatment consequences between the two interventions. . The results would provide evidence for practice and encourage the creation of nurse-led rheumatology clinics for the management of patients with stable chronic inflammatory arthritis, who are undergoing biological therapy. A clearly focused issue here is whether the nurse-led rheumatology clinics are suitable and qualified to manage patients. Randomized controlled trials are studies that make use of random assignment of study

Take one contemporary film of your choice and critically analyze how Essay

Take one contemporary film of your choice and critically analyze how it might be considered postmodern - Essay Example Post-modernist films are characterized by self-referentiality, pastiche, intertextuality, and parody (Hill 2000, p.93). The features of post-modernist films may be identified in a film’s plot, casting/characterization, form, or visual theme. Post-modernist films may also play like a collage of stereotypes and tropes and may mix different types of media. A closer analysis of the film Kick Ass helps to identify its integrated postmodernist traits. The film Kick Ass provides a fine parody of superhero films and the genre. The film comments ironically on the superhero genre and the conventions it encompasses. It has spoof written all over it. Frederic Jameson (1988, p.15), identifies both the use of Pastiche and parody as a significant characteristic in post-modernist art. He notes that â€Å"one of the most significant features or practices in postmodernism today is pastiche† (Jameson 1988, p15). He notes that both pastiche and parody involve the mimicry of other styles and particularly the stylistic twitches of other styles. In her article, Linda Hutcheon argues that post-modernism main interest is parody. She references the use of parody in postmodern architecture to stress her point by stating â€Å"parodic references to the history of architecture textually reinstate a dialogue with the past and inescapably with the social and ideological context in which architecture is and has been both produced and lived† (Hutcheon 1986, p.181). Kick-Ass pokes fun at the entire superhero genre. The film encompasses its parody through the humor it employs within key stages that demystify the invincibility of a superhero. For example, the film parodies from the superhero film Spider-Man. While Spider-Man is able to take giant leaps across buildings, Kick-Ass almost attempts to do the same but inescapably gets terrified and retaliates. Unlike in other superhero films where the

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 44

English - Essay Example The current political system discourages all people from participating, especially Arab Americans. The system has become unsustainable and there is need to reform American foreign policy. There is need to develop a foreign policy that seeks to establish peace rather than perpetuate war, especially in the Arab world. Practically, all Americans are included in the American Dream. Exclusion from the dream is a voluntary process where the discontented, particularly some minority groups, can excuse themselves from the Dream. American expects a lot from individual people who pursue the American Dream. In their hard work to succeed, individuals usually contribute to the success of the nation through their contribution to the overall economic welfare of the nation. American art exposes a melancholy tension in the Dream. The work culture that was once characteristic of America is waning as the country strives for new innovations aimed at propelling it a step further as the world’s greatest nation. The features of the American Dream that emphasize wealth, fame and power affect the polity and global image of America by casting an image of a greedy country, that focuses more on its interest and would do all to achieve what benefits it at the expense of other

Why Change Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why Change - Article Example uct adaptation refers to process through which a manufacturer makes changes to improve an existing product and make it more appealing to a target market usually in new markets (Byrne, 2010). Products are a result of the underlying socio-cultural phenomenon of a given society. Society’s perception of what the product is and what bundles of benefits it provides according to prevailing socio-cultural needs is the fundamental basis for product differentiation (adaptation). The adjustments in a product’s main components are made in accordance to the particular target market needs and consumption behavior. Research on consuming trends and preferences as well as product class in the market can provide useful insights on how to modify all or some main components of an existing product (Cooper & Edgett, 2009). America’s fast food franchise McDonald’s entry into the Indian market in 1996 is a classic case of how product adaptability can be used to enter international markets that are culturally different. Other fast food chains had largely ignored the Indian market before 1990 and those that did ignored the cultural differences eventually leading to their collapse and withdrawal from the market. There is a highly fragmented food market in India characterized by millions of roadside stalls and carts. This represents a large ‘eating out’ culture. However, the market is also significantly influenced by high pressure groups mainly comprising health and animal welfare activists. McDonald’s strategy included the exclusion of pork and beef items from its menu considering that 40% of Indians are vegetarians. An alternative vegetable, fish and chicken menu was adopted. The menus therefore were color-coded into green for vegetarians and purple for non-vegetarians. The Maharaja Mac replaced the famous ‘big mac’; chicken patty replaced beef and introduction of spicy menus with less garlic in its sauce. This strategy reflected a much higher degree of adaptability

Informal interview with immigrant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Informal interview with immigrant - Essay Example Also, according to my culture, public expression of romantic feelings is discouraged; in fact, according to my culture, it sounds a bit odd to tell your lover publicly that you love her. For that reason therefore, dating in my culture is quite different from dating in the American culture- in my culture, rarely do the dating couple express their romantic feelings in public as is the case in American culture. Again, in socializing, the people of culture behave quite differently from the American people. This is because the people of my culture considers the community to be more important than the individual, for that reason, therefore, the people of my culture are quite united as a community, unlike the American people who are individualistic and who regard the individual to be more important than the community/society. Answer: There are two main situations in which I felt completely misunderstood when I arrived in America. In the first situation, on the first day of my arrival in America, I extended my hand in greetings to all the people I interacted with at the airport. To my surprise, many of the people I extended hands to in greetings looked at me suspiciously and they did not shake my hands; I really felt misunderstood by these people and ever since I wait for the people to first extend their hands in greetings before I extend my hand and shake them in greetings. In the second incident, on my second week in America, I held my friend’s hand, my compatriot mr. Eric Odhiambo, as we were walking along the road; to our surprise, the people looked at us suspiciously. I later learnt that the people who looked at us suspiciously thought that we were gays; in my culture, holding hands among people of the same sex is never associated with gayism or lesbianism. I really felt so much misunderstood in this incident. Answer: One of the things that really surprised me upon arriving in America is the high level of public

Supply Chain of Barilla Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Supply Chain of Barilla - Case Study Example Supply chain management deals with the management of materials, information and financial flows in a network of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers.(Lee,1999).This management runs the entire gamut of operations that involve getting ready the supplies and reaching them to consumers. Various layers of distribution and the logistic network assist vitally in the task of reaching the supplies to the consumers. However, it is important for the entire supply chain system to know as to when, how much of which product would be required in which particular outlet and market. The more extensive the supply chain network the more critical is this requirement. Barilla has a wide network and thus their requirement for gathering information and processing it meaningfully becomes more important. Barilla spa was the world’s second largest pasta producer in 1990 It primarily produces 2 categories of products which are categorized as fresh and dry. Barilla accounted for about 35 percent of pasta sold in Italy and 22 percent of the pasta sold in Europe. Barilla mainly supplies the pasta to retail outlets such as small independent shops and supermarkets. In Barilla’s supply chain Barilla’s CDCs (centre distribution centre) and the production factory are located at places that exhibit maximum changes in demand patterns in the supply chain. The Barilla distribution layers include such outlets as GD(grand distributor, DO(organized distributor) and BD (i.e. Barilla-run Depots).These distribution layers receive orders from the supermarkets and shops, and, in turn, place consolidated orders to Barilla CDCs.Barilla CDC ,in turn, for wards the area consolidated figures to the Barilla factory. These distribution outlets serve the purpose of serving Barilla's overseas markets also. For instance Barilla products have a great demand in UK and most UK major supermarkets stock Barilla products through Barilla distribution outlets present in UK. In UK, retailers like Tesco and others generally depend on Barilla's third party distributors for its orders. In UK, Waissel's Ltd. is a major importer of Barilla's product. A long list of Barilla products are imported by Waissel's which includes Savouries, Biscuits & Cakes, Pasta Sauces and Pastas. The Barilla administration relies on computerized systems for its key functions including the supply management involving stock control. It has an excellent distribution service network throughout the UK. While it's administrative office is located in Harrow, its central warehouse is at Thamesmead, London for all of Waissel's worldwide incoming shipments as well as nationwide deliveries (Waissel's).

The French Revolution in Paris in the Year 1789 Research Paper

The French Revolution in Paris in the Year 1789 - Research Paper Example This is the capital city of France and it experienced a number of events in the year 1789 that saw its revolution. This was the Renaissance or period of discovery all over the world and Paris is one city that experienced the Renaissance first hand. This paper will discuss various events, their causes and consequences in Paris in the year 1789, most specifically the French Revolution. The Renaissance is one of the most interesting and disputed periods of European History. Many scholars consider it as a period with its own unique characteristics. It was a historical era with a lot of discovery made on literature, politics, art, religion, social life and music. The renaissance period is also known as the period of rebirth because aspects such as learning, literature and arts were reborn after a long dark period where they had almost been forgotten. There had been long years of cultural darkness since most of the learning and culture of the ancient time had been forgotten. It is during t his period of rebirth that led to the French Revolution in Paris city of France in the year 1789. In Paris, the French Revolution was also called the Revolution of 1789. During this time the people of Paris were being driven by three ideologies, liberty, equality and brotherhood (Kent 1). These are the goals that the citizens as well as leaders of Paris wanted to promote but this could still not promote the gruesome Reign of Terror which lead to a number of losses of lives. The French Revolution started as a result of the economic crisis that France was facing after having supported the American Revolution between 1775 and 1783 (Wilde 1). The financial crisis led to an increase cost of living with the burden being felt majorly by the peasants and bourgeois who were the main tax payers. As a result there was the big question of who should solve the situation, the clergy, nobility or the common people? (Kent 1). There was another question of why all these groups should not be treated equally in terms of payment of taxes. With these questions, the people wondered if they were all equal, why was there a king to govern them. Thus, the French Revolution was a result of economic and social problems; people were tired of the monarchy and wanted a change. As a result of all these problems, The Estates-General met at Versailles on May 5, 1789 and they were divided over a fundamental issue on whether they should vote by head giving advantage to the Third State or by estate whereby the two privileged orders might outvote the third, the Commons (Cody 1). Thus, the bitter struggle on this legal issue drove deputies of the Third State to declare themselves the National Assembly in June 17, 1789, and threatened to proceed without the other two orders, Clergy and Nobility (Cody 1). The King Louis XVI was not pleased and locked the Commons out of his meetings; however, they stayed around his Tennis Court advocating for a written constitution on June 20th 1789 (Wilde 1). On July 10 the National Assembly was renamed the National Constituent Assembly by the third estate, meaning that it was an assembly for ‘the people’ as opposed to what it was earlier as an assembly of the Estate (Wilde 1). This would ensure that the needs of the common citizens were looked into in contrast with the earlier situation where only the high class citizens, nobility and clergy, got their needs while the commoners suffered. The height of the

The life of people Essay Example for Free

The life of people Essay The life of people is getting better day by day and the technology is one of factor contributing that outcome. To consider one strong economical country or developed country, people usually look at its technological system. Therefore, I strongly agree with the statement that governments should spend as much money as possible on developing or buying computer technology. Firstly, thanks to technology people can work in an efficient way. Defining the modern life, one usually sees there are more machines to help people. In addition, some countries are using the higher productivity levels in manufacturing as they can in order to increase quality and quantity of products. For instance, Japanese used to be a poor country after the World War II and they had to suffer strongly damage of the war. However, they have realized the importance of technology and have concentrated using technology to produce cars. In present time, Japan is the biggest car industry all over the world. In addition to technology also brings for human being a high quality of living. To some extent, we can easily see the helping of technology in our daily life, such as washing machine or refrigerator. People can keep food within one month, and saving many hours cleaning clothes. Without airplane technology, before if one wants to go travel between countries, he or she has to use boats or trains. It takes so much time, but now we can do that just with few hours. Finally, computer is one of the most useful study aids for students nowadays. Computers have been using widely in schools, laboratories. Students were too tired with schoolbooks, wasting time in transferring from home to school. However, now they can save all their books in their personal computer or even just stay at home and study with an internet connection. Thus, when technology invested more money, students will study easier. Technology strengthens one country indirectly this way. In conclusion, technology is one of a main factor that helps people life more productive. With the reasons I have listed above, governments should give majority amount of money in making technological industry stronger.

Analyse The Hotel Industry In Uk Tourism Essay

Analyse The Hotel Industry In Uk Tourism Essay It is very important that in todays competitive environment, (both in terms of business and employability) one has a clear understanding and sufficient knowledge of the sector or industry in which they would be operating. This report will be looking at, and analysing the Hotel industry in the United Kingdom, examining industrys micro and macro environment. Its purpose is to examine the industry with intention to gather market intelligence that would support prospective managerial development, career aspirations and prepare them for sufficiently informed participation at interviews. Findings from the report should therefore, enhance their business knowledge and employability prospects in the industry. The report will focus on the last five years which have in fact seen the industry at its best and at its worst in just a few years. A number of different data sources would be utilised such as industry reports, news paper articles and various websites related to the industry. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Industry overview The hotel industry and tourism in general is one of the worlds main growth industries worth trillions of ponds globally. According to a key note report (2009) the hotel industry in the United Kingdome grew by 29.1% in four years to 2008, reaching a staggering  £15.87 billion. This growth was attributed to a number of factors, such as the high disposable income available to people, introduction of low cost airlines and the rapid expansion of budget hotel sector. With hotels that opened up to a wide range of customers combined with cheap flights and high disposable income people could have more than one holiday a year. This in turn benefited the hotel industry as a whole from both foreign and domestic tourists. This vibrant growth, however, has seen a change in its fortunes in the last two years, due to a number of factors but mainly the economical downturn. In 2008 global economy took a turn for the worst and the problem deepened in 2009, leading to recession in most developed economies and UK was no exception. This had an immediate impact on holiday purchasing with research suggesting that a significant proportion of adults thinking of saving money by having a domestic holiday in 2009, while 25% of them were worried they could not afford a holiday at all (KeyNote 10). This has led to many hotels adapting to the situation by reducing prices or offering lucrative promotional deals to meet the market expectations and improve sales. The hotel industry could be divided into two sectors, corporate and consumer both providing services to meet their particular clients needs. The first one includes accommodations paid by businesses, for business travel purposes and the latter is paid by consumers for non-business reasons. A grading scale based on a star system is used to classify the quality and range of service provided by the company. The grading is comprised of 1-5 stars, where one star represents simple accommodation with no thrills attached and five stars represent exceptional quality of service with some degree of luxury. In some situations Silver or Gold may be added to Hotels that exceed the requirements under the star system. It is estimated that 1 one in every 10 people in the UK is employed in the Hospitality industry, in other words over 1.96 million (2007) people working in around 300,000 establishments across the country. Overall employment in this industry grew by 5% in 2007 but the Hotel sector had the lowest growth with only 2.7% adding another 6,500 jobs to the existing 238,500 jobs that existed in the previous year (Table 1.2). Major cities accounts for the highest concentration of hotels in the UK and are thought to attract the highest level of tourism activity with London leading the way. Market size trends During the economic boom of the late 90s and early part of this decade the Hotel Industry has expanded rapidly benefiting from a number of factors mainly related to economic growth an improved technology. The increasing globalisation of a lot of companies necessitated more corporate travel and accommodation. Being the financial centre of Europe and to some extent the world, London benefited a great deal from this rich consumer source. A lot of hotel groups responded to this by investing on their brands, positioning their portfolios to more upscale four/five star properties. In addition, the budget hotel sector was developed to suit a wider range of consumers as well as businesses. All was made even easier for consumers by the development of the internet. This allowed easy comparison in terms of price and guest facilities on offer, as well as a more convenient way to book them. Internet is now thriving with 34,104,175 or 57.2% of population having access to it in the UK spending an av erage of ten hours a month online (www.theanswerbank). In spite of the healthy growth experienced in the last two decades and the excitement of the coming Olympic Games London 2012, the industry has in 2009 suffered a setback. This was due to the recession that affected almost every developed or developing economy in the world. In the first quarter of 2009, the UK saw a fall in visits by one million, although statistics show that spending remained relatively the same as the corresponding time of the preceding year (table1.1). This could be accredited to the weaker pound which slummed at record lows both against the Euro and American Dollar at 75.86p to the Euro and $ 1.375 (bbc.co.uk). In 2008 there were 31.9 million visits in the UK producing on average  £512 of spending each, generating over  £16.3 billion of revenue for the economy. This however is considerably smaller than the spending generated by the internal visits of UK residents which marked  £21.1 billion for the same period, though slightly down from the previous year. The total spending generated by both UK and Overseas visits for 2008 was just above  £37.4 billion, 0.4% higher than 2007 (table 1.1). Hotel industry takes just above 42% of this wealth, in other words  £15.87 billion. During the peak of recession there was a significant increase on short-term holidays taken domestically. Though, as the economy comes out of recession domestic holidays are predicted to fall by 7.7% with a similar decline on value between 2009 and 2013. Holidays abroad on the other hand are forecasted to increase by over 16% between those years. (KeyNote) According to government data turnover in the hotel market gradually increased on average by 6.6% between 2004 and 2008. Key Note forecasted a 6.8% (appendix 4) decrease in total revenue for the following year but expects an upward trend from 2010, peaking in 2013 to 4.8% or 16.99 billion in total. Room occupancy which is a key indicator to measure the amount of business carried out by hotels was at 76% in 2007 according to VisitBritain but decreased in the following two years to 68% in 2009. Economic trends In the last five years the UK economy has seen some of its best and worst days. After the healthy growth that the economy had enjoyed in the early part of the decade came the downturn that succeeded in the second half of it. As a result of the global credit squeeze, 2007-09 proved to be a bumpy ride for the economy, enforcing banks to take a tougher line on lending. This caused a sharp fall in consumer spending, with unpleasant consequences for most industries. In 2005 research showed that productivity growth had slumped and business investment was at a record low, consequently the British economy was growing at a rate slower than the average growth for other developed economies, falling well short of chancellors budget prediction. Table 1.4 shows the GDP performance in the last five years to 2008. It is evident that GDP plunged in 2008 to only 0.7 and performing at its worse in the 3rd quarter of 2008 when the economy fell into a recession registering a -6% drop (nationalstatistics.co.uk). GDP started to recover late in the 4th quarter of 2009 when it was just under stagnation point and first signs of getting out of recession appearing in the first quarter of 2010. According to national statistics growth in the first quarter of this year register a 0.2% increase. The same source suggests that during the same quarter distribution, hotels and restaurants fell by 0.7% compared with an increase of 1.9 per cent in the previous quarter. Appendix 1 shows how this recession compares to the previous two in the 80s and 90s. It appears that last recession was the hardest of the three but seems to be the shortest of the three. High energy prices in the world markets (highest being $136.24 a barrel, 2008, appendix 2), forced inflation rates rise to record heights in September 2008 to 5.2% well above the Bank of Englands target of 2%. This increase forced the Bank to raise interest rates three times since summer 2006 with highest being in July 07 at 5.75% (BBC, 29/11/07). Although, this spike in inflation became less of e concern for the Governor as recession was deemed the major threat to the economy. This then led the Bank England to repeatedly lower interest rates reaching its lowest point at 0.5% in March 09 and hoping for the inflation to melt away. In fact that is exactly what happened with inflation rates falling to 1.1% in September 2009, the lowest since 2004. (thisismoney.co.uk) Increase in fuel prices is bound to raise travel costs for millions of people. High fuel prices, rise in interest rates and inflation followed with the credit squeeze effects are also leaving people with less disposable income. This is having a negative effect on consumer spending as it is getting difficult for consumers to keep up with credit payments (credit cards/mortgages/loans). Therefore, loss in consumer confidence may result in less spending on holidays consequently impacting on industry profitability. Competition According to National Statistics there are 10,195 hotels in the country and the majority of those establishments generate less than  £1 million annual turnover (appendix 5). This has not stopped competition in the industry intensifying in recent years, narrowing the gap between budget and midmarket hotels. However, its still the large chains/midmarket hotels that win the marketing battle by spending large sums on brand building. This has become a very important feature and most hotels are now seeking to develop stronger identity that would target both consumer and corporate sectors more effectively. Among others, Premier in was one of the largest spenders on media advertising in 2009, spending over  £5.5 millions on promotional activities followed by Travel Lodge who spent just under  £3 million. In addition to this the large chains have focused on seasonal offers and lowering their prices. For example, in autumn 2009 Travel Lodge lunched room sales for the next spring, offering rooms for as low as  £12 a night. Also these midmarket establishments have more flexibility to offer packages or meals to attract a larger, more price conscious market. Low budget hotels on the other hand have responded to this by providing more facilities and services than before as well as including more offers on their websites. Table 1.8 shows some of the major players in the United Kingdome and their relative annual turnover. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC seems to lead the way with close to  £2 billion annual turnover from which  £302 million were pre-tax profit. The company has a number of brands under its umbrella such as Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites operating in around 100 countries offering 630,000 rooms. Second in this list follows, Millennium Copthorne Hotels PLC with an annual turnover of  £703 million and pre-tax profits of  £103 millions. The company fosters four different brands including Millennium and Grand millennium Hotels, Capthorn Hotels and Kingsgate Hotels. Recently it has recently expanded with seven new hotels in China and Middle East. Accor UK Business Leisure Hotels Ltd is owned by Accor a French based group which has 15 different brands under its umbrella varying from luxury to economy accommodation. The UK based subsidiary generates an annual turnover of  £198 million of which  £37.5 million pre-tax profit. Travelodge which is owned by Dubai International Capital is the next in line generating an annual turnover of  £287 million and a pre-tax profit of  £16.5 million. The company is rapidly expanding both in UK and main land Europe, with 29 hotels planed to be built in UK in 2009 and 100 in Spain by 2020. De Vere Hotels Leisure Ltd operates two hotel chains generating a total annual turnover of  £248 million by combining a 100 bedroom hotels and fitness clubs. The company is owned by Alternative Hotel Group which is aiming to rebrand the De Vere portfolio under Deluxe, Heritage and Venue options, differentiating the accommodation offer. Tourism There was a slight drop in the number of overseas residents visiting Britain for business reasons in 2007/8 as a lot of companies tightened their budgets on travel expenditure. This has resulted in low room and bedspace occupancy levels which dropped to a 4 year low (426.2 million bed nights) with serious consequences for the hotel market. The following year was a very difficult year for tourism, experiencing a significant drop in visit numbers. 2010 is also expected to be somewhat difficult for the industry, with substantial improvement expected to start only in 2011. However, according to a keynote report on travel and tourism, research suggests that 1/3 adults in the Britain has taken at least one holiday in the last 12 months and 1/5 of them having taken three or more for the same period. Still, the economic downturn forced a lot of suppliers, including the package tour operators, to react by reducing their capacity and cutting the number of holidays on offer. UK continues to be an attractive place in the international holiday market and this is very important for the long term prospects of the hotel industry. The coming decade which has been described by many commentators as the golden decade of sport because of the many different international events due to take place in UK (table 1.7) is exiting times for the industry. Overseas spectator numbers to these events will provide a necessary boost for the hotel market. Records based on previous similar events staged by other countries in recent years show that hotel profitability increased as a direct result. BigHospitality referring to VisitEngland research suggests that tourism industry in the United Kingdome could be worth a staggering  £147 billion by 2020 with the potential of creating over 225,000 new jobs in the industry. This would be a 52% increase from the current estimated value of  £97 billion. Though smaller than the domestic spending in hotel sector, the international tourism is a significant contributor to total revenue. Only London, which earns over  £8bn from overseas visitors, depends more on the overseas visitor than on the home market. Employment and Demographics According to BBC unemployment in UK continued with its downward trend until August 2007, falling by 5000 in the second quarter of 07 to 1.65 million where it maintained one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe at 5.5% but slightly higher than that of USA. ONS figures also showed that average earnings rose by 3.7% during the same quarter, beating expectations of a 3.6% rise. However, theses prosperous years were soon over and low unemployment was history. According to the national statistics, employment has seen a dramatic fall in the last three years reaching its lowest point since 1996 when it hit 72.1% or 28.82 million in February 2010 (appendix 3). In the last quarter to February there was a decrease in both part-time and full time employment totalling 89.000. The number of people working only part-time because they could not find full time employment increased during the same quarter to reach 1.05 million, the highest figure since 1992. The overall unemployment rate recorded 8.0%, in other words 2.5 million, higher than any time since September 1996. The inactivity rate in the first quarter of 2010 was at 21.5%, the highest since 2004. This added another 110,000 to the total figure, reaching a record high of 8.16 million people considered inactive in UK. Though, this could be as a result of a relatively large number of young people choosing to go into education after finishing their secondary school rather than go straight to the labour market. Population in the United Kingdome has continuously increased in recent years reaching 61.4 million in 2008, an increase this of over 9% in just five years (KeyNote). This was due to the high influx of migrants from the newly joined EU member states from Eastern Europe. This trend of population growth is forecasted to continue to the end of the century. Britains population is predicted to reach 71 million within 25 years, 78 million within 50 years and 85 million by 2081 (The Guardian, 28/11/07). This 39.6% growth (from 59,834,300 in 2004) represents an opportunity for steady market growth in UK in the next 78 years. The hotel industry is likely to benefit substantially from this if the lifestyle people have grown to enjoy in the last 20 years continue to be the norm. SWOT Strength UK is seen as a major tourist destination and has in place a good promotional and support system for tourists such as VisitBritain. The UK market incorporates a number of internationally well-known hotel brands and chains. Short term leisure breaks have risen due to high disposable income over the last decade. The development of the budget hotel sector opened the hotel market to a wider range of clients. The Internet has facilitated easier choice and booking of facilities. Weaknesses The industrys performance is highly dependable on the performance of the wider economy. The market seems to be over supplied in term of room numbers and this seems to keep room occupancy levels rather low at 60% average. Budget and upscale hotels seems to be putting the midmarket establishments under pressure. Continuing investment is necessary to maintain properties at a high standard. Opportunities A number of international sports event planned to be staged in UK between now and 2019 Western Balkans expected to join the European Union soon which would allow for more tourists from that region visit Britain. Forecasted growth of inbound visits till 2014 Steady population growth well into the century which would boost demand for travel and tourism and consequently Hotel facilities. Threats Some EU economies suffering from high deficits may be forced to freeze or lower wages all together in their public sectors. This could impact the numbers of overseas visits to UK which would adversely affect the turn over and consequently profits in the hotel industry It may get harder to raise expansion capital due to falling property values. High unemployment rates in UK could mean that people may not be able to afford holidays. CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION The success of the industry is dependable on a lot of external factors and this was most clearly evident during the last economic downturn. However, in todays world globalisation plays an important role both in leisure and commerce. Therefore, hotel industry which is now well established will be a sector that would commend high demand for its services in the future. History shows that hotel industry has bounced back in the past after suffering similar setbacks. This will certainly be the case this time round with the first signs of recovery already in sight. At glance it appears that the industry has learned from previous downturns responding to it by adjusting prices and offers to look more attractive. Seeing that the largest share of revenue comes from internal visits and many EU economies risking Bankruptcy, it would be wise to try and encourage more British people spend their vacations in the UK. In the meantime the coming decade with its sports events to be held here presents a great opportunity for the industry. Therefore, companies should take advantage of this by planning ahead so they would have sufficient bed/room space to meet the demand. Although trading at the moment is rather low in comparison to pre-recession time and raising capital for further development has become harder. It is worth remembering that hotel projects take a relatively long time to materialise and now may be the time to start thinking for the future. As the economy recovers the hoteliers should also seek to build occupancy back, perhaps through further competitive pricing and promotional deals with the aim to reinstate RevPar growth. APPENDICIES AND TABLES Table 1.1. Overseas residents visits to the UK and the expenditure in the UK (Million,  £million and  £) 2004-09 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2008 Q1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   2009 Q1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   Number of overseas visitors (million) 27.8 30 32.7 32.8 31.9 7.2 6.2 Expenditure ( £m) 13.047 14.248 16.002 15.960 16.323 3.129 3.128 Average expenditure per visit ( £) 469 475 489 487 512 435 505 UK residents Expenditure ( £m) 21,238 21,107 Q1- first qarter à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   Seasonally adjusted Note: expenditure figures refer to total spending by visitors not solely accommodation/hotel costs Source. International Passenger survey (MQ6, Quarter 1 2009) National Statistics Table 1.2: EMPLOYMENT IN THE UK HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY 2004-2007 2004* 2005* 2006 2007 Contract food service  providers 179,600 178,300 182,600 181,600 Hotels 247,100 238,400 238,500 245,000 Pubs, bars and nightclubs 368,400 333,900 297,700 319,600 Restaurants   518,700   514,700   499,700   526,700 Hospitality services   402,100   379,900   390,300   417,400 TOTAL WORKFORCE   1,917,300   1,843,000   1,866,300   1,960,700 Source: Labour Force Survey www.caterersearch.com Table 1.3: UK resident population estimates 2004-08 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Population (000) 59,846 60,238 60,587 60,975 61,412 % change year on year 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 Source: Monthly Digest of Statistics, August 2009, statistics.gov.uk Table1.4: UK GDP at Current and Annual Chain-Link Prices ( £m), 2004-08 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Current Prices 1,202,956 1,254,058 1,325,795 1,398,882 1,446,113 % change 4.2 5.7 5.5 3.4 Annual Chain-Link 1,227,387 1,254,058 1,289,833 1,322,842 1,332,652 % change 2.2 2.9 2.6 0.7 Source: Economic and Labour review, August 09, statistics.gov.uk Table 1.5. UK rate of inflation (%) 2004-2008 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Inflation (%) 3.0 2.8 3.2 4.3 4.0 Change year on year -0.2 0.4 1.1 -0.3 Source: Monthly Digest of Statistics August 2009, National Statistics website Table 1.6: Proportion of nights spent and expenditure on hotels, motels or guest houses and other accommodation in the UK by UK and Overseas residents (%) 2007 2008 Nights (%) Expenditure (%) 2007 2008 2007 2008 UK Residents Hotel, motel or guest house 23 23 46 48 Other accommodation 77 77 54 52 Overseas residents Hotel, motel or guest house 23 22 50 50 Other accommodation 77 78 50 50 Source: UK Tourism survey 2007 and 2008, VisitBritain/International Passenger survey 2007 and 2008, National Statistics. Table 1.7: Golden decade of sports Event Sport Year Location Ryder Cup Golf 2010 Wales Olympic Games Various 2012 London Commonwealth Games Various 2014 Glasgow Rugby World Cup Rugby 2015 England World Cup Football 2018 UK Cricket World Cup Cricket 2019 England Table 1.8: Major Players in UK Hotel Industry Company Revenue per year ( £m) Accor UK Business Leisure Hotels Ltd 198.3 De Vere Hotels Leisure Ltd 248.2 Guoman Hotels Ltd 220.4 Hilton International Hotels (UK) Ltd 58.10 InterContinental Hotels Group PLC 1,850.00 Macdonald Hotels Ltd 135.4 Marriott Hotels Ltd 149.5 Millennium Copthorne Hotels PLC 702.9 Premier Inn Hotels Ltd 159.5 Travelodge Hotels Ltd 287 Source: KeyNote Appendix 1: The Economy in three recessions (bbc.co.uk) Appendix 2: Oil price rise 2000-07 (bbc.co.uk) Appendix 3: Employment (statistics.gov.uk) Appendix 4: UK Hotel Market Forecast. Appendix 5: Number of establishments

The Flat Tax :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Taxation has always been a major controversy. Just like any major corporation, the government is constantly looking to raise revenue. The easiest and fairest way to do this is by taxing the people. However, how the people will be taxed is always an issue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The current tax system that the United States uses contains several flaws. First of all, it is very complex. It is comprised of many various variables that can create loopholes. These loopholes can cause two equal income families to be paying very different tax rates. In fact, there are 480 different types of tax forms (Website). The current tax system is also very unfair for the wealthy. Because it is a progressive tax, it is higher for people who have higher incomes. People should not be punished for being successful. If a flat tax policy were instituted, then it would simplify the complicated tax system, create fairness within the economy, and promote a desire to thrive financially.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The flat tax would simplify the tax system because instead of filling out a variety of complicated forms, a person would only need to tell the IRS how much money they make, then give the percent of that amount. This would dissolve all of the loopholes that exist within the current system. It would cut back on the opportunities for unethical people to cheat. If the flat tax system were taken, taxpayers would save 94% in compliance costs (Website).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The flat tax will make taxes fair for all people. No matter what race a person is, what social class a person is in, or who they’re friends with, they will end up paying the same rate. Every single taxpayer will have to sacrifice just as much of his or her life as the next person down the road. One of the three main reasons for taxes is to maintain fairness. This is most reasonable ways to maintain fairness. The wealthy will still be paying more money than the poor person, but they both have the same tax burden.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because all economic brackets are taxed equally under a flat tax, earning more money is no longer discouraged. Because there are no more marginal tax rates, people will have incentive to work more without worrying that the extra money they make will be taxed higher. It is said that the economy would grow by 5.

Hazardous Materials Incident Response Essay -- Hazardous Waste

Hazardous materials can be important in everyday life when properly handled. However, when improperly handled, they can result in injury, death, and destruction as well as have lingering effects that may last for years to come. To address the risk of an uncontrolled hazardous materials release, there must be a coordinated effort to identify, locate, and quantify the hazardous materials in a particular location (Drexel University Safety & Health, 2001). Typically, industry and government agree that a hazardous materials incident is one where †¢ The intentional or accidental release of a hazardous material is responsible for major injury or fatality †¢ The release of the hazardous material or exposure to the fire that ensues results in the need to evacuate 25 or more people †¢ Closure of a major transportation hub as a result of the release of the hazardous material †¢ The hazardous material is radioactive or a biohazard †¢ Whenever there is a release of over 11.9 gallons or 88.2 pounds of a severe marine pollutant, or hazardous material (Hazmat Incidents and supplies, n.d.). Any single organization or group cannot solve hazardous materials response planning successfully. Rather it must be accomplished through the efforts of local, state, and Federal authorities and in cooperation with the private sector. Because of various limitations, one cannot prepare for every type of release, however, the plan can be written to address those releases that can most likely occur. Regardless, hazardous materials response plans must be designed to minimize hazards to human health and the resulting environment during the intentional or accidental release of a hazardous material. The plan should be written under the authority permitted b... ...(2001, March 15). Drexel Safety and Health. Retrieved June 3, 2010, from Drexel Safety and Health: www.drexelsafetyandhealth.com/hazmat/hazmatplan.doc Hazmat Incidents and supplies. (n.d.). Retrieved June 3, 2010, from Safety Supplies-Work Gloves-Spill Containment-Janitorial Supplies: http://www.bestvalsup.com/v/vspfiles/hazmat_response_tips_and_supplies.asp Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center. (n.d.). Emergency Response Planning: Disaster Preparedness for Small Businesses | pasbdc.org . Retrieved June 3, 2010, from Helping Businesses Start, Grow, and Prosper | pasbdc.org : http://www.pasbdc.org/index/resources/emergency.asp#envemergency Washoe County LEPC. (2006, March 1). Washoe County Local Emergency Planning Committee. Retrieved June 3, 2010, from Washoe County Local Emergency Planning Committee: http://www.washoelepc.com/pdf/Section1.pdf

Essay on Multiple Voices in Morrisons Song of Solomon -- Song Solomon

The Significance of Multiple Voices in Morrison's Song of Solomon  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Of the various manifestations of voice that participate in the interplay of voices in Song of Solomon, I would like to name three - the narrative voice, the signifying voice, and the responsive voice - each of which is dialogized within itself and in relation to the others.    In the opening scene of the novel, the third-person omniscient narrative voice [emphasis added] informs us that at the time of day that Mr. Smith plans to fly from the roof of Mercy Hospital, "word-of-mouth news just lumbered along" (3). This phrase not only encodes the black vernacular but also immediately directs the reader's attention to the cultural, communicative process by which the community structures itself. Interestingly, the phrase appears in the second sentence after Mr. Smith's note about his planned flight appears in the text. Thus, it abruptly shifts the reader's attention from the spectacle of Mr. Smith to the linguistic community of which he is a part. For this community, word of mouth is both a mode of communication and a category of knowledge upon which its members depend. The phrase also stands in contrast to the written word of Mr. Smith's note and therefore, paradoxically, points to his announcement as a suspension of the normative, just as the description of th e community that follows the phrase suspends the reader, along with the curious crowd of onlookers. On the one hand, the narrative voice contextualizes the act of an individual with the attendant communal response; on the other hand, it concurrently informs the reader and abdicates any totalizing ability to do so. Perhaps more importantly, however, in the litany of information about how the bl... ...significance to the listener. By paying attention to how identity is constructed dialogically rather than monologically, the reader hears and celebrates the voices that Toni Morrison both directly and indirectly enacts in the text. But this process also enables the reader to critique those cultural hegemonic forces that have silenced some voices in the first place. A dialogic reading not only encourages the reader to relinquish interpretations which reduce the African American community to a monologic, manageable entity but discourages the reader from coming to closure too easily.    Works Cited Marilyn Sanders Mobley, "Call and Response: Voice, Community and Dialogic Structures in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon," in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon," in New Essays on Song of Solomon, ed. Valerie Smith, Cambridge University Press 1995, 41-68. 42-43:

My Own Relationship to Pop Culture Essay

Every individual grew up in a particular culture that defines and shapes a person’s beliefs, attitudes and values. We are born in a culture instilled by our parents and by the people around us. Not all people have the same culture that defines his personality. This refers to cultural diversity, which explains the differences in beliefs, traditions and practices of individuals. Due to the rapid advancement of technology and the trend of globalization, they brought about transformation to the existing culture, thus, the emergence of pop culture. Popular culture is the totality of the ideas, behaviors, attitudes and perspectives that are seem deviant to the mainstream cultural norm. This type of culture is heavily influenced by mass media, especially on the latter part of the 20th century as proliferated by the culture’s vernacular language, popular culture permeates the everyday lives of the society. Popular Culture Popular culture has been defined in various aspects ranging from common culture to folk culture to mass culture. After the war in America, popular culture was associated with commercial culture reinforced with the various types of mass media which include movies, television, radio, internet, advertisements, and the various forms of art (University of California, n. d. ). â€Å"Popular culture is all those elements of life which are not narrowly intellectual or creatively elitist and which are generally though not necessarily disseminated through the mass media. † (US Fed News Service, Including US State News, 2006). Every individual participates in the pop culture, no matter how old-fashioned they may seem. Their participation largely depends on the role that they play in the society. Popular culture is manifested in various areas of life and society such as clothing, cooking, music, film and literature. It is an elusive culture that often contrasts with the elitist, high culture that is adhered by most ruling social groups. Popular culture is also coined as mass culture which is easily accessible to everyone. Popular culture is a channel for self-expression and manifestation of style and identity as it is a collection of ideas, principles, perspectives and attitudes that are shared by everyone. An idea or a behavior can be a part of pop culture if it is commercialized through mass media and consumed by a lot of people. That is the reason that youth follow fads and trends that are highly advertised or popularized. Through the expression of style and identity, it shapes and reshapes the existing culture of the society. In the contemporary global society like ours, media industries are also going internationally or globally which makes people from other locality perceive the different facets of another culture. When many media audiences perceive a particular idea or principle and many follow or believe in that premise, popular culture emerged. Thus, popular culture became a good place for cultural diversity, as characterized by diverse cultural traditions and practices, with the help of the global media industries that are able to reach a larger and more diverse audiences residing in different places. The globalization of popular culture opens opportunities to other countries in aspects of proliferating different ideals, principles and perspectives that are important in the global society today. Pop Culture and Communication One of the important parts of a culture is communication for it encompasses the person’s ability to communicate and the method used for communication or conveying the messages. Communication is the process by which we convey messages and meanings in order to share an understanding. Communication requires various skills such as listening, observing and speaking. Communication is a process that plays an important role in various areas such as home, school and community. Cooperation and coordination occurs through communication (â€Å"Communication†). The process of communication is largely affected by the inception of pop culture. The invention and development of modern technologies utilized for communication is the main contribution of pop culture in the field of communication. Pop culture is very pervasive and always present in the society. This no longer a new phenomenon, however, the influence of popular culture had been magnified due to the intensity of the visual modes of communication. Today, the impact of pop culture goes deeper in our simple communication activities like conversation and writing. â€Å"Popular culture also influenced the focus of our discourse. † It shows that today’s conversations focus on rhetoric and on the feelings rather on the concrete facts and information (Best and Lynch). Various tools and gadgets are available in the market used to communicate other people all around the world. We currently lived in a digital society, equipped with various technologies. One of these technologies is the inception of mobile phones that made it easier for a person to contact other people. Mobile phones are products of modern technologies that are convenient because of its portability, economical attribute and other interesting and exciting features. Now, mobile phones are not only for communication but also for fun and entertainment. Most mobile phones are equipped of various features such as MP3 Players, Bluetooth to transfer files and cameras. The internet also transformed our long distance communication and made us feel that distance is no longer a barrier in communication. Computer-mediated communication is a popular form of communication which refers to interpersonal correspondence utilizing computers and the internet. There are various messaging system that can be done using the computer and the internet. There are the electronic mail and instant messaging system that enables a person to communicate faster with others. Most of the social networking accounts are equipped with messaging system to convey personal and public messages. Our mass media has also been transformed by modern technologies which go hand in hand with popular culture. Mass communication is the process of conveying messages and information to a large and diverse audience. Mass media, on the other hand, are the channels of communication where messages intended for large audiences are being conveyed. Because of the inception of various modern technologies, there are more channels or venues for conveying of news and information to a wide, diverse audience. The internet is also a great addition to the latest trend of mass media. The internet is a channel to which it can reach people even in far places with just one click. The contemporary mass media is also more personalized as we can instantly give comments and feedbacks to the news and information rendered to us. This feature is not present in the conventional form of mass media due to the absence of technology that enable people to do such thing. We all use this aspect of popular culture and we all have a personal relationship to it. I personally, utilized and enjoy this aspect of popular culture. The different modern technologies and gadgets used for communication are beneficial to people as it makes correspondence easier. We all perform the process of communication in various ways and methods. We all interact in a culture so it is important to communicate with each other. The inception of the various modern technologies brings more people close together and helps them avoid conflict and misunderstanding. These modern technologies are the beneficial in establishing and strengthening relationships which is also important in a culture. It made our communication and interaction with each other easier and more convenient. Conclusion Everyone is raised in a particular culture with its own set of cultural beliefs, practices and traditions. These precepts of culture define the acquired attributes of a person. A person learns some of his values, behavior and attitude towards something through the embedded culture in his own environment. Culture plays an important role of shaping and reshaping the attitudes and behavior of a person. The current trend of globalization and the rapid advancement of technology, reinforced by the strong influence of mass media gave way to the emergence of the popular culture. Popular culture is a collection of beliefs and principles that is heavily marketed by the mass media. Popular culture is the modern philosophy that embodies the current state of today’s society. One of the important facets of culture is communication which plays an important role in the interaction and establishment of relationships of the members of the society. Popular culture transformed our way of communication in various ways that render benefits to the people by making it easier and more convenient to communicate with others. Popular culture reinforced with the invention and development of different communication technologies altered the way we communicate with other members of our culture even outside of own culture. This develops a new way of achieving harmonious and productive relationships with other people. Works Cited â€Å"Communication. † Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. n. d. 24 April 2009 . Best, Linda and Christopher Lynch. â€Å"Impact of Popular Culture on Communication Skills: A Commentary with Insights for Writing Instruction. † Research & Training in Developmental Education (2006). University of California. Pop Culture. n. d. 24 April 2009 . US Fed News Service, Including US State News. â€Å"Popular Culture Book Chronicles Field’s Coming of Age. † HighBeam Research. 2006. 2 4 April 2009 .

Buddhism: The Foundation, Development and Beliefs

Though the other divisions of Buddhism have altered their practices to accommodate the needs of a wider range of people, Theravada has remained virtually the same as it was at its founding. Theravada Buddhism is the original and most popular form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Theravada remains closest to the original teachings of the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha Gautama is the original founder of all forms of Buddhism. He was born in present day Nepal around 563 B. C. E. He was a prince of the Shakyas clan, and likely heir to his father’s throne.He was named â€Å"Siddhartha† which means â€Å"he who has attained his goals. † Being the prince of the warrior caste, he trained in the arts of war and grew up to be a strong and handsome young man. When he was at the age of sixteen, he fought and defeated his competitors in a variety of sports, which won him the hand of the beautiful princess Yashodhara, who wa s also sixteen years old at the time. He continued living in the luxury of his palaces. Soon, however, he grew restless and began to wonder what happens outside the palace. He eventually insisted to be permitted to come out of the palace so he can see his people and his lands.For fear of the prince leading a religious life, the king ordered that only young and healthy people should greet the prince so that he will not see the kind of suffering. However, even with the king’s careful orders, he still caught sight of a couple of old men, who accidentally wandered near the parade route, at Kapilavatthu, the capital. Curious of who these people were, he chased after them. He then came to a place where some people are desperately ill and even came across a funeral ceremony by the side of the river, seeing death for the first time in his life.Siddhartha saw four sights: a sick man, a poor man, a beggar, and a corpse. When he caught sight of these, his heart soon filled with vast lon eliness for the suffering that humanity has to go through. He then asked his friend and squire Chandaka what those things meant. Chandaka told him that all of us grow old, sick and eventually, die, saying that these truths should have been told to him before. (Boeree, 1999). He said upon seeing these realities: â€Å"When ignorant people see someone who is old, they are disgusted and horrified, even though they too will be old some day. I thought to myself: I don’t want to be like the ignorant people.After that, I couldn’t feel the usual intoxication with youth anymore. When ignorant people see someone who is sick, they are disgusted and horrified, even though they too will be sick some day. I thought to myself: I don’t want to be like the ignorant people. After that, I couldn’t feel the usual intoxication with health anymore. When ignorant people see someone who is dead, they are disgusted and horrified, even though they too will be dead some day. I tho ught to myself: I don’t want to be like the ignorant people. After than, I couldn’t feel the usual intoxication with life anymore. † (AN III.39, interpreted) (Boeree, 1999) He also saw an ascetic or a monk who has abandoned all the pleasures and cravings of the flesh. What struck Siddhartha the most is the peaceful expression on the monk’s face, which left a deep impression on him. Going back to the palace after this and despite having what appeared to be the perfect life of luxury, Siddhartha became very discontent with the material world and decided to leave his family. He realized that he could no longer live happy with the thought that, even with all their luxury, there would still come a time that he will suffer and die.With these thoughts, he soon wondered what he may do so that he can overcome suffering, more than anything else. He left his privileged life as a prince and ran away to the forest in search of spiritual understanding. For a while, he s tudied with two well-known gurus of that time but soon found that their practice is not enough to answer his question. That was when he began to follow the practices of a group of five ascetics: austerities and self-mortifications. For six years, he practiced with utmost sincerity and intensity that the five ascetics became his followers before long. However, he still did not find the answers he was looking for.He decided to double his efforts by refusing food and water until he was in a state of near death. One day, Sujata, a peasant girl saw this starving monk. She took pity on him and offered him to eat some of her milk-rice. Soon, he realized that self-mortification still do not help him answer his questions. He decided to carry out a practice that will be middle way between the extremes of luxurious and self-mortification life. For many days, Siddhartha sat beneath a particular fig tree, called the bodhi tree, in the town of Bodh Gaya, vowing that he will never stand up until h e found the answers to the problem of suffering.At first, he deeply concentrated in clearing his mind from all distractions, and later on, in mindless meditation. They said that he started to recall all his previous lives, and see everything that was going on in the entire universe. He became the Buddha, meaning â€Å"he who is awake†, with the rising of the morning star on the full moon of May, when he finally found the answers he was looking for (Hooker, 1996). He spent the next forty five years teaching others about the path to enlightenment. After an exhaustive ministry he died around 483 B. C. E. During his life, none of Siddhartha Gautama's teachings were ever written down.During the following 100 years after his death, Buddhism spread throughout India and Sri Lanka. A group of Buddhist monks held a council in the Capital city of Patna, during the third century B. C. E. , to come to a consensus on what the original teachings of Siddhartha were. When the council came to agreement about Siddhartha's true original teachings, the teachings became the doctrine of Theravada Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism has not deviated from this doctrine since. Theravada Buddhism's main goal is for the individual practitioner to reach Nirvana.This is accomplished by realizing the very foundation of Buddhism which was the â€Å"Four Noble Truths†: The Four Noble Truths: 1. ) All human life is suffering (dhukka ). 2. ) All suffering is caused by human desire, particularly the desire that impermanent things be permanent. 3. ) Human suffering can be ended by ending human desire. 4. ) Desire can be ended by following the â€Å"Eightfold Noble Path†: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (Bullitt, 2005).The practitioner must also follow the Eight Fold Path; 1. ) right view, 2. ) right resolve, 3. ) right speech, 4. ) right action, 5. ) right livelihood, 6. ) righ t effort, 7. ) right mindfulness, and 8. ) right concentration. The council all also agreed in practicing the â€Å"Four Cardinal virtues† which were friendliness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. During the onset of Buddhism, the religion comprised of only very few followers making it relatively insignificant among the vast variety of Hindu sects.But when Asoka, the great Mauryan emperor converted to Buddhism in the third century BC, the young and insignificant religion soon spread profusely throughout India and was carried across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka. Just like rumors change as they are spread from person to person, Buddhism was slightly altered over time. The original form Theravada Buddhism, held its ground in Sri Lanka as the Buddhists of Sri Lanka maintained a form that was most similar to the original form of Siddhartha's teachings. On the other hand, the rest of India, then the world in general later on, Buddhism fragmented into a million sects and versions.T heravada Buddhism requires intensive meditation. To follow his form of Buddhism requires the practitioner to devote a lifetime to its practice, thus making it difficult or even imposable for the average modern person to commit to such an undertaking. Despite the extreme demands of Theravada Buddhism, it is gaining popularity in Singapore, Australia as well as other parts of the western world. There are over 100 million Theravada Buddhists worldwide. Theravada has had less success spreading than other forms of Buddhism.Forms of Buddhism such as Zen are much more user friendly and are less demanding. Theravada Buddhism might not be the most popular, but it remains true to teachings of the genius who founded the religion. Just as well, Buddhism is in fact, a way of life. References: Boeree, D. C. G. (1999). The Life of Siddhartha Gautama. Retrieved February 21, 2007, from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/siddhartha. html Bullitt, J. (2005). What is Theravada Buddhism? Hooker, R. (1996 ). The Historical Siddhartha [Electronic Version]. Retrieved February 21, 2007 from http://www. wsu. edu/~dee/BUDDHISM/SIDD. HTM.

Nursing Roles and Value Task 1

Nursing Roles and Value Western Governors University Nursing Roles and Value NVT2 Competency 724. 7. 1 Ethical Leadership Competency 724. 7. 2 Continuing Competency in Nursing Marisha Grimley Course Mentor March 04, 2012 Nursing Roles and Value The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a case study addressing ethical leadership, analyzing application of standardized code of ethics on nursing practice, and discussing issues in safety for quality patient care.This paper will support the importance of confidentiality when discussing protected patient information. In addition, the need for continuing education and training for nursing through identification of Federal and State regulations as applied to nursing practice will be addressed. The discussion will touch on how these regulations are applied in specific care settings and the professional role of nursing in the ever changing health care delivery system.State regulation or standard of nurse practice The contemporary definition of n ursing according to the Scope and Standards of Practice (2010) is: â€Å"Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations. † (p. 66).According to the Standards of professional Nursing Practice, this scenario violates nursing Standard 7 – Ethics which states: â€Å"The registered Nurse: Delivers care in a manner that preserves and protects healthcare consumers’ autonomy, dignity, rights, values, and beliefs. † (The Standard of professional Performance, 2010, p. 47). The nurse does not follow the standards of practices leading to the several implications. When asked by Dr K. to look in the chart to determine if anyone was responsible for Mr.E’s medical decision making, the nurse failed to inform Dr K that the patient had an Advan ce Directive (AD) that specified he not be placed on a ventilator or have cardiopulmonary resuscitation. By not bringing forward this information the nurse did not fulfill her duty of protecting the patient’s autonomy. She ignored the AD that Mr. E, despite being a mildly developmentally delayed, had put into place before this hospital admission. Mr. E accomplished this task with the help of the nursing home patient advocate thus providing documentation about his medical wishes.Seven years prior, Mr. E had shown the ability to make his own health care decisions. He chose the pathway of his care by checking himself into a nursing home. The nurse assumed, because the provider had stated that the patient was hypoxic (88% room air is hypoxic), that Mr. E could not make his own medical decision. Mr. E verbalized understanding of what his progression of care would be by stating to Dr. K, shaking his head and saying â€Å"Go away! No! No! Take me home. † In this instance, the nurse did not act as a patient advocate.The nurse should have relayed this information to Dr. K. If Dr. K had insisted that the patient was in an impaired hypoxic state, the nurse should have reported the situation to her immediate nursing supervisor who could have intervened as a patient advocate, working to insure that the patient’s wishes be granted. The nurse’s failure to act as a patient advocate and respect Mr. E’s right to self-determination resulted in the patient being intubated and placed on a ventilator against his wishes. The nurse also failed to uphold a patient right to confidentiality.She violated the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) confidentiality laws. The nurse did not speak up and question the provider when the patient’s wishes were being questioned, leading to the patient’s rights, values and beliefs being disregarded. Nursing Code of Ethics by ANA The nurse violated more than one provision f rom the Nursing Code of Ethics. One of the provisions that apply to this case study is provision 3, which states: â€Å"The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient. (Code of Ethics for Nurses, 2010, p. 16). The impact on a professional decision, according to provision 3, would be that the nurse should have provided a private place for the doctor to discuss the case with the family member. Furthermore, the nurse cannot breach the fiduciary duty of confidentiality by allowing the provider to speak with a family member that was not part of the power of attorney. As well, the nurse has to remember that it is a breach of confidentiality and trust when she speaks with others, such as colleagues in a cafeteria that are not involved with the patient’s care.The ethical implications caused by placing Mr. E on a respirator were that the patient’s right of deciding his own path of treatment was violated. The patient Bill of Rights (Roux & Halstead, 2009) allows the patient to refuse medical treatment. Like every individual, Mr. E. has the power of controlling the type of care given to him, along with having control to make decisions that influence self without interference of others. Mr. E, through narrative ethics, had set his healthcare decision precedents. He had made his wishes known by signing an AD. Once Mr.E was intubated further ethical considerations will surface because he may be ventilator dependent or he may die from ventilator induced complications. These possibilities would be avoided by adhering to his original AD. In order to give ethical consideration to this decision, before agreeing with his brother’s intubation and placement on the ventilator, Mr. Y should have requested that all the facts be made available to him. Through the manner in which the case scenario is presented, Mr. Y is not involved in Mr. E’s life decisions even though he is entrusted with Mr. Eâ€℠¢s final life decisions.Any hospitalization is a stressful situation for all parties, the patient and family. In this scenario it is even more stressful because it is a life and death decision. Mr. Y’s brother is diabetic with a history of high blood pressure. Mr. Y has to face the ethical issues of quality of life versus quantity of life in deciding to follow his brother’s wishes or not. Mr. Y most likely did not understand a lot of what was happening and may have felt that it was too heavy a decision to let his brother die if no heroic measures were taken. Mt. Y asked for his niece’s opinion, indicating Mr.Y’s inability to make a decision. As a patient advocate, the nurse should engage in multidisciplinary support to help family understand the legal aspects and obligation of the power of attorney in making life end decisions and the legal obligations of the Advance Directives. Nurse must be firm in stressing these considerations to family so they may re alize the full legal and ethical implications of their decisions. The importance of end of life issues and decisions are now being discussed at the time of admission to most acute care and long term acute care facilities.More attention is being placed on these specific decisions to ensure that the patient's quality of life is considered and maintained even when death may be eminent. It is necessary to keep in mind that Mr. E may have been hypoxic, but he had not shown any signs of not being able to make decisions. The scenario does not describe Mr. E exhibiting any signs of advance hypoxia, such as an altered metal state, cyanosis, tachypnea, cardiac arrhythmias or coma. Mr. E verbalized his disagreement to the procedure by saying â€Å"Go away! No! No! Take me home. † Factors that complicate Mr. E’s advance directivesThe validity of Mr. E’s AD is not in question. The State of California has a specific form for AD that describes the necessary steps for the AD to be valid. (Form: PS-X-MHS-842 Rev. 2-04). The AD may be questioned in California if the nursing home did not follow the guidelines printed on the form. It requires that a nursing home patient advocate or ombudsman, as designated by the State Department of Aging, is present to witness the completion and signing of the AD. The AD does not require the presence of a notary, but requires the presence of two witnesses who sign the AD on the same day as the person making the AD.Mr. E is mildly developmentally delayed; a condition such as this is not a factor which would complicate his ability to have a valid AD. AD and Advance Care Planning for People with Intellectual and Physical Disabilities was addressed by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. (HSS, October, 2007). In 2003, a study that assessed the capability of people with a mild mental disability concluded that adults with mild retardation have the ability to provide adequate consent for their own medical decisions.Th is led the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), in 2005 to take the following position regarding end of life: â€Å"Permissible treatment options at the end of life are the same for persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities as for everyone else. † (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, October 2007, p. 13). A factor that complicates the AD is the Power of Attorney given to his brother, Mr. Y. Mr. Y was asked to make an end of life decision for his brother, Mr. E, without the knowledge of the AD.The case scenario notes that â€Å"no family member signed the advance directive and it is unclear if any family member were involved. † Mr. Y was unaware of Mr. E’s AD, made seven years prior, that Mr. E did to avoid having heroic medical procedures performed on himself if should he be in a condition that precluded him from verbalizing his desires. Advance, meaning the wishes are written in advance, before th e situations arise for which the wishes have made. Directives meaning giving, directing the actions of others that are empowered to make the decisions.The lack of communication between Mr. E and Mr. Y created the stressful situation. The nurse’s decision to withhold her knowledge of Mr. E’s AD from other individuals involved in Mr. E’s care led to inappropriate treatment. HIPAA violations HIPAA is violated when information is given to anyone who does not have participation in the care of patient. Patient information can be shared by an entity for the purpose of TPO. TPO is described as release of information pertaining to patients own treatment, payment, and health care operations activities.Knowing how protected health information can be used and disclosed, a HIPAA violation occurred in the following instances. Dr. K discussed Mr. E’s condition with his niece in front of her boyfriend and other patients. The nurse, during her dinner break, discussed pati ent’s medical issues with three nurses not involved in the patient’s care and requested their opinion. The nurse also violated the Code of Ethic Provision 3, which states that nurses have the duty to safeguard patient’s privacy and only share the pertinent information necessary for treatment with those who are participating in the care of the patient. Code of ethics, 2001). Professional conduct of the nurses The comments made by the nurses in the cafeteria were unprofessional, unethical and derogatory. These comments reflect that they were not conducting themselves in accordance with the nursing standards of professional practice. Nurses are not expected to feel warmth towards all human beings, but they cannot treat others with uncaring behavior to justify their feelings or their short comings.Nurses are professionals, and as professionals, nurses are expected to move beyond feelings and provide the same care to every patient regardless of their background, leve l of intelligence, diagnosis or economic status. In the case study the nurses were not: 1) Participating in ongoing educational practices as evidenced by the lack of knowledge of the pre-existing is AD. The nurses did not consider the legal ramifications of not following the patient’s AD requests nor did they respect the patient’s rights to self-determination. ) Providing care in a cultural and sensitive way, as evidenced by calling the patient â€Å"retarded†. Oral defamation – calling patient â€Å"retarded† – is slander. 3) Respectful of the patient’s moral worth nor did they give dignity to the patient, in respect to his living situation by the statement â€Å"he is already in a nursing home† The Code of Ethics, an integral part of what professional nursing stands for, addresses the fact that nurses have a commitment to the well being of their patients.It requires that nurses act as advocates by being vigilant and taking ac tion when inappropriate dealings, such as unethical or questionable practices, are being carried out, and may jeopardize a patient’s care. It is the ethical responsibility of the nurse to report to administration the nurses’ practices and lack of knowledge and the cavalier attitude towards HIPAA. It is an integral part of nursing not to remain silent when substandard care is known and practices that do not align with the nursing code of ethics are being used.The conduct that does not follow the nurse principles also will not align with place of work policies. These nurses should be reported to supervisors for counseling, education and corrective actions. Some issues are so severe that nurses are mandated to report offenses to authorities such as the Board of Registered Nursing, Nursing Organization, and HIPAA. In conclusion, the above case study identifies a case where several standards were compromised in protecting patients’ rights, privacy and protecting pati ent from harm.Through knowledge and competency in following the Nursing Practice Act as well as the Code of Ethics, one can always ensure uncompromised patient care and safety in practice. References Board of Registered Nurse. The Registered Nurse as Patient Advocate [Regulations]. Sacramento, CA: (Reprint from the BRN Report – Winter 1987). Retrieved from: http://www. rn. ca. gov/pdfs/regulations/npr-i-11. pdf America Nursing Association (2010). In Scope and Standards of Practice (2nd edition). Silver Spring, Maryland: Nursesbooks. org. America Nursing Association (2001).Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements (2001 edition). Silver Spring, Maryland: nursingbooks. org. Advance Directive Form. (PS-X-MHS-842 Rev. 2-04). Retrieved from: http://ag. ca. gov/consumers/pdf/AHCDS1. pdf Roux, G. ; Halstead, J. A. (2009). Issues and Trends in Nursing. Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. U. S Department of Health and Human Services. (October 2007). Adv ance Directives and Advance Care Planning for People with Intellectual and Physical Disabilities. Retrieved from: http://aspe. hhs. gov/daltcp/reports/2007/adacp. htm#who (Roux ; Halstead, 2009)

Resotech Inc.

Resotech Inc. Time is a critical strategic challenge. For example, assume you are a customer being interested in a particular product. This product is very expensive and long lasting. It’s capacity is more than you need. Once you’ve bought it, you can use it for decades. Even product improvements and new versions would only rarely make you buying a new one, simply because they’re incredible expensive. A secondary market to sell the product might exist, but anyway you’d have to sell it at a discount due to technology improvements.The main question for you as a consumer is the following: How many products do you buy? The answer is simple: One. What does that mean for companies offering solely such a product? If a customer buys a particular product only once and stays with it, only one company can serve this customer. The company, that first sells to him or her, wins. The competitors have no chance to convince the customer to switch or to buy the next time fr om them, since there is no next time. This reveals our strategic challenge: Time. If a company is the first launching a product, it has a first-mover-advantage.If a company is second, a part of the market is already served, hence, the total demand and the maximum revenues decreased. How can companies be successful in such an environment? There’s only one way: Be the first! Either because there’s no follower (you’re a monopolist), or because you launch the product earlier than your competitors do. This implies for any company that whatever it does, it must ensure that the product is launched before the competitors launch their products (staying out of the market is no option since it’s the company’s only product).This brings us to the question of available resources. How many resources you have to invest to be the first mainly depends on how many resources your competitor’s are investing. Moreover, if they suddenly increase their investments trying to outpace you, you should be able to react. What does that mean for Resotech Inc.? The company is known for its amazing quality. The products are of superior technology and benefit from a â€Å"Rolls-Royce† image. This implies that a lot of time must be spent on R&D for developing a mobile scanner of such a quality.Delivery delays are possible, or even probable, as it were the case for the RS-1000. Moreover, the development might also lead to a delay of the RS-2000 due to limited R&D resources. And what if the competitors enter the market as well? One can argue that Resotech might be able to discourage other companies to enter the mobile market once they committed themselves. However, this is unlikely for two reasons: First, Resotech is a relatively small company. Larger companies such as GE, Siemens, and Picker will probably have a shorter product development cycles due to their huge financial reserves and experience.Second, Resotech aims for high quality products. C ompetitors are able to produce less advanced scanners and enter the market first. In contrast, this is no option for Resotech. Moreover, Resotech would have to acquire new personnel first. To summarize, Resotech could sell 25 units. However, there’s a risk that Resotech is not able to stick to its delivery schedule, since the development of a mobile product is â€Å"not a piece of cake†. This may result in penalties. Additionally, if we try to stick to the schedule with a less advanced product, we will damage our image as quality leader.Moreover, what if 25 units are not enough to break even and another competitor has already entered the market? If Resotech accepts the offer, it won’t have any spare resources to accelerate R&D to outpace potential entrants. On top of that, we put the RS-2000 at a risk of being launched too late, since we might face a shortage of R&D capacity for both products. Therefore, from a time point of view, I recommend to decline the offe r. Thereby we can focus on the RS-2000 and launch it earlier. Declining would be less risky, but maybe less profitable. It’s the safe way.