Slimaxes or anticlimaxes in Enduring Love Essay

Another climax begins at the end of chapter 21 with a phone call between Jed and Joe â€Å"I’m putting her on, OK? Are you there? Joe? Are you there?† Here McEwan uses juxtaposition of beginning an event within the formal closure of a chapter. The effect of this adds suspense to the novel as a whole as it wills the reader to follow the chain of events. Also, the panicked dialogue of â€Å"Are you there? Joe? Are you there?† heightens the climax by leaving it unresolved. McEwan continually references â€Å"sweat† in chapter 22 showing the physical exertion in each of the characters â€Å"sweat was beading on his forehead† illustrates the tension between Jed, Joe and Clarissa. Each reference to sweat made by McEwan reveals a subtle increase in the volume, beginning with â€Å"beading† ending with â€Å"rolling off Parry†. This is reflective of the tension of the climax as it builds up.Clarissa is given a voice in this chapter which shows how frightened she is but also reveals more about Joe’s character. The novel is told through the narrative perspective of Joe Rose, therefore Clarissa’s dialogue is under his control meaning that Joe is in full control of her voice and is able to dictate how the reader perceives her. Her small voice reveals that Joe sees her in as vulnerable. This portrays to the reader, Clarissa as a victim of both the situation and the narrative, creating sympathy for her within the climax. This is significant becauseit adds an alternate perspective to the novel. The sympathy created here is later emphasised in chapter 23 in which Clarissa finally gets an undistorted voice.McEwan continually uses sense in chapter22 which makes the scene more dramatic adding to the climax and is implies a rush of adrenaline which heightens the senses. The description â€Å"she was still, but ripples of muscle and tendon at the base of her neck suggested that she was coiled† â€Å"I could hear my heart under my shirt† adds to the tension of the chapter which makes this particular climax significant as it creates a vivid image for the reader. Most of McEwan’s description revolves around tension, of the situation, of muscles; this subsequently builds tension within the reader, adding to the anticipation of the climax. As the novel draws to a close,McEwan finally clears the mystery of Jed Parry’s nature. This is significant to the climax as it dramatically changes the reader’sperspective on Jed, and perhaps the entirety of the novel. In Chapter 22, Jed is revealed to be a harmless soul, not at all a treat. All Jed wants is forgiveness from  Joe â€Å"please forgive me, Joe, for what I did yesterday† which in a way acts as an anticlimax as the novel builds Jed up to be a harmful man with a ve ndetta,yet in actuality, all he wants is forgiveness. Joe is insistent on playing the hero, but is portrayed as being petrified of using a gun. Clarissa doesn’t seem to be pleased that Joe wanted to play the hero, nor does she see him as a hero which dulls the poignancy of the climax. Also Joe  seems to be playing the anti-hero and Jed, the anti-terrorist. This is significant to the novel as it is juxtaposed to the stereotypical thriller/romancewhich the novel  partially aims towards.

Delirium vs. Dementia

Delirium vs. Dementia Dementia is an irreversible state of cognitive impairment and short term memory loss related to organic brain disease most commonly Alzheimer's disease or multiple cerebral infarcts. Delirium is a state of cognitive impairment and confusion usually of recent onset related to another illness. There may also be clouding of consciousness. Delirium is an organic mental disorder that causes confusion, disorientation, and memory loss.It is different than dementia in that is causes a change in level of consciousness; sufferers are not as alert, can be drowsy, semi-comatose, or comatose. The delirious person also can have difficulty with attention, may be agitated and be hallucinating. Symptoms occur rapidly – not over a long period of time. There is usually a marked changed in a person relatively quickly. Delirium can be caused by a medical problem: congestive heart failure, urinary tract infection, liver failure, and drug or alcohol abuse. People with delirium need immediate medical attention.Delirium is often caused by changes in the chemical transmitter between the nerves, called acetylcholine. Even medications can cause this to happen. Delirium symptoms also fluctuate throughout a day. It is most important to emphasize that delirium is a sudden onset, unlike dementia which comes on more slowly. The risk of delirium increases for people who are demented, dehydrated, and taking drugs that affect the nervous system. Sometimes there are no disruptive features, just a withdrawal which makes it easy to miss.Not all dementias are of the slow onset type like Alzheimer's type dementia (although this is the most common form of dementia and IS slow-onset by definition). Dementia may have an rapid onset, e. g. , with stroke. However, dementia is sustained whereas delirium is typically an acute and fluctuating state. The key difference between dementia and delirium is that delirium includes an altered/fluctuating level of consciousness, whereas dem entia is only diagnosed in alert patients.

Crime and Human Rights Violation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Crime and Human Rights Violation - Essay Example Although some of them would enter such competition voluntarily for the prize money or prestige, majority of them could not refuse for being slaves or prisoners stripped of rights granted to other human beings. Albert Camus, the mid-20th century philosopher, discoursed in â€Å"The Rebel† (Camus 6) the illogical defense of violation of human rights by the holder of power. No one can question the atrocities and genocide committed before the start of the Common Era. But it would seem absurd that such acts were committed by people in power in modern times when people are expected to act and behave with civility. Camus might had been exasperated and disappointed with the turn of events in modern society since the powerless majority are subjected under the control of the authority expected to protect the people but nevertheless becomes the oppressor and tyrant. The discourses and politico-philosophical essays of Camus might be rooted to his family and childhood experiences (Albert C amus pars. 4-6). He grew up in a poor family and in an impoverished environment. He also experienced a hard life during the war. He was a socialist all throughout his life but an anti-communist. The Algerian Communist Party was at odds with the Le Parti du Peuple Algerien, which he considered as more people oriented and to which he was a member. His views and discourses surely reflected his own experiences. Barbaric and inhumane treatment of people in the distant past were common as part of conquest areas and territories. Even the common people would gleefully watch criminals or war prisoners being tortured or whipped to death in public places. Gladiators killing each other in the arena serve as an entertainment for the rulers and the people. It can be deduced that inhumane treatment of slaves or criminals is part of the culture of the people then. The values and social perspective of the people in a particular society were reflected even to the entertainment and recreational aspect of their lives. Many of the prisoners and slaves were taken as captives from other tribes or communities. Invasion of one territory is made for the purpose of controlling the people of that place and make them subject of the invader. The invader would also want to control the territory and all its resources, food, minerals, livestock, etc. to serve the needs of the people of the invading group. Thus, in the olden times, the conquered people were treated as inferior in society with lesser rights or no rights at all. As a resulted, there are groups in society which were not treated as an equal or as a human being. Or worst, they were viewed as mere animals that can be mutilated at the pleasure of the authorities. Severe punishments were already influenced by the perspective of the ruling elite of the time. In the pre-Common Era China, for instance, punishments given by the leaders were severe on the notion that people were naturally evil and must be punished severely (Lambert, Legali sm par. 2). At around 2000 BCE, humans were sacrificed and buried beneath the foundations of buildings (Lambert, A More Advanced par. 3). Invading nations in the past think of themselves as superior than the rest of the nations. They think that they had more advanced civilization, knowledge and systems. These nations may have had advanced military

Quantitative and qualitative measures of real estate investment Essay

Quantitative and qualitative measures of real estate investment performance, and their use, usefulness and limitations in the re - Essay Example According to Feng, (2010, p, 11), Internal Rate of Return and property based portfolios have also been used. The quantitative and qualitative measures of real estate investment performance are useful, but they have some limitations, in the real estate investment decision-making process. This is because of the complex nature of real estate investment. Therefore, it may be difficult to absolutely appraise performance in real estate investment. In reference to Albert Einstein’s quote, â€Å"Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted," it is worthy to note that there is no precise method of performance method that includes all the important elements and leaves out elements that do not contribute to performance measurement. In measuring real estate investment performance, real estate investors and managers, as well as, analysts use methods such as Simple Pay-Back and Simple Return on Investment (ROI) models (Muldavin, 2010, p, 98). Thes e models may be partially effective because they take into account factors such as the amount of return earned or associated with real investment. However, Simple Pay-Back and Simple Return on Investment models are essentially faulty because they fail to consider revenue or risk (Muldavin, 2010, p, 98). ... , these financial models obtain their results, based principally on initial development costs of real estate investments and operations costs savings (Muldavin, 2010, p, 98). It is not only the initial development costs and operations costs that determine the performance level of a real estate investment. There are other factors such as risk, based on market trends, which are expected to influence the performance of an investment. These factors are left out; hence they do not count all the elements that contribute to real investment performance. With this in mind, it can then be deduced that not everything that counts can be counted. Another measure that is used in the measurement of performance of a real estate investment is the financial model for evaluating real estate investments, Discounted Cash Flow analysis (DCF) (Muldavin, 2010, p, 98). The Discounted Cash Flow analysis addresses financial implications of sustainability. It also, facilitates the integration of quantitative an d qualitative analysis to measure the sustainable property's financial performance (Muldavin, 2010, p, 98). However, it should be noted that it is not only financial implications of sustainability of a real investment that counts, but also other factors that are market related, which cannot be quantified. Therefore, not all that counts can be counted. The use quantitative and qualitative methods in the measurement of performance of real estate investments involve the formulation of some financial assumptions, which are made for property. These financial assumptions pertain to performance measures such as rent, occupancies, and capitalization rates. The financial assumptions are derived, based on qualitative judgement and analysis of the best quantitative and qualitative information

Business Management Affairs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Management Affairs - Essay Example Data gathering, data assessment, and the forming plan, including strategies, tactics, and desired results, are essential to professional contract negotiations. One will need to create a highly collaborative atmosphere to increase the possibility of achieving a perceived win/win outcome. When engaging in a contract, it is important not to narrow down to one issue, instead understanding that the other side has different interests and needs. In other words, it is important to understand the other party’s real needs. Leading authorities on contract law have defined a contractual agreement as a legally enforceable and voluntary promise exchanged by two or more parties (Simon and Davina) to provide the terms of the promise in exchange for something of value known as consideration. The parties to a contract must make a promise to one another; these parties are obliged to complete the obligations of a promise. If there is a party that feels injured by not receiving that to which he or she is entitled, then the promise will have to be addressed in the court against the party who broke the promise. For example, a person who borrows money from a bank promises to repay the money. If that person fails to repay the money, the bank can go to court and attempt to collect the money that is owed. Contract law further assures the parties to a contract private agreement that the promises one had engaged in will be enforceable. In real sense, many promises are kept because the parties involved feel a moral obligation to do so or because keeping a promise is their mutual interest. The person making the promise (Davina) and the person to who the promise is made (Simon) may decide to honor their agreement for other reasons. Generally, the rules of the contract law are often followed in business agreements to avoid potential problems. Contract law also provides an essential condition for their existence of a market economy. Without a legal

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Case Study Example Businesses such as Easy car, Easy cafà ©, Easyvalue.com etc. besides the airline business Easy jet are examples of the above mentioned growth strategy. Similarly, the group has also adopted effective pricing strategies to attract its existing customers towards its current products. In addition, the group has also made necessary innovations in its existing products to improve the quality as well as has developed new products to reap higher profits and observe growth in its businesses. Conglomerate refers to a group of companies acquired or owned by a business group, a person or an organization. Easy group is quite truly a genuine conglomerate because it owns several businesses such as Easy internet cafà ©, Easy car, Easy jet, online and hotel ventures and has now plans to add new ones such as Easy cinema in the group’s business portfolio to increase annual revenues of the group. Yes, I would recommend Easy Group to enter in Cinema industry and apply its effective business model. Also, easy group has ability to compete in tough market conditions and has been successful in its past ventures. Thirdly, easy group has a solid business plan with very few weak points for its cinema Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 24 Case Study Example The other issue seeks to implore on whether there is life beyond Earth, and lastly, the program seeks to understand the future of life on Earth. Astrobiology is the common denominator in all NASA space science activities. It bridges research in astrophysics, heliophysics and earth science. To further understand the principle interests of astrobiology, this discourse will look at the discipline in line with the three established issues. This is in recognition of the fact that the credibility and relevance of astrobiology lies in its pursuit to answer the fundamental questions of our origin, establishing our identity, and whether man is alone in the cosmos. Scientists seem to still not come up with a clear definition of what life is; they are still not clear on what being alive means. In perhaps the simplest way, life on Earth swaps energy and material with the environment. The common characteristics of life being that life forms grow, excrete, reproduce and are made up of genes stored in DNA and RNA structures and passed on to the next generation. Life also changes. These changes result due to alterations in the environment. However, life also alters the environment. Finally, it is clear that life is based on the chemistry of carbon and needs liquid water. An extremely constrained layer exists near the surface of Earth; this layer contains life in abundance as evidenced by microorganisms, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, this layer represents the only identified area that supports life in the entire Universe. Everyone by now acknowledges that the laws and concepts of chemistry and physics are in action all over the cosmos. This has led to constant enquiries on whether there is anything like general biology. More critically, there have been unending inquiries on life beyond Earth. Advanced science has been able to reveal that there exist other surfaces beyond Earth which are represented by planets orbiting the Sun. In the past 15

Public vs Private Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Public vs Private - Research Paper Example (IFA, 2010) As a public sector manager, establishing solutions to the company should be based on the element of identifying and solving individual problems; not using a solution to solve multiple problems. Each problem cannot be viewed as identical, and as a result each problem will have its own unique solution. In the public sector, the government will seek to find a unitary solution for a multitude of problems and thus is the reason as to why the problems may only be solved in the short term or even not solved at all. It is for that reason the public sector manager must seek to solve problems on an individual analysis. This will aid in the manager providing a long-term solution to the problems that may ail the company (Infor, 2011.). The essential factor is the efficiency of the company and a SWOT analysis of the company will be essential to avoid catalyzing the collapse of the company. Making sure that the each and every problem of the firm is looked into will facilitate the improvement in the function of the company. Another factor that the manager will require to integrate into the company is innovation. In many public sector companies, operations are carried out in an archaic manner as the government puts little or no emphasis on the improvement of a company’s operations. This is something that is evident in the methodologies and functions of several government owned firms, and it is something that benefits the private sector, whose constant search for improvement on their operations and products has resulted in the increased demand for products and services from the private sector. (Infor, 2011). As a public sector manager innovation is always essential in any business circle, and therefore it is important to constantly seek ways and means of improving the fortunes of the corporation; be it in terms of business model, structure, product development or even the product or service in production. Again this will be essential, but to

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

500 - Essay Example Here I will assign the extra time by seeing the nature of the activity. The main purpose of this section is to streamline the time and allocate the enough time resources project. Now I will discuss critical and non-critical activities, and their effect upon the shortest time needed to complete the project. Like we can save time from the activity of â€Å"call for nominations† we can have 3 days from this activity. Then in the â€Å"organize record sheets† task we can save 2 days. From the â€Å"ask for officials to volunteer† task we can have 2 days. We have saved overall 7 days out of 71 days project. In this project of the sporting event I have discussed the main events and tasks that we have to carry out regarding overall project implementation. Here I have tried to carry out activities in such a way that the there is no conflict among the activities in any scenario. Here I have also implemented the project management activities like WBS, OBS and

Creative Brief Essay Example for Free

Creative Brief Essay Is to increase the consumption of milk among the teenage group so that they would drink less sugary and carbonated drinks that would harm their health . The Product Milk is by far the healthiest beverage after water . Milk helps to strengthen the bones and the teeth . Milk drinking drops off sharply in the teenage years because it is considered to be uncool and most of teenagers are worried about the calories and fat . Part of it has to do with the lack of flavours and the packaging being dull . This is what we found out about the product we decided to help , which is HL Milk by Marigold . Target Audience Our target audience would be males and females aged from 16 to 25 years old .Milk is a beverage that every parent would tell their kids to drink as children , though most of them still drink milk for breakfast but they still choose to drink other drinks like coke , pepsi or ribena .Milk has become less relevant to their lifestyles . They think milk doesn’t go well with foods like Mcd , Pizza and KFC . Why they choose soft drinks is because the soft drinks are exciting , versatile and its an acceptable alternative to milk . Promise and support Promise Todays milk can help the teenagers become strong and dynamic . Looking at the hectic schedule teenagers have these days ,it is recommended to drink milk to help them feel fresh and energized the whole day . Support. Milk has the nutrition the body needs to look and feel dynamic. Today most teenage athletes and famous teen celebrities drink milk . Ice –cold milk taste great especially with HL Milk`s 3 new taste which are peach , coffee and mango . It has a more refreshing taste to it . Not to heavy nor to creamy . Its light and smooth . Brand personality. The personality now of HL Milk is dull and there isn’t any attractive colours that would attract a consumer to get it . Some consumers especially teenagers look at the packaging before purchasing products . If its attractive and youthful they would purchase it .The old packaging is very practical and conservative as it only has 2 colours with no pictures on the box . The needed personality for teenagers to buy the HL Milk would be exhuberant , contemparory and youthful . The packaging would suit the lifestyle of the teenagers . The would be shy to drink milk in public .

In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck explores the idea of the American dream Essay Example for Free

In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck explores the idea of the American dream Essay The story Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Although Steinbeck writes the story in the late 1930s, he sets it in California, Soledad, while the Great Depression was being taking place in America, which followed the Stock Market collapse of 1929, and the Californian farmers had little money to spare to pay these itinerant workers. This caused millions of workers to lose their jobs, which lead to poverty and unemployment. A lot of men could not find work and there families suffered evection and starvation. Steinbeck witnessed the hardship around him and his great novels including The Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row these novels describe life during the Great Depression. Of Mice and Men shows how there were a shortage of work and describe the lives of two itinerant workers, George and Lennie. George and lennie are the two main characters in the book, and showed the relationship between the two friends. George was small and restless; he had a dark face with restless eyes and sharp strong features. He was bright, quick and clever who looks after the mentally disabled strong Lennie. Lennie has a childs mind and is very childlike by wanting to feel soft things. His body is immensely strong and has never learnt how to control his body strength. He is described in terms of an animal because of his strength dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paw. George and Lennie are both workers, moving from ranch-to-ranch searching for jobs in Soledad, which is the Spanish for lonely. In spite of this each worker has a dream. George and lennie like all workers have had a dream too, to live off the fatta the lan, George and Lennies dream was to have a farm and then to do their own thing were no-one can allow to push them around or tell them what to do. All men had a dream similar to this, to own a piece of land of there own, this was something on all workers mind, which kept them going. However the novella ends in tragedy. Steinbeck introduces the main characters, George and Lennie early in the book. It is Friday evening and they are on their way to the ranch in Soledad. When the bus driver drops them off, he doesnt really care. They are shown as victims of society from the beginning of the book, where George and Lennie wanted to be dropped off at the ranch were the bus driver then made them walk ten miles when he said the bus doesnt go round that end, and while the were walking the saw the bus go by which made George very mad. Steinbeck writes that two men emerged from the path and came to the green pool this is the pool of the Salinas River where the novel starts and ends. The two men are described as complete opposites. Lennie was a big man, but had a mind of a child, which he was mentally disabled. George is like a father to him, George expresses Steinbecks attitude towards Lennie as a compassionate and sympathetic person. George and Lennies relationship is of friendship and dependence, although they both depend of each other; it seems at first as if Lennie totally depends on George, this is shown when Lennie panics because he thinks he has lost his work card and his bus tickets he says: George, I aint got mine, I musta lost it where as there relationship is like a parents child relationship. Through the first paragraph George starts telling Lennie about the future and what they want. He tells Lennie in a child like way of that they want to live off the fatta the lan, with a garden and were Lennie can tend the rabbits. Lennie likes hearing this; its like a favorite story where he knows all the words off by heart. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck explores the idea of the American dream. This idea is still prevalent today where people still have a dream, to do something and it basically means that anybody can make it big in America. This is based on equality and independence and put forward the idea that everybody can get rich, is free and equal regardless of religion, race or country of origin, and also the American dream promises the freedom from persecution. In order to achieve the dream, you have to work hard. Each character had a dream: Curleys dream was to just be stronger than anyone. Which he shows his aggressive behavior towards those weaker than himself. Curleys wife wants to be a film star, which her dream cant happen as she is married to Curley where he doesnt allow her to do or speak to anyone apart from himself. It shows that the marriage has failed, maybe, as he cant satisfy her emotionally or physically. Due to her loneliness she trys to seek attention with other men and cant escape from the sexual image of what other men have of her. Because of the circumstances of her own isolation she therefore cultivates this image as a means of getting noticed, to talk to someone. Candy wants to work on his own land and no one to push him around. Crooks is the only black person on the ranch his dream was also to have his own ranch and no one to tell him what to do and to have no racist comments. So for the ranch workers to get this life they will have to work very hard. However for George and Lennie the dream could only ever be a dream. They want to believe in its reality but it is only ever wishful thinking. George and Lennies dream is all to do with having freedom, to not have to be canned to not work on days they didnt want to. They wanted to work in a place and live in a place that is cosy and have of food. And Lennies dream is to live off the fatta the lan and tend rabbits and other creatures and have a comfortable, rich life where they can have there own independence, but Lennie is volatile, violent, huge and strong. Lennie constantly gets them into trouble, for example: we are first introduced George and Lennie when they flee from weed. Where Lennie was accused of rape but really didnt do anything, as he only grabbed the ladies dress to feel the softness of it. There are number of things to suggest the dream is only ever fantasy. Another thing to support this is that they wanted to re-create happier times when they were younger and part of a family Lennie describes his childhood with aunt ClaraI remember a lady, she gave we mice. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows how the badly the workers were treated in the Great Depression they were at mercy of cruel bosses, which in this state in the book was Curley as he was the bosss son. One key aspect of their dream is that George and Lennie fantasize about better working condition of not getting canned. One thing Steinbeck explains is the basic needs of companionship, loyalty and having something to look forward to, as without any hope of doing something theres nothing to look forward to, and nothing to live for. The notion of all the characters in the novella being lonely victims is emphasized. They all have dreams one character in the book is Candy, he is a nice fella, he had lost his right hand in a farm accident and is reduced work of a ranchswamper. Candy has a dog that he is devoted to. The other ranch worker despite the dog, as he is old and smells very bad, so they confront Candy to let it out of his misery by shooting the dog, this illustrates the harshness of the relationships and the environment of which Steinbeck describes. It also predicts the end of the novel It is only because of Candys offer to join George and Lennie in their dream to buy a ranch that it becomes a possibility of fulfilling their dream. As he said spose I went in with you guys. They fell into a silence. They looked at on another, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true. Steinbecks portrayal of Lennie is always compassionate but realistic. He is described in terms of an animal because of his strength. Lennie dabbled his paw He shows a victim of mental disabilities who cannot cope in harsh, unfriendly world. The society of the 1930s did not make allowance for the mentally ill. George cares for Lennie but is manipulated by him. Lennie has a huge amount of strength and cannot control himself. He has a tendency to panic, which creates a problem like when he broke Curleys arm as he was trying to struggle out Lennie held on tighter. Lennie never leaves a sight off George but when he is away he tend to get into trouble. Lennie is cunning and aware of this in another sense, and does not and cannot learn from his mistakes and is victim. Another time where he panics was the killing of Curleys wife he didnt mean it he just wanted to feel her hair, he is also selfish in ways as he ended up killing her as she was screaming, and all because that George may tell him off and not let him tend the rabbits. In conclusion the only person who achieves their dream is Lennie, as he dies thinking about their dream where George was reciting it to him at the Salinas River, before he dies knowing that the dream was in his mind. Steinbeck successfully shows the working life of that time and the dreams, of what everyone wanted to be to have a rich, and relaxed life, which people still have that dream today. Steinbecks sympathy and compassion for the characters, evident his storytelling is on their side. The title Of mice and Men links to the poem To a Mouse by Robert burns, he said the best laid schemes o mice and men, gang aft agley. And means no matter how well we may plan the future things often go wrong. And this is where Steinbeck chose this as a title. Steinbecks style is very good and adapts to his subject matter, imagery and dialogue. He tells this story in a convincing way without explaining in detail why everything happened and that it was nobodys fault in particular events and why they turned out as they did.

Effects of Activities of Fluorides and Salivary Amylase

Effects of Activities of Fluorides and Salivary Amylase Ever since 1919, effects of activities of fluorides and salivary amylase have been reported. Nonetheless, research on effects of salivary amylase and fluorides activities are limited. Investigation carried out by several researchers on salivary amylase about splitting properties of starch to dental caries development showed mixed results. While other studies implied a correlation between dental caries and high activities of salivary amylase, some research on the same topic showed negative correlation. At the same time, other studies showed no correlation at all (Vergona, 1993). Salivary amylase aids in metabolism and colonization of streptococcus that lead to dental plague and dental caries formation. It acts as a receptor on which microorganism sticks to tooth surfaces. Moreover it has capabilities of binding to surfaces of bacteria and hydrolyses starch to produce products that are altered to form acids. In in vivo and in vitro studies, it is indicated that sodium fluoride inhibits salivary amylase enzyme when the concentration of fluoride is more than 5 x 10-2 M (BioSciences Information Service of Biological Abstracts, 1978). This means that salivary amylase of human being is not impinged on when fluoride concentration is below 5 x 10-2 M. In vivo study showed that when a rat drinks water that has 25 or 50 ppm of fluorides for a period of four weeks, there is stimulation of salivary amylase secretion and flow rate in parotid glands (Afonsky, 1961). Influence of human salivary glands by fluoride is done by use of sodium fluoride solution (NaF) in in vitro experiment. In this experiment, participants are allowed to fast overnight and wash their mouth with water that is distilled before chewing parafilm at around 9 a.m. Saliva is then produced within the next two minutes after water rinsing for a period of ten minutes and centrifuged at 12500 x g in a centrifuge known as Sorvall RC2-B. At this point the saliva ph level is measured (Kettering Laboratory, 1963). The data produced from preliminary analysis of this study do not show any important difference between sexes on activities of salivary amylase. Varying the concentration of NaF ranging (sodium flouride) between 0 and 500 mM do not cause major differences in activities of salivary amylase. When NaF concentration is at 100 mM, the activity of salivary amylase is more than 100%. But when the concentration of NaF is at 500mM, the activity of salivary amylase becomes 92.8%. Because of intraoral activity of salivary amylase, it is considered as very important for oral health. Salivary gland produces this enzyme and is found at a low concentration in parotid gland. It is protein in nature and in molecular terms, it has a 62-67 kDa weight. Amylase enzyme digests polysaccharides through hydrolysis of glycogen, 4 glucosidic starch linkages and other polysaccharides (Rajesndran, 2009). An assay enzyme is made by a mixture that has 3ml of 0.2% of solution of starch, 3% of 0.1M solution of Tris buffer which has a ph of 7.0 and 0.1M solution of saliva extract that is diluted. The assay mixture is warmed at a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius for a period of one hour. Towards the end period of experiment, aliquot solution having 1.0 M is pipetted in a test tube that has a 1.0 N solution of Nelson_Somogyi. This mixture is then heated in hot water for a period not less than ten minutes. 1.0M solution of NaF solution is added to this mixture after cooling down. The resultant solution is suitably diluted and read in a spectrophotometer on 520nm mark. In a latest research, it was shown that a decoction of tea that has high fluoride concentration exhibits no amylase inhibition. Moreover, no enzyme activity is observed on addition of more concentration of NaF (Seifert, 1986). Ph variation of incubation medium caused the NaF inhibition effect. In this experiment, after incubation period of one hour, it is impossible to sense variations that are more than 0.01 ph unit. Making a comparison between the joint results gained from the experiment with water and the one that was gotten from rinsing with a solution of 0.05% NaF shows that the difference becomes significantly significant. There is a possibility that huge individual variation gotten from every group is likely to influence analysis. The final results gotten for activity of amylase in in vivo experiment were succumbed to test of Kolmogorov-Smirnov (p Even though the alpha-amylase shows to be remarkably stable on high ph levels, it is quite possible that detected decrease in enzyme activity levels when it was treated with 100 mM and 500nM NaF solution respectively is caused by increase in ph by the fluoride actions. The stability and activity of human salivary amylase is relied on aluminium and sodium ions that are present. Just like disulfide linkages, aluminium specifically forms cross-links of molecules with the protein of the enzyme. A number of enzymes that need aluminium for activity are slowed down by fluoride. The mechanism used in inhibition seem to be through fluoride that induced aluminium removal as it was suggested in a previous research that used amylase which was obtained from mung bean seedlings (Thimann, 1944). Another study that has been carried out in Mexico by Alarcon-Herrera et al indicates that spontaneous fractures of bones in adults frequently show decreased tensile strength in bones were proportionally higher at 6ppm F concentration in water than at any other concentration level of F(Tmh, 2006). However, dental fluorosis that increases with increased F concentration in water correlates with incidences of bone fractures in both adults as well as children (King Reiss, 2001). Conclusion This study has shown that the effects of NaF concentration on human salivary amylase activities are shown in in vivo and in vitro experiments. In vitro experiment showed that no statistically considerable difference is observed in the activity of amylase after incubation period of one hour using a fluoride solution that is concentrated to 550mM. With in vivo experiment, the effect of 0.05% solution of sodium fluoride is examined on human salivary amylase that was gathered at different intervals after rinsing the mouth of the participants. For a second time, no statistically considerable difference is examined in the activity of amylase in all the examined samples.

Dust Heaps in Our Mutual Friend Essay -- Charles Dickens Victorian Era

Dust Heaps Dust develops. The famed Dust Heaps in Our Mutual Friend are simply large mountains of †¦ well, dust. One cannot fully judge the purpose of Dickens’ incorporation of dust heaps in his novel without background information on them. The question being what is a dust heap? Apparently the answer â€Å"heaps of dust† is not good enough. In the Victorian era dust heaps were filled with useful garbage. Dust heaps were made up of many different things. One such ingredient – also the main ingredient – was fine cinders and ashes. These items, along with some soil, were sold to brick makers for making bricks, and to farmers for manure – especially for clover. The next item tended to be pieces of coal which were usually there because a servant’s carelessness. The coal was either resold or simply used. Another portion of the dust heaps was made from ‘breeze’. According to â€Å"Dust; or Ugliness Redeemed†, breeze was named after the cinders which were â€Å"left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through an upright sieve†. These ciders were also sold to brick makers, but for burning the b...

The Exploitation of Little People :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Exploitation of Little People Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful maiden Pallid Powder amidst seven dwarfs.There was a dwarf who worked in a sideshow display at the local circus, a dwarf who was frequently cast by Galactic Studios for the dancing baby parts, and all the other dwarfs locked themselves in their isolated cabin in the woods so that the nearby villagers wouldn’t laugh.These snippets—both fictional and real—are all most people know about the lives of dwarfs, or little people as they prefer to be called.But Ursula Hegi’s novel Stones from the River suggests that dwarfs were stereotyped, and although the information I found was limited, I found enough to satisfy myself that many dwarfs in the past—and even today—have been exploited or treated unjustly by others. In order to understand why dwarfs are exploited, one must understand the genetic disorder itself.Dwarfism, according to the Little People of America Research Fund, â€Å"is the result of the disproportionate growth of the skeleton,† a condition mostly predetermined by the genetic code.Some symptoms, according to WebMD, include short stature, the appearance of a larger head, abnormally shaped hands, a waddling walk, along with â€Å"increased inward curve of [the] lower back making the buttocks appear more prominent (lordosis), and increased outward curve of [the] upper back making [the] back appear slightly hunched (kyphosis)† Clearly, dwarfs have physical differences that make everyday life more difficult for them—even without exploitation by others.The simplest aspects of life are often difficult for dwarfs.They have difficulties finding furniture to fit their small bodies, and household chores such as washing dishes become almost impossible without the use of a stool.Other things, such as finding clothing to fit or just being able to drive a car, are also difficult for them. But beyond the inevitable difficulties presented by their size, there are other ways that dwarfs—because of their size—are intentionally exploited by others.One way they are exploited is being used to make money for others.A researcher on the topic, Laurence Bathurst wrote in his reply to Judith Irving, a dwarf, about such mistreatment: There are some really gross and demeaning ways in which short statured people are exploited such as dwarf throwing contests, dwarf wrestling, and generally, the portrayal of short statured people in movies and television that endows them with ‘special’ characteristics (either evil or good). Circuses and sideshows use dwarfs as exhibits and often claim ownership of them as well.

Assignment Verbal and Non Verbal Communication Essay

Answer 1.1. A primary industry is one that cultivates and exploits natural resources, such as agriculture or mining. A secondary industry takes the outputs of primary industries and converts them to consumer and capital goods. Examples of secondary industries are textiles and electronics. A tertiary industry is in the service sector of the economy. Examples of tertiary industries are banking and education. Answer 1.2. A capital good is a durable good that is used in production of goods or services Capital goods are acquired by a society by saving wealth which can be invested in the means of production. Individuals, organizations and governments use capital goods in the production of other goods or commodities. Capital goods include factories, machinery, tools, equipment, and various buildings which are used to produce other products for consumption. Capital goods, then, are products which are not produced for immediate consumption; rather, they are objects that are used to produce other goods and services. These types of goods are important economic factors because they are the key to developing a positive return from manufacturing other products and commodities. Answer 1.3. Generally production quantity is inversely related to product variety. A factory that produces a large variety of products will produce a smaller quantity of each. A company that produces a single product will produce a large quantity. Answer 1.4. Manufacturing capability refers to the technical and physical limitations of a manufacturing firm and each of its plants. Three categories of capability include technological processing capability, physical size and weight, and production capacity. Answer 1.5. Polymers, ceramics and metals are three basic categories of materials. Answer 1.6. A shaping process changes the geometry of the work material (machining or forging). A surface processing operation does not alter the geometry, but instead alters the properties and/or appearance of the surface of the work (painting or plating). Answer 1.7. A shaping process changes the geometry of the work material (machining or forging). A surface processing operation does not alter the geometry, but instead alters the properties and/or appearance of the surface of the work (painting or plating). Answer 1.8. Batch production is where groups, lots, or batches are processed together through the manufacturing operations. All units in the batch are processed at a given station before the group proceeds to the next station. In a medium or low quantity production situation, the same machines are used to produce many types of products.

Stanford Prison Experiment and Hard-hitting Local Editorials

For hundreds of thousands of years, human civilizations tended to barter for goods, trading shells and precious stones for food and other important commodities. For the first evidence of money as currency, we need to go back 5,000 years to where modern-day Iraq now sits, to find ‘the shekel’. Though this was the first form of currency, it was not money as we know and understand it today. It actually represented a certain weight of barley, a kind of plant, equivalent to gold or silver. Eventually, the shekel became a coin currency in its own right. In much the same way, Britain’s currency is alled ‘the pound’, because it was originally equivalent to a pound of silver. The ancient Greeks and Romans used gold and silver coins as currency, with the Latin ‘denarius’ ultimately giving birth to ‘dinar’ in various countries including Jordan and Algeria, and providing the ‘d’ that served as an abbreviation for the British penny before decimalization in 1971. It also gives us the word for money in Spanish and Portuguese – ‘dinero’ and ‘dinhero’. The first ever banknotes were issued in 7th-century China, though it took another 1,000 years before the idea of paper money was adopted in Europe, y Sweden’s Stockholms Banco in 1661. British scientists have begun studying a rare meteorite to reveal more about the history of Mars. The rock, named ‘Tissint’ after the Moroccan area where it crashed in July 2011, was recovered from the ground just five months later – not enough time to be too contaminated. â€Å"The Tissint sample is probably the most important meteorite to have landed on the Earth in the last 100 years,† says Dr. Caroline Smith, curator of meteorites at the Natural History Museum in London. An analysis of the rock revealed its Martian origin. It would have been removed from Mars when an asteroid struck he planet, staying in spa ce as debris before being attracted by the Earth’s gravity. Of the 41,000 officially recognized meteorites, 61 come from Mars and the Tissint rock is only the fifth that was witnessed falling. Dr. Tony Irving of Washington University, who performed some initial analysis on the sample, does not think there is much chance of finding fossilized life within it. But the British team could reveal whether minerals have been affected by water or contain elements such as carbon. Smith says â€Å"We’re not looking for microbes, but we’re looking for the chemical and environmental signatures to indicate whether Mars, at ome point in its past, may have provided a suitable environment for life to exist. † While playing computer games is sometimes seen as a solitary pursuit, a study at Brigham Young University shows that it actually enhances social connections. Studying the effect of multiplayer online games on marriages, researchers found that in the 76% of the cases where the couple played together, games actually aided the relationship. In other words, couples that gamed together stayed together. Games may have other effects on us too. The famous psychologist, Philip Zimbardo, recently spoke out on the subject. In his 1971Stanford Prison Experiment, in which volunteers were randomly assigned the roles of prisoner or guard, he showed that human behaviour is heavily influenced by environmental and social pressures. More recently, Zimbardo even suggested that exposing children to morally ambiguous situations in games could be useful in helping them develop their own moral compass. One possibility is to explore virtual worlds through computer games that could enable people to experience and understand concepts that they would otherwise find difficult to imagine. Games about society, populated by real people and open to all, could help test how different ultural backgrounds could be brought together in peace. The Although many community newspapers are justifiably proud of their hard-hitting local editorials, perhaps half of all community papers carry no editorials at all. Publishers who refuse to editorialize often claim that editorial harassing is resented in small communities. Others are fearful of alienating readers and advertisers. Still others say they do not have enough time to develop polished, well-researched editorials on a regular basis. Many publishers are leaders in the commercial and political lives of their towns, and are so much a part of he local power structure that their editorials would not be persuasive anyway. Those who editorialize assert that editorials and opinion columns give identity to their newspapers and leadership to their communities. Indeed, some of the most inspired writing the US has produced – the ‘Crisis’ essays of Tom Paine, the Federalist Papers explaining and defending the Constitution, the stirring commentary of William Allen White of Kansas – first saw the li ght of day as editorial or column material in a community newspaper. Courageous hometown editors regularly win Pulitzer Prizes and other professional honours for crusading ditorials on local issues. It Innovation is not a synonym for invention – an invention has to be taken to the market to be regarded as innovation. Innovation must change the way people do something. In an essay on creativity, Teresa Amabile and others describe innovation as ‘the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization’. Creativity, which includes invention, is only the starting point for innovation, which is a necessary but not sufficient condition for it. As Amabile implies, the business of innovation needs to be managed all the way from the creative inspiration through to a launchable product or service.Innovation is not restricted to products and services. It might be internal to the business, in the form of new and more effective organizational structures or proce sses. It could be a new way of marketing or distribution, like online grocery deliveries. By today’s thinking, innovation can also be in the form of a significant improvement to an existing commodity. When you build a better product, not necessarily a revolutionary one, the whole world will want to buy it. A lot of small types of innovation like this are more akin to continuous improvement, which makes up 85-90% of the average corporate development portfolio. It

Gender Differences in Mathematics Essay

Throughout the first half of the 20th century and into the second, women studying or working in engineering were popularly perceived as oddities at best, outcasts at worst, defying traditional gender norms. Female engineers created systems of social, psychological, and financial mutual support, through such strategies, conditions for female engineers changed noticeably over just a few decades, although many challenges remain. Engineering education in the United States has had a gendered history, one that until relatively recently prevented women from finding a place in the predominantly male technical world. For decades, Americans treated the professional study of technology as men’s territory. At places where engineering’s macho culture had become most ingrained, talk of women engineers seemed ridiculous (Sax, 2005). For years it’s been assumed that young women avoid careers in mathematics-based fields, like engineering and physics, because they lack confidence in their math skills. But a new study finds that it’s not a lack of confidence in their math skills that drives girls from those fields; it’s a desire to work in people-oriented professions. It has been found that young women who are strong in math tend to seek careers in the biological sciences. They value working with and for people, they don’t perceive engineering as a profession that meets that need. The environment at many tech schools is hostile toward helping students achieve a degree and is more geared toward weeding out those who are struggling. It’s difficult to come up with alternative engineering solutions if everybody in the room looks alike. That’s the initial reason why automakers and suppliers are busy trying to identify and hire minority and women engineers. The business case is that if more than half of an automaker’s customers are either female and/or people of color, which they are, then those groups need to be represented in every sector of the company. One of the most important areas for automakers to get a range of views is in product development. With that diversity mission in mind, DaimlerChrysler Corp. , Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. , all have mounted aggressive programs to identify and hire minority and women engineers. At GM the story is the same. To attract minority and women engineers, the automaker proclaims that innovation comes from the people who see the world in a different way than everyone else. One women and minorities enter into the automotive engineering ranks, they need to be challenged and encouraged to develop their careers or they’ll be gone (Sax, 2005). It’s not just the Big Three that are working to create a more diverse engineering workforce. Suppliers and engineering support organizations such as the Society of Automotive Engineers are trying to draw more women and minorities into the profession. Faced with chronically small percentages of minorities and women in virtually every segment of engineering, companies are going to great lengths to attract them to the world of automotive engineering. Harvard President Lawrence Summers ignited a firestorm recently when he suggested more men than women are scientists because of differences between males and females in â€Å"intrinsic aptitude. † Many scientists-both men and women-expressed outrage at Summer’s remarks and blamed any lag in math among girls mainly on discrimination and socialization (Dean, 2006). They point out that girls have closed the gap in average scores on most standardized math tests in elementary and high school. Today women constitute almost half of college math majors and more than half of biology majors. But Summer’s supporters say he courageously raised a legitimate question for scientific inquiry. Indeed, in recent years some researchers have been pursuing a scientific explanation for the discrepancies in math and science aptitude and achievement among boys and girls and have found differences, including biological ones. Summer’s suggestion that women are biologically inferior in math infuriated many female scientists. Some asserted that the other two factors he mentioned were far more important in keeping women out of science: sex discrimination and the way girls are taught to view math as male territory. Some differences are well established. Girls do better on tests of content learned in class and score much higher on reading and writing tests than boys. Boys score higher on standardized tests with math and science problems not directly tied to their school curriculum. On tests of spatial awareness, boys do better on tests that involve navigation through space. Girls are better at remembering objects and landmarks. Studies show differences in brain structure and hormonal levels that appear to influence spatial reasoning. But the implications of these differences for real world math and science achievement remain unclear. â€Å"There is evidence that male and female brains differ anatomically is subtle ways, but no one knows how these anatomical differences relate to cognitive performance,† (Dean, 2006). At the heart of the current controversy is a societal implication-that the failure of an institution like Harvard to tenure even one woman mathematician can be blamed on the lack of top-flight women mathematicians, which in turn can be blamed on too-few top female minds in math. As evidence of intrinsic aptitude differences, Summers pointed out that more boys than girls receive top scores on standardized math tests. Today girls receive better grades than boys in math and science through high school, have closed the gap on average scores on most standardized math tests and take more advantage high school classes than boys in almost every category except physics and high-level calculus. In college they constitute nearly half the math majors and more than half the biology majors. Indeed, today a growing number of researchers contend boys are the ones who are shortchanged-judging by the larger proportion of boys in special-education classes and the declining proportion attending college. Women now make up 56 percent of students enrolled in college; by 2012, the Department of Education projects they will account for about 60 percent of bachelor’s degrees (2002). The fact that more boys than girls make top scores on standardized math tests is often invoked as evidence that boys possess an innate superiority in high-level math. Experts on both sides of the divide agree gender differences are real, even if they disagree bout how much is socially learned and how much biologically based. Girls do better on writing and on algebra problems, probably because algebraic equations are similar to sentences, and girls excel in language processing. Boys are better at mathematical word problems; girls are better at mathematical calculation. Boys and girls also differ on spatial skills, and experts are divided over how innate or important these differences are. A recent study of the Graduate Record Exam, for instance, found men did better on math problems where a spatially based solution was an advantage (Gallagher, & Kaufman, 2005). Sex hormones have been shown in several studies to affect the ability to envision an object rotating in space. Females who take male hormones to prepare for a sex-change operation improve on tests of 3-D rotation and get worse on tests of verbal fluency, at which women typically excel. During their menstrual cycle, women do better on 3-D rotation when levels of the female hormone estrogen are low; they do better on verbal fluency when estrogen levels are high. If science be taught directly with a hands-on, inquiry-based approach, it sustains girl’s interest in science. Girls like to work in cooperative teams, a lot of science was taught in a competitive mode. Women scientists also earn less than men. But it’s only fair that women who work fewer hours face the economic consequences of lower salaries and less status. References: Dean, Cornelia. (2006). â€Å"Dismissing ‘Sexist Opinions’ About Women’s Place in Science†. A Conversation with Ben A. Barres. The New York Times. July 18, 2006, pp. 1-5. Gallagher, Ann M. , & Kaufman, James M. (2005). â€Å"Gender Differences in Mathematics: An Integrative Psychological Approach. Cambridge University Press. National Center for Education Statistics, â€Å"Projections of Education Statistics To 2012†. (2002). Available on-line: http://nces. ed. gov/pubs2002/proj. 2012/ch_2. asp.. Sax, Leonard. (2005). Too Few Women- â€Å"Figure It Out†. Los Angeles Times. Jan. 23, 2005.

Ikea Paper

IKEA Business Analysis Industrial Organization – Essay I March 17, 2013 Word count: 3397 Introduction IKEA is a privately held, Swedish multinational company that is one of the world’s largest furnishings retailers. This international home products company designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds, chairs, and desks, appliances, and home accessories. The company is the world’s largest furniture retailer. IKEA was founded in 1943 in the South of Sweden, and its name is an acronym of the initials of the founder’s name, Ingvar Kamprad and of Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, the farm and village where Kamprad grew up.The company is known for its modern architectural designs on various types of appliances and furniture, often associated with a simplified eco-friendly interior design. In addition, the firm is known for the attention it gives to cost control, operational details and continuous product development, allowing it to lower its prices by an ave rage of two to three percent over the decade to 2010, while continuing its global expansion. As of October 2011, IKEA has 332 stores in 38 countries. Most of these stores are directly owned but some are managed under franchise by owners outside the company.By doing this, IKEA faces a higher chance of success than in a sole proprietorship. In fiscal year 2010, it sold $23. 1 billion worth of goods, a 7. 7 percent increase over 2009. In recent years, IKEA purchases from developing countries have grown from 32% in 1998 to 48% in 2003; 29% of its output comes from Asia, 67% from Europe and 4% from the USA (Arrigo, 2005). For a long time, Poland was the second supplier of raw materials after Sweden, but there was recently a giddy increase in China which, in 2004, accounted for 14% of total output, followed by Poland with 12%, Sweden with 8%, Italy with 7%, and Germany with 6% (IKEA. com).To achieve its goal of boosting efficiency while cutting costs and prices to the end consumer, IKEA i s constantly looking for convenient new locations. This paper will focus on strategic investments decisions with regard to innovation and advertising and strategic product feature decisions. IKEA & Supply IKEA's vision is â€Å"To create a better everyday life for the many people. † To meet its vision IKEA provides many well-designed, functional products for the home. It prices its products low so that as many people as possible can afford to buy them. However, in creating low prices IKEA is not willing to sacrifice its principles. Low price but not at any price† is what IKEA says. This means it wants its business to be sustainable. IKEA supplies goods and services to individuals in a way that has an overall beneficial effect on people and the environment. Customers all over the world have responded positively to IKEA's approach. This is evident in its increasing sales. Supply chain IKEA has an extremely efficient supply chain and its management was the key source in IK EA in cost management which gave it a cutting edge among its competitors as it products where charged 30% lower than the cost of its rivals.With regard to the supply chain, the flow of production and processes go through three industrial sectors before the end product reaches the customer. Firstly, it starts with the primary sector concerning raw materials. Natural resources such as timber are extracted and developed. IKEA buys products from more than 1,300 suppliers in 50 countries (The Times 100). It uses a number of trading service offices across the world. They negotiate prices with suppliers, check the quality of materials and analyze the environmental impacts that occur through the supply chain.IKEA aims that all the products and materials it takes from the primary sector do not harm the environment. They also keep an eye on social and working conditions at suppliers. The second step is manufacturing where primary materials are used to build, manufactured and developed to fini shed goods. A key part of IKEA's success is due to its communications with materials' suppliers and manufacturers. During manufacturing IKEA specifies to its producers that waste should be avoided. Where waste does occur the firm encourages suppliers to try to use it in the manufacture of other products.IKEA has a code of conduct called the IKEA Way of Purchasing Home Furnishing Products, the IWAY (The Times 100). This contains minimum rules and guidelines that help manufacturers to reduce the impact of their activities on the environment. IKEA aims that all there products are manufactured in a responsible way. The tertiary sector provides services needed to meet the needs of the end users such as retailing, distribution, insurance, and customer services. IKEA's retail stores add value to manufactured goods by providing a form of shopping different to the usual high-street experience.They meet the needs of the consumers in a number of different ways. Each IKEA store is large and hol ds more than 9,500 products giving lots of choice. Within each store, there are a number of realistic room settings that enable customers to see what the products would look like in their own homes. In addition, the IKEA store is built on a concept of â€Å"you do half, we do half; together we save money†. This refers to, for example, the customer assembling furniture at home. Customers handpick products themselves using trolleys. Also, IKEA provides catalogues and home delivery to save customers’ time.IKEA stores also have restaurants that provide Swedish dishes alongside local food choices. IKEA & Competition To define the relevant market, IKEA operates in a perfectly competitive market. IKEA is a furniture store and there are many other furniture stores owned by various different entities (so there are many suppliers in this market). Normally the firms in a perfectly competitive market would be price takers. However, IKEA has a lot of market power as it is able to r aise its prices above the perfectly competitive level without losing many consumers. Therefore it can be stated that IKEA is a price setter.There are off course competitors, however it seems that IKEA does not really take competitor’s decisions into account as they are not really relevant to their own decisions. IKEA sets its prices very low because they face low production costs as a result of strong relationships with its suppliers. Competitors are predictable but even if they were unpredictable, IKEA would not be affected by their decisions as the firm is already at the bottom end of the market. IKEA makes use of their concept in a global strategy that designed furniture for a lower price than other competitors offer that can be sold everywhere for the targeted market segment.Sometimes regional differences appear that arise form national habits, lifestyles and culture. What gives IKEA a huge advantage in selling its products at a lower price springs from their â€Å"young † concept is that the customers have to bring home the products and assemble it themselves. No other firm manufactures as much furniture as IKEA. The firm can and will eliminate any local competition by using their global position. It is a fact that they have no competitors on the global market. IKEA’s success was recognized to its vast experience in the furniture retail market, its product differentiation and cost leadership.Across markets where it presently has a presence, products are sold at prices that are 30 to 50 percent lower than competing products. This penetration pricing enables IKEA to gain significant market share. Low prices are a result of large-quantity purchasing, low-cost logistics, and store location in housing areas. In addition, IKEA also benefits from economies of scale and healthy supplier-firm relationships. IKEA enters into long-term contracts, provides leased equipment and technical support in exchange for exclusive, low-cost manufacturing fro m suppliers.For new markets, IKEA should retain its price-image to maintain the brand’s positioning. IKEA strives for cost leadership, and for this reason it negotiates the most cheap conditions with a very large number of suppliers, a large part of whom live in eastern Europe and Asia, where the cost of raw materials, manpower and warehouse rentals is lower than elsewhere. IKEA always tries to acquire raw materials at the best price, choosing the suppliers with the cheapest price but it is equally focused on maintaining good relationships with them to avoid late deliveries or poor workmanship.IKEA’s low cost policy is based on several factors. Firstly, and previously already mentioned, it is based on economies of scale where large volumes reduce the unit cost of production. Secondly, the low cost policy is based on economies of transport where large orders of products permit to IKEA to transfer transport costs to suppliers. Low running costs inside the stores is also a factor. For example, the group uses buildings that are easy to build and inexpensive to manage, and it also has a ‘dressdown policy’, with all employees wearing the same uniforms, which are very simple and ractical. A last factor with regard to low cost policy is the purchases of unassembled products from suppliers with a consequent reduction of costs (taxes are lower for components than for finished products). IKEA & Demand With regard to the number of buyers, this market faces a great number of buyers as IKEA wishes to reach everyone who needs a new piece of furniture or accessory. IKEA provides its products to end consumers as it only supplies their final products. These consumers can be households, other companies, or governments for example.On the demand side, the active participation of its customers, who are seen as genuine partners, is a source of economic saving for IKEA. Most of its products are packed in flat packs and the customer has to take them home and assemble them, paying the cost of transport and assembly, and thus reducing storage costs for IKEA. Wherever consumers go to IKEA stores, products are always the same. Consumers therefore know what they can expect and for what price. This is a very strong characteristic of IKEA because familiarity with a brand makes consumers come back.The 9,500 products that IKEA supplies is available in all IKEA stores and customers can order much of the range online through IKEA’s website. By doing this, IKEA makes products easier accessible, reducing the distance a consumers has to travel when choosing to purchase IKEA products, and bundles its good together with home deliveries of the orders. An IKEA market strategy in terms of service providence to their customers is always a unique one. The stores and services of IKEA are very much different from the other furniture vendors. The stores are very much spacious and divided into cheerful model rooms.This provides wide range of services to its customers to choose the furniture according to the measurements of their house along with the prices and variety of designs that are showed in kiosks. In addition, IKEA also provides childcare centers and include restaurants and cafes serving typical Swedish food. They also have small food shops selling Swedish groceries, everything from the famous meatballs to jam. Stores are located worldwide. It welcomed a total of 565 million visitors to the stores during the year 2008 and a further 450 million visits were made to the IKEA website.Low prices are one of the cornerstones of the IKEA concept and help to make customers want to buy from IKEA. IKEA's products cater for every lifestyle and life stage of its customers, who come from all age groups and types of households. This is vital in times when the retail sector is depressed, as it increases IKEA's potential market. The wide range of products that IKEA offers are of most value for consumers. Consumers prefer to have a lot of c hoice for good quality and low prices. IKEA’s product based market strategy drew many customers to their store and kept it the top position in the global market of the furniture companies.As previously mentioned, IKEA issued variant catalogs of their products in different native languages so as to reach all sections of their customers. IKEA also adopted some of the experimental marketing strategies for the publicity of their products. In earlier years it has taken decision to decorate a chain hotel with their furniture that has become a beneficial market strategy for both the parties. Its main aim is to target the customers of that hotel and market their products. Even the chain hotel gets benefit to decorate their hotels with lavishing furniture at low cost.Furthermore, the most important strategy of IKEA is not providing the exit for the customers who had entered in to their stores without having seen all the furniture in store. In this phenomenon there is scope that the cu stomers may go for the more furniture that is not actually needed (Kotelnikov, 2005). Since it was founded IKEA has always had concern for people and the environment. The IKEA vision â€Å"to create a better everyday life for the many people† puts this concern at the heart of the business. IKEA has responded to the public's rising concern for sustainability in its choice of product range, suppliers, stores and communication.It has also spotted business potential in providing sustainable solutions. IKEA's concern for people and the environment encourages it to make better use of both raw materials and energy. This keeps costs down and helps the company to reach its green targets and have an overall positive impact on the environment. IKEA aims to be a responsible organization and believes that a strong environmental stance is good business practice, as it also has shown as the current trend of more â€Å"green† and environmental friendly preferences of consumers when ch oosing their products.Demand & Supply Function Demand Function There are a couple of variables that are relevant to the quantity (Qd) of IKEA goods and services that consumers are willing and able to purchase, in other words demand. First of all the price of the goods (P) IKEA sets affects the demand. Next to P, prices of related goods and services (PR) are also important as those are goods from which inputs are derived to be used in the production of the primary good. The prices of related goods and services are therefore taken into account when IKEA sets its price (P).The expected future price of products (Pe) might also influence demand because if a consumer believes that the price of the good will be higher in the future, he or she is more likely to purchase the good now. In addition, prices of all other companies’ products (P1†¦Pn-1) have an influence on the demand function of IKEA. If their prices are much lower than IKEA prices, consumers will buy from other firms . However, as already mentioned, this is not the case for IKEA as they offer products for low prices. Also, if the consumer expects that his income will be higher in the future, the consumer may buy the good now.Therefore, expected future income (Ye) also affects demand. Thirdly, the incomes of consumers (Y) are also relevant to demand because this influences the ability to purchase the IKEA goods. Demand is also affected by the number of consumers in the market (N), the more consumers in the market, the higher the demand for the IKEA products. Moreover, advertising expenditure (A) affects demand as well. The more advertising, the more consumers are informed or persuaded to come and buy at IKEA. IKEA shows to be very efficient at this with providing their catalogs.Lastly, consumer tastes and preferences (T) also affect demand. It seems that consumers prefer IKEA products over other products because of its low prices and quality of the products. However, consumers incur transportatio n costs (t) that have an effect on preferring to buy from IKEA (which is often located just outside the city center) or to buy from a shop closer to their homes. Consumers know that IKEA provides very high quality products no matter in which shop they will buy the products and consumers could therefore prefer IKEA products over other. The general demand function for IKEA would therefore be:Qd = f (P, PR, Pe, Y, Ye, N, A, T(t)) or, Qd = a + bP + cPR + dPe + e(P1†¦Pn-1) + fM + gYe + hN + iA + jT(t) Where b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, and j are slope parameters that measure the effect on Qd of changing one of the variables while holding the others constant. We assume that, all in the short run, there is no change in taste and preference, that the income of the consumer is constant, that there is no change in customs, habit and quality of goods, no change in substitute products, related products and the price of the product, and finally, that there are no complementary goods.Supply Funct ion There are a couple of factors that affect supply, the amount of products IKEA is willing and able to sell at a given price all other factors being held constant. Firstly, the price of IKEA’s products (P) influences the supply function. Ikea can be seen as a leader in this market and therefore it might be the case that the firm cuts its price, possibly as an attempt to keep the number of entrants low. Secondly, the price of related goods (PR) influences the supply function.If the PR increases, the cost of production will increase and therefore supply would decrease. Thirdly, technology (T) with regard to production affects supply in a way that whenever there is a technological advancement or technology used making production very efficient, the supply increases as production costs decrease. In addition, the price of inputs (PI) such as labor, energy, raw materials, influence supply. When PI increases, sellers are likely to raise P for each unit of output.For IKEA it is kno wn that they have access to relatively cheap raw materials and an increase in PI would not quickly lead to an increase in P because IKEA aims to keep its prices low. Moreover, the number of suppliers (N) in this market might have a small effect on the supply function of IKEA. There are already many suppliers in this market and an increase in N would not lead to a significant decrease in P of IKEA. As stated previously, in creating low prices IKEA is not willing to sacrifice its principles (â€Å"low price but not at any price†).Expectations (Em) concerning the future market condition can directly affect IKEA’s supply in that whenever IKEA believes that the demand for its product will increase in the foreseeable future, IKEA will immediately increase production in anticipation of this increasing demand and therefore future price increases. Lastly, government policies (G) and regulations can have a significant effect on IKEA’s supply. For example environmental reg ulations could influence decisions IKEA has to take in consideration when switching to a new supplier of raw materials. The general supply function for IKEA would therefore be:Qs = f (P, PR, T, PI, N, Em, G) Assuming that all consumers know all things, about all products, at all times (including knowing the probabilistic outcome of all future events), and therefore always make the best decision regarding purchase. In addition, assuming that Ikea is the leader in a market with a large and endogenous number of firms. Decisions As IKEA is already at the bottom end of the market and operating very efficiently and profitably, the only decisions that they will face would be concerning future investments, advertising, and product features. One of the things that IKEA is now able to do is expanding more to new markets.So far, IKEA has limited its store locations to some of the most heavily populated markets in the countries in which it competes. To continue its growth trends, IKEA may have to begin investigating other (smaller) communities. IKEA has to consider how it will respond if and when a lower priced competitor enters its market. Also, IKEA may want to consider that its product assortment and promotions may not appeal to all cultures. However, for new markets, IKEA should retain its price-image to maintain the brand’s positioning. New cultures mean also that branding has to adapt to popularity in those particular new countries.For IKEA, despite the history of success the company has enjoyed thus far, there are no guarantees for the future. If IKEA does not keep on innovating and making the right expansion decisions, the company will become increasingly vulnerable to new competitors. Word count: 3397 References Arrigo, E. (2005). Corporate Responsibility and Hypercompetition. The IKEA Case. Symphonya, 2, pp. 37-57 Facts and figures, www. IKEA. com. Kotelnikov, V. (2005) Experimental Marketing. Retrieved from: http://www. 1000ventures. com/business_guide/m arketing_experiential. html Building a sustainable supply chain: An IKEA case study. The Times 100.

Effects on Divorce on Children Essay

However some people think that it’s an easy process to get a divorce two separate roperties and signing papers may seem like an easy task some however there are major problems can arise from the divorce like who is going to keep the timeshare in Aspen. But one vital issue arises with the presence of children and how it will affect them in the long run studies suggest that children that go through divorce express signs of distress for example acting out in school. Divorce is Just as hard on the children as it is the adults and if they overlook this their children might be affected for even years to come showing concern for this might prevent this. More than half of all divorces involve children under the age of 18. Divorce does not only affect the husband and wife, but now more than ever their children get mixed up in the, sometimes ugly, process of divorce. A vital question every parent should consider is will divorce have effects on children and is staying together for the sake of their well-being the best resolution, if not what are the ideal approaches to minimize the child’s distress? The overall reason I picked this topic is because after a divorce many young children are confused. They are confused because they are sometimes too young to nderstand what is going on so they tend to scream for help but their parents ignore them. Then they can sometimes start to act out in school and their parents know why they are doing it but cannot help them express their feelings. This topic is sociologically important because young children need help understanding what divorce is and how to cope with it. All of these reason I’ll be sure to make a point of explaining them further and using reliable statistics taken from studies of children of divorce. This question should interest almost everyone that plans of getting married in the future. Divorce clearly isn’t something that couples want or even expect in a marriage but unfortunately such events occur that lead to divorce and it is crucial to know how it may affect children in the long run. David Masci the author of the article â€Å"Does divorce turn children into troubled adults? argues that divorce might turn children into troubled adults, and I agree because he provides viable evidence to support his theory. His argument that is supported by new research showing that almost half of all children in the United States have to deal with their parents dissolution of marriage nd these some of these children show signs of distress in the later year. Mainly likelihood of health, emotional, and behavioral problems, lower a cademic achievement and an increased risk of divorce when they marry. In addition, â€Å"early sex, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse, delinquency and suicide are more prevalent among adolescents from divorced families than among those from intact families† (Masci) I wholeheartedly endorse what David Masci argues. While many children grow up leading healthy and productive lives after a divorce occurs, they are at greater risk for emotional and physical problems. Some children are more emotionally affected by divorce than others. But some do not experience serious, long-term emotional problems A child’s emotional security also becomes more fragile during this difficult time of divorce. Fears that both parents will abandon the child are common. Depending on the age of the child, some of the ways a child might express this emotional insecurity may be large amounts of anger, directed both toward others and themselves frequent breaking of rules, sleep problems, defying parents or teachers, frequent guilt, increasing isolation or withdrawal from friends and family, drug and/or alcohol buse, early sexual activity, thoughts of suicide or violence. Many children of divorce believe that they caused the divorce or that they did something wrong that made one or both parents not want to be with them. These feelings can cause a child to feel sad, depressed, and angry. These negative emotions can contribute to other problems, such as poor health, difficulty in school, and problems with friends, to name a few. Parents can help their children avoid some of the negative consequences of these emotions by using â€Å"emotion coaching,† a process of helping children be aware of and talk about their emotions. Children who experience the divorce of their parents generally are more likely to struggle socially compared to children from intact families. They are more likely to be aggressive, have poorer relationships with same-age children, and have fewer close friends. Also, these children and teenagers appear to be less involved in extracurricular activities, such as sports or music, and other enrichment programs, such as after-school classes or summer programs. This is likely due to less money to pay for such activities, less availability of parents to drive the child and attend lessons and events, ore frequent moves, and visiting and custody schedules that interrupt participation in team sports and other activities. Children and teenagers who experience the divorce of their parents may end up getting less parental supervision. As a result, some scholars believe that these children may be more susceptible to the influence of their peers and this increases the chances of them getting involved in deviant behavior, including drug and alcohol use and smoking. Generally, research has not found large differences in how boys and girls tend to adjust to divorce. However, it seems that boys, more than girls, tend to be more aggressive toward others and this can lead to their friends and peers rejecting them. Boys may be somewhat more likely to act in defiant ways at home and in school; girls may be somewhat more likely to experience anxiety and depression. A child’s age when his or her parents divorce is another factor that parents worry about. But divorce on children has not shown a consistent pattern. Some studies suggest that romantic relationships in the future of children of divorce can be affected because of their experiences as a young child. In addition, ome scholars believe that children of divorce are less likely to learn crucial social skills in the home, such as cooperation, negotiation, and compromise that are necessary for success in life. Children exposed to high levels of conflict between their parents, both before and after a divorce, may learn to model the poor communication of their parents.

German Jewish Immigration to the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

German Jewish Immigration to the USA - Essay Example Since he was guided not by principles but by expediency, he was able upon occasion to moderate his tactics, if not his Jewish policy, when diplomatic or economic considerations made it advisable to do so. Von Hindenburg, the aged president; von Neurath, the Foreign Minister; and Dr. Schacht, the president of the Reichsbank and later Minister of Economics, could occasionally win some concessions. But then came Hitler's evil spirits, such as the demonic Dr. Joseph Goebbels, his Minister of Propaganda; the sadist Julius Streicher, his pornographer; and the enemy of mankind, Heinrich Himmler, his executioner. All of these men served to fan the flame of his hatred. The baseness and the villainy, the lying and deception which were concentrated upon the Jews beggar description. Never was so intense and persistent a drumfire directed towards the destruction of a mighty army as these strategists found it necessary to use in order to make it impossible for 550,000 Jews to exist in the midst of 65,000,000 Germans. "Even 'Aryan' children were stirred to spy upon Jews and Christian non-Aryans and to attack them, and to incite their own parents to extirpate the Jews altogether." From this specimen the world might have learned whither the destructive spirit of the Nazis was leading, but they were gullible and were persuaded that this treatment of the Jews was solely a matter of internal German policy. It was fatal to the world at large (and to the Jews) that the world relied upon the promises of the Reich Chancellor and Reich Leader, of which he kept not one, and did not rather refer to the conclusions of his Mein Kampf, in which the true nature of the revolutionary Hitler was expressed. (Hans W. Gatzke, 1973) The overall aim of Nazi policy in the 1930s was to pressure Jews to leave Germany, but there was no unanimity in the party on how this was to be accomplished. One faction, largely concentrated in the SA and typified by the fanatical Nuremberg Gauleiter Julius Streicher (1885-1946), editor of the bi-weekly anti-Semitic tabloid, Der Strmer, pressed for violent methods to oust the Jews from German society. Almost immediately after Hitler became chancellor, SA-sponsored street terror and hooliganism began, with Jews as primary targets. It was mainly to appease the disgruntled SA militants that Hitler authorized the national boycott against Jewish-owned stores, lawyers, and physicians in April 1933. Streicher was appointed by Hitler to head the committee planning the nationwide boycott, the announced purpose of which was to retaliate against Jewish-sponsored boycotts of German goods abroad. After the end of the official boycott physical assaults against individual Jews and Jewish business es continued sporadically without official sanction. Perpetrators, however, almost always escaped arrest or prosecution. (Hans W. Gatzke, 1973) Some Nazis criticized the SA's campaign of physical violence, not on humanitarian grounds, to be sure, but because it undermined discipline and order, caused property damage, provoked Western charges of human rights abuses, invited retaliatory measures, and seemed an ineffective and counterproductive way of ridding Germany of its Jewish population. Hjalmar Schacht and later HermannGring in his capacity as chief of the Four-Year Plan deplored the adverse impact on the German economy of vandalism

Does the balance of power maintain international order rather than Essay

Does the balance of power maintain international order rather than peace - Essay Example Thus, the alliance of countries that shifts the balance of power is usually motivated by self interests rather than peace (Claude, 1989). Balance of power ensures that each country maximizes its security and thus effectively leading to international order. The other motivation for balance of power is the prevention of hegemony. No state desires to see another power exercising complete influence on it or others. Thus, nations may form alliances so as to neutralize the emergency of hegemony. The result is that the alliances countercheck each other and as a result there is international order. It should be noted that peace is attained on condition that the creation of hegemony is averted (Freedman, 1989). In some instances, balance of power is a core component of peace. This is evident in situations where the defeat of a Great Power results in a power vacuum. In order to prevent any other country from gaining extreme influence, the defeated power may be shown leniency so as to preserve peace. In conclusion, it is evident that the main motivating factor for balance of power is to maintain order. Countries form alliances in order to guarantee their own survival. Introduction Balance of power is a concept that forms a core part of international relationships. ... Theories have been fronted to explain the concept of balance of power and its origins. According to Bass, a state may respond to a threat in its national security by joining forces with other threatened states. This leads to formation of alliances that cause a shift in the dynamics of power. Although it is difficult to measure â€Å"power† in absolute terms, shifting of political alliances usually play a critical role the amount of influence that a nation or nations exercise internationally (Claude, pp. 80-81). As such, the countries are engaged in theatrics to continually counter check each other in terms of the power that they wield against each other. On the other hand, balance of power may be taken as a system or guide to policy making in international relationships. Butterfield (1966) suggests that balance of power is an organic and natural response of individual states to the dynamics of politics on the international scale. In essence, balance of power is a methodology f or self preservation which may not be necessary be motivated by a current threat (Henrikson, 1981 p. 157). This essay aims to discuss the role of balance of power in international relationships among countries. It evaluates critically how balance of power relates to international order and peace in the globe. Various historical scenes are evaluated to give a clear illustration of how balance of power shaped the political landscapes world. Balance of power for international order and peace The international political landscape is inevitably dynamic and prone to various rapid changes. Therefore, countries continually seek to find ways of strengthening themselves so as to be a good position to attain their interests of prosperity. In the process of strengthening themselves

The Terrorist Among Us Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Terrorist Among Us - Research Paper Example The second bombing was outside a building, near an abortion clinic, whichwas believed to have been the prime target in the bombing. His actions did only portray him as a hero to the people in the community who had similar views, but also encouraged some of his followers to commit similar acts (Collett, 2005). To make it worse, a restaurant even came up with the sign saying â€Å"Rudolph eats here† as a way of trying to reach out to more customers who had similar affiliations as Eric Rudolph. At the time of the two bombings, people were not that open to the idea of gay marriage or abortion. As of 1996, gay people and abortion was not a generally accepted fact among the members of the society. After managing to accept the death sentence, Rudolph wrote a over a dozen essays stating is beliefs on abortion and gays. Although a mail bomb is a rather rare occurrence, people need to be on the lookout for any suspicious mail that may arrive at their premises or organizations. In most instances, the return address is normally nonexistent of fictitious. In most cases, if not all, the bomb mails are normally addressed to particular people. The letter bombs always targets individuals Additionally, the bomb mails are usually marked as private. They are normally personal; and addressed a specific person unlike other forms of bombing. Personnel working in organizations need to be able to identify suspicious mail without necessarily opening it. There are various indicators, which may act as a red flag to mail bombs. Alternatively, there are various aspects, which may symbolize or give a clue to mail bombings. Some of the common aspects, which may indicate mail bombs, include excessive weight, attributed to the parcel of package, excessive postage, excessive postage material, unusual odors on the package an d excessive securing the material such as tape. In most cases, most

The Effects of Environmental Hazards on Prenatal Development Essay

The Effects of Environmental Hazards on Prenatal Development - Essay Example This essay is a critique of the effects of environmental hazards on prenatal development. It presents the impacts of the environmental influences especially during the initial stages of development whereby the vital systems of the body as well as tissues develop. Drugs are chemicals that are ingested for the purpose of treatment, to relieve pain or stress as well as for stimulation of the body. Some drugs are prescribed by a physician for curing a disease while others may be taken illegally for other reasons. Hepper et al. (2005) observes that more than 10% of the newborn defects are associated with ingestion of chemicals during pregnancy. The more the drugs or substances ingested, the severe the birth defects, especially when they are taken in the first 3 months of prenatal development. Some of the drugs are such as narcotics are infectious, leading to addiction in newborns. Research indicates that infants who were exposed to drugs such as heroin and such narcotics develop withdrawal symptoms shortly after birth. They may develop shivers, seizures and breathing difficulties (Stocks and Dezateux 2003). Other nicotine containing substances and carbon monoxide can adversely affect the fetus. Stocks and Dezateux (2003) observe that unprompted abortions are among the risks associated with maternal smoking. Bleeding is also associated with smoking during pregnancy, as well as the breakage of the amniotic sac before maturity. Generally, smoking is a potential cause of miscarriage and death of infants immediately after birth. If the fetus survives to maturity, the newborn is usually more than 20% lighter than the normal birth weight. The body size is also reduced, which is a sign of premature birth. Such infants suffer many health problems (Weisberg 2007). Alcohol is one of the most abused drugs during pregnancy, which may be attributed to ignorance and addiction. Hepper

Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics in Barclays Bank Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics in Barclays Bank - Essay Example Because of this novel innovation in CSR, Barclays presents an ideal context in which to explore the broader implications of community citizenship among banks. 1.2 Purpose of the study The study seeks to examine corporate social responsibility policies, including business ethics and its impact on Barclays bank practice and key stakeholders. It shall lay the foundations by describing Barclay’s history and environment, its organizational framework and the philosophy underlying its banking operations. The study shall proceed to detailing the bank’s CSR ethos, the programs by which it is fleshed out, and the manner by which the programs are executed. Finally, the study shall determine the effects of the CSR programs among its stakeholders, particularly its employees and customers. From these findings, the study may conclude whether or not its CSR philosophy and programs attain their objectives and contribute to the strategic goals of the firm. 1.3 Objectives The purpose of t his research will be achieved by targeting the following objectives: (1) To describe Barclays Bank as a business, detailing its history, organizational structure, operational philosophy, and corporate performance; (2) To investigate the CSR philosophy of Barclays and the manner in which this vision is sought to be realized by its programs and practices; (3) To assess the effectiveness of these CSR programs and practices towards the attainment of the CSR objectives and, ultimately, the organization’s overall strategic goals; and (4) To arrive at insights and recommend possible courses of actions that may contribute to the CSR efforts of banks in general. 1.4 Research questions The degree to which this research will be able to... The intention of this study is corporate social responsibility. One definition is that CSR is a matter of reporting the impact of corporate activities on its various stakeholders - i.e. customers, employees, shareholders and creditors, regulators and the government, communities, and society in general. Three schools of thought appear to emerge in CSR academic literature: the neo-liberal school which focuses on industry self-regulation; the state-led school which centers on national and international regulation; and the corporate-centered school which focuses on the role of the organization, depending on whether it is for-profit or not-for-profit. CSR did not develop as a well-defined concept overnight. The experience of National Westminster Bank, then the eighth largest in the world, mirrored that of many similar other banks. Among employees, as talented staff advanced up the hierarchy, in about 40 years they were at a point when too many people were chasing too few jobs. Some people had to be passed over, leaving them disillusioned and disaffected. Almost serendipitously at the time, however, the British National Gallery issued a request to the bank for money and an administrator to spearhead a fund-raising campaign. The bank assigned a then inactive branch manager to handle the project, which ended in success nine months earlier. Not long thereafter, seeing the success of this and subsequent similar projects, the bank’s personal manager and its board decided to establish National Westminster Enterprises, wherein it assigned more than one hundred of its administrators to assist various charities all over England.