Lebanon War 2006 Essay

The Lebanon War of 2006 began on July 12th, when Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on Israeli military positions stationed near the border between Lebanon and Israel. In the minutes during the ensuing chaos, Hezbollah militants crossed the border into Israel, and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers who they intended to use as collateral in a prisoner exchange with Israel. The war lasted until August 13, 2006, at which point the United Nations intervened. During the war, both sides targeted civilian areas, resulting in the deaths of over one thousand civilians and the displacement of thousands more. In an account of the 2006 Lebanese War published by the Anti-Defamation League, Hezbollah militants are accused of launching rockets into Israel with the intention of harming civilians. Conversely, it is explained that the Israeli military targeted Lebanese civilian areas because Hezbollah has been known to operate out and live amongst civilian homes and stores. In addition, it appears that the author of the account places the blame upon Hezbollah for igniting the war against Israel by launching rockets across the border in the years following the departure of Israeli forces from Lebanon, after the Lebanese Civil War and the Israeli siege on Beirut. The ADL reports that there were over twenty occurrences of attacks launched by Hezbollah militants on Israel between 2000 and 2006. The ADL, however, does not conclude its account of the events without addressing errors made by Israel. Many Israelis allegedly held their own government accountable for the destruction of parts of the country, not because the government retaliated against Hezbollah’s attack, but because â€Å"the military and country had been ill-prepared for the conflict and its soldiers ill-equipped† (ADL). Such accusations prompted the Israeli Prime Minister to order a commission of inquiry to address the accusations. In 2007 and 2008, the Winograd Commission announced that questionable decision making had taken place during the war by Israeli government officials. Rasha Salti’s personal account of the 2006 war from the perspective of a citizen living in Beirut makes no mention of Israel’s self-proclaimed guilt, however. Her compilation of notes written during the war instead portray the violent attacks and practical demolition of Lebanon – a country that had only recently managed to rebuild itself after the conclusion of the fifteen year civil war in 1990. Her frustration about the situation and her devastating accounts of civilian casualties during the 2006 war blame only the Israeli military and government because of the brutal force and destruction used against Lebanon. Salti even makes reference to the abduction of the Israeli soldiers, and criticizes the Israeli government for overreacting and launching a war against Lebanon in retaliation. The ADL’s description provides factual data that is not included in Salti’s â€Å"siege notes†, and alternately the â€Å"siege notes† provide a personal account of the war that any reader would be able to relate to and identify with. Despite reporting upon Israel’s Winograd Commission, the ADL clearly maintains the perspective that Hezbollah functions as a terrorist organization and was at fault for the 2006 Lebanon War. Salti, on the other hand, conveys a clear message about Israel’s vicious military and menacing government. The comparison of documents such as the ADL and Salti accounts of the 2006 Lebanon War illuminates the importance of collecting multiple sources of information before drawing conclusions about any historical event. References: http://www.mepc.org/ http://www.google.com

Quality Metal Service Center Essay

The key issue in the case is that the incentive compensation system does not motivate district managers to make decisions which are consistent with the strategy of Quality Metal Service Center (QMSC) because it is tied to the district’s target ROA. Acquiring the new processing equipment reduces the incentive bonus of the Columbus District Manager, Mr. Ken Richards, from 11.1% to 4.28% of his base salary. This happens because the asset base increases with the new equipment and will exceed the target for 1992. This may motivate him to not proceed with the purchase even if the proposal of the Sales Manager, Ms. Elizabeth Barret, shows that the acquisition results to a positive NPV and thus, should be sent to the home office for approval. To solve the issue, QMSC should use EVA instead of ROA as the measure of district and manager performance. Since EVA is the best proxy for shareholder value at the business unit level, improving EVA will also improve the company’s overall performance. The managers’ district objectives will then be congruent with the company’s overall objectives. This will induce Mr. Richards to employ additional assets which will promote the growth of both the Columbus district and QMSC, such as the one in Ms. Barret’s proposal. The purchase of the new processing equipment is also in line with the company’s objective to develop techniques and marketing program that would increase market share in identified industries and geographic markets of specialty metal users. Having the equipment will allow QMSC to provide the demand for processed metals in the Columbus District with a short lead time, addressing the concern of potential customers. Another aspect of the issue that needs to be looked into is the decision on what assets should be included in the investment base and what expenses should be charged from profits. QMSC includes land, warehouse buildings, and equipment at gross book value in its investment base. This results to an EVA that signals a decrease in profitability during the early years of the assets when in fact, profits increased. It will be better for the company to use annuity depreciation so that the profitability calculations will show the correct EVA. Leased buildings and equipment are also part of the asset base. This motivates managers to lease rather own assets whenever the interest charge that is built into the rental cost is less than the capital  charge that is applied to the investment base. Thus, the head office must think carefully before approving the leases of the districts as the managers might just be using it to window dress their performance. QMSC also includes inventory and accounts receivables, without subtracting standard accounts payable, using average values for the period. This is a good practice because these are representative of the assets used during the period and thus, conceptually a satisfactory measure of the amount that should be related to profits. On the other hand, QMSC’s computation for district profits is a fair approach because it only considers expenses that can be controlled by the district managers.

Reasons Why Cloning is Unethical Essay

From the day that ‘Dolly the sheep’ made it to the headline news, the controversy regarding her existence has never ceased. It is quite amazing, how the issues surrounding a sheep could create such a great divide on public opinion, stir up much debate in scientific halls, and whose implications caused a dilemma that reached a magnitude which needed a presidential decision. Needless to say, the debate did not concern agriculture or animal rights, but on how she came to be — by cloning. Contrary to popular belief, these clinical ventures though, were not done by sheer sense of adventurism, or by simple acts of human arrogance of ‘playing God’. Instead, this breakthrough in the field of biotechnology, along with other related cases, was carried out with the legitimate purpose of propagating livestock that carry desirable traits. Breeders can easily then raise farm animals that have the preferred traits and thus increase productivity and yield. Also, lab research for the noble intention of developing drugs, require numerous testing on animals before it can finally be declared effective and safe for human use. Cloning would allow them to produce test-animals that display similar or identical characteristics and thus help validate results. There are several other reasons why cloning is held by many scientists as an essential means for improving human condition. However, such so-called conditions had now been raised to the point of fulfilling needs other than physical necessities. Man’s many woes and flaws in life such as the pain of losing a loved one or childless couples having to bear the unfulfilled desire of loving and rearing their own children, are just a few of the many disadvantages that confronts finite man. Today through science, man is longing to challenge and ‘correct’ these impossible odds. Would cloning be the answer? II. Man’s Contemporary Alternative: Merits of Cloning-to Produce-Children Distinguished British philosopher Mary Warnock, expressed her support in favour of utilizing the technology of cloning to produce children. She believes that there is nothing wrong with this procedure and thereby there should be no question on the ethical soundness of such an endeavour (Connor, 2002). Together with the rest of those who agree with her, they believe that cloning offers an excellent solution for the following problems: A. To Help Sterile Parent/s Obtain Biologically Related Children Individuals or parents who long to have their own offspring, but are hindered by sterility or some other reason — the only presented solution so far have been adoption. There are different reasons why some had found this unsatisfactory. With cloning, a sterile man can now have the opportunity of producing a child that bears his own characteristics. The need to find a sperm donor is eliminated, and consequently eliminates the possibility of their child acquiring and passing on undesirable traits to future generation outside the couple. Such a method also opens for an attractive possibility not only for sterile couples but for homosexual couples and individuals who desire to raise a child of their own but do not want the entanglements of a marriage union. B. Pass-on a Genetic Disease Individuals or parents who carry defective genes such as a genetic disease can now hope to eliminate passing the disease to the following generations. Cloning would assure the parents of being able to raise children who will not be troubled by the heritable disorder. C. Pain of Losing a Loved One The grief of losing a loved one can now be alleviated by cloning the dying or dead significant person. Since cloning involves the passing on of exact physical characteristics, producing a cloned individual would invariably cause ‘replication’ of the deceased loved one or relative. Those who are left, will be comforted by ‘seeing’ their dead spouse, child or relative ‘live again’ on the cloned individual. Although, there would be major differences in experiences which would make it entirely impossible to make an exact copy of an individual in all aspects, cloning would bring a connection of the lost loved one with the grieving members. D. Society’s Desire to Have Individuals with Superior Abilities or Qualities Cloning brings families and societies to have super-human individuals by cloning outstanding athletes, musicians, men and women renowned for their beauty, or geniuses. By replicating these individuals, it is presumed that these superior qualities are determined by certain genetic make-up and thus, will be passed on through cloning. III. Reasons for Argument Cloning violates the ethics of human experimentation on the following grounds: A. Concern on Safety Of utmost concern when cloning humans is the high risk involved. As of the moment, the cloning procedure being done in experimenting mammals has shown how unsafe it is to be even applied in humans. Many embryos got wasted as it took 277 attempts before finally producing Dolly the sheep (Gawler, 2000). Barely just being six years old later, Dolly became severely ill and had to be submitted for euthanasia. Careful examination revealed that her chromosomes had shown premature signs of aging (â€Å"Cloning†). The possibility of creating inborn abnormalities or congenital defects caused by the procedure should even bring parents with a hereditary disease not to employ cloning. While it could hold promise of not passing on genetic diseases to their child, the latter is also vulnerable for congenital malformation. Also, since several donor eggs and substitute mothers are needed before achieving success, this places risks on several women. Experiments on animals had shown that there is high occurrence of premature abortion on cloned fetuses. If done on humans, continous abortion could lead to greater possibility of maternal death. B. The Issue of Consent Cloning also undermines the right of the cloned individual. In contrast to the risks that could bring to surrogate mother or the gene donor, the risks posed at the cloned individual do not have the individual’s consent. Most often, the right to exercise freedom is often called by those who promote it. This is often based on the ‘freedom to reproduce’. This means that the constitution protects individuals or parents to freely choose whether they are to have children or not (Eisenstadt v. Baird, 1972). However, in exercising that right, it overrides the freedom of choice on the cloned individual. True, reproductive freedom permits anybody to decide whether to have a child or not without hindrances by the government. It does not however, in any way, allow anyone to do it by whatever means and in complete disregard for the welfare of others. C. Possible Exploitation of Women Since cloning requires numerous tests before any attempts could become fruitful, large quantity of donor eggs will be needed. Getting the egg would subject the woman donor of hormonal treatment that gives high health risks. Furthermore, what would most likely happen is that these women donors would be offered a substantial amount of money, and thus could lure poor women to compromise their health in exchange for financial gain (Council on Bioethics, 2002). IV. Conclusion More often, the concern for safety is limited on the aspect of limiting or perfecting the procedure. It does not consider the possible undesirable effects it would have — after it is accomplished. This perspective of safety does not take consideration on the unexpected effects it would have on the individual, family involved and society in general. The relationships between members of those with cloned children would greatly be altered compared to conventional family set-up. Would the cloned individual of a father be his child or twin? Obviously, cloning will rearrange how family relations will be treated. Before any attempts to cloning-to-produce children be done, would be parent/s should give grave concern on the potential psychological effects this would have on the one being cloned. What also needs special consideration is it’s the social impact caused by confusion. Cloning might open for unnecessary expensive legal battles, over custody as to who really are the child’s parents. Each individual who has a part of the cloned child might fight to claim for custody over the child. Given that such asexual means to produce children is not strange, faulty or imperfect, there is serious error on the purpose by which it longs for implementation. It places more significance on the one which will be cloned by replicating the person, rather than the cloned child. Human experience has revealed that man has the tendency to abuse, and therefore such technology can be used for vain reasons. Cloning somehow claims to provide solutions for man’s problems, the solution however, creates more problems. Given the demerits of the cause, it would far benefit society to keep from toying with strange methods. Works Cited: 1. Connor, S. (2002). Warnock: ‘No ethical reason to ban cloning’. The Independent. Retrieved 20 Nov. 2008 2. Gawler, DM. Human cloning: Scientific, ethical and regulatory issues. [Electronic Version] Retrieved 20 Nov. 2008

Compare and contrast between stepford Wives and Black Sunday movies Essay

Compare and contrast between stepford Wives and Black Sunday movies - Essay Example The two films’ similarity is experienced in the different perspectives that are displayed by the different casts in both films; the presence of this diversity of perspectives adding to the enrichment of the films. Another similarity being that the context under which both the movies were based upon is mainly from the feminine perspective; in the former from Dahlia Iyad and the public in general while in the latter from Joanna and the rest of the Stepford womenfolk. Women’s roles in both films are defined as being home keepers and caretakers, thus the women should mind their own business and leave the men to play their roles. This is best displayed by the stepford women’s submissiveness to their gendered roles i.e. the cleaning, cooking and washing of dishes and clothing. When the men are having a game of golf, it is the womenfolk who act as the caddies; this adding to their submissiveness. The themes of Conspiracy and paranoia are present in both films. in Black Sunday, it is displayed in a number of scenes such as that where Dahlia and other members of the terrorist organization ‘Black Panther’ are held at gunpoint with the discovery of the pre-recorded message, by Dahlia taking credit for the attack; the fact that the terrorists could use unlikely objects to create dangerous weapons i.e. the Madonna statues, the blimp, the camera-like machine and the special dart gun. Also in the scene where Dahlia wears a nun’s uniform on her mission to murder the partner of Kabakov. The dual partnership, between an American war veteran and an emotionally scarred woman, to plot and carry out a terror attack further deepens the conspiracy theme. Paranoia as a theme is expressed in the scenes as portrayed from the anti-terror forces’ perspective; this is exemplified by Israeli agent Kabakov’s role in aiding the United States government in preventing the attack. The fact

Examination topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Examination topic - Essay Example The idea that informed the process of European integration was to establish institutional framework of shared sovereignty within EU economy. The eventual aim of the integration process is to foster economic integration which will ultimately form a framework for political integration at a later stage. European integration is informed by the regional integration theory whose greatest proponent was Stanley Hoffman (Cini, 2006, p. 19). According to Hoffman, regional integration theory asserts that national governments (which are sovereign) should control the speed and level of integration in the region that they exist in. This is evident in the European Union integration where the national governments are playing active role in controlling the speed and level of European integration. Hoffman argues that this theory requires any amplification of power at â€Å"supranational† be a result of member states’ direct decision. European integration was formed on the basis of region al integration theory which believes that integration which is driven by national governments are based on the economic and political issues that affect individual member states at a given period of time (Wiener and Diez, 2009, p. 33). ... He goes further and states that the existence of control usually allows the member states to make decision on the nature and extent of the cooperation between them without undermining directly their sovereignty. From this definition it can be deduced, therefore, that inter-governmentalism is a concept that treats national governments as primary actors in the process of integration. The proponents of inter-governmentalism see the integration terms and the rules that guide the process, as well as its institutions as a reflection of the relative bargaining power of different national governments who â€Å"pool† its efficiency and effectiveness without abnegating their sovereignty (Sweet and Sandholts, 2007, p. 298). Based on the concept of intergovernmentalism, the European Union has assigned implementation and monitoring of intergovernmental agreements responsibilities to international courts and secretariats as a way of locking each national government into integration commitme nt. This aspect is informed by the logic that through international courts and secretariats, national governments will be made to be the promulgators, initiators, mediators, promoters, and legislators of broadening and deepening of the European integration (Cini, 2006, p. 89). EU laws are divided into three interdependent forms of legislation: primary legislation which are produced through direct negotiations between national governments; secondary legislation which is based on the EU treaties and often take the dimension of decisions, recommendations, directives, or regulations; and the Council of the European Union which is the main body of legislation and

Creating shared valued Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Creating shared valued - Essay Example It is a shame that the responsibility of improving the social, economic problems has fallen on to the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). As companies are sole concentrating on profit maximization, these organizations are getting involved in activities that elevate the social, economic activities of the society. Because companies have failed to take up worthy causes, it has prompted the government to implement policies that force these companies to take up proactive measures to support the society. The government`s actions cause friction between them and the companies, who accuse the government of interfering with their activities. The best method to approach this problem lies in the principle of shared value. It entails the creation of economic value, which in turn addresses the society`s needs and challenges. It is good to remember that shared value is not a form of social responsibility, but a new and innovative way to bring success back to the society. When a society`s needs and challenges are addressed, the society can now fully focus on more productive ways to improve on their economic positions. It gives rise to the next major transformation in business

Significant Health Issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Significant Health Issue - Research Paper Example Different studies have shown that depression should be recognized as crucial issue by the practitioners. The major signs and symptoms of depression are losing interest, loss or change in the appetite, lack of interest in daily activities, change in sleep patterns. In a depressed state one may also feel low levels of energy and feeling of exertion even after having rest. If depression is not treated in a proper way it can result in physical sickness, isolation or in worst cases may lead a person to commit suicide (Styron, 1990). By dealing with the hurdles and utilizing a straightforward 20 questions Geriatric Depression Scale, diagnosis and cure can be performed with ease. The reports by NIH show that the symptoms of depression are represented by about 15 to 20% of the people who are over 60 to 65 years in age. Major and minor depression varies in rates from 5% to 30% from primary to long term setting. It has been shown that only 15 % of the old people receive the proper treatment fo r depression according to American Psychiatric Association (2002). The mortality rates in the old aged people due to depression are much higher as compared to the ones who are not suffering from it. The barriers for depression diagnosis by the patients and the practitioner are given as follows: By The Patient: †¢ Issues regarding perceptions or disgrace associated with psychological sickness †¢ Fear about condemnation by relatives †¢ Economic concerns related to expenditure of treatment †¢ Information and aptitude to identify symptoms of depression †¢ Anxiety concerned with other therapeutic occurrences like chronic sickness The Practitioner †¢ Unwillingness to pay attention †¢ Conviction that depression is a usual factor of growing old †¢ Non- familiarity or identification of symptoms †¢ Other medical situation is given priority Predominance of Elder Depression It has been found by extensive research that almost 25 to 30% of the elderly population shows symptoms of depression in one way or the other. The prevalence of depression in older women is two times more as compared to men of the same age. The depression in late life can lead to serious complications leading towards increased mortality and morbidity, higher costs of health care and prolonged stay at the hospitals. It has been estimated that 65% of older people having some mental problem want unmet psychological health services (Huisani, 2004). As the American people have longer life span, the disease and disability can not be avoided with the advancing age. It has been estimated that 55% or people at age 65 or older have some sort of disability and 35% are having severe disabilities. Therefore more than seven million elderly persons need some sort of help in order to perform daily activities of life like bathing, eating, cooking, travelling etc. All the above problems increase to further extent when the person moves to the age of 80+. Consequently, almost 20 % of the US adults are engaged in providing extraordinary care to their elderly relatives especially parents. These adults are at the same time involved in the brought up of their own children and also do jobs outside their home. So they are having a sort of double burden on them. Theoretically "Individuals involved in providing care to aging relatives and raising kids simultaneously at are known as the sandwich

Description Of The Photo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Description Of The Photo - Essay Example You can see the false smile on her face in the picture. The situation was so very perplexing to me that I could not give a true expression in the picture and, you can see, how confused and sad I was looking. I was sad because my mom and sister were sad. I was still trying to smile a bit but was really unable to hide the gloom that was bottling up inside me. That was the day I realized how much I missed my real father. I wished he was there with us that evening instead of my stepfather. The gloom that you can see in the picture has a whole background and we never knew what hurricane waited for us in the days to come. When I was six years old, my mother got divorced from my real father. I was too young to know the reason behind their separation and did not have even a glimpse of what was going on. I did not know what separation meant. My sister understood all of it but she pretended to be happy. So, I could not tell it from her expressions how affected she was. I was, however, very ups et when I came to realize after one year that my father was not going to live with us ever again. That realization was heart-wrenching for me. Whenever I met my father after that, I felt that he was really sad and depressed all the time. I remember how he would take me to church on Sundays and pray for our reunion. I was too small to do anything about it. All I wanted to do was to make my parents happy. After a few years, I got used to the idea of living away from my father and visiting him from time to time.... I was sad because my mom and sister were sad. I was still trying to smile a bit but was really unable to hide the gloom that was bottling up inside me. That was the day I realized how much I missed my real father. I wished he was there with us that evening instead of my stepfather. The gloom that you can see in the picture has a whole background and we never knew what hurricane waited for us in the days to come. When I was six years old, my mother got divorced from my real father. I was too young to know the reason behind their separation and did not have even a glimpse of what was going on. I did not know what separation meant. My sister understood all of it but she pretended to be happy. So, I could not tell it from her expressions how affected she was. I was, however, very upset when I came to realize after one year that my father was not going to live with us ever again. That realization was heart-wrenching for me. Whenever I met my father after that, I felt that he was really sa d and depressed all the time. I remember how he would take me to church on Sundays and pray about our reunion. I was too small to do anything about it. All I wanted to do was to make my parents happy. After a few years, I got used to the idea of living away from my father and visiting him from time to time. When I was eleven years old, my mother finally met someone in Italy when she was out for a fashion show. She never told me or my elder sister about him until the affair got serious. One day, she told me that she wanted me to meet him. I could sense something fishy was going on between the two of them; still, I made myself think that he was only a friend of hers. It was my sister who really complicated the things for my mom because she did not like the

Mobile Banking Technology and Innovation Management Essay

Mobile Banking Technology and Innovation Management - Essay Example Management has to face several challenges in the overall process of introducing the innovation in the market (Barton and Kraus, 1985). MOBILE BANKING TECHNOLOGY: There has been ongoing process of introduction of new technologies in the market every other day. However, all new technologies are not able to succeed and capture the considerable amount of market share. This requires proper and well thought planning and management. It should be ensured that the new technology which is introduced in the market is according to the needs and requirements of the customers (Souder and Sherman, 1994). Apart from this, the new technology should be user friendly and easy to use. All these factors increase the acceptance of the innovative technology. Mobile banking is one such technology, which have been introduced in order to provide customers with ease and comfort in the process of banking. In the start of banking facility, customers have to be physically present at the bank in order to make any kind of transaction. This requirement of physical presence gradually disappeared with the advent of different new technologies and facilities with passage of time. ... Mobile banking allows the customers to perform important transactions through their mobile phones and there is hardly any need of going to banks or being physically present there for the purpose of making transactions (Stair and Reynolds, 2009). There are several benefits of the mobile banking, not only for customers but also for the bank which is providing this facility. This facility of mobile banking can facilitates banks in reducing the charges associated with transactions, as low level of cost is associated with mobile banking. Along with this, the facility of mobile banking is easy and convenient for the consumers as it enables them to quickly access their bank account at any place and at any time (Krugel, 2007). INNOVATION AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT: The process of implementation of any change or innovation is always associated with several challenges and issue. These challenges and issues should be managed in an effective and efficient manner in order to ensure the successful impl ementation of the innovation. The process of innovation management is a complete change management process. Management has to conduct force field analysis in order to identify important restricting and supporting forces. Next step is to come up with effective strategies and tactics in order to minimize the restricting forces and maximizing the supporting forces (Tidd, 2001). The restricting forces can be both external and internal. Innovation or new technology not only faces resistance on part of the customers but sometime employees are also responsible for the failure of any new technology or innovation. It is important for the management to keep in consideration

Miseducation of Filipino Essay Example for Free

Miseducation of Filipino Essay Prof. Renato Constantino, in his essay entitled â€Å"The Miseducation of the Filipino†, writes about the coming about of the miseducation and the consequences of such action in the lives of the Filipinos, then, now, and perhaps the future. Promoting and imposing the â€Å"unFilipino† identity in Filipinos was the miseducation that Americans pursued during the time when they â€Å"posed† as a benevolent ally to the Philippines, and they proved victorious indeed because they had completely subjugated the Filipinos, both in minds and in hearts. Education is a very vital factor for one’s development. And as we all know, through education, one’s mind is molded because of the teachings, ideas, and values taught to him. Due to this fact, it’s only either of the two that will happen: the person will become productive provided that he was taught with the right things, or, the person will become otherwise since he acquired negative things. Personally, I learned and realized many things about the history and relationship between the Americans and the Filipinos upon reading this paper. It is quite intriguing what the main reasons really were the Americans in taking power over the Philippines. Was it for the good of the Filipinos or the Americans’ good? Whatever it was, they succeeded in almost every aspect of conquering the land because they knew the most effective way to subjugate Filipinos minds: by controlling our education. They created a new generation of good colonials, the â€Å"unFilipino† Filipinos. The indigenous ways of life of Filipinos had been changed to the American way of life. That was ridiculous because certainly, America and Philippines vastly differed from each other in so many ways, and therefore, their ways of life based on their differing needs should be entirely different. But the Americans insisted on creating a â€Å"carbon-copy† of themselves in Filipinos through the imposition of their language in their education. I went to elementary and high school in the Philippines, and I know for a fact they used both English and Tagalog as the media of teaching. In the long run, I think this resulted in both positive and negative ways — positively, because I was uprooted to the U. S. and I was able to use the â€Å"smattering† English I know to communicate with others, and negatively, because as I have just realized, I feel the â€Å"impediment† in my thought process because I cannot think consistently in one language. All in all, I liked this piece because it reiterates the importance of education to not only produce literate people but also to produce people who would use that education to better their nation.

Mesotherapy Strategies and Techniques

Mesotherapy Strategies and Techniques MESOTHERAPY INTRODUCTION Mesotherapy is an art of injecting small quantities of various medicinal preparations such as vitamins, minerals and other conventional drugs directly into the mesoderm to treat pathological conditions locally. It involves the administration of intradermal or subcutaneous injections of compounds to treat a variety of medical conditions and avoiding systemic adverse effects due to drugs. It appears to be a novel technique to administer medicines local to the pathology while the skin serves as a natural time- release system. BACKGROUND OF MESOTHERAPY The term mesotherapy (derived from Greek mesos. â€Å"Middle† and therapeia to treat medically) denotes injection of substances into middle layer of skin ( mesoderm) for medical purposes. Historical aspects[1] Mesotherapy was originally used to treat painful conditions using local procaine injections. Michael Pistor who coined the term mesotherapy is considered the father of mesotherapy. In his original article,he described treating deafness, tinnitus, vertigo and headaches using local injections of procaine. Earlier to this in 1884, Koller an ophthalmologist used local cocaine to relieve pain. In 1925 Lerich used intradermal injections in the intercostal spaces. In 1937 Aron studied the use of intradermal injections to have an analgesic effect. Albert Lemaire, a Belgian physician used procaine injections to treat trigeminal neuralgia. In 1952, Michel Pistor a French physician popularized mesotherapy to treat various conditions in dermatology,sports,traumatology and vascular disease chiefly as a pain-relieving therapy. He defined mesotherapyas a techniquethat was used to treat mesoderm,(primary germ layer that develops into connective tissue, muscle and the circulatory system). In 1953, Dr .Mario Lebel invented a 3mm length needle that could be used precisely for injection of substances into the dermis. In 1964, the French society of Mesotherapy was founded by Michel Pistor and use of mesotherapy was extended to treat cosmetic conditions. The American influence was evident after Dr. Lionel Bissoon popularized the technique in North America. Despite the fact that mesotherapy is gaining popularity in aesthetic medicine especially for localized cellulite reduction, it continues to be a controversial topic and therefore requires cautious approach. The safety and efficacy of these mesotherapy remain ambiguous to patients and physicians alike. [2] Applied basic science [1, 3] The concept that led to discovery of mesotherapy is quite interesting. Pistor saw recovery of chronic hearing loss while treating a patient with procaineinjections for an asthma attack. Subsequent intradermal injections of this product into the mastoid region proved this effect to be true. However the depth of injection was considered important. This led the researchers to the fact that at a depth of 1.5 to 2mm the local activity of the product would last longer due to a persistent reservoir with weak local diffusion in the dermis whereas products injected into dermis would dissipate to greater distances.A product when injected intradermally acts in two ways. Firstly, by stimulating dermal receptors in situ and secondly, over long distances by reaching other organs via circulation. A concept of meso-interface exists which is the surface of contact established between the injected products and the tissue injected. The more the multiple punctures are made and the more fragmented produc ts are delivered in small quantities, the greater the meso-interface and proportionately greater numbers of dermal receptors get activated.Pistor has always described this technique as follows. â€Å"A little volume, a few times and in the right place†. The idea was that by placing these products in the dermis, the skin acts as a reservoir for drugs to diffuse slowly via microcirculation to activate dermal receptors. A general mechanism of action (based on the target site, dermis) and a specific mechanism of action (based on the ingredients used) has been proposed to explain the concept of mesotherapy. The dermis is considered to be common denominator for circulatory, neurological and immunological functions; and the general mode of action is believed to occur by correction of these altered functions. Individual drugs or agents target the specific indication of mesotherapy. EQUIPMENTS The various equipments used in mesotherapy are Mesogun (Fig 1) Mircromesotherapy device Needleless Mesotherapy Mesogun Mesogun is a syringe infusion pump that is capable of injecting the desired substance at a required amount, speed and depth using the injector and needle. Syringes varying from 2cc-10cc and needle lengthsvarying in size from 4mm to 13mm can be used based on the indication, and desired depth of injection. A device known as guide is used to keep the needle at a constant depth. Once the parameters are chosen, the product can be injected by one of the following modes. Continuous – Min 3cc/min Max 10cc/min. Mircrodose – Max0.1cc/trigger. Standard dose – Max 0.3cc/trigger. Mesoperfusion – Max 0.3cc/trigger. Nappage – 0.1cc/trigger. Advantages of Mesogun Good comfort level for patient and physician Procedure is faster and relatively painless Accurate delivery system Versatality – Ability to perform various modes such as nappage, continuous, mesoperfusion in dosimetry. Syringes used in Mesogun: Generally 1ml, 5ml, 10ml and 20ml syringes with luer lock system is used based on the indication. MesoNeedles (Fig2 a): Mesoneedles or â€Å"Lebel needles† are commonly used in mesotherapy.The John Screw needles have an adjustable length.The recommended parameters for needles are based on the site of injection: Face and neck – 4mm 30G mesoneedles Fat and cellulite – 6mm 30G mesoneedles,  ½ inch 30G needles. Multi-injectors and plates (Fig2 b): These accessories help to cover larger areas in a short time facilitating faster and easier procedure for the injector. There are sterile circular and linear multi-injectors with needles ready to be used for any body part. Micromesotherapy Device Micromesotherapy is an evolution of conventional mesotherapy. Usually mesotherapy uses needles to deliver drugs in deep dermal layer. Here a reverse cone shaped device has ultrafine needle 32Gx2mm by which drugs are injected into the superficial layer of dermis therebyminimizing incidence of bruising, pain and scarring. Needle-Less Mesotherapy or No Needle Mesotherapy This is a needle free device that pushes mesotherapy products painlessly through the skin using electrical waves known as isophoresis. The main features of needle less mesotherapy are: Less painful and less traumatic Uses ultrasound/electroporation technology. Probably around 20% efficiency compared to traditional mesotherapy as there is no neocollagenesis or neo angiogenesis reactions that occur with needle micro injury. This may be an option if mesotherapy is not allowed in the country. It has been discussed in details in Chapter 12. MESO SOLUTIONS (Fig6[VG1] The basic requirements of meso products is that it should be approved and skin-compatible.Systemic administration (intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous or intradermal) should be safe and known pharmacological actions to be effective. The ingredients used in mesotherapy products should be water soluble, isotonic and non-allergenic. The mesoproducts vary with the indications chosen for treatment. [4] [ Figure 3]Products used for mesotherapy involves combination of products some of which are main ingredients known as principals as they have high grade of evidence in the treatment of each indications and complementary agents that have been approved for treatment of each indications. For a mixture to be effective it should contain 2 – 3 principals for any given indication. Therefore the ingredients in mesosolutions are broadly classified into main categories: Principal (P) / Major Complementary (C) / Minor. The main targets for mesotherapy are skin, hair, fat and cellulite. (Table 11.1). Table 11.1 Principal and Complementary ingredients in meso solutions in various indications INDICATION PRINCIPAL/MAJOR COMPLEMENTARY/MINOR SKIN REJUVENATION Mesolift Hyaluronic Acid5 DMAE Organic silicum Fibronectin + Vegetal Proteins Vitamin C Glycolic Acid Xadenal Vitamin A Growth Factors Stem Cells Mesoglow Hyaluronic Acid Siloag Vitamin C Xadenal Taurine Meso lightening Kojic Acid Azalaic Acid Vitamin C Glutathione Tretinoin Glycolic Acid Striae or stretch marks Stretch Marks Organic silicum Centella Asiatica Vegetal Proteins + Fibronectin DMAE Vitamin C Idebenone Hair Loss Androgenetic Alopecia Minoxidil Finasteride Dutasteride Dexenol Biotin Amino acids Peptides Zinc Azelaic Acid Stem Cells Telogen effluvium Biotin Dexapanthenol Pyridoxine Multi Vitamins Trace Elements Cellulite and Fat Meso Cellulite Caffeine Carnitine Aminophylline DMAE Rutin Artichoke Yohimbine Procaine Vitamin C Fat deposits Body Sculpting, localized fat, Cellulite PPC Deoxy cholate L – Carnitine Aminophylline Pentoxifylline DMAE -Dimethylaminoethanol ; PPC Phosphatidylcholine TECHNIQUES FOR MESOTHERAPY INJECTIONS The mesoproducts can be injected into the skin by various injection techniques to reach desired depth.The commonly used techniques and the desired depth reached are summarized in Table 11.2and Illustration 11.1 Table 11.2: Techniques and depth in mesotherapy injections Technique Depth Intraepidermal 1mm Papular 2mm Nappage 2-4mm Point by point 4mm Mesoperfusion > 4mm The salient features of various techniques are outlined below: Intra-epidermal This is one of the most superficial of the techniques described by Perrin. Depth: 1mm within the epidermis Painless, no bleeding Simple and large surface covered Ideal for patients with low pain threshold Ideal for facial rejuvenation, mesoglow Papular Depth:2mm dermoepidermal junction Painful Useful in mesobotox Ideal treatment of wrinkles Nappage(French for ‘covering’) Also known as picotage is the classic injection technique in mesotherapy. (Illustration 11.2) It is the most widely used technique in aesthetic dermatology. The syringe is held obliquely and the physician applies constant pressure on the plunger flicks the wrist to infuse a drop of the solutioninto the dermis(Fig 4). The injections are 2-2.5mm deep and 1cm apart. This technique can also be used for injections using a mesogun. (Fig 5) Depth 2-4mm Less pain and less bleeding Ideal for rejuvenation and scalp treatments Point by Point(Fig 6) Depth 4mm Perpendicular injection Ideal for fat reduction Mesoperfusion Depth > 4 mm Mesosolution is injected slowly over a priod of 10 minutes Not commonly used in dermatology PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF MESOTHERAPY Indications and contraindications for mesotherapy are listed in box 11.1 and box11.2. Box 11.1 Indications for mesotherapy Box 11.2 : Contraindications for mesotherapy Related to patient Unrealistic expectations Body mass index greater than 30 Pregnancy / Lactation H/O strokes, recent cancer. H/o multiple meds for heart disease H/o allergy to ingredients e.g. Soy proteins, lignocaine. Autoimmune disorders Epilepsy Insulin dependent diabetes Related to product Aminophylline – Known hypersensitivity to drug, active peptic ulcer, Pentoxiphylline, aminophylline- recent cerebral retinal bleed L. carnitine – history of seizure disorder Phosphatidyl choline relative contraindications with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome Caffeine – arrhythmias, anxiety, insomnia hypotension Mannitol – pulmonary edema, renal disease. Patient selection Selecting the patient with a valid indication for mesotherapy is the key to success. Care should be taken to avoid patients with active skin diseases, too elderly and patients with history of sensitive skin. For androgenetic alopecia better results are seen in patient with Grades 1 – 3. Counseling and preparing the patient A proper counseling is essential before starting mesotherapy. Patients with body dysmorphic disorders and those with unrealistic expectations should not be treated. Alternate procedures should be discussed sufficiently as mesotherapy is still in the controversial stage. A written informed consentis mandatory in the present medical scenario. A good before and after clinical photograph is needed to evaluate results following the procedure. Procedural aspects The area to be treated is marked and thoroughly cleaned with an antiseptic solution. For anesthesia, a local anesthetic cream may be applied or ice-anesthesia can be used to numb the treatment area. Patients are preferably injected in a lying down position. The required quantity of ingredients is drawn into the syringe using an 18Gx11/2needle. The injection is given either manually or using a device to deliver by the papular, nappage or point by point technique. A gentle massage is given after the treatments. Fresh normal saline and a mositurising cream can be applied to the treated area and massaged gently. [9]. The procedure takes about 20 – 30 minutes depending on the indication and area to be treated. There is no downtime after the procedure and the patient will be able to return to normal activities immediately. Good results are seen with mesotherapy done for skin rejuvenation, cellulite and double chin. [Fig 7, 8, 9] Post procedure care and counseling for follow up There may be mild pain, pinpoint bleeding, itching, burning or erythema after the injection which will subside spontaneously. Bruising and hematoma can appear occasionally and can be managed symptomatically. Mild swelling at site of injection may require anti-inflammatory agents for few days. The patients need to be counseled on the following aspects: Avoid sun exposure and smoking for next 48 hours Loose fitting clothes to be worn especially after lipolytic injections. The area to be treated is generally massaged after 72 hours and continued daily till disappearance of nodules if any. Follow up: Generally treatments are given once every 1-2weeks for 6 sessions, then once a month for 5months. Maintenance sessions are to be done once or twice a year. This protocol may be altered depending on the indication, patient’s lifestyle, financial position and response to previous treatments. Complications Though there are few evidence based studies on the efficacy of mesotherapy, there are documented reports on various complications. [10-17] The complications can be classified as local and systemic complications. (Box 11. 3) Box 11.3: Complications Local Bruising Burning or itching Pain, Tenderness, swelling Urticaria [10] Skin necrosis, Ulcers [11] Abscess [12] Hyper pigmentation Atypical mycobacterial infection [13] Rare – granulomatous panniculitis [14,15], koebnerisation, granuloma annulare, Oleoma [16] Systemic Anaphylaxis Nausea Vasovagal shock Hepatic toxicity Nerve demyelination Allergy to specific ingredients Thyrotoxicosis Ischaemic colitis [17] Management of Complications: Bruising:  It is a common but preventable complication. Always advice patient to stop aspirin or NSAIDs at least 2 weeks prior to the day of procedure. While injecting be slow and gentle. It is advisable to avoid mesotherapy during menstruation. Burning/Itching:  Burning can be overcome by adding lignocaine to the products if compatible. A mesomask applied immediately following procedure can also minimize burning and itching as it has a soothing effect. Pain/Tenderness: Procedural pain can be minimized by using adequate topical anaesthesia. Immediate post treatment pain can be alleviated by cold compresses with ice. Other methods that help to minimize pain are by pinching the skin for point by point injections or by stretching it when giving a nappage. Change needles after every few pricks to reduce the pain caused by blunt injecting needles Urticaria:  Urticaria can be avoided by a careful history to avoid products that would provoke an allergic reaction. E.g. phosphatidyl choline in individuals with history of allergy to soy proteins. Skin necrosis:  Skin necrosis occurs usually with phosphatidyl choline when the injections are given superficially Ulcers:  Ulcers can due to infection or irritant nature of the drugs. Irritant induced ulcers can be prevented by minimizing the number of drugs used in the cocktail to 4 or 5. Infective ulcers can be avoided by disinfecting the treatment area thoroughly and by wearing sterile gloves and using sterile equipment and materials. Hyper pigmentation:  This can be avoided by advising the patient photo protection for 48 hours after the procedure and by addition of topical skin lightening agents in patients with a history of post inflammatory hyper pigmentation. COMBINING MESOTHERAPY WITH OTHER TECHNIQUES Mesotherapy can be combined with other techniques to enhance results.Soon after injection of mesotherapy products, ultrasound, radiofrequency or electroporation may be applied to help in better diffusion of the injected products. The techniques are discussed in chapter 12. Mesomasks can be applied immediately after the injections to minimize bleeding points and to overcome the discomfort that follows injections.It is a 150 g of powder to be mixed with water to form a paste which is applied for 15minutes as a mask over gauze. This allows all products to penetrate deeper in the skin to give a better effect. These masks contain a mixture of calcium sulfate, talc and orange oil. Other procedures such as chemical peels, fillers and neurotoxins can be carried out between the mesotherapy sessions. In countries where mesotherapy is not practiced, mesotherapy products can be used following cosmetic skin needling. By using a dermaroller in the area to be treated, it is possible to create micro perforations that will be used as channels to deliver a product deeply into the skin. CLINICAL STUDIES Mesotherapy has been in history for a long time and there are proponents who have been successfully using it in practice for the benefits of their patients. However there are few indexed studies about the safety and efficacy of mesotherapy but many about its complications, hence it only natural to distrust proponents in relation to this technique Hence adequate controlled studies are needed to establish the value of mesotherapy in aesthetic dermatology. [18] Mesotherapy for skin rejuvenation, treatment of local fat deposits, body sculpting have been assigned Evidence Level C, whereas cellulite treatment has been assigned Evidence Level D [18]. Few recent studies have shown promising results for mesotherapy in various aesthetic indications. A study by Larruba et al showed good results with hyaluronic acid mesotherapy on photoaging and assessed by ultrasound techniques. [5] A study by Savoia etal showed promising [VG1] An excellent compilation with evidence for few of them are given in these two articles from IJDVL Sarkar R, Garg VK, Mysore V. Position paper on mesotherapy. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2011;77:232-7 Konda D, Thappa DM. Mesotherapy: What is new?. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2013;79:127-34 Another review of various indication s of mesotherapy is in this article by Dr. premlatha 3.Latha P. and Vandana K.R. / International Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutics / 1 (1), 2011, 19-29 ( full text available of all three) The meso solutions can be tabulated in the format below Indication Product Mechanism of action ( should include original intention versus intention in mesotherapy e.g. aminophylline was originally used for brochodilation. In mesotherapy it is used for vasodilatation etc Evidence grade ( wherever available)

Causes and Effects of Consumerism

Causes and Effects of Consumerism Sarah Mutaher Introduction Consumerism is the term used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption. Today we live in a consumer culture obsessed world. Consumption encompasses our everyday lives and structures our everyday agendas. The values, meanings and costs of what we consume have become an increasing important part of our social and personal experiences. The main factor enforcing our actions in this way is the news media. The news media is filled with information about consumption- not only in the form of advertising but also as news about businesses, lifestyles and economic indicators. However none of this tells us how we came about as a culture that associates freedom with the freedom of consuming anything of our choice and as a means of self-fulfillment. Analysis Consumerism is not just an issue that has come about in this new age and modern time it has been around for decades. For the most part, we only become aware of consumption when it is a problem, when there is environmental degradation caused by the production of goods in excess and more than we can consume. To understand this social phenomenon we must first understand the social and historical context of a consumer society. All cultures have found meaning in material goods. Objects resemble a social status or go further than that and have an emotional attachment with ones self. Goods are not only consumed for there material characteristics, but even more for what they symbolize- there meanings, associations and there involvement in our self image. Consumption is not simply the acquiring of products predestined meanings. Instead, it should be seen as a form of social consumer culture. While consumption is an act, consumer culture is a way of life. It is quite likely that never before in history has consumption become one of the central values of a culture. In modern society one learns merely to consume, and tasteful or appropriate consumption is only one of the numerous choices. It is this focus on consumption as a central worth that makes us a consumer culture. Consumption no longer seems to reflect our cultural values; it has itself become a cultural value. It has entered into the warp and turmoil of this fabric we call modern life. Every public space, every occasion for public gathering, every creative expression is seen as an opportunity to encourage more consumption. To understand how we have become this consumer crazy culture it is important to understand the humble beginnings of this crazy fixation. Before the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century, what people consumed was, either goods mad by family members or a person the consumer has a personal relation with. In early Europe the form consumerism took place in the weekly markets and seasonal fairs. The historical pattern in America was somewhat different. Unlike in Europe, where markets and fairs preceded the development of shops, in America shops emerged as the customary way of buying and selling in its early colonial period. It was not until the eighteenth century that markets and fairs became popular in the United States. Fashion is one of the key elements that fuel consumerism. Fashion not only includes clothing, but also any object where there is a concern for what is different, new and improved and which allows us to express our individuality. Fashion is so central to modern day consumption that it is difficult to imagine a culture in which it is not a major force. People throughout time have always been interested in the beautiful or in signs of status and in the pursuit of anything that brings them pleasure or happiness. It was during the last quarter of the sixteenth century in England that consumption first took off amongst the European nobility. This powered to two important developments. First, Queen Elizabeth the first used the dramatic spectacle of fashion as a display of government power. Second, she forced social competition among the nobility by removing them from their locality where they were clearly superior and forcing them to attend the London court where they had to compete with equals. Previously consumption had always been a family matter and what benefited the family the most. But now Elizabethan noblemen began to spend less on their families and more on themselves to further show there class and status. Josiah Wedgewood was one of the pioneers in the consumption phase. He had this new understanding of fashion and the market place.ÂÂ   Wedgewood was a manufacturer and retailer of pottery in the eighteenth century. He was the first to recognize that if the rich and elite could be induced to adopt fashions, the other classes would follow soon. There are only certain societies where it is possible for a fashion to spread to the higher class to the lower class. Fashion has to be affordable for those in the lower class and the classes must be close enough with some fluidity between them that those in the lower class could imagine themselves owing what those in the upper class have. In England during this period the lower class was eager to possess whatever the upper class deemed fashionable. Wedgewood understood the immense financial potential of such a social situation and learnt how he could control it. His fashion tool was pottery. Wedgewood learned to closely observe what the upper class was buying in order to predict what direction the lower class consumption habits would follow through. Another factor adding to the consumer culture is the portrayal of this culture. In the United States consumption spurred as a symbol for rebellion rather than a symbol a homogeneous conformity. Schutte and Ciarlante describe Coca cola, Levis and Marlboro as symbols of individualism and freedom. Three phrases from Stuart and Elizabeth Ewens Channels of Desire (1982) which they see as indicative of the recent tendencies within consumer culture describe it best. Today there is no fashion: there are only fashions. No rules, only choices. Everyone can be anyone. This suggests there is a war against uniformity, a surplus of difference which results in a loss of meaning. The repercussion is that we are moving towards a society without fixed status groups in which the adoption of styles of life which are fixed to specific groups have been surpassed. We have been encouraged to buy in order to establish our individuality in a mass-produced culture. To express our disgust with consumption by more consumption, to purchase the latest improved traditions. Now people are encouraged to buy to convey their rejection of homogenized lifestyles. This anti-consumption attitude only fuels more consumption. Years ago, many people imagined that life would be idyllic in the 21st century. Technology would have cured most human short-comings, and there would be abundance of resources available for all. Population growth and over consumption underlie many of the invasive environmental and social concerns that humans face today. Over consumption of our natural resource base is jeopardizing ecosystems throughout the world. Wealthy nations like the US amount to 20 percent of the worlds population, yet they use more than 70 percent of the earths resources and generate an even higher volume of wastes. Some of these wastes are released into the atmosphere, rivers and oceans, others are land filled or incinerated, a small part is recycled. The standard notion of economic development envisions the rest of the worlds population moving progressively up the ladder of mass consumption. Clearly, the environmental implications of the global spread of mass consumption for resource use and environmental was te is staggering. In present times design culture also has greatly been influenced consumerism. Cities such as Las Vegas have dedicated there entire landscape to advertising to feed the need of consumerism. For the Utopian design at hand I have targeted the hospitality sector of the economy which attracts consumers owed to the hectic and fast-paced life we live today. I have chosen the Singapore Cricket Club for my bar and restaurant. The design is held together by the concept of network. Taking into consideration that the bar is the main attraction of a bar and highest revenue earning point in an FB. Using the concept of network my design directs all consumers towards the bar. The bar acts as the main attraction of my design which can be viewed from all levels and spaces. The unconventional feature of the bar is that it suspends 3000mm from the ground. As people walk through narrow corridors directing them towards the bar they are suddenly engulfed by the large open suspending bar and LED lighting panels from the ceiling going past 3 floors lighting up the entire design and focusing mainly onto the bar. The cuckoo club in London is a great example of how the bar acts as a key attraction in the premises. The entire space communicates glamour, drama and luxury. It represents a grand, dramatic film set with huge doors sweeping stairs, silk and voile drapes. The bar acts as a key feature covered entirely in gold sequins, set beneath a ceiling of diamond pattern panels of LED lighting (acrylic domes set into panels and then colour-washed across the whole ceiling), fringed with diamante beading. The lighting is flexible, varying from simulated daylight to pinks and purple in the night. The second case study chosen is Wine tower bar in UK. A 13 meter high wine tower forms the alluring centre point of the Radisson SAS Hotel lounge and bar at Stansted airport. The temperature controlled structure, constructed out of 6.5 tons of laminated glass, a steel core and a pyramid shaped roof, is fitted with an acrylic rack filled with 4,000 bottles of red and white wine. The enchantingly lit column not only serves as a large open wine rack but also functions as a theatre in which 4 graceful wine angels suspended on cables collect the bottles ordered by the guests. With the help of remote control and computer controlled winches, these women glide effortlessly up and down, whilst also slipping in a few acrobatics in the between. Conclusion In conclusion, Consumer culture has been incredibly successful. Not only has it been successful in satisfying our needs and desires, but it also has been successful in redefining what are needs are and expanding our desires. If we accept these desires as natural or inevitable, then consumer society seems natural and inevitable as well. Consumerism on the other hand does not only feed our desires but has left this earth with beyond reconcilable damages. Today are demand for goods is increasing beyond the capability of what our earth can come up with it. If our greed for consumption keeps increasing we will have to very soon give up our basic needs because our demands cannot be kept up with.

Responsibility of Friar Lawrence in Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essa

â€Å"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star- crossed lovers take their life, Whose misadventured piteous overthrows, Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.† There are many reasons to the tragedy of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy, of Romeo and Juliet, involves a pair of ill- fated lovers who by their deaths will end the long and bitter feud that has been raging between their families for centuries. There are many incidents that occurred and many people could be blamed for the deaths of the two lovers. However, I believe that Friar Laurence is the one character most at fault for the tragedy that occurred. One of the mistakes that Friar Laurence made was sending Friar John with the letter to inform Romeo of the plan. â€Å"I’ll send a Friar with speed to Mantua, with my letters to thy lord. (Act 4- Scene 1, Pg. 100)† He should have instead sent Romeo’s servant Balthasar. â€Å"Her body sleeps in Capels’ monument, And her immortal part with angels lives. I saw her laid low in her kindred’s vault, And presently took post to tell it to you. (Ac... Responsibility of Friar Lawrence in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Essa â€Å"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star- crossed lovers take their life, Whose misadventured piteous overthrows, Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.† There are many reasons to the tragedy of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy, of Romeo and Juliet, involves a pair of ill- fated lovers who by their deaths will end the long and bitter feud that has been raging between their families for centuries. There are many incidents that occurred and many people could be blamed for the deaths of the two lovers. However, I believe that Friar Laurence is the one character most at fault for the tragedy that occurred. One of the mistakes that Friar Laurence made was sending Friar John with the letter to inform Romeo of the plan. â€Å"I’ll send a Friar with speed to Mantua, with my letters to thy lord. (Act 4- Scene 1, Pg. 100)† He should have instead sent Romeo’s servant Balthasar. â€Å"Her body sleeps in Capels’ monument, And her immortal part with angels lives. I saw her laid low in her kindred’s vault, And presently took post to tell it to you. (Ac...

American Imperialism Essay -- essays research papers

Since its inception, America as a nation has developed and progressed according to trends of change that collectively define an era. Like all other eras, the time period of 1875-1925 experienced growth, changes, movements, and new ideals. It is the way that these changes came about that defines this era. Americans started to push for changes in many arenas of life that were previously unchallenged. New experiences and opportunities were also presented to America that caused tributaries in the former American ideal. These pressures for change could not be ignored and thus America continued its maturity in a new and unique manner. The changes in the American sphere of life and the development of greater organization, the largest underlying theme of the time period, facilitated the surgence of new foreign and military policies, urban reform policies, economic reform policies, neo-federalism especially in dealing with business, social reform policies, and the quality of life. The period from 1875-1900 was considered the "Gilded Age". On come the no-name presidents. There is a reason though, why these presidents were no-name presidents. It is because all the power that the presidency gained from Lincoln, was lost during reconstruction. Most things in American life were considered to be things that the government, especially the president, should not touch. The laissez-faire philosophy was in full force. The lack of interference allowed the giants like John D. Rockefellar, Andrew Carnegie, and J. Pierpont Morgan to rise to almost divine status. This is where organization comes to play. Business began to realize that by organizing their power and joining together in bonds such as cartels, later pools, and finally trusts, that they could maximize the exploitation of the growing American population. With this fusion of power and the creation of megacorporations, abuses in the course of industrialization concerning labor and the environment devel oped. This reaction to the weak central government led to the opposition of these abuses. It is a natural pattern that opposition would occur, but the fact that organized opposition began to grow is what separates these resistences from the oppositions of the past. Immigration reaches its peak during the gilded age and shifts from the "old immigratio... ...an frontier for the first time in history, no longer existed. The frontier symbolized the freedom of a place to go when things got boring. The frontier was a safety valve for people to go settle new territories, and to find raw materials. Now with the frontier gone, the idea of taking foreign territories looked like the best way to replace that frontier. Increasingly, the Americans had started to flex their muscle in the affairs around the world. Finally, it became clear that an imperialistic stance for America would be necessary in order to keep up with all the other western powers. In conclusion, many changes in American life especially industrialization forced America to react to the new situations being presented to it. The people developed opinions on certain issues and actively pursued change. This forced America to experience things that it never had in the past. It marked the rise of America as a substantial world power, the removal from isolationism, and the changing of the quality of life. The organized responses of the era, are its stamp on American history, and are responsible for all the changes of the era.

Monitoring and evaluation Essay

Evaluating development programmes 5 What is impact evaluation? 6 Types of evaluation 7 Evidence-based policy making 8 Evaluation questions; hypotheses and performance indicators Development Finance (IFMR) Monitoring an Dec 2,2013 2/11 d Evaluation It is a process that increases â€Å"the range of human choice† [sen,2000] Development is a multidimensional concept: HDI (UNDP) Growth is unidimensional: PCI, GDP Growth and development are interdependent: two-way causality Inclusive growth or growth with a ‘human face’ Eradication of â€Å"capability† deprivations: hunger, malnutrition, access to healthcare, education, etc. Efficiency vs Equity: Bhagwat’ vs Sen 3/11 Development economics as a discipline Emerged in 1940s (following World War II): Asian, African and Caribbean colonies became independent How to achieve development in these emerging economies? Their problems are wholly different from those in advanced countries Need for planning was felt Promoters of development: The World Bank and its affiliates, agencies of I-IN, etc. New evelopment economics went beyond classical(Smith, Malthus, Ricardo) and neoclassical predecessors 4/11 lopment economics as a discipline Why a separate discipline? â€Å"Development economics consists in part of the refinement of general economics to deal with questions which arise in the context of development, and partly of certain special ideas which have proved useful in studying developing countries. † [Bliss, Handbook of Development Economics(1989)] Development economics is dead (Hirschman, 1981; Lal, 1983): ‘East Asian Miracle’ as a triumph of free market Initial phase: industrialisation (Mahalanobis model); inward looking policies

Preparation Sheets Essay

1.Notwithstanding challenging business conditions in China, do you think Australian business needs to exit Europe and America and focus on Asia? Justify your answer. As seen in the previous few years the Asian market has boom in the world economy. China emerges centre stage and it’s the economy is closely intertwined with the world at large. It is the world’s largest consumer marketplace. The averaged over 10% economic growth while the global financial crisis is going by preceding years; China gains the superpower economy status in the world. While the subsequent economic downfall and problems in the European and the American zone; The Asian and Pacific Rim economies are still continue to grow and soon expected to be larger than those of the European Union. The growing prominence of the firms like Honda, Toyota and Sony of Japan and the Samsung and Hyundai of South Korea are few of the companies which boost the Asian market in the world. Hence in spite of challenging market conditions in china, I think Australians business needs to enter the Chinese market rather than focusing on EU and America. 2.How would you set about building relationships with Chinese counterparts in order to establish a business operation there? The two keys to success are the relationship building, networking and dealing with the ethical, trustworthy people. By setting up business operations in many well placed regions so as to take advantage of inter-regional trade across the countries and with Australia. The other aspect is by joint venture or co- ownership in the business helps to understand the business culture, market strategies, and the mentality of the local investors and the consumer needs. 3.Would it be better to invest in other Asian countries like India (with just as big a population)? It’s anytime better to invest in the nations with larger consumer market (like India). In past few years Indian market is growing fast and making its place in the world’s economy. India imports on a large scale and the Indian market is wide open for the foreign companies; in last few years with numbers of foreign brands coming in like In cars Mercedes to Ferrari, in IT IBM to Microsoft, in electronic Samsung to Apple and with the food chains like KFC to McDonalds. It is the biggest market for the foreign investors currently. So it’s the perfect time for the foreign investors to enter the Indian market. As unlike china, the India global business language is English which makes lot of difference to foreign investors to strategies and communicate straightforwardly with the local investors whereas the business policies are also familiar with the foreign markets. 4.What are the best investment strategies for Australian companies in China given the above case? According to the case study, the best investment strategies included are setting up the business in well placed regions so as to take advantage of inter-regional trade across the country. Developing projects in the remote areas; and setting up business in joint venture or with co- ownership is always successful to establish itself in the new territory.

Statistics Cheat Sheets

The 95% confidence interval indicates that between 14% and 34% of Kayoed rental properties are rented to families Contrary to the claims made by Kayoed, less than 35% of their properties are rented to families. According to a web advertising company, the impact of pop up ads depends on age. A random sample of 60 web surfers are asked if they remember a specific internet ad. The age of each respondent is recorded as teenager', young adult' or ‘over 30'. What analysis would you use to test the hypothesis that teenagers are more likely to remember the pop up ad than young adults or people over 30?Test: Chi-squared test Jane, who works for Universal Bank, wants to know which credit card to recommend to her customers. She believes that VIZIER credit card customers probably get more bonus points than customers of Extraterrestrials credit cards. She records the number of bonus points awarded to a random sample of customers of each card. What analysis would you use to test the hypothes is that VIZIER credit card customers get more bonus points than customers of Extraterrestrials credit cards? Test: Independent Samples t-test It is believed that the age at which a child first talks is related to his or her IQ at age 12.A random sample of one hundred 12 year olds did a standardized IQ test and the age at which they first spoke is recorded. What analysis would you use to test the hypothesis that children who talk earlier tend to have higher IIS? Test: Person's correlation coefficient and regression analysis A sociologist believes that the current economic cellmate NAS resulted In Tower people going to university tan In ten pas t. When seen attended university in the sass, 57% of school leavers continued to tertiary studies. She takes a random sample of 1000 school leavers in the last year and records whether or not they continue their education.What analysis would you use to test the hypothesis that the proportion of school leavers who continue to tertiary studies ha s dropped since the sass? Test: Binomial test Australian adults watch an average of 3 hours of television everyday. A survey was conducted on a random sample of 100 Australian students and the amount of TV watched they watched each day was recorded. What analysis would you use to test the hypothesis that, on average, students watch more TV than the general population? Test: One sample t-test Fred is the barman at the Golden Arms.He always puts free nuts on the counter to make people buy more drinks. Sally tells him that flavored peanuts make people buy more drinks than normal salted peanuts. He gets 20 of his regular customers to help him in an experiment where he gives each of them one type of nut one night and the other type of nut the next night and records how many standard drinks they buy. What analysis would you use to test the hypothesis that flavored peanuts make people buy more drinks than normal salted nuts do? Test: Paired samples t-test

Implement Marketing Strategies and Tactics Essay

Briefing stakeholders- Persons involved directly or indirectly with the organisation or project. BBQfun will be the leading outdoor-lifestyle retailer, catering to the growing need for furnishing new and renovated dwellings in the greater Brisbane area. Board of directors- BBQfun’s board of directors need to approve the plan, customers specific needs, prepare a report of high population in Greater Brisbane area, new homes and renovated homes growing from a base of 50,000 per year, low employment. Human resources staff-Human resources staff may need to adjustment demographic factors like – * Male and female population * Age segment that makes up 50% of the Brisbane new and renovated house markets, according to the chamber of commerce * High percentage of young professionals who work in the central Business district. * An average household income of over $130,000. Services marketing- Marketing based on relationship and value. BBQfun will position as a broad assortment, quality, unique outdoor –lifestyle retailer. Brisbane customers appreciate high quality and uniqueness will recognise the value and unique offerings of BBQfun. Manager- BBQfun’s manager looking for security in purchasing and house proud factor in outdoor lifestyle purchasing. Marketing and non-marketing personnel- The success of any marketing activities is equally shared between both external and internal customers group. BBQfun’s basic market need is for quality, fashionable and unique outdoor –lifestyle items that caters to the house- proud needs of our market. The success of the marketing plan of BBQfun’s many aspects are responsible for this like- advertising personnel, manager, public relations personnel, sales manager, sales team, staff, and supervisors. Objectives of the plan- * Increase sales from $15 millon per year to $20 million per year in the next three years. * Increase our loyalty customers list from 10,000 to 16,000. * Establish brand recognition in Brisbane so that at least two in three people recognise our brand in a random survey taken in 12 months’ time. * Continue increase gross profit margins. Roles and responsibilities-BBQfun’s responsibility is to provide customers with the most extensive assortment of quality outdoor-lifestyle products available in the market. Second, easy to manage long term repayment plans make unique, imported and high quality outdoor-lifestyle affordable to all. Performance measures- it is very important to know the performance measures of the BBQfun’s. There are four main steps for measuring – Customers- BBQfun’s excellent staff that is highly skilled and knowledgeable about outdoor lifestyles. High customer loyalty among repeat customers.BBQfun’s great retail space that is bright, functional and efficient. Customers can see the quality of the product as it is displayed in the store. Financial-BBQfun’s advertising budget is set at $250,000 for the year. Continue to finance the easy manage long term repayment. The imported products make up 33% of the assortment. Internal business process- BBQfun wants their products and service meet customer needs so BBQfun try to new dwelling population, shopping patterns requiring easy access and customer car parking counts. Learning and growth-BBQfun has created an outdoor- lifestyle range of retail products that are differentied and superior to competitors. BBQfun provide 3 year guarantee is unique in the market place. BBQfun want to grow their business in the commercial, suburban neighbourhood or urban retail district. BBQfun‘s will do direct mail and local advertising. BBQfun has 15-20 full time staff, plus casuals. Marketing strategies and the resources-A marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan; it integrates an organisation’s marketing objectives, goals, policies and actions.BBQfun’s 3 types of marketing strategies- Defensive strategies- BBQfun’s mission is to provide customers with the most extensive assortment of quality products available in the market. BBQfun continue to finance the easy manage long term repayment plan for customers. Developing strategies-BBQfun’s developing strategy is increase sales from $15 million per year to $20 million pe r year in the next 3 years, increase loyalty customers list from 10,000 to 16,000. Attacking strategies- BBQfun’s customers are mostly aged between 20 to 50, making up 50% of the new and renovated dwelling market. Outdoor lifestyle stores have been very successful in stand alone, extensive car park access, close to new housing estates being established. By offering a superior service in range and uniqueness, BBQfun will excel relative to the competition and achieve goals. Resources -Elements that are utilised to assist the process like- human, information and communication technology, financial and physical. * Human resources relates to the people. BBQfun’s marketing plan and strategy related to the people because this is a outdoor lifestyle retailer company. BBQfun’s customers are male and female and high percentage of young professionals. * Financial- BBQfun’s advertising budget is $250,000 for the year. BBQfun will try to get articles about BBQfun into the BrisNews magazine. BrisNews magazine has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was published. * ICT – For advertising purpose BBQfun is using local letter box, radio, and magazines. BBQfun‘s will do direct mail and local advertising, with coupon inserts in the BrisNews magazine likely to be the most successful of the campaigns. Communication and team building strategies- Effective communication is essential in any workplace and is essential for building or improving business and work relationships. Team building strategies are also essential in effectively running an organisation or team. BBQfun’s objective is to create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. The message of BBQfun is easy access outdoor-lifestyle products in Brisbane. This message will be communicated through a variety of methods like- direct mail. BBQfun will also use ads and inserts in Brizzy magazine. The 5Cs of effective team building are- Clear expectations-If we want to implement successful team building strategy then clear expectation is very important. In a team every person knows the role they are expected to play as well as the roles of other team members. Each and every member of the team needs to understand how and where they fit in the organisational structure. Channels of communication- Team building strategy cannot achieve without open channels of communication. It involves everyone like directors, managers, team leaders and team members. It helps to create working atmosphere and encourage to employees to discuss the problems amongst themselves. Conflict resolution-When a group of people working together then differences emerge into the open. By communication they try to solve the differences. If they can’t resolve their problems without assistance then implement mediation with an impartial third party and organise a workshop on this subject. Consequences- Make sure each team member feels responsible and accountable for team achievements. Understand the individual contribution and give them appreciation if they are doing well. In this way it encourages them for individual creativity. Celebrating achievements as a team- Every employee or team member plays an important role in the success or failure of an organisation. So need to celebrate achievements as a team. Marketing mix- BBQfun’s marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion and customer service. Strategies for monitoring marketing activities- The marketing plan require the monitoring of all marketing activities in order to analyse their performance. Implementation strategies for effective and accurate monitoring processes need to be considered and implemented. BBQfun’s each aspect of marketing plan should be monitored and evaluate. These aspects are important to achieve goal- Timeline, Resource, Costs, sales, contacts made relationship. BBQfun‘s single objective to position BBQ as the premier outdoor –lifestyle store in the greater Brisbane area within 5 years. BBQfun wants to create customer awareness regarding their service and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. The direct mail campaign will be away to communicate directly with the consumer in this way BBQfun create a good relationship with customers. It is envisaged that new products will be developed on a regular basis in line with changes in customer taste which is targeted at every 12 months. By getting feedback from these firms then changes is possible in the product. Feedback, decision making process of customers is very important aspect for the development of the product. Local business owners are often part of an informal fraternal organisation where they support each other’s business. BBQfun recently become a member of the outdoor Lifestyle Association. BBQfun’s marketing manager is responsible for marketing activities and has the authority and responsibilities over all company activities that affect customer’s satisfaction. .

The Oxford English Dictionary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

The Oxford English Dictionary - Essay Example However, the Oxford English Dictionary is regarded as the most comprehensive source of English words. (Kite) It contained about 400,000 words by the time it was first published. As a project, it was initially called A New English Dictionary or Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by The Philological Society (Winchester). The development of the OED was a long process. People started working on the material in 1857 (Winchester). However, the first time it was published was in 1884 (Kite), three decades after initial work began. The group who worked on the OED decided it was more efficient to publish the book in fascicles or installments. The first edition of the book had ten installments and was completed in 1928. (Kite) The OED is a result of an idea from an association in Great Britain which studies the language. The Philological Society of London decided to collect and consolidate all the definitions of every English word in existence. (Gray) Some members grew dissatisfied with the existing dictionaries because there were words not included or defined in these reference materials. Richard Chevenix Trench, Herbert Coleridge, and Frederick Furnivall and the committee they formed initially searched for unlisted and undefined words in the dictionaries of the 19th century. (Winchester) Eventually, their task evolved into that of creating a truly all-inclusive dictionary and because the task was too big for a few people volunteers were asked to help out. (Winchester) Another task to complete was that of managing the entire compilation process altogether. Furnivall approached lexicographer James Murry for the editor position and the society tied up with Oxford University for the publication of the new di ctionary. (Gray) The process of creating the content for this new comprehensive dictionary was not an easy job. To be as far-reaching as possible, volunteers were told to note down word usage from books onto slips of paper or â€Å"quotation slips† which were then sent to back to Murray.

Media Industries Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Industries - Assignment Example Most of the listeners are enticed to share their opinion in the debate/ongoing conversation by either phone calls to the TV/Radio channel or post their viewpoints on the blogs/websites next issues been discussed. Checking updates: Since people are not always in their homes, online social networking has become a trending fashion. Using computer and smart phone gadgets readers/ viewers can enhance their engagement habit. It is common for people to keen checking for news updates either at time intervals for hourly or daily postings, which also give them an opportunity to comment or offer their feedback (Cameroon, 2011). Other fascinating behaviors: Most times you would witness those watching news with you mimic the voices from a news video clip, because it captured their attention or felt ridiculous. Children are good in such cases. Also laughing and getting emotional for sensitive news clip. Multiple media are necessary to ensure a broad range of geographical regions and people are kept well informed and have various options which they can actively use to engage with the news. This would help the society to participate making decisions and in solving problems in society by offering their opinions and feedbacks to tangible issues. How do such technologies as Netflix and (illegal?) downloads affect our social habits? Do you ever binge-watch or do you watch your preferred programs in a weekly manner? How do these different methods alter your experience of the program? Several years ago, people had still been using DVDs and video cassettes to watch movies and other recorded clips they desired. Netflix technology use of latest streaming model continue to attract millions of people to subscribe for the service, from which they can stream movies/shows in real time. Netfix technology facilitates production of contents and distribution, but also has a

Epigenetics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Epigenetics - Essay Example Altering the mice epigenome so that they can produce thin, brown mice rather than fat, yellow ones means that epigenetics is close to curing some of the diseases considered as inherited. In the video, the pregnant rats are fed diets rich in methyl groups to form tags that can turn genes off. This experiment proves successful in mice as the coat color was shifted producing many more brown mice. The epigenetic fix when the mothers were pregnant resulted to a consequent produce of brown mice. Use of environmental toxin on the mice instead of nutrients produced more yellow mice doomed to grow fat and sick like their mothers. This video shows that in humans, epigenomes change in relation to what we eat, smoke or drink. The video shows that, in younger twins the epigenome is almost similar but as the twins grow older, epigenomes change dramatically and especially when they are subjected to different lifestyles. The research conducted on Sandra Shelby and Roy Cantwell using epigenetic therapy aimed at changing the instructions of the cancer cells through genes reactivation is a step closer to solving modern day killer diseases like cancer and leukemia. This video cautions us from engaging in activities that can mess up our genomes. According to the video, humans are what they eat and what their parents and grandparents eat. Unlike the genome, the epigenome is subject to change affecting our future generations and humans should be responsible as there is hope for the future.

The 2008 US Election Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The 2008 US Election - Assignment Example The United States of America usually carry out elections after every 5 years. However, during the process, there are a series of campaign strategies that must be undertaken to convincingly elect the ideal candidate with leadership capabilities. There are two main political factions within the US, mainly the Republicans and Democrats (Newport, P. 250). Before each faction selects their flag bearer there are preliminary elections where each faction select their party flag bearer whom would battle it out with the other candidates from the contesting parties (Census Bureau, 2009, P. 201). In the 2008 elections, the Democrats had a number of aspirants who included Barrack Hussein Obama, Joe Bidden, and Hillary Clinton, the wife of the former US president Bill Clinton among others. On the other hand, the Republicans who were siding with the former president George Bush junior also carried out their preliminary nominations prior to the 2008 elections and selected Senator McCain as their fla g bearer among Senator Palin just to mention (McKinney, 2010, P. 248). After the preliminaries, both the presidential candidates had to choose their running mates who were to the vice president’s should their faction win election respectively (Piano, 2009, P. 107). The Democrats chose Joe Bidden as the running mate of their presidential candidate, Obama while the Republicans chose Palin as their presidential running mate under the leadership of Senator McCain. Below is the picture of the preferred presidential running mates of Obama- Democrats- Joe Bidden and Sarah Palin of Republican’s, the Senator McCain's running mate (Census Bureau, 2009, P. 206). Fig. 1, Accessed from http://dalje.com/en-world/top-10-moments-of-us-pre-election-campaign/200091on Nov 13th, 2011. Election On the election date, both the Democrats and Republicans prepared to their best with an aim of winning then the election. However, as poll results tickled the tallying centers it was evident that th e Democrats were to carry the day with an overwhelming win over their counterparts’ republicans (Campbell, 2008, P. 39). When McCain, the Republican presidential candidate realized that all was not in accordance with his expectations as the presidential aspirant he decided to concede elections prior to the announcement of the overall presidential votes creating a conducive atmosphere for the celebration to the Democrats with their flag bearer President Barrack Hussein Obama a shoulder high (Newport, P. 252). During the celebration, Obama victory was celebrated by both the electorates and family members from both the US and Kenya where it is believed that Obama Senior who was a husband to Sarah Obama from Kogello village in Siaya district, Kenya where present. However, Kenyans too celebrated as they watched the incidents through telecast media. It was another history in the global politics being that a black American carried the day unlike the times of Martin Luther Kings†™ both senior and Junior which was full of opposition and assassination. â€Å"I have a dream† by Martin Luther King junior in 1968 (McKinney, 2010, P. 251). Obama Health Scheme During the Obama campaign, the key issues which convinced the electorates were a proposal of a broad health scheme that would take care of all ages from children to the old (Panagopoulos, 2008, P. 09).

Impact of Culture on International Business Essay - 1

Impact of Culture on International Business - Essay Example However, unfortunately for the President, in the Brazilian language the sign was being used as slang in the country. Here the main mistake that had been noticed by the world as well as the Brazilians was that the leader of a free world had not spent a lot of time in learning, or at least getting accustomed to the customs of the country he was visiting (Walker, Schmitz, and Brake, 2003: 33). However, it is not just the duty of the president of a country to be accustomed or to be well known but also for business executives of any form or organization that tends to expand the business across the borders. Business executives have to be very concerned about the learning in cross communication and cultures of the countries in which they wish to expand their businesses as the customers do happen to get offended by gestures. According to Dean Foster who is the president of a cross cultural business training company, Dean Foster Associates, "It can be very offensive. In some cases, people have lost million-dollar deals". Cultures across the world on the surface may be having just minor differences. However, these are the differences that make major problems. In one case it can be presented by an uncomfortable smile that might be ignored in some cases. However, in business matters this is a gesture that is considered to be very offensive (Bannon & Mattock, 2003: 22). Body language is a part of ever