Aids in Africa Essay 14

Nicole Nickerson African Politics 11/18/2009 Aids in Africa AIDS is an unfortunate and deadly disease that affects the body which is caused by HIV. The body will try to fight off the disease but as time goes on the body will start to shut down will not be able to fight off things such as bacteria and viruses. Over 58 million people have been infected by this disease and over 22 million have died from AIDS. The epidemic spreads each and everyday, the death toll of this epidemic can not be foreseen until there is a full wave form that is seen. Africa is one of the most known continents for the AIDS epidemic. It has affected most of the countries since the late 70’s early 80’s. The WHO estimates that 12 million HIV-positive Africans are merely the tip of an iceberg; it also reports, however, that the epidemic has thus far produced only 331,000 cases of AIDS from 1981 to July 1994 (Geshekter, 5). According to the WHO estimate this shows that the 99. 95 percent of the people in Africa do not have AIDS, but 97 percent of those who have HIV were not yet proven to have developed AIDS. During the initial stages of the epidemic in the 1980s, the disease was concentrated in the so-called AIDS belt in Central Africa which encompassed the then Zaire, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda (Agyei-Mensah, 442). In the 1990s, the disease began to spread southward to include Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, and westward to Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Liberia, and Ghana (Agyei-Mensah, 442). It is now 2009 and there are countries that may not exist anymore due to the AIDS epidemic. AIDS in Africa has been one of the biggest issues facing African politics since the early 90s. Numerous studies into the AIDS epidemic in Africa have been conducted by Western medical and governmental organizations, as well as African medical and governmental organizations. The inherent difficulties facing the problem of Aids in Africa include unstable or ineffective African governments, poor or non-existent economies that are further hampered by the effects of aids, and cultural differences that create bias both in the reporting of the number of cases of aids and he symptomatic presentation of HIV/AIDS cases. These problems make it very difficult to combat a disease that has taken the lives of many millions of people. South Africa has a stable government but their policies on AIDS have been ineffective. In 1994 the country was criticized for prevarication and confusion on the policies that they set forth to help AIDS patience’s. The government was being blamed for misjudgment , inadequate analysis, and bureaucratic failure. The country had set up two different prescription policies to fight AIDS which were mobilization/biomedical and nationalist/ameliorative paradigm. Mobilization/biomedical would emphasized society-wide mobilization, political will, and anti-retroviral treatment, while the nationalist/ameliorative focused on poverty, individual responsibility, palliative care, traditional medicine, and appropriate care (Butler, 592). There were problems with both paradigms because of they were underpinned by different assumptions that the government needed to respond to appropriately. The AIDS policy of 1994-2004 in South Africa was brought forth by the African National Congress, the ANC-aligned United Democratic Front and the National Party government’s ministry of health to bring together a policy to fight AIDS. At the end of 1993 there were over 2,000 cases of AIDS and 500,000 people with HIV; the government had predicted that by 2000 there would be four to seven million cases of HIV with about 60 percent of death rates due to AIDS (Butler, 593). The policy was endorsed by the incoming minister Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma who was insufficiently informed by the institutional and social realities of South Africa (Butler, 593). The policy was overestimated just as all other policies were during this time of the economy and of human resources of an incoming government. The competing claims on resources in poor provinces demanded administrative reconfiguration and had undermined implications (Butler, 593). The tenure of Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma had plagued the finical of the non-government sector and health profession. There were many scandals and corruption while trying to run this policy to help AIDS victims. In 1997 the president in waiting Thabo Mbeki promised a new outlook on this pandemic by having greater public awareness and new institutional mechanisms to address the challenges of AIDS. Mbeki had put forth new institutions to teach life skills, condom promotion, and a renewed communication strategy but these places were still unstaffed to help show the people how to stay protected. The new treatments were resisted and the government was avoiding funding AVR therapies. South Africa had policies in affect to try and fight the AIDS epidemic such as the two paradigms of mobilization/biomedical and nationalist/ameliorative. This has caused a shift in alliances and schools of thought. There were many supporters of the mobilization/ biomedical paradigm because it would prevent the transfer of HIV from mother to child and to prevent exposure to prophylaxis for rape victims and health professionals. The supporters were later at the forefront of demands for an upscale ARV treatment program. The ameliorative paradigm was missing the ARV entirely and critics argued that it did not respect the biomedical science. Mbeki had advanced the ameliorative paradigm in 1999 and he failed. The critics criticized Mbeki for failing to mobilize resources, humans and financial, behind the government response (Butler, 597). Mbeki was criticized for silences more than his words and the attributions of irrational and denials of them. The critics believe that with the delay of ARV treatment this results in denialism. Though the government of South Africa has tried to put out policies to prevent and fight the AIDS epidemic they have failed in many ways. The leaders of South Africa have put forth policies that they believed would work for its country, but they can not celebrate or say they are winning the war on this pandemic. The government was unable to muster human resources for a universal ARV program due to political and economic defects which has delayed teaching people how to protect themselves from AIDS across the nation. Zimbabwe on the other hand is not stable when it comes to government and has been ineffective on the AIDS pandemic. There are many organizations that can help fight this epidemic but in Zimbabwe due to its wars with itself, it has yet taken any action to put up a fight against this disease. This is the worst hit country on the continent of Africa. This country fights amongst itself with coups and tribal wars. Instead of the country coming together as one to fight the war on AIDS they rather fight against each other. According to one article it states that the Zimbabwean government had swept this disease under the carpet instead of putting out policies to fight it. President Mugabe publicly acknowledged the national epidemic for the first time in April 1999, when more than 1,200 Zimbabweans were dying each week from the disease (Boone & Batsell, 10). President Mugabe, although he will occasionally wear an AIDS ribbon, has never taken the sort of leadership stance (Boone & Batsell, 10). In April 1999 AIDS victims were dying 1,200 in a week stance; this goes to show that Mugabe did not take responsibility for his country and make policies to save and protect his people from this disease. The people of Zimbabwe can not speak out against there leader because if they do it would cause war and chaos. The country is already in chaos not only because of loss of life due to AIDS but because of economic and tribal wars. The leaders of Zimbabwe are not making a fuss about AIDS like most other countries in Africa they are keeping it quite it makes the country seem suspicious. In the case of AIDS NGOs in Zimbabwe, limited political capacity may be due to their origin and mandates (such as providing basic services to highly localized clienteles), funding governmental, church-based, or external sources, or the absence of any organizational hold on or claim to represent their clients and constituents (Boone & Batsell, 16). The country of Zimbabwe is centralized and ruled by one person, Mugabe is not putting up a fight to control the AIDS epidemic in his country and other countries see this. There are organizations that are willing to help but Mugabe refuses to get help from them such as the NGO. The country will soon have no lives left in it if the leader refuses to put out policies to protect its people from AIDS. Though Zimbabwe and South Africa have been ineffective in the fight on AIDS at least they have put an effort into trying to help its people, where as in he country of Somalia the government is non existent and there are no policies set forth for this country to control AIDS. The country has faced civil war for over 10 years so it is very hard to fight a war on a disease when the country is fighting against one another. The government can not make policies for a disease when they are worried about war with in the country. The government of Somalia has done more harm to its citizens then it ha s done good, so overall the people of Somalia are not going to trust its government to make policies that are going to benefit their well being. The people would rather go to a different country and try and survive by other policies than depend on the government to protect them and teach them about the AIDS epidemic. The country of Somalia is failing due to its own economic and warfare problems. The only way this country will have a population in years to come is if another country steps in and takes control to not only help with the AIDS problem but also stop the civil war that has gone on for over 10 years. Uganda is one country that has refused to back down on fight the AIDS epidemic. AIDS prevention and education programs have lowered the HIV infection rate (Boone & Batsell, 9). Uganda where AIDS has been curbed most dramatically, the infection rate estimated to be near thirty percent in 1991 is now estimated at around twelve percent (Boone & Batsell, 9). In June 2000, UNAIDS Director Peter Piot called for U. S. $2 billion to provide for more Uganda-style prevention and awareness campaigns in Africa (Boone & Batsell, 9). This shows that even a country with poverty and economic problems can succeed in fighting AIDS if the policies are enforced. Some critics do not understand that Uganda is fighting AIDS and other countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa are having such a hard time control the AIDS epidemic. The reason Uganda is doing so well is because President Yoweri Museveni adopted a nationwide plan to combat AIDS in the mid-1980s, when Uganda was facing the most staggering increase of AIDS cases of any country in the world (Boone & Batsell, 9). The most distinguishing feature of Uganda's AIDS program, a characteristic which has yet to be matched by any other African country, is sustained political commitment at the highest levels-even the health minister took to the streets to distribute condoms (Boone & Batsell, 9). The President stood behind his country by taking charge and turning a horrible disease into something to learn about and protect his people from. He did not just sweep it under the carpet like the leader of Zimbabwe. As the years go on Africa’s economy gets worse by the days due to AIDS. The two major effects on the economy due to AIDS is reduction in labor supplies and increased cost. The loss of adults at their most productive years will affect over economic out put and if AIDS is more prevalent among the economic elite, then the impact could be worse then the number of deaths caused by AIDS (Bollinger & Stover, 3). The cost of AIDS will affect the people of these countries due to lost time from illness, care for orphans, and costs for the company to have to find more workers. Then there is fact of having little money and having to cut into savings which reduces investment and could lead to significant reduction in economic growth. The economic effects of AIDS will be felt first by individuals and their families, then ripple outwards to firms and businesses and the macro-economy (Bollinger & Stover, 4). The economic impact of AIDS on house holds will cause extreme damage. The member of the family who gets sick and is the main provider for the family will lose income. The medical bills will begin to dwindle in more and more causing debt putting the household into more carnage. Mother or daughters will begin to miss work and school to take care of the ill person, which also cause less of an income into the family. Death results in permanent loss of income, funeral cost as well as removal of children from schooling to save on experience which in the long run causes loss of future expansion. There is a backlog for those children who are orphans and are suffering from AIDS. The planning process for the government in providing this housing is made more complicated, and thus more lengthy, through the impact of HIV/AIDS (Bollinger & Stover, 5). Although fewer units will probably be needed because of AIDS deaths, the structure of households may change, making planning more difficult: households may become headed by children; households may be even poorer than before and so unable to pay for even the most basic services; and the number of people per household may decrease (Bollinger & Stover, 5). AIDS does not just impact households it will over time impact agriculture, firms, and other economic sectors such as health, transport, mining, education, and water. The macroeconomic impact on AIDS is the most difficult assess. Most studies have found that estimates of the macroeconomic impacts are sensitive to assumptions about how AIDS affects savings and investment rates and whether AIDS affects the best-educated employees more than others. Few studies have been able to incorporate the impacts at the household and firm level in macroeconomic projections (Bollinger & Stover, 11). According to Bollinger and Stover a recent set of projections of the macroeconomic impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa estimated that under the high impact scenario, the population size would be 22% smaller in 2010 than it would have been without AIDS. Without AIDS, the model predicts that the population would be about 59 million people in 2010, while under the high impact scenario; the population would be only 46 million people. The same model predicts that life expectancy will decrease by 45 percent under the high impact scenario, from 62 years without the impact of AIDS to 34 years under the high impact scenario. There are things that can be done to control AIDS and help the economy of Africa from being destroyed completely. A few examples are mitigating affects of AIDS on poverty, making programs to address specific problems, and preventing new infections (Bollinger & Stover, 15). The government not only has to deal with the policy making to fight AIDS and deal with the different economic struggles that it faces because of AIDS but it also has to deal with the different cultural issues that makes it difficult for the government to use its sources to combat the problem. For example in the country of Rwanda there is a cultural difference between the Hutu and Tutsi. These two civilizations dislike each other due to governmental issues and due to the genocides of one another in past years. It makes it hard for countries like this to be able to come up with a policy that is going to work for everyone when they are fighting one another. Then there are some cultures that refuse to use condoms which does not make it easy to protect people from developing AIDS if they have more then one partner. A country has to have the ability to control its people and educate them on this disease because if not then those countries will end up having no population or may not exist any more. Then there is the case where some cultures people will not take medicine that is not natural. An example of that is priest or clergymen claiming that there is a miracle cure for AIDS but in some countries commercials of the sort have been banned from being played. For many people living with HIV/AIDS, their faith also extends to the skills of traditional doctors and herbalists, while for others their religious faith overlaps with non-Christian or non- Muslim belief in traditional cosmology and the spirit world as expressed through witchdoctors (Love, 645). In one sense, the strength and pervasiveness of these institutions may be regarded as a response to exclusion from Western scientific bio-medical treatments: an exclusion determined by political and economic structures often with global tentacles as outlined above, but in another, they also reflect the depth and institutional complexity of ‘traditional' societies in their negotiation with externally introduced change (Love, 645). This is more then likely very frustrating to the government if they spend all this money to make policies for people to not take the medicine to help ease their pain but instead take natural substances to believe they are being cured when they are being hoaxed. Africa has a long way to go for its countries to over come this epidemic. There are many problems within these countries that need to be taken care of if they are going to succeed in making policies that will teach and protect its populations. The countries of South Africa and Zimbabwe are well known for there failing policies to fight AIDS. South Africa is better off then Zimbabwe because it actually tries to make policies to help its people where as Zimbabwe would rather sweep it away and pretend that it is not a problem. It seems that Somalia may be lost cause when it comes to making policy on AIDS. This country has more problems dealing with is civil war then dealing with the deaths of millions of people due to AIDS. The only way this country would be able to survey or have some type of population in the future is if another country came in and took over the government or organization that is willing to h stop the war and focuses more on the problems of its economy and health problems. Uganda is the one country that some critics don’t understand how it is doing so well on policy making for the AIDS epidemic. Uganda has kept HIV infection rates in check through aggressive, state-initiated public education campaigns. The governments that have generally dealt openly with the AIDS challenge Uganda have tried (albeit with uneven commitment and success) to cultivate broad legitimacy by encouraging some grassroots participation in the political process (Boone & Batsell, 18). Organizations have tried to use Uganda along with other countries as an example for countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe which are having a rough time with control AIDS. AIDS has taken a toll on economic stability in all countries in Africa. The more AIDS cases that are known the more the countries become more poverty stricken. More children are left with out parents each and everyday due to AIDS, this also in time will live the child with out a home and living on the streets causing more poverty. The government can only provide so much for children, there are thousands of children who are orphans due to AIDS and the government can no support all of them. Political leaders need to learn from countries like Uganda so their economy will not deteriorate more then what it already has. The cultural outlook on AIDS is a very difficult one for the government of countries to deal with. If the country spends money on policies that people are not going to recognize or live by then the country will fail and over time there will be no life. It is understandable that certain people live by their tribal cultures but if it means life over death then they should succumb to what the government is doing to save lives. Millions of dollars are spend each year to find a cure to AIDS, but if these people live by their cultures way and do not believe in western science then they will fall causing the end of their tribe and culture. There have been numerous studies into the AIDS epidemic in Africa have been conducted by Western medical and governmental organizations, as well as African medical and governmental organizations. The inherent difficulties facing the problem of Aids in Africa include unstable or ineffective African governments, poor or non-existent economies that are further hampered by the effects of aids, and cultural differences that create bias both in the reporting of the number of cases of aids and the symptomatic presentation of HIV/Aids cases. These problems make it very difficult to combat a disease that has taken the lives of many millions of people. Based on the facts in this paper if the countries of Africa do not form good policies or come together as one unit then not only will the countries loss lives the whole continent will become a blur. Work Cited Agyei-Mensah, Samuel, ‘Twelve Years of HIV/ AIDS in Ghana: Puzzles of Interpretation’ Canadian Journal of African Studies 35. 3. (2001) pp. 441-72. Bollinger, Lori & Stover, John. ‘The Economic Impact of AIDS in South Africa’ 999. pp. 1-16. Boone, Catherine & Batsell, Jake, ‘Politics and AIDS in Africa: Research Agendas in Political Science and International Relations’ Africa Today 48. 2. (2001). pp. 3-33 Butler, Anthony, ‘South Africa’s HIV/AIDS Policy, 1994-2004: How Can it be Explained? ’ African Affairs 104, (2005). pp 591-614. Geshekter, Charles, ‘Outbreak? AIDS, Africa, and the Medicalization of Pov erty’ Tradition 67. (1995) pp. 4-14. Love, Roy, ‘HIV/AIDS in Africa: Links, Livelihoods & Legacies’ Review of African Political Economy 31. 102. (2004). pp. 639-48

The Glass Menagerie Essay

â€Å"Choose a play in which a central character behaves in an obsessive manner. Describe the nature of the character’s obsessive behaviour and discuss the influence this behaviour has on your understanding of the character in the play as a whole.† â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† is a play written by Tennessee Williams. The play is semi-autobiographical, told from the point of view of the writer. It is a memory play set in the home the Wingfield family. The play is about a young man, Tom, who lives with his mother, Amanda and his sister, Laura. The play explores the various struggles of each individual during the great depression. The characters all have their flaws and motives which help us to understand them and sympathise or agree with them. All the characters in the play behave in some sort of obsessive manner; however, Amanda behaves most strongly this way. Amanda Wingfield is one of the main characters and plays a great role in the readers understanding of the play as a whole. She behaves in a very obsessive manner throughout the play and this creates conflict between the other characters. In Scene one, we are introduced to Amanda’s obsessive and controlling behaviour. As Tom eats at the dinner table, Amanda continuously pesters him, telling him how to eat his food. â€Å"Don’t push with your fingers. If you have to push something, the thing to push with is the crust of bread†¦So chew your food and give your salivary glands a chance to function!† Amanda treats Tom like a child which frustrates him. He is very short tempered and easily irritated by Amanda’s over controlling and obsessive personality. She also obsesses over Toms bad habits, proclaiming that; â€Å"you smoke too much.† Amanda is constantly complaining about Tom and criticising him, this is due to her infatuation and constant desire for perfection in all aspects of her life. She is like this as she cares for them but does not realise that she is smothering her children. In Scene three, Amanda has a heated argument with Tom. This is instigated by  Amanda’s act of throwing out Toms books. She exclaims that she â€Å"took that horrible novel back to the library.† This angers Tom and he vents all his frustration on her controlling nature and the sense of entrapment as a consequence of this. Amanda is also very controlling over Toms actions as she gets suspicious of what he gets up to at night. This emphasises the lack of freedom that Tom feels due to her behaviour and it creates tension and arguments between them. Tom feels the need to escape but Amanda is obsessed with the fact duty and responsibility comes first. Amanda is worried about her children and feels that it is her responsibility to monitor their actions at all times, however she fails to realise the effect this has on them. Amanda also obsesses over Laura in Scene three; â€Å"Laura began to play a more and more important part in Mother’s calculations. It became an obsession†¦ the image of the gentleman caller haunted our small apartment.† She is preoccupied with finding Laura a gentleman caller as she feels that this would be best for the family. Laura, being disabled, puts financial strain upon the family. If Amanda was able to procure a gentleman caller for her, this would ensure a better quality of living for her and the family. Amanda constantly tells Laura to expect many gentlemen callers and decides to ignore her disability. She tells Laura to â€Å"stay fresh and pretty for gentleman callers.† Amanda’s insensitivity in this matter crushes Laura’s confidence. In Scene six, on hearing the news of the arrival of the potential gentleman, Amanda â€Å"has worked like a Turk in preparation.† This implies her obsession with appearance and impressing Jim. She deceives people into making them think that they are a wealthy family – despite the fact they are not rich. She attempts to make a lasting impression on Jim in the hope that he may be their saviour from poverty. Amanda is doing this for the benefit of both herself and her family. Whilst trying to secure a suitor for Laura, Amanda often reminisces about her own past. She is still living in the past and speaks of it often – so often that Tom and Laura can already foresee what is coming next. â€Å"Tom: I know what’s coming. Laura: Yes. But let her tell it†¦ She loves to tell it.† She often talks of her â€Å"seventeen gentlemen callers.† Amanda is self obsessed and narcissistic, implying that she judges a woman’s worth by the amount of attention she receives – further causing Laura to feel insecure about herself. Amanda is vain and egotistical and obsesses over her appearance. In Scene two she is described as wearing â€Å"cheap or imitation velvety-looking cloth coats with imitation fur collar.† She cares very much for her appearance and she takes pride in it. Her clothes show that she is still living in her own past yet now is only a faded southern bell. Amanda is used to attention and in Scene seven, she makes sure to dress attractively, despite the fact that it is supposed to be Laura’s night. Amanda â€Å"wears a girlish frock of yellowed voile with a blue silk sash†¦ the legend of her youth is nearly revived.† The occasion of Jim the potential gentleman caller, reminds her of her own past, in which she had countless gentleman callers. Not only does Amanda obsess over her own appearance but also the appearance of her children. Before Jim arrives, in Scene six; â€Å"Amanda produces two powder puffs which she wraps in handkerchiefs and stuffs in Laura’s bosom.† This highlights the recurring theme of appearance versus reality, which is evident in many of Amanda’s actions. She is so engrossed in her actions, she I willing to deceive people in order to get what she feels she needs. She obsesses over many things in Scene seven, for example, she insists that Laura open the door to Jim and Tom and is insensitive to Laura’s anxieties and insecurities. However Amanda is only doing this due to the fact that Jim acts as a beacon of hope for them all and she is eager for the evening to be a success. In conclusion, Amanda is deeply flawed throughout in regards to her obsessive and over controlling manner. Due to her behaviour, she eventually drives Tom away. However, she only means well in her actions. She is critical of her children because she feels she knows what is best for them. Her obsessive nature influences the readers understanding of her character in the play as a whole. It helps the reader understand Amanda’s and her children’s  struggles, hopes and fears.

Brain Evolution in the Human Species

Brain Evolution in the Human Species Introduction Hominid evolution is marked by a very significant increase in relative brain size. Because relative brain size has been linked to energetic requirements, it is possible to look at the pattern of encephalization as a factor in the evolution of human foraging and dieting (Foley et al., 1991). Major expansion of the brain is associated with the Homo species rather than the Hominidae as a whole, where the energetic costs are likely to have forced prolongation of growth rates and secondary altriciality (Foley et al., 1991). Paleontological evidence indicates that rapid brain evolution occurred with the emergence of Homo erectus 1.8 million years ago and was associated with important changes in diet, body size, and foraging behavior (Leonard et al., 2007). Energy Requirements Extensive energy is required for brain growth and functioning. Parker (1990) analyzes intelligence and encephalization from the perspective of life history strategy theory, which is based on the premise that evolutionary selection determines the timing of major life cycle events-especially those related to reproduction-as the solution to energy optimization problems. Foley and Lee (1991) analyze the evolutionary pattern of encephalization with respect to foraging and dieting strategies. In considering the development of human foraging strategies, increased returns for foraging effort and food processing may be an important prerequisite for encephalization, and in turn a large brain is necessary to organize human foraging behavior. Dietary quality is also correlated with brain size. Foley and Lee (1991) first consider brain size vs. primate feeding strategies, and note that folivorous diets (leaves) are correlated with smaller brains, while fruit and animal foods (insects, meat) are correlated with larger brains. Overall, the genetic costs of brain maintenance for modern humans are about three times that of a chimpanzee. The first dietary shift is seen beginning within the genus Hom o, which began to include meat in the diet. It may be argued that meat-eating represents an expansion of resource breadth beyond that found in non-human primates (Foley and Lee, 1991). Therefore, Homo and its encephalization may have been the product of the selection of capable of exploiting energy- and protein-rich resources as the habitat expanded. While the evolutionary causes of the enlarging human brain themselves are thought to have been due to factors that go beyond diet alone (increasing social organization being prime among the proposed factors usually cited), a diet of sufficient quality would nevertheless have been an important prerequisite. That is, diet would have been an important hurdle, or limiting factor, to overcome in providing the necessary physiological basis for brain enlargement to occur within the context of whatever those other primary selective pressures might have been. Leonard and Robinson (1994: add page numbers for direct quote) conclude: These results imply that changes in diet quality during hominid evolution were linked with the evolution of brain size. The shift to a more calorically dense diet was probably needed in order to substantially increase the amount of metabolic energy being used by the hominid brain. Thus, while nutritional factors alone are not sufficient to explain the evolution of our large brains, it seems clear that certain dietary changes were necessary for substantial brain evolution to take place.

Projecting the Image of a Nurse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Projecting the Image of a Nurse - Essay Example She wears a name badge and leans over her patient, making eye contact with the patient and listening intently while taking vital signs and acting as a liaison between the patient and the doctor. This would be a clear cut scenario. Times have slightly changed, as has the projected role and image of a caregiving nurse. â€Å"Although the public's view of nursing has changed over time, most people do not appreciate the complexity and range of today's professional nursing role,† (Chitty & Black, 2011). Nurses are becoming more educated, specializing in certain areas of specific branches of health care and there is a significant increase in the population of males entering this occupational field. One of the most critical roles that a nurse plays is that of patient caretaker. Patient satisfaction often has a lot to do with the role that the nurse has played on taking care of the patient. There must be a nurse-patient dyad bond. While the nurse is in charge of taking all other signs and symptoms, the nurse's biggest role is to help a patient understand their health care plan (Tejero, 2012). To maintain this relationship, a nurse must be personable, friendly and kind. Sometimes a nurse must also play the role of being calm and patient, allowing the patient and doctor to dictate their needs to the nurse. Florence Nightingale could be the first person that is responsible for the way that a nurse is portrayed. She let on originally that nurse is inferior to a doctor. Since then, other images have influenced the image of the nurse such as war nurses on television shows, including the way that nurses are even portrayed on soap operas. All of these have an impact on the image that the profession has (Cohen, 2007). It is thought that even during a nursing shortage in 2001, that it could have been the media to blame for the way that nurses were portrayed. Television series shows such as â€Å"ER† and â€Å"House† may have been influential while a Coors br ewery ad used naughty nurse images in a 2006 advertising campaign for alcohol. The role of a nurse as a sexual being is one of fiction (Cohen, 2007). Since the Internet has a huge impact on society, it is interesting to know the way that the nurse's image is portrayed online. The media's image has an impact not only on patient's feelings but also about recruiting others into the profession, the way that consumers use nurses services and can even impact the amount of financial services that a health care facility may obtain. When looking at information on the Internet about the projected image of a nurse in years 2001-2004, about 70 percent of Internet sites had portrayed nurses as â€Å"intelligent, respected, accountable, committed, competent and trustworthy,† (Kalisch, B.J., Begeny, S. & Neumann, S., 2007). Nurses were also perceived in the images on the web to appear to have specialized knowledge. Many of them were attractive and well-groomed and were committed to patient care. Sometimes the image of being sexually promiscuous and creative or innovative were also factors that were displayed online. Regardless, the study by the authors suggested that the image of a nurse could definitely be changed by the way that a nurse is portrayed online (Kalisch, et al., 2007). One thing is that nursing has been identified as one of the most

Organization Behavior Case Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organization Behavior Case - Research Paper Example It is very important to keep the people working in your organization motivated and satisfied all the time. Having good relation with your labor is one very important thing if you want your business to enjoy a good financial situation. In this case the Southwest Airlines had to face a lot of problems and crisis as a result of its CEO being ignorant to developing good relations with the labor. The company was in big crisis and had lost its strong financial position. Moreover under the leadership of Kelleher the company gained back its financial success as the main focus of this CEO was to address the issues related to labor as early as possible and he knew the importance of these relations. Introduction to the issue The main issue with the Southwest Airlines was that it lacked an appropriate leadership style that would best fit the company. In the decade when the company was facing problems and crisis the main problem was that it lost a good relationship and a factor of trust between t he employees, labor and the top management. A leader in true sense is someone who leads his followers along the way or path towards their goals and objectives (Blanchard & Hersey, 2008). Leadership is the characteristic that will enable a person to inspire group of people to realize common interest or goal (Judge and Robbins, 2010). The base of any organization rests on the philosophy, vision, goals and values of the management. As a result this drives the culture of the organization that is made up of the formal, informal and social environment of the organization.... Trust is based on two things mainly that are familiarity and risk. Trust has a lot of dimensions mainly like integrity, competence, consistency, loyalty and openness etc. Integrity relates to things like truthfulness and honesty, competence means the interpersonal and technical knowledge and skills, consistency relates to predictability, good judgment and reliability under various situations, loyalty means the willingness to safeguard and protect face for any other person and openness relates to the reliance on someone else to provide you the truth in full (Scott, 2008). There are three types of trusts that employees in your company can experience with you. One is deterrence or fear of punishment based trust, the other is identification or trust based on mutual understanding, appreciation for other people’s desires and wants, and the knowledge based or behavioral predictability based trust that roots back to the interaction history. At Southwest Airlines under Parker’s leadership the basic issue was that the trust was deterrence based. It means that the trust was just there as he was the CEO of the company and the employees feared punishment and were forced to trust Parker whereas they dint not like his leadership style at all. As it is evident from the information provided that the previous CEOs and the current CEO of Southwest Airline are more people oriented. This type of approach develops trustworthy bond between the employees and its top management. As it is found out by various researches that mistrust eliminates the trust factor and leads to reduced productivity. So the failure to develop trust was one of the major

How dose graduates feel about working in an unethical organization Research Proposal

How dose graduates feel about working in an unethical organization - Research Proposal Example Against this backdrop, the proposed research purposes to explore the attitudes of graduates towards working in unethical organization. The unprecedented growth of business ethics has necessitated the need to study the attitudes and perceptions of graduates towards work ethics, in their capacity as future employees and future leaders (Balmer, 2007). The proposed study will explore whether education in the subject areas of corporate social responsibility, sustainability and ethicality has imparted graduates with the right mindsets to face ethical dilemmas within work environments. As prospective leaders and employees, graduates are required to maintain morality and ethical awareness in their decisions (Hansen & Dunford, 2011). The main objective of this research will focus on identifying graduates’ attitudes and perceptions towards ethics and the factors that influence their decisions when assessing prospective organizations in an employment-offering situation. The research will explore the attitudes and perceptions of graduates from different study levels (bachelor and masters) and cultural viewpoints. Exploring attitudes and perceptions from different viewpoints will be necessary in assessing the role of culture and education on ethics. Moreover, the study will explore the role of education (teaching ethical issues in higher education) and gender in the formation of morals and ethics. In order to achieve robust, academic outcomes, the following research questions will be explored and answered: Concerns over corporate ethics informed the introduction of business ethics as a core subject in business schools. Educators held the view that business students were better placed to learn business ethics during their higher education to shape their attitudes towards ethics. Furthermore, researchers began investigating the attitudes of future leaders who had been exposed to business ethics

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

Government - Essay Example There are two systems operating in Senegal; one, the system of French law and civil courts. As you are probably aware, it is necessary to the colonization process that the framework of familiar law with which the immigrants of the colonizing country are accustomed to is quickly established in order to maintain that sense of both justice and civilization. This is very important because in an otherwise uncivilized society, such chaos and lack of law can quickly begin to work against the administrative officials charged with civilizing the land. As you are probably aware, the history of Senegal is one of indigenous populations being indoctrinated into the Islamic faith, beginning in the 17th century. Thus, the law of civilized Christianity is foreign to those indigenous peoples who possess an awareness of law; and the rest of the population that are not Muslim, have a strong code of tribal chieftain law that has long served as the parameters within they conduct themselves. In order to provide the indigenous population the necessary time to assimilate into French custom and law, it is necessary to operate two legal systems; that of the indigenous Muslim and chieftain systems, and the French system. The French law and system extends throughout the land, of course, and is applicable in those situations where if an indigenous person is keenly aware of French domination, that they will be treated according to the French law. This has come to pass within the larger cities here, although we do find that Islamic law, severe in many ways, is useful when called upon and allows us to expeditiously deal with malcontents and upstarts who would undermine the French Crown in our endeavors here. Tribal law is recognized to the extent that we pay homage to the chieftains in order that much of the labor in building roads and railways throughout the country is provided by those groups. The more intellectual indigenous, the Muslims, make excellent liaisons between

A Control System For A Power Plant Research Paper

A Control System For A Power Plant - Research Paper Example In some pressurized water reactors, distinctive control rods are used to facilitate the core to withstand a low level of power proficiently (Levine, 1999). Coolant. A liquid flowing inside the core so as to transmit the heat from it.   In light water reactors, the water mediator functions also as a major coolant. Except in boiling water reactors, there is subordinate coolant circuit where the water is changed into steam. Pressure vessel or pressure tubes. Normally, a strong steel vessel enclosing the reactor core and the coolant, but a series of tubes holding the fuel and transmitting the coolant through the adjacent moderator may be used. This has helped in the yielding of electricity that enhances other types that are costly and seasonal (Lee, 2004). Steam generator. Part of the cooling compartment where the high-pressure basic coolant taking heat from the reactor is incorporated to make steam for the turbine, in an adjacent circuit. Basically, a heat exchanger like a motor vehicle radiator. Reactors may have up to four coils, each with a steam generator.   Containment. The organization around the reactor and related steam generators which is intended to protect it from outside interruption and to protect those outside from the impacts of radiation in case of any crucial fault inside. It is usually a meter thick steel and concrete structure. Powering a nuclear plant reactor: Most reactors need to be turned off for refueling, so that the pressure tubes can be opened up. In this case, topping up is at intervals of 1-2 years, when a 1/4 to a 1/3 of the fuel assemblies are changed with fresh ones. In case graphite or water is used as a coolant, it is possible to drive a power reactor on natural instead of impure uranium. Natural uranium has the similar elemental build-up as when it was mined, while impure uranium has

Software Design Defects Detection and Classification Literature review

Software Design Defects Detection and Classification - Literature review Example This essentially refers to â€Å"fitness for use†. On a detailed elucidation of quality, software design defects come into the picture. Quality software not only meets the full user requirements, but is also usable for the purpose it was designed( Du Bois, Verelst and Demeyer 2004). Given the software process as earlier mentioned morphs the information from one form to another, errors are likely to occur in any of the forms (user needs, design, code etc.) of the product. This paper focuses on the design of software and the relation to the overall product. Generally, it ties software quality management to the success of the software process. In a more specific perspective, realised by careful examination of the models and frameworks of the software process, the paper reviews the software design defects are detected. The models reviewed are an indispensable part of software development and as such, it is important to examine how they help â€Å"clean up† the software proc ess(Leszak, Perry and Stoll 2002). In addition, the paper classifies the software design defects â€Å"shortcomings† that stem from poor design of software. In software development, the writing of a defect free code is one of the major concerns. This concern is cuts across the e software development and object oriented programming community. ... The shortcoming of this approach was that the same defects would still be realised in another software process(Moha and Gueheneuc 2005). It is important to consider the uniqueness, of each piece of software. They are designed as artefacts and meant to serve the user needs adequately. However, the process – individuals, tools, methodology- followed are is the same. This aspect of software development shows that the defects in the process are likely to be repeated. Applying quality management â€Å"control† on the software process is being adopted as a guarantee to achieve software quality. Total quality management of the software design aims at continuously improving the quality of the end product( Kessentini, Sahraoui and Boukadoum 2011 ). Managing the software design by controlling the end product at the design stage is a technique to curve out the causes of defects. This technique adopts a set of practices throughout the software process and is aimed at consistently m eeting the end user needs. While focussing on the software design defects, it is important to note that poor customer requirements elicitation could contribute to poor design of the software (Moha 2007). The focus here is the practices of software management adopted to counter software defects and detect the defects. Most importantly, the main idea is using established processes to catch the software design defects. From this perspective, we are able to examine how total quality management – continuous management of the process – is effected using the design The development of code for software development is a practice that requires skill and experience, producing a design defect free code that does

Health Care Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health Care Ethics - Assignment Example For instance, when the patient has to go for surgery, informed consent is sought to show that he understands the risks and benefits likely to be experienced. The patient then signs an agreement. 5. Electronic records are necessary as a result of the fact that they can be safely stored for a very long period. It is easier to retrieve and process information stored electronically than information stored in hard files. 6. In determining whether you have an effectively run activity program in your facility, you need to observe if there is no congestion of people seeking medical attention at the same time from the facility. Obtaining feedback from different stakeholders can also prove to be an effective method of checking if the facility is run effectively. 7. The residents participating in religious activities in nursing homes that are affiliated with religious organizations should clearly outline the things they do in a different way from other religions. On the other hand, the policies for religious activities appropriate for residents in nursing homes that do not have such religious affiliations should be liberal. The members should not be restricted to practice their own

Sweatshops and Child Labor Essay Example for Free

Sweatshops and Child Labor Essay Sweatshop is defined as a factory or workshop, especially in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions. Sweatshops also referred to as the â€Å"sweat factory†, creates a hazardous and unhealthy working environment for employees such as the exposure to harmful materials, dangerous situations, extreme temperatures and abuse from employers. Sweatshop workers work for long hours, sometimes without taking any breaks, and these workers are not paid for any overtime hours or the minimum wage, although it is mandatory by law. These conditions are considered risky for any person, but the worst part is that in many countries, children are being forced to work in these sweatshops. The term sweatshop is mostly associated with underprivileged developing countries especially in Asia, but sweatshops did exist at some point in United States and Europe. For Americans, sweatshops are history, but in a South Asian country, Bangladesh, people are still working in these horrible conditions, especially children. Child Labor has always been a part of developing countries and a current article about child labor in Bangladesh shows that it is never going to end. Recently, British Broadcast Corporation, also known as BBC, sent one of their newsperson, Alastair Lawson, to a safety pin factory in Bangladesh where many under aged children are employed. Lawson interviewed a ten-year-old girl named Asma, who works in that factory along with ten other children who are about her age. Asma’s job consists of â€Å"sitting on a bench alongside her co-workers, Asma operates a powerful cutting device in the poorly-lit premises for up to 12 hours a day.† The machine that Asma operates cuts the metal for the pins very thinly and if Asma makes any mistakes then she could lose her fingers on that cumbersome, heavy and dangerous machinery. When Lawson further interviews Asma, she tells him that the workers in the factory are not given any lunch breaks and there is no first aid in a case of an emergency. Asma, like other 13 million children in Bangladesh who work full time to support their families are forced to work because of the unfortunate ci rcumstances of which their families are in. Asma tells Lawson that she does not know who she is employed by and all she knows is that she earns about two dollars a day for working twelve hours. Lawson, disturbed by the environment of the sweatshops and the unsafe condition for not just children but any human, writes, I dont think she [Asma] understands the safety part of her work neither she nor her workmates wear any safety gear and she seems totally unaware of the hazards.† Many of the sweatshop workers work full time to support their families and provide food for them, which causes them to work in poor surroundings in which their lives are at jeopardy. Many of these workers are victims of what, according to James Rachels, the author of The Elements of Moral Philosophy, describes as â€Å"the minimum conception of morality†, this concept states that â€Å"morality is, at the very least, the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason—that is, to do what there are the best reasons for doing—while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual affected by one’s decision† (Pg. 13). The reason why these workers might be in this state because they think of what the effect of their unemployment would be on their families who are depending on them for food and shelter, these workers think first about their home and then about themselves and what dangers they are facing when they go out to work in those hell holes called sweatshops. Although working in sweatshops and facing the conditions that are provided for workers there is morally wrong, but it is would not be considered ethically incorrect, because these workers are mostly uneducated and for that reason they can not find jobs in offices or other places where education is required. Another reason for why sweatshop should not be considered ethically wrong because these workers have a choice whether they should work there or not. If a worker does feel that the conditions in the sweatshop is too inconsiderate for them, then they can quit at any time that want, because they are not signing any legal documents that forces them to work there for a certain period of time. Also, many people in developing countries prefer to work in sweatshops because in such countries, there are many products produced from farming therefore, these workers could either become farmers or they could work in factories and build products such as cell phone component, clothing, furniture, shoes or toys. Sweatshops are especially beneficial for people who are handicapped and uneducated because if a person were both handicapped and uneducated then they would not be able to work on a farm. Therefore it is easier for them to just sit on a bench and manufacture products . Although the conditions in sweatshops are unsafe and unhygienic, but it would help handicapped people feel like they are helping their families instead of being a burden on them. Sweatshops are not just beneficial to handicapped and uneducated people, but it is also advantageous for the unfortunate developing countries. As the number of sweatshops increase the country can become more industrialized and there would be less farming and more technological advances. Many economists who are pro-sweatshops believe that if a country is more industrialized then the conditions of the sweatshops will improve and the wages will increase therefore the workers should assist their countries to become more developed. These economists also believe that when the conditions of sweatshops are described they are often compared to the factories in developed counties, which should not be the case because the developed countries have better laws and these laws are better enforced on business. Other than laws, it is also believed by many economists that sweatshops are better for the society in a developing country because people would work for money rather than stealing, which would create chaos and more problems for a country. Another reason is that women would get an equal opportunity to work and instead of going into stone crushing or prostitution, these women are working hard with their dignity. If there were no sweatshops in developing countries then people would not have any job opportunities and they would eventually starve themselves and then die. The cons of sweatshops can be that sweatshops and child labor, deprives children of their moral rights, Rachels talks about what morality really is and how it is related to our lives. Rachels devotes the entire first chapter of his book to What Is Morality? Rachels refers to Socrates, a classical Greek philosopher, who defines morality or moral philosophy, as â€Å"how we ought to live.† Considering Socrates definition of morality, it is seen that child labor in sweatshops deprives these children of how they want to live. These children are thrown into this dangerous and unhealthy work force as soon as they are able to understand the meaning of work. The meaning of morality shows that child labor and conditions in sweatshops are immoral because according to Rachels â€Å"the nature of morality has two main points†¦moral judgments must be backed by good reasons; and second, morality requires the impartial consideration of each individual’s interests.† Child labor and the conditions of sweatshops are not backed by any good reason; the only acceptable reasoning can be the poor condition the family of the worker is in. Also, the rising of unemployment rates in these disadvantaged countries are causing these workers be scared to lose their jobs (Rachels, Pg.10). Sweatshops not only deprive people of their rights to overtime payment or minimum wage, but they are not given any lunch breaks or in many cases bathroom breaks. Along with the horrible psychological conditions, these workers are also facing physical risks because of the harmful materials that they use during production of products that are made for rich or more developed countries. The argument that sweatshop workers should support their country into becoming an industrial is not really fair to the workers because the supervisor of the sweatshop earns the profit, but they refuse to share that with the workers. Critics of sweatshops say that the supervisors deliberately lower wages and make the hours longer because that would give them a greater profit margin, which is not beneficial for the workers at all, for long or short term. If the managers of the sweatshops keep this routine then the country would not get anywhere and there will be no industrialization. Some economists who are also the critics of sweatshop believe that better paying jobs, more investments and national possession of resources will improve the economics of a developing country rather than having sweatshops. All though there are economists who are pro-sweatshops, it is determined from the environment and the situations described by Lawson in a factory in Bangladesh, show that sweatshops are immoral because they deprive the human being of their rights such as children are robbed of their right to go to school and earn an education also their childhood is robbed of all the happiness of playing outside with their friends, but these children are forced to sit in a room for long hours and manufacture products by using machinery that is hazardous. Other than children, women also face immoral circumstances where some pregnant women are forced to have an abortion so they can continue working, which is the most corrupt thing that could happen to a woman. Many feminist organizations have campaigned against sweatshops because almost 90% of the laborers in sweatshops are women and children. Overall, the conditions of sweatshops and the treatment of workers demonstrates that the concept of sweatshops should not be used by any developing country to help them industrialize, because it is important for a country to be compassionate towards their people rather then becoming a well developed country which has been built on the poor workers sweat. People in industrialized countries like the United States believe that sweatshops are history but for poor developing countries, there are still sweatshops that have horrific working conditions in which mostly children and women work long hours to support their families. Some countries that have sweatshops are, China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Honduras. These countries should begin to invest more in better factories with machinery that is safe for human use and strict laws should be passed out that prevent children under the age of sixteen to work in these factories. Along with better factory conditions, overtime pay, lunch breaks and vacation and sick leaves should be provided to the workers. There should be better laws that enforce minimum payment and employs laborers with equal employment opportunity. These improvements would have a better affect on the economy of these countries, because people would most likely be satisfied with their jobs and they would be more willing to help their country become industrialized. Sweatshops are not the last hope for a developing country to become industrialized and anything that begins with immorality does not stand for long, but something that has been made with enthusiasm lasts longer and is much healthier.

Fast Food versus Homemade Food Essay Example for Free

Fast Food versus Homemade Food Essay On the other hand, home-made food has less attraction than fast food. A reason for this is that home-made food needs lots of time until it gets ready. For instance, people should wait for several hours in order to have a ready home-made meal. Another reason is that home-made food is less convenient than fast food. For example, you may not find all the ingredients you need in one grocery, yet you have to look in several groceries until you find all the ingredients. Home-made food is much healthier than fast food, and therefore, people will enjoy eating their meals without thinking of health problems. In conclusion, both fast food and home-made food have significant divergence in preparation time, convenience and quality. Fast food might be better in saving time and being more convenient, while home-made food might be better in quality. I do believe that home-made food is much better than fast food, because peoples health is The questions by Dixit saab: 1. Chule Ki Roti is better or bread. 2. Fast Food is better or customs(regular ) food. , are most relevant in todayss context. I prefer regular food but not fast food. Nutritious, hygenenic food is most important. Even in fast food if it is hygenic, nutritious it can be taken. Many a time we are forced to take fast food which is not so hygenic or nutritious ,because of the urgrncy , in place of the meals we take. The regular intake of fast foods in place of regular food is not suggestable which may kill apetite and person become weak. Inthe present day stressful jobs the person is consuming his physical, mental talents tocope with work schedules. Since body is also a machine we should give necessary inputs through food and required rest so that body functions smoothly. Occasional fast food is unaviodable. But one should take care of health by taking healthy food. Health is Wealth.

Brand Extensions In Fashion

Brand Extensions In Fashion The Indian market and the Indian consumer are evolving. India is currently on its growth path, and India, currently the worlds twelfth-largest consumer market today is expected to become the fifth-largest consumer market by 2025 (Zachariah, 2012).The Indian consumer has become aware and is moving from need based to kind of need based, thanks to the upbeat mood of the economy and populations increasing integration with globalised lifestyle and consumption patterns (Gupta,2011).The Indian consumer market, primarily dominated by the younger generation, is also becoming increasingly sophisticated and brand conscious. The Indian consumer today prefers to carry out a research and compare various brands and product features, prices etc before making a purchase decision. In most cases their evaluation and the purchase decision is based on their previous experience with a brand or a friends suggestion. These changes in the Indian market and the Indian consumer have created opportunities as we ll as challenges for the Indian and the multinational companies operating in India, and these challenges have called for innovative and pragmatic responses from the marketers (winning with the Indian consumer, 2012 )(Zainulbhai, 2009).Thus, various companies, in order, to respond to the constantly changing consumers needs and to understand what they truly value, are trying to build their brands and businesses around this new Indian consumer. To keep at pace with the evolving market and to claim success in this rapidly changing marketplace, companies are innovating with increasing speed, efficiency, and quality and launching new products to satisfy constantly changing consumer demands. New product and brand development has thus, become one of the most powerful business activities (Gupta,2011). But one of the challenges of brand management in todays over-cluttered world of information is to generate strong and positive feelings towards a specific brand and build brand equity. The new products, brands thus, easily become prone to failures because building brand equity is difficult due to many factors like the high level of advertisement costs and the increasing competition (Zachariah,2012). Therefore, in an effort to reduce new product and brand failure rates and to maximize the returns for their stakeholders, more and more companies with strong brand equity are opting for brand extensions, as they believe that innovating products within established brands that consumers trust is a powerful strategy(Gupta, 2011) 1.1.2 Brand extension, an important marketing strategy Brand extension is a marketing strategy, in which a firm marketing a product with a well developed image uses the existing brand name, in the same or a different product category. Organizations use this strategy to increase and leverage brand equity. It increases awareness of the brand name and increases profitability from offerings in more than one product category. A brands extendibility depends on how strong consumers associations are to the brands values and goals (Jonathan Ablett, 2007).Brand extension is, thus one of the, new product development strategies to introduce new products, create awareness and promote new products benefits and to create sales, since launching a new brand is risky, time consuming and also requires a big budget. But like everything else there are various advantages as well as disadvantages of brand extensions. Some of the benefits being that it makes acceptance of new product easy and also has feedback benefits for the parent brand and the organization. Whereas, on the other hand, if the brand is extended into an unrelated market or is extended too far, then it might lose its reliability, and also, the new product might generate implications that in turn might damage the image of the core brand. Therefore, poor choices for brand extension may dilute and deteriorate the core brand and damage the brand equity, and result in a diluted or severely damaged brand image. In the past, along with many successful brand extensions there have also been many failures. The failure of extension may come from difficulty of connecting with parent brand, a lack of similarity and familiarity and inconsistent messages conveyed to the consumer(Ashok Gopal,2006).In case of brand extension failures, the equity of a brand can be significantly affected, and they can also disturb and confuse the original brand image and meaning in the mind of the consumer. Thus the marketers need to pay close attention to brand extension strategy, because one small mistake can be of considerable damage to the brand equity. A number of elements related to the existing brands, in a companys portfolio need to be considered. The current equity of the brand should be transferrable to the extended product/category and it is also essential that the effect a brands current equity will have in the branding strategy is well understood. So basically while evaluating a brand extension opportunity, some fundamental questions need to be considered by the brand managers, i.e. if it makes sense strategically, for the brand and the company in terms of its product and brand portfolio ; further, if it makes sense strategically, then will the change fit in terms of brands equity ; and lastly, if the change makes sense strategically and the brand logically fits into the new market, then will it be profitable for the company. 1.1.3 Role of consumer in evaluation of brand extension Another important factor to be closely studied by the marketers when considering brand extension is consumer. In fact, consumers evaluation of brand extension plays a major role in determining success or failure of an extension, with consumer playing a moderating role in the evaluation process. It is the consumer, who has the ability to process information into useful knowledge by measuring and comparing the difference between core brand and extension product on the basis of former experience and knowledge. Consumers evaluation is a part of consumers buying behavior process, which often takes place over a period of time. The consumers buying behavior process consists of, searching for, evaluating, purchasing and using of products and services that the consumers expect will satisfy their needs. The overall goal during this decision process is to evaluate various alternatives and choose the product that satisfies them in an optimal way. Therefore the brand managers and the marketers, c onsidering brand extensions are required to study the consumer buying behavior for better understanding of the consumer. 1.1.4 Brand extensions in the world of fashion In the world of brand extensions, fashion brands have a relatively easy path from clothing to fashion accessories. It is not uncommon, for example, to see brand names that may have started their lives associated with fine clothing become equally known for handbags, footwear, jewelry and other accessories. In fashion industry, brands from the luxury segment also get into extensions, through brand diffusion, wherein they mix haute couture with lower priced range of ready to wear, at the same time there are some luxury brands refuse to go in for the same, because they feel that this would just confuse the existing customers of the brand. But a perfect example of a fashion brand, which has successfully got into various line and category extensions, is Armani. The brand has successfully extended itself by sticking to the core values of the brand i.e. by been consistent in its strategy of launching exclusive products to a high end category of customers. Similarly, many fashion brands have successfully evolved and extended themselves into various lines and categories. For instance, Ralph Lauren, a brand that began almost 40 years ago with a collection of ties has today grown into an entire world, redefining American style. The brand includes childrens wear, eyewear, underwear, jeans wear, shoes, accessories, house wares, furs, luggage, and a range of many other products, and over the years the brand has not suffered from brand image dilution due to rapid expansion and instead has only strengthened with time is because, it has been able to maintain its American Aristocrat image all along, i.e. the brand has always stood for providing quality products, creating worlds and inviting people to take part in his in dream, and has been able to maintain it across the extensions. But not all brand extensions are accepted by the consumers, like in case of levis. In the early 1980, when the brand had attempted to introduce a tailored classics line of mens suits, the extension was not well accepted by the consumers due to the lack of fit between the brands informal, rugged, outdoor image and the image the company sought from its suits. 1.2 Problem Identification Consumers play a major role in determining the success and the failure of the brand extension. Consumers evaluation of brand-extensions is in turn influenced by various factors. Most of the existing literature on the same focuses on the western countries, thus limiting the validity of the findings to our country. This study aims to fill this gap by studying consumers evaluation of brand extensions in the Indian context, for the fashion and lifestyle brands in India. 1.3 Project Objective To define the role of brand equity in shaping consumers attitude about a brand extension. To determine the various factors that influence Indian consumers evaluations of brand extensions, especially of premium fashion and lifestyle brands based in Delhi, NCR. 1.4 Research Approach Literature Review: The approach to writing this paper included literature review to understand the context of consumers decision making, brand extension (branding strategy), and consumers attitude towards brands extensions. For a good understanding of the same, various case studies of brand extensions in the west and in India were explored. Studying various success and failure stories, helped in determining how consumers evaluate brand extensions and the various steps a brand needs to adopt when considering a brand extension. Methodology: Primary and secondary research methods were used for the study. Primary research method was used to ascertain the learning and reflections from the literature review for the Indian market and consumer. It was done with the help of quantitative research by conducting structured surveys, with the help of self administered questionnaires, with close ended questions. Secondary research method was used to study the premium fashion and lifestyle brands in India already into or working towards brand extensions. 1.5 Scope The research has helped in establishing the role and importance of various factors in shaping consumers attitude about brand extension and also the significance of consumers evaluation of brand extension in making it a success or a failure. 1.6 Significance and Value Since, India has heterogeneous consumer segments, and every segment has different needs, this study will be of great help for fashion and lifestyle brands in taking insightful decisions within consumers decision making/consumers evaluation parameters regarding brand extension in India. Moreover, a lot of fashion and lifestyle brands in India are diversifying into new segments due to many reasons like in order to increase their shop productivity, to make shoppers spend more time in their shops and buy more, etc, but at the same time there is also a lot of risk involved in extending into new segment. This study will help them to understand consumers evaluation criteria, which will in turn help them create a connection with their consumers. Limitations The limitation of the study is that the research could not explore the entire Indian market due to geographical constraints. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Brand Principles of Marketing, by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong and the American Marketing Association (2008) defined brand as a name, term, sign / symbol or a combination of these that identifies the maker or seller of the product and differentiates them from those of the competition. Aakers (1991) widely accepted definition of a brand is to identify the goods or services of whether one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services from those of competitors. Brands are thus, valuable assets and tools influencing consumer behavior which includes awareness, choice, use, satisfaction, recommendation, trust and loyalty. They reduce information search costs and risk for consumers and deliver quality, values, promises, and lifestyle enhancement (Czellar, 2010) .According to Keller (2002) the benefits of a strong brand can be categorized under 4 different categories, namely, product-related effects, price-related effects, communication-related effects and channel related effects. Product-related effects of brand include consumer product evaluations, consumer confidence, perceptions of quality, and purchase rate positively related to a brand name. If consumers are well aware of a brand, their attitude and their purchase intention toward the brand are increased. Price-related effects refer to the fact that brand leaders have higher priced positions and consumers have a lower level of price sensitivity toward those leaders. Communication-related effects refer to how the evaluation of brand advertising can be positively biased when consumers have positive feelings toward a brand which is a well known and well-liked brand and the effect of the well-known brand, which is most likely to have competitive advantage in marketing activities, is the channel-related effect. 2.2 Fashion and Branding According to Solomon and Rabolt (2004), fashion is defined as a style that is accepted by a large group of people at a given time. Generally people use the term fashion and style interchangeably. In the fashion context, consumers choose a certain fashion brand over others because they are associated with a certain style (Ferney et al.2005).The way individuals have their own distinctive personalities and styles in the manner of living, speaking as well as dressing, the brands too can be associated with a particular personality, because branding has the propensity to distinguish a brand from others by creating an individual brand personality, by using different brand elements like name, logo, symbol, and package design(Newman and Patel ,2002).Branding is important in fashion retailing as the brand can project a specific image like personality, sex, lifestyle and age, to the target consumers. Like in case of a sports brand, the attribute of sporty feeling would be formed in consumers mi nd whereas a casual fashion brand would be associated with the casual attribute (Keller 2002). The brand image allows fashion merchandise to communicate a distinct symbolic meaning, through merchandise, store atmosphere, sales associate attraction with customers, and marketing campaign, between the retailers and the consumers (Ferney et al, 2005). Newman and Patel discovered that brand image is crucial in this intensely competitive fashion retail sector. As different types of fashion consumers are matched with particular clothing styles, brand image can create a point of difference and assist consumers in selecting a suitable fashion brand. A successful fashion brand can capture the market share and maintain a positive relationship with its customers, therefore creating an appropriate fashion brand is one of the primary ways for the marketers to differentiate the products from the competitors. In brief, fashion and branding are closely related (Solomon and Rabolt 2004; Newman and Pa tel, 2002). 2.3 Brand Equity In Building Strong Brands, David Aaker defined brand equity as a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to the brand-its name and symbols-that add value to, or subtract value from, a product or service. The major asset categories are brand loyalty, brand name awareness, perceived quality and brand associations. http://www.tvonlinesurveys.com/enquete/Brand%20equity%20model%20Aaker.bmp(Aakers Brand Equity Model) The model mainly talks about how brand equity is formed of five components and how each has a role to play in the performance of the brand and indicates that how the brand equity will rise with the increase in brand loyalty, brand name awareness, and perceived quality and with stronger and positive brand associations and also with the increase in the number of brand related proprietary assets. This model can thus be used to get to grips with a brands equity and gain insight into the relation between the different brand equity components and the future performance of the brand. Apart from the five components, the model also reflects indicators or the consequences of the pursued branding policy. (Aaker, 1991) The five components and the factors having an influence on these components are: Brand loyalty: Aaker (1991) defines brand loyalty as the attachment that a customer has to a brand. Two different levels of loyalty are classified: behavioral and cognitive loyalty (Keller, 1998). Behavioral loyalty can be indicated by a number of repeated purchases (Keller, 1998) or commitment to buy the brand as a primary choice .Cognitive loyalty refers to the consumers intention to buy the brand as the first choice .Another indicator of loyalty is the customers willingness to pay higher price for a brand in comparison with another brand offering similar benefits. The extent to which people are loyal to a brand is expressed in the following factors: Reduced marketing costs, as hanging on to loyal customers is way cheaper than charming potential new customers. Trade leverage, as loyal customers represent a stable source of revenue for the distributive level. Attracting new customers, as current customers can help boost name awareness and hence bring in new customers Time to respond to competitive threats, as loyal customers that are not quick to switch brands give a company more time to respond to competitive threats. (Aaker, 1991) Brand awareness: It is a key determinant of brand equity. It is defined as an individuals ability to recall and recognize a brand. Top-of-mind and brand dominance is other levels of awareness included by Aaker (1996) in measuring awareness. Awareness can affect customers perceptions, which lead to different brand choice and even loyalty (Aaker, 1996). A brand with strong brand recall (unaided awareness) and top of mind can affect customers perceptions, which lead to different customer choice inside a product category. The extent to which a brand is known among the public ,can be measured using the following parameters: Anchor to which associations can be attached (depending on the strength of the brand name, more or fewer associations can be attached to it, which will, in turn ,eventually influence brand awareness) Familiarity and liking (consumers with a positive attitude towards a brand ,will talk about it more and spread brand awareness) Signal of substance/commitment to a brand. Brand to be considered during the purchasing process (to what extent does the brand form part of the evoked set of brands in a consumers mind) (Aaker, 1991) Perceived quality: It is defined as the customers judgment about a products overall excellence or superiority in comparison to alternatives brand and overall superiority that ultimately motivates the customer to purchase the product (Aaker and Jacobson, 1994). It is difficult for customers to make a rational judgment of the quality. They are likely using quality attributes like color, flavor, form, and appearance of the product and the availability of production information to infer quality. The extent to which a brand is considered to provide good quality products can be measured on the basis of the following criteria: The quality offered by the product / brand is a reason to buy it. Level of differentiation/position in relation to competing brands. Price, as the product becomes more complex to assess and status is at play, consumers tend to take price as a quality indicator. Availability in different sales channels, i.e. consumers have a higher quality perception of brands that are widely available. The number of brand extensions (this can tell the consumer the brand stands for a certain quality guarantee that is applicable on a wide scale) (Aaker, 1991) Brand associations: Consumer must first be aware of the brand in order to develop a set of associations. Brand association contains the meaning of the brand for consumers; it is anything linked in memory to a brand (Aaker, 1991). Brand associations are mostly grouped into a product-related attribute like brand performance and non product related attributes like brand personality and organizational associations. Customers evaluate a product not merely by whether the product can perform the functions for which it is designed for but the reasons to buy this brand over the competitors. Brand personalities include symbolic attributes (Aaker, 1996; Keller, 1993) which are the intangible features that meet consumers needs for social approval, personal expression or self-esteem. The associations triggered by a brand can be assessed on the basis of the following indicators: The extent to which a brand name is able to retrieve associations from the consumers brain, such as information from TV advertising. The extent to which association contribute to brand differentiation in relation to the competition (these can be abstract association or associations with concrete product benefits) The extent to which brand associations play a role in the buying process (the greater this extent ,the higher the total brand equity) The extent to which brand associations create positive attitude/feelings(the greater this extent, the higher the total brand equity) The number of brand extensions in the market (the greater this number, the greater the opportunity to add brand associations) (Aaker, 1991) Other proprietary assets: Some of the examples are patent and intellectual property rights, relations with trade partners, etc. (the more the proprietary rights a brand has accumulated, the greater the brands competitive edge in those fields) (Aaker, 1991) The model also provides an insight into the criteria that indicate to what degree actual value is created with both consumer and company due to pursued branding policy. However, this model does not make a clear distinction between added value brand can have for the consumer /customer and added value it can have for the brand owner/company and does not even discuss the process that goes into building strong brands, and is only useful to gain insight into the various brand equity components and the relation between them. (Wood, 2000) 2.4 Kellers Customer-based Brand equity model This model depicts the process that goes into building strong brands. It is set in the realm of brand added value, i.e. the focus of this model is on the added value a brand offers its customers/consumers. Kevin Lane Keller introduced this customer-based brand equity model, and has defined it as the differential effect that consumers brand knowledge has on their response to the marketing of that brand (Keller 1993).Differential consumer response is mainly based on consumers knowledge of the brand as well as the favorability of associations. The model is made up of various steps, which should be taken in a fixed order. The model talks about the six dimensions of brand equity, namely, brand salience, brand performance, brand imagery, consumer judgments, consumer feelings and brand resonance. According to Keller, the highest level of brand equity is realized when the top of the pyramid is attained. In his view, the resonance comes about when the consumer has a high level of awareness of and familiarity with the brand and holds some strong, favorable and unique associations in memory. (Keller, Strategic brand management, 2002) http://markhendrikse.squarespace.com/storage/post-images/july-2009/cmmemodel.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1247443493748 (Kellers customer based brand equity model) The six dimensions and the process that goes into building of strong brands, as identified by Keller are: Brand Salience: The first step in the development of a strong brand involves describing its identity, and revolves around the question: Who am I? .To achieve this, the brand managers need to ensure that the customers should be able to identify with the brand. A clear associative link between the brand and a specific product class/category has to be established in the mind of the consumer, this also further helps in creating a solid footing for the building of brand awareness and knowledge. Salience basically refers to how familiar consumers are with a brand and whether the brand is actively considered when consumers find themselves in purchase or consumption situations. A high level of salience means that a consumer has knowledge of both the depth and the width of a brand, (depth here refers to the ease with which a brand can be activated in the consumers brain, while width refers to the extent to which happens when the consumer is making a purchase decision.)Brand Salience is thus a precondition for moving up on the brand pyramid. (Keller, 2002) (Keller, Strategic Brand Management: a european perspective, 2008) Brand performance and brand imagery: when brand salience has been realized, the process moves on to the next steps in the development of brand meaning. The second step basically answers the question: What am I?This question is answered by using intrinsic (tangible) and extrinsic (intangible) characteristics of a brand.(Intrinsic characteristics refer to the degree to which a product/service is seen to perform by consumers, and extrinsic characteristics refers to how consumers think about a brand. In order to boost overall brand equity the focus needs to be on both brand performance and brand imagery, since they together add on to the brand associations. Raising brand performance starts by delivering a product/service that fulfills current customers needs, followed by attempts to surpass the triggered customer expectations. Brand imagery on the other hand can be increased by tailoring to consumerspshyco-social needs. Imagery refers to what people think about a brand (in terms of value and meaning) and not so much about what exactly the product does or can do (in terms of functionality).It can be raised directly by creating brand experience or indirectly through advertisement. In the end, these two dimensions together need to bring about certain brand associations that are strong, positive and unique. These dimensions also play an important role in creating brand loyalty. (Keller, 2002) Brand judgments and brand feelings: After realizing strong, positive and unique brand associations, the third step deals with the way consumers think and feel about a brand. This step basically contains the responses to the efforts from step 2(performance and imagery).the brand is evaluated and judged at this stage, formulating a certain attitude towards the brand. The two dimensions at play here are: brand judgments (rational) and brand feelings (emotional).the former denotes the opinion consumers have of a brand, and how they evaluate the brand. The opinion in this case is formed rationally and based on three criteria, quality, reliability and superiority. Brand feelings on the other hand are the emotional reactions by consumers to brands and their marketing efforts. What feelings does the brand evoke in the consumer, and in the social environment? Are these feelings intense or not, positive or negative? These feelings can very strong and can have an affect on brand observation dur ing actual use of the product. These feelings are based on various factors, namely, warmth, pleasure, tension, security, social acceptance and self respect. (Keller, 2002) Brand resonance: once when the consumer has acquired a positive idea of the brand in both a rational and an emotional sense, a solid base is created to further jump on to the last stage. This stage answers the question whether the consumer is willing to enter into a (lasting) relationship with a brand. If this stage is attained, then its considered as the brand has achieved true brand loyalty, where the consumer identifies him/herself with the values of the brand to a considerable degree and is willing to invest in a relationship. Brand resonance is an ultimate relationship between a brand and a consumer. The closeness of the bond can be measured using factors like loyalty, emotional bond, being a member of a brand community and active brand involvement. (Keller, 2002) Brand equity if used appropriately, possesses a huge potential to create advantages and benefits for the firm, the trade and the consumer. Some of the benefits of strong brand equity being, improved perceptions of product performance, greater loyalty, less vulnerability to competitive marketing actions and marketing crises, larger margins , more inelastic consumer response to price increases and more elastic consumer response to price decreases ,greater trade cooperation and support ,increased marketing communication effectiveness along with licensing opportunities and additional brand extension opportunities.(Wood ,2000 ; Feldwick, 1996) 2.5 Brand equity and brand extension Brand equity can be leveraged by building it, borrowing it, or by buying it. Building brand equity is not an easy task due to the rapid increase in the number of brands and the intense competition that is prevalent in many industries. Thus, the brands generally prefer to opt for the alternatives to building brand equity i.e. by borrowing it or buying it. (Moisescu, 2005; Tuominen, 1999) Since the study focuses on the role of brand equity in brand extensions, leveraging brand equity by borrowing it, will be discussed. Borrowing brand equity: According to Tuominen (1999), many firms borrow on the brand equity in their brand names by extending existing brand names to other products, which is referred to as brand extension. There are two types of brand extensions namely, a line and a category extension. A line extension is when a current brand name is used to enter new market segment in the existing product class, whereas, a category extension is when the current brand name is used to enter a different product class. A line extension occurs when a company introduces additional items in the same product category under the same brand name. A line extension often involves a different size, color, flavor or ingredient, a different form or a different application for the brand (Richard Elliot, 2006). Products in line extensions are technically congruent, i.e., similar in many attributes. They belong to the same product category or subclass. The vast majority of new-product activity consists of line extens ions. Excess manufacturing capacity often drives a company to introduce additional items. The company might want to meet the consumers desire for variety. The company may recognize a latent consumer want and try to capitalize on it (Moisescu, 2005). The company may want to match a competitors successful line extension. Many companies introduce line extensions primarily to command more shelf space from resellers. Line extensions involve risks. There is a chance that the brand name will lose its specific meaning. This is called the line-extension trap (Eun Young Kim, 2000) .The other risk is that many line extensions will not sell enough to cover their deve

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INTRODUCTION Bitcoin is a firstly decentralized digital currency that is created and traded freely of any government or bank. The currency is produced through a computer database and it can be altered into cash after being deposited into virtual wallets. Bitcoin is developed by â€Å"Satoshi Nakamoto † in 3 January 2009 (5 years ago ). It is as an innovative payment network and a novel kind of money. It has big demand in United States , China and many European countries. Bitcoin is a system of owing and voluntarily transferring amounts of so called Bitcoin in a manner similar to online banking without dependence on central authority to retain account balances. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment system History of Bitcoin The world's first decentralized currency. 2007 Satoshi Nakamoto. The legend According to legend, Satoshi Nakamoto arose functioning on the Bitcoin concept in 2007. While he is on record as living in Japan, it is speculated that Nakamoto may be a collective pseudonym for more than one person. August 15, 2008: An remarkable patent application... Neal Kin, Vladimir Oksman, and Charles Bry file an application for an encryption patent application. All three individuals deny a connection to Satoshi Nakamoto, the alleged originator of the Bitcoin concept. August 18, 2008 Bitcoin.org is registered: Bitcoin.org is taking place. The domain was recorded at anonymousspeech.com, a site that allows users to secretly register domain names and presently rece... ...ce Date Close Change 2014-03-12 $631.39 0.39% 2014-03-11 $628.95 0.50% 2014-03-10 $625.83 -1.16% 2014-03-09 $633.18 2.92% 2014-03-08 $615.24 -1.69% 2014-03-07 $625.83 -4.99% 2014-03-06 $658.72 -0.46% 2014-03-05 $661.79 -0.27% Trends: 1. Increasing adoption by both on-line and customary merchants 2. Increasing speed of innovation surrounding Bitcoin 3. Increasing public adoption 4. Increasing speculation of alternative currencies Conclusion: Bitcoin is a novel concept, but it’s in the process of being understood and accepted by a growing number of consumers, merchants, and investors around the world. As this process continues the the full picture to start using bitcoins are becoming more compelling. There is also increased investment in the sector and many new finance companies are offering more professional and consumer responsive solutions for everyday use.

Catcher In The Rye: The Quest For Love :: essays research papers

Catcher In the Rye: The Quest For Love In many novels in J.D. Salinger's library of books, there is a recurring theme of the loss of innocence of children, the falling and the confusions of childhood, and many other ideas that apply to the ideas of adolescence and the life of the average teenager growing up. Many of his themes occur in a short period of time in a child's life that affects him/her in a very profound and significant way. The idea of love is also a major theme that arises in many of his characters and that indicates the character of the individual. He uses love in the context of being a device that is used to protect and to care for people who need protecting and caring. In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, love is used by a character, Holden Caulfield, who struggles desperately to find a certain somebody or anyone to allocate his love to, but realizes finally, that this love is not necessarily expressed through saving â€Å" the children in the rye† from the time of trial, but actually caring for them and being their friends, during the time of trial. The quest of finding the true love of people is an ongoing dilemma in the lives of many people all throughout the world. The constant need for love is overwhelming, and the tragedy of this great world is the fact that some people do not find the proper love that they deserve. Holden Caulfield is a perfect example of the striving to acquire a love sought all throughout his life. According to this quote, â€Å"He is simply expressing an innocence incapable of genuine hatred. Holden does not suffer from the inability to love, but does despair of finding a place to bestow his love† (Heiserman and Miller 30), Holden Caulfield has the need for allocating his cornucopia of love for people. His quest is very simple. He wants to do good. As compared to tragic heroes in the past, "Holden seeks Virtue second to Love. He wants to be good. When the little children are playing in the rye-field on the cliff top, Holden wants to be the one who catches them before they fall off the cliff. He is not driven toward honor or courage. He is not driven toward the love of woman. Holden is driven toward love of his fellowman...." (Heiserman and Miller 25). In other words, he is not a tragic hero, but rather a misfortuned hero that struggles to find a person to give his love to.