Philippine Gaming Industry

Despite the surge of Pagcor income that has succeeded immensely in supporting the cash-strapped government, several lawmakers, nongovernment organizations and especially the religious sector are still firmly against government engaging in the business of operating casinos. Edward King, spokesman for Pagcor chairman Efraim Genuino, told The Manila Times that first and foremost, one thing that people should remember is that Pagcor is a creation of law. Pagcor, a government-owned and controlled corporation was established to regulate all games of chance in the Philippines. It was born in 1976, created by then-President Marcos to oversee the operation of gaming casinos, to generate funds for the government’s developmental projects and to help curb illegal gambling. An unaudited Pagcor report shows that Pagcor, â€Å"a vital arm of the government in nation building, â€Å" netted P25. 4 billion in income making it one of the biggest earners for 2006. † So is Pagcor a proof that casinos and legalized gaming can be a valuable source of government funding and an effective engine for national development? â€Å"We are created by law, we are just following what the law orders us to do. It is not a question that is up to us to decide. We must obey the law,† King said. Under the law, he explained, Pagcor is required to run casinos. He said that the most important thing about the government running casinos is that all funds that generated from Pagcor goes back to the government â€Å"100 percent. † â€Å"We are operating the casinos but here is where everything lies: 100 percent of the income that we generate goes back to the government,† King said. The state-run gaming firm surpassed its earlier record-breaking P21. 9-billion total annual income in 2004 and breached its target income of P23. 1 billion for 2005. It surpassed the P24. 5 billion target for 2006 as well. Pagcor’s 2005 total income of P23. 4 billion was 6. 8 percent higher than the P21. 9 billion it posted a year before. The issue of privatizing Pagcor is also very controversial, with several lawmakers pushing for it and even more congressmen against it. King said that while the act can be considered purely from the noble and idealistic viewpoint that government should not be in the business of gambling, one has to think from the point of view of generating funds for the government. He said that if the government would privatize Pagcor, then all income goes to the private sector leaving only a small amount in taxes being paid to the government coffers. â€Å"If you give Pagcor to the private, they will just be paying taxes. There is a huge difference between a fraction of income from taxes to 100 percent,† King said. An official from Pagcor who requested anonymity even claimed that perhaps the lawmakers have their own personal agenda. Maybe they want to be the ones who will buy and operate Pagcor, they said. Its simple, privatize Pagcor they get the income, the lawmakers may perhaps be getting their own kickbacks from certain lobby groups who want Pagcor for their personal purpose,† the official said. King merely laughed at the statement of the official adding that he did not want to comment, not wanting to get into trouble with the congressmen. King, however, added that if Pagcor is run privately, all measures such as that of the antimoney launderi ng might be removed and the private personalities owning it may use the gaming for the bad purposes that the antimoney-laundering council wants to prevent. Pagcor is created by law with the purpose of bringing much needed funds to the government. Certainly if you are run privately mahirap bantayan. How can you impose legislation on it which means how can we protect ourselves now from money laundering, how do we prevent this money going out of the country,† he said. â€Å"We are able to ensure that these things do not happen since the protective mechanism are all in place here. ’Yung mga private casinos for instance maaaring lumalabas iyang pera at magamit for money laundering once they are privately owned,† he said. We do what we can,† King said. King also thanked Congress for granting them a fresh 25-year franchise. King explained that government departments are dependent on Pagcor. The Department of Education is seeking more money from us. Even many church organizations get donations from Pagcor despite the opposition to Pagcor of some bishops. Pagcor, in President Arroyo’s own words, is an important part of Philippine nation building. In its endeavor to generate more funds for the governmen t’s pressing concerns, Pagcor has ventured beyond casino management. To meet the challenges of the new millennium, the gaming corporation is constantly looking for ways to improve its gaming products and maximizing the efficiency of its gaming operations. Philippine Gaming Market Sports betting is, to a vast population of Filipinos, a way of life from cockfighting to horseracing and basketball. Betting on number combination games such as lotteries and basketball â€Å"ending† offered by illegal bookies, has become part of millions of Filipinos’ daily routine. The gaming market in the Philippines is estimated to be over P100 billion a year. Illegal gaming accounts for half of the country’s gaming industry revenues. Internet Gaming Market The Internet gaming global market is estimated to be US$10 billion in 2002 and is predicted to reach US$14. 5 billion in year 2006. Internet Sports Betting and Internet Casino dominates most of the revenues. Although US now accounts for half of industry revenues, the gaming market is changing and the biggest area of growth is in places like Europe and Asia. Pagcor aims to go global and is keen on gaining a share of the Internet gaming revenue. Internet gaming will allow Pagcor to reach out to local and foreign gaming enthusiasts with less investment cost. About Philweb Capitalizing on its Internet technology experience, Philweb in early 2003 made a deliberate decision to focus on Internet Gaming. It established partner relationship with leading software providers in addition to establishing its own gaming software capability. On the basis of this expertise, Philweb was successful in concluding a contract with Pagcor, whereby Philweb became Pagcor’s overall service provider for Internet Gaming technology. To date, Philweb has concluded 2 Internet Gaming agreements with Pagcor, as follows: Acknowledging the Filipino’s yearning for sports and gaming as well as the continuing popularity of local sports betting, Pagcor, in partnership with Philweb Corp. , designed and deployed a new and innovative way to utilize Internet technology in fueling the Filipino’s passion for sports—Internet Sports Betting. Pagcor aims to compete head on with illegal bookies and migrate most, if not all, of the illegal gaming revenues into additional source of income for the government. Recognizing Philweb’s extensive knowledge in Internet technology, software development expertise and its nationwide marketing distribution network, Pagcor signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Philweb on November 28, 2002, engaging the latter as its technology service provider and marketing consultant for Internet Sports Betting. Subsequently, Philweb and Pagcor likewise entered into several supplemental agreements to cover the expansion programs of Pagcor on Internet Sports Betting. Philweb is a PLDT subsidiary. Pagcor license for Internet casino Pagcor has decided to offer casino games outside the land-based casinos via Internet Casino Stations. Compared with the land-based counterpart, Internet Casino Stations require less investment because of their low overhead as well as operating and marketing costs. Also, Internet Casino offers gaming enthusiasts the opportunity to play casino games in the privacy and comfort of their homes at any time of the day and at their own pace. As an additional feature, a prepaid card system will be incorporated in Pagcor’s Internet Casino betting platform to avoid credit card fraud and fast-track its nationwide distribution. Philweb is partnering once more with Pagcor to accelerate the market entry of the latter’s Internet Casino products in the Philippines. With a management team rich with Internet Casino business expertise, Philweb expects to realize with Pagcor the revenue potential of Internet Casino. Currently, Pagcor and Philweb are pursuing for the expansion of their Internet Gaming relationship to now include Internet Casino. Philweb will provide its technology and marketing services to Pagcor. These services shall include the following: Recently, Philweb, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) affiliate that oversees the operation of an Internet casino business on behalf of the government, expects to report a full-year profit for 2006, the first since it was set up in 2000. Philweb reported net profit of P42 million ($861,848) in the first nine months of 2006. The company, which oversees 45 Internet casino stations, most of them in Manila, said gross betting volume in online casinos had surged from P562 million in 2004 to P10. 8 billion in 2005. It is likely to rise by another 30 percent in 2006, according to Dennis Valdes, the company’s president. That forecast looked optimistic on a recent Saturday night in Manila on the basis of competition between a bookmaker’s office, crowded with laborers betting on horses, and an Internet casino station a few feet away where no-one was queuing to play. But the relative quiet outside the online casino belies the vast and rapid flow of money into the newest game of chance to hit Manila. On entry into what looks like an Internet cafe, where about 25 desktop computers are linked to a powerful server running gambling software, customers are asked to buy at least P500 worth of credits, and it is not uncommon for players to spend P1,000 in just 15 minutes. â€Å"We started out as an ISP [Internet service provider] and it was only recently that the company refocused on Internet gambling,† said Valdes. In November 2002, Philweb won a contract to provide consultancy services to the state gambling monopoly, which is trying to curb an illegal market that it estimates to be worth about P50 billion a year. Stock market investors are making a big bet on Philweb, whose share price more than doubled in 2006 and has risen by about a 10th so far this year. Its market capitalization of P3. 9 billion is now almost a quarter more than the combined market value of the two bigger and older companies that run horse races.

Leadership Skills Ingredient in Decision-Making Essay

In correlation to the given test as an ethical decision maker, my scores revealed that I am not a judgmental person. I do not usually give judgments neither decide which is wrong or right. Therefore, I cannot easily offend other’s personal beliefs and principles. I also believe that moral right must be respected often. It should be protected. I basically make decisions that conform to unified standards of the majority so that I cannot humiliate them. I also believe that the human spirit can only flower in an atmosphere of freedom. Where people can freely express and decide for their own. However, I have difficulties in handling justice. Sometimes I have inequalities in dealing with other people. I easily make good deals with people close to my heart. Thus, it reflects my biases. The Individual Ethics Profile (IEP) revealed specific traits about oneself. I was able to discover my positive attributes like giving importance with other people’s moral rights. That quality is very essential in making ethical decisions in the future. From that, I can base some of my decisions which conform to the principles of proper conduct as established by the society. Since every decision can affect our future, I can also rely from that result some of my weaknesses particularly in the concept of justice. I must be in balance and minimize unhealthy biases with the people surround me. I can also find ways to strengthen and enrich them. Learning more of ourselves can be every beneficial so we can choose good decisions and productively utilize the freedom to decide in the real world. It can also be a source of improvement by comparing my first result to the second one as I take the same questions again. It can also serve as a guide to me in becoming a better leader and decision maker.

Student Learning Outcomes Research Paper

Student Learning Outcomes Research Paper The student learning outcome I chose to research is the relationship between the development of oral language and the development of literacy. These are in the InTASC standards 1,2,4,5, and 8. Oral Language is the listening and speaking part of communication and is a process that develops naturally. The roots of oral language are listening, speaking, opportunities for conversation, and vocabulary development. Oral language development and vocabulary are directly linked to reading comprehension.As a teacher it will be your job to provide opportunities and support for students to develop their oral language. Oral Language lays the foundation for reading comprehension. Students have to be able to understand language at the oral level in order to be expected to understand it at the text level. If a student can only understand a 6 word sentence orally then they will only be able to understand those 6 words they read in a book. Oral language begins very early. Even before babies can say words they begin to coo and make sounds that develop into words. Parents should talk to babies and tell them the names of objects.Encouraging babies to say syllabus and repetitive sounds like â€Å"mama† and â€Å"dada† are great ways to begin oral development. If I child never hears any words or language spoken to them then how can they ever be expected to speak that language. As a teacher you should incorporate the following into your classroom to encourage oral language development; engage children in extended conversations, encourage children to tell and retell stories and events, discuss a wide range of topics and word meanings, use new and unusual words, ask open-ended questions, encourage language play.Some things for students to do to develop their oral language are; explore and experiment with language, name and describe objects in the classroom, ask and answer why, who, what, when, where and how questions, hear good mode ls of language use, and discuss topics of interest. Oral vocabulary is key when a beginning reader makes the transition from oral to written forms. Between grades 1 and 3, it is estimated that economically disadvantaged students' vocabularies increase by about 3,000 words per year and middle-class students' vocabularies increase by about 5,000 words per year.As a teacher you should recognize which of your students have a less environmentally rich home life and compensate for that. Also you should be aware of students that are not from English speaking homes. If the only place a student hears and reads English is at school, they are going to develop their vocabulary slower than a student who hears the language both at home and school. (Kieffer 146-157) Oral language and the development of literacy are interconnected and inextricably linked.Students need an environment which engages them in the literary practices of their community in which they live, interact and learn. The relations hip, then, is between everyday talk and literary language. For example, small children will mimic its parents gesturing. I can not state enough that oral language and literacy greatly compliment each other as a child develops their communication skills. In our schools teachers teach children to read and write by listening for the sounds in words and predicting the letters that are used to make those sounds.Sound-symbol relationship and phonemic awareness are very important developments for young children to be successful with the literacy curriculum. Children learn to understand and verbally express language at a very rapid pace, beginning with their first moments of life. Literacy development is obviously not expected from children until they enter school. Like oral language, there is a wide range of â€Å"normalcy† when it comes to the age a child will reach each milestone. Basically, each domain supports the other.Children whose articulation is poor often improve greatly w hen they are able to read, as the letters help them learn to produce the correct sounds and to sequence them appropriately. Likewise, children who have a good vocabulary and are good at spoken language will often become very successful readers. According to an article I found â€Å"key principles that were applied in the study to enable the development of a community of practice focused on information literacy integration. These principles can be summarized as: 1. nowledge is socially constructed and the social nature of cognitive development serves as a powerful dialogic model for understanding how IL could be integrated into the curriculum in a community of practice; 2. tools play an important role in these social interactions in curriculum integration; 3. internalization can serve as a powerful model when data is generated and analyzed using this research approach. † (Dawkins , and O'Neill 294-307) Reading comprehension depends on language abilities that have been developi ng since birth.Basic vocabulary and grammar are clearly essential to comprehension because each enables understanding of words and their interrelationships in and across individual sentences in a text. However, children who comprehend well go beyond word and sentence comprehension to construct a representation of the situation or state of affairs described by the text. In some theories, this is referred to as a mental model and it involves organizing a text’s multiple ideas into an integrated whole, using both information from the text and the reader’s own world knowledge.To do this, successful comprehend draw upon a set of higher-level cognitive and linguistic skills, including inferencing, monitoring comprehension, and using text structure knowledge. Take the following story for example: â€Å"Johnny carried a jug of water. He tripped on a step. Mom grabbed the mop. † The literal representation of the individual words and sentences does not enable the reader t o integrate their meanings and construct a mental model. Successful comprehenders understand narrative structure and couple it with their knowledge to infer that Johnny spilled the water.They then understand why Mom grabbed a mop. They also monitor their comprehension of stories-either written or spoken-and realize the need to make an inference that Johnny spilled the water to make sense of Mom’s response. (Justice, Guo, Kaderavek, and Dobbs-Oates 420-429) Literacy refers to the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently, and think critically about the written word. So lets think about this situation as an example of how oral language and literacy are connected. A student who is born in Mexico moves to the United States during 1st grade.Would you expect this student to read or write English? Of course not! So if this student came to your school never even having heard English would you just give them a book with only English words and no pictures and expect them to read it? Defiantly not! Would you give them a piece of paper and pen and expect them to write what they want in English? No way! Would you talk in normal sentences and expect a correct English reply? I hope not! So what would you do? Well having done research I would first find a student who also knows Spanish so that they can communicate and the new student wont feel alone.Students need to feel safe and comfortable in able to learn. Learning the letters is one of the next steps I would take in teaching the student to read, write and speak English. Saying the sound and pointing to the written letter then having the student trace the letter and say the sound. See how the oral and written process work together? They are both a process that are always developing. As humans we are always learning new words and vocabulary. I hope this paper has taught you a little bit about what I have learned about oral language and literacy development.This is a big point that I have learned a lot about thi s semester. I never really thought about how much the two are related until I started to research it and found so many different articles. I don’t think anyone can really argue that the two are not related. Just look at your own life and how you first learned to talk and read. Look at things in this class for example. We have learned vocabulary words not familiar to us. We were shown these words and told how they are pronounced so that now you can recognize the word in text and also pronounce the word when talking. Student Learning Outcomes Research Paper

New Drug Development Process at Pfizer Research Paper

New Drug Development Process at Pfizer - Research Paper Example In the entire process, collaborations across various departments; cross-functional teams and latest technical and scientific skills are required to turn discoveries into marketable drugs. Sales and marketing at Pfizer Pfizer are dedicated to ethical sales and marketing practices because of its corporate social responsibility towards people. As such, it provides training to its sales force on knowledge regarding diseases, products and related ethical issues. It strives to comply with the rules of the pharmaceutical industry in terms of sales figures, advertising, communication true facts and getting its sales force equipped on latest research reports and competitor arrivals. It also tries to establish and sustain long-term relationships with healthcare professionals across the globe on the dimensions of transparency, primacy, and responsibility (Pfizer 2009). This interaction provides them with valuable information and data which helps them in their research and development process. I n the third stage, it is tested on humans only after getting assured that it will be safe for humans and the clinical trial involves the use of properly planned data design, approval from Ethics and regulatory committees and proper signs of the marketable position of the developed drug. In the entire process, collaborations across various departments; cross-functional teams and the latest technical and scientific skills are required to turn discoveries into marketable drugs.

Paratroopers in World War II Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Paratroopers in World War II - Research Paper Example Since most forces do not expect to be attacked from behind, paratroopers also had a distinct advantage which they could exploit to destabilize the enemy in advance of a larger ground-based force. Paratroopers of all services of the United States Military begin training at the U.S. Army Airborne School located in Ft. Benning, Georgia. For three weeks soldiers are trained by the "Black Hats" of the 1-507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The first week being ground week, where soldiers practice landings and in aircraft procedures, the second week being tower week, where soldiers practice exiting an aircraft out of mock towers and practice landing off the swing lander trainer. The third week is Jump Week, where soldiers must complete five successful airborne operations. Typically, the first two jumps are conducted wearing only the parachute, reserve chute and harness (referred to as "Hollywood" jumps), followed by two jumps wearing full combat gear and, finally, a night jump. After the suc cessful completion of five jumps out of a high performance aircraft, soldiers are awarded basic parachutist wings. This badge allows the now 'paratrooper' to be assigned to an airborne position within an airborne unit. (Cited from, wiki Pedia) The largest elite unit among America’s troops was the airborne division. ... oordinated with the paratrooper assault, known as a "vertical envelopment." But the war ended before Mitchell's innovative plans could be experimented. (Patrick K. O’Donnell, America’s elite troops in World War II-the Airborne) After the war, the concept of vertical envelopment was neglected in the United States. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, pushed ahead with large-scale airborne exercises in the 1930s. Germany took notice of the Soviet exercises and began building its own airborne program, made up of paratroopers and infantry that would ride in gliders. The Fallschirmjager, the German paratroopers of World War 2, made the first airborne infantry assaults in history. When Germany invaded Western Europe in 1940, the German paratroopers parachuted and landed with gliders and captured strategic positions. A year later, in May 1941, in their greatest operation, they invaded and conquered the big island Crete in the Mediterranean solely by airborne troops. Their loss es were such that Hitler decided never to do another large airborne operation, so the German paratroopers served the rest of the war as elite infantry. With the outbreak of war, the Germans successfully used paratroopers to seize critical military objectives in Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium, where a small band of paratroopers and glider men seized Fort Eben Emael, which many had considered unconquerable. Kurt Student, a fighter pilot and squadron leader in World War I, was excited by the military potential of paratroopers, but the establishment of the German paratroopers force was delayed until the German military buildup began in 1935. In the meantime Student became an expert with gliders, the other element of his future airborne force (after World War 2 the helicopter replaced the glider as

Information and template below Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Information and template below - Assignment Example The basic reasons that necessitate the division of the market into tiny segments include easier marketing; this simply indicates the fact that it is easier to address the various needs of the smaller groups of consumers, specifically if they have several characteristics that are common (Henry 2011). Further, it helps in finding the niches that simply means that when the un-served or under-served markets are recognized. Segmentation will help Prince Sports be efficient which simply means efficient use of the marketing resources through focusing on some of the best segments for the offering such as promotion, product, place, and price (Kotler, 2009). Prince Sports engages in different activities to reach junior players. It appreciates that all the players have different level abilities and skills. Therefore it markets its products in three distinct segments that include recreational line, performance line, as well as junior line. Prince Sports solved the existing contradiction between sweet spot and racquet speed through the implementation of O technology; but it faced several complexities in converting the technology into racquet with the physical features that would satisfy the needs of the players. Moreover, Prince Sports has its channels of distribution in terms of mass merchants such as Walmart and Target, specialty tennis shops and sporting gods chains. Prince Sports uses different promotional activities currently. Prince Sports focuses on the advertising of its distribution channels and products, online marketing, as well as investing in the teaching programs so as to help consumers understand product information. Inddeed, Prince Sports is actively using social networking sites like facebook, twitter, among others to promote its products. Further, it sponsors over professional tennis players to assist in promoting the products. However, it should be aware of the challenges of technology as it incorporates it

Business and employment law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business and employment law - Essay Example Poppy simply seeks to buy the painting on display even though Bart refuses on the grounds that the product is solely for purposes of display. The fact that Bart is a retailer means that all freedoms to or not to sell any of the products to anyone is not in violation of a sales contract. In this case, Poppy cites offense when Bart does not seek to sell the painting1. To Poppy, the grounds for suing Bart include the fact that the painting on display is tallied as an offer. In the event of discriminatory sales, Poppy would use this as appoint to pin Bart and hence prove Bart’s liability. This is completely different form offering goods of poor quality and faulty. For Poppy, the contract consideration is lacking. Bart had not attached a price to the painting. The fact that the painting is on the shop’s wall does not in any way amount to an obligation for the trader to sell it leave alone accept her offer 2. The reason given for the trader’s decline does not include a nything of discrimination and consumer rights violation. Evidently, the necessary components for there to be a valid contract are absent which greatly discredits the grounds for suing Bart. Lovely Lighting Ltd’s Liability to Bart under the Law of Contract and Tort In the case alongside, Lovely Lighting Ltd is not indemnified from any damages and injuries resulting from the products they sell. With this, all aspects of a contract are fulfilled and are met. For this reason, a contractual liability would only arise due to a breach of contract. Tort liability is that which arises from a civil wrong3. In this case, the first step is to establish if there is a contract between parties. For this reason, one of the issues arising includes the likely disputes that may arise between Bart and Lovely Lighting Ltd. A salesperson approached Bart and presented him with an offer to purchase a sign bearing the name of Bart’s business. Bart accepted the offer through agreeing to purchas e the product, and signed a contract with the company with all the terms and conditions binding4. For an agreement to be considered a contract; there must be evidence of an offer (Lovely Lighting’s sign), acceptance (Bart’s signature on the sales contract), contractual intent (Bart’s motive to by the sign), legality of subject matter (the transaction is between legal bounds), and consideration (sign’s price)5. Bart was given an offer to purchase a sign bearing the name of his business, he accepted. There is the individually designed shop window lighting at the specified price which is the consideration. Lovely Lighting Ltd is a company doing legal business, and offered a legal business exchange. Both parties have the capacities to form contracts, and both parties showed intent to enter into the contract6. The case presented shows that Lovely Lighting Ltd does breach the contract and provided Bart with a product with a wrong name. This is a material breach since Lovely Lighting Ltd failed to use the right name of Bart’s business as agreed upon when signing the contract. Bart agreed to purchase a sign with the name ‘Artybarti’, which is his business’ name. The sign was designed with the name ‘Artyfarti’ which was not as per the contractual agreement. At this point, the obligation of the handling ot the sign rests with Lovely Lighting Ltd 7. Tort liability also comes into play a great deal. Lovely Lighting limited should be liable for selling defective products

Virtual Community Research Methodology Dissertation

Virtual Community Research Methodology - Dissertation Example How strong can this sense of community be? 4. What kinds of cultural identity have been formed in this virtual community? Research Method The data collection method that I will be using is ethnographic interviews and an analysis of the website. In this case, the structured interviews consisted of asking the Respondents 20 open-ended questions, which are found the Appendix C. The Respondents were encourage to expound upon their answers in a concrete way, and give as much detail as possible in their answers. In order to find the right respondents, I visited the popular discussions on the site to see the interactions which occurred among various topics. After this, I posted 10 general questions (Appendix A). These questions were posted individually within a period of seven days. Fifteen respondents were observed. From all the Respondents, I followed the profiles of each user to personally determine whether they pass the first criterion of having maintained a distinct Chinese culture. Th e criteria for determining if the user maintained a distinct Chinese culture was by evaluating their point of view to ascertain if their viewpoint was oriented towards Chinese culture or towards the culture of the host country. Afterwards, the shortlist of 15 users was identified based on the duration of their usage and membership on the website. They were sent an invitation to participate in the study further through an interactive interview conducted through emails or instant messaging platforms of their choice. They were also asked the following questions in order to qualify them for the second criterion – that traditional media does not play a significant role in his daily life (Appendix B). Based on the responses to these questions, I selected ten users who display the second criterion the most. That is, they exhibit interest in getting the latest updates about China, and the Chinese people and culture at large, and that they do not get this information from traditional media. Furthermore, they exhibit knowledge about the fifth question’s subject matter, not only through their actual subscriptions and affiliations, but through their expression of interest to get connected and develop deeper understanding. After ten users were selected based on the criteria mentioned above, I proceeded to schedule the interactive interviews. The questions which were asked in the interview are in Appendix C. These happened within a period of one month. I also allowed the respondent during the time to deliver a meaningful personal account of experiences, and the flexibility to do it at his or her own pace. With regards to the website analysis, I examined the website carefully, then grouped the website categories into themes. These themes fit under the rubric of the four research questions which were asked, then fit into subthemes within these four research themes. The subthemes were as follows: a.) Common cultural practices b.) How having a common homeland conn ects users c.) Connection through current Chinese events d.) Connection between Chinese living throughout the globe d.) Connection through activities and services. These themes fit under the larger themes and larger questions regarding the sense of community and the strength of community, plus the cultural identities which are formed by the ethnic community. How these subthemes fit into the larger theme is that these themes focus upon how the Chinese users of

Purchasing Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Purchasing Development - Assignment Example For instance, a general purpose purchasing system might procure materials the way we want it to but doesn’t give us a receipt of each individual transaction (assuming we need receipts for each and every transaction). Design systems on the other hand are specifically designed from business to business and provide all functionalities that are needed for a successful purchasing function. It is necessary that procurement systems be integrated in all processes and departments of an organization. This would save the organization a lot of time and money as whenever anyone would require something, all he needs to do is send a procurement request to the purchasing department rather than waiting for the purchasing department to figure out for itself when inventory count goes down and wait for them to reorder. Sometimes there might be commercial issues arising as a result of change in organizational business plans. For instance our organization might aim to cut down on its costs as a way to maximize profits. It might plan to do so by purchasing raw materials and other supplies at a lower cost than usual. The procurement system here would need to consider whether switching suppliers to one offering a lower cost would still mean that the supplies are of the same quality. It would also need to consider whether the supplier would be able to deliver on time and not back out at the very last moment and leave us doomed. Such decisions need to be taken by the procurement department bearing the risk that a risk that a new supplier might default at any time! James (2009) in his book Buying Complex Systems stresses how it is very necessary to properly define the objectives of the purchasing operations and make sure they support the strategic objectives of the company as a whole. For instance if an organization aims to differentiate its product by offering high quality products and on the other hand the purchasing operation aims to save on money and therefore purchases low qua lity raw material then then definitely the overall aim of delivering high quality products won’t be met. The objectives of the purchasing operations need to be in line with the organization’s strategy if the organization wants to prosper. Evaluate the current and future effectiveness of an identified purchasing operational system I’m going to discuss the purchase operational system of the Agha’s Supermarket. The mart is located in the posh locality of Clifton and caters to thousands of people on a daily basis. The store is divided into many sections like crockery and cutlery, food items, vegetables etc. The purchase manager is responsible for making purchases on an overall basis. The purchase manager has a team of people, each of whom is sent out by him to different sections of the market to see the stock requirements. The team surveys the section heads every second day and pens down the stock requirement on a piece of paper. The entire team meets the pur chase operations manager the next and report to him about the stock requirement. The purchasing manager then places purchase orders and goods are obtained by the company the very next day. The current system isn’t ideal enough to deal with unexpected demand fluctuations. Miscalculations might be made by section heads while ordering stock and in the meanwhile stock outs may be experienced leading to nil sales and loss of

Ken Frazier Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ken Frazier Case Study - Essay Example In this effect, Ken single gave the company its modern status by redeeming it from a possible pit that it would not rescue itself. A learning organization depends on initiative and innovation as its greatest and valuable assets. In addition, it embraces employee empowerment, creativity and takes risks in a desire to achieve its objectives. Based on this explanation, the Merck Company is a learning organization based on the risk it takes in appoints Ken as its CEO (Lussier & Christopher, 2013). Furthermore, it prioritizes innovation and creativity in its scientific application and the process of drug manufacturing. Specifically, this is through investing millions of dollars in a drug process whose certainty is unclear. Enhancing innovation is imperative for its success. In that accord, there are several actions that the CEO should eliminate or put in place to facilitate this practice. First, he should avoid the creation of rules on how activities are carried out (Lussier & Christopher, 2013). Instead, he should create a possibility box that can contain all the ideas of the workers and other essential stakeholders. Additionally, he eliminates fears of failure, making mistakes, and the fear of looking foolish and assumes an active personality. Frazier has articulated a strategy that gives the customers a center stage by carrying out market research and analysis to determine the requirement in the market. As confirmed by a board member William B. Harrison, Ken has the strategic vision, operational experience, and passion for leading the company in achieving its goals (Lussier & Christopher, 2013). Among the supporting factors that lead to the appointment of Ken as the CEO is the talent he displayed in handling a crisis in defending the Vioxx drug. Additionally, he carried out a market research in a special way that gave the firm its competitive edge

Bacteria and Living Organism Parasites Essay Example for Free

Bacteria and Living Organism Parasites Essay Describe what is meant by infection and colonisation. Infection – is an invasion to body tissues from a disease- caused microorganism. Colonisation – is multiplication of microorganisms without tissue invasion or damage. Explain what is meant by â€Å"systemic infection and localized infection† Systemic – is when infection is distributed throughout the whole body. Localized – is when infection is limited to a specific part of the body. 2. 5 Identify poor practises that may lead to the spread of infection. If you don’t wash your hands, not wearing personal protective clothing, not clearing surroundings, not covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough. Understand the transmission of infection. Explain the conditions needed for the growth of microorganisms. Microorganisms need something to feed on such as dairy products, raw eggs and uncooked fish. Moisture- the microorganisms will not grow in dry conditions. Warmth/ temperature – there are two types that grow in low temperatures and some that grow in high temperatures. Psychorphiles will grow in less than 20c and thermophiles which will grow above 45c. Time – with the right food, moisture and temperature the microorganisms will divide in to two every 20minutes. . 7 Explain the ways an infective agent might enter the body. Main ways are through the mouth, lungs, cuts , touch and other external organs such as eyes also they can enter through genitals and mixing body fluids.   Identify common source of infection. Infections can be spread and caught though having contact with another person who has the infection or even some infections can be air bourn Explain how infec tive agents can be transmitted to a person. Transmitting infections can be done in different ways such as coughing and sneezing on someone, touching an infected person including sexual contact, touching contaminated surfaces, contaminated food, or if microorganisms can remain in the air for long periods of time. 3. 10 Identify the key factors that will make it more likely that infection will occur. It is most likely to occur when a person has a low immune system, is on long term antibiotics or has bad hygiene when treating a wound.

Metaphysics & Epistemology Essay Example for Free

Metaphysics Epistemology Essay G. E. Moore’s main contributions to philosophy were in the areas of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and philosophical methodology. In epistemology, Moore is remembered as a stalwart defender of commonsense realism. Rejecting skepticism on the one hand, and, on the other, metaphysical theories that would invalidate the commonsense beliefs of â€Å"ordinary people† (non-philosophers), Moore articulated three different versions of a commonsense- realist epistemology over the course of his career. According to data I researched Moore’s epistemological interest also motivated much of his metaphysical work, which to a large extent was focused on the ontology of cognition. In this regard, Moore was an important voice in the discussion of sense-data that dominated Anglo- American epistemology in the early twentieth century. In ethics, Moore is famous for driving home the difference between moral and non-moral properties, which he cashed-out in terms of the non-natural and the natural. Moore’s classification of the moral as non-natural was to be one of the hinges upon which moral philosophy in the Anglo- American academy turned until roughly 1960. Moore’s approach to philosophizing involved focusing on narrow problems and avoiding grand synthesis. His method was to scrutinize the meanings of the key terms in which philosophers expressed themselves while maintaining an implicit commitment to the ideals of clarity, rigor, and argumentation. This aspect of his philosophical style was sufficiently novel and conspicuous that many saw it as an innovation in philosophical methodology. Moore is widely acknowledged as a founder of analytic philosophy, the kind of philosophy that has dominated the academy in Britain and the United States since roughly the 1930s. Moore also had a significant influence outside the academic philosophy, through his contacts in the Cambridge Apostles and the Bloomsbury group. In both academic spheres, Moore’s influence was due in no small part to his exceptional personality and moral character. One of the most important parts of Moores philosophical development was his break from the idealism that dominated British philosophy (as represented in the works of his former teachers F.  H. Bradley and John McTaggart), and his defense of what he regarded as a common sense form of realism. In his 1925 essay A Defense of Common Sense, he argued against idealism and skepticism toward the external world on the grounds that they could not give reasons to accept their metaphysical premises that were more plausible than the reasons we have to accept the common sense claims about our knowledge of the world that skeptics and idealists must deny. He famously put the point into dramatic relief with his 1939 essay Proof of an External World, in which he gave a common sense argument against skepticism by raising his right hand and saying Here is one hand, and then raising his left and saying And here is another, then concluding that there are at least two external objects in the world, and therefore that he knows (by this argument) that an external world exists. Not surprisingly, not everyone inclined to skeptical doubts found Moores method of argument entirely convincing; Moore, however, defends his argument on the grounds that skeptical arguments seem invariably to require an appeal to philosophical intuitions that we have considerably less reason to accept than we have for the common sense claims that they supposedly refute.

Formation and Drainage of Supraglacial Lakes

Formation and Drainage of Supraglacial Lakes Glacial Processes and Geomorphology Degree Assignment B028303 What controls the formation and drainage of supraglacial lakes on the Greenland ice sheet and to what extent are these processes an important control on ice sheet dynamics? Introduction The Greenland Ice Sheet is a large ice mass in the Northern Hemisphere, made up of both land terminating and tidewater terminating outlet glaciers. Seasonal surface melting produces melt water that collects on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet in the form of supraglacial lakes (Luthje et al., 2006). The storage and drainage of lake water is particularly important in forcing a hydraulic connection between the ice sheet surface and the ice bed interface (Bartholomew et al., 2012). For this reason, drainage of these supraglacial lakes is of particular interest in understanding the influence that they have on ice sheet dynamics. Supraglacial lakes have been known to drain in less than one day (Box Ski, 2007). The fluctuations in surface water delivered to the glacier bed from the rapid drainage of these lakes are known to affect the speed that the ice sheet travels at and have been known to cause local uplift of the ice sheet (Sundal et al., 2011). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the factors that control the formation and drainage of supraglacial lakes on the Greenland ice sheet and the implications these processes have on the control of ice sheet dynamics. Formation In cases where drainage is prevented, melt water can be stored on the ice sheet by a form of sediment or ice barrier, creating a supraglacial lake (Benn Evans, 2010). Seasonal warming produces melt water that collects in closed surface undulations on the surface of the ice sheet. The supraglacial lakes across the Greenland ice sheet vary in size from a few hundred meters to 1500m in diameter, with depths of 2-5m (Box Ski, 2007). Supraglacial lakes form in the ablation area of the Greenland ice sheet during summer time melt season. Positions of numerous lakes have been monitored over many years and from the results it can be deduced that most lakes form in the same place every year (Luthje et al., 2006). Supraglacial lakes can occur across much of the ablation zone on the Greenland ice sheet but are especially prominent on the Western transect (Luthje et al., 2006). The formation and location of supraglacial lakes on the Greenland ice sheet is driven by season and temperature, elevation and topography (Chu, 2014). There is an upper limit imposed on the lake distribution and formation by elevation because of temperature and basal sliding restrictions (Liang et al., 2012). Due to the lapse rate, temperature decreases with elevation. When it reaches a certain point on the ice sheet it becomes too cold for melting to so there is no melt water for filling the lake basins. As bedrock topography is only expressed in ice surface topography in regions experiencing basal sliding, interior regions of the ice sheet that do not experience basal sliding are unlikely to contain ice surface depressions suitable for lake formation (Liang et al., 2012). Figure 1(a) shows a histogram of the rate of change of lake area over 10 years of observations. In (b) only the 50th percentile shows a significant relationship with melt intensity. From the two graphs it can be deduced that there is a positive correlation between annual median lake elevation and annual melt intensity, indicating that lakes are more active at hi gher elevations during warmer or more intense melt years (Liang et al., 2012). During more intense melt years, lake drainage events become more common in higher elevations. These regions, which don’t normally experience rapid surface water transfer to the bed of the glacier become more susceptible to moulin formation (Liang et al., 2012). Only lakes above 1050m show inter-annual changes in response to seasonal changes in melting intensity (Liang et al., 2012). The area of supraglacial lakes is more controlled by the local topography. Lakes at lower elevations tend to be smaller because the steeper ice surfaces prevent as much water being collected and stored (Bartholomaus et al., 2007). Although topography and elevation influence the formation and distribution of supraglacial lakes in Greenland, the main control is the season. The lakes will only form during melt season, when temperatures become warm enough to produce melt water to fill the empty lake basins (Luthje et al., 2006). Drainage In order for melt water stored as supraglacial lakes to reach the bed of a glacier, a through ice transport system is required. In a study, Das et al. (2008) monitored and observed the rapid drainage of two large supraglacial lakes down to the base of the Greenland ice sheet. The lakes, on the Western side of the Greenland ice sheet began filling in early July, reaching maximum extent around the 29th of July. At first, lake levels began to fall slowly and steadily and then levels dropped rapidly. This rapid drainage event drained the lake in around 1.4 hours (Das et al., 2008). From observations, it can be deduced that the drainage of the lake occurs in four stages. First of all initial slow, steady drainage occurs through crevasses (Chu, 2014). No water reaches the bed of the glacier, suggesting an inefficient drainage system. Next, connection to the bed occurs and drainage through a fracture system occurs. This stage gives fast and direct drainage of the lake to the bed of the glacier. Thirdly, Moulin formation and closure of the fracture system occurs. Frictional heating from the turbulent water flow and rapid drainage in stage two melts through fracture walls, developing them into discrete moulins (Chu, 2014). Moulins are associated with rapid lake drainage and immediate transfer of water to the ice sheet (Chu, 2014). This rapid transfer of water to the glacier bed has potential to overwhelm the subglacial hydrologic system. The final stage occurs once the lake has drained. Moulins stay open to allow the drainage of surface melt to the bed of the glacie r (Das et al., 2008). Evidence suggests that moulins in existence in the bottom of the lakes fill with snow and become dammed in the winter. Lakes are filled during the summer melt season until the moulins are reopened by a combination of pressure and melting (Box Ski, 2007). Fracture propagation through the ice suggests that once initiated water filled crevasses will propagate downwards through the full thickness of the ice through a process called hydrofracture (Das et al., 2008). The water ponds above small crevasses in the lake basin, exerting stress on the crevasse and eventually the ice starts to fracture. Initially the water refreezes in the crevasse. Heat created from refreezing warms the ice and it melts, advancing further down into the crevasse. Once a connection with the bed is established water from the lake can freely drain. There is no limit to the depth of a water filled crevasse so it is able to reach the bed of a glacier. The process is only limited by the supply of melt water needed to keep the crevasse full (Weertman, J. 1973). Crevasses and moulins connect the surface of the ice sheet with englacial environments, providing a route for melt water to drain from the supraglacial lakes through the ice sheet (Chu, 2014). Although only lake drainage processes for two lakes were observed by Das et al. (2008) in this particular study it can be assumed that other lakes on the Greenland ice sheet drain in the same way. The presence of fractures in other empty lake basins suggests that drainage processes are similar for all supraglacial lakes (Das et al., 2008). Throughout melt season, drainage patterns of the lakes across the Greenland ice sheet migrate inland. Lakes at lower elevations tend to form and drain earlier than those at higher elevations (Bartholomaus et al., 2007). Ice Sheet Dynamics Rapid drainage events are of particular interest in understanding ice sheet dynamics and hydraulic response. Fluctuations in surface water are known to affect the speed of ice sheets (Sundal et al., 2011). Some suggest that more influx of melt water to the glacier bed, from lake drainage events could produce ice sheet acceleration. Moulins provide a method of rapid lake drainage, supplying large influxes of water to the glacier bed with the potential to overwhelm the subglacial hydrological system causing uplift and increase basal sliding (Chu, 2014). They can only support a fraction of the lake water, keeping water pressure at the base of the glacier high and encouraging increases in basal movement and uplift (Box Ski, 2007). Higher water pressure favours faster sliding as it reduces drag between ice and the bed (Bartholomew et al., 2012). Speed ups of the ice sheet are caused by an increase of water pressure at the its base, enhancing basal sliding. This increase in basal water pressure can be provided by melt lake outbursts (Box Ski, 2007). There are other processes involved in basal sliding but for the purposes of linking it with glacier hydrology we are only interested in cavitation. Cavitation vertically jacks the glacier upwards, reducing friction between the glacier bed and rock interface and decreasing effective pressure. When effective pressure and friction are low basal sliding rates are high. In the same study as mentioned above, Das et al. (2008) observed horizontal and vertical movement of the ice sheet that coincided with rapid drainage of the lake. A large uplifted block of ice in the centre of the lake basin evidences local uplift of the ice sheet during rapid lake drainage. Based on topographic studies, it is likely that the large block in the centre of the lake was uplifted during a drainage event (Das et al., 2008). The elevation change reported by sonar surveys suggests surface uplift of around 6m across the block. The large volume of water transported to the ice sheet bed during lake drainage would have produced several meters of uplift at the lakes centre (Das et al., 2008). Figure 2, produced from a study by Bartholomew et al., (2012) supports Das’ et al., (2008) conclusion that drainage of supraglacial lakes can affect velocity and uplift the ice sheet. It shows rapid increases in ice velocity and surface height after the drainage of a supraglacial lake observed on the Western transect of the Greenland ice sheet. Drainage of the lake can be linked with a 400% increase in ice velocity and 0.3m of uplift in less than 24 hours (Bartholomew et al., 2012). Figure 2: (a) Surface velocity during lake drainage event (b) Surface height profile during the lake drainage event (c d) Before and after images of the supraglacial lake (taken by time lapse camera). Solid black lines on (a b) indicate the times when the two photos were taken. Taken from: Bartholomew, I., Nienow, P., Sole, A., Mair, D., Cowton, T. and King, M. (2012). Short term variability in Greenland Ice Sheet motion forced by time-varying meltwater drainage: Implications for the relationship between subglacial drainage system behaviour and ice velocity. Journal of Geophysical Researcg, 117(F3). Both outlet glaciers and slower moving ice sheets across Greenland show a seasonal speed up in response to enhanced melt water delivery to the glacier bed and from pulses of water from lake drainage. The ice sheets continue to speed up until a maximum velocity threshold is reached; sequentially the glacier slows down (Chu, 2014). This slowing down of the glacier is not to be expected if lubrication by melt water is the primary mechanism of speeding up the ice sheet. The reduction in velocity suggests subglacial drainage switches from a linked cavity system to a more efficient channel drainage system (Chu, 2014). Conclusion Understanding the hydrology of supraglacial lakes is important as they have the potential to supply large volumes of water to the bed of the ice sheet and affect motion. Both an increase in glacier velocity and local uplift is observed when supraglacial lake water drains to the bed of the glacier. However, constant high influxes of water are not consistent with continued increase in velocity because the subglacial drainage system switches to a more efficient system (Bartholomaus et al., 2007). Large pulses of water delivered to the bed from drainage of supraglacial lakes overwhelm the subglacial hydrologic network and increase basal motion. Moulins provide rapid drainage of large supraglacial lakes into the ice sheet hydrological systems, while crevasses provide a more steady drainage method. The location, area and potential melt water available to fill these supraglacial lakes is controlled by the elevation and topography of the surrounding area, and more importantly temperature. In turn, these factors could be controlled by climate change. For this reason it is important to monitor the processes associated with glacial lakes to get a clearer understanding of the impacts any future climate change will have on glacial lakes and the Greenland ice sheet. References Abdalati, W. and Steffen, K. (2001). Greenland ice sheet melt extent: 19791999. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (19842012), 106(D24), pp.3398333988. Bartholomaus, T., Anderson, R. and Anderson, S. (2007). Response of glacier basal motion to transient water storage. Nature Geoscience, 1(1), pp.3337. Box, J. and Ski, K. (2007). Remote sounding of Greenland supraglacial melt lakes: implications for subglacial hydraulics. Journal of glaciology, 53(181), pp.257265. Chu, V. (2014). Greenland ice sheet hydrology A review. Progress in Physical Geography, 38(1), pp.1954. Das, S., Joughin, M., Behn, M., Howat, I., King, M., Lizarralde, D., et al. (2008). Fracture propagation to the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet during supra-glacial lakedrainage. Science, 5877, 778−781. Liang, Y., Colgan, W., Lv, Q., Steffen, K., Abdalati, W., Stroeve, J., Gallaher, D. and Bayou, N. (2012). A decadal investigation of supraglacial lakes in West Greenland using a fully automatic detection and tracking algorithm. Remote Sensing of Environment, 123, pp.127138. Luthje, M., Pedersen, L., Reeh, N. and Greuell, W. (2006). Modelling the evolution of supraglacial lakes on the West Greenland ice-sheet margin. Journal of Glaciology, 52(179), pp.608618. McMillan M, Nienow P, Shepherd A, et al. (2007) Seasonal evolution of supra-glacial lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 262(3–4): 484–492. Sundal AV, Shepherd A, Nienow P, et al. (2009) Evolution of supra-glacial lakes across the Greenland Ice Sheet. Remote Sensing of Environment 113(10): 2164–2171. Sundal AV, Shepherd A, Nienow P, et al. (2011) Meltinduced speed-up of Greenland ice sheet offset by efficient subglacial drainage. Nature 469(7331):521–524. Tweed, F. and Russell, A. (1999). Controls on the formation and sudden drainage of glacier-impounded lakes: implications for jokulhlaup characteristics. Progress in Physical Geography, 23(1), pp.79110. Weertman, J. 1973. Can a water-filled crevasse reach the bottom surface of a glacier? IASH Publ. 95 (Symposium at Cambridge1969 – Hydrology of Glaciers), 139–145. Zwally, H.J., W. Abdalati, T. Herring, K. Larson, J. Saba and K. Steffen. 2002. Surface melt-induced acceleration of Greenland ice-sheet flow. Science, 297(5579), 218–222.

Characters in Hedda Gabler vs. Miss Julie Essay -- Compare Contrast He

"Compare and contrast the characters of Hedda Gabler and Miss Julie in the plays by Ibsen and Strindberg. Support your findings with comments on the writers attitudes to their characters." August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen were both great playwrights of the 19th century, and both played a large role in the evolution of modern day naturalism/ realism. The plays I will be discussing are Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, (1890) and Strindberg’s Miss Julie (1888). In Karen’s lecture on Strindberg, she told how the two playwrights were rivals in a sense, mainly caused by Strindberg’s attitudes on social issues- Namely his thoughts and theory on the role of women in society. Thus, I am lead to believe that Hedda Gabler was written by Ibsen as a direct retaliation to Strindberg’s Miss Julie, just as ...

Movie Essays - Jane Campions Film of Henry Jamess The Portrait of a L

Jane Campion's Film Version of Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady Jane Campion's film version of Henry James's novel, The Portrait of a Lady, offers the viewer a sexually charged narrative of a young naive American girl in Victorian era Europe. James's novel focuses on "what an exciting inward life may do for the person leading it even while it [a person's life] remains perfectly normal" (James 54). James could not or would not place into his narrative the sexual thoughts, suggestions, and actions of his characters beyond the first flush of the experience. For example, when Caspar takes Isabel into his arms and kisses her near the close of the novel, Isabel does express sexuality, but that sexuality is short lived: He glared at her a moment through the dusk, and the next instant she felt his arms about her and his lips on her lips. His kiss was like white lightening, a flash that spread, and spread again, and stayed; and it was extraordinary as if, while she took it, she felt each thing in his hard manhood that had least pleased her, each aggressive fact of his face, his figure, his presence, justified of its intense identity and made one with this act of possession. (James 636) This passage, like every other passage in the novel, that deals with male-female touching or kissing ends as it is read. James does not allow his characters to recall their sexuality. Dorothea Krook points out: "To speak of James's "treatment" of the sexual theme in The Portrait of a Lady would be virtually meaningless, but for the striking episode between Isabel and Caspar Goodwood in the very last pages of the book" (Krook 101). The sexual theme in Campion's film version of James's novel is not meaningless. Campion not only allow... .... 1881. New York: Penguin, 1986. Jones, Laura, adapt. The Portrait of a Lady. By Henry James. Dir. Jane Campion. Videocassette. PolyGram, 1997. Nadel, Alan. "The Search for Cinematic Identity and a Good Man: Jane Campion's Appropriation of James's Portrait." Henry James Review 18.2 (1997): 180-183. Volpe, Edmond L. "James's Theory of Sex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Portrait of a Lady: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Peter Buitenhuis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Walton, Priscilla L. "Jane and James Go to the Movies: Post Colonial Portraits of a Lady." Henry James Review 18.2 (1997): 187-190. Wexman, Virginia Wright. "The Portrait of a Body." Henry James Review 18.2 (1997): 184-186. White, Robert. "Love, Marriage, and Divorce: The Matter of Sexuality in The Portrait of a Lady." Henry James Review 7.2-3 (1986): 59-71.

Occupational Safety and Health Act Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction Workplace safety is a commonly used phrase that many do not consider until an accident occurs within the workplace. Throughout the U.S., workplace injuries occur on a daily basis. This has been an issue in the workforce for many years and is still an ongoing issue. Are there laws that protect employees from an unsafe work environment; what is the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA); and how did the labor unions affect the law? In this paper these following questions will be addressed, as well as the background and driving force of OSHA. Definition of the OSHA Law According to the OSHA website, www.osha.gov , retrieved August 27, 2004, it states â€Å"OSHA's mission is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health†. In addition, as of the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, each employer shall furnish his employees a place of employment free from recognized hazards that cause and/or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees; before the enactment employers were only bound by common law to provide a safe work environment for its employees. OSHA also enforces that employees are not exempt and shall comply with occupational safety and health standards under this Act. Employee conduct, must comply with the OSHA rules and regulations and orders which are applicable to their own action and conduct (Bennett-Alexander-Hartman: Employment Law for Business, Fourth Edition, p 690 p. 2-3). Background and Driving Force   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Getting started, the impetus to OSHA was to develop a new safety and or health standard in the workforce. Congress collected information indicating the status quo in the working environment included unacceptable hazards in the workplace. The OSHA act was passed through congress based on a series of information collected through sources such as the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS); National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Substances Control Act (TOSCA) referral; public petitions; or requests from OSHA advisory committees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Empowered with the knowledge of existing workplace hazards a... ...ed to workplace safety and are very personally involved, watching legislative decisions, protesting presidential nominees and lobbying. Conclusion While workplace safety and health standards have improved due to OSHA, the mission of the Act is still being carried out for America’s workers. Both employers and employees are responsible to be in compliance with the Act’s rules and regulations. References University of Phoenix. (Ed.). 2004. Employment Law [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-Resource]. Bennett-Alexander-Hartman: Employment Law for Business, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 27, 2004, from University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT/434-Employment Law Web site: https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/ resource/resource.asp OSHA Home Page August 27, 2004. http://www.osha.gov Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/oshafacts.html on Monday, August 30 University of Phoenix. (Ed.). 2004. Employment Law [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-Resource]. Bennett-Alexander-Hartman: Employment Law for Business, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 32, 2004, from University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT/434-Employment Law Web site: https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/ resource/resource.asp

Descriptive Essay – My Daughter’s Birthday

My Daughter’s Birthday I was almost nine months pregnant at the beginning of September, the summer coming to an end, but nonetheless, the bun in the oven was cooking on very high temperatures making me feel hot and miserable. As I waited in the doctor’s office for my weekly routine visit, I thought to myself, â€Å"I have two more visits left before I meet my sweet baby girl. † My doctor told me that due to the presumed size of my baby if I did not go into labor by the next morning, she was going to induce my labor.Being a new mom, I did not know what that meant but I had heard from other moms that this was a painful process and undoubtedly, I became scared. Sympathetic of my anxiety towards the induction, my doctor gave me some advice. She said go home, eat some greasy foods and have sex with your partner and that should make you go into labor. So needless to say, I followed my doctor’s orders. The calzones we ordered from our local pizzeria were deliciou s, dripping entirely with gooey cheese and grease.I jumped into bed to make love to my hubby and we were fast asleep by no later than 10:00 p. m. At about 1:00 a. m. , I woke up to subtle tightening on my belly. I thought to myself, â€Å"was that a contraction I just felt? † After about 10 minutes, sure enough I felt a lighting strike across my belly causing me to jump out of bed startling and waking my husband from his sleep. He suddenly laughed and said, â€Å"Did your doctor’s tip work? † Evidently it did, because a couple of hours later, we were headed to the hospital to deliver a baby.After arriving at the hospital it all seemed to have happened so fast because before I knew it, I was already undressed, robed and made as comfortable by the nurses. The discomfort of my labor pains had grown stronger and intensified each time I had a contraction taking over my belly. At about 10: 00 a. m. , the anesthesiologist and was ready to administer the epidural and th e fear of the long frightening needle, became a blessing in disguise.Within seconds the anesthesia began to work and the pain became much more tolerable. Shortly after a lengthy nap I heard the nurse say, â€Å"I’m calling the doctor, it’s time to start pushing. † By this time, mom and my sisters had arrived at the hospital and were also in the room. Of course my husband was also in the room which made the room headcount to about eight or nine people. My nurse told me, â€Å"just remember, screaming doesn’t help get the baby out you need to push with all you have†.I hung on to those words thinking I needed to focus and not be so dramatic which is pretty much what she implied. I needed to be ready, like a professional boxer is when he steps into a ring to meet his match. After three attempts of trying to push what felt like a basketball at the time, I became frustrated and fiercely told the doctor â€Å"get it out! † I looked over to my mom a nd she was crying as both my sisters were as well, and thought to myself shouldn’t I be the one crying?After a couple more pushes, I soon got what I and everyone else in that room wanted. At four minutes after five that evening, Sydney was born. Immediately after the nurses got her cleaned up and laid her on my chest and I was able to hold her in my arms and I looked at her beautiful soft face, my eyes welled up with tears as she so strongly took my breath away. Sydney was the most beautiful baby girl I had ever seen in my entire life. From that point forward, my life changed completely for the better and it will never be the same.

The White Underclass

The White Underclass A) What is the White Underclass, and what are the national economic changes and forces? The United States economy took a turn for the worse in 2008, and has been steadily declining ever since. The reason for the financial crisis began with the failing of the financial institutions, which threatened the global economy. The reason for the failing of the largest financial institutions can be debated, but many believe that it was due to the failure of accurately and safely evaluating the risks involved in their lending procedures.Whatever the reason, the recession had a massive impact on the country, and none were affected more than the Americans living at or below the poverty level. These people are known as the American underclass. What defines an underclass? It has been defined as the bottom of society, those who have become victims of a poverty trap. The underclass is largely made up of unemployed, young, single-parent families that are living in destitute strick en areas, areas in which the children lack educational qualifications, good role models, and social skills.This provides them little opportunity to escape the unfortunate situation in which they’ve been placed (www. BusinessDictionary. com/definition/underclass, 2012). The term â€Å"underclass† has been classified in two different ways, according to the article â€Å"The White Underclass† (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). The first, simply put, is classified as areas that contain the extremely poor. The second classification gives a more detailed look as to why they are extremely poor.The second classification is areas that contain a high number of single family households, usually with women at the head of the household, and often dependent on government support. Charles Murray, an American libertarian political scientist, wrote â€Å"illegitimacy is the single most important social problem of our time – more important than crime, drugs, pove rty, illiteracy, welfare or homelessness, because it drives everything else. † (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994) These families are the victims of a vicious circle; the children of these families have a high dropout percentage, which often leads to having children out of wedlock.The absence of these fathers is usually due to crime, drugs, or just a lack of responsibility. Twenty-two percent of children born in 1991 were born out of wedlock, with that number increasing every year (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). Many of these unwed mothers are too young and inexperienced to be more than a burden on society, which doesn’t leave much hope for the children that they give birth to. Many of these young white women that are having children out of wedlock are not in the least ashamed at getting pregnant at such a young age and without being married.They believe that having children will â€Å"give them someone to love† (â€Å"The White Underclassâ₠¬ , 1994). Unfortunately, as seen in the documentary â€Å"Culture of Hate†, our children are a reflection of what we are (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). Financial obstacles are faced by almost everyone at some point in time, but with those that are part of the underclass, it is a way of life. It’s not poverty that is the issue, but rather the widening gap in economic classes.As learned in the most recent lecture, the median middle class makes between seventy-five thousand to one-hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, whereas the underclass make on or under thirty thousand dollars a year, most often under (Merritt, 2012). This is quite a significant gap. The underclass is under educated, and under employed. Many people don’t think of whites when they think of those living in poverty, but the realization is that the whites are a growing group of those that are living in poverty. B) What is the White Underclass, and what are the regional (Lakeside, C A) economic changes and forces that account for its growth?Here in the county of San Diego, Lakeside California specifically, economic change is a leading factor to the growth of the white underclass. Change is inevitable in life, but that change is not always for the better. This is the case with the controversial East County city of Lakeside. Ranchers and farmers were the first inhabitants in the town of Lakeside, and the tight knit community was the proverbial picture of country living. Lakeside is a â€Å"place of many generations with deep roots, a place of hard working people with values† (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002).Many people want to hang onto the past, but things in Lakeside have changed dramatically. Dry riverbeds riddled with graffiti and litter has taken the place of where rivers once flowed. Sand mining operations have removed precious resources, only to replace them someone else’s trash. A town that was mostly rural, filled with farms and cowb oys, has turned into an urban city with widened streets that are filled with strip malls and fast food restaurants. Economic hard times have hit the working class. With the changes that came to Lakeside, changes in employment opportunities have also been effected.The majority of employment available is in the service industry; low paying, dead-end jobs that have little to no hope of making enough money to help the underclass rise out of poverty. The rate of unemployment is high, currently national rate is 7. 8%. California is significantly higher than the national average at 10. 2% (www. bls. gov , 2012). With the loss of jobs, and the high unemployment rate that plagues the state, poverty is rising and in turn, so are the numbers of the white underclass. Until the economy changes for the better, there is little hope that the numbers of white underclass will decrease.What are some of the social issues and demographic changes facing the White Underclass? America is no stranger to str uggling ethnic groups. Since the beginning of this country, others have strived to cast out groups of people that they didn’t consider equal. In the beginning, it was the Native Americans; next came the blacks. As time progressed on, white European immigrants known as the New Immigrants were discriminated against (Merritt, 2012). Now, though ethnicity still plays an integral part, any group that is at or below the poverty level is subject to acquiring the underclass status.In the mid 90’s, the white underclass were less than 2% of all whites. Black ghettos contained three to four times as many residents as the white slums (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). The numbers remained constant from the 1980’s through the 1990’s. The ghettos of the blacks and whites were found to be very similar in percentages. Both had a high number of men that abandoned the work force and children that dropped out of school, however, the black underclass had a slightly higher percentage of female-headed households than the white underclass.The white underclass, however, had a higher percentage of children who dropped out of school (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). The demographics are changing in the Grossmont school district as well. It has gone from having 95% white in the district, to 65% in the 2000’s (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). This has brought on racial issues to the area that once gave little reason to worry about. There are a lot of similarities between the ghettos of different ethnic groups, but there are still very distinct differences among them.Though the conditions of the white ghettos are bad, they are still not as bad as those of the Hispanics and blacks. They tend to experience less poverty than the others, and the crimes being committed in their neighborhoods, albeit violent, are far less in numbers to that of other ethnic groups. The main substance abuse in the black ghettos is crack cocaine, whereas the drug of choice for the whites is alcohol, with methamphetamines and heroine on the rise. This is a factor that heavily contributes to the number of violent crimes and domestic abuse cases that plague the white underclass.Poor whites do not tend to face as many problems as poor blacks, and this is because discrimination has caused the blacks to be more likely to live in extreme poverty than whites. In 1990, a census showed that 30% of blacks lived in extreme poverty areas, whereas the white percentage was only 7% (â€Å"The White Underclass†, 1994). Not only are the numbers of white underclass fewer than that of the blacks, but the white underclass are also more likely to leave the slums behind. The white underclass is a growing concern.The numbers are continually raising in the white underclass neighborhoods with no sign of improving. The effects of living in these neighborhoods have ruined the lives of so many. The only hope for the underclass lies with the state of the economy. How does â€Å"White Power† affiliation address the issue of identity for the â€Å"White Power† youth in Lakeside, California? What do the signs and symbols of their affiliation represent, and what do they mean to the â€Å"White Power† youth? We’ve seen the many hardships that are faced by the children of the white underclass.We’ve seen what happens to the youth that grow up in these areas. We’ve seen them set up for failure from the moment that their parents conceive them, whether it be on purpose or on accident. We’ve seen the life choices that most of them are forced to make due to the lack of opportunity, but we’ve yet to take a look at how these young men and women choose to affiliate themselves. In the case of the youth in Lakeside, California, the youth of the white underclass have a large affiliation with â€Å"White Power†. They have â€Å"no place to belong, except in a world of outcasts† (â €Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002).The children of the white underclass struggle with an ethnic identity. What does it mean to be white? According to Randy Blazak in the documentary â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, he believes that these youth have no ethnic identity and struggle because there is no real distinction to being white (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). â€Å"White Power† group members seem to follow a pattern. They come from broken homes, filled with violence and drugs. They have nobody to show them what it is to be a productive member of society. This fits perfectly in line with the patterns of the white underclass found in Lakeside.The symbols of â€Å"White Power† represent a symbol of belonging to these kids that had none before (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). Symbols like the swastika, whose meaning has been poisoned from what it once symbolized to a symbol of evil, a symbol of the desire to create a superior race of whites. Other sym bols that have a closer regional significance are the Dago bolts, which are the symbol of the local San Diego chapter of the Hell’s Angels. The Dago bolts are said to be mirrored after the SS bolts of Nazi soldiers, which ties directly to the same lineage as the swastika.The final predominant symbol that can be found â€Å"all around the edges of everyday life†, is the 4:20 symbol, which is widely known as a symbol for marijuana, but is also a reference to Adolf Hitler’s birthday (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). To the â€Å"White Power† youth of Lakeside, these symbols represent a sense of belonging, even if they aren’t really sure why. In the documentary â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, a young boy talks about a time that he shaved a swastika into the back of his girlfriends head. When he was asked why a swastika, he answered â€Å"Why?Because. Why not? † The girl quickly responded with â€Å"Nothing else to draw. It was the first thing that popped into our heads. † (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002). Many of these youth were students in the Grossmont school district, but were kicked out due to incidents where â€Å"White Power† symbols were involved. These students were expelled from school due to a â€Å"Zero Tolerance† position that the district took, which only made matters worse by pushing these kids closer toward the only identity that they knew (â€Å"A Culture of Hate†, 2002).Disintegration of the traditional family, lack of boundaries, lack of guidance, and an unlimited amount of anger drives these kids toward a life of hate. When combined with drugs and alcohol, as it so often happens with the children of the white underclass, the perfect storm is created. Children learn from their parents, parents who choose not to invest in their futures. These fate of these white underclass children have been set, their lives have been set up for failure before they ever even bega n.

Future of healthcare Essay

Future strategic direction plays a huge role in health care. In this paper, I plan to describe a minimum of five challenges that are defining the future strategic direction of health care. The challenges that will be addressed include the information technology advancements such as the electronic medical record/electronic health record challenge, the accreditation, quality of healthcare, and organizational compliance challenge, the access to health care including the uninsured and those in the poverty levels challenge, the market shares and advancing age of population challenge, and the maintaining a skilled workforce challenge. I will also describe how an organization can adapt its direction and strategies to effectively address these challenges. Technology, protocol, regulations, populations, and workforce skill will always change within time and how an organization chooses to address these challenges will determine its success or failure. The first challenge to be addressed is the challenge of information technology advancements such as the electronic medical record or electronic health record. To be used effectively, the EHR must have a meaningful use. There are several ways for the EHR to have a meaningful use. First, to have a meaningful use the organization must have a knowledge of the use and its benefits to the organization. There are several factors that must be in place for the meaningful use to benefit the organization. One such way is that technical resources must be available and  utilized effectively. Other ways would include vendor support, the use of information for specialists, the return on the investments, and the availability of state programs. FUTURE 3 Technical resources are crucial because there will always be problems that arise in the systems. Information for specialists must be available and easily accessed without invading privacy. There needs to be a return-on-investment to be effective. The availability of state programs has to be present to be effective. The challenges that may arise when adopting the HER process may include cost challenges. This would require knowing the cost of the infrastructure of the program, the training involved, and the technical support involved. This would require a great dealof budget planning to see a return on investments. Time would also present a challenge with this system because it requires more time on behalf of the employees that they normally would have been seeing patients. Preparation is a challenge because all stakeholders wo uld have to be in support of the adoption and all the work that goes into it. There has to be a well thought out implementation of the program and maintaining it to be successful. Another challenge could be the availability of vendors with the whole market on deadlines and with consultants and extension centers in high demand, availability could become an issue. Training is another issue that needs to be well planned and without adequate training, time, cost, customer satisfaction, and employee support from good training, there could be failure. Making sure that the new HER system operates fully with other existing systems is crucial and data migration from paper or digital resources could result in data losses. They are also very time-consuming. Along with the HER challenges, organization are also facing the challenges of accreditation and organizational compliance. There are strict rules and regulations as well as protocol to follow for an organization to earn accreditation status. Staff can provide to be a huge challenge in accreditation because many employees do not believe in the accreditation being an FUTURE 4 overall positive step to take because of all the necessary time, paperwork, certifications, etc. and skepticism about the credentials of the accreditors while reaching this status and maintaining it. Effectiveness  and cost eff ectiveness proves to be a challenge in organization’s looking to be accredited. It can become very expensive. Separating quality improvement from quality control can seem a difficult process. While accreditation processes basically guarantee quality improvement in an organization, just taking all the necessary steps and keeping employees on board can prove to be the biggest challenge. Another challenge would include the low number of accreditation boards available for hospitals. To face these challenges, having a good baseline accreditation process in crucial to the strategic planning. Education of managers with explanations of the advantages and benefits of the process will be needed. Using credible and knowledgeable evaluators and knowing monitoring standards can be proven key to success. An on-going data collection monitoring system can provide excellent ways of tracking in your strategic planning process. A project plan of core standards and time frames, mini-evaluations of requirements, and obtaining commitment from all staff will prove to be beneficial in the strategic planning process as well. Besides the accreditation and HER challenges, the future will also bring challenges in the access to healthcare by the under-insured and poverty level citizens. The issue here includes the overall healthiness of the under-insured and lower income people to have preven tative care and take care of pre-existing conditions. If these conditions go undetected, the outcome can become dire. These people are far less likely to seek treatment and will many times not report any problems in getting the necessary medical care. This is where the access to healthcare becomes an issue because if it is not reported, problems escalate with the available access. Many of these FUTURE 5 people do not seek care on a regular basis and do not have primary care physicians or other sources of care. With prices rising, the number of uninsured and under-insured has grown. If given prescriptions if they do get to seek care, many do not fill the medications because of cost and affordability issues. Many major illnesses are not caught on time and then they have to be hospitalized. After hospitalization, they are referred to a specialist but most of these patients do not follow up with the specialists again because of affordability. This leads to a huge lack in access to health care that is necessary. The Affordable Health Care Act and the expansion of Medicaid  services addresses many of these issues. Improvements in access, the utilization, and reduction of high out-of-pocket costs have reduced the number of people needing access tremendously. Strategic planning for the future would include safety nets of clinics and hospitals to care for the uninsur ed, charity care, reduction of costs, and prescription help programs. Federal funding and community communication to address needs and raise money with charities and donations will play an important role. The health reform has addressed many of these issues, but planning for the future, knowing what help is available, and leading these patients to the help available, will be necessary to maintain progress in this area. The challenge of market shares and advancing population ages is at an all-time high and expected to get higher. The U.S. population is aging. Home health with the population aging resulting in challenges in the delivery of healthcare, hospital consolidations becoming necessary, length of hospital stays needing to be reduced as well as growing Medicaid and Medicare customers are all examples of these issues. There is and continues to be huge growth in home health markets. The workforces are older and the patients are older than in the past with the future showing even more advancement in average ages. More retirement age workforces and FUTURE 6 patients that will only require home health or hospice services is something that is being seen more and more. The challenges to the workforce would include keeping a regular staff that will have many years of continuous work for the company so that we have available medical staff in our hospitals, medical office, clinics, etc. Strategic planning for the future would include strategies and recommendations on the recruitment and the retaining of skilled health professionals regardless of their ages. Identifying innovative practices to promote employment in healthcare even those with disabilities or past retirement ages can be aimed at retaining the experienced older staff and creating job opportunities for all ages. Maintaining a skilled workforce is yet another challenge that has been identified and needs to be addressed for the future of our health care. Research has shown that in workforce demographics and the trends of the workforce, hospitals will face low vacancy due to recession, shortages, and the tight labor market in the next decade. (Schidlow, 2008) Recruiting and retaining workers to replace  the retirees will be crucial. Strategic planning to include work process redesign, new technology implementation and maintenance, keeping employee satisfaction, and the attraction of a new generation of work staff will be necessary. Future strategic direction plays a huge role in health care. In this paper, I described a minimum of five challenges that are defining the future strategic direction of health care. The challenges that were addressed included the information technology advancements such as the electronic medical record/electronic health record challenge, the accreditation, quality of healthcare, and organizational compliance challenge, the access to health care including the uninsured and those in the poverty levels challenge, the market shares and advancing age of population challenge, and the maintaining a skilled workforce challenge. I also described how an FUTURE 7 organization can adapt its direction and strategies to effectively address these challenges. Ultimately, technology, protocol, regulations, populations, and workforce skill will always change within time and how an organization chooses to address these challenges will determine its success or failure. FUTURE 8 References Beaman, C. D., Jr. (2008). Caring for the uninsured. Healthcare Executive, 23(1), 46-47. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database. Bisognano, M., Schummers, D., & McCannon, J. (2008). Leadership’s role in execution: Change must happen organizationwide to be successful. Healthcare Executive, 23(2), 66,68,70. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database. Delgado, R. I. (2009). Financial performance drivers and strategic control: The case of cancer treatment centers (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from the ProQuest database. Reilly, P. (2012). Leading change in a new era. Healthcare Financial Management 66(1) 53-57. Retrieved from the ProQuest database. Runy, L. A. (2009). Why the hospital physician staffing structure must change. Hospitals & Health Networks 83(6), 55-56, 1. Retrieved from the ProQuest database. Schidlow, D. V. (2008). Strategic planning in health care: The results are everything†¦or are they? Physician Executive, 34(2), 32-4. Retrieved from the ProQuest database. Spath, P. L., & Abraham, S. C. (2013). Strategic management in healthcare organizations. Ashford University: San Diego, CA.

Macpac

Introduction: Strategy is concerned with an organisations basic directions for the future,its purpose,ambition,resources and how it interacts with the world in which it operates(Lynch. R,p5 2003),thus it can be seen that there area number of techniques or ways in which the company can use these to achieve its goals and objectives,the purpose of this case study is to study the techniques used by MacPac to achieve its growth /achievement,the reasons for the losses suffered by MacPac and the steps taken to address these losses as well as an insight of MacPac’s current situation.Reasons for MacPac’s initial international success Macpac Attained a lot of success after the year of its establishment especially in the international markets, thereare a number of reason for MacPac international success, these can be summarized as: One of the basic reasons for MacPac’s international success was there Value Added or differentiated strategy ,According to which a company seeks to provide products or services unique or different from those of competitors ,The value added by the uniqueness of the product may allow the firm to charge a premium price for it(Johnson.G,Scholes. K, p322 2002). Macpac provided products which were unique than its competitors with high quality but with high price, Macpac followed this strategy to target those tampers to whom quality meant everything even though the price was high. Another Reason for MacPac’s initial international success was its Resource strategy: According to which recourses of any organisation include human resource skills, investment and capital (Lynch.R,p9 3rd ed),MacPac introduced communication audit within its organisation to develop a highly communicative environment and thus increasing its efficiency, it introduced high performance appraisalwithin itsorganisation, MacPac, with the recruitment of productivity consultants the production started to go smoothly and with reduction of labor cost from 25% to 14%, MacPac introduced the concept of profit sharing and introduced team building and performance as team.MacPac’s initial success can also be attributed to its Total Quality Management, Total Quality Management Deals with maintaining a particular standard for quality. MacPac always focused on quality, quality was their main objective they believed in total quality management, they provided products of high quality which were never before introduced by any other organisation, no other organisation focused so much on total quality management as MacPac did, MacPac did not believe in marketing but believed that it had to be true to its quality.Macpac also increased its quality by introducing accounting processes and computer systems. MacPac also introduced product refinements within its organisation leading to high quality products which no one else could match at that time. Unique Resources: Uniqueresources are the resources which critically underpin competitive advantage, t his unique recourses in case of MacPac was its location in new Zealand, new Zealand was considered heaven for adventure sports at that time and MacPac gears were made in consideration of the terrains of the new Zealand, which set a standard in itself for outdoor gear.Knowledge: Knowledge is the awareness ,consciousness or familiarity gained by experience or learning(Jhonson. G,Scholes. K 2002 p150). Being a keen tamper himselfMacintyre had the experience of what a keep tamper wants. Critical Success Factor: are those product features that are particularly valued bya group of customers and where the organisation must excel to outperform competition(Jhonson. G,Scholes. K 2002 p150),the critical success factor in case of Macintyre was the quality and design of its products.Product Development: It is where organisation delivers modifies or new products to the existing market (Jhonson. G,Scholes. k,2002,p368) Joint Development: when two or more organisations share resources and activitie s to pursue a strategy(Jhonson. G,Scholes. K 2002 p378). Merging with wilderness meant that it was the first brand to offer wide range of products under one name. Market Development: when the organisation offers new products in new markets(Jhonson. G,Scholes.K 2002 p370) , MacPac was also successful because it followed a strict Selling Strategy to its customers, it started to sell its product direct to the retailers and removing the agents and it redesigned itself for particular markets, removing agents meant that MacPaccould now get in touch directly with the retailers and get information regarding customers likes and dislikes and as such producing according to that Macpac also followed Focus Strategy in which a company focuses on a particular segment of buyers within an industry (p205 3rd ed),MacPac mainly focused on hardcore and keen tampers who only wanted the best outdoor equipment for outdoor activities, the buyers who could trust MacPac gear when they were on outdoor adventur es. Macpac greatly believed in Innovation andDesign was completely dedicated to innovations and new designs leading to new products and development in the existing of the existing product which greatly contributed to its success internationally as with innovation it was able to manufacture products which were new to the customers and they were more then willing to buy them as they had never seen those products before.Macpac also educated his customers with Catalogue’s which displayed all the MacPac’s products, and giving the customers a wide range to choose from, These catalogue’s were placed in retail stores which sold MacPac products Reasons For the losses MacPac incurred during 2001-2005 Macpac although Did Great during the initial years and succeed in establishing it brand internationally,it suffered huge losses during the years 2001-2005 the main reasons for the losses that MacPac incurred during this phase can be explained using PESTFramework PEST analysis identifies environmental factors into 4 major types, Political, Economical, Social, Technological. (Jhonson. G,Scholes. k,p82 1993) Political: One of the main reason for MacPac’s loss was the event of 9/11.MacPac’s sales dropped rapidly, because American economy trembled due to this and as America was the financial hub of the world, every other economy faced the same situation as a result the value for new Zealand dollar decreased considerably resulting in the decreased exports of MacPac, also the event of 9/11 some how brought the whole economy into a financialcrunch and as such demand for products decreased and people spend very less which had obvious effect on MacPac. Political: Post 9/11 the political situation trembled all over the world and as such there was political in stability which had obvious effects on MacPac’s process and contributed to its loss. Government were now more concerned about the safety of the people and the people too preferred their o wn safety. Going out seemed to be less safe as such contributed to MacPac’s loss Social: Post 9/11 the behavior of the people had changed people now had a different attitude towards outdoor activities and the industry was changing from hardcore outdoor activities towards more softer activities and were more focused on fashion, later the fashion part ook over and people now stopped doing adventurous activities and preferred to stay at their homes as a result less people bought Outdoor Adventure Equipment, all this had a great effect on MacPac’s progress and as a result it suffered losses. Economical: With the event of 9/11 the attitude of people had some how changed people now were not ready to pay for high quality costly products but preferred Low quality and elite products, MacPac which always considered quality as their objective and had high quality products could not cope up with the change as such had to suffer losses. Technological: with the shift in peopleâ€⠄¢s behavior from hardcore to soft and finally fashion oriented, required new technology which MacPac did not have and may be one of the reasons for its loss.Other reasons: The main reason for MacPac’s loss during 2001-2005 was their low Budgeting strategy and could not tackle changing trend of the people, It had low logistic management, and were less automated. Critical Issues That Macpac Is facing: Although With the introduction of the New Business Model Macpac has got on the track and recovered from the losses it suffered in 2001-2005, thecompany still faces a greater number of issues which the company has to address, the issues that MacPac faces now can be summarized as under Threat Of entry Threat of entry to an industry will depend on the extend to which there are barriers to entry (Johnson. G,Scholes. K,1997,p108).As it is seen that MacPac entered the outdoor equipment industry easily and without much trouble showing that there was probably no barriers or less Barriers to enter this industry, as such showing that anybody could enter the industry posing a serious issue for Macpac. Also aswith the increase in globalizationnew Manufacturers can now enter any industry and as such can enter will the outdoor equipment industryaswell, posing a serious problem to MacPac Threat Of substitutes: The availability of substitute’s can place a ceiling on the price of a companies product and reduce its attractiveness(Johnson. G,Scholes. K,1997,p109), and with the outdoor equipment industry growing and newer and newer manufacturers entering into the market and producing products of their own which will be sometimes cheaper then the MacPac or even better then the MacPac.MacPac will have to address this issue andit is a serious problem for it Competitive Rivalry: The most competitive condition are those in which the entry is likely, substitutes ,threats and buyer supplier exercise power/Control and as the current outdoor equipment industry in increasing in t he number of competitors there is increase in the number of substitute’s available to the buyer creating rivalry between MacPac and its competitors to sell their products more,Macpac’s competitors will often find ways to outrun Macpac by offering better benefits to buyers or else reducing the prices of their products,which will be harmful to MacPac. Thus creating a issue which MacPac faces now. Maintaining Level Of Quality:With the outsourcing to Asia Macpac faces the problem of maintain the quality of their products, as the main idea of MacPac to outsource to Asia was to reduce the cost andMacPacbelieves that the buyers can never know where the product is made, as such he has to make to has to maintain the quality of its product to the quality and the standard of the products manufactured in new Zealand and USA,if MacPac Fails to maintain the quality standard then it will lose it brand image which will result in losing customers. Outsourcing: outsourcing occurs when a n organisation decides to buy in products and services that were previously produced in-home(Jhonson. G,Scholes. k,2002,p450),but outsourcing requires managers to be more competent at maintaining the performance ,they suppliers or distributer need to educated regularly about the organizational goals ,priorties and standards,thus increasing the cost without the guarantee that the supplier will full understand what was taught to him,thus putting the image and resources of the company at risk.Resource Management: With MacPac becoming from just a New Zealand Company to a global one it will require effective management of its resources as well as Finance/wealth Management. MacPac’s Business Model: After suffering huge losses during 2001-2005, MacPac had to redesign its business structure in order to avoid any further losses but they did this not ahead enough, had they developed this model before chances are that they would have avoided the losses which they suffered during 2001-20 05. Macpac developed a business model that stabilized their position and saved them from suffering any further losses. MacPac changed their business model to a formal structure.Formal Structure: A formal structure is based on the primary activities that have to be undertaken by an organisation such as production, finance and accounting, marketing ,human resource and information management(Johnson G Scholes. k 2002 p 422) Financial Control: In financial control the role of the center is to set financial targets, allocate resources, appraise performance and intervene or correct poor performance(Jhonson. G,Scholes. K 2002 p448),Macpac also introduced finance management strategy and did not pay until the finished goods were supplied and as such did not have the burden of surplus stock kept as final goods, Macpac basically introduced a finance management strategy which saved them cost and other expenditure incurred previously.Human Resource Management:organisations which successfully man ages change are those which have integrated their human resource management policies with their strategies (Jhonson. G,Scholes. K,1993 p416). Macpac developed a new resource strategy and started to recruited people who love outdoor activities and as well used MacPac’s products as a result they brought an un inevitable expertise, it helped MacPac to spend less on the training of its employees as they already new a lot about it products, MacPac also hired a new CEO who could Created a strategy that could get MacPac out of loss. Technology/Information management: Knowledge creation and information managementare issues at the front of managers minds as a potential source of improved competitiveness. (Jhonson. G, Scholes. k, 2002,p490).MacPac also stared to send the designs electronically as such reducing its overall cost that were not covered in previous business model,MacPac also used automatic machinery and increased its workforce The Main change was to shift the attention from innovation and design but to introduce a wide range of products Logistics Strategy Before 2001 MacPac had not focused on logistic management but in the new business model they designed a strategy to manage and increase its logistics, and as such MacPac increased its logistic staff from 0 to 3 persons MacPac also introduced sales strategy by increasing its sales force to double to reduce its chances of loss again and thus increase it sales MacPac also introduced the budgeting strategy in its new business model and revises its current bonus system Increased offshoring to become a global company Macpac also sought supplier’s recommendations and that of its competitors too; RecommendationsIt is seen that MacPac faced a number of problems after its establishment, these problems occurred especially when MacPac entered international market, and it continued to suffer losses even after the implementation of the new business model which only worked after few years of its implementati on. Companyas such for a company like Macpac which experienced many difficulties and issues, the following recommendations are given. 1. In aspect to marketing proper marketing should have been done and proper research should have been done, forecasting of the market should also been done, and all the aspects of starting a business should been taken into considerationdevising any strategy or plan. 2. Proper Budgeting and financing strategy should have been adopted to meet the requirements of the organisation and at proper times 3.Proper allocation of resources should have been done, along with proper market research been done so that the company could read the market trends and adjust accordingly. The organisation should have been more flexible and more goals oriented 4. Goal and objectives of the organisation should have been clearly set forward with clear objective of what the company needed from its employees and where it wanted to be after a particular period of time 4. Consider the use of strategic management. One of the advantages of strategic management is it enables a firm to proficiently identify how a certain organisation should deploy its resources in the environment and adapts the organisation to satisfy the long-term objectives of the firm. It is important to note that strategic management deals with several time spans.