Euthanasia Essays - Euthanasia, Medical Ethics, Disability Rights

Euthanasia Euthanasia, which means "good" or "peaceful" death, has been practiced through the ages. Doctors have always been dedicated to the task of easing pain and suffering, to make dying easier. Adding the adjective "active" alters the meaning of euthanasia. The emphasis shifts from comforting the dying to inducing death. The practice of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide would cause society to devalue all life, especially the lives of the dying, the disabled, and the elderly. We should not understate the agonies involved in chronic pain and suffering. Nobody wants to see a loved one suffer or make the decisions that accompany medical science's ability to prolong life. The same technology that keeps people alive today raise a host of questions concerning the nature and destiny of man himself. Comforting the dying is still preferable to assisting in their death. There are many reasons why, but the main one has to do with how much we value human life. God views all human life as sacred. He created us in his own image (Genesis 1:26,27), and it is he who has determined our days on earth (Job 14:5). God confirms his great love for his people, a love that does not cease when we are old or ill. His command that we not kill one another does not change when we are brain damaged or comatose. Our society, however, teaches certain classes of people that they are not wanted. If a physician's aid in dying were to become a standard part of terminal care, there is always that possibility that patients might feel the need to request death out of fear of becoming a burden to their families. The right to die could be interpreted by a patient as the duty to die. Chronically ill or dying patients may be pressured to choose euthanasia to spare their families financial or emotional strain. Joan Farah states in the New England Journal of Medicine that the elderly are often cited as being vulnerable. If Euthanasia becomes the law of the land, how long will it take before the elderly and sick begin to feel an obligation to get out of the way? There are many complicated ethical and medical issues involved in the discussion of euthanasia. The decisions that family members must make are often as painful as the conditions of their loved ones. Sometimes the families react with wisdom and compassion. However, under stress human beings can make the wrong decisions. In an attempt to avoid such risk we dare not enact legislature that will allow murder simply to make decisions easier. Opponents contend that legalized euthanasia would force medical professionals and patients' families to judge the worth of others' lives. Once a vulnerable group is denied a basic right to life, it is only a matter of time until other groups are placed in the same category. We have accepted the killing of unborn children, allowed children born with severe handicaps to die, and have ignored "mercy killing" of consenting adults. Will we tolerate or accept euthanasia just as we do abortion? There are no easy answers when a loved one faces death. Scientists must continue to seek answers and cures. Active euthanasia does not provide answers: it only tries to avoid the hardest questions. Thomas Beauchamp, a bioethicist of Georgetown University has written, rules against killing "are not isolated moral principles," but "pieces of a web of rules" that forms a moral code. "The more threads one removes the weaker the fabric becomes." Allowing ourselves the liberty of choosing the time and place of death will not lessen our sense of loss. It can only erode the wonder of human life and the worth of each individual. Wekesser, Carol, ed. Euthanasia: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1995.

Critical Essay Writing

Critical Essay Writing Critical Essay Writing In modern education, critical thinking is important assignment. The aim of all educators is to teach their student how to think critically. The critical thinking is an important skill and it is developed with the help of critical essay writing. Critical thinking is about valuation of what people say or what the author describes in his or her work. The purpose of teaching critical thinking is to improve the thinking skills of students and, thus, to prepare them better to writing a critical essay: Critical Essay Writing: How to Write You should show you ability to synthesize criticism with your own analysis which should be well-organized and well supported in your critical essay. You should think about thesis statement that controls and unifies the development of supporting evidence. Thesis sentence should help the reader to understand the sequence of your ideas along with the textual evidence supporting your thesis. As in any research essay, you should pay attention to organization of your notes. Select a topic that is of interest to you, the topic which you would like to research. Reading the original text, try to understand the problems that author is trying to solve. Find the important words in the book and determine the author's usage of these terms. Identify the most important sentences in the book, the ones that express the judgments. These are the foundational affirmations and denials of the author. They must be either premises or conclusions. State them in your own words. While writing English essay construct the arguments, begin with assumptions and self-evident propositions. An argument is your line of reasoning aimed at demonstrating the truth or falsehood of the author's work. You should present reasons, statements, and facts that support your point of view in the essay. Determine the author's solutions to the problem or question that he or she posed. After these steps are completed, you may start research on criticisms related to your topic. At this stage of essay writing process, you have a chance to argue with the author and express yourself. However, do not say that you agree or disagree with the author until you do not understand why your opinion is different. Do not start criticizing if you are not able to say that you really understand the book. Critical literary essay require a good critical judgments. Critical Essay Outline Critical essay outline should be well constructed. Critical essay outline has a definite format: introduction, body paragraph and conclusion. Before writing an essay make a plan, think about thesis statement, ideas, arguments and examples. Academic essay writing demands from you the expression of your ideas, not copy/paste of others. Ordering custom critical essay writing service at you get 100% plagiarism free essay written in accordance to your instructions. We do not miss deadlines and we put your interests and needs on the first place. We guarantee authenticity of every essay we deliver and provide free plagiarism report. Read also: College Essay Essay Writing Thesis Writing Tips Thesis Topics Thesis Papers in Education

Managing Information Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing Information - Coursework Example It has good experience of these exhibitions throughout the year, which adds to many advantages that can be propped in the research. A meeting discussion of a written brief organized by Marston Tools due to research for success had been approached mid-April this year. This paper or business report will focus on the benefits and limitations of information systems as a tool to be applied by the Marston Tools company. An information system can be simply defined as a set of interconnected mechanism that gather, process, accumulate and dispense information to assist in making decisions in a given company or organisation. It usually contains information regarding the persons, places in addition, facilities in the organisations surrounding environment. According to Effy (2008), the components of information systems are; computer hardware and software, databases, telecommunications and human resource personnel. Information systems are of different types in respect with the kind of business or organisation. In this, case a brick and mortar business would require the following types of information systems (Effy, 2008). 2.0 Types of Information Systems 1. ... 3. Management information systems The management information system generates information on expected basis in accurate, organised and timely manner to be used by managers or the business controllers in decision making, problem solving and activity supervision as illustrated by (Effy, 2008). 4. Decision support systems This type of information system collects data from the above information systems and from external sources and produces information that assists management to prepare and draft for the upcoming (Effy, 2008). 5. Office automation systems In this type of information system, tools or electronics improve on the efficiency of the employees and reduce the amount of work in an organisations office (Effy, 2008). The advantages of information systems are several. First, as argued by (Effy, 2008) there is a significant reduction in the cost of recording and storing information. The number of staff required is lower as compared to the manual hence the cost and expenses are reduce d. The storage of records and other information takes less time and space. This implies that the business allocation takes minimal space since information and data is stored in computers and its components. Easy accessibility of information is another advantage of use of the above information systems in a business or organisation. Updating and information retrieval is easy and fast when using electronic information systems as described above. Files and information is interchanged between computers hence making it possible to transfer data from one place to another. The drawbacks or disadvantages of the use of the above information systems are as follows. First, the employees lack job security because there is no certainty with the high technology growth. The growth in technology is

Reading Comprehension Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reading Comprehension - Essay Example Graphic organizers are a powerful tool to the students as it provides students with tools that they can use to show and examine the relationship between concepts in a text. The essay will delve in the teaching comprehension strategies and how the graphic organizers are used to enhance the learning of students. It will also focus on the benefits of using graphic organizers in teaching comprehension strategies. Teaching strategies are the tools that teachers use to enable students learn and understand whatever they are reading. To help students understand comprehension easily, graphic organizers are always used. Graphic organizers like semantic maps are used in self monitoring strategy. Semantic maps are devices that help students to derive explicit and implicit meanings from concepts, ideas and details that are in a text (Sewak & Lubin, 2007). This strategy is helpful to students as it increases their understanding and helps them to acquire, organize and maintain information. This str ategy can be used by providing students with semantic maps, which depict concepts from a passage and the key words (Adler, 2005). Students should read the passage and then find out the key words which they should link to those key words that are on the map. When semantic maps are used in teaching of comprehension, they make students put much focus on the concepts and main vocabularies which will enhance comprehension reading. For example, when a teacher is teaching on the concept of â€Å"whales†, the teacher can trigger the prior knowledge that the students have, by showing them a video and then allow them to point out the key words which relate to that topic. The metacognitive strategy can be enhanced by use of the concept diagrams. Concept diagram helps in comprehension skills and they show the relationship between concepts in a passage. Concept diagrams are graphics which describe the concepts in a passage, and their relationship from top to bottom (Boudah & Hagan-Burke, 2000). They also show how these concepts at the top support those at the bottom and they have lines that show the connections between concepts. The concept diagram makes students focus on concepts that enhance comprehension. When teaching comprehension and teachers are using concept diagrams, the teacher is to give an explanation about the different parts of the diagram. The teacher together with his students, they highlight the main concepts in a passage. Then the teacher provides a blank concept diagram and allows students to make their own connections (Sewak & Lubin, 2007). Hence this makes the students to be actively involved as they engage themselves in writing concepts of the diagram. Other graphic organizers that are useful when teaching comprehension are the story maps. The story maps are used by teachers to help the students to know the story structure. One way of using the story maps is when the teacher reads a story and stops at some points which are strategic to ask the students some questions. This strategy is necessary in understanding comprehension as it allows students to identify some important elements in the story such as the plot, characters and the setting (Adler, 2005). The story maps help to improve the literal, applied and interpretive comprehension skills of the students. In fact, it is a powerful tool for making students pay attention when

Different topic about BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEM Essay

Different topic about BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEM - Essay Example Information technology has been instrumental for the improved performance of various companies and business houses across the globe. It has also increased the over all productivity. The development of information technology has also increased the accuracy level in almost all the related aspects of it. Like all most of the other aspects of our life, technology has made its appearance in the entertainment industry also. Today, almost all of the movies produced and released at Hollywood depend highly on technology as special effects have been the indispensable part of the motion pictures. One such movie released in 1993 was the Jurassic Park (directed by Steven Spielberg). In fact, the movie created a sensation among the viewers and is regarded as the landmark in the use of computer technology in the field of movies. The on-screen dinosaurs created by special effects was a major hit. Technologies like Dinosaurs Input Devices were used which allowed the computer to create its own animation when inputs were fed into it. Also, the sound of the movie was based on special effects. Today, not just the development, but also the sales and marketing of every movie relies highly on technology. As the information technology has been the integral part of our life, the usage of Microsoft-Office (better known as MS-Office) software has been on constant rise. With in the package of MS-Office, Microsoft-Excel deals with all sorts of calculations. Excel has been crucial for all those who are related with number crunching. The above link is a perfect online tutorial for excel. The link has been from the website of The University of South Dakota. The university was founded in 1862 and is located at Vermillion of South Dakota. University of South Dakota has the only law and the medical school of the state. The reputed university uses USD as its symbol (also it is known as simply U). The university has whole lot of academic

Laura Ashley | Analysis

Laura Ashley | Analysis Laura Ashley, one of todays most recognizable fashion and home furnishings brands was founded by Laura and her husband Bernard Ashley. Their initiative enjoyed huge success on and by 1970 when sales had reached  £300,000 and a large number of shops were opening. Licensing operations brought about the opening of department store concessions in Australia, Canada and Japan in 1971, while further shops opened in Paris and San Francisco in 1974, and UK shop openings continued with a vengeance. The Company was listed to the Alternative Investment Market of London Stock Exchange on 5 December 1985. (Laura Ashley Official Website, 2009) 1.2 Business Summary Laura Ashley Holdings plc is engaged in the design, manufacture, sourcing, distribution and sale of clothing, accessories and home furnishings. The Company has four divisions: Home Accessories (30%), Furniture (28%), Decorating (23%) and Fashion (19%). (Laura Ashley Osiris Financials, 2009) It operates through retail and non-retail operations. Retail operations include Laura Ashleys managed stores, mail order and E-commerce, while non -retail operations include licensing, franchising and manufacturing. As of January 26, 2008, the Companys property portfolio in the United Kingdom included 208 stores, with three principal store types: mixed product stores (selling all product categories); home stores (selling the full range of home products), and 31 home concession stores. (Laura Ashley Annual Report, 2009) 2 PESTEL ANALYSIS 2.1 Political Factors The Political situation of a country emphasizes on: Role of government Its impact in a company or firm The UK government makes sure that the market is open to fair and healthy competition thus appointing regulating bodies such as ASA, Competitions Appeal Tribunal, Competition Commission, Department for Business, Enterprise Regulatory Reform and many others to monitor the actions and policies of companies. At the same time, they are willing for people to invest in the current economy to climb out of the economic depression and hence provide incentives such as VAT relaxation, transport subsidies and high investment returns to make businesses more profitable1. The rapid development of the UK markets and the tightening of trade barriers in many European countries have created an opportunity for local companies. The maturity and the slow growth in the UK clothes retail sectors for female population and furniture and home decor have made Laura Ashley look for new investment ventures. Recent reports suggest that many household brands are planning to shift their focus on Mens Fashion markets where consumers, with growing disposable incomes, are keen to spend. Even though the political conditions are favourable, there still might be some legal barriers left for expansion to be profitable. Even though countries like UK and France have tightened trade barriers they are still cautious that foreign players will provide tough competition to become a market leader. Furthermore, it is expected that UK will tighten foreign investment laws, thus creating problems for international brands who seek expansion here. (Fuller Arnold, 2007) 2.2 Economical Factors The economys current state of recession is placing a heavy toll on all businesses. According to recent reports Laura Ashley store sales fell 6.2 per cent in the 53-week period despite total UK store sales jumping 10.8 per cent and internet sales rocketing 65.4 per cent. Laura Ashley said that since December, gross margins had come under pressure due to the continued deterioration of the UK economy, its impact on the retail sector and consumer confidence, the weakness of sterling and increased promotional activity (Harrison, 2009). Despite the volatile economy, Laura Ashley is in a strong position because their products have very high perceived value from their customers. Their highly differentiated merchandise and the loyalty of their customers can sustain them even in the economic recession. When the economy falters, consumers simply buy less and may move a greater share of their wallet to less-stylish and lower-cost offerings from deep discounters like ASDA or Tesco. Laura Ashley i s particularly susceptible to these conditions because their products are mainly in the upper price range. Expansion in the targeted market will provide the firm with more sustainability if they may endure down turns in any other product. (Laura Ashley Annual Report, 2009) 2.3 Socio Cultural The UK market for clothes is changing. The focus on design is growing, and as a consequence there is a trend for customers to express themselves with the look of what they are wearing. In addition, figures point that this particular demographic is growing (Datamonitor, 2008c). Laura Ashleys textile products are specifically tailored to cater for this demographic and their understanding of the buying patterns of UK customers, both for clothes retail products and furniture products bringing sustained benefits to the company. Trend exist in the UK market that young people between 20-40 patronize UK a lot and prefer to buy products which carry a local label rather than opting for a foreign brand. In addition, to their good grasp of the demographics of the UK market, Laura Ashley try to follow the success of franchises such as Topshop, Esprit and Zara by switching their focus from traditional wear and introducing more fashionable clothing. To what extent they succeed is debatable, as Laura Ashleys products are moderately priced, unlike the low price offered by the likes of Topshop, Espirt and Zara. (Beatty, 2003) 2.4 Technological Technological changes over the last few years have made a significant impact on the way firms do business and on the products and services as well. (Barney Hesterly, 2008) As with other retail business operators, the Internet, and more precisely, online shopping creates opportunity for Laura Ashley to expand their market share. According to recent financial reports, Laura Ashleys good online shopping service has brought them significant financial benefits even in the period of global recession. Customers have become more and more accustomed to shopping from home, and this is especially true for the companys fashion products Keeping in mind that the targeted market is mostly students and working professionals who dont get time from their activities so very often, it provides an efficient and profitable way to market their portfolio to these people. Sales at Laura Ashley jumped 8.4 per cent since the beginning of 2009, mainly due to an 11% increase in online and mail orders. (Retail W eek, 2009) 2.5 Environmental UK is seen as a leading player in combating the issue of adverse climate changes all over the globe. And to maintain reputation and address the issues there are numerous measures it has taken over the years to make operations in the country eco-friendly. Companies such as Laura Ashley are no exception. The carbon emissions from their manufacturing plants as well as the transportation system are closely monitored, as is the case with every other company. The same mindset is found in the people specially the generation which is coming up as they are witnessing the drastic changes and getting affected by it. Laura Ashley is respected as one of the most responsible Fashion manufacturer. Laura Ashley is one of the pioneers in going green. In fall 2007, the firms CEO unveiled an environmental strategy that includes the use of renewable energy systems at logistics centres including the introduction of biodiesel for the firms trucking fleet. It gives a lot of attention to sustainable managem ent of all its operations. This factor serves as an added value factor for the company to attract more consumers as well as maintain the loyalty of the customers. 2.6 Legal The legal system of UK is very consumer friendly. It provides little or no assistance when we talk about retailers. As per the legal system, a customer can return the purchased goods within a specific time period which is offered by every retailer as a mandatory requirement (Office of Fair Trading, 2009). So many retailers see a lot of returns coming back, hence reducing the sale margins. The staff that is employed has to be paid a National minimum wage as per the legal system and there are complex contractual legislations in place which give an upper hand to the employees. As an employer and as a business, there should be proper health and safety rules in place to protect the workers as well as the customers, failure of which can lead to legal lawsuits which is becoming a common trend nowadays. But since the origins of the company are Welsh, it doesnt find it difficult to cope with these legal issues in place and have showed extreme employee satisfaction, both, in terms of job as well as working conditions. The large base of loyal customers speaks for itself about the treatment they have given to their customers over decades. 3 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 3.1 Criteria for Selecting New Suppliers Quality: Quality is one of the major issues that would be kept in mind while selecting potential suppliers. To generate more profits, Laura Ashley need to provide more value for money and this could be done by improving the quality of their products. It is so often said that people and organizations alike are measured by what they create and what they do and this is no different in this case. This also enables to compete with high value brands and men might opt for Laura Ashley if the difference in quality is not that significant. It is not only limited to the quality of the product but also includes the services which they provide to Laura Ashley and making sure that standards are met in accordingly. Speed: This is important to meet customers demands on time. In busy periods like Christmas and Easter, there might be a surge in volumes expected and the supplier should possess the ability to meet those demands Dependability: Dependability is taken to be a more important attribute than performance. And arguably the most important criteria when selecting a potential supplier. Suppliers should be have Availability: The ability of the system to deliver as and when services requested e.g. surge in volumes Reliability: The ability of the system to deliver services as specified e.g. in a particular region Safety: The ability of the system to operate without catastrophic failure e.g. through bad economic conditions Security: The ability of the system to protect against accidental or deliberate intrusions e.g. factory fire Flexibility: As said in old times, flexibility comes with time. In this business, it is meaningless because your first impression is the last impression. The potential supplier should be flexible enough to provide Product service: Ensuring that they cater all the service requests put forth by Laura Ashley Product Mix: Ensuring that they have enough variance and diversity in the materials that they supply e.g. to cater different age groups Volume: Can cope with times when demand is high and can hold thought he periods when the demand is low e.g. economic recession Delivery: Ensuring that delivery is done when and wherever required. There might be outlets in cities where they dont have a distribution centre. So the supplier should have enough resources to deliver to those areas. Cost: As said before, the supplier should be cost effective. There should be if not favourable then perfect balance between the cost and the quality of the supplies. If the supplier has high costs, then automatically the profits margins go down. Having said that, it is also not expected that there should be a big compromise on quality to bring down the cost. Location: Since Laura Ashley is a global brand, it has its processing outlets in various locations. Suppliers should be able to cater all locations and if not, then should have other contractors who meet the same standards to serve those locations. Transportation: The supplier should make sure that it has sizable fleet to transport the supplies. Reliance on private services is not secure as there might be events which could lead to disruption in supply e.g. recent air strikes by BA, volcanic eruption causing air traffic to a halt. The potential supplier is expected to see through these and other kinds of threats that might lead to cut supplies to Laura Ashley. JIT: This is another vital factor in choosing a supplier. JIT refers to Just in time which means that processing centres are supplied whenever there is a need. The main aim of this selection criterion is to reduce the amount of money that is being spent to buy raw materials. This allows Laura Ashley to invest whenever there is a change in trend or if they want to invest in some other business venture. Expenses are cut further down by having less storage space, less staff wages and more importantly less losses that occur to stored raw materials. Diversity: The supplier should be able to realize the fact that UK is a very diverse country and people from many countries from all over the world come here to work, study and visit. Every country has their own fashion trend which in many cases is related to what they wear e.g. in Russia people prefer to wear warm clothes as they experience a very harsh and long winter whereas people from Pakistan may like lighter and more relaxed clothing as the temperature is very pleasant. So there is a diverse mix of fabrics that can be required and the supplier should be able to provide this. 3.2 Supply Chain Diagram Internet Fashion tips. Display ideas, Young Enthusiastic Staff, Refunds and Exchanges Orders delivered on time. Central Distribution centre designed around product delivery Control, Coordination, Accessories Outsourced, Pre cut Fabric Packs, Quick Response, Low Cost, Quality Control Low Level Stock Holding. Forecasting can be done easily Replenishment Fabric Acquired in different colours and types Customer Services Management Value Delivery: Distribution Manufacturing Order Assembly and inventory management Procurement Product Specialisation Design 3.3 Suggestions for type of supply chain management A 5% reduction in costs can have the same effect on the bottom line as a 25% increase in turnover (Chris Hicks, 2009) External Supply chain management (ESCM) which involves relationship with other companies: relationship with customers through market sales and relationship with suppliers through procurement. Internal supply chain management (ISCM) which involves different businesses, manufacturing units and departments within one company. For a company like Laura Ashley, it is beneficial to adopt an external supply chain management system. The advantages of adopting this outweigh the disadvantages significantly. The first and foremost advantage is that of cost. Operating in ESCM, Laura Ashley doesnt have to employ permanent or contracted staff in the same capacity as it would do in ISCM. There would be less tax payable and operating cost would be reduced considerably. Secondly, selecting potential suppliers according to the factors previously discussed, the business would benefit from flexibility, dependability and would be more diversified. Lastly, the company can go on to have healthy relationships with other industry partners and future alliances are a viable option. On the other hand, ISCM has its own advantages. It would provide Laura Ashley with more independence. Dependability on suppliers would be reduced. Everything done in-house would also reduce the cost but not to the levels ESCM would do. Also, reliance on external sources would decrease. But keeping in mind the fact the current economic conditions, there are few companies who can afford to take the burden of operating in ICSM. Employee wages, benefits, operating costs, taxes and increasing competition in market has made it difficult to sustain as one big unit. (Douglas Lambertz, 2005) 4 PORTERS FIVE FORCE ANALYSIS 4.1 Threat of Entry The clothing and furniture market in the UK is very competitive, with low entry and exist costs. Even though growth is on a decline, the clothing and furniture market in the UK is very lucrative for new entrants due to the low entry costs and the lack of significant investment required. (Datamonitor, 2008c) Even though the threat of entry is generally high, Laura Ashleys differentiated products create a barrier of entry for new consumers. The product differentiation of Laura Ashleys merchandise, especially with regard to their furniture, is valued very highly by their customers. This type of product differentiation is often quite hard to imitate by new entrants and thus the threat of entry for Laura Ashley is substantially lower than for other players who sell less differentiated product. (Barney Hesterly, 2008) In addition, Laura Ashley was founded in 1953, and for most of their existence they have been among top market performers. In those 6 decades they were able to gain the approval of multitude of repeat customers this creating excellent brand reputation and customer loyalty. This represents an additional barrier of entry for new players in the market. (Laura Ashley Annual Report, 2009) 4.2 Threat of Rivalry The UK market is highly fragmented with a generally slow industry growth. That leads to extremely fierce competition, as many companies are battling over market share. The industry is characterized by frequent price cutting by firms, intense advertising campaigns and rapid competitive actions and reactions in the industry. (Laura Ashley Annual Report, 2009) Laura Ashleys ability to differentiate their products enables them to demand a higher price of their products and not be caught in the price war. As long as they can maintain the high value perception of their products and continue to be lead differentiators in the furniture market the threat of rivalry will be relatively low, considering the turbulent market. (Barney Hesterly, 2008) In the clothing market Laura Ashley attempts to diversify its products by including more fashionable clothes, suited for the younger demographic. However, this strategy may be construed as risky because it endangers the customer perception of the brand. (Beatty, 2003) 4.3 Threat of Substitutes Laura Ashley is relatively safe from substitute products because their products are already different in the perception of their customers. It is hard to substitute a highly differentiated product. (Barney Hesterly, 2008) 4.4 Threat of Suppliers Laura Ashley is a very big customer for its suppliers therefore they can enjoy a very safe position with regard to the threat of suppliers. Whereas, for suppliers Laura Ashley is a big an important customer, for the company itself it is quite easy to switch their supplier. That enables them to demand better prices and quality from their supplier. (Datamonitor, 2008c) 4.5 Threat of Buyers The threat of buyers in the market is very high, and even though Laura Ashley is in a better position than less differentiated competitors, there is still a lot of rivalry even in the high value high price market niche. In addition there is no added cost in the industry for the customers to change their supplier. (Datamonitor, 2008c) 5 BUSINESS RISK ANALYSIS The technique to identify risk and assess factors jeopardizing the success of the project or obstacles in achieving goals is known as Business Risk Analysis. This also helps in the identification of measures to diminish the probability of the occurrence of these factors and recognize countermeasures to deal with these constraints effectively. In case of Laura Ashley, the following risks have been identified that the market will face with the desired strategies to overcome them. Competition: Competition from rival brands is the biggest threat that Laura Ashley has. Brands such as Primark and Madhouse have outsourced their production to cheaper countries like China and Bangladesh. This has enabled men to buy cheap clothes and be fashionable at the same time. This can only be eliminated by competing with them on cost effectiveness and providing more value for money. Some part of the production line can be outsourced by Laura Ashley to compete in this regard but the question remains if that would stand up to the quality standards of Laura Ashley and would it continue to have the same brand value. Lack of skills: The UK market currently has a shortage of technical expertise. The times ahead see UK as dependable on foreign expertise influentially from Asia. This poses a risk as Laura Ashley might have to pay high salaries and benefits to attract engineers, designers and workers from abroad. Training people and nurturing talent is a sensible way to cater the future demand of experts in this field Loss of assets: Assets might be lost to any unseen circumstances. Companies such as BP have suffered huge losses in past five years due to fire and inadequate measures to control them. This is the reason that the red tape industry in UK emphasizes so much on Health and Safety and hence precautions have to been taken which are costly and reduce the efficiency. With proper SHE analysis, this can be reduced and there should be enough packaged finished product in stores to meet the demands. Suppliers: Suppliers can be a benefit to Laura Ashley as well as a threat. With better quotes from rival firms they can bring about changes into the supply chain leading to a fall in retailing. Examples of this includes Next and Marks and Spencer who experienced this in 2007 (Datamonitor, 2007) and saw a steep fall in sales. The risk can be reduced by having more than one supplier at a time, making them compete for orders and ensuring supply as well. Production delivery failure: Failure to produce the volumes in time would see customer dissatisfaction which could end up in lower turnover. Contractors can be arranged to ensure that whatever is produced is delivered on time and there are no delays from the production line to the outlet shelves. High maintenance cost: Maintenance of retail outlets, production facility, and delivery fleet and storage houses is very important. If not properly maintained, this can incur heavy losses. Yearly or half yearly checks should be carried out to ensure the assets are running in good condition. Financial instability: The economic downturn has seen many retail outlets close e.g. Woolworths. In this period of financial depression, people might stop spending and hence affect the revenues generated. By keeping varied fashion items targeting different sections of age groups, sales can be increased e.g. providing fashionable clothing for 25-30 year olds, Formal suiting and shirts for 30-40 year old and a more sober and decent wardrobe for 35-45 can attract more customers. Also introducing accessories to complement clothes such as scarves, ties, cufflinks and under garments can increase sales. Outsourcing: Many rivals have outsourced their entire production line. This has led to very competitive market conditions. Retailers such as BHS and Primark rely heavily on this. They make use of cheap labour in foreign countries and so can sell at better rates than Laura Ashley. To overcome this problem, It is suggested that Laura Ashley may outsource some of its production line in order to compete on level terms with other retailers. Changing Fashion Trends: Fast changing trends has made people spend considerably less at any given time. Considering the fact that it is 25-45 age group that Laura Ashley is targeting, fashion changes very quickly in this particular and people falling in this category are more conscious about this fact. It is not deemed a good practice to stock up shelves with a monotonous style of clothing. Introducing fashionable clothing at regular intervals would serve as an attractive factor for customers. Environmental: Weather plays an indirect role as a threat. Extreme wintry conditions see less people buy less fashionable clothes and inclination increases towards over coats and jackets. As mentioned before, keeping a variation of retail products in outlets can nullify this risk. Introduction of seasonal collection earlier than other retailers can lead to a strong selling trend and at the same time build a strong customer base. There are several other risks involved which dont affect the market directly but they do have an effect. Sliding value of the Sterling Pound, rising inflation, higher bank interest rates and non-availability of finance in the market also disturb the economic balance and lessening the buying power of the customers. These risks are arguably common to the market rather than to a particular retailer and hence have a lesser effect than the rest. 6 STAKEHOLDERS The primary secondary and tertiary stakeholders of Laura Ashley are identified as: 6.1. Primary Stakeholders Owners and shareholders Managers Employees and staff 6.2. Secondary Stakeholders Customers Suppliers Distributors 6.3. Tertiary Stakeholders Government (national and local) Local community Suppliers of suppliers Stock market Competitors 6.4. Expectations of Primary Stakeholders: Owners and shareholders of Laura Ashley have a distinctive financial interest in the companys performance and growth. They have their money invested in the company and foresee its growth and expect good returns on their investments. Shareholders expect returns in terms of the higher resale value of the shares and expect substantial dividends. Whereas, the owners expect their company to grow and perform well against the competition and increase its market shares. Managers, as internal stakeholders, want higher incomes, more powers and freedom in terms of decision making, planning and control of operations. In other words they demand higher degrees of responsibilities as they have and additional duty of sustaining the health of the organization by meeting the demands of shareholders and employees. Employees and staff are one of the prime stakeholders of any organization. They look up to the organization for better incomes, job security, promotions and growth prospects, good working environment, fringe benefits, opportunities personal growth and training. 6.5. Expectations of Secondary Stakeholders: Customers of Laura Ashley expect quality products and services. They demand value for their money, certain supply of goods, variety of products and designs, truthful and comprehensible information about the products, services and customer policies. Also, they expect Laura Ashley to be an innovator in the market. They look for brand prestige and brand value. They expect Laura Ashley to be a brand with high brand image. Suppliers of Laura Ashley demand regular and consistent business at good profit margins. In other words they look for a long term business relationship which such a prestigious brand. They look for increase in the volumes of the order they receive. They expect quick payments for their productions. Being the suppliers of a leading brand they expect Laura Ashley to offer them fair prices. They want the brand to prosper as it will lead to more orders. Distributors look forward to the growth of business and expansion in the geographical areas they operate. 6.6. Expectations of Tertiary Stakeholders: The government wants all kinds of taxes (both central and local) flowing in to its reserves from the businesses; which include VAT (Value Added Tax), Corporate Tax, Import duties, Business Rates etc. The government demands Laura Ashley to adhere to the corporate laws and abide by the legislations aimed at consumer protection, welfare of employees and the local community. The government also expect the company to comply with the laws aimed at environment protection and efficient use of resources. The government wants Laura Ashley to prosper as it will help in creating more employment opportunities. Also, the growth of Laura Ashley would contribute to the national economy. The local community look forward to the company for significant number of jobs for the local residents. They look forward to Laura Ashley to be an ethically sound company. They expect the company to safeguard the environment and avoid creating pollution (noise and land). They expect the company to work for the development of the society and show a social responsible behaviour. The community also wants a thriving business from Laura Ashley, as it would give a push to the local businesses. The suppliers of suppliers can be pointed out as the stakeholders as they want consistent business. The rise and fall of stock market depends on the performance of the companies. Therefore people in the stock market want big companies to perform well as it will have a positive impact on the whole market. Competitors are corporate stakeholders with a claim to fair treatment (Green, 1994). In markets with saturated customer base, business expansion may seem to be possible only at the expense of competitors success (Spence et al., 2002). Thus, competitors impact the way a business is run. 6.7. Vision Statement Our goal is to add value to the lives of: Our employees by providing equal opportunities of growth, Our shareholders and business partners through lucrative growth and innovation, Our customers, by providing them value for their money, quality products and excellent service, Our suppliers and sub-suppliers through fair and ethical trade, The people around the world by striving for a cleaner, healthier and greener environment and a better world to live in with equal opportunities for all, 6.8. Mission Statement Our aim is to deliver a sensational shopping experience offering the finest range of menswear, highest standard of service and top quality products. 6.9. Social Compliance Policy There should be a clear and distinctive Social Compliance policy of any company as it helps to reinforce the trust of stakeholders in the company. For the suppliers to be qualified as the business partners with the company, they should make sure that they implement ethical practices within their manufacturing facilities. They should not employ child labour. They should provide their workforce fair wages, hygienic, clean and safe working conditions. Also, they should ensure that they are not damaging the environment in any way. The suppliers should ensure that their sub-suppliers are following the same ethical and environmental practices. 6.10. Conclusion Laura Ashley Holdings has faced the difficulties of the current economic conditions, resulting from the all-so-famous credit crunch. The company was particularly hit by the decreased consumer spending and the fluctuations of the Pound sterling. Still, it managed to stay flexible and competitive thanks to its healthy financials, mainly in terms of the fact that no assets are financed by debt, and the successful strategy of differentiation, store utilizati

Facts On Cocaine Essay -- essays research papers

Cocaine is a powerful central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that heightens alertness, inhibits appetite and the need for sleep, and provides intense feelings of pleasure. It is prepared from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia. Street dealers dilute it with inert (non-psychoactive) but similar-looking substances such as cornstarch, talcum powder, and sugar, or with active drugs such as procaine and benzocaine (used as local anesthetics), or other CNS stimulants such as amphetamines. Nevertheless, illicit cocaine has actually become purer over the years; according to RCMP figures, in 1988 its purity averaged about 75%. With repeated administration over time, users experience the drug's long-term effects. Euphoria is gradually displaced by restlessness, extreme excitability, insomnia, and paranoia - and eventually hallucinations and delusions. These conditions, clinically identical to amphetamine psychosis and very similar to paranoid schizophrenia, disappear rapidly in most cases after cocaine use is ended. Tolerance to any drug exists when higher doses are necessary to achieve the same effects once reached with lower doses. But scientists have not observed tolerance to cocaine's stimulant effect: users may keep taking the original amount over extended periods and still experience the same euphoria. Physical effects of cocaine use include constricted peripheral blood vessels, dilated pupils, and increased temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. The duration of cocaine's immediate euphoric effects, which include hyperstimulation, reduced fatigue, and mental clarity, depends on the route of administration. The faster the absorption, the more intense the high. On the other hand, the faster the absorption, the shorter the duration of action. The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes. Increased use can reduce the period of stimulation. When people mix cocaine and alcohol consumption, they are compounding the danger each drug poses and unknowingly forming a complex chemical experiment within their bodies. NIDA-funded researchers have found that the human liver combines cocaine and alcohol and manufactures a third substance, cocaethylene, that intensifies cocaine's euphoric effects, while possibly increasing the risk of sudden death. Yes. Cocaine is of... ... the "Brompton cocktail". This was a judiciously-blended mixture of cocaine, heroin and alcohol. The results were gratifying not just to the recipient. Relatives of the stricken patient were pleased, too, at the new-found look of spiritual peace and happiness suffusing the features of a loved one as (s)he prepared to meet his or her Maker. Drawing life to a close with a transcendentally orgasmic bang, and not a pathetic and god-forsaken whimper, can turn dying into the culmination of one's existence rather than its present messy and protracted anti-climax. There is another good reason to finish life on a high note. In a predominantly secular society, adopting a hedonistic death-style is much more responsible from an ethical utilitarian perspective. For it promises to spare friends and relations the miseries of vicarious suffering and distress they are liable to undergo at present as they witness one's decline. A few generations hence, the elimination of primitive evolutionary holdovers such as the ageing process and suffering will make the hedonistic death advocated here redundant. In the meanwhile, one is conceived in pleasure and may reasonably hope to die in it.

Database Management Systems Essay

While the database management system terminology has become widespread in India, there is a vast space for the adoption of the systems. The market potential still has a significant amount of spread to increase market share. A computer database is a repository of structured data or information and a database management system is a collection of programs that allows storage and retrieval of this data efficiently. Database management systems have undergone significant changes over the last thirty years. Starting with IBM’s IMS, a hierarchical database management system, in the early 1970s to the recent grid computing relational database management system – Oracle, the database technology has undergone a substantial technological change. During the last decade, relational management system or a derivative of it has become a de facto standard of the industry. ANSI SQL has become the standard query language to interact with any DBMS, though each vendor has its own extension to the standard SQL. (The Indian Express Limited) According to Gartner, in 2008, the Indian DBMS market was worth around $194 million and is expected to grow by 20% in 2010 over 2009. It expects the Indian DBMS market size to reach $233 million in 2010. According to a Forrester Research report, the open-source database market stands at $850 million and is expected to grow by more than 40%, to $1. billion, by 2011. Though small in comparison with the $16 billion commercial database market, it is still a significant feat considering most open-source databases bear no licensing costs. (Gartner) The size, growth, and sheer desire to gain a competitive edge lured global DBMS vendors to India. They have opened offices, signed local partners, and translated their software – and they are finding success. Driven by the inherent need for businesses of all kinds to manage their information, Indian database management system (DBMS) software vendors support customers in a large variety of markets. â€Å"From an Indian market perspective, there is still a long way for all vendors to go. The market potential still has a considerable amount of spread to increase market-share,† says Anil Menon, Country Manager, Software Group Channels, IBM India/South Asia.

Health care fraud and abuse within the Veterans Administration system Essays

Health care fraud and abuse within the Veterans Administration system Essays Health care fraud and abuse within the Veterans Administration system Paper Health care fraud and abuse within the Veterans Administration system Paper The VA was established in the year 1989. The main aim of its establishment was to provide federal benefits to the US military veterans and their respective families. The agency is perceived to be the second largest of the fifteen cabinet departments. It provides financial assistance, health care and burial benefit programs. It covers around sixty million people who are namely;  Ã‚   veterans, their respective family members and the veterans survivors. VA’s annual budget is higher than 90 billion dollars although it is seeking around $ 125 billion for next year (2011). Sixty billion dollars from its budget is stipulated for health benefits and the remaining is directed towards pensions and disabilities. Other benefits of VA include home loans, educational assistance, vocational rehabilitation for the disabled veterans and life insurance. The predecessor of VA was the veteran’s administration which had been established in 1930. VA is divided into, veteran’s health administration, national cemetery system and veteran’s benefits administration. It facilitates the management of the veterans hospitals or clinics and also disbursement and eligibility of the disability pensions (Answers.com. 2010). The VA has is plagued with many fraud cases which result from deception, poor system guidelines and many more other causes. This research proposal is going to discuss the top reasons as to why the VA is plagued with these fraud cases. Public recognition Lack of public recognition is perceived to be one of the top reasons as to why the VA is plagued with fraud. This is because no monitoring is done on the kind work of being done by men and women at the VA’s office. Vital work is basically done without much public recognition. This brings about schemes which are aimed at creating fraudulent claims for 100% disability that resulted in retroactive lump-sum payments to the deceased veterans. For example in the year 2001 a former supervisor at VA’s Atlanta regional office was sentenced for a 13- year imprisonment and also ordered to pay more than 11 million dollars as restitution for her taking part in a scheme to pay benefits in the name of deceased veterans. This calls for the undertaking in a number of corrective measures which must include technology-based and procedural controls than can quickly prevent and quickly identify similar frauds and stronger responsibility for the VA managers. Public recognition will require all the work of the veterans to be publicized and exposed in the notice boards and internal WebPages. Dysfunction of the system The second top reason as to why there is increased fraud in Veteran Affairs the dysfunction of the system which openly tends to invite fraud. Congress has also facilitated to the systems dysfunction because it has pressurized the VA into making it easier for the veterans especially when it comes to the settling of the disability claims. The VA has also currently proposed changes which will simplify the acts of deception from the veterans. Fraud emanating from deception is depicted by the higher number of veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq coupled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder thus making for it easier for the veterans to fake the disease. Medicalnewstoday.com,(2010) describes this deception emanating from the disorder as â€Å"profitably working the levers of sympathy for the wounded and obligation to the troops, and exploiting the sheer difficulty of nailing a surefire diagnosis of a condition that is notoriously hard to define. Each of these cases represents potentially millions of dollars in tax-free benefits over the veterans lifetime benefits that may continue while the veteran works and even into retirement. This deception is facilitated by the lack of availability of the clinicians who perform these disability evaluations. This is because the clinicians assume that it is not their responsibility to assess the patient’s stories. The new rule (making it easy for the veterans to settle their disability claims) should be thoroughly researched on traumatic and PTSD. With reports indicating that the number of Vietnam War veterans who committed suicide to be more than those who died in the battle field, much of the funds should be directed towards the treatment of the veterans. Most of the military women and men in uniform are usually stigmatized when they try to seek help for the demons in their brains or minds that forces them to contemplate suicide as the way out. It will therefore be important for the health specialist to evaluate every veteran once he or she comes from the damage (Medicalnewstoday.com, 2010). Trained staff The other top reason for fraud in VA is lack of a well trained staff. A staff which has no basic concepts of what they are doing may result into poor outcome or negative output when it comes to production. Fraud comes in on the side of auditors who have no explicit knowledge of auditing. Fraud is facilitated by construction works due to the excessive prices paid in major construction. This overpayment for constructions work should be returned to the reserve fund. Audit fraud is also facilitated by some contract award actions, adminstration, contract awards and administration must be enhanced to en sure that no excess prices are paid for construction work. To improve construction contracting the VHA should ensure that contracts always result better or reasonable prices for the work which is already completed. Contracts which are in the interests of the state government are efficiently controlled to prevent waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse. Contracting fraud was facilitated by the fact that the contractors aren’t enlightened enough to use the available resources to ensure that price determinations are adequately supported and reasonable and fair prices are achieved. Fraud is facilitated by the fact that the staff lacks the appropriate knowledge in the department’s information system. When the staff have the problem of obtaining accurate data from the information system the department basically overestimates the sum total of the reimbursements that it assumes that it will recover. For example in the year 2001 the department ended up retaining a consultant to help in billing of outstanding charges estimating that he could recover around d six million dollars, however the consultant ended up recovering a maximum of 450,000 million dollars. The VA aggravated its problems by collecting the reimbursements because it really missed training opportunities since the department and the homes have used money inefficiently in the past. Lack of training has resulted into an absence of the billing experts and also knowledge at the department insufficient training accompanied by poor management and lack of executive management sponsorship has immensely contributed to deficiencies and also errors in the department’s information system thus giving birth to a system that doesn’t work efficiently as it should. The department has tried to correct the cash flow problems but unsuccessfully. It always request loans from the general fund to enable it cover some of the timing differences cause by delays the department’s reception of federal funds or reimbursements. . Health care providers can minimize the fraud audits by training their staff well this is because it is always very easy for the poorly or untrained staff to make billing mistakes. Detailed records should also be very well kept by providers incase of any questions arising from the auditing process. Signature stamps should also be given very special considerations before they are given or used by others. Providers should safely keep the billing profiles cooperate with auditors and also take care with the collection efforts. Economic recession is also perceived to be another major reason as to why there is fraud in the veterans affairs. This is because it has caused many insurance frauds which are also evident t in veterans’ affairs. Recession is making everything so expensive that many people cannot afford. Due to this the veterans have found their salaries too little to accommodate their leisure and family needs and that is why some have been caught committing frauds through the insurance. To solve this VA should work hand in hand with the insurance fraud unit which provides focused and specialized efforts towards combating of specific crimes. Disaffection The other reason for fraud in the veteran affairs if veterans disaffection. This is because many veterans just like all the other employees see themselves threatened therefore turning into latent malefactors. This is because fraud has become an equal employer for all. Most of the veterans engage in this behavior because the can rationalize their acts to self or themselves. To discard this veteran’s disaffection which is causing fraud the VA must have special people who can maintain the organizations tradition of excellence. For this special people to be available the VA has to compete with other employer in order to attract them. VA is aware of the fact that its kind of employees become valuable over time and to keep the around then they should be offered a truly benefits package and superior compensation. The VA has been working hard to control employee disaffection for it offers a competitive salary and superior array of benefits for the veterans and their families (4.va.gov, 2009). Indifference to internal control The other reason of fraud in veteran affairs is indifference to internal control. This is because the department has poorly manage its cash and that of its three homes for it has failed to pursue some reimbursements to which it is entitled. Most of its funding for its department homes comes from the States General Fund and additional funds comes from the US department of veterans affairs from the fees paid by the residents belonging to the homes and reimbursement which is paid by Medicare. The department estimates that it loses more that 15 million dollars in state and federal funds due to some of the homes had become ineligible for reimbursements. The VA doesn’t take advantage of all the cash sources available. It also has inadequate implementation and use of its billing management information system thus causing additional loss of money. This is because billing errors and also inadequate documentation of costs the department some of the additional reimbursements for those services that the home supplies to its veterans. The VA department has also compounded it difficulties in cash flow by failing to promptly submit its claims for various reimbursements. Internal control basically controls to the fraud because it doesn’t address the lack of resources that effectively manage the fiscal operation of the veteran’s home. This makes the veterans department to poorly prepare inaccurate management reports. The other weakness of the department is that it doesn’t utilize many of the tools and also reports available in its information system. For example in the year 20012 it is estimated that homes didn’t use around 35 of   the system   modules purchased by the department including a   cost accounting module that would   have given the department   a valuable tracking and budgeting tool. Fraud is also facilitated by the fact that the veteran’s affairs department doesn’t extremely conduct limited reviews on its internal controls. For instance it is true that the VA doesn’t frequently keep current its policies and procedures manuals. It also doesn’t frequently produce some precise accurate operational reports which it could use as one of its management tools. To solve the problem of indifference in internal control the department should ensure that it has the ability to bill for the services which are provided by its three homes. This can be facilitated through the continuous seeking of recertification of its homes so that they can bill for Med-Cal and Medicare reimbursements it can also follow up some of the claims submitted to the secondary insurance providers to ascertain that it has received the reimbursements and submit or issue claims to the secondary insurers that it had not billed in the past. To ensure that there is prompt billing of charges the department should continue to mainly focus of the clearance of its backlog claims and also ensure that the staff performs all the assigned tasks so that claims can be billed promptly. To ascertain whether the consultants who assist when billing are a cost effective solution to some of its problems related to cash flow, the department should make use of the results of its current contractor as the basis to make analysis on the benefits and costs of continuing to hire the consultants. The department should also assess whether payments from medi-cal and Medicare and additional assortment of federal reimbursements will adequately or efficiently cover the cost of the consultants. The department should also take some steps in ensuring that adequate resources and tools are for controlling the fiscal operations are established. One of the steps is the development of periodic management reports which include aging reports of accounts receivable and regular reconciliation of the report with the department’s accounting records to assist the department in evaluating its cash flow and that of all its three homes. The reports however should not cover reimbursement, unbilled claims and accounts receivable. The other step is to ensure that there is a regular review of the department’s internal controls with the aim of ensuring that the department fulfils its missions and also that it keeps proper control over liabilities, expenditure, assets and reimbursement. The third step is to ensure that there are adequate training opportunities for the department employees and  Ã‚   especially the reimbursement staff to inform them of the current developments in Medicare policies and regulations (Bsa.ca.gov, 2001).

Long and Short term Memory

Long and Short term Memory According to psychology, memory is the ability of a human being to store, retain, and recall information and experience that characterize life. Although Lewandowsky, et,al,(2004) notes â€Å" several intermediate states are less well understood, short-term and long-term memories are accompanied by different biological states and mechanisms of retention and therefore there are two distinct forms of memory†. Human beings have two types of memory to hold information: the long term and short memory.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Long and Short term Memory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Long-term memory (LTM) stores information for a longer time than short memory: It is different from the STM in structure and function. â€Å"Biologically, short-term memory is a temporary potentiation of neural connections that can become long-term memory through the process of rehearsal and meaningful association† Parmentier, et al (2005). There is no researcher who is sure of the process but they say that it results in the transformation of the configuration of the neurons but the time that it takes is also debatable. The short term memory is also referred to as active or primary memory as it holds minute quantity of data at a particular time and it only remains obtainable for a short duration. The duration is estimated in seconds and research has it that the short term memory keeps information for 7 seconds plus two or minus two depending on an individual because its length is about seven bits. The memory works like a computers RAM memory; it provides a operating space then transfers the details to the other memory or discards it if its not necessary and the information is also vulnerable to interruption and interference. â€Å"Biologically short term memory involves the firing of neurons which depletes the Readily Releasable Pool (RRP) of neurotransmitter vesicles at presynaptic termin als. The pattern of depleted presynaptic terminals represents the long term memory trace and the depletion itself is the short term memory† (Nairne, 2002). The short term memory The short term memory has three major operations: the iconic memory, the acoustic memory and the working memory. The iconic memory memorizes the visual images, the acoustic grasps the sounds and it more effective that the iconic. Information can be easily recalled by this memory depending on the length, phonological effect, semantic categories and words familiarity. Short-term memory relies generally on an acoustic code than the visual code for accumulation of information because People always find it difficult to remember a series of words that are acoustically similar for instance, dog, hog, and log).Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Davelaar, et, al, (2005) notes â€Å"short-term m emory is supported by transient patterns of neuronal communication, dependent on regions of the frontal lobe (especially dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and the parietal lobe†. The working memory stores the information until it is used and not until it’s moved to the long term .For example, when memorizing a telephone number it keeps the digits until one dials the numbers. It therefore keeps information for immediate use and not for latter use. The procedure of conveying information from STM to LTM entails the encoding and consolidation of information: it is not a task of time; the more the data resides in STM it increases the chances of it being transferred into the long term memory but multifaceted data is sorted out in the STM ahead of it being programmed into LTM. The Long-Term Memory Information is stocked up on the origin of sense and significance and it also has a huge capacity. Information from the short term memory is transferred to it through rehearsal and als o information learnt over a period of time is transferred to the long term memory and can only be removed by interfering with it or through decay . The information we store in it has to do with our understanding and views concerning issues around us. Significant information gained is also stored there and is retrieved according to need; for example learning new technology and applying the knowledge every time one needs it. Information is stored in mental models known a â€Å"schemas† the schemas are arranged in a manner that they are related through networks depending on the information that each contains. One schema therefore activates the other which also does so to the next hence creating a link and therefore enabling people to remember the required information when similar data is presented. The schemas guide our minds to the relevant information while ignoring the irrelevant .Therefore for one to easily remember something it’s advisable to use questions or graphic al presentations to activate the schemas. The brain does not put everything together in a single compartment like it is in computers hard disk drive but instead there are different parts for storage. The long term memory is divided into two main regions: declarative memory and implicit memory also known as procedural memory. â€Å"Declarative memory comprises of all memories that are consciously available such as: the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and perirhinal cortex, but consolidated and stored elsewhere in the cortex† Scruggs, Mastropieri, (1997). The region also has further subdivisions: the episodic memory (precise events) and the Semantic memory which holds general information about outside issues. The other main region is the procedural memory: it involves knowledge involving use of objects and body movements and it is stored by the cerebellum and the striatum.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Long and Short term Memory specificall y for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There is another type of memory that is found in both of the above regions that is, the emotional memory: these memories are knowingly accessible, but they draw significant, unconscious physiological response. Luck, Vogel(1997) note â€Å"they also have a unique physiological pathway that involves strong connections from the amygdala into the prefrontal cortex, but much weaker connections running back from the prefrontal cortex to the amgydala.† There are also other types of memories that researchers claim that they exist but have not proven it, such as: Prospective memory and retrospective memory. â€Å"LTM also has a strong influence on perception through top-down processing our prior knowledge affects how we perceive sensory information. Our expectations regarding a particular sensory experience influence how we interpret it and it is the source of bias† (Brown, ET, al, 2007). Factors affecting memory efficiency To remember information one has to retrieve it from an unconscious level and take it to the conscious at will; most people always assume they have a physical problem with their memory when they do not remember things but actually it is a part of the memory system that is usually inefficient. A well functioning memory system must register, retain and retrieve information efficiently and thus so as to remember things the three processes must take place. Failure to register or encode information can be due to distractions such as noise, stress, multi tasking or poor concentration. Retrieving issues usually occur if there is a problem in matching retrieval cues and the encoding of the information you searched. There are two categories of information retrieval: recall (information is sourced from the memory) and recognition. When information has been presented and knowledge showing that it has been encoded appears, then that is recognition. Recognition is less complex because the information is provided as a cue while in recall retrieval cues have to be provided to ensure quick access of information. Other issues causing memory problems are: old age, emotional factors, traumatic brain injury leading to, anterograde, amnesia and partial retrograde amnesia; or a neurodegenerative diseases such as; Alzheimers Disease, Dementia, Huntingtons Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons Disease, and Schizophrenia and currently they are not curable. Emotional factors also affect long-term memory but there have been arguments on whether the information gets lost or it only becomes difficult to access and as mentioned earlier: Information can sometimes be difficult to recall but can be recognized, or may be recalled only with prompting.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As people age the efficiency of their memory deteriorates leading an experience known as memory loss: this can be minimized at an early age by adjusting our lifestyles. People can also enhance their short term memory so that they remember more even information that was acquired two minutes ago. All of the above can be achieve by use of some methods and techniques recommended by psychologists and biologists. First, one has to identify the factors that largely affect memory efficiency, some of which are: â€Å"stress, lack of sleep, lack of exercise and lack of proper nutrients essential for proper brain functioning† Davelaar, ET, al, (2005). It is essential to avoid stress or deal with it especially if ones’ lives or works within a stressful environment. Regular people find themselves mostly around these two surroundings and therefore if they are stress inducers they can have a big effect on ones psychological health. People therefore need to get rid of that stress by u se of: â€Å"De-stressing techniques such as; body massages, long baths, hanging out with friends. Consumption of vitamins such as B-complex, zinc and foliate will also be very helpful in such situations† Cowan (2001). Another factor affecting memory efficiency is sleep; one of the core functions of sleep is to process information gained in the long term memory. Sleep also improves memory by ensuring proper functioning of the brain and eight hours of sleep are recommended for this. Sometimes people may not sleep due to stress, warm milk or chamomile tea can help in such situations. Another method of enhancing the brain’s performance is by exercise because it increases oxygen circulation in the brain. The current working surroundings often are characterized by doing several jobs simultaneously hence the brain is forced to focus on many things at once. The best way to handle such work is to remember it in the short term memory for efficiency and the only way of achieving this is by being alert. One of the mostly recommended strategies in enabling the short term memory to perform is use of mnemonics especially if a large amount of information is involved. It is vital to note that the memory makes use of mnemonics to activate definite physiological responses which are mostly related to senses. These senses are: images, sounds, colors, tastes, smells, touch, language and emotions. Miller, (1956) notes â€Å"associating a pleasant, frightening or funny image, color or sound to certain information also helps people to recall better† After the mnemonics are well understood, steps to improve the short term memory starts and the first step should be memorizing new information, then teaching that information to others follows, this enables one to know what information has been stored and that which has not yet. The next step is to re-organize the information so as to strengthen the short term memory; â€Å" it involves writing down information, read ing out loud, listening, and Writing down information; seeing also helps to engage more than one sense at the same time† Oberauer and Kliegl (2006). In addition, use of graphical information as said earlier increases the brain’s speed to process information. Another strategy is use of chunking: â€Å"it has been proven to be a significant aid for enhancing the STM transfer to LTM because the STM’s capacity is limited to about seven items, regardless of the complexity of those items† Jonides, et, al, (2008).Chunking permits the brain to routinely assemble certain items simultaneously, consequently enhancing the ability to remember and learn better. It usually involves organizing information in groups before encoding it in the memory. For example, when trying to memorize a phone number it is advisable to divide the seven digit number into twos or threes and may be depending on their meaning: Such numbers have the area codes, then six other digits which can b e divided into threes hence making it easier to remember the separated digits instead of 10 of them. Regular use of information in the long term memory also increases the efficiency of memory: Nairne, (2002) notes â€Å"In one testing session, an American cross-country runner was able to recall a string of 79 digits after hearing them only once by chunking them into different running times for instance, the first four numbers were 1518, a three-mile time.† There are many other ways of improving memory efficiency this include; taking medication and some drugs that should be recommended by a physician for instance, nicotine has been previously recommended but it has to be legally prescribed. Critical thinking can also improve the memory’s efficiency while also accompanied by making rational decisions. Another activity that would be suitable is writing; people can make a habit of writing down information directly from their minds; small, simple journals would be appropria te. People facing traumatic experiences that are affecting their memory should seek psychiatric help to assist them deal with the problem. The short term memory can only keep information for about seven seconds but depending on the individual it can be plus or minus two. The information then decays after that, but it can be kept longer by rehearsing or saying aloud. Researchers have not yet discovered the real reason as to why the information decays and yet the memory can take new information a second after the other has been deleted. The long term memory is said to keep information permanently but it also depends on the importance of the information and its utilization. Important information and frequently used information is easily recalled while that which is not really important can get lost over a period of time. The long term memory can however keep information for the entire life time of a person’s existence with the help of a protein known as kinase. In conclusion the human memory is divided into two as said earlier; the two memories have their specific functions and they are interdependent since information has to pass through the short term memory before it goes to the long term and it is the duty of the latter to store it. Memory efficiency varies in human beings depending with everyone’s daily experiences. However everyone should ensure that their brain is functioning properly because it is the core organ determining memory efficiency. People should also avoid stress, feed on a balanced diet and exercise regularly to keep the brain healthy and active. Reference List Brown, G. D. A., Neath, I., Chater, N. (2007). A ratio model of scale-invariant memory and identification. Psychological Review, 114, 539-576 Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24, 97-185. Davelaar, E. J., Goshen-Gottstein, Y., A., A., Haarmann, H. J., Usher, M. (2005): The demise of short-term memory revisited: empirical and computational investigation of recency effects. Psychological Review, 112, pp. 3–42. Jonides, J., Lewis, R. L., Nee, D. E., Lustig, C. A., Berman, M. G., Moore, K. S. (2008). The mind and brain of short-term memory. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 193-224. Lewandowsky, S., Duncan, M., Brown, G. D. A. (2004). Time does not cause forgetting in short-term serial recall. Psychonomic Bulletin Review, 11, 771-790. Luck, S. J., Vogel, E. K. (1997). The capacity of visual working memory for features and conjunctions. Nature, 390, 279-281. Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81-97. Nairne, J. S. (2002). Remembering over the short-term: The case against the standard model. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 53-81. Oberauer, K., Kliegl, R. (2006). A formal model of capacity limits in working memory. Journal of Memo ry and Language, 55, 601-626. Parmentier, F. B. R., Elford, G., Maybery, M. (2005). Transitional information in spatial serial memory: path characteristics affect recall performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 31, 412-427. Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., â€Å"Mnemonic instruction for students with learning disabilities: What it is and what it does,† Learning Disabilities Quarterly, 1990, vol. 13, 271-280.

Que Onda Urban Youth Culture and Border Identity Essay - 4

Que Onda Urban Youth Culture and Border Identity - Essay Example stigation of the Mexican cultural traits, the work demonstrates the brilliance and command of the author over human thoughts and psychology on the one side, and activities and interests the individuals belonging to various ethno-racial groups observe on the other. Thus, Bejarano has skillfully elaborated the problems faced by various ethno-racial communities in respect of their identities and traditions while living in a multi-cultural country and interacting the people belonging to many cultural and social groups. The Mexican youth, according to Bejarano (2007 4), represents the distinguished historical heritage attributed to their traditional civilization. The author views schools and educational institutions to be one of the most astounding reflections of the culture as well as the developments being made within a social structure (4-5). It is particularly the case with the immigrant ethno-racial groups, which make an impressive presentation of the cultural background as well as the social positioning they belong to. The minority racial and ethnic groups, according to the author, adopt several things from the mainstream culture through assimilation and interaction with others. However, an imperative majority of them do not give up the customs and values have been attributed to their forefathers. It is equally the case with the Latinos, Mexicans, Indians, African Americans and Asians at large. It is therefore the age-old minority groups residing in the USA for the last many decades share var ious traits with the newly migrated minority groups belonging to their race and ethnicity (Wilson & Gutierrez 1995 2). It is partly because of the influx of immigrants to the USA by the last decade of twentieth century, where the US administrations supported and promoted immigration in order to invite the brilliant and educated individuals to their country from all corners of the globe at large (Bejarano 23). Modern US historian Marcus Hansen has articulated his principle of

A retail sales presentation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A retail sales presentation - Coursework Example He is able to ascertain his customers’ needs and goes direct to providing a solution for these needs through transfer of his confidence about the pens’ benefits to the customer at the same time appealing to the customers’ emotion about how the brother will feel about them concerning the gift and as such the customer is able to make a wise fast decision to purchase it. The sales person is able to recognize when to ask for the order with a strong call for action which will definitely result in more sales closed. Overall, the salesperson handled the sales process very well. He made the customer feel comfortable with him; he understood his needs and had the right solution for those needs. He asked for the sale and closed the deal. Ron Kapra only thinks about sales and not service. His strategy is very short term. Company loyalty is at stake due to the unauthorized disclosure of product launch information. Ron and Bill are not morally upright when they go beyond their company ethics as demonstrated. Ron needs to understand the value of long term relationships with his clients and at this point he doesn’t seem to push on that line. As for Bill, company loyalty should be critical to overall company success. Premature release of company information may result in insurmountable losses especially from competitors. If I was Ron, I would use the launch information to develop a solid strategic plan, scale down on promoting the Laserton I product and wait for a recall of Laserton I as I wait to push Laserton II to the market. After all, the cost of Laserton I will be refunded to the company and they will have more money to purchase more Laserton II stocks. If I was Bill, I would ask for official redress of the matter with Bill and a high level executive and explain my position. If they will not see my point of view, then I will go ahead and down play promotions for Laserton I. I will inform my customers that a good