Thursday, October 31, 2019

Statement of Cash Flow Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Statement of Cash Flow - Essay Example The statement of cash flow has been in use since November 1987 when the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a statement of financial accounting standards requiring businesses to use a statement of cash flow instead of a statement of changes in financial position. There are two methods for preparing and presenting a statement of cash flow; the direct method and the indirect method, the main difference lies in the presentation of the operating section. The sections of investing and financing are the same in both methods. In the direct method, cash flows from operating activities encompass amounts such as cash from customers and cash paid to suppliers. On the contrary, the indirect method shows the net income, followed by the adjustments required to convert the total net income to the total cash from operating activities (Brahmasrene, Strupeck & Whitten, 2004). In addition, the direct method must provide a reconciliation of net income and the cash provided by operating ac tivities, a process which is achieved automatically in the indirect method of cash flow statement. The indirect method is found to be more effective in relaying cash flow information. Thus, it is preferred to the direct method in most corporations (Brahmasrene, Strupeck & Whitten, 2004). Whereas the direct method or the income statement method reports the main categories of operating cash receipts and payments, the indirect method places emphasis on net income and the net cash flow from operations (Taulli, 2004).

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Place of Female Vocalist in Jazz Band Essay

The Place of Female Vocalist in Jazz Band - Essay Example The essay "The Place of Female Vocalist in Jazz Band" discusses the relationship between jazz music and the Black people that have been strong over the years and several standards agreeable to comprising the Jazz genre of music. The paper also discusses if female vocalists have a role in the jazz bands.Most women have not familiarized themselves with the jazz culture hence they cannot bring out what is needed in a performance. Jazz is an area that has long standing culture. It relies on inspiration from the muses and not necessarily practice. Some years back, the position of a woman in society was to revolve around the kitchen and her career. The females were not exposed to jazz music so as to be in a position to learn the unwritten rules of the genre. The strong women, who try their take at jazz, do so by practice. The result of practicing for a jazz performance will not be as compelling as that performance by one who has intrinsically learned the rules of the game through experienc e. Inspiration is the primary key in staging a great jazz concert. The other social factor that spelled out women from jazz bands was the fact that many men had tried to master the culture of jazz without success. The failure arises from the lack of understanding that jazz music is an uncultured form passed from one person to the other through inspiration. Women of today cannot secure places in jazz bands since they copy other people’s material. The women who performed in jazz bands and succeeded were original in their compositions.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Role Of Marketing In A Consumer Society Marketing Essay

The Role Of Marketing In A Consumer Society Marketing Essay This report will use Apple Inc as a case study to underline the importance of what is the role of marketing in a consumer society? Also there will be critique of different theorist such as Jean Bauldriard, Raymond William and Stuart Hall to for the marketing concepts. The modern definitions and history of Marketing; During 18th and 19 century Marketers realized that consumers are buying products for the sake of their desires and satisfaction, where as before only selling a product was important and not the need and satisfaction of the customer. When companies realized the needs and want of the customers then they started to change rapidly and started to create an image in customers mind by using advertising/promotion. Technological and social changes are included in this change. Nowadays marketing defined as involving product development, distribution, pricing and communication. Also in developed firms, continuous attention to the development of new products with product modifications and services to meet the changing needs of customers. Peter Drucker states that The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous as most companies doing marketing to distribute information to seek attention and persuade customers to purchase. As a result we can say that marketing is a process that aims to understand and satisfy the needs of a customer to make sales and maximise revenue. Marketing is not advertising, it is one of the component within marketing, which is used to inform consumers about product or services provided. This report will use marketing techniques and strategies apply it to Apple inc. to explore the concept of marketing and its role in consumer society. Raymond Williams highlighted about advertisement in the Magic System theory, that advertising doesnt means of only selling goods/products. However, advertising in its modern forms operate to maintain the consumption ideal from criticism, that consumption does not address social needs. Consumer society is when people buy new goods and services, it can also be said as consumer behaviour in terms of demand is constantly changing especially for the goods that they do not need, and which leaves high value on owning many things. We are all participants in an existing phenomenon that has been variously called a consumerist culture and a consumer society. Consumerism is a social and economic method that is based on the systematic creation and encouragement of desire to purchase goods and services in increasingly amount. To say that some people have consumerist attitudes or values means that they always want to consume more. The theory states that an increasing consumption of goods is economically beneficial. In long-term historical and social factors influencing consumption. Jean Baudrillard stated the consumption theory in his (The Consumer Society) book, that consumption has become the most important basis of the social order. He explores how consumer products, rather t han modern decisions such as class, made up a system of signs that differentiated the population and those meanings related with products being delivered to customers via. Apple Inc.http://www.hotstocked.com/articles-img/small/apple-inc.jpg Apple Inc is an American multinational company established on April 1st 1976, which designs and produces consumer electronics such as iPones, iPods, iPads and iMacbook and software products and its best known for its computer hardware products including Macintosh personal computer line, Mac OS X, extremely loyal user-base, iTunes media application and the iPod personal music player. The companies head office is based in Cupertino, California. CEO and co-founder is Steve Jobs. Apples popularity increased more in late 1970s with its interesting, forceful and inviting advertisements to inspire individuals. In 1990s Apples advertisements were at the top with the Think Different campaign, it owned its popularity by using famous people in their adverts. Apple has achieved its high targets in its development and growth in 2007 when they first created iPhone, which has changed the fortune of the company. The iPod, iTunes, iPhone and new great Mac computers became the most popular and profitable devices ever for Apple. Apples Marketing Strategies and Techniques Apple has gained successful image in past couple of years with their creative, fresh and progressive way of making business, they create great style and designs, great strategy, innovative marketing, smooth and tempting communications. Apples seductive success is owned by their iPhone, iTunes and iPod products. All these products have presented a combination of an immense hardware, perfect style, and great software, expeditious and speedy performance with a good e-business service. (2007, 2010 Venrtygo team)steve jobs apple computers Apple has exceeded $160 billion in 2008, $210 billion in 2010 and in January 2011 they exceeded $302.47 billion in market capitalization, as Apple Inc. shares has increased by more than seven points. They made huge differences in the market shares and this implies that consumers are more aware of the products, and the right marketing strategy used has reached to right consumers. Apples has made extraordinary campaigns in communication with consumers and extremely modified marketing strategy with particular target section of the market. They appeal to customers needs and wants directly with their great communication, the distribution network and with their quality and price ratios. Apples has several key strategies in marketing which made them successful and come to top of their game in a way like no other. Apple always managed to extend their experience and created a tribe. Apple also communicates in the language of their audience; Apple tries to give information in the way that their customers want to be informed. Their prices are justified, apple customers gladly pay premium for the reason of their good selling quality devices are nowhere else. They ignore critics, any time Apple produce a new device especially for the iPad people say that it will fail. Every time Apple decided make new changes and introduce a new device they prevailed. Steve Jobs did not listen to critiques instead focus on building what they want to build. Albert Einstein said that Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds. Apple turns the ordinary into something beautiful. PC makers constitute a standard hardware for standard applications. Apple is the leading best standard operating system and computer system against to their competitors. Simultaneously they are exploring the design standards as well. Result of this is the multi-wanted iMac, Mac book Air and iPhone 4 Former of Apples marketing executive and consumer marketing expert Steve M. Chazin has revealed the Secrets of the World Best Marketing Machine from Apple.http://www.i-seb.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/segmentation.jpg One Dont Sell Products (People buy what other People have) according to Steve M. Chazins point here is that products dont sell people do. For example when looking to the advertisement of the popular product iPod, there is lots of happy, energetic people dancing in shape against a colourful, vibrant and ever-changing background and it is the newest, trendiest features coming on the market, which gives customers the desire to buy as we live in a society that wants things new and improved and different from the regular products. Therefore Apple is showing its customers the difference they have from their competitors, it isnt selling you a simple MP3, its also inviting you to the difference lifestyle of apple. They indicate that if you use MP3 youll hear good music, but if you use apple iPod then you will feel good due its value and ability to play it in many different places. As Raymond Williams talks in The Magic System that in our society advertisements are created to make customers t o believe that the product they buy will make them feel in a different way. Apple makes people believe by the advert that they will feel the same way of those happy dancing, energetic people. Also Apple has an distinctive white headphones (uniquely to Apple), which are produced as pure apple marketing trick, it is designed to make visible part of their product a status symbol, wear white headphones and you are the member of the club. For example the advertisement of iPod shows us the people shadows dancing hold their iPods and showing distinctive white headphone. Accordingly Baudrillard states that, consumption is the most important basis of the social order and sociologically a particular individual belongs to a specific group which consumes a specific product, and the individual consumes such a product because he or she belongs to such a group This theory is related to the marketing that Apple gives to its customers, when customers buys Apple Product because they know that they belong to that society and it add-ups value to them. According to Raymond Williams when people buys more than just the product, as they buy self-respect, beauty, and power in their society throug h this consumption. Raymond also believed that people who have high consumption of products are living high standard life. .http://cdn1.iofferphoto.com/img/item/193/716/718/oZ4Y.jpg Two Never be the First to Market, (Make Something Good Greater) the marketing executive of apple applies that Apple is always leader creating new categories, surely they have never invented anything new such as PCs and MP3s and phones, but iPhone is very successful with functionality of on existing designs such as The Mac, iPod, iTunes and iPhone. Apple makes complex things easy and elegant as it is easy now to get music in to your pocket. Apple dont define you categorize rather they try to occupy shelf space that already exist in prospects mind, apple focuses on the one thing they do better and then make that mater to us. Baudrillard also declares that he can go one better and introduces a third form of exchange which is symbolic exchange in the form of the sign. Baudrillard argues that in addition to the satisfaction of human needs, commodities can also provide social status something of increasing value in modern society. This value is expressed in the form of the sign. Three Empower Early Adopters, this aspect identifies that Early adopters are those who are genuinely Apple Lovers and those who taking a risk to help Apple to succeed. Early adaptors are younger in age and have money to spend. Steve M. Chazin says that they are the first to take Apple product to everywhere. iPhone users feel in the same way the PowerBook users felt in 1993. Early adopters are the first to voice Apples marketing force through word of mouth as these adopters have set apart from the crowd and their gadget is a symbol of their states which they are proud to show off. http://www.dealgiant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/MacBook_Pro_MB990B-A_offers.jpg Apples glowing apple logo is always upside down to you and it was fixed to be right side up for others to see when you open you open your Macbook you are showing others the brand and selling the brand to others. What this makes is that enables customer to make their choices by seeing it in others. Baudrillard stated that either prior production (polls, market studies) or subsequent to it (advertising, marketing, conditioning), the general idea to shift the locus of decision in the purchase of good from customers where it is beyond control to the firm where it subject to control (p.38). Apples intention is to make customer come to them without any encouragement via the firm. Apples secure customer loyalty by considering its product strong design as it is plain and simple. Many consumers may possibly not ready to buy an Apple computer due to its price, but they are willing to give gadgets to try such as smart iPods or iPhone, as these products are lower price entry to Apple Inc it gives the customer opportunity to be introduces to the brand and its quality products. Customers are more likely to buy apple computer in future if they are happy with these gadgets. According to Baudrillard he described the way of influencing customers desires the infernal round of consumption is based on celebration of needs that supposed to be psychological. These are distinguishes from physiological needs since they are supposedly established through discretionary income and the freedom of choice and consequently manipulate at will (Baudrillard p.39). Apple can influence easily their existing customers who are using iPhone, iPad and iPod to buy their Mac book computers.http://www.itechnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/griffin-powerdock-2-iphone-ipod.jpg Encoding / Decoding in Apple Inc. Stuart Hall developed a theoretical model to clarify the influence of television broadcasts such as advertisements called the encoding and decoding model. Encoder is trying to transfer information in a certain meaning based way to decoder, while decoder is adapting this original meaning into a new version according to their own way of perceiving. Production, here, constructs the message (Hall, 1980). According to iPod advertisements via Halls concepts, arguing that his production-reception model is a useful approach to understanding modern mass media messages, especially advertising. This model assumed that the media tools had an interest in production, circulation, distribution, consumption and reproduction rather than just conveying a message. In the encoding/decoding model of media discourses developed by Stuart Hall, the meaning of the text is located between its producer and the reader (Hall, 1980). Therefore apple produces plain and not confusing adverts towards customers as if the decoder perceiving differently to the encoder, the decoder will create their own version of the message with a totally different intention. When decoder functions under this position hall states that He/she is operating with what we must call an oppositional code (Hall, 1980). Encoding decoding is not a important concept for Apple Inc as their customers all ready knows what to perceive they wont be confused. Apple Branding Marketing executives in a company give values to add services to a product and an attempt to enhance their products like Apple with values and links that are recognised and valuable to their customers which is then a brand.   Identification or distinction from other competitors is the reason for branding which gives them their own identity. Apple is one of the examples which are now leading as a brand in IT arena.   Apple (brand name) which is auspicious had a consumers loyalty by the strength of their services and values which then lead the customers to repeat a purchase from the same company again. Advertisements do have an enormous attraction for a customer to hit on an individual mind for a company.   Apple as compared to other companies is a well recognised brand and it definitely preferable by customers.http://www.damonchernavsky.com/Pictures/Creative_Ads/Evolution_of_Brands/history-of-apple-computers.jpg Critical Analysis and conclusion Conclusion Referances Dougherty, M. (2010) The story of apple Inc. Last accessed on 12.03.2011 [online] http://www.brighthub.com/computing/mac-platform/articles/65346.aspx http://blog.kissmetrics.com/7-strategies-apple-marketing/ 6 Unfair Market Advantages You Should Steal from Apple http://www.vertygoteam.com/apple_marketing_strategy.php http://www.theglaringfacts.com/2010/11/encodingdecodingmodel Williams, Raymond (1962) Advertising, the Magic System. In Problems in Materialism and Culture. London: New Left Books. Baudrillard, J. (1998). The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures. Sage Publications Ltd. London, England. http://mashable.com/2011/01/03/apple-300-billion/

Friday, October 25, 2019

Odysseus :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Bond of Love There are many essential emotions that form the building blocks of our lives. These emotions help to shape the people that we are. These feelings are ones that are ultimately necessary to keep us happy. Nothing makes these feelings more evident than the Odyssey by Homer. Through out the course of this book there is one major emotional theme, which is love. Love is shown within a family, which chose to fight to keep their togetherness no matter how much that had to endure. One main strife in life is to be in search of a companion who makes us happy and for whom we would do anything. Odysseus and Penelope's lasting loyalty is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love seems to help him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. On the other hand, Penelope too remains loyal to her beloved Odysseus no matter what happens. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying the possible marriage to one of the many suitors. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love in the epic. The bond formed between father and son is another one of life's ways of showing love. This relationship is shown throughout the Odyssey. Telemachos's desperate search for his father, and Odysseus longing for his homeland and the warmth of his wife and son are prime examples. Although Telemachos knows not weather Odysseus is really his father, he still cares for him and the well being of what could be his father. When Odysseus hears of all the suitors devouring Telemachos's future fortune and mistreating him, he wants to return and do away with them. Odysseus, like any parent, also misses his only child while he is at war. Telemachos leaving Ithaca in search of knowledge of his father, not knowing anything about life on sea, shows his love for the father figure that he really needs. Odysseus :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Bond of Love There are many essential emotions that form the building blocks of our lives. These emotions help to shape the people that we are. These feelings are ones that are ultimately necessary to keep us happy. Nothing makes these feelings more evident than the Odyssey by Homer. Through out the course of this book there is one major emotional theme, which is love. Love is shown within a family, which chose to fight to keep their togetherness no matter how much that had to endure. One main strife in life is to be in search of a companion who makes us happy and for whom we would do anything. Odysseus and Penelope's lasting loyalty is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love seems to help him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. On the other hand, Penelope too remains loyal to her beloved Odysseus no matter what happens. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying the possible marriage to one of the many suitors. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love in the epic. The bond formed between father and son is another one of life's ways of showing love. This relationship is shown throughout the Odyssey. Telemachos's desperate search for his father, and Odysseus longing for his homeland and the warmth of his wife and son are prime examples. Although Telemachos knows not weather Odysseus is really his father, he still cares for him and the well being of what could be his father. When Odysseus hears of all the suitors devouring Telemachos's future fortune and mistreating him, he wants to return and do away with them. Odysseus, like any parent, also misses his only child while he is at war. Telemachos leaving Ithaca in search of knowledge of his father, not knowing anything about life on sea, shows his love for the father figure that he really needs.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Contemporary Art Issues: Digital Art in Malaysia Essay

Digital art started around 1952 in US when Ben F. Laposky produced Oscillon Number Four. Artist always eager to produce something that beyond limitation of technology and mostly, artist at that time is computer programmer because no graphic software was available at that time. Herbert W. Franke, John Withney Sr. and Ben F. Laposky are one of the pioneers in digital art. Ben Laposky has created first graphic image generated by an analog machine. A mathematician and artist from Iowa, he produced this image by using manipulated electronic beam display across the fluorescent face of an oscilloscope’s cathode-ray tube and then recorded onto high-speed film. Malaysia Era of Digital Art Digital art in Malaysia started in 1980’s when Dr. Kamarudzaman Md Isa produce a self potrait artwork tittled â€Å"Self potrait† (1984) using BASIC Language programming. Then Ismail Zain appeared with â€Å"Al Rumi†, â€Å"Happy Birthday, Mr Parameswara† and â€Å"Alkesah†. He used to be recognized by his composition drawing example DOT: Detribalization of Tam binti Che Tom (1986). The first exhibition of electronic art were held in National Art Gallery in 1997 curated by Hasnol J Saidin and Niranjan Rajah to introduced digital art which create public awareness about digital art development and impact towards art in this revolution and information era. Today, digital art is not only for programmer but also for illustrator, graphic designer and multimedia, thanks to development of graphic softwares. Issue Discussed Issues of discussion here is about perception of society towards digital art which is the art of computer; is digital art, art? This is a very interesting subject as society still underestimates of digital art as â€Å"easy to produce† and â€Å"have less authentic and aesthetic value†. As people always think that Figure 1 is a painting, hence it is produce using computer software and added a hand touch as finishing. It is clearly stated that value of art would be more appreciate by its audience if it been produced using the traditional method which is hand-painting. Digital art or computer art been question due to originality, authentication, ownership, tangibility and longevity of the artwork. Do these factors make a big difference towards art that produce by computer? Cited from Davis; 341, â€Å"We still bid wildly at auctions and employ armies of scholars to find the â€Å"original,† the â€Å"authentic† masterpiece.†[1] But Beardsley; 232 proposed that artwork is something produced with intention of giving it the capacity to satisfy the aesthetic interest. This statement proves that every artwork that contains aesthetic interest is art. The only difference is computer act as tools to ease artist in produce their artwork. Popper; 78 says that â€Å"For some artists the computer is only a design tool. For other it is means of fabrication; and for yet others, the computer is used because it possesses capabilities analogous to human intellectual processes and may even be considered as a creative entity in its own right.†[2] Still, audience uplifts the romanticism value towards giving art appreciation in produced artworks. As computer actually could preserve the artwork, authentic value been question by audience shows that rejection of the idea to modernize the art culture. Focus of Discussion We are discussing about digital art which carry futuristic and high technology characteristic in design. Combination of photography and art in digital art produce surrealism and realistic identity. Image manipulation was popular back in early of digital art begin and very â€Å"graphic†. Hence, it develops to become more artistic in order to challenge computer program in creating something new. The acceptance of digital artwork is very invaluable on Malaysia due to our audience which more towards conventional art. Dr. Kamarudzaman propose that romantic value syndrome still appears in local audience perspective. Would you buy a projected image on the wall? The answer would be no and this show that we still need â€Å"frame† in order to appreciate artwork value. How does computer art works? The formula would be input, computer system as tools and output as final artwork. Digital art also being define as art in which information is translated for use by computer. Computer art not only broaden the border of art by reach over limitation, but cited from Molnar it also can encourage the mind to work in new ways (Popper: 80). Thus, it is up to audience to decide does digital art contain the same value as conventional art. Even though the difference is only usage of tools, but impact and acceptance of digital art in Malaysia is still far away from society acceptance. Area of Interest First digital artwork which produces by Dr. Kamarudzaman shows that digital art is very interesting in creating and manipulate ordinary images and make it as work of art. Limitation of computer ability is a challenge for artist to create something beyond. For example commodore 64 only available with 64k memory, and attach to television for image display. Some of artist like Ismail Zain, Hasnul J Saidon and Niranjan Rajah are mostly interested in digital art. Hasnul J Saidon still active giving lectures and doing research in new media art scene in South East Asia region. But mostly artist in US are more advance in usage of computer to generate artwork. Example, artist like Boreham (1974) has made use of electronic media in creating synthesized sound for his electro-acoustic composition, as well as computer technology in his graphic work, in such way that the audience is stimulated to go beyond the simple results exhibited and imagines new possibilities, both technical and artistic. The work like Roger Coquart, Jeremy Gardiner, Kammerer-Luka, Joan Truckenbrod, Margot Lovejoy, Jean-Pierre Yvaral and John Pearson also fits into fixed computer works on traditional supports. Analysis of Artwork Artwork of Hasnul J Saidon Kdek! Kdek! Ong display an image of frog and tempurung is one of sinical idea to tell audience that information and tecnology should not be abandone. Even though art is about originality, digital art also have the same identity that not differenciate digital and conventional art. Combination of computer and conventional artwork is very attractive yet delivers the message very clearly. Usage of mixing red, green and blue colour in this artwork shows the feeling of anxiety and unclearly thoughts which is very primary and leads to rejection of new idea and technology. Tempurung were design as a platform to represent the society and their idea still on the bottom, no progress happen where as the frog in the screen (which already accepting the new idea) is already out of tempurung and stay on the top of the rest. Conclusion Conclusion can be made through observation and it show that lack of knowledge, rejection of new idea and romantic value are still the main point of audience in Malaysia did not accepting digital art as an art with value. We still insist the conservative way of art in order to give value of an artwork. Hence photography and video is accepted as an art, digital art is still create their succes in another platform like broadcasting or film but not in art community itself.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Marketing Simulation Essay

The rest of the sales force time would be equally divided between the segments B, C and D. Change in Strategy: During simulation, we studied the effects of percentage increase of sales force time for each market segment individually along with decrease in list price. As we proceeded with the simulation, we found that * A decrease in list price and an increase in percentage sales force time for segment D would be more fruitful in the short run as it will increase the overall sales volume and overall profit much more than in the case where sales force concentrates more on segment A. This is because the overall market share of highly price sensitive customers in segment D and â€Å"small volume customers† is almost three times of segment A’s market share. * So, even though the profit margin in segment D and â€Å"small volume customers† is lesser than that for segment A, the overall profit was greater because of the scope of much higher sales volume. * Hence, we dec ided to increase the sales force percentage time for segment D to 40% and for segment A to 30%. We decreased the sales force time percentage for segments B and C to 15% each. Also, we reduced the list price from $142 to $136. Challenges during simulation: During simulation, the primary challenge we faced was to decide on the key parameters that should be changed and the level of change in each of these parameters to get optimum profit and higher market share. Key decisions: Since our initial strategy was to increase the sales volume of segment A, we decided to concentrate on sales force time percentage parameter for each segment and the list price of the motors. We studied the effects of percentage increase of sales force time for each market segment individually along with decrease in list price on the overall profit of the company. Solution Analysis Decrease in list price from $142 to $136 and increase in sales force time percentage to 40% for segment D and to 30% for segment A. As we proceeded with the simulation, we found that * A decrease in list price and an increase in percentage sales force time for segment D would be more fruitful in the short run as it will increase the overall sales volume and overall profit much more than in the case where sales force concentrates more on segment A. This is because the overall market share of highly price sensitive customers in segment D and â€Å"small volume customers† is almost three times of segment A’s market share. * So, even though the profit margin in segment D and â€Å"small volume customers† is lesser than that for segment A, the overall profit was greater because of the scope of much higher sales volume. * Segments B and C sales force time was reduced because of the high competition that MM faces in these categories on the basis of the rmal resistance parameter. Hence, in the long run, MM can target for higher profit margins than for higher sales volume if it concentrates the sales and market research resources to segments A, B and C. The main challenge with this approach is that it would difficult to attract customers from these segments who are already loyal to competitors and would require much more effort from the sales team and the product development team to come up with a product that caters the needs of these segments especially segments B and C where MM has yet to prove its overall competitiveness. Learning and experience This simulation exercise helped us to validate whether our suggested solution was an optimal one and also helped us to arrive at new solutions through experimentation which finally led to change in our overall decisions and strategy. It also showed us how varying a single parameter can change the overall market share and overall profits of the company. Finally, it reinforced the theory behind segmentation of customers according to their buying behavior to achieve optimal marketing strategies.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Rembrandts La Petite Tombe Essays - Dutch Golden Age Painters

Rembrandt's La Petite Tombe Essays - Dutch Golden Age Painters Rembrandt's La Petite Tombe According to some philosophers La Petite Tombe would most probably be considered a great work of art, this is my opinion too. Rembrandt is one of very few painters known around the world and valued as an addition to human history. Praised by the art world long time ago and until today. It also considers Rembrandts work as great, professional, expressive and impressive. However its greatness can be analyzed and criticized, which I will try to do in this paper. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Riju was born July 15, 1606 in the town of Leiden, Netherlands. One of the seven children he was the only one who received Higher Education, all of his siblings went into trade. Leiden was a University town with favorable education atmosphere. Upon graduating from the Leiden high school where students primarily learned Latin, and true religion (Calvinistic Protestantism) Rembrandt enrolled into a Leiden University, which by 1620s was internationally renowned. Not very eager for education he pretty soon became an apprentice of Jacob Isaacszoon Swandenburgh, and showed promise in painting, so his father found it good to apprentice him and to take him to the renowned painter P. Listman, residing in Amsterdam so that he might advance himself and be better trained and educated. During the seventeens century history painters enjoyed the highest prestige, higher even then portrait painters. Since history painters could give their imagination a certain freedom, depict and arrange their compositions as they please. In comparison portrait painters had little variation to work with to express themselves. This is why Rembrandt wanted to become a history, or religion painter. This era would probably be more favored by Tolstoy then by Plato. Although the paintings still presented the objects close or were identical to what we see in life, the fantasy of the artists began to take over the order of the objects, leaning towards the more historical, religious perspective, something Tolstoy would love. A piece of art from that era by Rembrandt of a religious context is an etching called La Petite Tombe, also known as Christ Preaching. The subject here is a gathering of common people around Jesus Christ, who is preaching the remission of sins, an event that does not occur in the Gospels, but which played an important part in the Mennouite doctrine. (Clark, p. 183) Rembrandt has many religious paintings and etchings in his collection, and in all of them he keeps his style of presentation. A little bit rough, and expressive. His characters on one hand are not explicitly detailed, but on the other all have their own unique points of interest, and expressive quality. If Plato were shown this etching he would probably be satisfied with it, since it meets all his conditions to be defined as good art. He argues that to be considered art at all, a piece of someones work, whether it is a painting, etching, poem etc., has to resemble identically a life that we see, and how we perceive it. The closer the work of art is to reality, the better would he consider it to be. Looking at an etching by Rembrandt we can see a very close similarity to life. People are proportionate, they look what ordinary people should look like, and the place where they are gathered is also a familiar surrounding which would look probably the same if we were to look at it in real life. However if we were to think about the content of the piece, there is a side to it, which draws particular attention. Jesus Christ is present on the etching. In the times of Plato there were no such concepts as Bible or Christianity. Even if we were to explain them to Plato, a person for whom the w hole other concept of religion is a basis for understanding reality, still he would not accept it as a replica of a real life, since for him there is no such god as the one accepted by Christians. The person right in the middle of a picture would be a step away from reality, together with the aura above his head. Therefore for Plato this etching would be a good even a

Monday, October 21, 2019

Fight club essay Essays

Fight club essay Essays Fight club essay Essay Fight club essay Essay Experiencing death and grief brings a new mindset to a persons life. Regardless of whether It Is a physical or emotional death, grieving for a person, or facing a broken dream, It defines and gives life a new meaning, along with a sense of happiness and gratefulness. It shows the other side of things, as its learning by experience, and this is one of the best ways to learn. In the book Fight club, the main character struggles and complains of his unimportant existence, and Marl is a suicidal, careless woman tit no motivation until she started attending cancer support groups, fell in love and experienced loss, when her life was given meaning. The men involved in the fights were seeking to add significance to their lives through the fights. It is in pain, death and grief that one acknowledges and appreciates reality, the hand of cards given to each one of us in life, and sets priorities straight and a passionate focus. Only through these feelings Is It possible that lifes fragility can be recognized and that maturity can be set In. With maturity comes setting Limits, values, and goals for ones life. In the book, Marl and the men of fight club show how Important pain Is as a part of the human experience, and that you have to embrace pain to experience life fully. For men, scars have a prideful meaning- it denotes grandiosity and bravery in living a life to its fullest. Scars bring about memories of moments of pain and that established a mark that changed our bodies from normal perfect skin to a place of reminiscence. : In the book, fighting had a significant meaning. Being a men, being live, and having a body used for a purpose helped men overcome their fears. These fears were faced by these men every day. Fear of losing their job, or of staying in it for life, fear of not being able to use their strength or muscles, fear of not being able to feel, fear of continuing to live with a lack of guidance or paternal figure. It all started by an unusual moment where Tyler said, l want you to do me a favor. I want you to hit me as hard as you can. I didnt want to, but Tyler explained It all, about not wanting to die without any and then they fought. Tyler became that eternal figure for many and they all felt their lives were not a waste. They felt they had a purpose in life- to fight, to follow a leader, and to limit their time in wasteful things. Living under the shadow of death and pain brought acceptance to their lives. Embracing life by living on the edge of death was also the way Marl lived. She faked having cancer and explained how alive she felt at support groups. The narrator described [t]here was no real sense of life because she had nothing to contrast it with. Oh but now there was the dying and death and loss and grief Now that she knows where were all going, Marl feels every moment of her life (38). But where is this place we are all going? It is not that Marl was a believer of the existence of heaven, but that she now saw the light at the end of the tunnel and death, along with all of the grieving and mourning that was there, and she could feel those emotions and a sense of direction for her life. She was not sick, but she pretended being terminally ill to be able to belong with a group of those that had a purpose and a intense enjoyment and fulfillment. It was in having proof that the process of dying was taking place, like having some type of cancer, where the process of living started for her. The course of life in a cancer patient is reshaped dramatically when the diagnosis has been pronounced. In the TV show American Morning, CNN, 13 June 2003, Bill Hemmer said: you said cancer changed your life, and oftentimes for the better. To what Joel Siegel responded: Yes. Gilda Reader Said this in her book. What cancer does is, it forces you to focus, to prioritize, and you learn whats important. I mean, I dont sweat the small stuff. I used to get angry at cab drivers. Its not worth it. And when somebody says you have cancer, you realize its all small stuff. And what Gilda said is, if it werent for the downside, everyone would want to have it. But there is a downside. There is no way these realizations and priorities can be achieved in such a simple and fast way, unless cancer is in the picture. The suffering associated with cancer redefines what we used to think suffering was. There is a sense of freedom in this knowledge, in learning what is truly significant in fife and living only for those significant moments. The true significance of life originates when we realize that even in losing something, much is able to be gained in life. Fight club specifies this when the main character loses all of his belongings and starts changing his life significantly. Tyler tells the narrator Its only after youve lost everything, Tyler says, that youre free to do anything (70). Loss and failure teaches you what is it that you truly want from life and helps you set your priorities trait, because it is acting upon those priorities when your boring reality becomes an adventure, when you experience what fully living is. Gaining that meaning was accomplished by fighting, by inspiring other men to do the unthinkable, to dare to be how they really wanted to be and by caring for Marl, regardless of how unbalanced their relationship was. Support groups became supporting friends, and facing reality was the beginning of a healthy life for our narrator. Pain, loss and grief allow us to embrace life with freedom and live life to the fullest. 1019

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Brand Consciousness Among Teenagers Essay Example for Free

Brand Consciousness Among Teenagers Essay Mass media is media which is intended for a large audience. It may take the form of broadcast media, as in the case of television and radio, or print media, like newspapers and magazines. Internet media can also attain mass media status, and many mass media outlets maintain a web presence to take advantage of the ready availability of Internet in many regions of the world. Some people also refer to the mass media as the â€Å"mainstream media,† referencing the fact that it tends to stick to prominent stories which will be of interest to a general audience, sometimes ignoring controversial breaking news. Many people around the world rely on the mass media for news and entertainment, and globally, mass media is a huge industry. Usually, mass media aims to reach a very large market, such as the entire population of a country. By contrast, local media covers a much smaller population and area, focusing on regional news of interest, while specialty media is provided for particular demographic groups. The advantage of running operation in mass media is that one can set up a platform of medium to disseminate favorable message. The advantage of attacking mass media is that one can build up his/her reputation for being less biased and more objective. The advantage of co-operating with mass media is that one can ease the worries of being â€Å"black mouthed† by media organizations. The advantage of buying corporate engaged in mass media is that one can get a big asset for negotiation with political parties and the government. Disadvantages of mass media Well I believe it comes down to the parents or guardians to begin with. Of course younger generations shouldn’t be watching as much TV if at all. Most of the primetime shows and stations are becoming more and more passive on what not to show. Having younger children subjected to nudity, cursing, sexual immorality, drinking and other negative adult oriented material is of course unsuitable, heck even unsuitable for adults at times. If the parents let their children watch inappropriate shows on TV I’m sure studies have shown the likelihood of these children being involved in such problems later on in life. Brand Consciousness Among Teenagers. (2018, Oct 20).

Friday, October 18, 2019

Is it possible to achieve belonging or cultural acceptance without a Essay

Is it possible to achieve belonging or cultural acceptance without a sense of individuality - Essay Example (Grammich, Clifford A.. 2010, 14) The question that one would want to ask is whether it is possible that one would be accepted in a group without losing their individuality. Responding to this message requires appreciation of the fact that being accepted in the group while one is individuated will mean to be accepted in the group without conforming to the norms of that particular group. The possibility that individuals would conform to group norm depend on a number of factors’ first, the group cohesiveness. This is the degree to which individuals are attracted to the group and the benefits that are drawn from that group. The size of the group would also determine whether individuals would conform or not. Smaller groups tend to pile a lot of pressure for conformity than large groups. The concept of individualism has been studied in details by two main theorists, Locke and Mills. According to Locke, individualism has been overcome by the pressure particularly that of the government. He suggests that government is a necessary evil that rope people together to conform. His view of individual’s conformity is authoritarian. Mills however reveals that individualism was grounded on theories of pleasure and pain. He suggests hat individuals are the arbiters of their own actions and therefore they are considered to be one of the strongest  proponents for liberalism, checked only by his harm principle. (Mills, Gordon H, 26) Grammich, Clifford A.. 2010 U.S. religion census: religious congregations & membership study : an enumeration by nation, state, and county based on data reported for 236 religious groups. Kansas City, Mo.: Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, 2012.

Self Compacting Concrete Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Self Compacting Concrete - Essay Example 26). SCC can be used in most applications where traditionally vibrated concrete is used. It is suitable for high performance, densely reinforced structures as well as for less demanding unreinforced applications for instance the backfill (Petersson, et al., 2000, pg. 3). SCC can be fibre reinforced and is equally applicable for in situ construction as well in precasting. It has the capability to fill formwork and encapsulate and condense reinforcing bars only through the action of gravity and with maintained homogeneity. This ability is achieved by designing the concrete in such a way that it gains suitable inherent rheological properties. These properties are achieved through by not subjecting the concrete to any exterior energy input from vibrators, tampering or comparable actions. The predominant reason for the development of SCC has been the concern for reduced durability that is cause by inadequate homogeneity of the cast concretes. However, SCC has also been used to improve the quality of concrete work and to allow for the ability for automation of the construction work as well as improve the working conditions on construction sites (Cleland, et al., 1996, pg. 483). Other benefits of SCC over other forms of concrete include, it can be placed at a speedier and swifter rate without the need for mechanical vibration and with reduced screeding and this results to savings in placement costs, there is better-quality and more uniform and consistent architectural surface finish with minimal to no remedial surface work, there is enhanced consolidation around reinforcement and bond with reinforcement, it improved pumpability and is labor savings, it shortens constructions periods which translates to lower construction costs and minimised the traffic of ready mixed t rucks and pumps for the period of placement and finally increased work environment safety by doing away with the

Child Poverty in Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Child Poverty in Canada - Essay Example However in my opinion, effective and consistent implementation will surely depend on the other economic parameters like inflation, GDP etc. Hence economic policies to improve these parameters are also significant in addressing the problem of child poverty. Ottawa lacks plan to fight child poverty, coalition says ---- The Star Summary Monsebraaten (2011) in his article presents the stagnant nature of the children living below poverty in Canada. The article refers Campaign 2000 a coalition devoted to eradicating the same problem that over 1989 to 2009 the progress of the Canadian government to abolish poverty is far from satisfactory. This becomes evident from the fact that in 1989 the poverty rate was 11.9% and that in 2009 was 11.9%. Again this meager improvement was not always uniform and rather subject to business cycle fluctuations. In sharp contrast the nation has experienced staggering and almost uniform growth rate for the past 11 years that proceeded the year 2009. A growing i nequality in terms of income distribution in Canadian economy was first time noticed in the Campaign 2000’s first ever report published long back in 2001. Not only the gap between haves and have not has widened over the year; the middle income group was not spared at all and has to devote more and more hours to work to keep their standard of living at the same level. Despite the governments’ extensive effort to fight back poverty that reflected through two reports from the Senate and the House of Commons Committee in recent times; the pivotal point seems to be misjudged. The strong correlation between economic growth of the country and reducing poverty level that is apparently obvious through high level of employment creation seems to overlook an important social factor.... Monsebraaten (2011) in his article presents the stagnant nature of the children living below poverty in Canada. The article refers Campaign 2000 a coalition devoted to eradicating the same problem that over 1989 to 2009 the progress of the Canadian government to abolish poverty is far from satisfactory. This becomes evident from the fact that in 1989 the poverty rate was 11.9% and that in 2009 was 11.9%. Again this meager improvement was not always uniform and rather subject to business cycle fluctuations. In sharp contrast the nation has experienced staggering and almost uniform growth rate for the past 11 years that proceeded the year 2009. A growing inequality in terms of income distribution in Canadian economy was first time noticed in the Campaign 2000’s first ever report published long back in 2001. Not only the gap between haves and have not has widened over the year; the middle income group was not spared at all and has to devote more and more hours to work to keep the ir standard of living at the same level. Despite the governments’ extensive effort to fight back poverty that reflected through two reports from the Senate and the House of Commons Committee in recent times; the pivotal point seems to be misjudged. The strong correlation between economic growth of the country and reducing poverty level that is apparently obvious through high level of employment creation seems to overlook an important social factor. This factor gets revealed through the life of Becky McFarlene.  

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Healthcare Service in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthcare Service in America - Essay Example The American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) of 1915 was one of the legislative attempts prior to WWII that sought to get the government intervening in healthcare provision but it failed due to opposition from different quarters. The limited government involvement in healthcare provision prior to WWII is an important factor why the average American of that time was serviced poorly than American of today. This is because limited government involvement in healthcare provision Americans vulnerable to unscrupulous healthcare service providers who charged unreasonably high prices for treatment. Today, the government is deeply involved in healthcare service provision at different points of healthcare providers seeking to safeguard better service to the average American. The government regulates the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, procurement, and administration. It also monitors and regulates the provision of healthcare insurance (Dranove, 2002). The clash between interest group s The average American who lived prior to WWII was serviced poorly than today’s average American because of a clash between different interest groups. Organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and National Physician Committee (NPC) had influence enough to oppose attempts of protecting the average American. For example, in 1932 when Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated legislation for universal health care linking it to the Social Security Act, AMA and NPC successfully opposed it.

In reference to abnormal psychology, what causes substance-related Research Proposal

In reference to abnormal psychology, what causes substance-related disorders, particularly those dealing with alcohol abuse - Research Proposal Example Increased tolerance for alcohol is genetically mediated (Alcohol abuse, Mental health channel). Neurobiological influences: People use illegal drugs and alcohol for their pleasurable experiences. Human brain has a pleasure pathway that mediates our experience of reward. Researchers have proposed the domaminergic system and its opioid-releasing neurons as the pleasurable pathway. This begins in the midbrain ventral segmental area and then work its way forward through the nucleus accumbens and on the frontal vortex (Barlow & Durand, 2004). The substances activate this center and impart feelings of pleasure. Drugs like amphetamine and cocaine directly activate the dopaminergic system. Opiates inhibit GABA which inturn stops the GABA neurons from inhibiting dopamine, thus making dopamine more available in the reward center (Barlow & Durand, 2004). Other than imparting pleasures, these drugs also have anxiolytic effect and remove unpleasant experiences like pain and feelings of illness. Alcohol has a strong anxiolytic effect. The anxiolytic effects are because of the drugs are due to their involvement with septal/hippocampal system which have a large number of GABA-sensitive neurons (Barlow & Durand, 2004). Many of the drugs enhance the activity of GABA in this region and inhibit the brains normal reaction to anxiety-producing situations. Some studies have pointed to a relation between certain brain wave patterns and an increased risk for alcoholism (Barlow & Durand, 2004). Racial influences: Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans have deficiency or absence of alcohol dehydrogenase and hence tend to drink less and are at lower risk for alcoholism (Alcohol abuse, Mental health channel). This is because, the inability to metabolize alcohol in these people causes various symptoms like vomiting, flushing, and increased heart rate, thus making drinking difficult.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

3D Graphing Engine Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

3D Graphing Engine - Term Paper Example Nowadays geometry engines are called Vertex Shaders since they are programmable and can run so-called (vertex) shader programs to compute and animate the geometry of a scene. Every vertex that needs to be calculated can contain a lot of information, such as an x, y, z coordinate (a 3-dimensional position), texture coordinates, Normal Information (what direction the vertex faces), an identifier (which triangle it belongs to), Skinning parameters, lighting values or just about anything else. However, vertex processing alone does not result in a visible picture.   So as to see all the triangles made up of all the vertices that the vertex shaders have calculated, they need to be colored. Certainly, the invisible object that is a result of the geometry processing needs to be â€Å"wallpapered† so it becomes visible.   To be able to do this, the polygons need to be converted into pixels; this is done during the triangle setup. The pixels are then dealt with in the pixel shaders and pixel pipelines. The color value of a pixel is looked upon a texture; this texture exists in graphics memory as a bitmap that was designed by the 3D artist.   Textures can be available in different resolutions. Higher resolution textures look better; however, use more memory space and more memory bandwidth than lower resolution textures.   For far away objects, this would not only result in wasted processing cycles, but it could also lead to display anomalies. As a result of this, t extures are usually available in different resolutions.   If textures of different resolutions are combined on one object then this is referred to as mip-mapping. This mip-mapping can produce visible borders between the two textures of different resolutions, called mipmap banding.   Moreover, this mipmap banding can be minimized using different filtering techniques. Filtering means that for every pixel to be colored, more than one texel on the texture is looked up and the average is calculated and applied to the pixel.  

In reference to abnormal psychology, what causes substance-related Research Proposal

In reference to abnormal psychology, what causes substance-related disorders, particularly those dealing with alcohol abuse - Research Proposal Example Increased tolerance for alcohol is genetically mediated (Alcohol abuse, Mental health channel). Neurobiological influences: People use illegal drugs and alcohol for their pleasurable experiences. Human brain has a pleasure pathway that mediates our experience of reward. Researchers have proposed the domaminergic system and its opioid-releasing neurons as the pleasurable pathway. This begins in the midbrain ventral segmental area and then work its way forward through the nucleus accumbens and on the frontal vortex (Barlow & Durand, 2004). The substances activate this center and impart feelings of pleasure. Drugs like amphetamine and cocaine directly activate the dopaminergic system. Opiates inhibit GABA which inturn stops the GABA neurons from inhibiting dopamine, thus making dopamine more available in the reward center (Barlow & Durand, 2004). Other than imparting pleasures, these drugs also have anxiolytic effect and remove unpleasant experiences like pain and feelings of illness. Alcohol has a strong anxiolytic effect. The anxiolytic effects are because of the drugs are due to their involvement with septal/hippocampal system which have a large number of GABA-sensitive neurons (Barlow & Durand, 2004). Many of the drugs enhance the activity of GABA in this region and inhibit the brains normal reaction to anxiety-producing situations. Some studies have pointed to a relation between certain brain wave patterns and an increased risk for alcoholism (Barlow & Durand, 2004). Racial influences: Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans have deficiency or absence of alcohol dehydrogenase and hence tend to drink less and are at lower risk for alcoholism (Alcohol abuse, Mental health channel). This is because, the inability to metabolize alcohol in these people causes various symptoms like vomiting, flushing, and increased heart rate, thus making drinking difficult.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Spirituality and Leadership Essay Example for Free

Spirituality and Leadership Essay Leaders and organizations are uncomfortable talking about spirituality or any subject that can be interpreted as religious. There could be several reasons why, the separation of church and state, the organizations non-discriminatory policies, or the need to conform and not be seen as weird. Therefore, we find in the literature and in mainstream words such as: Synchronicity, Zen, Spirit at work, inner work, vision, intuition, enlightened leadership, 6th sense, meditation, visualization, awareness, mystic, and many more. All of these words are synonymous with spirituality. Leaders practice spirituality†¦ as long as they just dont call it spirituality. A more appropriate term could be Holistic Leadership. The purpose of this paper is to look at elements of spirituality and leadership and their relationship to each other. Spirituality, Religion, and Leadership Spirituality and leadership are two concepts that have broad meanings and interpretations. According to Conger spirituality like leadership are two very hard concepts to describe (1994, 27). So an exploration of these two words individually or in combination could be an exercise in frustration, especially for those who seek absolute answers. (Conger 1994, 63) There are many descriptions for leadership, spirituality, and religion. For the purpose of this paper I chose the ones that I felt were the most appropriate to the topic. Spirituality So how does the literature define Spirituality? Janet Dalton Honek in her article Spirituality in My Workplace?! Not that God talk! states that Spirituality in the Workplace is an emerging field of management. It encourages you to bring your whole being into your work. It offers you the place and opportunity to use your gifts and talents to their full potential in fulfilling your job responsibilities. It encompasses a variety of elements that can be expressed in a multitude of ways. For many people, it is a sense of personal satisfaction. Kathy Szaj, a writer living in New York City, in her article Sounds like Spirit defined Spirituality as: Spirituality is†¦wonderbuilt frame of reverence. Spirituality is the habit of heading for the innerness of people, places and things, and after visiting, leaving some small token of gratitude there. Spirituality is the vision that remembers that several billion earth creatures originate from and unite at one center; the practice of purposefully acting as if all thinking/feeling/being matters. And so it does†¦in-deed. Spirituality is consciously tending to all of the above so often that it becomes as natural and necessary as breathing. In a description of the book Capturing the Heart of Leadership. Spirituality and Community in the New American Workplace. by the Greenwood Publishing Group; Spiritual leadership is described as a dynamic, interactive process that is dependent on a recognition that leadership is a rela tionship. Leaders are leaders only as far as they develop relationships with their followers, relationships that help all concerned to achieve their spiritual, as well as economic and social, fulfillment. John-Brian Paprock in his article The Spiritual Part. Employment and Spirituality states: Spirituality does not really take time, rather it is being who one is. If a person has engaged a spiritual life, then it is personal integrity that brings spirituality wherever the person is. Whether through prayer or a prayerful consciousness or through meditation or a meditative consciousness or through cultural practices, work stations and offices can become personal sacred space. Obstacles and problems become opportunities of spirit. All of life becomes an integrated adventure. Spirituality becomes the whole of life, not an extra-curricular hobby reserved for the weekend. (1997, 2). John Buck in his article Leadership and spirituality connected states that the soul of leadership is spirituality, that spirituality grounds leadership, that it is impossible to separate leadership from the spiritual essence of a leader. It is spirituality that provides substance and solidarity to a person, not leadership. It grounds the leadership style and practice of a leader. (2000,2) In a recent study on spirituality, Wade Clark Roof, a religion professor at the University of California, found an interpretation of spirituality among middle-aged Americans: In its truest sense, spirituality gives expression to the being that is in us; it has to do with feelings, with the power that comes from within, with knowing our deepest selves and what is sacred to us, with, as Matthew Fox says, heart-knowledge.' (Conger, 1994,9). Religion The Encarta World English Dictionary has the following definitions of religion: 1. Peoples beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life. 2. A particular institutionalized or personal system of beliefs and practices relating to the divine. 3. A set of strongly held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by. Religion is not the same as spirituality. But when we discuss spiritual values, highly charged issues arise. Because of religious freedom and the freedom to practice and chose your own religion and beliefs, this area has been considered sacred ground. People are afraid that if the subject of religion or spirituality is approached, someone is going to influence a persons private and individual beliefs. Rutte is more direct by saying that some individuals would try to shove a particular point of view down their throats, and this approach will take away the individuals freedom to choose and the opportunity to search for his/her own truth. (Rutte, 1991, 3). Some of the issues why we do not discuss religion in the workplace include the fear of people being dogmatic and the conflicts that could arise, taboos, the separation of church and state, freedom of religion, separation of private and business life, and unreflected notions of the Divine. (Rutte,1991,1) Leadership Leadership is a process of working with people to get things done. Joseph Jaworski in his book Synchronicity. The Inner Path of Leadership states that leadership is about learning how to shape the future. Leadership is about creating a domain in which human beings continually deepen their understanding of reality and become more capable of participating in the unfolding of the world. Ultimately, leadership is about creating new realities. (1998, 3) Roger Fulton in his book Common Sense Leadership defines leadership as: †¦the art of influencing and directing people in such a way as to obtain their willing obedience, confidence, respect and cooperation. Leadership is not a mysterious phenomenon. It is a combination of skills and observable behaviors that can be learned. (Fulton, 1995, viii). Todays Leaders The Baby Boomers We, the so-called Sixties generation, the baby boomers, now the leaders, CEOs, managers, and parents, are leading the quest for the understanding of life issues. We have more and deeper questions about life. We are once again interested in the nobler ideals of world peace, economic equality, egalitarian civil rights, human potential, and spiritual enlightenment. (Green, 2000) All we have to do is to take a look at some of the best sellers books in the market. Small inspirational books such as: The One Minute Manager, The Greatest Salesman in the World, The Chicken Soup collection, Who Moved My Cheese, Fish, The Corporate Mystic, books on stress reduction, angels, prayer, visualization, vision quests, Feng Shui, and the long list of books published by Nightingale Conant. Books and materials that are nurturing the self, the soul, the leaders, and the organizations; materials that are giving permission to the executives, leaders, business people, and CEOs to be more open and to admit that spirituality is a part of their leadership style. Think about how many doctors, CEOs, leaders, and ourselves , in a moment of need, have taken a moment to pray, to ask for help from God, the Creator, the Force, the Universe? How many business leaders write their short and long term goals and then meditate and visualize them? How many people are joining study groups, meditation groups, spiritual study groups? There is a group in the Pentagon that meets weekly for meditation and prayer for world peace. Barrett in his articles on Spirituality and the World Bank addressed the creation of The World Bank Spiritual Unfoldment Society (SUS). The mission statement of SUS is: The Spiritual Unfoldment Society promotes personal transformation through self-knowledge, understanding, and awakening higher consciousness. SUS provides a safe forum for the exchange of beliefs and ideas that promote spiritual awareness. SUS seeks to create within the World Bank a consciousness of love and understanding that contributes toward transforming the way we interact with one another (and the way the organization interacts with the world). The SUS instituted monthly meditation sessions, created special interest groups, held two retreats, an international conference, and publishes two newsletters. Barrett states: The real significance of the conference and of the Spiritual Unfoldment Society was that the Bank staff now have permission to talk about spiritual values in development, and to bring their hearts and souls to work. (1998, 2) Spirituality is for some a taboo word, for others a way of life. The driving force of the Spirituality movement is the middle class, educated vanguard of the Baby Boom generation. (Lauerman, 2000, 2). Ancient religious traditions often combined work with spiritual practice and rituals. We are now coming full circle. In her article The Missing Link Anne Colby states that We spend more and more time at work, people have less time to spend outside social groups. Theyre interested in making spirituality practical and applied, rather than just something you do on the weekend. In the same article Colby quotes Judith Neal, and states As idealistic as it sounds, Neal said she sees many signs of renaissance in workplace spirituality. She estimates [Neal] that about 10% of the management consultants working with corporations today have a spiritual focus in the work. And spirituality in the workplace has become an open topic in the personnel trade journals. Elements, characteristics, and tools The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude. Be kind, but not weak. Be bold but not a bully. Be thoughtful, but not lazy. Be humble, but not timid. Be proud, but not arrogant. Have humor, but without folly. Jim Rohn Spirituality is not religion but a way of being. There is not just one definition of spirituality, but several key words appeared several times throughout the literature, words like: synchronicity, miracles, vision, from within, whole being, full potential, relationships, personal integrity, substance, feelings, meaning of life, and way of being. In attempting to explore spirituality in leadership several common areas, elements or characteristics were discussed in the literature. The table on Appendix A highlights those common areas encountered in several books and articles. The elements and characteristics of leadership and spirituality were concepts such as integrity, trust, creativity, communication, relationships, energy, vision, fun, creativity, change, and passion. Each column in the table of appendix A shows the characteristics, elements, or areas covered in each article or book. These are books such as Fish, Who moved my cheese, Jesus CEO, and the Corporate Mystic. The tools to achieve some of the characteristics and elements of spirituality and leadership are objects such as crystals, water fountains, and aromatherapy oils. Leaders are attending workshops that teach meditation, visualization, relaxation techniques, stress reduction techniques, vision quests, inner work, self-awareness and prayer groups. Retreats that are designed to balance body, mind, and spirit. There is a lot of information on energy, feng shui, tai chi, and Qi Gong. Organizations are becoming more aware of the trends in society. Spirituality in the workplace promotes an expression of talent, brilliance and genius. Baby boomers are seeking more meaning in their lives, including the place where they spend a lot of their time, work. The nature and meaning of work is undergoing an evolution. We are yearning for work to be a place in which we can experience and express our spirit. Companies are beginning to recognize employees as whole human beings and are exploring a full range of their needs and desires. Conversations are emerging around spirituality and how to nurture its potential in both the individual and the company. (Rutte, 1996, 1) McLaughlin in his article Seeking Spirituality†¦at work discusses the trends and indicates that the trend extends beyond individuals, that organizations and hundreds of companies are defining or clarifying their organizational values, universal ideas such as respect, honesty, and integrity. (1998, 2) Judy Neal, an associate professor of management at the University of New Haven, Connecticut, publishes a newsletter, Spirit at Work. In less than two years her base subscription grew to more than 1,000 professionals. When I received her bibliography on Spirit at Work it contained a list of 447 citations on Spirituality, a list that gets updated every three months. Ms. Neal fully understands the willingness of professionals to look beyond conventional sources for inspiration, insight, and imaginative ideas. She states: Developing ones own spiritual side offers a source of strength both on the job and off. Helping other employees develop theirs can make the workplace a stronger, safer and much saner, place to do business. (Brandt, 1996, 4) Holistic Leadership Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams: who looks inside, awakens. Carl Jung. I see Leadership and Spirituality as interrelated and yet distinct elements of the same issue. I related the issues of Leadership and Spirituality to the symbol of Yin and Yang. According to Chinese beliefs, every single thing that exists in the universe has two aspects, a yin and a yang. Everything has a front and a back, a top and a bottom, a left and a right, a beginning and an end. Night exists only in relation to day and cold exists in relation to heat. When I looked at spirituality in leadership I found a similar pattern. Spirituality is an internal process of looking in, self-awareness, being, and meaning. Leadership is an external process of doing things, actions, and accomplishing goals. Conger described as: †¦ the objective definitions lead us in different directions: spirit evokes images of an intangible and internal world, while leadership focuses on the visible and the external reality. Spirit is a matter of being and becoming, of creation and re-creation, while leadership is doing, acting, performing. The definition of spirit invites contemplation, analysis, and insight, while that of leadership directs our attention to visible results. (1994, 65) I believe that we are all spiritual beings that believe in something, be it God, the Universe, Money, Power, or Atheism. As human beings we are trying to find ways to be happy, respected, and loved. We live in a society that is attempting to balance life, family, work, while attempting to understand the meaning of life, and to find who we are. We find ourselves spending a lot of time at work, in traffic, and wishing we had more time to be with our families and friends. We are also finding that there is more to life and more to who we really are than just a description of the kind of work we do, the car we drive, the house we live in, or the amount of money we make every month. There is a part of us, inside ourselves that matter. It makes us who we are; unique individuals with needs and wants. When we go within, we find the beings that we are, our own Spirit, and our Spirituality. As I discussed with my husband, the fact that for a variety of reasons leaders do not like to identify with the word spirituality, we came up with a more appropriate term: holistic leadership. The Random House Websters dictionary defines holism as: the theory that whole entities have an existence other than as the mere sum of their parts. and holistic as: incorporating or identifying with the principles of holism. I looked at the leader as a whole person, with leadership and spiritual qualities. (See Appendix B). My own drawing resembled the Yin and Yang figure at the beginning of this paper. The circle represents the individual or leader with two distinct, separate, and identifiable parts, the leadership and the spiritual. The leadership moving the energy one way, while the spirituality is moving the energy in the opposite direction, yet both are a part of the same whole individual or circle. Buck expressed well when he wrote: It is impossible to separate leadership from the spiritual essence of a leader. It is spirituality that provides substance and solidarity to a person, not leadership. It grounds the leadership style and practice of a leader. Conclusion Spirituality and Leadership are becoming an important part of our culture and our organizational culture. The great spiritual search is in the mainstream. (Bird, 1994). Rutte states that new approaches in modern management theory such as productivity and quality improvement, human motivation, teamwork, and systems perspectives have markedly enhanced effectiveness. Yet there is another dimension that needs to be taken into consideration, and that is the one that relates management to fundamental matters of the spirit, which lie at the heart of all beings. If one of the trends in the workplace is to include and involve the whole person, not just the work role, then spiritual values can be included. Imagine working in an environment that includes and encourages respect, appreciates peoples discovery and living of their spiritual values, and that allows for a diversity of expression of individual life purposes. Rutte believes that within this spiritual frame the bottom line would be profitable, because productivity would be at once high, deeply satisfying, and responsive to world problems; and personal and corporate leadership would guide inspired by an appreciation of both the temporal as well as the infinite. Management in the survival mode has been based on command and control. The way you get people to produce is by telling them what to do and making sure it gets done. But in a spiritual workplace, productivity is achieved through nurturing the expression of the self and the spirit. Our job, as leaders, is to facilitate the discovery of spirit, to esteem it, to celebrate it, and to hold others accountable for their expression of it. Imagine what would happen if you had a company in which all the people were doing their lifes work. You would have more loyalty, more resilience, more creativity, more innovation, and a deeper sense of self-reliance, self-renewal and self-generation. (1991, 1-2) Todays leaders are using the tools needed to become more spiritual. The tools can help individuals look inward and start on their own path of self-discovery, self-fulfillment, and enlightenment. The research finds a great deal of evidence for the existence of Spirituality in Leadership. However, there is still resistance to calling it Spirituality. Instead, call it Holistic Leadership. Given the opportunity one evening, an average person with average aspirations asked a wise and spiritual person, What is the spiritual part of life. The wise and spiritual person responded in the expected peaceful and soothing voice, I am afraid you are mistaken. There is no spiritual part of life. After a stunned silence, I have paid attention to spiritual people all my life, I have read the sacred scriptures of my faith. How can it be that there is no spiritual part of life? The wise and spiritual person said, with the expected knowing grin, It is all spiritual.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Functional Multi-enzyme Complexes In Vitro

Functional Multi-enzyme Complexes In Vitro Molecular self-assembly offers a method of sophisticated materials constructed with precision. Designing self-assembling enzyme structures is of particular interest for the unique functional capabilities of enzymes, as shown in Figure 2. Chemically induced assembly has been shown to be a powerful tool for the investigation of cellular events and for its easy operation and low cost compared to bioconjuction. Chemical inducers can be cofactors, inhibitors, metal ions, which are based on specific interaction of molecule and enzyme. Chemical inducers bring the two enzymes together to form multi-enzyme. A number of reviews have covered the self-assembly of proteins and enzymes by chemicals. King N.P. et al discussed the principles employed in recent efforts to design complex and geometrically specific protein assemblies, with a focus on practical approaches. However, precise manipulation of protein self-assembly behavior in vitro is still a great challenge. Here we review recent studies i n the chemical induced self-assembly of multi-enzyme system from the perspective of multi-enzyme complex organization, enzyme interactions, and regulation of assembly. Inhibitor induced multi-enzyme assembly Inhibitor induced dimerization has been reported as the controlled dimerization of proteins via dimerizers. During the process of dimerization, the dimerizers assemble proteins into homospecific or heterospecific multivalent nanostructures. An enzyme inhibitor binds with enzymes specifically and decreases their activity. Drug discovery typically focus on the identification and design of inhibitors to perturb enzyme function, which greatly depend on the chemical structure. Carlson and co-workers reported self-assembly of wild-type Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) into protein nanorings using dimeric methotrexate molecules, which tethered together by a flexible peptide linker. The enzymes are capable of spontaneously forming highly stable cyclic structures with diameters ranging from 8 to 20 nm. The nanoring size is dependent on the length and composition of the peptide linker, on the affinity and conformational state of the dimerizer, and on induced protein-protein interactions. Chou reported the preparation of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)-histidine triad nucleotide nanorings by chemically induced self-assembly. DHFR molecules with fused peptide chain of variable length were spontaneously self-assemble into protein macrocycles after treatment with a dimeric enzyme inhibitor, Bis-MTX-C9. The ring size, ranging in size from 10 to 70 nm, was dependent on the length and composition of the peptide linking the fusion proteins. The enzymatic efficiencies for the monomer and intramolecular macrocycle were found to be nearly identical, while the larger dimeric nanoring was found to have a modestly lower kcat/Km value. The nanorings catalytic efficiency was dependent on ring size, which indicated that the arrangement of supermolecular assemblies of enzymes may be used to control their catalytic parameters. However, the activator used for multi-enzyme assembly has not been reported before, which can greatly improve enzyme activity and may have greatly potential in mu lti-enzyme biosynthesis. Cofactor induced multi-enzyme assembly Cofactor-dependent enzymes, such as oxidoreductases and transferases, intramolecularly assembly of enzyme subunits by cofactor binding have been widely reported. Cofactor as a small molecular for enzyme catalysis. Cofactors can also be used for inducing multi-enzyme assembly. Bis-NAD+ has been reported for affinity precipitation of dehydrogenases in 1980s. Mansson et al used bis-NAD+ analogue to locate lactate dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase face to face and then cross-linked of the two enzymes with glutaraldehyde on agarose beads. The study of site-to-site directed immobilization effect improve the NADH production from 19% to 50%, which indicated that the NADH was preferentially channeled to lactate dehydrogenase due to the positioned active sites of the two enzymes. Similar work reported by Siegbahn as the bi-enzyme complex was formed by crosslinking lactate dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase with glutaraldehyde, which indicated an enhancement of 1.36 fold of the NADH regeneration when lactate dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase were site-to-site oriented. Cofactor induced assembly can form the site-to-site oriented structure, has the advantage easy operation and maintains the enzymes’ activity maintain. However, the interaction of NAD+ with enzyme is relatively low. Cofactor analogues have been reported for enzyme catalysis, which have the advance of low cost and high stability. The improvement of cofactor analogues for multi-enzyme assembly is promising. Metal ions induced multi-enzyme assembly Metal ions guide proteins into forming large assemblies, which provide a wide platform to modulate the metal coordination environment through distant, noncovalent interactions, exactly as natural metalloproteins and enzymes do. Metal ions in metalloenzymes located in the pocket whose shape fits the substrate, which are usually coordinated by nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur centers belonging to amino acid residues. Since approximately half of all proteins contain a metal ion, metal ions induced enzyme assembly is a promising method. Metal ions induced protein assembly is recently hot topic. There are two main types of metal ions induced protein assembly, namely, metal ions chelating sites on the artificial His-tags of enzymes and chelating sites on the surface of enzymes. His-tagging is the most widespread strategy to purify recombinant proteins. With the addition of 4-10 poly-histidine tag to the N terminus or C terminus of a target protein, the tagged protein purification was achieved by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. Multi-enzyme complex were formed with the Ni2+ and bis-His coordination of GDH-NOX fused enzymes, which enhanced enzyme activity and stability for the biosynthesis of DHA from glycerol with cofactor regeneration.. Chelating sites on the surface of enzymes The metal ions coordinated with the chelating sites on the surface of proteins was reported. Chelating sites should be on the surfaces to coordinate with metal ions, and the interfaces where chelating sites are located should be complementary to form stable self-assemblies. Yushi Bai, et al [Bai, Y.S. et al. Highly ordered protein nanorings designed by accurate control of glutathione S-transferase self-assembly. J Am Chem Soc 135, 10966-10969 (2013). ]reported a variant of glutathione S-transferase (sjGST-2His) which has two properly oriented His metal-chelating sites on the surface self-assembled in a fixed bending manner to form protein nanorings. The accurate orientation of proteins and self-assembly was based on metal-ion-chelating interactions and nonspecific protein–protein interactions. This work provides a de novo design strategy for the construction of novel protein superstructures. The self-assembly of glutathione S-transferase into nanowires was also reported[Zhang, W. et al. Self-assembly of glutathione S-transferase into nanowires. Nanoscale 4, 5847-5851 (2012).]. Designed metal coordination interactions to arrange enzyme into highly ordered supramolecular architectures has been reported recently[Salgado, E.N., Radford, R.J. Tezcan, F.A. Metal-Directed Protein Self-Assembly. Accounts Chem Res 43, 661-672 (2010).].Enzymes represent particularly attractive building blocks due to their chemical and structural versatility, for new and improved supramolecular properties. Metal-directed enzyme self-assembly yields stable architectures and high catalysis efficiency. These emergent physical and functional properties are attained with minimal modification of the original building blocks Brodin reported the self-assembly of a designed variant of cytochrome cb(562) by zinc ion coordination to uniform 1D nanotubes or 2D arrays with very high chemical stabilities. Their metal-mediated frameworks was used as the templated growth of small Pt-0 nanocrystals. [Brodin, J.D., Carr, J.R., Sontz, P.A. Tezcan, F.A. Exceptionally stable, redox-active supramolecular protein assemblies with emergent properties. P Natl Acad Sci USA 111, 2897-2902 (2014).] Bogdan et al reported [Bogdan, N.D. et al. Metal Ion Mediated Self-Assembly Directed Formation of Protein Arrays. Biomacromolecules 12, 3400-3405 (2011).] the self-assembled inorganic–protein arrays by FeII complexation of protein-conjugated terpyridine units (ligand) to form well-defined and controllable size and structure. Residue-specific conjugation between the complexing unit (terpy) containing an activity-based probe and a corresponding active enzyme (papain) performed on this unique building block (ligand) leads to chemical species of unprecedented constitution. Metal ion induced assembly are controllable by environmental factors that affect the coordination or reactivity of the metal ion: the presence of the metal itself, external chelators, pH, and the solution redox state. Thus, metal ions can augment or provide all three essential properties of proteins as nature’s favorite build-ing blocks: structure, chemical reactivity, and stimuli- responsiveness. Metal ions are frequently found in natural protein-protein interfaces, where they stabilize quaternary or supramolecular protein structures, mediate transient protein-protein interactions, and serve as catalytic centers. Paralleling these natural roles, coordination chemistry of metal ions is being increasingly utilized in creative ways toward engineering and controlling the assembly of functional supramolecular peptide and protein architectures. Here we provide a brief overview of this emerging branch of metalloprotein/peptide engineering and highlight a few select examples from the recent literature that best capture the diversity and future potential of approaches that are being developed. Conclusions and Outlook Constructing functional multi-enzyme complexes in vitro by mimicking the natural enzyme complex has great biotechnological potentials in metabolic engineering, multi-enzyme-mediated biocatalysis, and cell-free synthetic pathway biotransformation. This review summarizes chemically assembling of multi-enzymes based on the affinity included by small molecular, namely, cofactor, substrate, inhibitor, and metal ions, et al. Distinctions were made based on the assembling driving force, structure of multi-enzyme complexes and mechanism of catalytic efficiency enhancement. Furthermore, the current challenges of multi-enzyme assembly in vitro induced by chemicals was addressed and gave an outlook on future developments. In this review, a classification of multi-enzyme assembly methods is proposed. Special emphasis is placed on the description of constructing functional multi-enzyme complexes by small molecular induced self-assembly. Assembling of multi-enzymes based on the affinity induced by small molecular, namely, cofactor, inhibitor, and metal ions were discussed. Furthermore, the advantage and disadvantage of each method from the reaction and process considerations are described. A variety of approaches for multi-enzymatic synthesis in vivo using biological systems or in vitro with isolated biocatalysts have been successfully used for the synthesis of complex molecules, especially the chiral chemicals which frequently are not readily accessible by chemical synthesis. In the long term, multi-enzyme processes will replace many chemically catalyzed processes. Biocatalysis today is growing not only in the fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals but also in the production of bulk chemicals. The relevant multi-enzyme catalysis processes have a significant potential for industrial application. Several challenges remain for multi-enzyme processes despite the strong drivers for greener and ever more effective chemical process technology.Multi-enzyme assembly into exquisite, complex, yet highly ordered architectures is challenging due to the complexity of enzyme structures and interactions. Consequently, the prediction of multi-enzyme complex configurations, the structure controlled assembly and the dynamic kinetic simulation of assembly process are also challenging. Current efforts aim at the prediction of multi-enzyme complex configurations as well as at nanoscale reconstruction, and control of cascade reaction. The design of multi-enzymatic systems based on the structure controlling and function prediction. In Nature’s hierarchy such design and engineering studies can provide useful information. New approaches that allow the controlled assembly of multiple enzymes at a nanometer scale with precisely structure and function will increase reaction rates and the efficie ncy of longer synthetic enzymatic cascades. Another frontier in multi-enzyme synthesis is the design of multi-step processes, involving mathematical modeling, process technology, and protein engineering. By viewing multi-enzyme assembly process in terms of structure and function relationship, it is possible to unify a diverse range of investigations, highlights their interrelationships, and see routes.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Essay --

INTRODUCTION This consultancy report is addressed to Walmart, the leading multinational retail company of the world planning to enter in recently liberalised and reformed Indian retail sector, where foreign direct investment has been allowed cent-percent in real terms. The report deals with four specified aspects. Firstly political system and risk of India is analysed from the perspective of Walmart. Next market potential is assessed with reference to opportunities and challenges. Further trade and investment barriers are detailed with reference to the observation of the World Bank. Finally entry mode and location choice is recommended for Walmart to operate in India, where the likely cross-cultural management point is also made. MAIN BODY Assessing Political System and Risk Political risk assessment is a vital part of international investment by multinational companies, where political risk all concerns to the risk that a host country ctreate through its political decisions that might be dterimental for on the success and survival of the multinational companyies in profitable manner. Unfavorable political system or policies might result in detriments in the extensive damage because of revolution to those of a more fiscal nature, in the form of the formation of laws that put off the movement of capital (Phung, 2009). Naturally whilst investing in Indian market Walmart needs to close assess the likely political risk situation in the country, from the perspective various factors relating to political risk. As Dà ¶rrenbà ¤cher and Geppert .(2013) argue that multinational companies might be breeding grounds for internal political pressure in a host country where fight for control amid head quarters and their subsidiaries might dis... ...minate the trade and investment barriers from the perspective of multinational companies such as Walmart. Hence, Walmart can hope a better trade and investment environment in Indian. It can work with the government in the country together with World Bank for negotiating maximum in its favour in the new policy environment, Walmart has more opportunities and challlenges, but opportunities may well be exploited only in the case of choosing the right entry mode. Walmart has two potential options in the forms aquisition or creating subsidiary in the country. The former would be comparatively more effective considering the unorganised nature of Indian retail sector. The success of this multinational company in India will be largely depend on cross-cultural management, particularly in the context of standardisation versus adaptation whether the later can be recommended.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Techno Music :: essays research papers

Techno Electronic music has been around since the late 60's and is now a very popular type of music among many poeple. My favorite genre of electronic music is Techno. Techno is a hard edge driven dance music that contains electronic sounds, high-energy, and a rhythmic beat. The sounds can range from simple beats of a drum to TV and movie dialogue or siren screams. Around 1986, there was a scene in Detroit which began spinning a futuristic kind of music. The DJ's began experimenting with electronic music and playing it in their clubs. This type of music slowly gained popularity and developed its own sub-genres and underground fan base. The term techno has been used in order to describe many kinds of electronic music. The first type of techno that was developed was loosely called Minimal Techno or Detroit. It was just a simple rhythm with a small number of eletronic sounds. In my personal opinion, this is not an interesting genre. Although minimal techno was the true budding point of Techno I always thought is was boing compared to other more advanced music that is now available. I would compare it with the relation between a string quartet against the power of a big orchestra. The next sub-genre is my favorite. Trance is one of the most popular style of Techno at large parties. Trance all started in Germany in the beginning of the nineties at a party called "Age of Love", where DJ Sakin played the first trance song ever: "Protect Your Mind". It was a huge hit and helped trance become one of the most popular forms of techno. The beats in Trance music tend to be louder than in other genres, which makes the music "hotter". The bass often fluxuates between high and low sounds mixed with a dreamy and spacy sound. To be more specific trance music contains many drum climaxes and wavy sounds. Trance music also branched into it's own sub-genres such as Goa. Goa is similar to trance only more psychedelic. It uses more trippy sounds and wibbly noises layered on each other. Harder versions of techno are kown as Hardcore. Hardcore is aggressive, frenzied, occasionally abrasive, and generally sounds like chaos. About 1992, hardcore evolved in two directions; darkside and happy hardcore. Darkside was more evil sounding and had extremely hard base. In happy hardcore the speed was turned up, cheesey pianos were added, and happy vocals.