Monday, September 30, 2019

Diary Task Unit 4 Task 1 Essay

In order to complete the diary task, it is important that you use the format given. Within this diary task, you need to draw from your experiences within your nursery placement. You need to ensure that your supervisor signs your diary sheet before submission (on the back page 360). Your work will not be accepted without it and your work will count as a late submission. You also need to submit your grading criteria sheet (Page 363). There is no word limit. You need to write thoroughly (but sensibly). You should not be writing as much as an assignment. You need to use the headings that have been given to you below. Task 1: Choose TWO 2 ways from the list in which you have been involved in keeping children safe: †¢ Identifying possible hazards in the setting †¢ Sterilising feeding equipment †¢ Encouraging children to use resources in a safe and controlled way †¢ Comforting a child who is ill and reporting necessary information to the appropriate person †¢ Dealing with a minor accident or injury †¢ Following a procedure to avoid transmitting infection †¢ Maintaining security during arrival and departure times in the setting P4.1 Describe your involvement in EACH situation You need to identify the two points that you have chosen. You then need to describe your involvement in each situation (We suggest you answer them in two separate paragraphs) Remember to link to your practice and give examples of how you have been evolved. P4.2 Show evidence of your knowledge of procedures in EACH situation You need to link clearly to your practice We recommend that you link to polices and procedures in the setting to demonstrate evidence of your knowledge. You can have appendices if you wish but only put in relevant information that you are going to refer to. P4.3 Evaluate briefly your role in EACH situation You need to consider how valuable your role was Did something go wrong? Why? What could have been done differently? What was the impact on the children and other staff? Are you given opportunity to develop your role in these areas? If so how and if not then what actions are you going to put into place e.g. meeting with your supervisor. Remember to reference to back up your ideas and provide a bibliography REMINDER: Please spend time on your diary tasks as you need to ensure you achieve a minimum of 80 Marks overall to receive a grade E. Please refer to the CACHE Candidate Handbook for further guidance (P.395).

Sunday, September 29, 2019

A sales promotion campaign for PG Tips

U. K. is one of the world’s largest tea consumers. In spite of the fact that this beverage has become almost a national emblem, the English tea market is undergoing major changes.Consequently, in order to survive, specialized companies are compelled to adapt to new trends. One of the most famous firms operating within this domain is PG Tips, a company which will organize a promotional campaign mainly aimed at encouraging black-tea consumption.Before starting to delve into campaign details, a snapshot of the U.K. tea market could prove extremely useful.According to BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4556103.stm), the traditional tea market underwent a severe decline between 2002 and 2004 when the sales for tea bags and loose tea decreased by 16% and, respectively, 9%. However, the sales volume of other varieties received a major boost over the same period. The items subscribing to this optimistic tendency were the herbal and fruit tea which increased by 30% and the â€Å"speci alty† varieties (green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea) which boosted sales by 50%.The upward trend for the latter category is explained by the young generation’s preferences and concerns. Researches have emphasized that youngsters consider tea to be a fashionable drink which succeeds in ensuring a long-term health, at the same time.Thus, the new trend is the natural result of healthier life-styles and higher social needs. A survey that was carried out between 2002 and 2004 on a sample of 25,000 individuals showed that 80% of Britons drank tea, 70% of the persons aged over 65 drank tea at least twice a day while the percentage of youngsters (aged between 15 and 24) having the same behaviour was 38. Standard tea continues to have the highest share in terms of retail sales (63%) compared with herbal and fruit teas which account for only 27%. Moreover, the English breakfast tea is the first choice when it comes to the Britons’ preferences.In conclusion, tea co mpanies have lost market share because they have failed to meet the new generation’s requirements and needs. This is not as preoccupied with maintaining tradition as it is with being healthy and in fashion, at the same time.Consequently, if PG Tips wants to boost its sales, it should focus on this market segment which seems to gain more and more adherents every day. Additionally, one could say that the new trend works in favor of PG’s main objective (promoting black tea) as â€Å"specialty† varieties are those who have had the most significant increase over the last few years.Therefore, the company will reposition tea brands by focusing on health benefits and special moments shared with friends or family when chatting over a cup of tea creates a warm, relaxing atmosphere. Thus, tea will be promoted as both natural medicine and social anthem, acting as a liaison among individuals belonging to the same group.The target audience will encompass persons aged between 15 and 45, situated within the medium and superior social strata and having an average or superior level of education (or belonging to families which have an average/superior level of education, in the case of the youngest). The audience will include consumers and non-consumers, at the same time.The sales promotion will be an event capable of revealing tea benefits, and implicitly, achieving the campaign’s objectives. In time, tea has become a habit within the framework of the quotidian landscape. Buying and drinking such beverage has turned into a routine which has lost its attractiveness to marketers.These have preferred to focus on new brands of automobiles, perfumes, sweets and so forth which are considered to be more enticing in terms of advertising. Consequently, tea has been neglected and has begun to lose market share as any fire ceases to burn when not appropriately fuelled. Thus, PG Tips will try to remind the advantages of drinking tea (and especially, black tea) t o Britons.By highlighting the impact on health, the campaign will make non-consumers switch from other hot beverages to the PG’s black tea. Moreover, those who already are consumers of this product will feel as some sort of veterans who have made the right choice before their less expert counterparts who have discovered the nature’s miracle later. This conclusion will feed their ego and strengthen their loyalty to the PG’s products.To sum up, I’d say that the sales promotion will strongly impact on both consumers and non-consumers, thus managing to increase the total share that PG Tips holds in the home tea market.The sales promotion will consist of a three-tool mix: free samples, point-of-sale displays and a contest.  Free samples of black-tea bags will be given to customers in supermarkets and hypermarkets. These will be accompanied by attractive leaflets that will emphasize the major health benefits comprising reduced risk of stroke and heart attacks , stronger immune response and faster recovery after a stressful event.In order to achieve higher credibility, fliers should name the research institutes which have carried out the respective studies – e.g. The Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital etc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_benefits_of_tea).Secondly, in-store merchandising will play a major role through posters situated at the store entrance or at the tea shelves. These displays will attract viewers by statements like:† PG Tips cares about your health and takes you on a Tea Tour† which will surely determine customers to read more.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

How does spa facilities aid in treatment for mental health patiences Essay

How does spa facilities aid in treatment for mental health patiences - Essay Example As a result, this will lead to a reduction in activity in hypothalamic- pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis, which is the part of the brains that serves the function of governing stress response (McCray, 2009, 102). However, there are no conclusive results as to whether can actually be used in mental health treatment as different studies have come up with different results on this matter. However, it is safe to assume that yoga offers an acute benefit for patients suffering from depression. The only problem that makes yoga a little hard to incorporate is the fact that it is rather a cultural phenomenon which makes it hard for people to distinguish between the facts about yoga and mere hype. As much as physicians recommend the use of yoga in treating mental illnesses such as depression, it is recommended that the patient combines it with supervision from a trained therapist who can monitor the performance and warn against any negative effects that may occur as a result. Aerobic exercises such as swimming has over time been proved to improve mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. The sudden improvements in the moods of the patients can be attributed to the exercise-induced increase in blood circulation in the brain which will consequently affect the hypothalamic pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis, which in turn affects the psychologic reactivity to stress. The other associated benefits with swimming include distraction, social interaction and self-efficacy. As much as structured programs are best suited for patients suffering from serious mental illnesses, lifestyle alterations that are mostly focused on buildup and enhancement of moderate-intensity activity throughout the patient’s day can be most effective for patients with mild cases of mental illnesses such as depression (Ridge, 2009, 28). Swimming for about 30 minutes three times a week is more than enough to help with treating mental patients suffering from depression. Physical exercise has

Friday, September 27, 2019

Sensorineural hearing loss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Sensorineural hearing loss - Essay Example Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is the defect of transmission of sound from cochlea due to this it results in sound distortion and brain is unable to perceive the correct sound. United States Census has reported 3% population suffering from hearing defect and most of the cases are due to congenital or genetic defects. Medical reasons for SNHL hearing loss include prebirth infections and teratogen exposure, perinatal issues include prematurity, low birth weight, anoxia and/or low Apgar scores, hyperbilirubinemia, or sepsis. In the infants, infections, such as meningitis or mumps can cause SNHL. Brain injury leads to both SNHL and CHL (Shah & Lotke, 2008). Congenital hearing loss is the hearing impairment right from the birth. In the congenital bilateral sensorineural deafness both ears are affected. This disability can be genetic or it can form during intrauterine growth (prenatal) or at the time of birth due to other factors, such as prenatal infections and environmental and teratogenic factors (CGC genetics, August 2009). The genetic factors are responsible for 50% of congenital hearing loss in which syndromic factors contribute to 30%; while nonsyndromic factors contribute to 70% ((CGC genetics, August 2009). This congenital bilateral sensorineural deafness is the most common hearing disorder in developed countries. It has been reported that 0.2% newborns suffers from bilateral permanent sensorineural hearing loss of ≠¥ 40 dB. When the child reaches his adolescent age, this figure is increased to 0.33%. Hearing impairment might lead to delaying of all the developmental domains including cognitive, emotional, social, and speech and language impairment (Polinski, 2003). Speech and language impairment hampers social, behavioral and learning growth due to faulty communication. Language disorders make the children nonreceptive of other’s language and also they are not able to express themselves properly and adequately. This consequently leads to undeveloped

Thursday, September 26, 2019

New Zealand accounting standards Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

New Zealand accounting standards - Assignment Example International Accounting Standards Board conducts public meetings to ensure transparency in order to produce new or updated financial reporting standards.This procedure has been adopted to ensure transparency and to involve the opinion of the public. The procedure ensures constant engagement with the stakeholders like investors, analysts, regulators, business leaders, accounting standard-setters and the professional accountants and auditors at national and international levels (Smart, Bourke, & Awan, 2008). ANSWER 2a: External Reporting Board (XRB) is an independent crown entity developed under section 22 of the Financial Reporting Act 1993 (as amended in 2011). Main responsibilities of XRB are: Development and implementation of the overall strategy related to financial reporting standards, auditing and assurance standards. Responsible for preparing and issuing of accounting standards. Responsible for preparing and issuing of auditing and assurance standards (XBR, 2011). Other respon sibilities of XRB include preparing and issuing of ethical and professional standards and providing guidelines for conduct. Liaising with organizations on national and international levels on matters that apply functions that are in correspondence with or share similar features with those presented in XRB (NZICA, 2011). ANSWER 2b: Initially, New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountant (NZICA) was responsible for development and implementation of financial reporting standards. ... It has been planned to achieve the same in the current year, i.e.2012. Under the Financial Reporting Act 1993 (FRA), the responsibilities for financial reporting standards setting have been divided between two bodies which are: New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) and the Accounting Standards Review Board (ASRB). Accounting Standards Review Board (ASRB) is also an independent crown entity. The mechanism has been changed and the new mechanism is as follows: 1. The Financial Reporting  Standards Board (FRSB), which is a board of NZICA,  will submit the draft standards  to the Accounting Standards Review Board (ASRB) for consideration.    2. NZICA is responsible for setting up of auditing and assurance standards for its  members. 3.   The Professional Standards Board (PSB), which is another board  of NZICA, submits draft standards to NZICA’s Board for consideration and approval. 4. Standards approved  from NZICA are then obligatory on members.    5. Non-members of NZICA can  carry out statutory audits provided they belong to an overseas professional  accounting body, providing that the Registrar of Companies has approved the  individual or the professional accounting body to which they belong.    6. Hence, the standards approved by the NZICA Board do not form any binding in formal status in relation to  overseas-qualified auditors who are not members of NZICA (NZICA 2010a). ANSWER 2c: On whole, it is expected that External Reporting Board (XRB) will provide better quality of financial reporting standards. It is expected because of the reason that the new financial reporting arrangement has recently been approved by Minister of Commerce of New Zealand and it has been considered as a significant milestone in the establishment of the new

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Critical Response #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical Response #2 - Essay Example Different natural disasters are combined and intensified in one movie, which evokes feelings of awe and terror. Seeing hailstorms, tornados, and tsunamis in one sitting is enough to make my blood curl. As if these startling visual images are not enough, half of the world freezes. While millions of people die during these different disasters, I cannot help but feel conscious of my contribution to it. As a cosmopolitan resident in a western country, I have a much larger footprint than people in developing countries with less access to resources and do not depend so much on automobiles and electricity to perform basic tasks. Though this movie is a fictional attempt to change people’s materialistic lifestyles, I somehow feel crazily better at the ending, when the astronauts see the world half frozen and the atmosphere is clearer. It gives hope that people can reverse the damage they have done to their environment, if only they do something

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Learning Journal on Managing Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning Journal on Managing Conflict - Essay Example In the first step, the involved parties establish the main cause of the problem or conflict which could be among them or from outside. Putting into consideration the situations that people are in is essential since sometimes solving a conflict while in bad moods may lead to other unbearable problems (whetten & Cameron 55). Taking an example of employees in a processing company, like Klic juices Inc Processors where I work, there arise many conflicts resulting from one employee insulting a colleague. This kind of interpersonal conflict lowers productivity and may lead to job termination as experienced in klic Juices Inc. Eventually the involved parties quarrel and eventually creating attention of everyone within the building. Organizational conflicts management entails getting deep into the causative factors and making an effective and full intervention to get the solution to the interpersonal conflict at hand. The theory stresses that conflicts are functional to an organization and assist in discovering new management techniques as well as understanding the differences between individuals from varying cultures (Rahim 211). In managing interpersonal conflicts, a lot of issues arise especially when one is faced with the task. First an individual is confused between which parties to favor especially when there are close ties between the two parties. As a conflict manager, the first step involves getting the two parties together and having a dialogue without favoring any side. According to Whetten and Cameron, conflict management should take the shortest time possible since the longer the process takes, the more irritating the two parties become and this result into quarrels. It is very essential to separate people from their problems since each individual possesses unique desires, emotions and personal views. Some forms of conflicts exist only in individuals minds this makes it necessary for the two parties to fully

Monday, September 23, 2019

Retelling Experiments H,B,D, Kettlewell's Studies of Industrial Essay

Retelling Experiments H,B,D, Kettlewell's Studies of Industrial Melanism in Peppered Moths - Essay Example Hagen reports further that Kettlewell himself added to the controversies through his defense to these criticisms, sidelining his own singular achievements in these first attempts at understanding survival patterns in the peppered moths. This summary endorses his views tentatively and sets out to describe Kettlewell's experiments in the most likely manner. The papered moth (Biston betularia) is almost a mythical creature in evolutionary biology today because it helped practitioners solve an important mystery in evolution. The moth, an endemic species to Great Britain and other parts of Europe, is known to have existed in three broad phenotypes. Before the industrial revolution of the 19th century the moth, popularly ascribed later as the typical phenotype, had grayish white wings flecked with small dark spots (Hagen, 1999, p. 144). Later on, with the growth of industry and increasing pollution, especially the aerial variety from coal dust in flues, in the surrounding areas this light-winged typical variety became less and less evident and moths with darker wing colors became more manifest. The more frequent appearance of this dark phenotype (Biston carbonaria), especially in wooded regions near industrial areas, raised questions among biologists who sought to explain their strange manifestation. It is significant to note here that the carbonaria has thoroughly dark wings while intermediate varieties with varying degrees of darkness in the wing colors, Biston insularia, have been increasingly observed since the time of Kettlewell's first experiments in an wooded area near the industrial town of Birmingham (Cook and Grant, 2000). The carbonari and insularia phenotypes are popularly known as melanics, because of their darker wings, and they evolve from activation of separate alleles available at the same locus as the typical phenotype gene, construed to be the original one (Cook and Grant, 2000). Kettlewell's Experiment: Before setting out on his first observational experiments in the woods near Birmingham, Kettlewell had already settled upon a theory in explanation of the strange higher incidence of the melanic varieties over the typical ones in that experiment area (Hagen, 1999, p.146). The first experiment here lasted for 11 days. The environment was mixed with birch and oak trees. While the birches had relatively lighter trunk colors the oak trees tended to have trunk colors darkened with soot from the neighboring industrial regions (Hagen, 1999, p. 146). Kettlewell reported all three phenotypes of the moths existing at the site. The typical ones tended to merge with the lighter colored birches while the melanics tended to do so on the darker oak trunks. For Kettlewell, the selection hypothesis suggested that the numbers of melanics would be

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Business Case Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Case Analysis - Term Paper Example Talking about the mission and vision of the company, it can be said that vision of a company represents the long terms goals, while the mission comprises of multiple short term goals. Talking on this note, it can be said that the company Pfizer’s long term goal is tremendously focused on the global well being. Talking on this note, it can be said that the vision of Pfizer is to work together for the development of a better world (Pfizer-a, 2011). Talking about the global pharmaceutical giant’s mission statement, it is very interesting to note that the company’s focus is to apply science and other global resources for the improvement of health of human life at every stage (Pfizer-b, n.d). The company also tries to focus on various key values which comprises of integrity, performance, innovation, collaboration, respect for people, care for community, leadership, focus on quality as well as customer (Pfizer-c, 2009). While analyzing the mission and vision statement, that the company has developed in regards to serving the markets of emerging as well as developed economies, it has to be said in these regards that the goals of both long and short term are highly in perfect compatibility and synchronization with the core competencies and strengths of the organization. B. It is of considerable importance to mention that the generic strategies of Porter are being designed on the framework of competitive edge as well as competitive advantage. Talking more the competitive edge achieved by the firms, it can be said that the edge factor coupled with the issues of competitive advantage leads to the process of formation of various scenarios like cost leadership, differentiation, cost focus, as well as focus on differentiation. It is of significant importance to mention that the firms needs to focus on developing their own unique kind of competitive advantage by trying to develop on one of the four scenarios, by using their strengths of business processes as well as the opportunity available in the market (Generic Strategies pdf). Talking about Pfizer, it can be said that the value chain activities of Pfizer is much diversified in nature. It is of significant importance to mention that for the purpose of generating and delivering values to the company’s stakeholders, Pfizer focuses on the process of employing and exploiting multiple key value points that are developed by the company to attain simultaneous growth and delivery of values. It is important to note, that Pfizer tries to follow more of a differentiation sort of strategy. Talking on this note, it can be said that the strategy of differentiation is often achieved by a company through the application of various business process that helps in superior service with regards to the price of the product or service of the company. It is important to mention that the company, apart from trying to gain a quality based advantage, also tries to achieve and excel in regards to te chnical innovation so as to increase process efficiency. This helps in a great way to communicate to the consumers about the company’s steady endeavours towards providing maximum amount of beneficial and related value (Stonehouse & et.al, 2007, p. 177). It is interesting to note that Pfizer in an attempt to achieve its differentiation strategy has focused in developing significant amount of edge in

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Emerging Issues in Healthcare Finance Essay Example for Free

The Emerging Issues in Healthcare Finance Essay A few decades back, healthcare financiers believed that managed care with capitation was the best policy tool that would help control the ever-increasing health care costs. Instead of focusing on healthcare quality, the administrators focused on the cost per month or per member and the provider organizations which competed for the market share. However, this has changed in the new century as new payment tools have emerged due to innovations in the healthcare marketplace. Currently, healthcare is considered in terms of quality and efficiency as far as purchase and delivery of healthcare are concerned. Capturing these key features of the current healthcare provision, the main objectives of ensuring quality and efficiency has led to the new concept dubbed pay-for-performance. In other literatures, P4P is known as value-based purchasing. P4P is a healthcare payment system that rewards physicians, hospitals and various healthcare providers for their efficiency in healthcare provision. Efficiency in this case is defined in terms of higher quality of healthcare at a relatively low cost (Wu, Nishimi, Kizer, 2005). However, defining quality can be very hard and challenging to most players in healthcare provision and financing. And as various players in healthcare – patients, providers and financiers, seek more direct and timely measures for quality and value, the government has quickly moved in to help set the standards. Through the CMS, the United States federal government has been able to come up with quality indicators (QIs), which are continuously being developed and refined (Rosenthal Richard, 2006). These measures for quality and value are currently available in various Web-based portals which the government hopes will increase consumer awareness. Patients are encouraged to compare facilities used by healthcare providers with those available in the Quality Indicator Web portals. Moreover, services and treatment by providers can also be evaluated against those available in the web showing standard quality measures. As the oversight body, the CMS as mandated by the federal government has established a provider quality reporting system for healthcare. Empowered by the 2006 Tax Relief and Health Care Act, the CMS has put in place the provider quality reporting initiative which rewards physicians and other providers who successfully report their set of quality measures. As a reward the government may recommend bonus payment which is subject to a cap equaling 1. 5 percent of the total amount of Medicare costs within the six months period of reporting (Wu, Nishimi, Kizer, 2005).. The public and private payers have welcomed the value-based performance as an answer to soaring healthcare costs and also a means of ensure quality service to patients. By 2005, about 75 percent of all United States companies had connected at least some of their employee’s pay to work performance and also in healthcare. Currently, over 100 pilot programs undertaken by private and public payers are underway. The current healthcare payment system may reward less-safe services because most insurance companies refuse to compensate for new services and practices intended to reduce errors. Again, the system may also encourage poor workmanship, as hospitals and physicians are allowed to charge additional services required when a patient is infected or injured in the hospital. Pay-for-performance however, tries to avert such loses and has received a lot of support from both public and private payers. American insurance companies hope to save a lot from this program (Rosenthal Richard, 2006).. The healthcare financiers would not only be allowed to pay for quality services by physicians and hospitals but would not be required pay for additional services for unintended consequences of treatment and care like injury in hospital, negligence during surgery and many others as defined by National Quality Forum (Leape Berwick, 2005). The current payers like the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Leapfrog Group have learnt from the pilot programs that pay-for-performance greatly affects the outcome and quality of any work and increases performance. These companies are very much optimistic that they would not only reduce cost of healthcare but also ensure that their members receive the best healthcare services. This initiative is expected to attract more private insurance companies to invest in healthcare with hope of increasing the profits and capital base. Many insurance companies may be to offer more comprehensive healthcare coverage to various people as they have would a large capital base due to reduced healthcare costs and therefore a lot to re-invest (Wu, Nishimi, Kizer, 2005). The primary goal of pay-for-performance according to policymakers is to increase quality in healthcare while at the same time reduced financial burden of care (Dudley, 2005). These positives are all pointing to the patients and insurance companies all agree that pay-for-performance would benefit the patients. However, as physicians argue, the P4P system may not be in the best interest of the patient. Insurance companies and other healthcare financiers would be the greatest winners if the pay-for-performance is fully implemented. With the CMS initiative that calls for elimination of payments for negative effects of any medical practices that lead to injuries, other illnesses or even death, other insurance companies that are also willing to undertake such initiative, stand to gain a lot from the P4P system. Considering that doctors may not be perfect all the times and some patients are known to develop new infections even when the best known practices are applied, the healthcare payers would be positively affected by this new payment system (Grossbart, 2006). Lessons from the Research Despite the good intentions of the value-based performance program, the government still faces one of the biggest challenges in its implementation. Implementation of P4P faces challenges of having everyone agree on the quality standards. The quality measures as defined earlier are objective indicators used to evaluate whether physicians are providing high quality healthcare. For example, a doctor may be required to test the A1C levels in diabetic patients four times annually as a quality standard measure. In a pay-for-performance system, physicians who reach this threshold would be compensated appropriately. However, many health providers challenge such indicators by arguing that medical practice is not only an art but also a science and therefore setting up checklists as well as treatment algorithms would be a great disservice to the patients. Again, it is quite common to hear about physicians disagreeing with one another on the appropriate course of medication and treatment that should be adopted by the patients with similar diagnosis and the same medical histories. Therefore if the pay-for-performance system is to be successfully implemented, such disagreements would have to be ironed out first (Grossbart, 2006). It would be quite hard to say the specific impacts of the P4P system in the future as it is still undergoing pilot implementation. Nevertheless, because pay-for-performance is basically focusing on how doctors, hospitals and other various healthcare providers are compensated for their work, an individual patient may not be affected greatly in terms of costs. In the long run if the pay-for-performance is fully and successfully implemented, the greatest beneficiary would be the patient who would receive healthcare at a reduced cost. However, whether the quality of health care would improve quality or not is matter still debated.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Advertising strategies of the fashion accessories

Advertising strategies of the fashion accessories 1. Working Title The advertising strategies of the fashion accessories retailer Accessorize and Claire for the UK market. 2. Introduction According to Levitts points, the needs and desires of consumers around the world are becoming ever more homogenized. Consequently, consumers around the world would become quite alike and can be satisfied with similar products (Muller, 1996). Hence, they can be persuaded by similar advertising message. Moreover, it also can be argued that consistent brand images can enormously influence consumers. Also, every target market is unique and consumers do vary, thus adopting the same advertising strategy will not be appropriate for all market segments. Traditionally, advertising was considered as an afterthought, used primarily to promote companies name to the consumer (Burnett, 1993). No matter how innovative a designers new collection might be, how the collection is positioned for the new season, or how successful a new innovative fabric or material will be, none of these targets are achievable without consumer awareness. For this purpose advertising is used to quickly and succinctly deliver these messages to specific target group around the world (Burnett, 1993). 2.1 Justification Advertising is the most important means for developing a brand (Mooij, 1997). Advertising has been conventionally regarded as one element of promotional mix, differentiated from other marketing communication elements such as public relation, personal selling, corporate communication, sales promotion, etc. (Hackley, 2005). Advertising can be defined through many perspectives such as from consumer perspective, businesses perspective, social perspective and in general. But a definition serving all these perspectives can be defined as non personal communication of marketing related information to a target market, usually paid for by the advertiser and delivered through mass media in order to reach the specific objective of the sponsor (Burnett, 1993). Advertising has also traditionally been the principle method of communicating a brand image, thus communication plays an important role in advertising (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). Marketing departments of companies need to use advertising strategies and communication methods to benefit the company.   Communications is at the heart of good marketing strategies providing an interface between firms and its publics. Strategic communications is also referred as a recipe; ingredients must be added at the right time and in right quantities to gain comparative advantage (Blythe, 2003). In order to achieve these, the understanding of advertising and what it can and cannot accomplish is a necessity for the marketers (Burnett, 1993). Even with such benefits the role of advertising has not satisfied everyone related to it. Advertising has faced criticisms in the way it is used by companies to achieve their targets. Few of these criticisms are advertising persuades people to buy against their will, artificially differentiate products and creates brand loyalty, prevents new firms to enter the market and enables advertisers to raise prices in comparison to those of un advertised products. However, these criticisms about advertising are the causes of one another for example; consumer loyalty can pose a threat to new brands entering the market (Tellis, 1998). 3. Aim Analyzing advertising strategies used by fashion accessories retailers and their impact on sales. 4. Objectives To discuss how different advertising strategies can have an effect on consumer decisions to purchase. Analyze and comparing the advertising strategies used by fashion accessory retailers with a focus on Accessorize and Claire. To discuss the effect of the advertising strategies used by Accessorize and Claire on the consumer. 5. Literature review For the purpose of this project literature review will focus on three main categories which will reflect the aims and objectives. Advertising, consumer behavior and effects of advertising strategies on consumers will be discussed while maintaining the main focus on the chosen companies Claire and accessorize. Over the years, many brands have faced the problem of conveying their message to consumers even with the availability of different communication elements such as public relations, personal selling, word of mouth, advertising etc (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). In recent years, businesses has wildly used advertising, as being costly it serves the purpose of sending message to a mass in shortest time (Wu, 2001). The delivery of the message not only serves the needs of designers, retailers, but also plays an important role for the recipients of the message. The primary goal of fashion advertising is to bring prominence to a particular company and to increase its profits (Diamond and Diamond, 1996). Advertising can be classified in three ways which is by audience, by advertiser and by intention (product and institutional).   Audience is the most obvious way of advertising as it examines the audience intended for the purpose of advertising (Burnet, 1993). Advertiser is referred in terms of who is advertising. A retailer does not get affected by what brand consumer buy as long as they buy it in their store (Burnet, 1993). Intentional advertising is further sub classified into product advertising and institutional advertising. Product advertising aim to inform or to stimulate the market where as institutional advertising creates a positive attitude towards the seller. Product advertising can provide quick response or stimulate demand over a longer period. Institutional advertising aims to establish a high level of goodwill rather than selling a particular good or service. According to vignali (2009), the purpose of advertising is to inform, persuade and remind. Advertising is also observed according to the media by which it is used to send message to the consumers. The media used for the purposes of advertising are press (magazines, daily papers), TV, Radio, external advertising, direct mail and the internet. Advertising in magazines have been regarded as one of the most effective methods, because it can be finally tuned to the target market of the magazine. In specific magazine, fashion brand/ retailers advertising can match their target market with the magazine target market effectively and inexpensively (Lea-Greenwood, 2002) e.g. accessorize have been targeting their customers especially through magazines. Generally advertising is assumed to have the potential to shape consumers beliefs and behaviors. Researchers have demonstrated that hierarchical effects of advertising have impacts on purchase intention (Mitchell and Olson, 1981). Consumer attitudes toward advertisements and their attitudes toward brands may shape their purchase intentions (see De Pelsmacker and Van Den Bergh, 1996; Mackenzie et al., 1986; Mitchell and Olson, 1981; Percy and Rossiter, 1992; Shimp, 1981). Advertisers reliance upon the use of sexual imagery and text to attract consumer attention is increasingly common in todays saturated media culture (LaTour and Henthorne, 1994; Reichert, 2007; Reichert and Carpenter, 2004; Severn et al., 1990; Streitmatter, 2004). This approach to advertising in which sexually explicit messages are purposefully invoked to challenge social mores is an example of provocative or â€Å"shock† advertising and its not surprising that many of the studies examining the impact of sexual content in advertisements upon consumer behavior have focused upon apparel as a product category (Andersson et al., 2004; De Pelsmacker and Van Den Bergh, 1996; Ve ´zina and Paul, 1997) (e.g., Grazer and Keesling, 1995; LaTour and Henthorne, 1994; Severn et al., 1990; Ve ´zina and Paul, 1997). Although Bailey and Hall (1992, p. 15) have identified shock advertising as â€Å"one of the most effective† approaches to selling commodities in the contemporary marketplace, empirical evidence about the efficacy of sex appeal as an approach to promoting consumer goods. Advertisements featuring lower levels of sexual intensity may fail to attract consumers attention, whereas those featuring higher levels of sexual int ensity may distract the consumer from focusing upon the product being promoted (Alexander and Judd, 1978). Fashion opinion leaders have been recognised as important to the spread of new clothing fashions for a long time. Sometimes consumers become especially interested in and preoccupied with clothing and fashion so that their interest, experience, and knowledge and are then referred as opinion leaders for others (Goldsmith, 2000). The tendency of consumers to pursue dissimilarity from others in the marketplace via product and brand acquisition and usage for the enhancement of the individuals self and social image is referred to as consumer need for uniqueness or CNFU (Tian et al., 2001). Consumer need for uniqueness is a multidimensional construct consisting of three factors which are Creative choice counterconformity, Unpopular choice counterconformity and Avoidance of similarity. The advertising industry is held responsible for creating fashion norms such as â€Å"tweens†, and marketers exploit the tendency of children to look forward to growing up, choosing slightly older children as role models (Linn, 2004). Accessories have been proven to be the most resilient sector of fashion retailing in recession with growth of 3.2% in 2009 and have added nearly  £0.5bn to sales value between 2005 and 2009 (Verdict, 2009). The accessories sector of fashion has always been woman dominant and accounts nearly for 73% of all accessories expenditure. Within the last decade, clothing specialists have used accessories as a vehicle for growth and discovered accessories to be a necessity for fashion followers. Accessorize remain leading specialist despite facing tough competition from clothing specialists, Accessorize has managed to hold on to a share of 7.4% in 2009 (Verdict, 2009).

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Louis Tanner Of Destroying Angel And Rick Deckard Of Do Androids Dream :: essays research papers

Louis Tanner of Destroying Angel and Rick Deckard of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: Importance to the Thematic Development of "moral men in immortal worlds" and Body Mind Invasion How would you feel if you found out you where making love to any android? Shocked I hope. In this essay l will discuss how Louis Tanner of Destroying Angel and Rick Deckard of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep are important to the thematic development of "moral men in immoral worlds" and body mind invasion. Is Tanner a moral man in an immoral world? What is considered moral or immoral? We know from reading Destroying Angel that Tanner is a good person. Tanner is the type of person whom we say would "do the right thing" in certain situations. He's honest and honorable. If Tanner makes a promise, he keeps it. He made an agreement with Rattan, where Rattan would be shipped to New Hong Kong illegally in return for the name of the chain killer. Rattan is a drug dealer with a lot of money to waste. He's also the only person with the information to catch the chain killer. To get justice the moral must cooperate with the immoral. We also know that Tanner is not a womanizer. He had his chance with Hannah but did not take advantage of the situation: "No Hannah"(136). Tanner had more worrisome thoughts than making love to a good friend. He wanted the murderer of all murderers, the chain killer. As a cop he never captured the chain killer. This person fused chains to people's bodies and then threw them into the water. For Tanner who was now a retired cop, it was as if a spark lit up in him. All the old memories fled back into his mind. The nightmare of his partner getting shot on a "drug bust gone"(13) wrong began to replay in his mind. He had a conscience; therefore, he could never forget what was done to his partner nor the victims of the chain killer. One of the many other themes found in this book was body mind invasion. When Tanner was still a cop, slugs worked at the police station whose job was to "solve almost any problem" (16). These people were constantly injected with reason enhancers to help them solve investigations. Now that Tanner was retired, the slugs working at the police station probably looked "Distended and distorted"(16) after all these years of taken drugs. Although they took the enhancers, they did not help in finding the chain killer. The only person that

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Essays --

The Beveridge report Fabian Society formed in 1884, lead by the Sidney and Beatrice Webb who had strong views on the moral values of social (or socialist) provision and had thinking based on poor laws and the relief of distress, were the first to produce a report based on Majority and Minority of welfare. This report failed as all the members, the right-wing critics of state welfare, could not agree about the fact that the state should be the provider for welfare services. The Beveridge Report is a report that led to the establishment of a welfare system by the state of social security and the National Health Service (NHS) after the end of the war. Sir William Beveridge a highly regarded liberal economist, was the author of the report which was known as Social Insurance and Allied Services, that got published by the coalition government and which was presented to the British parliament on 1st December 1942. It contained a summary of principles that were based on social surveys carried out between wars, that were necessary to banish poverty and want from Britain, by aiming to provide a comprehensive system of social insurance ‘from cradle to grave’. 'Now, when the war is abolishing landmarks of every kind, is the opportunity for using experience in a clear field. A revolutionary moment in the world's history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.' It covered topics of poverty, old age, low birth rates, unemployment, disability and retirement, that were based around Five areas of society also known as the FIVE EVIL GIANTS, that prevented Britain from becoming a modern society after post war, which were: o Want – Poverty or need of financial support & health care National Insurance and Assistance schemes were needed to ... ...ew towns had to be built ie milton keynes o 1949 Access to the countryside Acts Opened up a series of public footpaths, moslty aimed to keep population health o Housing Acts 1946/1949 ï‚ § Although Labour’s building programme compares poorly to previous governments, people are not too critical of them over this considering the level of house destruction during the War along with the lack of building materials, increase in marriage and â€Å"baby boom† after the War. Advantages Dis-advantages Local authorities given financial assistance and access to building materials (which were in low supply at the end of the War) to build 1.25 million new permanent homes Disadvantages: No where near enough new homes were built and many people remained in â€Å"prefab† homes, army barracks and even train carriages by the end of 1951. o New Towns Act (1946) Advantages Dis-advantages

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Product life-cycle theory Essay

The product life-cycle theory is an economic theory that was developed by Raymond Vernon in response to the failure of theHeckscher-Ohlin model to explain the observed pattern of international trade. The theory suggests that early in a product’s life-cycle all the parts and labor associated with that product come from the area in which it was invented. After the product becomes adopted and used in the world markets, production gradually moves away from the point of origin. In some situations, the product becomes an item that is imported by its original country of invention.[1] A commonly used example of this is the invention, growth and production of thepersonal computer with respect to the United States. The model applies to labor-saving and capital-using products that (at least at first) cater to high-income groups. In the new product stage, the product is produced and consumed in the US; no export trade occurs. In the maturing product stage, mass-production techniques are developed and foreign demand (in developed countries) expands; the US now exports the product to other developed countries. In the standardized product stage, production moves to developing countries, which then export the product to developed countries. The model demonstrates dynamic comparative advantage. The country that has the comparative advantage in the production of the product changes from the innovating (developed) country to the developing countries. Product life-cycle There are five stages in a product’s life cycle: Introduction Growths Maturity Saturation Decline The location of production depends on the stage of the cycle. Introduction New products are introduced to meet local (i.e., national) needs, and new products are first exported to similar countries, countries with similar needs, preferences, and incomes. If we also presume similar evolutionary patterns for all countries, then products are introduced in the most advanced nations. (E.g., the IBM PCs were produced in the US and spread quickly throughout the industrialized countries.) A copy product is produced elsewhere and introduced in the home country (and elsewhere) to capture growth in the home market. This moves production to other countries, usually on the basis of cost of production. (E.g., the clones of the early IBM PCs were not produced in the US.) The Period till the Maturity Stage is known as the Saturation Period. The industry contracts and concentrates—the lowest cost producer wins here. (E.g., the many clones of the PC are made almost entirely in lowest cost locations.) This is a period of stability. The sales of the product reach the peak and there is no further possibility to increase it. this stage is characterised by: Saturation of sales (at the early part of this stage sales remain stable then it starts falling). It continues till substitutes enter into the market. Marketer must try to develop new and alternative uses of product. Poor countries constitute the only markets for the product. Therefore almost all declining products are produced in developing countries. (E.g., PCs are a very poor example here, mainly because there is weak demand for computers in developing countries. A better example is textiles.) Note that a particular firm or industry (in a country) stays in a market by adapting what they make and sell, i.e., by riding the waves. For example, approximately 80% of the revenues of H-P are from products they did not sell five years ago. the profits go back to the host old country. Product Life Cycle Theory Raymond Vernon developed the international product life cycle theory in the 1960s. The international product life cycle theory stresses that a company will begin to export its product and later take on foreign direct investment as the product moves through its life cycle. Eventually a country’s export becomes its import. Although the model is developed around the U.S, it can be generalised and applied to any of the developed and innovative markets of the world. The product life cycle theory was developed during the 1960s and focused on the U.S since most innovations came from that market. This was an applicable theory at that time since the U.S dominated the world trade. Today, the U.S is no longer the only innovator of products in the world. Today companies design new products and modify them much quicker than before. Companies are forced to introduce the products in many different markets at the same time to gain cost benefits before its sales declines. The theory does not e xplain trade patterns of today. New trade theory New trade theory (NTT) is a collection of economic models in international trade which focuses on the role of increasing returns to scale and network effects, which were developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. New trade theorists relaxed the assumption of constant returns to scale, and some argue that using protectionist measures to build up a huge industrial base in certain industries will then allow those sectors to dominate the world market. Less quantitative forms of a similar â€Å"infant industry† argument against totally free trade have been advanced by trade theorists since at least 1848 (see: History of free trade). Contents †¢1 The theory’s impact †¢2 Econometric testing †¢3 History of the theory’s development o3.1 â€Å"New† new trade theory †¢4 Theoretical foundations o4.1 See also o4.2 References o4.3 External links The theory’s impact Although there was nothing particularly ‘new’ about the idea of protecting ‘infant industries’ (an idea offered in theory since the 18th century, and in trade policy since the 1880s) what was new in â€Å"new trade theory† was the rigour of the mathematical economics used to model the increasing returns to scale, and especially the use of the network effect to argue that the formation of important industries was path dependent in a way which industrial planning and judicious tariffs might control. The models developed were highly technical, and predicted the possibilities of national specialization-by-industry observed in the industrial world (movies in Hollywood, watches in Switzerland, etc.). The story of path-dependent industrial concentrations can sometime lead to monopolistic competition or even situations of oligopoly. Some economists, such as Ha-Joon Chang, had argued that free trade would have prevented the development of the Japanese auto industries in the 1950s, when quotas and regulations prevented import competition. Japanese companies were encouraged to import foreign production technology but were required to produce 90% of parts domestically within five years. It is said[who?] that the short-term hardship of Japanese consumers (who were unable to buy the superior vehicles produced by the world market) was more than compensated for by the long-term benefits to producers, who gained time to out-compete their international rivals.[1] Econometric testing The econometric evidence for NTT was mixed, and highly technical. Due to the timescales required, and the particular nature of production in each ‘monopolizable’ sector, statistical judgements were hard to make. In many ways, the available data have been too limited to produce a reliable test of the hypothesis, which doesn’t require arbitrary judgements from the researchers. Japan is cited as evidence of the benefits of â€Å"intelligent† protectionism, but critics[who?] of NTT have argued that the empirical support post-war Japan offers for beneficial protectionism is unusual, and that the NTT argument is based on a selective sample of historical cases. Although many examples (like Japanese cars) can be cited where a ‘protected’ industry subsequently grew to world status, regressions on the outcomes of such â€Å"industrial policies† (which include failures) have been less  conclusive; some findings suggest that sectors targeted by Ja panese industrial policy had decreasing returns to scale and did not experience productivity gains.[2] History of the theory’s development The theory was initially associated with Paul Krugman in the late 1970s; Krugman claims that he heard about monopolistic competition from Robert Solow. Looking back in 1996 Krugman wrote that International economics a generation earlier had completely ignored returns to scale. â€Å"The idea that trade might reflect an overlay of increasing-returns specialization on comparative advantage was not there at all: instead, the ruling idea was that increasing returns would simply alter the pattern of comparative advantage.† In 1976, however, MIT-trained economist Victor Norman had worked out the central elements of what came to be known as the Helpman-Krugman theory. He wrote it up and showed it to Avinash Dixit. However, they both agreed the results were not very significant. Indeed Norman never had the paper typed up, much less published. Norman’s formal stake in the race comes from the final chapters of the famous Dixit-Norman book.[3] James Brander, a PhD student at Stanford at the time, was undertaking similarly innovative work using models from industrial organisation theory—cross-hauling—to explain two-way trade in similar products.[citation needed] â€Å"New† new trade theory Marc Melitz and Pol Antrà  s stated a new trend in the study of international trade. While new trade theory put emphasis on the growing trend of intermediate goods, this new trend emphasizes firm level differences in the same industry of the same country and this new trend is frequently called ‘new’ new trade theory (NNTT).[4][5] NNTT stresses the importance of firms rather than sectors in understanding the challenges and the opportunities countries face in the age of globalization.[6] As international trade is increasingly liberalized, industries of comparative advantage are expected to expand, while those of comparative disadvantage are expected to shrink, leading to an uneven spatial distribution of the corresponding economic activities. Within the very same industry, some firms are not able to cope with international competition while others thrive. The resulting intra-industry reallocations of market shares and productive resources are  much more pronounced than inter-industry reallocations driven by comparative advantage. Theoretical foundations New trade theory and â€Å"new† new trade theory (NNTT) need their own trade theory. New trade theories are often based on assumptions such as monopolistic competition and increasing returns to scale. One of the typical explanation, given by P. Krugman, depends on the assumption that all firms are symmetrical, meaning that they all have the same production coefficients. This is too strict as an assumption and deprived general applicability of Krugman’s explanation. Shiozawa, based on much more general model, succeeded in giving a new explanation on why the traded volume increases for intermediates goods when the transport cost decreases.[7] â€Å"New† new trade theory (NNTT) also needs new theorectical foundation. Melitz and his followers concentrate on empirical aspects and pay little interest on theoretical aspects of NNTT. Shiozawa’s new construction, or Ricardo-Sraffa trade theory, enables Ricardian trade theory to include choice of techniques. Thus the theory can treat a situation where there are many firms with different production processes. Based on this new theory, Fujimoto and Shiozawa[8] analyze how different production sites, either of competing firms or of the same firms locating in the different countries, compete. Porter’s Theory of Competitive Advantage of Nations of International Trade NIRAV S Micheal Porter’s Theory of Competitive Advantage of Nations against the Theory of Competitive advantage sought to examine the issue of why some nation’s business firms succeeded high in international/global competition. The theory of competitive advantage probes into three major aspects of trade phenomenon: i. Why does a nation succeed international in a particular industry? ii. What influence does a nation carry on competition in specific industries and their segments? iii. Why do a nation’s firms choose particular strategies of business? Porter’s analysis begins with following premises: 1. The nature of competition and the sources of competitive advantage differentials in the industries. 2. Successful global enterprises draw  competitive advantages through their value chain of worldwide network. 3. Innovation is the pillion of gaining/sustaining competitive advantage. 4. Pioneering and aggressive competitors in exploiting new market/technology are most successful. Porter undertook intensive research of 100 industries in ten countries. On the basis of empirical investigation, Porter identified for attributes of nation which determine (promote, impede) its competitive advantage referred to as Porter’s Diamond in. The Porter’s Diamond narrates for major attributes: Factor Conditions A country’s factor endowments or supply of factors of production such as human resources, physical resources, knowledge resources, location, capital resources and infrastructure play a significant role in determining its national competitive advantage. Besides basic factors (e.g., natural resources, climate, etc.,) advanced factors (e.g., skilled labour, communications infrastructure, technology) are the crucial determinants of the capabilities and competitiveness of a nation. Advanced factors are declined by the efforts of the individuals, firms, institution and government in a country. Japan’s success may largely be attributed to its advanced factors creation rather than basic factors arability. A nation can overcome its deficiency or comparative disadvantage of basic factors endowment by focusing on creation of advanced factors to improve its competitive advantage. Demand Conditions The demand conditions in home market is important in stimulating domestic firms to undertake innovation and improve quality of products. When domestic buyers are sophisticated, a pressure in the market is created for the domestic firms to meet high standards of quality demanded. For example, Japanese knowledge buyers have induced the Japanese camera manufacturers to produce innovative models first in the home market and then for the exports. Similarly, local customers in Sweden have stimulated Ericsson to invest in cellular phone equipment industry much before the rising global demand. A nations demand conditions, thus, refer to: i. The nature of home buyers needs – their sophistication and fastidiousness ii. The size and pattern of growth of home market iii. The timing of development of demands relative to buyer in foreign markets iv. The knowledge presence of domestic buyers in foreign markets and their preferences. v. The timing of market saturation and challenges at home market provide a strong reason to acquire global competitive position to a business firm. Suppliers and Related Industries National advantage in an industry is also conditioned by the preserve of vigorous home-based suppliers of cost-effective and quality inputs or related supporting industries. For example, the US success in several electronic goods including personal computers is attributed to the growth of semiconductor industry in the country. Same is the case with Malaysia to some extent. Likewise, Sweden steel industry has contributed much to the success of Sweden’s output in ball bearings and cutting tools. Successful industrial growth in the exporting country may emerge on quantum of the growing clusters of related/supervising industries. German textile and approach sector is a chronic case in this regard – (textile machinery, sewing machine needles, textile clothes forming the cluster of textile exporting industry of the country). Ongoing coordination and just-in-time strategy is easy when such cluster industrial growth occurs in a nation.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Paper Camp

DRUG ADDICTION AS A PROBLEM-DETERMINED SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY Introduction Drug addiction seems to be a rapidly growing societal problem that leaves many lives destroyed in its wake. Families are ripped apart by its devastating impact, and countless drug addicts are unable to free themselves from the powerful grip of drug addiction and consequently pay with their lives. According to Edmonds and Wilcocks (1995), drug addiction is a very real problem in South Africa. It affects people from all walks of life and can no longer be considered a localised problem.Jackson, Usher and O’Brien (2006) found that the experience of having a family member that is addicted to drugs, especially a child, had a profound effect on other members of the immediate family as well as on the family relationships. Butler and Bauld (2005) highlighted the devastation parents experienced in learning that their child was addicted to drugs and the subsequent impact that this had on their lives. Grohsman (2007) argues that the impact of drug addiction goes beyond the individual and the family, as the ripples thereof can also be felt in the larger community and economy.Therefore, it seems that parents, families, teachers, community and church leaders, healthcare professionals, law enforcement agencies, government and society at large, have a tremendous task ahead in the prevention and treatment of drug abuse throughout the country. Just like a tree bears fruit when conditions are optimal for such an occurrence to take place, the problem of drug addiction is also assumed to develop within the context of a system of relatedness that put forth just the right ingredients for its emergence.Therefore, as the 3 researcher, I set out to explore the specific interactions between role players that created a suitable environment for the problem of drug addiction to emerge. As human beings, we are social creatures and thus our life experiences are inevitably tied up in the experiences of others. Any a ttempt to understand a particular individual has to include those that form part of that individual’s ecology of living Statement of the problem ? Drop in attendance and performance at work or school. Engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviors. ? Sudden change in friends, favorite hangouts, and hobbies. ? Unexplained change in personality or attitude. ? Sudden mood swings, irritability, or angry outbursts. ? Periods of unusual hyperactivity, agitation, or giddiness. ? To built up a drug tolerance ? take drugs to avoid or relieve withdrawal symptoms. ? lost control over your drug use ? life revolves around drug use ? abandoned activities you used to enjoy,  . continue to use drugs, despite knowing it’s hurting you. Significance of the study The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how a problemdetermined system developed around a case of drug addiction within the context of a system of relatedness. The epistemological framework informing this qualitative study was constructivism. The six participants who took part in the study represent the most prominent role players in the particular context of living.The individual battling with drug addiction, his parents, older sister, maternal grandmother and maternal aunt were interviewed. The methods of data collection employed were semi-structured interviews, a chronological event chart, genograms, and an eco-map. The interviews were interpreted using the hermeneutic approach. The different themes that emerged from each participant’s story were integrated in relation to each other and with respect to the collaborative sources of data.The most dominant themes extracted within this study are the initial reactions to Andrew’s drug addiction, life changes experienced due to Andrew’s drug addiction, support, as well as the meanings attributed to Andrew’s drug addiction. Further researcher into problem-determined systems in different cultures is recommende d. To Students: Firstly, the one reason of drug abuse among university students is peer pressure, particularly from the social influences among friends, school, and the community.If their social main group is using drugs, it can risk for teens because they are the juncture age that really easy to be persuaded. For example, most of university students got a lot of money from their parents and a lot of students left home and have a freedom to stay in dormitory by themselves, these can cause teenagers to try drugs just to fit in the social norms, they might do it to impress their buddies to be considered â€Å"cool† as part of being in the group and gain acceptance by friends.To Everybody:  as we now, today this entire staff called drug, affect mostly young people and it is more obvious in places where there are many gathered, like university because of the easiness of finding drugs in university, whenever they want, it is really easy for them to buy it because of weak law   enforcement in our country. In short, University students use drug because peer pressure, faulty function of the family, to relive their depression and the  weak law  enforcement. I think it is a big problem so much and we should do anything to protect them from drug.They need to be more educated about drug abuse and have a stopping drug campaign. Moreover, the most important that can help is a family. Strong family relationship, interest in your teens, talking with reasons can prevent drug use Limitations of the Study Throughout the entire process of completing this study, the following limitations were found: The focus of this study was only directed on the experiences of one particular family in one specific culture. This narrow scope might be considered a limitation to this study, as it only explored how a single Caucasian family ascribed meaning to their particular experience of rug addiction. However, the main reasoning or driving force of this study was not to generalise the experiences of a particular family as being similar or dissimilar to the experiences of other families. Therefore, the qualitative orientation of this study allowed me as the researcher to focus my attention solely on the manner in which one family conceptualised their experiences of drug addiction. As was pointed out, Terre Blanche et al. (2006) explain that a qualitative approach allows the researcher to study selected issues in depth, openness and etail as it involves the studying of real-life situations as they unfold naturally. Therefore, the focus of this study was not aimed at aspects of generalised applicability that would fall within the domain of quantitative research. Another limitation to this study was the absence of Tim’s perspective regarding the family drama. However, it was each participant’s privilege and right to decide whether they wanted to partake in this research study. Tim’s refusal to be a part of this research study was therefore re spected. Review or related determine Personal history and backgroundChildhood memory: [pic] In response to the news of Andrew’s drug addiction, David and Lauren both blamed themselves and tried to make sense of the situation. Both Emma and Sophia report that they also blamed David and Lauren for Andrew’s drug problem. When Katie heard about Andrew’s drug addiction, she blamed him for it, while Andrew also reported that he only had himself to blame. The first theme contains all the initial reactions experienced by the participants shortly after Andrew’s drug problem was exposed. Moreover, Andrew’s reaction to the responses from is family is also included here. Early adolescence Lauren, David, Katie, Emma and Sophia all reported experiencing shock. Both Lauren and David reported experiencing devastation, helplessness and guilt. Yet Lauren and David also felt relieved as they reported how the puzzle pieces fell into place at that moment. Emma was the only participant to report feelings of utter disbelief, and Katie was the only participant who reported that she was not surprised by the news of Andrew’s drug addiction as she had all along been suspecting that something was wrong with Andrew.Andrew reported feeling embarrassed and sad when he told his family about his drug problem. Turning point Theme Two: Life Changes Experienced due to Andrew’s Drug Addiction This theme characterises all the changes that resulted in the family from the impact of Andrew’s drug addiction. Also included in this theme are the changes that took place in Andrew’s own life as a result of his drug addiction. Emotional changes Lauren and David reported that they felt helpless, guilty and overwhelmed by Andrew’s drug addiction. Emma and Sophia reported that they felt overwhelmed by the extent of their involvement.Both Lauren and Andrew reported that they both felt utterly alone during this time. 15 Katie was the only par ticipant to report that she felt tied-down by her responsibilities toward her own family, and that she was subsequently rather uninvolved in Andrew’s problems. Andrew reported that he felt anger towards his family. Identity changes Lauren, David and Andrew reported that they thought of themselves as failures. Lauren felt that she had failed as a mother and David felt that he failed as a father. Andrew reported that he was labelled as the black sheep of the family when his drug addiction became public.David was the only participant to report that he was embarrassed by Andrew. Occupational changes Lauren reported that her occupational situation had become stressful as she repeatedly had to take time off from work as a result of Andrew’s drug addiction. She often had to attend court hearings when he had been arrested. Andrew reported that he had lost his job as a result of his drug addiction. Relationship changes Lauren, David, Katie and Andrew all reported that there was much more conflict between the family members. David and Lauren reported that communication within the family had become constrained.Emma and Sophia reported that they became much closer to the members of the Joubert family as a result of their involvement. Katie was the only participant to report that she visited her parents less because Andrew was there. Reinforcement The orientation of this study is also adequately disclosed in that, as the researcher, I clearly demarcated my personal interest in the study and expectations thereof. The nature of the study was also clearly explained. As the researcher, my engagement with the material is reflected through the hermeneutic process of data analysis, which attempts to discover meaning and to achieve understanding.Consequently, specific themes were identified that seem to underlie each participant’s unique experience regarding the topic of the study. Therefore, I attempted to approach this 26 study from a position of â€Å"not knowing† and allowed myself the privilege of seeing the world through the eyes of each participant that took part in this study. The hermeneutic process of data analysis also allowed me the opportunity to firmly ground the various interpretations, by linking each identified theme with examples from the specific interviews conducted with the participants.The validity of this study was obtained by utilising the â€Å"triangulation† strategy. The data generated in this study was obtained from multiple sources such as the literature study, the description of the family and its members, the genograms, a chronological event chart, an eco-map and semi-structured interviews. The validity of this study is further strengthened by the overall coherence reflected in the qualitative nature, postmodern ontology, constructivist epistemology, literature study, hermeneutic method of analysis and collaborative resources chosen for this study.As such, a visible thread of relevance runs th rough the different facets of this study. The study also appears â€Å"fruitful† as it provides an abundance of rich and meaningful descriptions about drug addiction as a problem-determined system. In particular, the participants that took part in this study all agreed that the ways in which I engaged them individually had made sense to them. As such, catalytic validity has been achieved. Conclusion This study allowed me as the researcher the profound privilege of bearing witness to intricate complexities of the Joubert family drama.Through the stories told by each participant, the themes that seem to underlie them, and from the collaborative sources of data, I was able to see how Andrew’s drug addiction developed within the context of his family system. The following hypotheses were made: It appears that the Joubert family has always had extremely limiting rules to which each member had to adhere. These rules inevitably resulted in the formation of redundant 28 patter ns of interaction between the family members.The limited family repertoire provided a sense of stability as it ensured the predictability of each family member. Perhaps Andrew’s birth marked the start of this family’s evolution from an â€Å"undifferentiated blob of sameness† to greater individual differentiation. When Andrew was much younger, it was easier for the family to maintain its stability or status quo by opposing the difference or the new information that Andrew tried to bring to the family system. At this time, Andrew was merely pushed toward the periphery of the family as he was labelled the black sheep and the outsider.Thus, by reframing the difference that Andrew brought to his family as deviance, the family was able to remain homeostatic and unchanged. But despite the Joubert family’s commitment to sameness, they had managed to create the context for change. Their immediate response to the challenge that Andrew’s drug addiction posed to their stability, was to form a problem-determined system whereby they all agreed through their languaging that Andrew’s drug addiction was in fact a problem. In this manner, the family tried to keep Andrew as their scapegoat by once again labelling him as the sole carrier of the problem.However, Andrew’s drug addiction was much stronger than the homeostatic tendency of the Joubert family unit, and so evolution could take place. As a result, the stable family system was pushed off its axes and relationships were altered to such an extent that greater differentiation amongst the family members was made possible. Finally, it seems appropriate to say that where there was a beginning there is now an ending and in that way the study has come full circle as it achieved that which it has set out to achieve.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Poetry and Strong Human Spirit Essay

Success is the journey not the destination. â€Å"A strong human spirit essential for an imaginative journey. † Imaginative journeys take us from the reality now to unreal existences that can exist in our minds. A strong human spirit is essential for an imaginative journey to flow through our mind. The success is the journey that is being taken not the destination. This can be expressed through the poems â€Å"Frost at Midnight and Kubla Khan,† by Sammuel Taylor Coleridge and â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou that see the journey as the success not the outcome and that their strong human spirit allowed them to go on the journey. In the poem â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou the poet expresses her journey through being discriminated in America because of her race. Her journey is much more successful then the destination because as she went on the journey and experienced heartfelt times, along the way she taught the discriminators she can still get back up even if they hurt her many times. The poet uses repetition to do this. â€Å"Still I’ll Rise. She also uses similes to convey her connection with nature along this journey as she uses the concept of natural resources and by using oil, gold and diamond to show contradictions that people think she is wealthy but really they are the spoilt ones. â€Å"Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in our living room. † She uses rhetorical questions to intensify the poem and to touch the responders. This portrays how she is successful in trying to express what she believes in to others while on the journey. In the poem â€Å"still I’ll rise† the poet has a strong human spirit that is essential for her journey. For her to write this poem as a form of protest it needed a strong human spirit. Her whole poem is based on freedom which is expressed every time she gets hurt and then rises again. Her use of metaphors empathise how strong her spirit is when she gets discriminated but still has hope to keep going. â€Å"Just like hopes springing high† and â€Å"you may shoot me with your words. † Her use of rhetorical questions and repetition allow people to think about it and understand it properly through her words and her strong spirit. â€Å"Does my sassiness upset you?  Why are you beset with gloom? † Her strong human spirit allowed her to achieve the freedom that she wanted. In the poem â€Å"Kubla Khan† by Samuel Taylor Coleridge the poet takes us through his mind on an imaginative journey. His journey had no destination at all but the success was there all along through his connection and love with nature. The poet uses a lot of alliteration to describe this place and assonance to describe how beautiful this image of nature is and how the success of the journey is created through the beauty of nature. Measureless to man† and â€Å"twice five miles of fertile ground. † The use of a simile describes the place as being old but still in good condition ‘Forests as ancient as hills’ and the river as being scary and holy. He does this through the use of an oxymoron as he puts two of these words together and they contradict â€Å"A savage place? As holy and enchanted†. This is the success of the journey as it is still alive but really old. He describes a women’s music with alliteration â€Å"A Damsel with a dulcimer† â€Å"Loud and Long† â€Å"Deep Delight. By including this he has achieved success all through the journey as he celebrates. In the poem â€Å"Kubla khan† by Samuel Taylor Coleridge a strong human spirit was essential for this imaginative journey. His use of assonance and alliteration to describe how beautiful the image of nature is and how the strong human spirit can take us on an imaginative journey. â€Å"Sunless Sea. † By the poet using his imagination he has made this place that feels like paradise with his strong spirit. He needed a strong human spirit to imagine a place that feels like paradise. All through the journey he describes his strong connections with the natural environment and because of his strong human spirit he was able to imagine the nature and environment using metaphors as extraordinary with the river springing up viciously to become a fountain. â€Å"As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing. † The poem â€Å"Frost at midnight† by Samuel Taylor Coleridge his imaginative journey is the success not the destination. As the poet goes on this journey into his past and then he goes into another dream as well this expresses that imaginative journey is a success because his not reaching no destination. The poet begins with a metaphor which connects with nature and God, â€Å"The frost performs its secret ministry,† so the success of the journey has already started with the nature and God. This concept relates to the journey of the poet back into his childhood as he in the quiet cottage and looks at the film in the blue flame which fluttered on the grate is contrasted with him in the past looking at the bars at school to watch a fluttering stranger. This is the success of the start of his imaginative journey and that there is no destination. He then while sitting at school goes into another dream about his birth place and the church tower where the bell would ring so sweetly expresses the success of his journey when he was younger in the country side he was more connected to nature where in the city the only connection was the â€Å"lovely star and sky†. The poem â€Å"Frost at midnight† by Samuel Taylor Coleridge expresses a strong human spirit that is essential for an imaginative journey. The use of the simile â€Å"inaudible as dreams† which describes the quietness which gives him the strong human spirit to the imaginative journey. He also uses assonance to describe how the solitude or quietness his inmates have left him is disturbing him. â€Å"Have left me to solitude to suit abtruser musings†. The looking at the blue flame gave him the strong human spirit to begin his imaginative journey. The relationship between father and son is also giving the poet the strong human spirit because he doesn’t want his son to grow up like him in the city but to be raised in the country so his is more connected to nature.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Formal Analysis of Durer’s Knight, Death and the Devil

Uriah Funk Leila Armstrong Art 110 7 February, 2013 Formal Analysis of Durer’s Knight, Death and the Devil My first impression upon looking at Durer’s â€Å"Knight, Death and the Devil† is one of impending doom met with courage and a feeling of resigning to one’s fate. The figure of the Knight is surrounded by the figures of Death on his sickly horse and the beast faced Devil, along with a treacherous landscape that seems to fold in upon itself and hold other unseen dangers.The knight marches forward seeming to ignore the threats, as he leaves the safety of the city behind he is safe in his armor upon his loyal steed, for now. This engraving was done on copper; giving it a warm earthy tone. The absence of other colors gives the piece a dark feeling. Durer’s etching uses light very realistically, giving the figure of the horse especially a very convincing sheen. The absence of light behind the figures lends an abyssal element of danger connecting the literal dangers of Death and the Devil in the upper part of the work to the implied dangers in the lower part of the etching.With the abundance of hatching and cross hatching, lines appear from the texture of the objects and figures themselves, while other line work is direct and bold such as along the armor work of the knight. The eye is drawn to the left along the work at first by the implied motion of the knight and his dog. Other directional forces like the knight’s pike and sword as well as the trees in the background and the devils horn and spear draw the eye back across the space.The magnificent etching makes full use of shape, volume, shading, mass, size, scale, and texture to create an almost scientific realism that would not be out of place in biology textbooks. Durer uses space in the piece to create a sense of closing in around the knight with all of the darkest parts being immediately around the horse and rider. The only open space, or escape, is the sky above a nd behind the knight and he is not heading in this direction, further increasing the sense of danger. Atmospheric and linear perspective while present is minimal and only serve to reinforce the claustrophobic feel of the foreground.At first, the composition seems quite stable, the knight presenting a strong vertical line and his horse firmly grounding the rider, yet the relationship with background characters creates precarious unbalanced shapes. Overall these elements present a foreboding scene for the knight no matter how stable the stance of his horse and rigidity of his spine. The piece gives a very humanist feel, with texture, shading, and mass of the figures and objects having a down to earth almost touchable quality. Other elements like the lizard and skull suggest symbolism that intrigues the viewer to further investigation.Created by Albrecht Durer in 1513 Germany, the piece, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has a connection to a religious literary work titled H andbook of a Christian Soldier. The engraving is 9. 6in x 7. 5in on copper. The small size probably allowed for detail in the work as well as to be useful in book illustration. Works Cited â€Å"Albrecht Durer: Knight, Death, and the Devil (43. 106. 2)†. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www. metmuseum. org/toah/works-of-art/43. 106. 2 (October 2006)

How you hope to use your business school experience and education to impact society

Everything that a man wishes to happen comes at the right time and with a great purpose. My name is (insert your name here) and I wish to pursue a degree in (insert course here) at (insert name of university here). I believe that acquiring more knowledge through the JD/MBA program will make me a more competent professional in the future. I anticipate my future with success and dedicate it in giving service to other people. it is in through helping that we achieve success at its most perfect sense.By having the said degree, I will be an asset in this society because of the vast knowledge I gained from both my academic and professional society. I graduated from (insert previous name of school) with a degree in (insert previous school). I am proud to say that through hard work and perseverance, I was able to finish such course with good grades in most of my subjects. I also experienced having job in (insert name of previous job here) where I work as a (insert name of previous position h ere).In this fast changing world, having one degree makes an individual lesser competent than those who posses masters degree. I believe that once I finished the JD/MBA program, I will have greater opportunities to be in a good paying job in the future. Clients will respect me more once they knew that I understand both the realms of business and justice. It will also give me chances of creating my own company so that I can help and serve people.It is one way of showing my gratitude to the university where I came from because I will make them proud because of my achievements. My business school experience is an edge among other graduates because a JD/MBA will help me make better decisions in the business world. My marketability, knowledge and flexibility are more increased because of the JD/MBA program. I can also relate with other people without disappointing them because I also acquired the right people handling and people relationship strategies from the fellowship at business sch ool.From all that has been said and done, I look forward to learning more about JD/MBA in this credible institution. I am confident that my future will be successful because I will be completing a degree in an institution that recruits only the best and finest students. I have the right knowledge because this school is armed with wide array of resources on the said field. Moreover, my skills are more enhance because I was trained by professors who are expert on this field.Having the heart of an entrepreneur, I also look at my future with great opportunities in establishing my own business. As a holder of a JD/MBA degree it is easier for me to raise capital for new business and my credibility is also increased. More people will put their trust on me because they know that I am expert on the said field. My business school experience is a great help not only in my personal growth but also in the upheaval of the society.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Irans Refusal to Release Iranian Americans Essay

Irans Refusal to Release Iranian Americans - Essay Example It involved the detention of dual citizenship holders, Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh, Ali Shakeri and Parnaz Azima. This paper will recount the issues involved in this detention and the charges levied against these four Iranian-Americans based on newspaper accounts. It will also detail the reaction of US President George Bush and the rebuttals of Iranian officials. The purpose of this investigation is to determine if the detention is actually an Iranian act of terrorism against the US. According to news reports, the detention of the first of the Iranian-Americans occurred in May 8, 2007 when Haleh Esfandiari was incarcerated in Evin Prison, followed by the arrest of Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh on May 11, 2007, who was also remanded to the same facility. Two other Iranian-Americans were also charged, after having been prevented from leaving Iran for an undisclosed period of time. Ali Shakeri, on his way to Europe, was detained on May 8 as well while Parnaz Azima was prevented from leaving Iran when authorities confiscated her passport in January 2007. A brief description of the four detainees follows. "Haleh Esfandiari is the director for the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, in Washington". ("Haleh Esfandiari") She is an expert on Middle Eastern women's issues and democratic development as well as contemporary Iranian politics. She has published numerous papers on the contemporary issues concerning Iran, focusing on the plight of Iranian women. She has a doctorate degree from the University of Vienna and is the recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Grant. She has been prevented from leaving Iran since December 2006 when her luggage and passport were stolen while on her way out of Iran to the airport. ("Haleh Esfandiari") As a social scientist, Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh has published two books, received his Master's degree from University College in London and his doctoral degree from Columbia University. "He is also associated with the Open Society Institute, a non-profit organization promoting public health, humanitarian relief, culture, and local government". ("KIAN TAJBAKHSH, PhD"). Dr. Tajbakhsh worked with the Iranian government on issues of public health in rebuilding communities in the aftermath of the Bam earthquake ("KIAN TAJBAKHSH, PhD"). Ali Shakeri is an Iranian-American businessman connected with Global Estate Funding from Irvine, California who graduated from the University of Texas. He served in the University of California's Center for Citizen Peacebuilding as part of the Community Advisory Board. He is also an active member of the Ettehade Jomhourikhahan-e Iran (EJI) which is working for a democratic and secular republic Iran. Parnaz Azima is a journalist for US government-funded Radio Farda. Not much is available on the career of Parnaz Azima, but Radio Farda has long been a thorn on the side of Iran. A joint project of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America (VOA), it is a 24/7 radio service broadcasting news about Iran as well as popular Persian and Western music. The radio station's website, in which users can red and interact, had been blocked from access by the

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Refugee and migration movements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Refugee and migration movements - Essay Example Together with the converted people, they could now hold public prayers in unison. This in turn led to more oppression of the Muslim faithful by the Quaraysh (Rawley and Stephen). The early migration made numerous people be converted to Islam, and this gave them more harmony. They could now speak one voice and be united against the oppression they were facing. This harmony made them regroup and go fight for their land of Mecca that had being occupied by their enemies. The asylum given to people who were easily vulnerable helped reduce the suffering of weak Muslims like women and children. In the asylums, people would be given teachings about togetherness and brotherhood, and this in turn strengthened their bond and will to fight for each and help one another. In the Arab-Islamic, there used to exist Islamic institutions known as the Amam which were created to govern the members of the Islamic faith. The institution came up with the laws that people would follow. The institution meted out punishments to those who failed to abide by the set laws. The institutional leaders gave teachings of the Quran. The elders of the institution would be responsible for the recruiting members of the public into the army which was to fight for the rights of the Muslims. Dispute among the members of the Muslim faith would be solved at the Amam, and they also helped identify and help a person whom they thought could rule the people. Refugee migrants in the Arab dhimma faced subjection based on the religious backgrounds of the individual persons. Those who had a Muslim background received fairer treatment as opposed to those who had contrary religious views with the indigenous people. Those who believed in other religion would be killed or made slaves of the Islamists. They would be converted to Islam as the leaders found it wise to have them on their side. The Jews hailed from Western Asia

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Food, Identity and Spaces Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Food, Identity and Spaces - Research Paper Example Before we can consider such situations, it is important to first delve into challenges that tourists face in unfamiliar culinary situations. The primary point of concern is: How does food, as much as it presents unique experiences to tourists, conflict with their culture and eating etiquette in unfamiliar culinary situations? Cultural Mismatch One of the primary challenges faced by people in unfamiliar culinary situations stems from cultural mismatch. Local food, according to Cohen and Avieli, is both an attraction and an impediment. The cultural points of difference are evident from the displeasure to the displaying of caged animals waiting to be killed and served to customers. Tourists not accustomed to this practice have often found it repulsively disturbing to the extent of losing their appetite altogether (Cohen &Avieli, 2004). Similar sentiments are shared by Chang, Kivela and Mak, whose study centred on the idea of travel dining with a specific focus on the Chinese experience, as an expression of engagement between tourists and other cultures. According to the line of argument developed in this study, which has singled out different types of tourists, allo-centric tourists are generally more willing to try novel food when it comes to unfamiliar environment. On the other hand, psychocentric tourists will tend to stick to familiar culinary patterns that fit into their culture. Clearly, there is an implied sense of intimidation when the latter are not willing to step out of their comfort zone and accept the concept of change. It can be concluded from this line of thought that cultural mismatch is a great impediment when it comes to experiencing unfamiliarity in foreign land. As such, the identity of the foreign food culture is unappreciated and thus compromised. On a similar note, the element of cultural mismatch is also present when â€Å"an immigrant to Canada, quickly finds his own ethnic identity challenged in terms of food. Offered a hot dog by his fr iend Romesh, Nurdin, a Muslim, knowingly takes the forbidden meat into his own body† (Padolsky, 2005, NS). In another study, Western European and Israeli tourists in the Asian regions where the cultures are radically different find it overwhelmingly difficult to adapt to local food due to cultural mismatch (Cohen &Avieli, 2005). Evidently, the three studies share similar sentiments on cultural challenges faced when experiencing unfamiliar culinary situation. Contrasting Eating Etiquettes Contrasting eating etiquettes also come out strongly on the three studies as a notable impediment to adapting to new types of food as people visit different cultures. A specific example is the aroused uneasiness by Westerners confronted by chopsticks when touring parts of Asia (Cohen and Avieli, 2004). There are also some peculiar food practices that separate the cultures of the East and the West. For instance, the differing methods used in food preparation are culturally dependent and therefo re, some methods may contrast with other cultures (Chang, Kivela & Mak, 2010). Culturally sensitive people would then find it difficult eating food prepared under such circumstances. The same line of thought seems to be shared by Podolsky when he claims that eating etiquettes vary from one cultural background to another. In his context, people find it difficult to adapt to new diets especially when the host’s eating etiquettes differ greatly from what they are accustomed to in their