Men Really are from Mars

It has been my experience that no matter how we try to alike, men and women definitely act differently, respond differently and see the world differently.   I have witnessed this behavior first hand in many of my classes. I had never noticed exactly how different we were until I started looking, and I was very surprised at how obvious it is.   My results may not be the same in every situation and I do not wish to generalize but overall and in most cases, this is what I witnessed. Firstly, in the classroom, in the learning environment the women seemed to â€Å"physically† be paying attention.   They made almost constant eye contact with the professor, took notes and watched every movement.   In contrast, the men, although paid attention, did not appear as â€Å"physical† about it.   They listened but very differently.   The women's listening skills were very active.   They watched, and gestured in agreement (when they agreed) and made notes while almost never losing eye contact.   The men, also took notes, but seemed to be able to do so without watching the professor or even appearing to be listening.   When something noteworthy was said, the women scribbled feverishly, but the men seemed to jot it down.   Again, this was not 100% the case, but obvious enough to notice and mention. The opposite happened, however, when the students spoke in class. When a male was asked to speak, he stood up very tall and also very exaggerated.   His shoulders broadened, his voice deepened and he appeared very serious.   Most of the males that spoke also gestured with their hands to emphasize their point.   Their voices were louder than necessary as they directed their answer to the professor.   In contrast, when a female spoke, her voice was quiet and she appeared to speak to the class as opposed to just the teacher.   I also never saw any female gesture dramatically with her hands or talk louder than necessary. Before class, when the atmosphere was more social, I also noticed several distinct differences between the males and the females.   The males grouped together and were again loud and sometimes obnoxious with language and jokes.   In this setting their actions were overly dramatic and it seemed they wanted everyone to hear what they were saying, whether they were in the conversation or not.   Also, when they grouped together to talk, almost 100% of the time, only males were in the group. Again, in sharp contrast was the way the females socialized.   Although they mainly talked to other women, at times, they did include men, and they spoke very quietly.   Their conversations were not â€Å"locker room talk†, but instead about the last assignment, or the current subject.   Even when they did speak socially, I didn't hear any crude jokes or obscenities.   This is not to say they didn't occur, just that if they did, because the women spoke so much quieter I couldn't hear them. After class was again a huge difference.   The men gathered up their books (many times early) and left the classroom quickly, again loudly and with friends.   The women took their time, waited for the crowd to disperse and walked slowly out of the room.   Many of them even stopped to talk to the professor on the way out, and some of them waited for friends in the hallway.   The differences were as obvious as night and day, and ones that I had never really noticed before. In every situation I witnessed the differences in men and women were so obvious I was shocked that I hadn't noticed them before.   The men not only talked to each other differently, but seemed to hear each other differently as well.   The women seemed to genuinely listen and even ask questions about the material.   Again, I don't mean to generalize as some men did ask questions, but overall it was the women who asked more questions about the material.   Also when a male asked a question, he usually blurted it out and did not look around to see if anyone else had a question.   It's difficult to point that out because although that was the case, it did not appear rude at the time, or selfish.   The women accepted it, the professor accepted it.   It was as if, it was not obvious to anyone, except me, and only because I was watching their behavior. I think these differences are huge, and I can fully understand why they say men are Mars and women are from Venus.   It really is as if we see things totally differently, to the extent where sometimes I wondered if we were all hearing the same material and in the same room.   It was that obvious.   I also think we need to be more aware of these differences and work to understand them.   This effort could result in far fewer arguments and much more peaceful relationship among us.      

ABC Co. Marketing Strategy Case Essay

ABC Manufacturing Company is a manufacturer of fine furniture designed to resemble the furniture used in various historical periods. The company’s furniture is sold by approximately fifty dealers throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. Dealers are carefully selected by ABC to be sure they maintain the high quality imagine that ABC has established in its 100-year history of making fine furniture. Most dealers sell only ABC’s furniture, but a few also sell noncompeting lines of similar quality. Dealers who sell only ABC’s furniture are franchised to do business under ABC’s trade name and would appear to the public to be branch stores rather than independent business. ABC’s factory is a three-story building of heavy timber (mill) construction located in a New England town of 2,500 population. The first floor is used for warehousing and office space, and the two upper floors house the production facilities. The building is 75 years old and has been occupied by ABC since its construction. The local fire department is above average for towns of this size, but its water supply system does not have adequate reserve capacity to maintain pressure for fighting a major fire over a period of several hours. See more:Â  First Poem for You Essay Adjacent to the factory building is a large frame structure used by ABC to store seasoned lumber for its furniture. Lumber is first air dried in the yard adjoining the shed, with the exact drying period depending on the kind of wood involved. The air-dried wood is then kiln dried in ABC’s own kiln, after which it is stored in the frame storage building until needed. ABC’s power plant is located in a brick building about 50 feet from the main plant. It furnishes heat and steam for all operations. Water for the stream boilers is drawn from a large river adjacent to the power plant. Electricity is purchased from a public utility. Due to the length of the seasoning period, ABC usually has on the premises a supply of lumber adequate for four months of operations. Much of the lumber is purchased within a 200-mile radius of the factory, but substantial amounts are purchased from more distant sections of the United States or from foreign countries. For example, mahogany lumber, which is used in almost half of ABC’s products, is imported by ABC from Latin American and Africa. Most of the lumber arrives at ABC’s yard by railroad and is shipped FOB point of origin. The imported lumber is shipped by water to the nearest port, approximately 100 miles from ABC’s factory, and then by train to the factory. Some locally produced lumber is delivered to ABC by truck, FOB ABC’s yard. Workers in ABC’s factory use some small power tools, such as saws, planers, lathes, and similar equipment. However, the production process is primarily manual. Highly skilled craftsmen build the company’s products, using many of the same techniques that were used two centuries ago. Furniture finishing is done by hand, and most of the stains, varnishes and other finishing materials are compounded by ABC’s employees according to the company’s proprietary formulas. ABC’s labour force is very stable because each craftsman undergoes a lengthy apprenticeship in the plant and because ABC pays wages that are relatively high by the standards of the community. Management considers the high wages to be necessary because of the time and expense required to hire and train a replacement for a craftsman who leaves the firm. Some finished furniture is shipped by railroad, but most of it is shipped by contract carrier trucks. The contract with the trucker does not include any provision relative to liability for damage to goods in transit. Export shipments are transported by truck to the nearest port and by water to the country of destination. All shipments are made FOB purchaser’s warehouse. All sales, including export sales, are made on open account and only to ABC’s established dealers. Export accounts usually are denominated in and payable in the currency of the importer’s country. Accounts receivable, on the average, are equal to about one-eighth of annual sales. Accounts receivable records are kept on ABC’s computer in the office section of the first floor of the factory building. The computer is also used for inventory and production control, payroll management, and other accounting functions. The computer equipment is owned by ABC. The office is cut off from the warehouse section of the first floor by a wood partition. The office and computer room are air conditioned, but the remainder of the building is not. Duplicate computer tapes, updated weekly, are stored in a well-protected vault in another part of the city. A monthly fee is paid for the tape storage. ABC owns several small trucks that are used to move lumber about its own premises and for local pickup and delivery. The trucks are kept in the lumber storage shed when they are not in use. Several lift trucks are used for moving lumber and other heavy items in and around the factory and lumber storage area. A freight elevator moves materials, finished furniture, lift trucks, and other equipment between floors in the factory. Automatic grillwork gates have been installed to prevent workers from falling into the elevator shaft. There is no passenger elevator. Workers use either the freight elevator or the open stairwells when moving between floors. Steel fire escapes have been installed on the exterior of the building to facilitate evacuation of the upper floors in case of fire or other catastrophe. ABC Manufacturing Company is wholly owned by its president, Mr. Carpenter, who is the grandson of the company’s founder. Mr. Carpenter is considered wealthy by local standards. However, his fortune consists almost entirely of the stock of ABC Manufacturing Company, and he is dependent on his salary and company dividends for his livelihood. Nearly all of ABC’s operating profit has been paid in dividends in recent years. Consequently, the company has only a modest cushion of liquid assets in excess of its operating needs. Profits have been consistent, but they have been relatively low because of the inefficiency of the present factory facilities. Although the dollar amount of ABC’s sales has increased steadily because of price increases, the physical volume of sales has remained almost constant over the past several years. The lack of growth has resulted primarily from two factors. First, the present plant cannot accommodate greater production because of space limitations, and there is no available land adjacent to the plant to permit expansion. Second, the long training period required for new employees prevents rapid expansion of production. Mr. Carpenter has considered building a new factory at another location in the same town. However, such a move is not financially feasible unless the present plant can be sold, and no prospective purchasers have been found. A move to any location outside its present hometown would not be practical because of the company’s dependence on its well-trained craftsman. The sales manager estimates that both the dealer network and sales could be increased by 30% over the next 5 years if production facilities could be provided. The cost to rebuild the present factory building in its present form would be $2.5 million. However, Mr. Carpenter has indicated that he would not build a new mill-type building to replace the current structure because of the high cost of the thick brick walls and heavy timber interior construction. A new, one-story, noncombustible masonry and steel building of comparable floor area would cost approximately $2 million to build and would be more efficient for ABC’s purpose. The actual cash value of the present factory building is estimated to be $1.5 million, and ABC has insured it for that amount against fire and the extended coverage perils. The lumber storage shed, power plant, table and lumber kiln are also insured for their actual cash values. The following table shows the actual cash value and replacement cost for each of the structures. Table 1: ABC Company Building Values ___________________________________________________________________________________ BuildingActual Cash ValueReplacement Cost Factory$1,500,000$2,500,000 Lumber shed 150,000 200,000 Power plant 230,000 300,000 Kiln 270,000 320,000 ___________________________________________________________________________________ ABC’s annual premium for fire and extended coverage insurance is $136,000, including the coverage for contends of the buildings and for lumber stored in the yard. There have been no fire or extended coverage losses during the past five years and only minor losses prior to that time. The company’s estimated annual workers’ compensation premium is $165,000. Loss experience has been fairly consistent from year to year. Based on past experience, with adjustments for inflation and current benefit levels, normal losses of $104,000 can be expected. The most frequent claims have been small and have resulted from such minor injuries as splinters in hands, several minor dermatitis cases, and sawdust or metal particles in eyes. The more serious injuries have included back strains and loss of fingers in power saws and other power tools. ABC now has 15 percent debit under workers’ compensation experience rating plan. (That is, they are paying a rate 15% greater than manual rates). Questions 1. Identify the following loss exposures faced by ABC Manufacturing Company: 1) Direct property loss exposures 2) Indirect property loss exposures 3) Liability exposures 2. Your suggestions in risk management for ABC Company Case 2: Bite-O-Burger Company (Risk Management and Insurance) Description of Operations The Bite-O-Burger Company is a publicly held corporation. It owns and operates 843 fast-food restaurants located in eleven states in the United States. The restaurants feature a limited menu consisting of hamburgers, French fried potatoes, fried chicken, chili, related food items, and nonalcoholic beverages. The restaurants vary in size, but each is located in a free-standing building and surrounded by customer parking areas. All of the buildings were built to Bite-O-Burger’s plans and specifications and share enough architectural characteristics to make them easily recognized as units of the chain. All have forced air heat and are air conditioned. At current prices, the average replacement cost of the restaurants is estimated at $125,000 per unit for the building and $100,000 for the equipment. Because of differences in size, the replacement cost, including building and equipment, ranges from $175,000 for the smallest restaurants to $300,000 for the largest. The average actual cash value is $205,000 for building and equipment combined. The restaurants vary in age from a few days to approximately 20 years. All of them are owned by Bite-O-Burger, but the newer ones are subject to substantial mortgages. The home office of the company is located in leased space in a building in the business district of a midwestern city. Bite-O-Burger occupies the upper three floors of the thirty-story building. The company’s data processing centre is located on the top floor. All of the computer equipment is leased from the manufacturer. Bite-O-Burger also occupies a leased warehouse near the home office. It is used for storage and distribution of supplies (paper cups, wrapping materials, etc.) and nonperishable food items. Perishable food items are purchased from local suppliers near the restaurants in which they will be used, and they are delivered directly to the restaurants by the suppliers. There is no refrigeration equipment at the warehouse, but each restaurant has a large, walk-in refrigerator. Items from the company warehouse are distributed to the individual restaurants by a fleet of 30 owned tractor-trailer units. The same units also transport goods from the suppliers to the central warehouse when truck-load quantities are purchased. Smaller lots are shipped by common carrier FOB point of shipment. The values of the contents at the warehouse and home office are $15,750,000 and $3,200,000, respectively. Values at both locations are relatively constant throughout the year. Bite-O-Burger advertises extensively in newspapers in the cities in which it has several restaurants. Many of its advertisements feature endorsements of its products by prominent athletes and theatre personalities. Some advertisements feature pictures of local people and their favourable comments on the company’s food and service. The company also sponsors softball and bowling teams in some cities as a part of its public relations program. Bite-O-Burger’s profit and loss statement and an abbreviated balance sheet for last year are shown in Tables 2-1 and 2-2. The company’s operating results for last year were typical of past years, but sales and assets have been growing at a rate of approximately 20% per year. Bite-O-Burger’s fire and extended coverage losses for the five years are shown in Table 2-3. The quotations shown in Table 2-4 have been obtained for fire and extended coverage protection–blanket on buildings and contents on an actual cash value basis. Bite-O-Burger is well aware of the fire exposures associated with restaurants. Extensive fire control equipment has been installed in the kitchens of all units, and especially in the range hoods and in the cooking areas.

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example f the big business enterprises, initiating litigations against irresponsible corporate behaviour, and demonstrations against big business houses either involved directly or indirectly in environmental degradation activities. The Internet provides an easy means of making people aware of irresponsible corporate behaviour either in the form of their business ethics, or in the environmental degradation activities, and the NGOs utilise this means besides the other avenues of publicity to create public awareness. Big businesses have started to feel the pinch of this. The public have started showing their concern for business ethics and the environment. Estimates from the United Kingdom have started ringing alarm bells, as it is estimated that companies have lost $72 billion every year as a result of public action. Additional data from Europe and U.S.A. demonstrate that 67% of the consumers have resorted to a boycott of a product for ethical or environmental reasons, and thus have asserted their buying preferences. Companies are beginning to realise the meaning of the famous American investor Warren Buffet’s words, â€Å"it takes 10 years to build up your company’s reputation, but 10 seconds for you to lose it†. Companies are starting to act so that they are not hit by public buying preferences, as can be seen from the publishing of Nike of the work environment audit that it had conducted on not just its working environment, but also on its supply chain. There is an increase in the number of corporate businesses that are displaying such activity. (1) NGOs have resorted to litigations in the recent past even using laws that were made more than a couple of years back. There is an increasing amount of litigation against business enterprises on ethical and environmental grounds. These litigations are having an impact on all business enterprises, as insurance companies, financial analysts, and institutional investors are making existing litigation or the possibility of

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Reflection - Essay Example ion, oil and other consumer products such as Band-Aid, Neutrogena, Listerine and Tylenol have proven, time and again, that they are safe to use and that they were manufactured to serve the needs and demands of consumers who are health-conscious and sensitive. As such, Johnson & Johnson’s management effectively thought of the â€Å"why† factor first which is to cater first to serving and addressing the health needs and well-being of their customers, more than others. Thinking about the â€Å"why† factor in my own life, people can understand my â€Å"why† without actually telling them through manifesting my personal beliefs, values and philosophies in the actions and behavior that is seen by others. For example, if I firmly believe in exhibiting just and fair treatment to others, despite diversity in cultural, ethnic, or racial backgrounds, I should be able to show equal and just treatment to all through communicating and interacting with other people in a respectful and congenial manner at all times. Likewise, the message that my â€Å"why† of leadership would focus on exhibiting traits and leadership style that would be an inspiration to others and would make them equally inspiring to those they meet. This would necessitate adhering to ethical, moral and legal codes of conduct and behavior that show genuine commitment and respect to valuing the development and growth of people I lead. In doing so, these followers would be enjoined to emulate my leadership style and assist in sharing and applying that inspiring style to others. The same message would be relayed to people who are supervising me. When they see that I could be an inspiration to my followers through the ethical, moral and legal standards of leading others; then, hopefully, they would also be inspired to follow the same style in leading. A simple example of a time in my life when I believe my actions were inspiring to others is by showing dedication and commitment in attaining exemplary academic

The travel and tourism sector Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The travel and tourism sector - Coursework Example Leisure tourism was a common thing even in the Egyptian and Babylonian empires. Most of the travelling had to do with visiting religious temples. In those days most people travelled by foot, with only the wealthy being borne in litters from place to place. Many centuries later, in the fourth century, even had advertisements posted on city walls which informed people travelling to religious festivals about the available inns in the towns of Sparta, Athens and Troy. During the era of the Roman Empire, Roman soldier patrols allowed Roman citizens to be able to travel in relative safety within the empire’s jurisdiction. The Roman Empire also built high quality roads to places like Rhodes and Sicily- thus easing the travelling expeditions of its citizens. From 300 AD, many people from all over the world would travel to the Holy Land on spiritual pilgrimages. The Romans were the first civilization to use (itineraria) guidebooks which had lists of inns and different marks indicating varying quality. The areas near the city, Rome, even had homes that were constructed to house the multitudes of visitors who came to the city in springtime to enjoy the entertainments that were common at this time. The tourist resorts around ‘Naples’ were mainly favoured by Roman intellectuals as well as retired wealthy citizens. The region of ‘Baiae’ was more frequented by the lower elements of Roman society and was notorious for all- night singing. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, travel became much more dangerous for people as there were no patrols to keep the roads safe. The Pre-Industrial Age Between the 16th to 18th centuries in Europe, the citizens of many nations were more mobile than was the case during the Middle Age s (Veal 2006). The Northern European landed gentry often sent their sons to places like Greece and Italy to learn more about different cultures as part of the "Grand Tour". For the most part, people still walked to different places; it is only the wealthy who used carriages to travel. When travelling longer distances, citizens from different nations would also use horses and ships. The ships did not have motors, but used the wind’s power. Due to the fact that the speed of travel was limited most governments authorized the building of cities near the major waterways so as to make trade easier. The Industrial Revolution started in the 1700s in England and subsequently spread North America and Europe. Nations in Western Europe stopped being cantered around agricultural activities began to identify as industrial societies. When manufacturing facilities began to engage in mass production many citizens moved into the cities. To facilitate this, canals were developed to ease water t ravel and railways were created to speed travel into the main cities. These alterations made it easier for people to be able to travel over long distances. The subsequent creation of the combustible engine, the automobile, and the airplane further enabled more effective and faster travel across both water and land, while also increasing the number of regions in which people could engage in trade. While this increased the incidences of tourism, it is not until the 1950s when commercial jets became affordable for ordinary citizens that masses of people were able to visit tourist destination that they had only previously read about. The 1960s so the beginning of a new trend- backpacking- in Europe and America. Hippies would travel to areas of interest such as Morocco, Guatemala, Bali, and, most often, India. Backpackers wanted to experience life as citizens of different nations and so did not want to be secluded from the populations of the citizens they travelled through. The 1980s saw other nations outside Europe and America start to take a keen interest in travelling for leisure. Today,

There is no specific topic for it, just answer the questions Essay

There is no specific topic for it, just answer the questions - Essay Example This led to the fact that in the name of society freedom individuals and certain groups in society were subjected to coercion. In contrast, the principle of negative liberty is considering any kind of restriction or regulation as a threat to individual freedom and therefore strictly upholds freedom as noninterference. Thus, negative liberty as a principle of non-interference is above the positive freedom in regard to guarantees of freedom of the individual in society. This inspired Quentin Skinner to propose a "third concept of liberty." As a historian, Skinner restores intellectual tradition of civic republicanism, but as a political philosopher - a political tradition of republican liberty, where freedom considers to be the non-domination. Skinner puts forward an alternative understanding of negative liberty. In the center he puts the wellness of the community, though personal freedom of community members is not subordinated to community members.. In the republican tradition is regarded as a citizen of a free citizen in a free-only. Thus the only problem is in preservation of that freedom state. For every citizen the easiest way may be an economic prosperity and active political involvement. In other words, a person must do something for her freedom. Such understanding of freedom imposes greater demands than the liberal concept of negative liberty. Republican ideal of freedom is not just a simple non-interference, but an active involvement, which tries to promote freedom of the individual and freedom of government in the mutual dependence of these liberties. Thus, the community - its not just a social reality, but a result of active engagement and cooperation that goes beyond pure observation of own interests. In his letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King also appeals to the republican conception of freedom as non-domination involving the historical memory of the protesters: "We had no alternative except

The Law of Restitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Law of Restitution - Essay Example This implies that the focus of restitution is on the defendant rather than the claimant. There have been scholarly debates on the threshold for a case to be considered as falling under the law of restitution. This is because previously, cases of unjust enrichment have been treated as falling under the law of quasi contract. However, according Meyers (2009), there are four elements that place a case outside the law of tort and contract. The first aspect is that a benefit is received by a party B and the benefit may be in form of money or services. The benefit is received at the expense of party A. Then it should be ascertained that there is an unjust factor that requires that the benefit be reversed. Finally, if B cannot point to any relevant defence, the case is considered to warrant restitution. Restitutionary remedies fall into two categories. Personal restitutionary remedies restore to the claimant the value of the benefit that the defendant had received. This means that the defen dant is liable for the benefit itself. For instance if a defendant received one million pounds from the claimant, then under restitution, the defendant is liable to pay a sum of one million pounds back to the claimant. The restitution remedy creates a creditor –debtor relationship between the claimant and the defendant. The second category of restitutionary remedies is that of proprietary remedy. ... The claimants interest to the property ranks above the other creditors of the defendant and hence the claimant is likely to recover the property if the defendant becomes insolvent ( Garry, 2008). Restitution is considered to be mauti-causal. The first category of restitution is the restitution for unjust enrichment. This involves reversing of gains by a defendant obtained in an unjust way. The second category on restitution is known as restitution for wrong doing. For example, when a defendant commits a tort against the claimant, the remedial assessment is done in reference to the defendant’s gain and not necessarily in reference to the claimant’s loss. The claimant has the proprietary right to a property, whether it existed previously or made to exist by operation of law ( Howard and Cameron, 2008). This paper aims to outline the legal principles that relate to the laws of restitution. It also aims to analyze existing case laws on restitution and ascertain the scope an d implications of this law. The paper outlines the recent developments in application of the law of restitution and the future trends. It is necessary to appreciate the impact of laws on the citizens and the relationship between common law and related statutes is also considered in depth. Restitution is considered as a universal phenomenon and therefore it is necessary for analyzing the application and implementation of the laws of restitution across various jurisdictions. The paper also aims to show the essence of restitution law in the dispensation of justice. 2. Grounds of Restitution 2.1. Unjust Factors An action for restitution does not require any loss to be suffered by the claimant. The major focus in restitution cases is the benefit that the defendant received. Therefore, it is arguable in

How effective were attempts to protect soldiers in the war Essay

How effective were attempts to protect soldiers in the war - Essay Example This protection strategy was dependent on sniper protection who remained vigil above ground at a strategic vantage point where they would fire an enemy who approached the trenches. The safety of the soldiers in the trenches is thus dependent on the sniper. As a protective strategy this was quite ineffective as at sometimes the enemies got unnoticed hence attacking and killing the officers in trenches. The soldiers taking cover in trenches as a protective strategy for the soldiers was not successful as it resulted in loss of lives of the soldiers ( Grayzel 76). For the prisoner at war, they were kept in deplorable conditions that made them quite uncomfortable. The vivid explanation of the conditions in which they were kept with lack of enough food and general supplies highlight the lack of effectiveness in the protection strategies of soldiers during the World War I period. The letters reveal how they were kept in the barracks where they were quite crowded and no space for sleeping comfortable. Because of such like deplorable conditions, it resulted in deaths of prisoners of war in the process. Despite the fact that they were prisoners of war, as human right they ought to have been protected and treated in a human way. This however was not the case as they were left for dead and survival like pigs. Many human rights activists were of the opinion that such like treatment of prisoners of war was not an effective war strategy to protect the soldiers. The food was also rationed in one of the letters the soldier describes the condition as â€Å"the prisoners will have only 12 ounces of bread a day† ( Grayzel 77). This shows the great extent to which they were denied the basic human right of survival. Despite the harsh weather conditions the soldiers were not well taken care off as regards warm clothing in the winter. The sanitary conditions in barracks were also wanting. To a great extent the treatment and protection

Post Soviet Eurasia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Post Soviet Eurasia - Essay Example Speaking about the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is important to note that the its main reason was killing of established regime by the crisis, caused by the internal contradictions of the Soviet system and the inability of the Communist Party to resolve them. The end of the Soviet Union led to the ethnic and other conflicts that resulted in thousands of victims and became the cause of instant impoverishment of millions of people as well as the development of the widespread criminality and massive loss of life guidelines. The question of the Post-Soviet reality is more complicated. All former Soviet republics managed to transform themselves into the independent states, which could be hardly imagined in 1991. Today the economic situation in these areas is different. Before the beginning of the global economic crisis, almost all countries of the former Soviet Union managed to overcome deep financial default, caused by the collapse and reconstruction of all-union economy. â€Å"Most of the armed conflicts that accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union took place in the Caucasus. The independent countries of the south – Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia – are beset by the economic problems, social unrest and territorial disputes† (King, Charles, 2008). The origins of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict lie in the events of the late 1980s, when the activation of the Georgian national movement for the independence from the Union center and the radical actions of its leaders led to a sharp deterioration of relations between Georgians and ethnic minorities (primarily, the Abkhazians and Ossetians, who had their own autonomous education and demanded to enhance their status). In 1992, South Ossetia was an independent state, with its own constitution (adopted in 1993), and state symbols. Georgian authorities continued to accept it as the Tskhinvali region, but they did not take active steps to establish control over it. In

Political science essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political science - Essay Example There are safeguards put in place by the founding fathers to prevent power from being concentrated in just one man, precisely to forestall the tyranny they had suffered from its colonial master of Great Britain and its king. The government is composed of its three co-equal and independent branches which are the presidency, the legislature or Congress (Senate and the lower House) and also its judiciary. These three branches serve as check and balance on each other so that no one in government accumulates so much power that can give rise to dictators and despots. With presidential elections scheduled next year and Pres. Barack Obama up for a re-election, political discourse is rightfully focused on the awesome powers of the presidency. However, the checks and balances that the three co-equal branches of the federal government mandates the U.S. president to operate within the bounds of law referred to as the â€Å"separation of powers concept† in governance (Hargrove 8). This set-up stifles what the president can do and cannot do; this may be the cause of some disappointment expressed by U.S. citizens. Constraints – it is not very correct to think that the American president today is a weak president. Pres. Obama has to contend with the powers of Congress to more effectively govern because the Democrats lost a lot during the last mid-term elections in November 2010. Public discontent had translated into the loss of six Senate seats, more than sixty House seats and ten governorships which strengthened the hand of the Republican Party. The president is no longer in command of both houses of the Congress which means it is now more difficult to pass new legislation, such as resolving the debt ceiling limits and federal budget deficits. The recommended cuts are still being debated until now with no results (Newton-Small 1) but the president can cite some solid achievements, namely passing the stimulus act which prevented another Great

Industry Analysis Outline Essay Example for Free

Industry Analysis Outline Essay For the past several weeks we have been examining firms’ environmental contexts. The purpose of this in-depth analysis is to: * understand how to document an industry’s systemic profitability (or loss) rate * understand the forces surrounding the industry (based on Porter analysis) that drive its underlying profitability (or lack thereof) * understand how macro-environmental factors influence the dynamics of the industry * understand how to draw appropriate conclusions from industry level data * understand how to support conclusions with application of Ch 2 theories and data understand how to summarize industry information in an informative way. Your first case analysis is to analyze an industry to determine its future potential. The format for this assignment is consistent with what you might be expected to do on the job. Often, when you are given an assignment, you must present your findings in a concise memo, documented by exhibits which support your analysis. You then also present your work orally. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT Assume you are an analyst (or team of analysts) for a consulting company. As analysts, your boss has asked your team to examine an industry for a client who is considering future investment possibilities. You don’t know what company or companies may be involved or if this is a potential new entrant. You are only asked to provide an evaluation of the industry, its structure, its profitability, attractiveness, opportunities and threats, and future prospects. DELIVERABLES 1) If you are doing this as an individual written assignment: MEMO submitted to Turnitin. * A business memo addressed to the professor/your boss (no more than 3 typed pages total –double spaced). This deliverable must be submitted to â€Å"Turnitin.† Although this is a memo, you should cite sources of factual data and information that is not common knowledge. * At least 2 and no more than 5 exhibits with data (graphs, charts, models, summary, etc) which supports the narrative presented in the memo. These should be attached after the memo. Each attachment should be referenced in the memo in order of appearance in the memo. * One required exhibit should provide some indication of industry performance (is this industry becoming more or less difficult). Think in terms of financial industry analysis and/or use the shipments data available on Blackboard. You MUST ANALYZE the information on Blackboard and extract information, NOT just paste it in your paper. * One required exh ibit is a Porter analysis * ALL EXHIBITS MUST BE RELATED TO AND EXPAND UPON YOUR NARRATIVE. THESE TWO DELIVERABLES MUST FIT TOGETHER! 2) If you are doing the team presentation: Power Point WITH narration must be submitted to Blackboard and a HARD COPY of the slides given your professor in class. * Slides from your presentation. (No more than 15 slides total.). * Webex presentation should be 10 minutes long, not including time for QA. * I expect a complete PEST * I expect a complete PORTER * I expect some conclusion about current and future industry analysis that is based on the PEST and PORTER WHAT GOES INTO THE DELIVERABLES? The list below should be the basis for your analysis. Remember, while you should look at all of these elements for a complete analysis, your judgment and application of concepts from Ch. 2 should inform your decisions regarding which pieces of the analysis are important for the memo and presentation. This means that not all of the below items will ultimately be included in the deliverables, even if you analyzed them initially. Only the most significant items will be included in the limited space of the deliverables. INDUSTRY FUNDAMENTALS: 1) Description of the elements of the industry. * What is the description of the industry? (Not its history, just its definitional parameters) * At what stage of the industry life cycle is this industry?(Use data to define and defend this) * Profitability?(This should be presented as DATA, over time, relative to some other standard, for comparison) 2) Who are the primary competitors in this industry? * Are there important strategic groups? * What segment or group dominates? What segment (if any) is doing well? What segment (if any) is weak? DYNAMICS OF THE INDUSTRY: 1) What key trends in the general environment are important and affecting the future demand for the product or supply of necessary materials of this industry? Why? * political * economic * social * technological * global 2) Which forces (Porter) are most critical for this industry? I.e., which ones best explain the profitability rate that you described above? * Barriers to entry? (which ones?) * Powerful Suppliers? (which ones, why?) * Powerful Buyers? (which ones, why?) * Powerful Substitute INDUSTRY(s) (which ones, why?) * Hi Rivalry of Competitors? (what is the source of rivalry?) FORCES FOR CHANGE THAT ARE EMERGING: 1) How are the forces (Porter) in the industry changing over time to become a. Stronger? (What macro-trends are driving this?) b. Weaker? (What macro-trends are driving this?) 2) Based on the Porter analysis (from #4 #5 above), is this industry getting c. more attractive (easier to make profits) or d. less attractive (harder to make profits)? (why?) INTEGRATION OF THE INFORMATION: 3) What are logically-derived conclusions (based on the analyses above) for e. opportunities (trends) associated with this industry? f. threats (trends) associated with this industry? 4) What are some key issues that players in this industry must be aware of? FORMAT for the Assignment: The MEMO format should include: 1) Business memo format: Please use the â€Å"Elegant Memo† template in Word, but double spaced. Also, insert page numbers. 2) Attachments should be labeled in numeric order (i.e. Exhibit 1), with a title underneath which indicates the nature of the information in the attachment. 3) Attachments should be numbered in the order in which they are introduced in the memo text. The Power Point slides: 1) Slide 1 should include the name of the industry and the names of the team members. 2) All team members should be prepared to answer questions regarding the team analysis.

Received controllable shocks Essay Example for Free

Received controllable shocks Essay They both said that the extent of a persons social network and their perceived sense of support are positively linked. The role of control in the perception of stress also plays a part. A sense of control reduces the extent to which a situation may be experienced stressful. It has been suggested that control affects the immune system. Laudenslager et al. (1983) showed direct effects on the immune system. He used rats that were placed in three groups, one received controllable shocks, the second group were a yoked control (received the same shocks as the first rat, but they had no direct control over the shocks), a third group received no shocks. All the rats were injected with cancer cells. Laudenslager found that 65% of the controlled shock group rejected the cancer cells, compared with only 27% of the yoked controlled and 55% of the no-shock group. His study suggests that control is important to the functioning of the immune system. Psychological approaches have also been applied in anger management courses since anger has been found to increase vulnerability to heart disease. B) Asses the strengths and weaknesses of two biological approaches (6) One biological approach is biofeedback. It is a technique to learn how to control involuntary muscles, or voluntary muscles that are not normally controlled, such as blood pressure and heart rate. The aim of it is to reduce ANS activity and therefore the bodily sensations associated with stress. In turn this will reduce the consequent effects of stress in terms of illness. An individual is attached to a monitor that produces feedback about some physiological activity. (E. g. The machine would produce an auditory or visual signal to indicate weather an individuals heart rate is too high or about right. ) These machines provide all different feedback to the patient, who is then taught techniques to reduce the levels. (Such as relaxation training. ) This means that physiological activity is brought under control. The key thing is that physiological activities are ones we wouldnt usually be able to control. Biofeedback has been shown to produce short and long-term reductions in heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, and brain-wave rhythms. Biofeedback training does fit into three main stages; developing an awareness of the particular physiological response (e. g. heart rate), learning ways of controlling that physiological response in quiet conditions. This can include providing rewards for successful control in addition to feedback. Then transferring that control into the conditions of everyday life. Dworkin and Dworkin (1988) did a study with teenagers who were suffering from curvature of the spine (scoliosis). The teenagers successfully used biofeedback techniques to learn how to control the muscles of their spine and thus alter the posture and overcome the disorder. Another biological approach is Anti-anxiety drugs. The body produces chemicals (hormones) that create anxiety. This can be countered using other chemicals (i. e. drugs) that reduce anxiety. There are several different types of drugs that all work differently. Barbiturates are depressants of the central nervous system, and long-acting barbiturates are effective in reducing anxiety. However, they do have various side effects. They can create problems of concentration, lack of coordination, and slurred speech. They also tend to be addictive. Anxious patients who stop taking barbiturates report numerous symptoms such as delirium, irritability, and increased sweating. The problems with them led them to be replaced by benzodiazepines in the 1960s. These are the most used anti-anxiety drugs, such as Valium and Librium. They promote GABA, the bodys natural relief of anxiety relief which reduces serotonin levels, which will in turn reduce arousal. Although, they are very effective and used by millions of people, they also have some of unwanted side effects. They often have sedative effects, and can make people feel drowsy. They can also cause cognitive and memory impairments, they sometimes lead to feelings of depression. Also, many people become dependent on benzodiazepines, and find it very hard to stop taking them. Sudden removal of benzodiazepines can lead to a return of the initial symptoms of intense stress and anxiety. Ants-anxiety drugs can be very effective at reducing feelings of stress. However, they do not address the problems that are causing stress. They help cope with stress but not to manage it.

Different Reactions From The Brine Shrimp Biology Essay

Different Reactions From The Brine Shrimp Biology Essay The objective of the Pharmacology Lab is to find the lethal chemical(s) or the LD50 relevant to a certain genus. In order for a chemical to be considered the LD50, 50% of the population of the organism present in a container must die. A total of three trials and four tests are completed to determine whether or not the chemical has the ability to kill the brine shrimp. The three trials contain 5mL of the chemical in each container, while the four tests have different amounts of the chemical in each container. The amount of water used for both the trials and tests remain constant at 40mL. Once the correct amount of the required substances and brine shrimp are placed into their respective and labeled containers for both trials and tests, they are then moved under a desk light. For the next duration of time, the death rate of the brine shrimp and the physical or behavioral changes visible are observed and recorded. After performing the experiments, the data shows that a great number of t hese selected regular household items have deadly chemicals in them that can kill other living organisms if given the right amount of dosage, including humans. Out of all five products, the LD50 was only found in soda and hydrogen peroxide. Lemon juice, nail polish remover, and hand sanitizer were not considered the LD50 because the death rate percentage was higher than 50%. This research provides a better understanding of how toxic household chemicals are. Products that were created for consuming such as the Lemon Juice and Soda were found to instantly and over a certain amount of time, kill the brine shrimp once in contact. II. Introduction In this experiment, one of the main purposes is to find the LD50 of several household chemicals on Brine Shrimp. LD means lethal dose of a certain product. The LD50 formula gives the estimate of deaths of half a population when receiving the molarity of each chemical. A possible solution to this problem is to perform and experiment where an organism is tested on with different types of chemicals for the death rate. Brine shrimp, the genus used, are aquatic crustaceans that can be grown by adding water and brine shrimp eggs into a tank. This process takes approximately two days. Brine shrimp lives in salt water, but can also survive in regular water for 24 hours. Completing this experiment determines whether they can survive a certain about of chemicals in different time intervals. This lab contains five different chemicals including: nail polish remover, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice, hand sanitizer, and lemon soda. These household chemicals are tested as the positive controls, whil e the negative control is water. With five positive controls, there would be different results from each chemical. As the experiment takes place through four tests; each containing 3 trials; the observation of the deaths of brine shrimp demonstrates the amount of time they can survive in new obscure habitats. The test of each chemical shows whether there are traces of deadly substances, which could help find the measures of toxicity in each chemical. Testing the toxicity by molarity and time shows the maximum amount of toxicity that humans can handle to be able to survive. The experiment is an example of how living organisms react to chemicals. The brine shrimp will play the role of the organism. However, different organisms will have different reactions depending on their adaptations and physical traits. As the brine shrimp take in the chemicals, the inability to survive increases. The death of the aquatic crustaceans shows how toxic harmless household chemicals can truly be.This lab will explore the ingredients from the five chemicals used. The observations of the LD50 will determine which chemical is deadlier than the others, causing the public to be more aware of these fatal factors. III. Methods: The brine shrimp are grown by adding water and brine shrimp eggs into a tank. Brine shrimp takes two days to mature enough to be experimented on. The lethal chemical(s) or the LD50 are found by placing different substances mixed with water into containers with nine brine shrimp. Through a series of tests and trials, the lethal chemicals are distinguished. A total of three trials and four tests are completed to determine whether or not the chemical has the ability to kill the brine shrimp. The three trials contain 5ml of the chemical in each container, while the four tests have different amounts of the chemical in each container; (5ml, 10ml, 15ml, and 20ml). The amount of water used for both the trials and tests remain constant at 40ml. Once the correct amount of the required substances the brine shrimp are placed into their labeled containers for both trials and tests. Next, the Brine shrimp are moved under a desk light because they are attracted to any form of light. The death rate and physical or behavioral changes of the brine shrimp are observed and recorded in tests with intervals of 10-minute trials and 5-30 minutes. This lab consists of four tests and three trials for five different chemicals to find the LD50. The positive controls include: Super Chill Lemon Lime soda, hydrogen peroxide, House Recipe lemon juice, 2.2 oz. of Assured Aloe Vera scented hand sanitizer and 2.2 oz. of ONYX Professional lavender scented nail polish remover, while the negative control is water throughout the entire experiment. For each test, there are three trials performed beforehand. Twenty seven brine shrimp are needed for the trials. For each of the three trials, nine brine shrimp are obtained from the twenty seven. Then, 40mL of distilled water is added to the brine shrimp container through pipettes and graduated cylinders; the total volume of water for each trial is 40mL in order to maintain consistency. From each chemical, 5mL are added into the labeled containers of the 40 mL distilled water. Once all substances are added, the containers are placed under direct light from a desk lamp because brine shrimp are att racted to light. Through five tests after the three trials, various amounts of nail polish remover, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice, hand sanitizer, and Sprite soda are added to its assigned containers. For each test, there will be four containers for the different amounts used of each chemical. The first container contains 5mL of the chemical while the other three containers will have an increase of 5mL from the prior container. This process will be done five times for the five chemicals used. The counts of deceased shrimp after each time interval are recorded over a course of 5 minutes to 30 minutes in percentages. Different reactions from the brine shrimp were recorded in the data table as well as pictures being taken. This procedure was used according to the outline given in order to achieve the objective of this lab. Given a certain the amount of time, three trials and four tests were used. In the procedure, several changes were included, instead of adding 40ml of water with the nine brine shrimp, 40ml of water was added to the desired chemical first to have enough time to collect the brine shrimp for the specific trial and test. IV. Data Data table for Trial: Peroxide (3 trials total) @ (5ml of chemical) PH: 7 Time interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 10 mins move erratically; attracted to light; hitting against the cup 0% 0 10 mins move erratically, attracted to light 11% 1 10 mins move erratically, attracted to light 11% 1 Data table for Test: Peroxide 5mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min has bubbles 0% 0 10 min has bubbles 0% 0 15 min has bubbles 22% 2 20 min has bubbles 22% 2 25 min has bubbles 33% 3 30 min has bubbles 33% 3 Data table for Test: Peroxide 10mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min has bubbles 44% 4 10 min has bubbles 44% 4 15 min has bubbles 44% 4 20 min has bubbles 44% 4 25 min has bubbles 44% 4 30 min has bubbles 44% 4 Data table for Test: Peroxide 15mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min has bubbles 33% 3 10 min has bubbles 44% 4 15 min has bubbles 44% 4 20 min has bubbles 55% 5 25 min has bubbles 55% 5 30 min has bubbles 55% 5 Data table for Test: Peroxide 20mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min has bubbles 33% 3 10 min has bubbles 33% 3 15 min shrimp turn orange 44% 4 20 min has bubbles 55% 5 25 min has bubbles 55% 5 30 min has bubbles 55% 5 Data table for Trial: Nail Polish Remover (3 trials total) @ (5ml of chemical) PH: 7 Time interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 10 mins hitting against the cup under the light 22% 2 10 mins hitting against the cup under the light 22% 2 10 mins hitting against the cup under the light 22% 2 Data table for Test: Nail Polish 5mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min has bubbles 11% 1 10 min has bubbles 22% 2 15 min has bubbles 22% 2 20 min has bubbles 55% 5 25 min has bubbles 66% 6 30 min has bubbles 66% 6 Data table for Test: Nail Polish 10mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min has bubbles 100% 9 10 min has bubbles 100% 9 15 min has bubbles 100% 9 20 min has bubbles 100% 9 25 min has bubbles 100% 9 30 min has bubbles 100% 9 Data table for Test: Nail Polish 15mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min has bubbles 100% 9 10 min has bubbles 100% 9 15 min has bubbles 100% 9 20 min has bubbles 100% 9 25 min has bubbles 100% 9 30 min has bubbles 100% 9 Data table for Test: Nail Polish 20mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min has bubbles 100% 9 10 min has bubbles 100% 9 -15 min has bubbles 100% 9 20 min has bubbles 100% 9 25 min has bubbles 100% 9 30 min has bubbles 100% 9 Data table for Trial: Lemon (3 trials total) @ (5ml of chemical) PH: 2 Time interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 10 mins some floats 100% 9 10 mins transparent with some orange 100% 9 10 mins completely transparent 100% 9 Data table for Test: Lemon 5 mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min completely transparent 100% 9 10 min completely transparent 100% 9 15 min completely transparent 100% 9 20 min completely transparent 100% 9 25 min completely transparent 100% 9 30 min completely transparent 100% 9 Data table for Test: Lemon 10mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min completely transparent 100% 9 10 min completely transparent 100% 9 15 min completely transparent 100% 9 20 min completely transparent 100% 9 25 min completely transparent 100% 9 30 min completely transparent 100% 9 Data table for Test: Lemon 15mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min completely transparent 100% 9 10 min completely transparent 100% 9 15 min completely transparent 100% 9 20 min completely transparent 100% 9 25 min completely transparent 100% 9 30 min completely transparent 100% 9 Data table for Test: Lemon 20mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min completely transparent 100% 9 10 min completely transparent 100% 9 15 min completely transparent 100% 9 20 min completely transparent 100% 9 25 min completely transparent 100% 9 30 min completely transparent 100% 9 Data table for Trial: Hand Sanitizer (3 trials total) @ (5ml of chemical) PH: 7 Time interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 10 mins shrimp turns orange 33% 3 10 mins all on the bottom 33% 3 10 mins against the wall 22% 2 Data table for Test: Hand Sanitizer 5 mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min turns orange 66% 6 10 min turns orange 66% 6 15 min turns orange 77% 7 20 min turns orange 77% 7 25 min turns orange 100% 9 30 min turn orange 100% 9 Data table for Test: Hand Sanitizer- 10mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min turns orange 22% 2 10 min turns orange 33% 3 15 min turns orange 55% 5 20 min turns orange 55% 5 25 min turns orange 88% 8 30 min turns orange 100% 9 Data table for Test:Hand Sanitizer- 15mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min turns orange 44% 4 10 min turns orange 66% 6 15 min turns orange 66% 6 20 min turns orange 66% 6 25 min turns orange 77% 7 30 min turns orange 100% 9 Data table for Test: Hand Sanitizer- 20mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min turns orange 88% 8 10 min turns orange 88% 8 15 min turns orange 100% 9 20 min turns orange 100% 9 25 min turns orange 100% 9 30 min turns orange 100% 9 Data table for Trial: soda (3 trials total) @ (5ml of chemical) PH: 7 Time interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 10 mins bubbles 22% 2 10 mins some are orange 22% 2 10 mins some are orange 22% 2 Data table for Test: soda 5 mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min bubbles 11% 1 10 min bubbles 11% 1 15 min bubbles 11% 1 20 min bubbles 11% 1 25 min bubbles 22% 2 30 min bubbles 22% 2 Data table for Test: soda 10mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min bubbles 55% 5 10 min bubbles 55% 5 15 min bubbles 55% 5 20 min bubbles 55% 5 25 min bubbles 55% 5 30 min bubbles 55% 5 Data table for Test: soda- 15mL Time Interval Observations Deaths (%) Deaths (#) 5 min bubbles 44% 4 10 min bubbles 44% 4 15 min bubbles 55% 5 20 min bubbles 66% 6 25 min bubbles 66% 6 30 min bubbles 77% 7 Data table for Test: soda 20mL: Time Interval Observations Death (%) Deaths (#) 5 min bubbles 88% 8 10 min bubbles 88% 8 15 min bubbles 88% 8 20 min bubbles 88% 8 25 min bubbles 88% 8 30 min bubbles 88% 8 V. Analysis The LD50 for hydrogen peroxide is approximately 0.24 molars. Hydrogen peroxide has 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (Stabilized), Purpose First Aid Antiseptic/Oral Debriding Agent. Its Inactive Ingredient is Purified Water. Hydrogen peroxide is a deteriorizing agent that is commonly used as a hair bleach when diluted. An Oral debriding agent describes what the hydrogen peroxide can do. This means that the hydrogen peroxide when diulted in water can help heal minor mouth and gum irritation. Since all living organisms have an enzyme called peroxidase, it helps decompose low concentrations hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. . There is no LD50 for nail polish remover. Nail Polish remover has the ingredients: Acetone, aqua, denatonium benzoate, tocopheryl acetate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, parfum(means perfume in french), Cl 45410(dye), Cl 60730(dye). Denatonium benzoate is a chemical compound known to prevent and discourage people from drinking harmful products. Tocopheryl acetate, also known as vitamin E acetate provides beneficial antioxidant effects. Aloe barbadensis leaf juice, also know as Aloe Vera is a plant. When consumed, it can help relieve irritable bowel syndrome and heartburn. Acetone is an organic compound that is a colorless and flammable liquid. Concluding that acetone is the lethal ingredient and causes the death of the brine shrimp when ingested, it will cause liver problems, which causes the liver to have a hard time breaking them down. Large intake of acetone can lead to unconsciousness and death. There was no LD50 for Lemon; the ingredients in the lemon juice packets include water, lemon juice concentrate, sodium benzoate, sodium bisulfite, and lemon oil. Sodium Benozoate is a type of salt often used a preservative because it works well at killing bacteria, yeast, and fungi. Sodium bisulfite is a food addictive. When in contact with chlorine bleach, it will release harmful fumes.The brine shrimp died within 20 minutes because of the sodium benzoate in the lemon juice packet, which is a type of salt mixed together with vitamin C causes a carcinogen substance called benzene. Benzene is a carcinogen because when exposed into the air, it can cause leukemia. Eating or drinking substances with high levels of benzene can cause vomiting, dizziness, sleepiness, and or death. It may not be lethal enough to kill humans yet, but having a high amount of the lemon juice packets can potentially kill a human or any living organism. There is no LD50 for Hand Sanitizer but the graph decreases and increases because there was a slight change in the number of brine shrimp needed in each container. The ingredients contained in this chemical are: water, triethanolamine, glycerin, propylene glycol, aloe barbadensis gel(another form of aloe vera), carbomer, fragrance, blue 1(dye), yellow 5(dye), and 62% ethyl alcohol. Triethanolamine is a chemical compound that occasionally causes contact allergy. Glycerin is a simple alcohol compound that is used as a sweetener and sometimes a preservative in food and beverages. Propylene glycol is an organic compound used in many applications such as a food addictive called E number 1520, moisturizer in medicine, and a solvent for food coloring. Carbomer is a synthetic polymer that forms an adhesive eye gel. 62% ethyl alcohol is a flammable liquid used as solvents and fuel. The brine shrimp died because of the 62% ethyl alcohol in the hand sanitizer, when consumed can cause death. Alt hough used in wine and any alcoholic drinks, the drinks only contain small concentrations of alcohol, legal enough to drink. The LD50 for Super chill lemon lime soda is approximately 0.19 molars. The ingredients in the soda are carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavors, potassium citrate and potassium benzoate. High frutose corn syrup is comprised of many corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic(enzymes that catalyze) process that converts glucose into frutose for desired sweetness. There have been health concerns about raising the risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Citric acid is a weak organic acid that is a natural preservative and used to add a sour taste to food and soft drinks. Contact with dry citric acid can result in skin or eye irritation. potassium citrate is a food addictive and used to regulate acidity. It is also a potential health hazard when administered incorrectly. Elevated blood levels of potassium citrate can result in heart attacks and death. Potassium benzoate is a food preservative that inhibits the growth of yeast, mold, and some bacteria. T he reason why the brine shrimp died because of potassium citrate in the soft drink. Too much potassium citrate can cause irregular heartbeat and a risk of having a heart attack. Although there are potassium citrate pills sold in stores, they are only recommended if the person had been having a case of fatigue or muscle weakness. The kidney is responsible for eliminating excess potassium in the body. The molarity formula: iM1V1=1M2V2 was used to find the LD50 and true concentration of each chemical after all the substance has been added to container and totaled. The LD50 for Hydrogen Peroxide is 0.24 molars. The LD50 for Super Chill lemon lime soda is 0.19 molars. There are no LD50 for lemon, nail polish remover, and hand sanitizer because the deaths were higher than fifty percent. The standard deviation at 20 ml for Hydrogen Peroxide is approximately 0.833, for Nail Polish remover, lemon, hand sanitizer, and soda is 0. The chemicals included in this experiment are normally used in everyday use in the household. Chemicals such as peroxide are used to clean injuries or cuts. Hand sanitizer is used to clean 99.9% of bacteria on hands. Nail polish remover is used for getting the nail polish off of the fingernails. Lemon juice packets are used in making the dressing for a salad. The LD50 for Nail Polish remover is 1.159 g/kg for humans when digested. Unfortunately, the LD50 for the r est of chemicals are unavailable because they have only been conducted on rats and mice. Although the results of the data were both consistent and gradual in terms of death percentages, a few of the brine shrimp died before 5 minutes of data was recorded. This indicated that the brine shrimp could not live in the high toxicity levels on some of the chemicals used in this experimentation even with the addition of water. VI. Conclusion This lab is significant because the participants are able to discover the true dangers of certain household products such as hydrogen peroxide, soda, hand sanitizer, lemon juice, and nail polish remover. With everyday household chemicals, a personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s health can be affected, thus finding the LD50 will tell us how toxic a certain item is. The use of the LD50 is to study the amount of a chemical that will kill 50% of the tested animal, which will show us how dangerous a product can truly be. Some insights include the participants testing the dangers of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“harmlessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  products. The lab offered similarities and an opportunity for a hands on experience of the procedures a toxicologist, like finding the cause and effects of poison. By using mathematical formulas like the molarity formula and the standard deviation formula, accurate and reliable data was collected to find the true concentration of the LD50 chemicals. For example, the data and calculat ions from these formulas show that one of the chemicals, Hydrogen Peroxide is the LD50 with a molarity of 0.24 molars. The data tables show that chemicals like the lemon juice, nail polish remover, and hand sanitizer are not the LD50. This is most likely due to the fact that these products contain amounts of citric acid and alcohol which results in death rates that are over 50%. In the trials and tests, many occurrences of errors and mistakes which could have affected the outcome of the results. In one of the hand sanitizer tests, 18mL was added into the mixture of substance instead of 20mL. Instead of counting the number of death at a certain time, some of the intervals were missed by a minute or two. This lab was not as accurate as expected because of the difficulties experienced during the beginning of the lab. For example, lotion was one of the chemicals to be tested on the brine shrimp prior to the lab. However, because the lotion was dense, it was difficult to mix with the wat er. Also, the color made it nearly impossible to see and count the brine shrimp. These errors could be easily avoided in the future by double checking the amount of a substance being added, keeping track of time, and using transparent products. For a clearer understanding several alterations of a procedure outline, being careful with the amount of measurements and constant data collection could be applied in the future.

Essay examples --

In the past, people have always tried their own ways of using daily measurements. It was needed and used for daily trade as well as further businesses. These things could only have been made if the people knew they were being fair and honest; hence, the reason that different measurements needed to exist. Many short distance measurements were based on the lengths of the human body. The width of a thumb was used to resemble the inch, which we used today in the English System of Measurements. The foot, which is twelve inches, was compared to the length of the human foot; however, today it is derived to be longer than most people’s feet. The yard, which is equal to three feet, was inferred to be the length from the tip of the nose, to the end of the middle finger when the arm and hand are extended. The Anglo Saxons of England measured these short differences in their own ways too. The length of three barleycorns was their length of the inch (it was very close to the modern length) . Then in 1066, the Normans conquered England and brought back to England the Roman tradition of the twelve inch foot. During the reign of Henry I the foot became official and was engraved on the base of a column of St. Peter’s church in London (Rowlett, R. (2001). A dictionary of units of measurement. English customary weights and measures). He also arranged the yard to be established in England as well. Although, inches, feet, yards etc. measured shorter distances, miles were used to measure much longer distances. This mile was a Roman unit, which was primarily the length of 1,000 paces of a Roman legion. The â€Å"pace† was meant to be two steps, about five feet, which measured the mile to be roughly about 5,000 feet. The basic unit that was used for weight ... .... Origin of the metric system). Currently, people of many countries use this SI unit for measurements. The meter is used for measuring length (it can be converted to millimeters, centimeters, decimeters, kilometers, decameters, and hectometers). The liter is used to measure volume and its conversions are similar to the meter conversions. The gram is used to measure mass and its conversions follow the meter’s conversions as well. Scientists from all over the world make sure of they use this metric system in order to communicate data and make all calculations simpler. Although a vast majority of world uses the metric system in daily activities, the United States, UK, and other countries decide to still use English units daily. And even though everyone in the world may use different measurements daily, it was all created to make our lives a little simpler each day.

The Brilliant and Evil Hitler Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Pap

The Brilliant and Evil Hitler Hitler was both brilliant and evil. He won the following of nearly all German people, and brought a desperate country out of poverty and post-war dissolution. It was not by virtue that Hitler accomplished these things. Instead, it was through evil planning, mass rallies, emotional appeal to a vulnerable population, stirring military displays, and the eventual extermination of millions of innocent people: Jews (anyone with one or more Jewish grandparent), Communists, Negroes, the mentally ill, and anyone else in his way. He called his plan to rid the world of "inferior" human beings the "Final Solution." Hitler had a brilliant mind. He brought Germany out of post-war depression and create jobs, comradere, and a better economy, yet he was very evil. He used his power, coersion, and manipulation to convince Germans to committ unthinkable atrocites against millions of innocent people. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, marked the end of WW1 and the beginning of severe depression in Germany. The treaty mandated disarmament, heavy reparations, a loss of 15% of German territory, which in turn took 7 million of her citizens, 75% of its iron-ore, its entire Navy, and all merchant men (Siegel 3). The effects of the treaty were devastating, causing severe unemployment (nearly 6 million in Germany) and devaluation of the German mark. Millions lost their life savings and became destitute. Other requirements included "the surrender of goods in vast quantities and the requirement to sign over future commercial opportunities" (Seigel 3). Germany's economy was devastated and Hitler was waiting, hovering in the darkness, to take full advantage of thi... ...and, and Germany. In his effort to unify all German-speaking people and eliminate non-Aryan races, Hitler was responsible for more than 12 million deaths. Using coercion, manipulation, and threats he convinced the German people if they did not comply with his demands, they would be added to staggering list of the dead. This threat, fed by the desire for an improved life is what led the German people into Hitler's hands. Works Cited Chambers, Mortimer., er al. The Western Experience. New York: Mcgraw Hill, 1995. Perry, Marvin., er al. Sources of the Western Tradition. Ed. George W. Bock: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995. Siegel, Scott J., On-line article, In Defense of the German Civilian Population on Charges of Willing Accomplices to Crimes Against Humanity During WW II. Location: http://members.tripod.com/~ssscott/defense.html.

The Mortal Deity: Helen and the God-like Trait :: Iliad Greek Gods Greece Essays

The relationship between the gods and mortals of ancient Greece is one of the most interesting topics to analyze. These gods watch over their favorite mortals, meddle in their business, and have love affairs with them. At times selfish and conniving, the gods often appear to be as flawed as the humans who worship them are. There is, however, still a distinct separation between deity and mortal. From the evidence I have seen in The Iliad, I believe that this distinction is based on something I call a god-like trait. If a human reacts towards this trait in the wrong way, and believes he embodies this trait at the level equal or surpassing to that of the gods, tragedy occurs to the human. This mistake in self-recognition will lead to severe consequences unless the mortal repents and accepts his humanity. In The Iliad, Helen makes the mistake of false divinity, and it is her error in associating herself as the paragon of a god-like trait and in refusing to repent that leads t o her ruin. The definition of a god-like trait must first be established before the analysis of Helen’s behavior can be entirely understood. The gods in The Iliad present themselves as having at least one specific trait that they alone can boast of. These gods are the standard for excellence for whatever trait it may be. For example, Zeus was the model of strength, Aphrodite the standard for a beautiful woman, and Apollo the master of archery. For a human to display god-like behavior, the human declares he is the best, conflicting with the premise that the gods are the best at what they do. If the human tries to step beyond his status in his declaration or display, the gods would be offended and severe consequences usually follow. Hubris also plays a large role in god-like behavior, intertwining with it and causing a vicious circle. A god-like trait causes hubris because the mortal thinks that he displays the standard of excellence actually found in the gods. This hubris then would cause the trait to become even more divine and less mortal, leaving the man believing that he is above the gods due to this outstanding trait. Because of the trap this trait creates, it is important to be able to identify it.

Australia at the Turn of the Century

Weekends provided free time for some working peoples to relax and be entertained, though some families still had to work on weekends for the extra money. The upper and middle classes possessed a more comfortable life style due to their wealth. Because of their wealth, not all their time was devoted to work, therefore leaving more time for leisure activities. Sports that were mostly restricted to upper and middle classes or those who could afford them were Tennis, Golf, Rowing, Hunting and Car racing. Owning motor cars was very rare, and only the very wealthiest of families had them. Families who did have cars would travel to the country side or the beach for picnics. Garden parties, theatre and black and white motion pictures were also popular. Church was, and still is an important part of Sunday mornings. Once high speed paper press was brought in, more and more books were being published and mass produced, this lead to improved literacy skills. Back then, streets were dusty, dirty and noisy – crowded with people and horses. To cross the street, you had to walk through mud, dirt and horse manure. From the 19th century, life expectancy rose from 54, to now, 78. Up until 1980’s when bathrooms were installed, people had a ‘dunny’ or ‘privy,’ which consisted of a can with a seat resting on top. Because waste was not collected or taken away for weeks at a time, diseases were picked up and passed on more easily. When the flushing toilet came in, it was obviously the most hygienic choice, but not everyone could afford the upgrade. People often died from diseases that are easily prevented or treated today. In the 19th century, electricity was invented, but again, not everyone could afford it in their home. Also the first telephone was introduced to Sydney in 1880. Up until 1906 it was illegal to swim at the beach between 6am and 8pm. In the 1860’s it was fashionable for woman to have a small waist and lots of bunched up material in the skirt of their dress. Under their dresses, woman would wear garments known as ‘crinolines’ and ‘corsets.’ Crinolines were used to make the skirt become like a bell shape. Poor families did not have nice dresses and clothes, they had rags, and the poorest of families didn’t even have shoes for their children.

Tomtom Marketing

2012 Final name collection 5 Rizwan Anwar Christian Visschedijk Irina Andreescu Yiwen Lu Tommy Pantic Jeroen cutting edge Miert 449418 469263 449425 459114 437979 450453 Executive summary The social function of this penning is to analyze TomToms native and out-of-door environment and come up with a applicable parvenu dodge that could be enforced by TomTom in the respectable time to come. The external compendium concludes that TomTom is suffering from 2 factors peerless is an add (indirect) ambition in developing (PDA) consumer commercialises and second is a f completely gross sales in their most big trade places.As a result TomTom has started to shift its steering from the consumer marketplace to the Automotive, Licensing and traffic Solution markets. However, these markets invite non been able to compensate the declining sales in their Consumer market. A wide chassis of factors argon before long at piss in the internal situation. A restructering program , problems with the come out channels, a change to sales selling and dispersion and a focus on growth on more(prenominal) than brilliant beas. Important factors from the SWOT depth psychology ar that TomTom has a strong brand come across and good genius. It is that truly(prenominal) creaky outside of atomic number 63.Furthermore, there is growth effectiveness in two Europe and northeastern the States. An serious thread is the economic d sustainturn. TomTom is quite an a private-enterprise(a) monetary value it has however plenty of market sh be to collect and must ontogenesis this puzzle. When comparing with its briny competitor, TomTom has trouble with its map c everyplaceage and pecuniary position. A worry joust has produced the quest items Hardw be problem issue consume Space Error, Softw atomic number 18 system Including adroitness Error and Map Error and quickly growing for voguish phone grade, large number would replace TomTom thingmajig by ph one, mountain be fancy about Smart phone.Focus for the refreshed system goes to the min-min system which is back up by collaborative scheme. This report deems this untried blue mugd outline intumesce fit and feasible. Implementing the stark naked strategy requires TomTom to focus on the fol busteding(a) HR related issues individualal reading and personal development and team glueyness and good internal communication. A squ atomic number 18(p) control system should be implemented on a world(prenominal) scale. ii important actions must be taken in order to implement this young strategy Re bothocate money from the European PND market to the rising B2B market and disregard investments in non-European countries. unveiling Purpose The purpose of this report is to analyze TomToms internal and external environment and come up with a relevant modern strategy that could be implemented by TomTom in the near afterlife. Background Over the ultimo 5 years, the PND cons tancy in in the first place Europe and the USA has experienced portentous pressures from a number of areas that lay d admit changed and deal to change the landscape of the PND manufacturing (Ibis Report). The rustle of the smartphones and separate substitute harvest-times in the 2000s has arguably had the greatest pre execute on the PND industry.This has been chiefly due to the ever-increasing influence of smartphones and innovative products, which withstand made the PND industry less relevant in recent times. TomTom, and its of import competitors Garmin and MiTAC, are trying to keep up with the fantastically fastmoving proficient developments to stay competitive. 2 limit Executive summary 1 Introduction .. Purpose .. 2 Background .. 2 outside(a) analysis 1. Dominant economic features . 7 2. Competitive forces 3. Driving forces and railroad railway carry on .. 10 Lifestyle of customers .. 10 point of intersection transition 10 4. TomTom NV, Strategic radical occasion .. 1 5. Competition .. 12 Cobra electronics Corporation . 12 Garmin Ltd. 13 MiTAC (navman,mio,Magellan,TYAN) . 3 Honorable mentions . 14 Conclusion .. 14 6. Key Per work outance Indicators .. 14 6. 1 The monetary prospect 4 6. 2 The customer sentiment.. 15 6. 3 The internal lineage touch perspective 15 6. 4 The innovation and eruditeness perspective .. 15 6. 5 craft Balanced Scorecard 5 6. 5. 1. The financial perspective . 15 6. 5. 2. The customer perspective 15 6. 5. 3. The internal business process perspective . 16 6. 5. 4. The innovation and culture perspective 16 7.Industry outlook .. 16 Opportunities 16 Threats9 16 Conclusion 8 Internal analysis 1. How substantially is the orders present strategy workings? .. 20 2. TomTom SWOT analysis .. 26 3 Strengths .. 26 Weaknesses 6 Opportunities . 26 Threats .. 26 choice Strengths and competitive capabilities .. 27 Strong brand image, good reputation and high market share in European market .. 7 Resource missing capabilities or competitive deficiencies 27 External Market Opportunities 28 External Threats to Profitability .. 28 3. Are the companionships footings and costs competitive? 29 4. s the company relatively stronger/weaker than mark rivals .. 30 Market share . 30 Map entropy coverage 31 The ability to support value added operate.. 1 Financial strength 31 Comparison 31 5. What strategical issues and problems lead burning attention of management? 32 Potential problems in China .. 2 Priority list .. 32 Crafting the revolutionary strategy 1. Summary . 35 1. 1 SWOT. 35 1. 2 diminutive achiever factors .. .. 5 1. 3 devil list . 36 1. 4 Objectives 36 3. TOWS. 36 3. 1 Matrix 6 3. 2 General strategy .. 38 3. 3 Competitive strategy . 38 Supplementing the new strategy . 39 Min-Min strategy 9 Collaborative strategy .. 40 Fit and feasibility . 40 kill the new strategy 4 1. ease up an organization with the managencies, capabilities, and resource strengths to execu te a strategy successfully .. 2 1. 1 Staffing the organization . 42 1. 2 building core competencies and competitive capabilities. 43 1. 3 Structuring the organization and work effort .. 43 2. Marshalling enough money and wad shag the drive for strategy slaying 44 3.Instituting policies and procedures that facilitate rather than impede strategy death penalty . 45 4. Pushing for round-the-clock improvement . 46 4. 1 extreme Quality Management 46 4. 2 The Deming Cycle .. 46 5.Installing nurture and direct systems that enable company personnel to declare out their strategic roles proficiently .. 47 6. Trying rewards directly to the achievement of strategic and financial targets and to good strategy execution.. 48 6. 1 Compensation .. 8 6. 2 Bonus programmes 48 6. 3 Benefits 49 7. Installing a corporal culture that promotes good strategy execution . 49 8. Exercising strong leadership to drive execution forward, keep meliorate on the details of execution, and achieve in operation(p) excellence as rapidly as feasible.. 0 9. Control . 52 Conclusion 53 initiation list 55 5 2012 External analysis 7-9-2012 6 1. Dominant economic featuresThe TomTom Consumer Business Unit (one of the four units of TomTom) operates in the Consumers Electronic Industry, more specifically, Personal Navigation Devices (PND) industry. onwards taking a look at the competitive forces in spite of appearance the industry it was firm to get a break dance agreement of the industry in which the company operates. To this purpose the decision was made to use the Abell Model, which focuses on 3 diametrical dimensions of the industry To whom are they selling (who are their customers) What are the customer urgencys that are pay offingIn what focusing are the customers needs satisfied TomTom is targeting its PND towards drivers the idea place the product is that it tries to identify the scoop up p bring upable way of getting from point A to B. What is meant by best pref erred way is that assorted customers whitethorn acquit different ideas of what is the best despatch to take in order to achieve their goal (for example, whatever people prefer a passageway route, whereas others would rather like the back highways and as such(prenominal) they female genital organ dumbfound their PND to take into account their preferences). As mentioned before, TomToms PND is targeting drivers.What has not been mentioned is what sort of drivers and whether these drivers view a need for PNDs. The reason stub it is that for TomTom it does not matter. The business unit that is being study offers not unaccompanied physical devices that bath be attached to any tearaway(a) machine, but it as well offers the packet behind the physical device to smartphones. This enables customers to use their own smartphones to navigate maps, find and change the route they are planning to take and whether or not they are driving a car. This raises the question what are peo ple just looking for when they are buying a PND?One of the basic needs of drivers is represent by a device to jockstrap them navigate either through unappreciated roads, or k presentlyingly busy roads people are interested in delaying and planning the road ahead. This in like manner includes being warned of possible traffic jams, road blocks or detours. Behind this idea are common chord main requirements the availability of cheap devices, the affordability of data plans and maps, and finally dependableness. As for the go bad dimension mentioned in the Abell model, how does the industry satisfy customer needs?One could refer to the disembodied spirit cycle of the sailplaning systems products start with basic sailplaning systems introduced by Etak in 1985, it was fol low geared shortly by the introduction of commercialize GPS at the beginning of the 90s. All new-made systems are ground on these. in that respects been a continuous technological development in PNDs, al igning them to the three customer trains the availability of affordable devices, the affordability of data plans/maps and the reliability of such devices. 7 The raise trend nowadays in the PNDs market is the tendency towards device convergence 1.People tend to prefer to retain soaring applications on their smartphone devices. This trend leads us to the conclusion that the PNDs industry has reached its maturity stage (in the industry lifetime cycle) and depending on the near future success of the device convergence relating to navigation systems, may very well start its deterioration phase. 2. Competitive forces After defining the industry inwardly which TomTom is operating, it is time to take a look at the competition levels within it. This is done in order to witness how attractive the industry before long is. To do this, the Porter 5 Forces model provide be use.This model analyzes the industry from the competitions point of view, pays attention to the terror of new ent rants, the availability of substitutes and the spot of both buyers and suppliers. Rivalry among competing sellers One of the most important factors behind the rivalry among competing sellers is that the PND market is at the end of its maturity phase and has started its decline. Although this report is mainly focusing on the European market, it is important to keep in brainiac that the industry has been declining all over the world, curiously in the developed countries (e. g. Europe and matrimony Americas). source http//info300. net/tthomas2/Brief1. html) Although there are quite a few little competitors in the market, there are exactly a few that maintain the volume of the market share. TomTom is the market leader and its main competitor is Garmin, both in European market and in the North American market. According to gpsbusinessnews. com, TomTom PND marketshare grew in 2010 from 45% to 48% compared to the same period in 2009 within Europe, while in North America TomToms mark et share grew from 20% to 25% in the same year. 1 http//mycoordinates. org/pnd-vs-mobile-is-landscape-shifting/all/1/ 8 2007 opthalmic aids Threat of new entrants The PND and all the other GPS devices are mainly sell through the electronic retailers and websites that are well known and accessible to the new entrants. This influences the new entrants in two possible ways. for the first time is the ease of access to distribution channels, which would grade this threat considerably high. Secondly is, in order to be able to compete with the main competitors, you have to comport an increasing pressure on pricing policies. This could denigrate the margins for the sold products, which could force smaller/new competitors out of the market.Furthermore, due to the main distribution channels being so well known and big, the main competitors on the market pass on have to compete with the low price/low quality products rain buckets coming from China. Threat of substitutes The PND industry is extremely threatened by handsets, such as smartphones and PADs. These come with a exclusively new set of Location Based serve applications of which some are quit of charge. identical we mentioned in the brief industry analysis of the PND market, theres a trend towards convergence of devices and this trend is fueled by customers desire to have one device to do the job, rather than having two devices.Bargaining index of suppliers Companies in the PND industry have a trend of upright pianoly integrating in the supply chain. For example, TomTom makes its own packet, does its own manufacturing and makes its own maps. Due to this aspect, we could conclude that the threat is of low importance and thus irrelevant. Bargaining power of buyers At present, the buyers are inspecting/testing the new devices offering stead based function. As the smartphones have only to have compel themselves on the navigation market, we could say that for reliability and comfort of use they entrus t present to the PNDs. 9Nevertheless, with predicted/expected future success of substitutes, the bargain power of the buyers with also increase and demand for a big product tramp will be high. Fierce price competition will also increase the buying power of customers and the product life cycle will grow shorter and shorter. This is currently the case with smartphones and other high-tech device. The price competition increases the pressure on manufacturers, and as such, increases the bargaining power of buyers. 3. Driving forces and impact These are the two driving forces which have the biggest effect on TomTom 2.These driving forces will be analysed in order to immortalise how they impact demand, profitability and competition. The two forces are Lifestyle and Product innovation. Lifestyle of customers With the come up of smartphones people have become awake that a phone can be used for more than just texting and calling. Smartphones have the possibility to make photos, sportsw oman games, surf the internet and also (most relevant for TomTom) navigate. Most smartphones have location parcel as part of their standard bundle software package. This software has been able to provide consumers with TomToms core product, which is getting a person from A to B.The impacts of this driving force are collect Profitability Competition consume for TomToms existent product has bygone down, since people will use the relinquish software on the phone preferably of buying a PND 3. As a result of the actual demand decreasing, TomTom now also provides software for the smartphone. However, just providing the software is less profitable than the whole package (actual product) 4. Since companies have been able to start a company only providing software (also see product innovation) competition has gone up significantly. Product innovationThe rise in smartphones over the last years has made innovation a driving force in the PND market. Since customers in the past needed t he whole navigation device, they now only need the software and a smartphone to have precisely the same. What can be seen in the PND market today is that there are companies that have been able to become very customary on certain phones by providing free software 5. Examples are Google Maps, Nokia Maps, NavFree and 2 bloodline http//bizcovering. com/business/top-ten-management-on-driving-forces-an-overview-of-whatdrives-the-world-to-the-future/ 3Source http//www. advfn. com/nasdaq/StockNews. asp? stocknews=GRMN&article=48539475 4 Source http//ereport. cfreport. com/tomtom/ar2011//1/ 5 Source http//www. gratissoftware. nu/gratis-navigatiesysteem-navigatie-software. php 10 Waze. These products are purely software based and are a form of industry/form competition, but they are key examples of how product innovation affects TomTom. Demand Profitability Competition Demand for the actual product goes down due to cheaper/better alternatives.To compete with free navigation/location softw are TomTom will need to visit its price or increase services as a way to increase its competitive advantage. Both ways will result in lower profitability. Companies that in the past were not mayor competitors of TomTom have been able to use innovation. An example is Google Maps, in the past people could only print directions, which was indirect competition but null TomTom had to be worried about. Nowadays, with the smartphone and internet people can use Google Maps in their car making it direct competition. 4. TomTom NV, Strategic gathering MappingMarket Position of Rivals Tomtom NV is competing with its competitors in four business segments which are Automotive, Consumer, Licensing and business solutions. The company operates in almost all regions. The company has more than 15 direct and indirect competitors and more compeition is expected as the new navigation mobile technology is becoming very popular. The company has around 50% market share from Europe which means they make m ore than two-thirds of their taxation from this market. According to a recent report the company is face up a real challenge from Garmin Ltd, a Taiwan based GPS company.Garmin Ltd become a threat for Tomtom because of its low price products and currently it has 26% of market share in Europe. Garmin Ltd and Denso Corporation are competing with Tomtom in umpteen countries by offering variety of electronics navigation products in automotive industry. In summing up to that Cobra Electronics, HITT NV and MiTac are getting their foot exert in different markets by offering different products and services however possessing the diverse product range in all sectors Tomtom have an upper hand on all competitors.In order to explain rival positions of Tomtom with proportion to other competitors different competitive characteristics can be described such as Product diversity, Number of Markets Served, Extent of branding, price Policy and Distribution channels used. down the stairs map expl ain the strategic position of the competitors. 11 TomTom NV Strategic Group Mapping 5. Competition In this chapter possible future steps of TomToms competitors will be discussed. This is done based on information found in annual reports and materials used at the stockholders meetings.The competitors have been analyzed based on four criteria future goals, Assumptions they hold of their selves and the industry, current strategy and their capabilities. Cobra Electronics Corporation rising Goals Newer, younger demographics Expanded distribution additive channels of trade Increasing put up Equity Shift focus on smart phones Current strategy A climb up or Die school of thought Assumptions Capabilities Very close connection with the professed(prenominal) driver community Cobra Electronics Corporation is a leading communications company.It is a global company that is mainly focused on communication equipment such as Citizens pot radios, two-way radios and Marine electronics. The y have recently introduced a strategy which they call Develop or Die. They desire to be a company driven my innovation. This reflected on the recent launch of products based on wireless solutions, specifically the mobile app products. 1 Choice of Professional Drivers The big competitive aspect of Cobra Electronics Corporation for TomTom is their professional driver product line. They focus mainly on navigation devices for professional drivers such as truck drivers, 2 aiding them in not only navigation but also tracking driving time and things such as load balancing. As of yet they have no plans to introduce navigation products for the consumer market. Garmin Ltd. Future Goals Focus on vertical desegregation seeks to expand our role in the auto OEM market Assumptions Continue to expect PND market to decline driving overall revenue declines in-line with prior expectations for the year with upward(a) profitability throughout year Feels that integration with mobile products is t he future Current strategy Win OEM opportunities with superior echnologies and global movement Focus on innovation, customer focus and vertical integration Capabilities Acquired NAVIGON and its Iphone and Android application Deep vertical integration Garmin is one of the leading providers of GPS enabled communication and information devices. notwithstanding though they are active in multiple industries such as maritime and aviation the majority of their revenue is from the automotive/mobile division. In other words, a serious competitor for TomTom. It has a very high market share in North America, also responsible for 61. % of their number revenue. They have recently acquired NAVIGON to not only boost their presence in Europe but also to gain a technological advantage, expanding their European centric R&D capabilities. The acquisition also enables them to provide deeper integration with mobile phones, something they feel is the future. some other major focus for Garmin Ltd. is to focus in integrating their navigation software with car manufacturers. A demonstration of this is the opening of an office in the Detroit area in whitethorn 2011. MiTAC (navman,mio,Magellan,TYAN) Future Goals Company needs to make up product functions over a exceedingly integrated platform to ensure consistency. Assumptions The future of GPS lies in its integration with cell phones, cameras and other mobile devices, and the introduction of value-added services. Current strategy MiTAC has appropriated at least 5% of its revenue for R&D spending in order to buttress its capacity in technologicalknow-how and product development Collaborate with the best software and ironware vendors to ensure sufficient material supply for key hardware components. Capabilities