Dans quelle mesure peuton dire que les in&#233galities de salaire Essay

Dans quelle mesure peuton dire que les inégalities de salaire existent toujours pour les femmes en France - Essay Example Au contraire, l'tude montre un cart d'entre 6% (ouvriers) et 68% (chefs d'entreprise) dans les salaires mensuels nets, moyennant 37% tous temps de travail confondus, et 24% pour les postes temps complets. La catgorie avec le moins d'carts est la catgorie des employs (entre 6 et 8%). Les moins bien payes touchent 91% du niveau de salaire des hommes, alors que les 10% les mieux rmunres n'en peroivent que 75% (Observatoire des ingalits 2006). En ce qui concerne la fonction publique, les plus rcentes tudes publies par l'INSEE (2004) montrent un cart de 20% dans le salaire annuel nets pour les postes temps complets. Tandis que les femmes cadres et des employes et ouvrires qui travaillent dans le secteur public gagnent nettement moins que les hommes (entre 20 et 25%), des professionnelles gagnent presque le mme salaire que leurs collgues masculins (20,400 contre 21,900). Ses statistiques sont controverses de par le fait que les vraies diffrences sont difficiles cerner. Dans certaines instances, le statut complexe de la femme franaise entre mre de famille et travailleur rendre difficile la tache de comparaison. L'volution des lois sur le travail (le SMIC par exemple) a fait que les femmes d'aujourd'hui gagnent plus que ses surs d'il y a un demi-sicle (Clark 2000, p.77), mais 80% des salaris qui gagnent le SMIC et moins sont des femmes (Maurin 2000). Cela ne dmontre pas une ingalit de salaire mais une ingalit dans le systme du travail. La culture franaise insiste sur la place primordiale de la femme la maison, en assurant la stabilit de la vie de famille. Puisque des femmes doivent penser aux enfants, soit elles ne poursuivent pas des tudes au-del du baccalaurat-qui leur donne accs qu'aux postes mal pays-o elles ne travaillent qu' temps partiel. Ces ingalits se rvlent par une infriorit de salaire dans des statistiques globales, mais ce qui est plus important retenir c'est que les horaires infrieurs effectus par les femmes ne sont pas reflts par les tudes, donc on ne peut que supposer un cart plus important que ceux reporter par des statistiques officielles. D'autre lment qui rend compliqu la question d'ingalits de salaire est la diffrence des qualifications entre hommes et femmes et leur concentration dans des diffrents secteurs et filires. Les femmes sont plutt concentres dans des filires avec des salaires bas (Gregory et Tidd 2000, p. 36), par exemple, elles sont plutt dans l'administration (secrtaires, rceptionnistes) et l'enseignement (surtout dans la maternelle). SelonMargaret Maruani, sociologue et directrice de recherche au CNRS, cela est la faute de l'ducation, ou les filles sont traditionnellement orientes vers des filires fminines tandis que des garons le sont vers des filires dites nobles telles que sciences conomiques (Maurin 2000). En outre des secteurs de salaire infrieur, les mres gravitent aussi vers les botes relativement petites et intimes (Gregory et Tidd 2000, p.36). En tudiant des secteurs quivalents, on trouve qu'en gnral les femmes occupent des postes moins qualifis que des hommes mme si maintenant elles ont plus d'accs aux mtiers qualifis (Maurin 2000). Mme quand elles se trouvent parmi les cadres suprieurs, son statut et par la suite son salaire n'est pas forcment la mme que ses collgues masculins. Maruani

The Barriers For Nurses In Managing Post-Operative Pain Literature review

The Barriers For Nurses In Managing Post-Operative Pain - Literature review Example The studies recommend improvements in the knowledge and experience of nurses in pain management as well as future studies on effective pain management covering a larger population. These studies would help improve the evidence base on the subject matter. Review of Related Literature: This chapter shall provide a review of relevant literature. First, it will present a rationale to the literature review and then establish the questions that this review will answer. The aims and objectives of this review shall also be established. Background/Rationale to Literature Review Pain is one of the most disturbing symptoms which any person can feel. Regardless of its intensity, duration, or location, it can impact on an individual’s psychological and physical well-being (Yildirim, et.al., 2008). During the post-operative period, pain is a common complaint or symptom for patients. Such pain can further increase the impact of the surgery and can sometimes delay the patient’s physical and emotional recovery (Van Hulle, 2005). Nurses have the unenviable task of ensuring the consistent and effective management of post-operative pain. Their role during this time involves the assessment of pain levels, the administration of pain medicati ons, and providing emotional support for the patients (Textor and Porock, 2006). As nurses, they also have the duty of notifying the doctors about significant changes in the patient’s condition, mostly in relation to unrelieved pain or pain which manifests with other symptoms including fever, decreased or increased heart rate, unrelieved severe and continuous pain, as well as bleeding at the incision site (Plaisance and Logan, 2006). Based on these significant considerations, pain management is a crucial element in ensuring effective post-operative care. The nurses administering skills therefore have to have the right skills, interventions, and knowledge to ensure effective post-operative care (Ferrell and McCaffery, 2008). This topic was chosen because there is a need to study gaps in the nursing management of post-operative care, including new and possibly more effective means of pain management (Lui, et.al., 2008). This topic was chosen now because nurses have become more and more involved in the management of post-operative care patients and there is a need to evaluate and improve their efficacy in pain management (Matthews and Malcolm, 2007). I am personally interested in this area because I consider this an area which is highly specialized and any skills I can learn through evidence-based practice can also help me improve my practice. It relates to my practice because I work in the post-operative care unit and I have personally encountered an instance when the patient manifested severe pain after surgery and I reached a point when I became doubtful of the efficacy of my skills as a nurse in managing the patient’s symptom. This literature review can help me establish evidence-based practice on effective post-operative management of pain (McCaffery, 2002). It can also help improve the nursing practice, most especially post-operative nursing care. The delivery of pain relief to patients is also an important benefit for this literature review a s it ensures that the pain relief measures would refer to patient-centered and evidence-based care (Joint Commission Resources, 2010). Research Question: This literature review will help to answer the question: What are the barriers for nurses in managing post-operative pain? Aim This review will review studies discussing the barriers encountered by nurses in post-operative pai

Report on takotsubo cardiomyopathy

Report on takotsubo cardiomyopathy Abstract This is a report on Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. It includes details of the left ventricle, proposed mechanisms of the disease, reasons as to why certain regions are affected and some arent, the exact problem in detail, symptoms and clinical features including tests and ECG readings, treatment options used and prognosis, incidence and recurrence, some case reports to show the condition in its clinical setting and a conclusion summing up the important points and what direction needs to be taken with regards to the disease. Introduction What do I mean by a broken heart? A broken heart can mean many things, both physiologically and philosophically. Physiologically a broken heart can be a myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, angina, the list is endless. However, philosophically speaking a broken heart is generally perceived as the loss of a loved one or a relationship breakup but in this context can also mean other things which would also cause severe emotional stress such as legal issues, sudden poor financial situation, intense arguing, finding out you have a chronic terminal illness or a loved one does, surgery and car accidents and even the stoppage of use of addictive drugs. We know profound stress can cause certain cardiovascular issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and coronary heart disease. A relatively recent cardiomyopathy has been discovered, and is called broken heart syndrome. This is because it is highly associated with having a profound amount of emotional stress. Heres some anatomy of the left ventricle and myocardium muscle. The left ventricle will be concentrated on as that is the general area this cardiomyopathy occurs. The left ventricular free wall is thickest at the base and thinnest at the apex (usually around 1-2mm). The left ventricular free wall in general is 3 times thicker than the right ventricular free wall. The role of noradrenaline Noradrenaline is a hormone and a neurotransmitter produced in the human body. It is released upon excitement, threat etc and directly increases the heart rate. It is released in the fight or flight response. So what is broken heart syndrome? Broken heart syndrome was first recorded by Dote et al in 1991. They discovered that this form of cardiomyopathy involved the left ventricle and particularly the apex. They found that instead of contracting normally to pump blood around the body, the ventricle ballooned and expanded. This is due to akinesia of the distal anterior wall and apical wall and hypercontraction of the basal wall. Obviously, this would have a severe effect on the blood flow to vital organs so could be quite problematic. It was named Takotsubo cardiomyopathy because the appearance of the left ventricle in an angiogram resembles an octopus pot, which translates as Takotsubo in Japanese. It is also referred to as apical ballooning syndrome, due to the ballooning of the apex. A shows what happens in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in contraction, as can be seen the volume of the ventricle increases. B shows what a normal contraction should look like. What are the physiological mechanisms behind Takotsubo cardiomyopathy? There have been a few proposed theories, but no one is quite sure. Multivessel coronary vasospasm One theory is that many of the coronary arteries spasm and constrict at the same time so blood flow is greatly reduced to the myocardium muscle and other areas of the heart. However in some studies a vasospasm has been induce by acetylcholine and it has not been conclusive. Also the duration of the abnormal wall motion is longer than it should be. Release of catecholamines In almost all cases of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, increased levels of catecholamines (adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine) have been found in the body. There are many things which can induce a release of catecholamines and emotional excitement or stress are some of them. The catecholamines would be released to the heart to make it beat harder and faster. This is the most widely accepted mechanism for Takotsubo but as mentioned earlier, there is no clear answer. Microvascular spasm It has been found that there is impaired microcirculation in this syndrome, but again there are many challenges to this theory. The â€Å"slow-flow† phenomenon is not observed. Impaired microcirculation may be the result of the primary myocardial injury not necessarily the cause of it. So why is the apical wall of the left ventricle and the mid-ventricle the place that is most affected by a surge of these catecholamines? Well, there are a few anatomical and physiological causes for this. There is a markedly higher concentration of adrenergic receptors in the apex of the left ventricle than other parts of the heart and it is these receptors that noradrenaline and adrenaline will bind to. Also due to increased responsiveness of the apical myocardium to stimulation of these receptors. The apical wall is especially vulnerable structurally as when the rest of the heart has a three layered myocardial composition, the apex does not and is therefore a lot thinner. The area of the apex tends to lose its elasticity a lot more easily after many extreme expansions and does not correctly go back to its original state. The apex is a lot more likely to become ischemic as the blood flow is not large in that area so at any time when blood flow is reduced the apex loses out quickly. The Electro Cardio Gram of a person with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy usually shows ST elevation in the acute stage, T wave inversions and a prolonged QT interval in the sub acute stage and the inverted T wave can persist for weeks in the recovery stage. Clinical presentation The clinical presentation and diagnostic tools are very similar to that of acute coronary syndrome and acute myocardial ischemia. A diagnosis of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy should not be made until ACS, coronary artery disease, acute myocardial infarction, myocarditis, pericarditis etc have been ruled out. Along with the ECG there are other symptoms which might lead to a diagnosis. Among these are chest pain and shortness of breath. Temporary loss of consciousness and shock have been reported. A slight elevation of cardiac damage bio markers troponin and creatine kinase can be detected. Surprisingly, it generally occurs in patients without significant blockage of coronary arteries or any acute plaque rupture. Treatments Long term therapy should include: Beta blockers, which work by blocking the transmission of certain nervous impulses to the heart and reduces the heart rate and force of the beat. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors which stop the conversion of angiotensin 1 to angiotensin 2, which reduces arteriole resistance and increases the venous capacity. Diuretics get rid if the water built up in lungs from heart failure. Aspirin is used to reduce the risk of another heart attack and prevent more cardiac muscle death. Calcium channel blockers are generally used to lower blood pressure. The treatment for this disease is generally to try and take the stress away that caused it in the first place and is of a supportive nature. Most people suffering from broken heart syndrome recover within about 2 weeks to 2 months. Incidence Various different studies have shown that Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a generally a female condition as between 70% and 100% of all cases are in women, most of whom are post menopausal. The reason for this is unclear, however some explanations have been proposed. Sex hormones may definitely influence the sympathetic neurohormonal axis and coronary vasoreactivity. Females may also be more susceptible to myocardial stunning that is mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. Endothelial function is altered due to changes in oestrogen levels and this could be another reason for the much more common occurrence in post menopausal women. A Danish study suggested that 234 out of 100,000 people get acute coronary syndrome and an American study reported that 1.7% to 2.2% of patients thought to have acute coronary syndrome actually have Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. So as can be seen it is a very rare illness. Around 99% of patients in hospital with Takotsubo survive the disease and fully recover. Some reports suggest that up to 10% of patients who recover will get it again. This makes it difficult from a treatment point of view as to how long to treat for. Some case reports Case 1 67 year old woman presenting with chest pain that has lasted a day has ST elevations on ECG. Chest pain is substernal and is linked with dyspnoea. Pain radiates to left arm. When resting pain and dyspnoea goes after an hour but comes back throughout the day. ECG is concerning. She is sent to the emergency department from a clinic. Her blood pressure is 140/86 mmHg, pulse is 86 beats per minute, breathing is 14 breaths per minute, O2 saturation is 100%, she is cannulised and on 2 litres per minute nasally. Her temperature is 37.1 °C. She smokes 20 packs of cigarettes a year. She is asked about a history of heart problems in her family and she begins to cry and describes her sisters death from a heart attack just 2 days before. ECG shows small Q waves, T wave inversions, ST elevation and poor R wave progression. All other tests are normal, a left ventriculogram reveals akinesia of parts of the apex. 7 days later she has normal left ventricular function and apex wall motion is normal, though the base appears to be contracting harder than apex. Case 2 86 year old woman is in emergency department presenting with chest pain that has lasted 10 hours. It is substernal and does not radiate. Her blood pressure is 185/88 mmHg, pulse is 71 beats per minute, breathing rate is 20 breaths per minute O2 saturation is 98% and she is breathing normal air. Her temperature is 35.7 °C. Medical history is hypertension, gout a hysterectomy and hypothyroidism. She has a family history of coronary disease. ECG shows ST elevation and T wave inversion. All other tests are normal. The left ventriculogram reveals akinesia of the apex and mid anterior wall. The base has normal function. Mid septum shows hypertrophy and apex shows hypotrophy. Left ventricular function is at just 34% ejection fraction. It is found out that her son was killed accidentally just 2 weeks prior to onset of symptoms. Conclusion Yes, by all means it is possible to die of a â€Å"broken heart†. Both cases showed that a profound amount of severe emotional stress led to the Takotsubo â€Å"broken heart† syndrome Although it is a very rare disease and almost all patients survive and recover fully, if the condition goes unnoticed or untreated it can prove fatal. As can be seen from the cases, the symptoms are very general with tests not showing many abnormalities. It seems to have no predisposition in people with heart problems. Its symptoms and clinical features are very similar to that of acute coronary syndrome. The most defining tests seem to be the ECG which shows similar results each time, and a left ventriculography, which can show up exactly which parts of the ventricle wall have akinesia. The relatively recent discovery of the disease means that although it is fully recognised by medical institutions it is not fully integrated into clinical practise. Although incidence is rare, this does need to change. More research must be done in the field to fully understand the mechanism behind the illness, as all the proposed mechanisms are unproved and conflicting. By finding the correct mechanism the treatment options can also be broadened to suit more specifically the cause and not just management. References Apical ballooning syndrome or takotsubo cardiomyopathy: a systematic review Gianni M, Dentali F, Grandi AM, Sumner G, Hiralal R, Lonn E. European Heart Journal 2006. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, or Broken-Heart Syndrome Virani SS, Khan AN, Mendoza CE, Ferreira AC, de Marchena E. Texas Heart Institute Journal 2007 v.34 Recognition of the Apical Ballooning Syndrome in the United States G. William Dec, MD Circulation 2005 American Heart Association Stress, emotion and the heart: tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy Iqbal MB, Moon JC, Guttmann OP, Shanahan P, Goadsby PJ, Holdright DR Postgrad Med J 2006;82:e29 www.takotsubo.com www.wrongdiagnosis.com Hursts The Heart A case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy mimicking ACS Metzl et al 2006 Nat Clin Pract Cardiovasc Med Apical and Midventricular Transient Left Ventricular Dysfunction Syndrome (Tako-Tsubo Cardiomyopathy): Frequency, Mechanisms and Prognosis Kurowski et al 2007 CHEST Systematic Review: Transient Left Ventricular Apical Ballooning: A Syndrome That Mimics ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Bybee et al December 2004 Annals Takotsubo cardiomyopathy a case series and review of the literature West j emergency medicine Acute coronary syndrome: incidence and prognosis, Nielsen KM, Danish Medical Bulletin No. 1. February 2006. Vol. 53 Page 95

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Essay -- Radio Frequency Identif

The innovation of the RFID chip or the Radio Frequency Identification has been a critical piece of technology that has been around since the early/mid 20th century (est 1938). Functions of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging system involves a tag and a reader. When scanned, the antenna within the tag picks up the radio wave and sends a response back to the reader. This technology is being used for both short range and also long range identification, in the short-range identification category, this innovation is used in practical applications like credit cards (pay wave, tap and go ect...), animal identification (domestic pets, farm animals). The long range applications of the RFID chip is used in aeroplanes to bounce back a signal to radio control signifying their plane identification, the long range application of the chip is used in many other systems for similar purposes. the RFID chip is used all around the would and has and is readily available for the past few decades. The RFID chip is used by many agencies including federal agencies and also used for municipal and state and also local agencies. E.G.. RFID for Federal Agencies * Border and Immigration Security * Cargo and Container Security * Food and Cold Chain Safety (Product Authentication and Temperature Tracking) * Livestock & AgricultureTracking * Military Personnel Relocation Services * Military Supply Chain (Supply chain Shipping, * Receiving and Logistics) * Pharmaceutical Track and Trace Trusted Traveler Control Systems aeroplane tracking/ID RFID for Municipal and State and Local Agencies * Asset & Inventory Control * Firefighter Locationing /Emergency Service Personnel Locationing * First Responder Evacuation Services * Lib... ...lter, 2001, pp. 445--456) Motorolasolutions.com. 2014. RFID Government Solutions - Motorola Solutions USA. [online] Available at: http://www.motorolasolutions.com/US-EN/Business+Solutions/Industry+Solutions/Government/Airports+and+Seaports/RFID_Government_Solutions_US-EN Wikipedia. 2014. Radio-frequency identification. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification [Accessed: 11 Feb 2014]. Wikipedia. 2014. Digital Revolution. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Revolution Wikipedia. 2014. Near field communication. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication Idtechex.com. 2014. RFID Forecasts, Players and Opportunities 2012-2022: IDTechEx. [online] Available at: http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/rfid-forecasts-players-and-opportunities-2012-2022-000322.asp

Eco 365 Supply and Demand Essay

The supply and demand simulation shows different aspects of economic structures. Although mostly focused on microeconomics, the simulation does show a small role of macroeconomics. The principles of microeconomics would apply to drop in rent prices to increase the supply being demanded. Another microeconomic principle shown in the simulation is the rise in demand when the cost of rent is lowered. Macroeconomics principles came into play when the rise in demand for apartment was a direct product of the establishment of a new company in town. Same principles of microeconomics apply to an excess supply created by a price ceiling enforced by the government. Supply and Demand Shifts A shift in the demand curve was created when the new company brought an increase in population to Atlantis. A greater amount of people created a greater demand for the apartments. Equilibrium is reached in the demand shift by raising the price of rent to decrease demand. A supply shift was created when 400 apartments were converted into condominiums, which in turn caused a drop in supply. The equilibrium would be fixed by raising the cost to lower the demand because of a decrease in supply. Real World Application With the nutritional corporations expanding and health awareness on the rise prices of nutritional supplements are rising to meet the demand. Especially in local areas, there aren’t too many health and wellness shops that offer the best available supplements or expert advice, therefore the few local shops in town can raise the prices of their products because of high demand and low supply. Microeconomics: Supply/Demand Shifts A sudden increase in population can cause a demand shift which would either cause you to increase or decrease price reach equilibrium and maximize revenue. Supply shifts are caused by eliminating or adding supply to an economy to meet the choices of the population. Macroeconomics: Supply/Demand Shifts An increase in wages from neighboring business may cause a demand shift. This would cause a company to make changes to their prices to try to reach another target or meet the needs of the current target. A shift in supply because of macroeconomics can be caused by price ceilings or floors that would lead to a surplus or shortage of supply. Pricing Strategy Price elasticity of demand will always change the pricing strategy of a company so that they can maximize revenue, not demand. If a company figures they have low demand for their products they may lower the price so that more people become interested and vise-versa. The price elasticity is the equal to the percent change of quantity demand times the percent change in price. Price elasticity is used to figure the change in demand after a change in price (Colander, 2010). PEoD = (% Change in Quantity Demanded)/(% Change in Price) When the price of causes a change in the demand the formula will recognize that change and give you an indication of delicate that products demand is to a change in price. The higher the result equals higher sensitivity to price change (Moffatt, 2013). References Colander, D. C. (2010). Economics (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Moffatt, M. (2013). Price Elasticity of Demand. Retrieved from http://economics.about.com/cs/micfrohelp/a/priceelasticity.htm

Judy Jones †beauty, devil, or victim? Essay

â€Å"Winter Dreams†, one of the greatest works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, has successfully depicted the downside of the so-called American Dream in his time. The story described the frustration of people who had defined their happiness as material success. Beside the protagonist Dexter Green, there was another character that made readers preoccupied with conflicting ideas after reading the story. She was Judy Jones, the center of Dexter’s winter dreams. In this essay, we will examine this character to see whether she was a statue of woman beauty, a devil who kept hurting other people, or a victim of such a material society. First of all, we must admit that Judy Jones was a masterpiece of God. When it comes to an attractive girl, we can definitely take Judy Jones for an excellent example. Judy, in the author’s description, was a gorgeous young girl whose charm was composed of a striking appearance, a great sense of style, and a magnetic personality. To plenty of men, Judy was an extremely adorable girl with whom they couldn’t help falling in love. Almost every man in the story had to admit that Judy was greatly good-looking. Dexter, the protagonist, had recognized Judy’s potential great beauty when she was just eleven. He depicted little Judy as an â€Å"inexpressively lovely† girl who â€Å"brings no end of misery to a great number of men†. When Judy turned twenty, she became an irresistible beauty with a slender figure, passionate eyes, picturesquely beautiful complexion, and especially, an appealing down-turning mouth that â€Å"gave a continual impression of intense life and vitality†. Additionally, Judy’s stylishness made her become more appealing. Her costumes not only perfectly fitted her but also made her stand out in any situation. She once showed up at the golf court so gracefully in â€Å"a blue gingham dress†, which got many men’s attention. Another time, she suddenly appeared in such a healthy and attractive manner on a racing motor-boat with an eye-catching pink bathing-suite on her beautiful body that Dexter couldn’t do anything else but complying with all her requests. When Dexter  met her again at the dancing club after a long time, she still looked as pretty as a doll in a sparkling gold dress. Moreover, Judy’s charm was fortified with a special personality. Though a slender girl, she not only knew how to swim or dance but also knew how to surf on the sea and drive a motor-boat with no difficulty. She was always aware of her charm, always confident, and friendly towards the man she was interested in. Also, she was not afraid of actively asking a new acquaintance on a date and did make it become a romantic and memorable date than ever. That she knew how to make a man happy with fulfillment was so true since Dexter, during his life, would never forget the moment (though short) with Judy on the dark sun-porch, deeply in the passionate kisses. Hence, generally speaking, Judy was a dream girl for plenty of men. What is more beside Judy Jones’ great looks? Surprisingly, it is a not very beautiful soul, or critically speaking, a cruel nature of a devil. As an eleven-year-old girl, Judy Jones had adopted an incorrect etiquette. She was so rude when addressing Dexter as â€Å"Boy† while she was obviously younger than him. Besides, she couldn’t conceal her bad temper when having something unsatisfying. Not seeing any caddies available to serve her, Judy vented her anger on Mrs. Hilda-her nurse by â€Å"taking one of the clubs, hitting it on the ground with violence†, and wildly shouting at Mrs. Hilda that â€Å"You damn little mean old thing!†. When Judy entered adulthood, the cruel side of her nature became clearer. One of her disgusting qualities was once again the impoliteness. She seemed amazingly unconcerned and unapologetic when hitting Mr. T.A. Hedrick in his stomach with a stray ball. Furthermore, Judy Jones was a statue of a material girl who judged a man only by his material success and seemed to ignore the moral value. On the first date with Dexter, Judy straightforwardly told him about her recent upsetting love affair with a man who, in her words, â€Å"was as poor as a church-mouse†, and boldly asked Dexter â€Å"Are you poor?†. What if Dexter had said â€Å"Yes†? Logically, she might have thrown him out of her life at once! Judy Jones’ cruelty was explicitly revealed through her selfishness, wilfulness and impulse-driven behavior. She was always trifling with others’ affection. When she was interested in a man, she did not hesitate to take advantage of her charm to achieve her goal – making him crazily love her. Nevertheless, once losing the excitement, she mercilessly kicked the guy out of her current life and looked for a new delight. Her wickedness, however, did not stop at the â€Å"new one in, old one out† attitude towards love. When the miserable neglected man gradually forgot her and was about to start a new life, she tried to draw his attention back by â€Å"granting him a brief honeyed hour, which encouraged him to tag along for a year or so longer†, then left him, hurt him again, and of course, non-stop looked for another interesting guy to fulfill her desire. She acted wickedly regardless of others’ feelings as if she had had the right to do it. Dexte r was one of the most miserable victims of Judy’s love games. He was suffering not only from being neglected again by Judy but also from regretting giving serious hurt to his fiancà © Irene Scherer and her parents. Obviously, Judy Jones’ selfishness had given pains to plenty of people. Why was Judy Jones such a disgusting devil? Were there any sensible reasons for this, which are worth our sympathy? Firstly, Judy Jones was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and with a great beauty that could help her win almost every man’s heart. She lived an extravagant life with plenty of elite suitors always around. That she could acquire what she wanted effortlessly made her appreciate nothing. She hardly had any meaningful interests in her life except flirting men around. She assumed that her radiant beauty was a master key to the happiness, but her upsetting married life at the end of the story proved that she was completely wrong. Her unhappiness afterwards resulted from the emptiness of her soul and an intensive desire for what is so-called happiness that she couldn’t know how to achieve and even couldn’t define. That was why she once cried and complained to Dexter: â€Å"I’m more beautiful than anybody else. Why can’t I be happy?†. The fact that she kept hunting for joy with different men gives us an impression of her illusion and disorientation in her journey to seek happiness. No matter how popular, rich, and even talented a man was, Judy couldn’t find a permanent sense of fulfillment with him. She just sought a  man to fill the emptiness in her soul. Secondly, we must take a look at the society in which Judy grew up – a society that placed material success over moral values. Therefore, that Judy Jones adopted such stereotype and judged a person by his wealth was not incomprehensible. Poor Judy failed to understand what true love was and consequently, did not know how to have it. The last reason we can think of is the lack of adequate parental guidance from her childhood. Her parents were rich, but like other people in that society, they must have concentrated only on earning money to fortify their social status. Through the story, readers can see that the bond between the Jones’ m embers appeared not to be so close. While Irene’s parents were described as kind and caring people, Mr. and Mrs. Jones were usually said to be absent from home. Moreover, we can notice the image of a Judy surrounded by her servants and boyfriends, but we hardly ever find any interaction between Judy and her parents. Living prosperously but being neglected by parents, Judy was given a chance to develop such a misconception of love and happiness. Judy’s endless search for satisfaction seemed to burn itself out by the end of the story. She got married to Lud Simms – a bad husband. She lost her good looks and devoted herself to her children. Judy Jones, the symbol of Dexter’s larger-than-life dreams, then became a boring Judy Simms. Many readers may feel satisfied with this ending since Judy ought to pay for all the pains she had caused to other people. However, if we give ourselves a pause for rethinking, we may somehow feel sorry for her. Judy was, by no means, a devil from birth. She was just a victim of the society in which she was born and grew up. To conclude, if we could give something to this character, we would give her just a moderate look, not a great beauty. Were it so, she wouldn’t have had any â€Å"weapon† to hurt so many men, and she might have got a more peaceful life.

Theories of Human Development

Theories of Human Development Free Online Research Papers When referring to epigenetic theory, it is a relatively new theory that focuses on the genetic origins and how they are affected by the interactions with the environment. This theory is based on the fact that over time environmental forces will impact the expression of certain genes. The theory believes that each human has a genetic foundation that is unique. Environment is very important and may cause a person to follow one path or another from their genetic bases, depending upon conditions. On the other hand, the environmental theory removes the genetic factor. This theory believes that a child is a product of direct interaction with their environment. Proponents of the environmental theory believe that children learn best through repetition and memorization. Psychoanalytical Theory (Freud) This theory describes the developmental process as an unconscious act. Freuds theories dealt with how the human mind works; while concluding that behavior is determined by powerful inner forces, most of which are buried in the unconscious mind. Thus, the unconscious plays a major role in shaping behavior. He also concluded that the unconscious is full of memories of events from early childhood. Freud believed that humans need for the basic necessities of life, food, shelter, and warmth. Fulfilling these instincts, through development, becomes the foundations for human sexuality.Sigmund Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory has been one of the most influential theories of our time. It breaks the human personality down into three critical parts: Id, Ego and Superego.The Id is the most basic part and is present at birth. The Id functions with the pleasure principle and tends to be a little animalistic. It can be irrational and illogical. The Ego works to maintain or control the Id. It operates o n the reality principal and tries to keep the Id straight. The Ego makes a person have rational and realistic thoughts while interacting with others. The Superego is the conscience. It contains the principles and ideals of society. The Superego operates on idealism. Its goal is to inhibit the desires of the Id and convince the Ego to work towards more moral goals rather than realistic ones. Behaviorist Theory (Watson) Watson believed that psychology needed to focus on measurable variables in order for it to progress. He also felt that one’s environment was the factor behind development with no thought of the subconscious. The behaviorist theory teaches us that we learn based on how we interact with our environment. It also explains that the decisions we make in our environment have direct consequences, whether good or bad, and these consequences will affect our decision making capabilities. The environment in which one was placed was the â€Å"cause in behavior†. The behavoristic approach has had a strong influence on psychology. The basic ideas of behaviorism are: human behavior is a product of the stimulus response interaction and that behavior is modifiable. The behavorist believe behavior should be explained in terms of environmental stimuli. Behaviorists are not interested in unconscious motives for behavior. They see learning as progressing in a continuous manner, rather than i n a sequence of stages, as in psychoanalytical theory. The process of learning by association, according to behaviorist theory, is called classical conditioning. Operant Conditioning Theory The second type of conditioning is operant conditioning, which is learning from the consequences of behavior. Skinner believed that the best way to understand a behavior is to look at the causes of the action and its consequences; which is operant conditioning. Skinners most well known contribution to behaviorism was his findings to do with behavior and the effect of reinforcement on responses and the role of operant conditioning in learning. The main assumption that Skinner’s theory is based on is that human behavior follows ‘laws’ and that the causes of human behavior is something in their environment. He came up with consequences that shows how behavior can be reinforced to make it more or less frequent, or even extinct. It is basically learning from the consequences of our behavior which are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment. The nature of the consequences determines the likelihood of the particular behaviors reoccurrence. In other words, if our behavior results in something positive (positive reinforcement), the chance that the behavior will repeat itself increases. If our behavior results in something negative, the consequence decreases the chance of it happening again. Social learning theory (Bandura) Albert Bandura is considered the leading proponent of this theory. Social learning theory incorporates aspects of behavioural and cognitive learning. While rooted in many of the basic concepts of traditional learning theory, Bandura believed that direct reinforcement could not account for all types of learning. Behavioural learning believes that a persons surroundings cause people to behave in certain ways. In addition, social learning theory outlines three requirements for people to learn and model behaviour include attention: retention (remembering things observed), reproduction (ability to duplicate the behaviour), and motivation (positive/negative influences) to want to adopt the behaviour. His theory added a social element, arguing that people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people. Known as observational learning (or modeling), this type of learning can be used to explain a wide variety of behaviors. Cognitive theory (Piaget) Cognitive theory is a learning theory that attempts to explain human behavior by understanding the thought process focusing on the individuals thoughts. It is believed that these thoughts determine an individual’s emotions and behaviors and therefore personality. The cognitive theorists believe that we could have no emotions, no behavior and would not function without our thoughts. The thoughts always come before any feeling and any action. The cognitive theorists believed that we can change our mood, decrease our anxiety and improve our relationships if we change our thoughts. The assumption is that humans are logical beings that make the choices that make the most sense to them. The processing of information or â€Å"Information processing† is a commonly used description of the mental process, comparing the human mind to that of a computer.Cognitive theory largely rejects behaviorism on the grounds that it reduces complex human behavior to simple cause and effect. Humanism (Maslow) Abraham Maslow believed that people have certain needs that have to be met in an order. These needs include basic needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, achievement needs, and finally, self actualization. One would not be able to progress fully to the next stage if its predecessor wasnt completely fulfilled. In addition, from a learning theory point of view, humanism emphasizes that perceptions are centered in experience, as well as the freedom and responsibility to become what one is capable of being. The humanist theory believes in the power of the self-directed adult. Humanism believes learning occurs primarily through reflection on personal experiences. Humanism also believes in doing everything you do for yourself not just for a reward. According to humanists we have choices and responsibilities. This veiw argues that you are free to choose your own behavior, rather than reacting to environmental stimuli and reinforcers. Issues dealing with self-esteem, self-fulfillment, and needs are paramount. The major focus is to facilitate personal development. Stages of moral development (Kohlberg) Many of our inner standards take the form of judgments as to what is right and what is wrong. They mold the moral and ethical principles by which we live by and guide our conduct. While studying, Kohlberg observed that moral growth and development precedes through stages such as those of Piagets stages of cognitive development. He hypothesized that moral growth begins at the beginning of life and continues until the day one dies. He also believed that people progress through each stage of moral development consecutively without skipping or going back to the previous one. Moral reasoning, which is the basis for ethical behavior, possess six developmental stages that responds to the stage before it. These stages are: Obedience and punishment orientation, self- interest orientation, interpersonal accord and conformity, authority and social-order maintaining orientation, social contract orientation, and universal ethical principles. Research Papers on Theories of Human DevelopmentThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenGenetic EngineeringRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesStandardized TestingThe Project Managment Office System

The Meaning of Mutually Exclusive in Statistics

The Meaning of Mutually Exclusive in Statistics In probability two events are said to be mutually exclusive if and only if the events have no shared outcomes. If we consider the events as sets, then we would say that two events are mutually exclusive when their intersection is the empty set. We could denote that events A and B are mutually exclusive by the formula A ∠© B Ø. As with many concepts from probability, some examples will help to make sense of this definition. Rolling Dice Suppose that we roll two six-sided dice and add the number of dots showing on top of the dice. The event consisting of the sum is even is mutually exclusive from the event the sum is odd.  The reason for this is because there is no way possible for a number to be even and odd. Now we will conduct the same probability experiment of rolling two dice and adding the numbers shown together. This time we will consider the event consisting of having an odd sum and the event consisting of having a sum greater than nine. These two events are not mutually exclusive. The reason why is evident when we examine the outcomes of the events. The first event has outcomes of 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. The second event has outcomes of 10, 11 and 12. Since 11 is in both of these, the events are not mutually exclusive. Drawing Cards We illustrate further with another example. Suppose we draw a card from a standard deck of 52 cards. Drawing a heart is not mutually exclusive to the event of drawing a king. This is because there is a card (the king of hearts) that shows up in both of these events. Why Does It Matter There are times when it is very important to determine if two events are mutually exclusive or not. Knowing whether two events are mutually exclusive influences the calculation of the probability that one or the other occurs. Go back to the card example. If we draw one card from a standard 52 card deck, what is the probability that we have drawn a heart or a king? First, break this into individual events. To find the probability that we have drawn a heart, we first count the number of hearts in the deck as 13 and then divide by the total number of cards. This means that the probability of a heart is 13/52. To find the probability that we have drawn a king we start by counting the total number of kings, resulting in four, and next divide by the total number of cards, which is 52. The probability that we have drawn a king is 4/52. The problem is now to find the probability of drawing either a king or a heart. Here’s where we must be careful. It is very tempting to simply add the probabilities of 13/52 and 4/52 together. This would not be correct because the two events are not mutually exclusive. The king of hearts has been counted twice in these probabilities. To counteract the double counting, we must subtract the probability of drawing a king and a heart, which is 1/52. Therefore the probability that we have drawn either a king or a heart is 16/52. Other Uses of Mutually Exclusive A formula known as the addition rule gives an alternate way to solve a problem such as the one above. The addition rule actually refers to a couple of formulas that are closely related to one another. We must know if our events are mutually exclusive in order to know which addition formula is appropriate to use.

A Definition and Introduction to the Keiretsu System

A Definition and Introduction to the Keiretsu System In Japanese, the word keiretsu can be  translated to mean group or system, but its relevance in economics far surpasses this seemingly simple translation. It has also been literally translated to mean headless combine, which highlights the keiretsu systems history and relationship to previous Japanese systems like that of the zaibatsu. In Japan and now throughout the field of economics, the word  keiretsu refers to a specific type of business partnership, alliance, or extended enterprise. In other words, a keiretsu is an informal business group. A keiretsu has generally been defined in practice as a  conglomeration of businesses associated with cross-shareholdings which are  formed around their own trading companies or large banks. But  equity ownership is not a prerequisite for keiretsu formation. In fact, a keiretsu can also be a business network of comprised of manufacturers, supply chain partners, distributors, and even financiers, who are all financially independent but who work very closely together to support and ensure mutual success. Two Types of Keiretsu There are essentially two types of keiretsus, which have been  described in English as horizontal and vertical keiretsus. A horizontal keiretsu, also known as a financial keiretsu, is characterized by the cross-shareholding relationships formed between firms which are centered around a major bank. The bank will provide these companies with a variety of financial services. A vertical keiretsu, on the other hand, is known as a jump-style keiretsu or an industrial keiretsu. Vertical keiretsus tie together in partnership the suppliers, manufacturers, and distributor of an industry. Why Form a Keiretsu? A keiretsu may provide  a manufacturer the ability to form stable, long-term business partnerships which ultimately permit the manufacturer to remain lean and efficient while focusing mainly on its core business. The formation of this type of partnership is a practice that permits a large keiretsu the capability to control a majority, if not all, steps in the economic chain in their industry or business sector. Another aim of keiretsu systems is the formation of powerful corporate structure across related businesses. When member firms of a keiretsu are associated through cross-shareholdings, which is to say that they own small portions of equity in each others businesses, they remain somewhat insulated from market fluctuations, volatility, and even business takeover attempts. With the stability provided by the keiretsu system, firms can focus on efficiency, innovation, and long-term projects. History of Keiretsu System in Japan In Japan, the keiretsu system specifically refers to the framework of business relationships that arose in post-World War II Japan after the fall of the family-owned vertical monopolies that controlled much of the economy known as zaibatsu. The keiretsu system joined Japans big banks and big firms when related companies organized around a big bank (like Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo) and took ownership of equity in one another and in the bank. As a result, those related companies did consistent business with one another. While the keiretsu system has had the virtue of maintaining long-term business relationships and stability in suppliers and customers in Japan, there are still critics. For instance, some argue that the keiretsu system has the disadvantage of reacting slowly to outside events since the players are partly protected from the external market. More Research Resources Related to the Keiretsu System Japans keiretsu system: the case of the automobile industryThe Japanese keiretsu system: an empirical analysis

McCains Proposal to Cut Tricare for Retirees and it's Impact Essay

McCains Proposal to Cut Tricare for Retirees and it's Impact - Essay Example To support this move, leaders from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air force testified citing the devastating effects would have. Unfortunately, these military Leaders were uninformed about the proposal to cut TRICARE for retirees and its effects. The cuts known as sequestration will have an impact of weapons modernization and force levels if the committee does not cut a deal by the deadline. According to Philpott (2011), Senator McCain stated that putting retirees under the age of sixty-five to forcefully use TRICARE standard, health insurance from civilian employers or free-for service among other options would help the department of defense save up to one hundred and eleven billion dollars in the coming decade. In McCain’s view, it would be better to remove the TRICARE deal than take an alternative that would reduce funds for equipment, essential weapon programs and training that is needed by the military. McCain’s reason for bringing up the proposal, according to a staff member was to ensure that the super committee picks an option that would not compromise the department of defense, military personnel and their families while maintaining TRICARE provisions (Philpott, 2011). However much this proposal might seem perfect, it is bound to cause more harm than good. The military personnel will not accept this proposal. ... Cutting the TRICARE prime would make them use other options used by the civilians. This is bound to be expensive for the military retirees. The premise that restricting military retirees and their families from TRICARE prime would make them avoid spending cuts would not be cost-effective. Cuts must be spent either way. Restricting participation in TRICARE prime would not save any cost. Most military working-age retirees are not rich. Cutting them off from TRICARE prime would seriously impair their financial capacities. Another impact the proposal would have is that is has not considered retirees under the age of sixty who do not have additional health insurance, have no employment or are homeless. All military retirees should receive the same treatment from the government. Restricting TRICARE prime against working-age retirees will be a form of discrimination. They choose to get into the military to protect the country. However, they do not choose to retire early. It is because of me dical and disabling conditions that arise from work related issues that make force them to retire. Unlike retires over the age of 65, the working-age military retirees retire while young and may not get other employments because of their medical and or disabling conditions. Therefore, this proposal would discriminate on retires based on age. The fact that working age military retirees make up almost half of the percentage of TRICARE eligible population does not make it right for them to be used as sacrificial lamps in order to save cuts. This would be problematic because there is no justification as to why they should be restricted together with their families. Their chances of getting other employment opportunities are as slim as those

Respond to the online discussion about movie High Noon Essay

Respond to the online discussion about movie High Noon - Essay Example However, you have jointly discussed the position of Helen and townspeople where you should have elaborated Helen’s role in detail since she did have good will within her intentions which the townspeople did not! By saying this, I am not supporting Helen in her decision of moving out of the town. I just want to say is that you should have clearly indicated that having good will is not enough to make an individual’s action morally justified unless it is accompanied with practical action. 2. I agree with you when you rightly analyze the role of Kane as a moral activist fighting not for personal satisfaction, but for a moral cause. But you sound too confused about analyzing the role of Amy, particularly when you say, â€Å"Amy wanted Kane and this is what guided her, but at the end she dropped everything she believed in just so she can help Kane. Is this a selfish act or a dutiful act?† Kane was just as much husband to Amy when she decided not to stand by him when he was when she chose otherwise! It is obvious that she felt good will and her action was driven by her motivation to help her husband out of the trouble as a dutiful wife. She was truly a moral activist. You did not at all discuss the role of Helen and townspeople as was the requirement of the question.

Business development plan. This requires you to demonstrate that you Essay

Business development plan. This requires you to demonstrate that you learnt from the management theory from the lectures and se - Essay Example The book store is located at Gloucester road in Bristol, UK. The study also took help from secondary sources such as â€Å"Love Gloucester Road† website in order to understand nature of business operation for a book store (Love Gloucester Road, 2013). Currently the book store operating in brick and mortar format but the owner of the book store is considering of changing from its traditional business into e-commerce. The store offers books on various topics ranging from Science, Commerce, Management, Fictions and Non-fictions. Target customers for the book store are students, professionals, senior citizens of local community. The book store earns significant amount of revenue by selling second-hand books to customers. It has been realized by the owner of the bookstore that floor space of the store is too small to accommodate large set of customers at a particular time hence they are planning to sell books through an online platform in order to cater to the demand of large pool of customers in systematic manner. Sweeney (2006) has pointed out that small businesses move into e-commerce platform for three reasons such as 1- creating brand awareness, 2- decreasing overhead cost and 3- competing with big players in the market. In the last decade itself, there has been a surge in second hand book selling in England, which can be a very prospective market to harp on. Industry trend is showing that demand for e-books, kindles and epub files is growing at steady rate for last five years (Davenport, 2012). Companies like Amazon, eBay have changed the concept of brick and mortar book stores by introducing online bookstores. Online bookstores are providing facilities like home delivery, cash on delivery and others which have helped them to create a large consumer base within last few years. Being a part of this ever changing book industry, every business house must try and adopt itself to suit the needs of customers who prefer online shopping over traditional brick a nd mortar retail shopping. Therefore, an online portal will give this book industry a common platform where all customers can mingle, interact and most importantly buy and sell books with the click of a button. It takes minimal effort and cost for a small book store to e-commercialize its business. For example, e-commercialization can help a book store to decrease various overhead costs such as maintenance cost, rent, electricity charges and wages. It is evident from the above discussion that lower overhead cost caused by e-commercialization can help a bookstore to adopt penetration pricing strategy in order achieve competitive advantage over other book stores. An online transformation has innumerable benefits, and one of it is its global reach. A physical store somewhere in Gloucester will only cater to customers from its surroundings, but an online business has no boundaries and people from all across the globe are its potential customers. An online business has numerous other ben efits apart from reach and cost. It is much faster than the traditional method of business with faster transaction process, faster inventory management and faster information storage. An online shop never closes down contrary to the ordinary shop, which has its fixed timings when it remains open. One of the 4 Ps of marketing is Place, and every business strives to enhance it by broadening its distribution channels and its temporal and spatial convenience. An online portal fulfils just

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

All Quiet on the Western Front - Essay Example The main themes of this piece are specifically the emotional, physical, and psychological impacts of combat. In addition, the focus of the piece has to do with friendships and interaction between people that function as a means of getting through horrific situations. One of the elements of this piece is the concept of new technology. The advent of tanks, poisonous gases, and trenches appears throughout the story illustrating the butchery taking place. These new technological advances only aided in more precise and efficient killing. They also removed the killer a bit from who he was killing. In other words, placing a tank between two people depersonalizes the action of murder. One of the heavier themes in this piece is the idea of nationalism and its hypocrisy. During the time period that this piece was written, nationalism was on the rise and acted as a catalyst for the first world war. Many authors that wrote about the war glorified the idea of nationalism, patriotism, and fighting for one’s country. This piece was opposite to the notion of nationalism and patriotism. In fact, Remarque emphasis the idea that the soldiers are not fighting for country at all but rather to survive. Even though Paul is lured into the idea of joining the German army by his schoolmaster, Kantorek, he no sooner becomes a soldier and realizes the waste and meaninglessness of war. At one point, Paul returns home on leave and discovers how damaged he has become by the war, †And even if these scenes of our youth were given back to us we would hardly know what to do. . . . I believe we are lost†(). The reader follows Paul through the story as he loses friends one by one, â€Å"Our knowledge of life is limited to death† (Chapter Ten). In the end of the piece, it is the loss of Kat that seems to unravel Paul completely. He loses hope and stops caring. Kat was initially injured and when Paul was carrying him on his back to safety, Kat sustained a lethal head

EPI7005 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

EPI7005 - Essay Example Several methods have been used in the correction of geometric distortions in MRI diffusion weighted normally resulting from static magnetic field inhomogeneities. Such inhomogeneties may be as a result of some imperfection within the magnet or magnetic susceptibility spatial variation of the object that is being imaged (Christ, 2000, p. 78). The spatial variation is normally referred to as susceptibility artifacts. EPI applied in most of protocols used in diffusion weighted acquisition uses a homogenous static field. Such afield does not normally hold for MRI head. The distortion that comes out of this is significant enough to even exceed ten millimeters. Such artifacts come in the way of accurate diffusion images alignment with structural MRI and are considered obstacles to the head MRI joint analysis of structure and connectivity. Some of the methods used for correction of magnetic susceptibility distortions include the use of a filed map. However, such methods of applying field ma ps are not reliable and accurate hence do not result in reliable EPI alignment with structural images that correspond to it. The T2-weighted structural image approach that relies on EPI baseline image and still gives account of the susceptibility artifacts is the recommended approach (Edelman and Schmitt, 1994, p. 610) Question 1A Several parameters have to be reduced in order to optimize EPI image and they include: A. Reducing the time of echo train length: The longer the length of the echo train, the more time is required by the spin to gather phase error and also the greater the distortion witnessed. One of the ways of minimizing the total time of train length is by minimizing the echo spacing. The less the time taken by the frequency gradient in sampling the signal, the less the distortion that will be witnessed as shown in figure 1. The period for sampling is normally during the flat readout gradient portion unless there is ramp sampling. In FSE, the less the ESP or the echo sp acing, the less the blurring of the image. In EPI, minimizing the echo spacing also results in a reduction in the blurring as well as a reduction in geometric distortion. Figure 1. The sampling time and the read encoding gradient during normal gradient performance (McMahon, 2012) As the segmentation degree increases, the echo number acquired per rf excitation decreases. This in turn minimizes the geometric distortion as the phase error time of accumulation is reduced. Figure 2 below demonstrates a reduction in effective inter-echo spacing (McMahon, 2012). Gradients are from two varying excitations, interleaved and offset with respect to each other. Figure 3 shows geometric distortion reduction as the shot number increases. In areas with low inherent homogeneity like the sinuses, the geometric distortion can appear with a larger shots number. As the shots number increases beyond a given point, the distortion reduction becomes unnoticeable. Figure 5; demonstration of the reduction of geometric distortion as the number of shots is increased (McMahon, 2012) B. Reducing echo spacing; methods used to shorten echo spacing include: Ramp sampling Increasing the receiver bandwidth through achieving a stronger gradient Resolution reduction hence a reduction in the echoes train number Phase encoding collection in multiple sessions (segmented or multiple shot EPI) By using increased amplitudes or

Law for Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Law for Business - Assignment Example nless he is, in fact, specially authorized by the other partners; but this section does not affect any personal liability which may arise against any other partner who has so conducted himself as to give reasonable ground to the party dealing with the partner first mentioned for believing him to be so authorized1.There are rights that the third party has and enable the party to enforce agreements against the firm. The enforcement of a term by the third party is when the terms of the contract provides that the party is subjected to subsection and the term that is given by the firm significances to discuss a benefit that the party will obtain. Any claim that can be made by the third parties may not be well defended by the partnership since not all the partners were involved. The subjection that the third party is able to get may not apply when if on a proper coming to an agreement appears that the parties that were involved did not have the intention to have the term being enforceable by the law 2. In the enforcements that are made, the third party must be well identified by the partners in the contract with fine details including name and as a member of a given class or as answering a given description3. There is no need of the person to be in existence when the agreement of the purchases is entered into. The laws of third party involvement in a contract need the subject to be subjected to and also do it according to other relevant terms of the contract. In contracts that Steve involved in, there was no consideration of other terms of partnership that they were in. in exercising rights of enforcement by a third party, there is availability to the third party remedy that would be available to him if there was breach in the contract that was entered to if the third party was already part of the contract. The other rules that apply to the third party are with rules that relate to damages, specific performance and injunctions. There are terms of contracts that restrict

EPI7005 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

EPI7005 - Essay Example Several methods have been used in the correction of geometric distortions in MRI diffusion weighted normally resulting from static magnetic field inhomogeneities. Such inhomogeneties may be as a result of some imperfection within the magnet or magnetic susceptibility spatial variation of the object that is being imaged (Christ, 2000, p. 78). The spatial variation is normally referred to as susceptibility artifacts. EPI applied in most of protocols used in diffusion weighted acquisition uses a homogenous static field. Such afield does not normally hold for MRI head. The distortion that comes out of this is significant enough to even exceed ten millimeters. Such artifacts come in the way of accurate diffusion images alignment with structural MRI and are considered obstacles to the head MRI joint analysis of structure and connectivity. Some of the methods used for correction of magnetic susceptibility distortions include the use of a filed map. However, such methods of applying field ma ps are not reliable and accurate hence do not result in reliable EPI alignment with structural images that correspond to it. The T2-weighted structural image approach that relies on EPI baseline image and still gives account of the susceptibility artifacts is the recommended approach (Edelman and Schmitt, 1994, p. 610) Question 1A Several parameters have to be reduced in order to optimize EPI image and they include: A. Reducing the time of echo train length: The longer the length of the echo train, the more time is required by the spin to gather phase error and also the greater the distortion witnessed. One of the ways of minimizing the total time of train length is by minimizing the echo spacing. The less the time taken by the frequency gradient in sampling the signal, the less the distortion that will be witnessed as shown in figure 1. The period for sampling is normally during the flat readout gradient portion unless there is ramp sampling. In FSE, the less the ESP or the echo sp acing, the less the blurring of the image. In EPI, minimizing the echo spacing also results in a reduction in the blurring as well as a reduction in geometric distortion. Figure 1. The sampling time and the read encoding gradient during normal gradient performance (McMahon, 2012) As the segmentation degree increases, the echo number acquired per rf excitation decreases. This in turn minimizes the geometric distortion as the phase error time of accumulation is reduced. Figure 2 below demonstrates a reduction in effective inter-echo spacing (McMahon, 2012). Gradients are from two varying excitations, interleaved and offset with respect to each other. Figure 3 shows geometric distortion reduction as the shot number increases. In areas with low inherent homogeneity like the sinuses, the geometric distortion can appear with a larger shots number. As the shots number increases beyond a given point, the distortion reduction becomes unnoticeable. Figure 5; demonstration of the reduction of geometric distortion as the number of shots is increased (McMahon, 2012) B. Reducing echo spacing; methods used to shorten echo spacing include: Ramp sampling Increasing the receiver bandwidth through achieving a stronger gradient Resolution reduction hence a reduction in the echoes train number Phase encoding collection in multiple sessions (segmented or multiple shot EPI) By using increased amplitudes or

In this play, suicide is an act forbidden by religion Essay Example for Free

In this play, suicide is an act forbidden by religion Essay To be, or not to be cries a torn Hamlet in Shakespeares tragedy, Hamlet. This is not the first time that Hamlet reflects upon his existence and thinks about committing suicide. In this play, suicide is an act forbidden by religion and society that one may take into consideration only after stricken with unbearable grief. In Hamlets case, he is stuck between living a horrible life that may not seem worth living, and taking his own life to end the cruelty of it, which he claims he would if God had not made it forbidden. Subsequently, Hamlet fuels his fire to live and not follow the path of suicide by remembering his duty as a person, which for him is to avenge his murdered father before it is too late. Before we can understand Hamlets popular predicament to be or not to be as a whole, we must make sure that we define the concepts that are key in his situation to place ourselves in Hamlets depressing shoes. For one, suicide is a broad, varying act that has different meanings to different people in different times. For the people of Hamlets setting, it was an atrocious, intentional act that only the horrid sinners would commit against the almighty Biblical God. Even after death, the people still looked down upon the dead that did not pass naturally into the afterlife by holding a funeral that only genocidal dictator would be worthy of; one that involved throwing rubble into the pit of the dead instead of pious flowers and ornaments. Also, though, what must be considered is the situation a person might be in. For example, if you live a life that involves lying in a dreadful hospital bed with very little consciousness and no sense of elation, one might argue, from a Christian viewpoint, that it is not immoral to kill yourself. Whether or not someone believes in a supreme being, one generally has morals. Morals are a set of rules or schemas that people follow and live by which they create, edit, and alter throughout their lives. In Hamlet, we see that almost everyone holds a heavy, negative view against suicide. The play leads us to think that suicide is something that is unnatural and undeniably immoral. When Ophelia dies, many people believed it was suicide, while others assumed it was an accidental death (Act IV, scene vii). Depending upon which side they took, their culminating feelings towards Ophelia was created based on their initial assumptions. The gravediggers or clowns that spoke during Ophelias funeral procession question whether she will receive a proper, Christian burial, or if she will be treated like a bag of bones and skin, essentially, and be buried in an unfavorable fashion. Though the situation pointed towards suicide, Ophelia received a funeral that was Christianesque mainly because of her royal blood (Act V, scene i). This specific example from the play shows us how immoral suicide, to the people of the play, really was. Where do the roots of morals lie? The answer exists in religion. The characters of Hamlet all consider religion and the laws of it to be of utmost importance. In Hamlet, Christianity is the only religion mentioned and is followed by practically everyone. Considering most people were very religious, we can infer that they followed the rules very closely and criticized those that did not, even if it was they. In one of Hamlets soliloquies, we learn that one of the few things preventing Hamlet from ending his miserable life is the commandment of God. Or that the Everlasting had not fixd His canon gainst self-slaughter! If it were not against the will of God, Hamlet would have considered suicide even more and maybe even committed the treacherous act. Christianity condemns suicide (Act I, scene ii). The people of the play follow Christianity rigorously. Therefore, the people of the play look down upon suicide mainly because of their religious views.

Advantages and Reasons of Being Bilingual

Advantages and Reasons of Being Bilingual Saunders (1988) states that Fishman, a well-known writer in bilingualism, declares that more than half of the worlds population today uses more than one language while engaging in activities basic to human needs (Saunders 1988 p.1). Numerous causes contribute to the emergence and dominance of bilingualism. There are various optional or compulsory factors. Immigration is a major factor of being bilingual, whereas Immigrants move from one country to another, because of various reasons. For example, some of them escape from wars or poverty in their countries to search for better life in foreign linguistic communities. As a result, they will be forced to learn the language of the host countries and become bilingual in order to have wider contact opportunities and getting jobs. According to Saunders (1988), most immigrants speak the language of the new culture and environment. In Australia, for instance, 86.3% of immigrants speak their second language more than their home languages. Geogr aphical proximity of two countries is a possible factor of being bilingual, where people of the two communities need the communication among each other for different purposes like trade and other social relations like marriage resulting in bilingual families. Saunders also states that commerce and trade are critical factors motivating people to acquire a second language. Most economic business and commercial markets involve bilingual individuals to deal with customers from multicultural areas. 2.3.1 Education as a great reason of being bilingual: Education is one of the most fundamental factors pushing or motivating individuals to learn a second language. Being bilingual through education can be optional or obligatory. I notice that, in all Arab Gulf countries, most school students become bilingual due to their learning of English as a compulsory subject. However, there are some students, including colleges and universities students, who learn their second language English as an optional subject. The learning of English in these countries seems to be the result of the international relations between them and the United Kingdom. It is worth mentioning that the main focus of my research paper is being bilingual due to education. According to Baker (1988), bilingual education refers to any program aiming to teach students a second language besides their mother tongue at school. It takes various classifications based on the following factors. First of all, bilingual education is classified to elitist bilingualism and folk bilingualism according to the incentive of being bilingual. Elitist bilingualism is regarded as a reward offered to certain special individuals by government. Some students, for instance, are rewarded by being allowed to study abroad or study in prestigious universities in their countries. On the other hand, folk bilingual education is deemed a crucial need people have to meet in order to remain alive. When immigrants move to a new place, they acquire the language of that place so that they can interact with people there. Bilingual education is also categorized into immersion and submersion bilingual education based on the use of both languages in learning. In the immersion education, student s are allowed to speak their mother tongue while experiencing their subjects and communicating with teachers. They learn the second language gradually as time goes by. In contrast, students are not allowed to speak their home language in the submersion bilingual education. They are taught all their subjects in their second language. According to the major used language, bilingual education can be also categorized into transitional and maintenance or enrichment bilingual educations. Transitional bilingual education essentially aims to develop and make students fluent in one language only, which is the majority language. Therefore, this bilingual education focuses on the bilingualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s first language in the learning procedures with few extra classes to learn the second language. For example, in the USA and Europe, the minority of languages are taken into account and cured in order to make the minority groups to be able to continue the education in English or other majority languages. Huddy and Sears (1984), state that bilingual education is improved in the United States by the Bilingual Educational Act in order to meet the needs of children who speak minor languages (Huddy and Sears 1984). On the other hand, maintenance or enrichment bilingual education aims to teach children their subjects with both languages to guarantee that children get good levels of proficiency in both languages. Baker indicates that some students are taught some subjects such as grammar in their native language, while mathematics is learned in the second language. Consequently, students master both languages, and the two languages are developed simultaneously. This type of education is used for example in Canada and Wales as Baker shows that à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"English speakers are taught French or Welsh to enable them to be fully bilingualà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  (P, 47). I assume that maintenance or enrichment bilingual education refers to th e same kind of education used in Oman but, here, the government uses the term dual education to refer to it.

Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Harriet Wilso

The Cambridge Introduction to the 19th-Century American Novel, the traditional sentimental novel’s storyline focuses around a young woman finding her way through life, usually without the support of a conventional family. The women overcome life’s hardships, and â€Å"the key to these women’s triumphs lies in their achievement of self-mastery† (Cane 113). According to Gregg Cane, these didactic novels are targeted at young women to instill the idea that a domestic home, marriage, and family are what construct a morally good woman. The plot is used to extract an emotional reaction from the audience. Nina Baym describes all sentimental novels as having the same plot, In essence, [they are] the story of a young girl who is deprived of the supports she had rightly or wrongly depended on to sustain her throughout life and is faced with the necessity of winning her own way in the world. This young girl is ï ¬ ttingly called a heroine because her role is precisely analogous to the unrecognized or undervalued youths of fairy tales who perform dazzling exploits and win a place for themselves in the land of happy endings. (11-12) These novels were extremely popular with white females during the 19th century. The heroine is a virginal (if not actually a virgin at least maintaining the idea she is still untouched and innocent) young girl who has to stand on her own two feet and protect her virginity from villainous men. She is often portrayed as a damsel in distress, and in the end a courageous man saves her. They get married and have a perfect happily-ever-after. In Harriet Jacobs’ slave narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Harriet Wilson’s autobiographical novel, Our Nig, both African-American authors incorporate the idea of t... ...Cambridge University Press, 2007. eBook. Foster, Frances Smith. Written By Herself: Literary Production by African-American Women, 1746-1892. United States of America, 1993. Print. Johnson, Yvonne. The Voices of African American Women: The Use of Narrative and Authorial Voice in the Works of Harriet Jacobs, Zora Neale Hurston, and Alice Walker. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Company, Inc., 1998. Print. Mullen, Harryette. â€Å"Runaway Tongue: Resistant Orality in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Our Nig, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Beloved.† The Culture of Sentiment: Race, Gender, and Sentimentality in Nineteenth-Century America Ed. Shirley Samuels. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. eBook. Santamarina, Xiomara. Belabored Professions: Narratives African American Working Womanhood. United States of America: The University of North Carolina Press, 2005. eBook.

It’s Supernatural, Not Extra-terrestrial Essay -- classics, shakespear

In the time that King James I ruled, there was a large fear of witches and witchcraft throughout England and Scotland. And during his reign, William Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth, which is the renamed King’s Men sign of gratitude towards James. Macbeth is interesting because it is â€Å"based on a story from Scottish history particularly apt for a monarch who traced his line back to Banquo† (Greenblatt 815). The play also drew from James’ own fears of assassination, eventually leading to Macbeth’s own fear of Banquo and having him killed so that he would not have to worry about his possibility of becoming a traitor. James also had a fear of witchcraft being behind any attempt on his life because he â€Å"suspected the hand of the devil in any plot against an anointed king† (816). James had a strong belief in the supernatural and witchcraft and had written a book about witchcraft and believed that the reason for various things that happened in his life to be the fault of witches and lived in fear of the occult eventually bringing everything to an end. Before an exploration of the actual occult, supernatural and other spooky things that happened in Macbeth, it is best to look at the history of witchcraft in the time and how people dealt with the threat of witchcraft. In the 1840s, Wilhelm Gottlieb Soldan believed that witchcraft was actually something that was made up by monks and that it was actually a non-existent crime while German mythologist Jacob Grimm viewed witches as â€Å"wise-women persecuted by the church† (Gaskill 1070). Soldan’s view is also shared by Daniel Fischlin, who â€Å"argues that witchcraft during James's reign was a constructed political threat to be punished in order that the king's absolute monarchical a... ...es." Modern Philology 1.1 (1903): 31-47. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. Shakespeare, William, Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. "Macbeth." Introduction. The Norton Shakespeare Based on the Oxford Edition. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008. 815-24. Print. Shakespeare, William, Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. Macbeth. The Norton Shakespeare Based on the Oxford Edition. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008. 825-78. Print. Stein, Arnold. "Macbeth and Word-Magic." The Sewanee Review 59.2 (1951): 271-84. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Yonglin, Yang. "How to Talk to the Supernatural in Shakespeare." Language in Society 20.2 (1991): 247-61. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

The Kiss: a Descriptive Essay

Musee Rodin described Auguste Rodin as the most remarkable sculptor in his time, where he seemingly made flesh out of marble. He was born in Paris on November 12, 1884 and known for creating â€Å"The Age of Bronze†, †The Gates of Hell†, â€Å"The Burghers of Calais†, â€Å"The Thinker†, â€Å"The Kiss† and many other more (biography. com). According to his biography, Rodin created â€Å"The Gates of Hell† as a commissioned entrance piece for a â€Å"never built† planned museum; it featured the sculpted figures of â€Å"The Thinker† (1880) and â€Å"The Kiss† (1886). The Kiss† was originally part of the Gates of Hell inspired by a literature source; however, it was removed due to the positive state of eroticism and iconic image of love (artble. com). Rodin died on November 17, 1917 in Meudon, France and was still working on â€Å"The Gates of Hell† (biography. com) The intimate characterizations of the l overs in Rodin’s work were originally made out of stone and were reproduced in marble and bronze (artble. com). It gave emphasis to size standing 5’ 11 ? (Frank 52), giving the impression of a more realistic view for the viewers; figures positioned in a way that he carved the arms around each other and intricately highlighting his theme of the lovers’ first kiss. The figures being made out of stone, Rodin made the figures skin- smooth, in contrast of the roughness of the stone they were sitting on. Although, observing his work from a photograph, different angled pictures of Rodin’s work undeniably still relayed the concept and emotion the first time you see the sculpture.Rodin’s intricate design demonstrated his skill as an artist; he depicted the emotional and symbolic content of having that first kiss. Rodin carved the figures’ intimate embrace and passionate kiss that displayed their true love, despite the tragedy that befell on them; it was ingeniously molded that the emotion involved was felt by the audience. Rodin’s expectations for the public’s reaction as he captured the moment that made his work marvelous; he created a masterpiece that was romantic and sensual, although the figures were nude it was never sexually concentrated (artble. om). The Kiss’s, also known as the Francesca da Rimini, main inspiration was based on the story from Dante’s Divine Comedy, which depicted the forbidden love of Paolo Malatesta to his sister-in-law Francesca da Rimini, who had an affair 13th century Italy. When Francesca’s husband, Giovanni, caught them as they were having their first kiss, he swiftly stabbed the sinful lovers that led to their tragic death. The couple was true to life figures that Dante met in his lifetime (artble. com; musee-rodin. r). REFERENCE: â€Å"Auguste Rodin. † Bio. The Biography Channel website. n. d. Web. 10 Feb 2013. â€Å"The Kiss. † Artble. n. p. n. d. Web. 09 Feb. 2013. â€Å"The Kiss. † Musee Rodin. Musee Rodin, n. d. Web. 09 Feb. 2013. < http://www. musee-rodin. fr/en/collections/sculptures/kiss > Frank, Patrick. Preble’s Artforms. 10th ed. New Jersey: Pearson, 2011. 52. Print

Social Network, Knowledge Management and Innovation at Unilever

SOCIAL NETWORKING AND EXPLOITATION OF INNOVATION THROUGH THE SOCIAL DYNAMICS MODEL Company in Focus: Unilever 1 . INTRODUCTION Unilever is an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. With over 400 brands sold in more than 190 countries, it is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast-moving consumer goods (Unilever, 2013). Such a global organisation needs to remain innovative so as to maintain its competitive advantage.The social dynamics model (which analyses four steps- capacity building, pilot mode, integration mode and leverage mode) would be used would be used in this report to show how social media can be developed and integrated into Unilever and ultimately how innovation can be utilised. 2 . USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN UNILEVER Social media is defined as â€Å"a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2. 0, an d that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content† (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010, p. 61).Social media has been asserted to be a source of new profits though access to new markets, a more engaged workforce and improved customer relations (Mangold and Faulds, 2009; Waters et al. 2009). The implementation of social media within the organization is viewed as a way to leverage organizational knowledge and improve knowledge management initiatives (Barbagallo, 2011). Unilever utilises the social network platforms of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and YouTube. Their Facebook page is used to share recipes, run adverts, and get feedback on products and other relevant information from customers.With their Twitter account, they are able to share news about programmes in different countries and engage on topics about business, marketing and sustainability. There are several LinkedIn profiles to suit the needs of their stakeholders such as alumni and management trainees. The You Tube account is for careers purposes only and there are no much subscribers. YouTube is a platform that Unilever still needs to exploit as they can post videos and use it for mass campaigns and adverts as well as receiving comments from customers which can be a source of useful information.Havas EHS also connected Unilever brands with consumers using social media by developing a global consumer data strategy (Unilever, 2012). Social media enables companies to talk to their customers, it enables customers to talk to one another and it also enables customers to talk to companies (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). Social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn could help the company to maintain their awareness of current business trends and innovative ideas (Jarahi and Sawyer, 2013). There is the need for Unilever to integrate social media with other traditional media like television.Furthermore, to effectively exploit social media, the company needs interactive technology and marketing skills (Pe nny Power, n. d. ). 3 . ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Organisational learning is â€Å"the process of change in individual and shared thought and action, which is affected by and embedded in the institutions of the organisation (Vera and Crossan, 2005, p. 123). Organisational learning system is rooted in human resources, structure, process, policy and culture. The process of organisation learning takes place through nine steps (Lytras et al, 2008).The first and second are discovery and innovation which involves building up a system enabling it to make the right choices among innovative ideas. The third step is selecting process and activities so a better decision can be made. These three steps of learning involve changing one’s perception and thinking but learning also includes changing behaviour which leads to the fourth step which is executing ideas which were discovered. The fifth step is transferring the experience and ideas achieved by the team/depart ments to the rest of the organisation.In reflecting, which is the sixth step, the organisation learns from past experience both good and bad. There is the need for the organisation to acquire knowledge from outside environment and build its knowledge base and also contribute by sharing knowledge with its business partners; these constitute the seventh and eight step. Finally, as the organisation continues in its learning process, there is the need to build an organisational memory so that learning can be constantly upgraded and to avoid loss.This is also consistent with the seminal work by Huber (1991) who elaborates four constructs linked to organisational learning-knowledge acquisition (the process by which knowledge is obtained), information distribution (process by which information from different sources is shared and thereby leads to new information or understanding), information interpretation (process by which information that has been distributed is commonly understood) and organisation memory (means by which knowledge is stored for future use). Knowledge can be considered as information which has been acted upon; it adds understanding and retention to knowledge.Our perceptions of knowledge are based on our ontological and epistemological beliefs about reality (Jashapara, 2010). There are two types of knowledge -descriptive knowledge which is the knowledge of things and productive knowledge which is the knowledge of changes in things. Knowledge is the application of expertise, it can be manipulated i. e. it can be stored and replenished and it can also influence action (Hemsley and Mason, 2013). It is therefore imperative to understand how this knowledge can be used in achieving the goals of the organisation. This therefore leads us to the concept of knowledge management.Knowledge management is the process of generating, acquiring and using knowledge to improve the performance of organisations; thus it is to understood to be ‘managed learningâ⠂¬â„¢ (Vera and Crossan, 2005). Knowledge management is not a technology but a consolidation of strategy, technology and people (Mullins, 1999). The business strategy of an organisation must reflect the requirement to capture knowledge. Knowledge exists in people, not technology; technology helps to retain knowledge but it cannot create it. Transforming information into knowledge requires classification, analysis and synthesis of the information.The knowledge which has been captured should then be effectively communicated. In reality, knowledge cannot actually be captured; it is the information which has been captured that is easily transformed into the knowledge (Mullins, 1999). Managing knowledge effectively involves the protection, leverage and accumulation of new knowledge. The resource based view of the firm attributes the competitive advantage of the firm to the unique knowledge it has over its competitors (Barney, 1991). According to Chakravarthy et al (2012), two broad types of knowledge often trigger a firm’s competitive advantage-resource conversion and market positioning.Resource conversion knowledge refers to the capability of a firm to use common resources to create unique products through innovation. The patents, copyrights and trade secrets that a firm owns are the most conveyed aspects of its resource conversion knowledge (Friedman et al, 1991). Market positioning knowledge is the ability of a firm to see opportunities in its environment and avoid threats. An organisation like Unilever may not have access to any special information over its competitors but may be able to see patterns in information that others are unable to.Social media can be of great value to Unilever as it would enable them capture new knowledge from internal and external sources such as employees and customers on the platform of social networks. This knowledge can then be applied to solving problems. Knowledge may be valued in groups based on its usefulness in achiev ing the group goals. Unique knowledge gained from social media is useful in the attainment of the groups or departments’ goals. This ultimately leads to a learning organisation which imitable knowledge which then becomes a source of competitive advantage (see figure 1). pic] Figure 1 Link between social media and knowledge management. (Source: Value tensions, 2012). Unilever has a knowledge management group which promotes it as a learning organisation in which activities are integrated. The company focuses on contributions towards its strategic goals and objectives through the creation, sharing, acquisition, capturing and transfer of knowledge (Unilever, 2013). Their knowledge management database is provided by Astute Solutions RealDialog. It has proved effective in their customer centre nsuring that end users receive current, high quality information; it also maintains and updates information for multiple touch points and end users (Astute Solutions, 2010). 4 . EXPLOITATION OF INNOVATION AT UNILEVER The social dynamics model can provide an understanding of how innovation can be utilised in Unilever. The first phase is the Capacity building which involves setting up extensive internal and external audit. In carrying out this audit, an environment scan would have to be conducted to know what is being said about the company and its brands, how employees use social media to promote the interests of the organisation.Organising training programs to enlighten staff on social media, also creating a platform where employees can share knowledge. Employees should be provided with access to social networks so they can communicate effectively with customers. As part of adapting the overall HR strategy, there is the need to hire people based on the social capital they possess as a result of their influence level and network. It is important to recruit people who are open to change and are customer-friendly. Unilever can do utilise LinkedIn as it supports expert loca ting practices though its communities and profile search (Jarahi and Sawyer, 2013).Pilot mode-The purpose of this phase is to have projects that can implement social media in a structural way. This would involve setting up a centre of excellence which would gather knowledge, guide pilot projects and provide internal consultancy and support local and regional teams. They have to determine the strategy for incorporating social media within the organisation. For a global company like Unilever, this centre would be implemented on three levels. The first is on a global level where the centre supports the regional and local teams as well as reports to the board.On a regional level, each region would have a mediator between the global strategy and local implementations. On a local level, the teams would be responsible for the translation of the approach to the languages. They would in turn report to the regional representatives. Integration mode- In this phase the knowledge acquired and an y new beliefs are integrated into the heart of the organisation. In order to make use of all the opportunities that social media brings, there is the need to ensure the employees and customers are happy.There is the need to co-create using social media and online communities as it is crucial to the development of new products and services. Unilever currently does this particularly in their use of open innovation. However, it is advisable that they opt for an incremental co-creation which implies that they have to start in closed community to enable the organisation to see how things work, sharing insights about certain products or experiences and ask collaborators to search for solutions and ideas based on that and co-create with their biggest fans.Unilever did this by publishing a list of ‘wants’-areas in which they need solutions. These are opened up to the global audience through social media (Unilever, 2013). To excel in social media, there is the need for the right content strategy to be developed. This should be done on four levels –content around the different products and brands, content about the different categories the company is in, content about the company in the form of compelling stories worth sharing and content about the advancements and future of the industry.Unilever has the right content strategy on their website but there is the need to have the right content particularly as it relates to content about the company and their future outlook. Leverage Mode- In this phase, the company is ready to take full advantage of the new philosophy. It is vital to leverage on marketing as information is spread quickly and new target groups can be reached. It is useful for Unilever to assign someone to be an internal trend watcher who is able to spot changes in the field of social media. This ensures that the company moves faster than its competitors.Substantial gains could arise from additional applications, particularly in marketing and sales, where a company like Unilever spends an average of 15 to 20 per cent of their revenues. They can do this by substituting insights from extensive online communities for more traditional marketing panels and focus groups. Interactive product campaigns that deploy social technologies can increase the productivity of advertising expenditures by as much as 30 to 60 per cent. New, collaborative forms of engagement with customers too can improve product development, both in speed and level of understanding (Bughin, Chui and Manyika, 2012).Unilever partnered with an agency called ‘We are social’ to create a society for lovers of their products, enabling the company to organise product launch mainly through effective social media marketing and communications. Through a campaign program, bloggers were able to vote on the design of a Unilever brand-‘Marmite’ (Moseley, 2012). Unilever Vietnam also partnered with Jana to create social media focus groups to g enerate brand awareness of its Clear shampoo line. They were thus able to leverage on the knowledge gained from social media (Jana, 2012).Unilever’s innovation is becoming a competitive strength and is critical to their growth. They try to understand what their customers want, relating with them to understand their diverse tastes, needs and market trends and ultimately developing new products and improving tried and tested brand, enabling customer-led innovation. They also have partnerships with suppliers and investors, thus encouraging open innovation which is a system where people can come up with ways to improve existing products and create new ones through designs and technologies.Social media hastens the open innovation process and offers the foundation for engagement, enabling effective co-creation with the partners (Unilever, 2013). Unilever also has a new business unit (NBU) which exploits innovation around its core competencies. There is also a Unilever Corporate Ven tures (UCV) group which explores opportunities outside the core categories. It identifies technology assets inside and outside the company that inspires new businesses (Decter, Mathe and Garner, n. d. ). Unilever invests around 2. 5% of its annual turnover in R &D, continuous product innovations and filing of patents each year.It takes learning and knowledge seriously and believes that transferring this knowledge into its products and services is a key source of competitive advantage (Unilever, 2013). Unilever partnered with Siemens to create a global specification management system that serves as the first major component of its Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) technology. Innovation is therefore not limited to its products, they extend to design processes and package design (Siemens, 2011). 5 . CONCLUSION Innovations require a communication/learning channel that facilitates easy sharing of knowledge which can be transferred using social media.Applying the social dynamics model to Unilever should have a positive impact on their customer, suppliers, employees and eventually the shareholders. 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Available at: http://www. plm. automation. siemens. com/en_gb/about_us/success/case_study. cfm? Component=649080&ComponentTemplate=1481 Unilever (2012) Unilever Appoints Havas EHS to develop global consumer data strategy.Press Releases, 9 Nov [Online]. Available at: unilever-rss. com/mediacentre/pressreleases/2012/UnileverappointsHavasEhstodevelopglobalconsumerdatastrategy. aspx [Accessed: 14 March 2013]. Unilever (2013) About Us. Available at: http://www. unilever. com/aboutus/ [Accessed: 14 March 2013]. Unilever (2013) Innovation. Available at: http://www. unilever. com/innovation/ [Accessed: 14 March 2013]. Vera, D. and Crossan, B. (2005). Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management: Toward an Integrative Framework. In: Easterby-Smith, M. and