Saturday, August 31, 2019

Individualism vs Collectivism

Individualism and Collectivism Culture Abstract This essay discusses different aspects of Individualism and collectivism culture. Although every culture is different, Individualist and collectivism have a different implication for social organization. In this essay I able use my personal experience as a foreigner to help the readers understand the subject. In addition to the research I have done I was able to find information to help me fully understand how the two concepts impacted different countries such as the U. S.A, China and Burkina Faso. There are about a hundred and nighty-six countries on this planet, each one of them has a variety of cultures and traditions. Cultures are typically divided into two categories: collectivist and individualist. Individualist cultures, such as those of the United Sates and Western Europe, value personal achievement resulting in a strong sense of competition. Collectivist cultures, such as those of China, Korea, and Japan, emphasize family and w ork group goals above individual needs or desires.From a personal preference I would prefer a collectivist society but orders of social behavior change from culture to culture. I will now explain my experience coming in the United States to study. Being an international student from Burkina Faso, a country that has more than sixty ethnic groups with all different languages and dialects. I myself speak three languages, Moore my first and French second. The Western cultures are more individualist than collectivist Eastern cultures. The United States is considered to be an individualist country, so when I first got here, the transfer was very hard.I met American friends at U. G. A, despite been very nice it was hard sometimes to understand each other, as our cultures are different. The terms individualism and collectivism are usually used to express different cultures. An individualistic culture is where individuals are said to be bounded, autonomous, distinct from others, and emphasiz ing one’s own goals and agency rather than those of others (Mascolo M. F. & Li J. , 2004, p. 27). As it was stated in the first paragraph the United States is listed as having an individualist society.Some people would offer themselves, their family and friend as an anecdotal counter example to American individualism, but â€Å"both individualist and collectivist orientations may coexist within individuals cultures (Kim U. & Trandis H. C. & Choi S. C. , 1994, p. 123). For example; my best friend in Burkina Faso, born and raised there grew up to become an individualist. She say it herself, â€Å"I do not like to share†. A person may live in a traditionally collectivistic culture and may still express individualistic behaviors within that culture, just like my friend.The culture in Burkina is known for being hostile and as for myself being born there, and having a total nine siblings, we all shared everything, such as cloth, food, toys and many other things. So growing in this environment I have learned to share not only with brother and sisters but sometimes cousins. The traditional views of individualism and collectivism suggest that Eastern countries will exhibit collectivistic tendencies while Western countries will exhibit individualistic tendencies (Parker R. S. , Haytko D. L. , & Hermans C. M. , 2009). According Sen L. H. (2004).Being raised in a collectivist environment, the transition at UGA was a bit complicated. Many of my friends at UGA were born and raised in Georgia; some of them have a different way of approaching this subject. For example one of them had a total different situation than mine. He has 2 sisters and was told by his parents that if they each get something each of them have the right not to share. Since both individualist and collectivist orientations may coexist within the two cultures, it is practically impossible to say that everyone in western countries is an individualist or that everyone in eastern countries and A frica is a collectivist.As a within the communities it might be possible. For example most of the time in my country if someone is getting married everyone is pretty much invited. One will have thousands of people at their wedding to show support to the newlyweds. Studies suggest the well educated are more individualistic than the less educated. City dwellers are more individualistic than rural residents. Men are more individualistic than women, and young more than old. Thus, we need to consider peoples' experiences when interacting with them (Kanchier C. , 2007).The same individualism that has led to disaster, such as the mortgage crisis, because it was pursued to excess will also be the source of America's eventual resurgence. At its best, American individualism embraces the notion that every person matters. Increasingly, in American cities especially on the coasts, you will find that social categories are less important than individual histories. The U. S media will rather gossip about bill Clinton affair and Paris Hilton’s sex tapes than talk about important subjects that actually affects people’s life like the increasing dangerousness of tuberculosis as it becomes more immune to anti biotic.By contrast, collectivist are connected and interdependent, stressing roles and relationship, more than individual uniqueness; they are principally motivated to pure group goals rather than their own (Mascolo M. F. & Li J. , 2004, p. 27). Like individualism, within every culture there will be both individualist and collectivist people. Now lets take a look at the aspect of collectivism in China. Chinese culture is indeed more collectivist than individualist, and individualist values such as self-interest tend not to be present. (Kim U. & Trandis H.C. & Choi S. C. , 1994, p. 154). Hui in 1988 developed the individualism-collectivism scale (INDOL scale); it comprises six subscales purporting to measure a person’s collectivism orientation toward targe t groups (Kim U. & Trandis H. C. & Choi S. C. , 1994, p. 149). In his research Hui compared the scores of Chinese university students to those of American university students. Taken together, these results indicate that Chinese culture may be characterized as predominantly collectivist as well as anti-individualist. (Kim U. & Trandis H.C. & Choi S. C. , 1994, p. 154) For example the Chinese culture divorce is considered be dishonorable they believe that the marriage of two people is the union of two families. According to Luke Metcalfe, 2013, the divorce rate in china is 0. 79 per 1000people. As compared to the U. S. it is very common and some areas considered the norm. Luke Metcalfe, 2013 stated that The U. S divorce rate is at 4. 95 per 1000 people, which is the highest country with divorce rate. Individualist and collectivism have a different implication for social organization.The components of social organization presented in the book â€Å"Individualism and Collectivism† are very important; they are combined into more inclusive major components, of which there are five: values, autonomy/conformity, responsibility, achievement and self-reliance/interdependence. As an example of autonomy/conformity, an my best friend from Burkina Faso would want the right to privacy she believe that everyone should mind their own business. Their privacy should be respected. While on the other side I would believe that one’s business is also the business of the group; friends should be concerned with each other’s personal matters.Individualism and Collectivism are both needed in a society, inside every cultures will exists both concepts. I was raised in a collectivist environment but could decide to become an individualist; it may be an unconscious choice, but it happens very frequently. The two concepts have their advantages and disadvantages. When I was a kid I wanted to learn how to rollerblade because my friends knew how to. I was too proud to ask f or their help, so I have decided to teach myself how to uses the rollerblades. I certainly did, but at what cost? Multiple injuries and it took forever before I could really get the hint of it.I now realize that it would have been less painful if I just asked my friends help. Because I believe that collective work can make one attain greater success. Because together we are stronger. It is important for us readers to remember that individualism and collectivism each serve their own purposes, they are part of the reasons why our society is the way it is today. References Kanchier, C. (2007, May 12). Are you part of collective? ; we are not all individualism. How you view your-self influences how you relate to others at work. The Gazette, p. . Kim U. & Trandis H. C. & Choi S. C. (1994). Individualism and collectivism. United States of America: SAGE. Mascolo M. F. & Li J. (2004). Culture and development selves: beyond dichotomization. San Francisco: Wiley company. NationMaste. (2003-20 13). Luke Metcalfe. Retrieved from: http://www. nationmaster. com/graph/peo_div_rat-people-divorce-rate Parker R. S. , Haytko D. L. , & Hermans C. M. , (2009). Individualism and Collectivism: Reconsidering old Assumptions. Sen, L. H. (2004, May 7). Society needs individualism. The Straits Times, p.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Research Methods Db 2

Group Discussion Board Forum 1 – Part 1 1. Ch. 1 Q. 8  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ As area sales manager for a company manufacturing and marketing outboard engines, you have been assigned the responsibility of conducting a research study to estimate the sales potential of your products in the domestic (U. S. or Canadian) market. Discuss key issues and concerns arising from the fact that you, the manager, are also the researcher. A very important aspect of good research is for the researcher’s experience to be reflected (P. 17). The research has a greater chance of being successful if the researcher is experienced.Thus, as a manager the research process might be bias to the manager’s perception of the problem compared to the research problem. The inexperience as researcher will make it difficult to perform both roles effectively. Additionally, the manager might only analyze secondary data to obtain answers and rely on it for decision making. 2. Ch. 1 Q. 10- Apply the principles in Exhibit 1-4 to the research scenario in question 8. In order to apply the principles from Exhibit 1-4 to the scenario in question 8 we need to use the scientific method. a.Purpose clearly defined: The research study must present an estimate of the sales and marketing of the outbound engines in the market for the U. S and Canada. b. Research process detailed: First, the researcher presents a proposal and budget for approval. Then, the researcher presents weekly reports related to the progress of the research and also provides an estimated timeframe for completion. c. Research design thoroughly planned: The procedures are outlined. Once primary and secondary data is collected it needs to be analyzed for interpretation. d.Limitations frankly revealed: interpreted data about the size market for the outbound engine is compared to the desired procedure. e. Management Decision: The manager is presented with the information for decision making, after it has been analyzed, interpreted and c ompared. 3. Ch. 3 Q. 6- You observe the following condition: â€Å"Our female sales representatives have lower customer defections than do our male sales representatives. † a. Propose the concepts and constructs you might use to study this phenomenon. My proposal for the concepts is female sales representatives and male sales representatives.I would use customer defection as the construct for the research. b. How might any of these concepts and/or constructs be related to explanatory hypotheses? According to explanatory (casual) hypotheses, the independent variable needs to be the reason for the existence of the dependent variable (p73). Therefore, the skills of both male and female representatives are taken under consideration in this scenario. An example of this is that female sales representatives are naturally more skillful with establishing and maintaining relationships (IV), allowing them to have this advantage and have less customer defection (DV). . Ch. 3 Q. 8-  Ide ntify and classify all the variables in the Army’s dud shell research. I identify three variables (p. 62 & 67): 1. The dud shell as the independent variable because it can be manipulated 2. The exploding shell as the independent variable because is the one being monitored and 3. The people coming into contact with it as intervening variables because civilians were cracking the bombs open to obtain copper. 5. Ch. 4 Q. 4-  Confronted by low productivity, the president of Oaks International, Inc. asks a research company to study job satisfaction in the corporation.What are some of the important reasons that this research project may fail to make an adequate contribution to the solution of management problems? The low productivity in Oaks International Inc. presents a management dilemma to the president. The president has related this issue to the job satisfaction of the employees. Therefore, the management has decided to study job satisfaction only as the cause of low producti vity. Even though, this in fact has some influence in the productivity of employees, the study is already bias because all other factors of influence are being excluded.There may be other factors to consider that may be affecting low productivity such as machinery and equipment, technology, management, etc. This will eventually become a waste of time and resources if the results prove that job satisfaction is not the main cause of low productivity. Consequently, the management dilemma will not be resolved and more time and resources will need to be invested to find the real cause. 6. Ch. 4 Q. 5-  Based on an analysis of the last six months’ sales, your boss notices that sales of beef products are declining in your chain’s restaurants.As beef entree sales decline, so do profits. Fearing beef sales have declined due to several newspaper stories reporting E. coli contamination discovered at area grocery stores, he suggests a survey of area restaurants to see if the situ ation is pervasive. a. What do you think of this research suggestion? I think the research suggestion will be beneficial because it will reveal if the decline in consumption of beef as an entree is in fact caused by the concern of the E. coli. This survey will also allow comparing the competition and discovering their strategies or suggestions on how to survive this crisis.I also believe that the restaurant can introduce some new entrees that contain fish, chicken and even duck as an alternative to increase their sales and profits. b. How, if at all, could you improve on your boss’s formulation of the research question? I believe the study should include both external and internal factor. The survey to competitors would be considered an external factor, but including the customers, the preparation and presentation of their beef entrees can be considered internal factors.It has already been established that the people are already alarmed due to the several stories in the newsp apers about the E. coli. However, the restaurant can ask these frequent customers about their perception about the incident and even accept suggestions from them. This will allow the restaurant to get a clearer and direct answer to their dilemma. 7. Ch. 5 Q. 12- Develop the management-research question hierarchy (Exhibits 5-6 and 5-8), citing management dilemma, management question, and research question(s) for each of the following: a. he president of a home health care services firm. MD: The president receives many complains about the quality of health care services. MQ: What can be done in improve the quality of the health care services? RQ: Why are the services provided considered poor? In which specific areas of services do we get the most complains? What can be implemented or change to improve the services provided? b. The vice president of investor relations for an auto manufacturer. MD: The vice president experiences low productivity. MQ: What is causing low productivity?RQ: When did the company start to experience low productivity? Do we have up to date technology for production? How are the job conditions perceived by employees? c. The retail advertising manager of a major metropolitan newspaper. MD: The metropolitan newspaper is experiencing a decline in advertising sales. MQ: What can be done to increase the sales? RQ: Should the prices/rates for advertising in our newspaper be evaluated? When did sales start to decline? What methods can be implemented to increase the sales and attract more customers to advertise with newspaper? . The chief of police in a major city. MD: The chief of police has received several reports of increased crime in the city. MQ: What can be done to reduce crime in the city? RQ: Where are the majority of reports coming from? Which areas are being more affected? What group of people is the one being affected the most? What types of crimes have increased? How can we prepare and equip police officers to monitor these crimes an d areas? This is to be completed by 11:59 p. m. (ET) on Sunday.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Negative effects of technology Essay

Most people will praise the many technological gadgets that they use in their everyday lives. Technology is evolving at a very fast rate, and what most people did not even think could be real a few years ago is now becoming a reality. Cell phones that act more like computers, sans making documents and other important work files, have now taken the world by storm, and a lot of people could not imagine what life would now be like if they didn’t have the internet, email, and chat features on their phones at their disposal. The simplest of things, such as TV, movies, and even video games, have also evolved, and each of them offers consumers a wide array of choices and new possibilities. Technology has greatly influenced the way people live in society. Much of the technological devices are created to make daily task more efficient. For instance, you can pay bills online, read the daily news and shop all without leaving home. But, it is also clear that technology plays an incredibly vital role in the 21st century; for example smartphones which used to be a luxury has now become a necessity. The reliance of technology in society is staggering. Although many will use and publicize modern technology for many of its achievements and advancements, what many don’t realize is that it has affected and continues to affect society and people in general in a negative way. Technology is in opposition to nature; meaning it is being produced at the expense of nature while destroying ecological habitats. Technology not only erodes character but it also separates us from nature. Recent studies show a worldwide trend of decline in physical activity driven by the use of technology. The rise of computers and video games has made it easy for kids to be entertained without ever leaving the comfort of their easy chair which also contributes to the increasing rates in childhood obesity. The relationship between technology and stress, depression as well as sleep disorders has a lot to do with the overuse of technology in our society , particularly among young people. The opposing point of view is that technology is an integral part of our daily lives. There are so many advantages with improved technology in our daily life. With the help of mobile technology we are able to talk to our friends and relatives who are living far from us. Technology is being produced at the expense of nature and is destroying ecological habitats (the environment). The factories that manufacture these technological devices are  paved over wetlands. Due to the damage that excessive runoff causes to lakes, and streams wetlands are created to capture storm water. The idea is to capture and store the rainwater on site to grow native plants that can thrive in such conditions. The destruction of natural habitats not only extinguishes species but it is an act that can not be undone. According to the Wildlife Journal, habitat destruction from human activity is the primary cause of risk for 83% of endangered species (Williams, 12). Even if technology halted the destruction of natural habitats, the fact still remains that the large amounts of energy we consume causes a disruption in the atmosphere, resulting in climate change. With the rapid-changing world of electronics and technology, the turnover rate for upgrades is staggering. This constant stream of out with the old, in with the new is adding to the levels of toxicity in our air and land. E-waste is not always disposed of properly, causing deadly chemicals to leach into the ground. Plants that manufacture the electronics are emitting toxic fumes into the air. Plus there is little to no regulations on the disposal of personal E-waste. No matter how environmentally benign it seems the scale of technology is so large that it’s shereen size overwhelms the natural cycle. Technology not only erodes character but it separates us from nature. The overuse of technology is slowly but surely creating an impatient society. According to a study at Stanford University the more time spent using the internet they lose contact with their social environment (Olds and Schwartz, 98). Technology has played an important role throughout the last few decades in the decline of interpersonal relations. Studies reported in the American Psychologist by William Scherlis in his report † Internet Paradox: A Social Technology that reduces Social Involvement and Psychological well-being† have shown that † greater use of the internet was associated with declines in participants’ communication with family members in the household, declines in the size of their social circle, and increases in their depression and lon eliness. Physical interaction is essential because it promotes bonding in any relationship dynamic.It is public knowledge that historical studies of infants who were not physically interacted with from their birth displayed characteristics of withdrawal, failure to thrive, and social problems later in life. The social expense of over over reliance on technology is just beginning to materialize. We do not know the extent of  emotional defect caused by technology. While technology allows better tools for connection, these tools are substantially isolating us. Recent studies show a worldwide trend of reduced physical activity driven by the use of technology. Due to the rise of computers and other devices has made it easy for kids to be entertained without ever leaving the comfort of their easy chair which also contributes to the increasing rates in childhood obesity. A bariatric surgeon at Columbia St. Mary’s in Milwaukee suggest that â€Å"A lack of physical activity certainly contrib utes to the obesity epidemic. â€Å"According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention one-third of U.S. adults are obese. The more time people are spending engrossed in video games, talking to friends online and watching funny cat videos on YouTube, they are spending less time being active or exercising. I tend to think the relationship between technology and stress, depression as well as sleep disorders has a lot to do with the overuse of technology in our society, particularly among young people. A doctoral student, Sara Thomee’ conducted a study where approximately 4,100 students ages ranging from 20 to 24 filled out questionnaires. Based on the questionnaires 32 individuals were classified as heavy (ICT) information and communication technology users. Based on this study Sara found that heavy cell phone use showed an increase in sleep disorders and depressive symptoms in both men and women. As we all have heard the average person needs a total of seven to eight hours.This is a growing and serious public health hazard and I think it should be addressed. In the words of Sara Thomee’ † Public health advice should include information on the healthy use of this technology.† I couldn’t agree more just as alcohol ads, so should technology companies have a warning label on their advertisements. There’s only one solution and it’s simple, turn it off, and get some sleep. The impact of technology on our social, mental, physical and environmental health can be devastating if we don’t keep ourselves in check. There’s no denying the benefits we have gained from technological advancements, but as with all things in life moderation is key. Be more mindful of the time you spend using technology. If you have longer conversations with Siri than you do with real people, it’s probably time to put the phone down.Creating balance will help you enjoy the benefits of technology without becoming a mindless internet zombie.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Validity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Validity - Essay Example Validity can be face validity, criterion-related validity, formative validity and sampling validity (Klaus, Boyle and Simon, 13). Reliability and validity are related i.e. closely inter-dependent. Although validity cannot exist without reliability, the latter can exist without validity. Some of the systematic factors that affect both the reliability and validity of measurement include presence of unsystematic events, systematic inconsistency and the change in the event being measured. The unsystematic threats to reliability include subject reliability, situational reliability, observer reliability, instrument reliability and data processing reliability (Klaus, Boyle and Simon, 13). Some of the factors to consider in ensuring reliability and validity include time and money, difference in the measurement expected and reference to a previously validated measure. Some of the measures that can be applied in the improvement of the validity and reliability include ensuring that the goals ar e vividly defined and put into practice, matching the assessment measures to the set goals and objectives, presenting the tests for review to other interested parties, actively involving all participants in a measurement exercise, and comparing the measure with other measures that are

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Analysis of performance management of Marks and Spencer with interview Essay

Analysis of performance management of Marks and Spencer with interview questions - Essay Example From this research it is clear that the multi-channel sale is one of the reasons why the company is successful in the U.K. The customers are also more fashion conscious and are less sensitive to prices. They would be ready to go for the trendiest clothes even if it is overly priced. The existences of competition in the market with other brands that are equally high priced have helped the brand to survive in the U.K. market with the high end products. There is abundance of shoppers in Britain who make their purchases from the high end stores. The people of the British Market are more conscious about their health. Therefore they would go for the luxury food products. The sales of these products reach the peak during Christmas. The company also has a strong brand presence in UK. Most of the shoppers go to the stores and are ready to pay high because of the label under which they are buying. Company’s approach towards dealing with the customers and understanding the pulse of the m arket was the reason for company’s sudden growth. When the strategy that our team took became successful in the homeland of the brand the senior management of Marks & Spencer took a decision to engage our entire team in China to understand the market situation and to help increase the sales figures in the country. Hence sending this team for handling the China market was again a strategic move by the senior management of M&S to increase the market share in China. ... The customers are also more fashion conscious and are less sensitive to prices. They would be ready to go for the trendiest clothes even if it is overly priced (Kurtz, 2010, p. 147). The existences of competition in the market with other brands that are equally high priced have helped the brand to survive in the U.K. market with the high end products. There is abundance of shoppers in Britain who make their purchases from the high end stores. The people of the British Market are more conscious about their health. Therefore they would go for the luxury food products. The sales of these products reach the peak during Christmas. The company also has a strong brand presence in UK. Most of the shoppers go to the stores and are ready to pay high because of the label under which they are buying. Company’s approach towards dealing with the customers and understanding the pulse of the market was the reason for company’s sudden growth. When the strategy that our team took became successful in the homeland of the brand the senior management of Marks & Spencer took a decision to engage our entire team in China to understand the market situation and to help increase the sales figures in the country. Hence sending this team for handling the China market was again a strategic move by the senior management of M&S to increase the market share in China. Our team had been entrusted with the duty of analyzing the market properly and to find out how the sales can be increased. The target market had to be identified and the pricing strategies had to be developed to make an impact on the bottom line. The brand commenced its operations in China in 2008. We opened up 14 stores in different parts of China. The shop

Multicultural Research Project education Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Multicultural Project education - Research Paper Example Many researchers explains that cultural diversity at workplaces is not very good for the faster growth as it tends to increase intercultural conflicts among the diverse personnel (Martin) . When culturally diverse individuals are put together to perform a given task, the difference in norms, perception of things culture, religion, opinions and other variables may hinder the development of unity. This problem does not just stop at there, difference in language brings a communication barrier. However, this difference in culture brings in a difference in how people see things. Different cultures have different ways of thinking and thus can analyze a matter at hand from different angles (Martin). This variation in experiences is beneficial to the organization as it provide a diverse base of knowledge to the organization. Secondly, as the business expands, the temptation to go across the border increases with availability of market. The diversity will help to overcome the language barrier. This gives the company an upper hand in capturing the available market (Martin). Going by these arguments, it is quite clear that the reasoning surrounds the overall effects on the organization performance resulting from the effect of diversity. It is for this reason that this research will try to investigate a fresh the demographic characteristics that contributes positively to the success of the organization and which ones are negative. I did a quick survey of five organizations with culturally diverse workforce and five others with relatively less diverse labor force. The organizations selected were from different countries but are in the same industry. Out of the five less diverse organizations, three admitted that they are experiencing problem in expansion to other countries because of their state and were considering diversity while one had already initiated the process of diversifying their labor force, the

Monday, August 26, 2019

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Case Study

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka - Case Study Example They went to court based on the principle in the Fourteenth Amendment that offered equal protection to all American citizens (Patterson, 2002). In many prior instances, the court denied relief on the ground of the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling. The case of Plessy v. Ferguson resulted in a ruling that offered for separation of whites and blacks in the public sphere while offering equal facilities and opportunities to all. In Brown v. Topeka, the plaintiffs argued against the principle of segregated and equal protection. They argued that the segregation of schools could never allow for any equality and reduced the protection due to one group of people. The legal issues in the case of Brown v. Board of Education were with regard to the rights of all people as provided for all people under the 14th Amendment. Another legal issue under the determination of the court was whether the principles of Plessy v. Ferguson are applicable to Brown v. Board of Education. The Fourteenth Amendment asserts that all persons are under the equal protection of the law (Sitkoff, 2008). This amendment effectively entails that, all persons in the United States regardless of color, race or creed, deserve equality of protection and privilege in all aspects of American public life. The intention of the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson was to legalize segregation in public transport. The issue of equality arises in that; provision of equality may be possible in public transport. In the realm of education, it would be hard to maintain equality since it is inevitable that skewed funding would occur against some of the segregated schools. Another aspect of the US Co nstitution is that it provided freedom of choice to any person to make use of any public facilities and institutions of their choice. The application of the rule in Plessy v.  Ferguson was erroneous in that it restricts access to any American to public facilities based on skin color (Miller, 2004).

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Antitrust Laws Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Antitrust Laws - Coursework Example The price based competition results in exploitation of the customers whereas; they will not have cheaper products on their disposal. The process of research and development will become hindered as the monopolist does not need to develop new products because of the dying competition. Additionally, the term merger is used to define a contract in which two or more companies decide to construct a new one while, all of them become as one after the due process is complete. The acquisition on the other side involves a deal in which only one company loses its identity in order to become the part of another. In summary, one company buys another to become more prominent in the competition zone (Weber, Shenkar, & Raveh, 1996). Following section runs an analysis about effects of external environment on management’s decision making: - 1. Political Environment: - The political environment of the country encompasses the nature of government and stability of political atmosphere is also necessary for businesses to flourish (Boddewyn & Brewer, 1994). The national systems that are unstable do not offer good business environment. Additionally, the governmental policies radically change as well. In this kind of mechanism business management must resort on use of intensive risk management techniques. 2. Social Systems: - The social and cultural systems of the country govern the ways in which people relate to each other. The organizations need to blend in the system so that the customers and other stakeholders should consider them as their own (Dowling & Pfeffer, 1975). 3. Ethical Climate: - The organizations while operating in a specific national system require adapting to the cultural sense of right and wrong in order to avoid the possibility of committing a wrong just to repel all of the society (Payne & Raiborn, 1997). There is a significant difference in collective and individual cultures. The organizations have to

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Royal mail Privetisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Royal mail Privetisation - Essay Example Many governments owned so-called natural monopolies such as water, power, and postal services on the assumption that market efficiency would be attained if there were only a single seller. It is easy to see why a monopoly may be needed in some markets, as in the case of utilities where large investments are needed, or in postal services where a number of mail delivery routes are not profitable enough to attract private investments. But as many nations eventually experienced through the years, this market structure became characterised by inefficiency and wasted resources. This was the situation at Royal Mail in 2002. Its vehicle repair centre situated in the Isle of Wight was a case in point. The poor location entailed unreasonable expenditures, a factor for inefficiency and a destroyer of value. Since it would be a better use of resources for broken down vehicles from different parts of the British Isles to be repaired in the nearest motor shops, this vehicle repair centre would be under-utilised. Its facilities would be better off sold, closed down, or put to other use, for example as a conference centre for its workers. Monopolies lead to inefficiency and waste because the absence of competition leads to complacency, as the company enjoying a monopoly position would not have the incentive to improve itself and be efficient. Like a pensioner unmotivated to work because of a guaranteed income, monopolies know that their market has no choice but to buy its products, no matter how poor the quality. And when the monopoly, like Royal Mail, is labour intensive, not only do the workers become a formidable political force that can influence the outcome of elections (â€Å"forcing† politicians to listen to their pleas), but also their lifetime employment status binds the state to pay until retirement, a disincentive for increasing

Friday, August 23, 2019

Discuss Chinese cosmology and its meanings and implications in early Essay

Discuss Chinese cosmology and its meanings and implications in early Chinese political culture - Essay Example These phases also refer to the different applications of reality, including the five directions, the five tastes, smells, colours, viscera and the five classifications of flora and fauna (Faure, 2005). Such general theme applies a suspension of thought with everything having its place and each place having a corresponding value. In effect, to find something means discovering and controlling it. These elements of cosmology will be discussed based on its meanings and implications in early Chinese political culture. A general background of Chinese cosmology will first be established, and then followed by more specific discussions on political culture during the early Chinese period. Body Chinese cosmology is based on the concept of cosmic order, which is the foundation of all existence, and also the primary rule in all cosmic relations and developments. The universe is therefore considered a self-contained and dynamic object operating based on its basic pattern. Such pattern has often b een considered as Dao by Chinese philosophers (Liu, 2006). This Dao has various interrelated elements. The term â€Å"way† has been related to â€Å"path† or â€Å"road† (Liu, 2006). Way is therefore related to the proper or the right way of acting or doing something or in another sense, the proper order which emanates in doing something right. Dao implies an all encompassing entelechy, a life-sustaining force supporting the creation of various things (Liu, 2006). Dao in effect, covers the whole cosmos from its birth or creation. Moreover, Dao refers to cosmic order and in some ways, is considered the truth or reality. Within the holistic cosmic understanding, this cosmic order covers majority of human relations and affairs (Liu, 2006). In effect, Dao includes a moral implication, being the proper way of states taking part in the human world. As Dao is considered the â€Å"right way,† it also represents the way which should be taken by individuals. In the more overreaching sense, Dao represents the highest moral standard for humans. Qi is also another element of Chinese cosmology, very much relating to the concept of Dao. There is no definite English translation for qi, but in general it is understood as something referring to energy, life-flows, and spirit (Liu, 2006). Chinese cosmology considers qi as a precursor to matter with the elemental breaking up of qi forming matter. All matters are made up of qi and levels of purity often indicate the different degrees of existence (Liu, 2006). Humans are perceived as possessing the purest qi with lower animals having less pure qi. Qi breaks down, however it is never consumed or diminished (Ames, 2005). Qi covers the universe with the universe representing the totality of qi being constantly mobilized and changed. The cosmos is therefore perceived as inclusive of qi without having a will or mind of its own (Ames, 2005). Such force covers most aspects of the cosmos, with all matters being connected as a strong organic whole. Chinese cosmology has been considered correlative with cosmologies being understood as frameworks of ideas which manage the universe as an ordered tool, evaluating it in relation to space, time, and motion, and populating it with humans, spirits, gods, and demons (Wang, 2000). Chinese cosmology therefore includes a comprehensive system of connected networks, supported by interlinked pairs (based on Yin-Yang), fours (based on the four directions), fives, (based on five phrases or Wuxing), and

Thursday, August 22, 2019

The affects of football Essay Example for Free

The affects of football Essay From the early ages in history to present day, sports have had a major impact on society. Football is a very popular sport played in America and many other countries. Some may say that football is a violent sport and its not beneficial in any way, but in reality it gives a person all the basic tools needed not only for playing the game, but also how you interact with people in society. Also it is very simple to get involved in most cites and towns. Football is a great game that is both fun and instructive. Football is game played by twenty-two players on a field at once, with eleven players on the defensive and offensive side of the ball. The goal of the game is to get a leather cone shaped ball, called a football, into the opposing teams end zone. On offense you have four tries to gain ten yards and gain a first down, which mean you have another four tries to go another ten yards. The defense in return has four tries to stop the offense or they get the football. A great football team is one that works very well together, and is disciplined enough that they can win without falling apart. Football is such a great sport because it takes eleven players on each side of the ball to do their assignment to become a great team. Each player has a different job, and if every player does their job than they can accomplish their task. There is no other game like football, it is a game where you can tackle and throw your rival as hard as you can without getting in trouble. It is a violent sport but a teams violence has to be controlled. Sports in society today are often a big deal. Teens go to high school and can get very competitive in any sport. Football is one of the best sports to get involved with because it teaches so many things children and teens need to be active in society. It teaches: discipline, teamwork, interaction, self-restraint, and perseverance. It is one of the only team sports that you actually need all the players on the field to work together and knows what theyre doing to become a good team. Practice makes prefect, and to become a better player you need to be disciplined and learn from your mistakes. Football also teaches players to control their anger on and off the field, and to keep working harder. It keeps teens out of trouble and gives them something to do, rather than cause trouble. Living in Amsterdam has a major effect on why I and many other teens play football. Amsterdam is, and has always been, and great football tradition. It all starts out with the children and the great Pee Wee football program we call Little Giants. This program teaches little kids from age seven through twelve the art of the game of football. When players get too old for this program they move on to the junior high school team which has always been another great program that teaches kids the fundamentals of life. Then the players move on to the junior varsity team where they get trained to play on the top school level. Varsity is the top of line for school football. This is where every little giants player wants to play. These players are envied by all, for the decades of great football they have played. There is no other greater feeling than to play a home game on a Friday night under the lights on the Amsterdam turf, while being watches by thousands of screaming fans, the steam that can be seen on the top of every players head, and the joy that runs through your body as you see the time run out and your are a champion again. The greatest accomplishment these players have is winning the state title and raising their helmets in the dome of Syracuse and yelling champions for the last time of their football career. As a player walks off that field there is no better feeling of pride in the fact that you are an Amsterdam football player. Sports have had a major impact on society. Football is a very popular sport played in America and many other countries. Some may say that football is a violent sport and its not beneficial in any way, but in reality it gives a person all the basic tools needed not only for playing the game, but also how you interact with people in society. Also it is very simple to get involved in most cites and towns. It can be the one thing that matters the most in a students high school career. The accomplishments that can be earned from football are like no other. Football takes time and effort to become a better player. To know that your whole team has worked the hardest and plays the best together is an incredible feeling. Football is a great game that is both fun and instructive. After winning a state title and walking off the field I thought to myself, there is not one other thing I would have dedicated myself to for so many years than the hot turf of a football field.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

A Perspective of Cultural Conflict in Classroom Essay Example for Free

A Perspective of Cultural Conflict in Classroom Essay This paper draws from the understanding that cultural differences and imbalance has extensively repressed the process of learning as well as literacy development. This factor is evident by the continual differential treatment of teachers on white and black children thus affecting the progress of colored children in literacy development. Learning literacy encompass the efforts employed by the teacher to help the child develop reading and writing skill in the second language. As such, this process occurs within the threshold of culture and is influenced by social factors ranging from the belief of the teacher and the ability of the children to literary skills. The evaluation of methods of literacy practice help in deigning validity and reliability of the instruments of instruction used in literacy acquisition and development amid cultural differences and conflicts reflects an element that formulates an important factor in situations where the teacher and his beliefs as well as the literacy practice extensively leverages the varying degrees of the whole language. Introduction Literacy acquisition and development is a pedagogical aspect that begins long before children commence their formal education as well as formal school instruction. During these years, children acquire skills and knowledge that are typified by literate behavior in a setting that is guided by socio-cultural manifestations. The whole process is influenced by a number of factors ranging from cultural implications, the beliefs of the teacher and the instruction methods for literacy practice. The teacher should emphasize on the development of literacy as a process that is ongoing, and through a classroom learning environment. This means that for the efficiency of literacy acquisition development, all aspects of literacy must develop simultaneously, with the language and literacy sharing similar features hence allowing students to encounter a natural hierarchy to the stages of development. Methods of Literacy Practice The complexity of literacy development rests on the pedestal of the children’s ability to effectively read and write in English as the formed literate culture. Delpit argues that our cultures and communities lay the basis on which differences in instructing children as they learn new language is evidenced (Delpit, 2006). This cultural bias and weakness presents a conflict which should be resolved by the teacher’s attempt to maximize the educational potential of children from colored racial background.   The teacher and his belief about literacy development play a significant role in the entire process of literacy and language development.   There is an interrelationship between literacy and language such that, the teacher should base his instruction on language; which plays a key role in building the foundation for reading and not on the racial backgrounds. Accordingly, the teacher should use the method of immersion to enable children develop literacy by being surrounded by spoken language. In so doing, children will not only learners to talk but will also encounter print language in charts labels and stories and an organized library which enables students to read and write in areas of the   print language. In addition, it is plausible to note that as a teacher, it is vital to use   a practical method of   instruction that help children demonstrate the literacy skill being learned in a context where the teacher uses good classroom management to root out racial power imbalance that exist in classrooms. As such, this should be done both in classroom and outside classroom situations. For example, Delpit contends that when people around children use language positively, things happen positively. Ideally, language, which the backbone of literacy, become part of life around children (Delpit,2006). This out of classroom situation means that a teacher should emphasis on the importance of language which is mirrored through books, literacy events and writing and thus children will learn the language at home, in town and in the villages where they are. In a classroom setting, demonstration of literacy skills should be enhanced by the teacher through modeling where children learn the four skills of language such as reading skills, writing skills, speaking skills and listening skills throughout the day. In this way, children will acquire and develop literacy skills by observing purposeful literacy in a myriad of ways. Furthermore, the teacher should advise parents to highly expect their children to talk thus relieving the whole process the pressure and tension of literacy development from learning in an environment that is cultural conflict. The teacher works on helping the students to learn literacy skills by working on these skills at appropriate levels. As a result, a teacher should provide children with enough materials that match their literacy levels and by catering for individualized differences; a teacher sets the pace of developing literacy skills thus structuring the class with expectation of leaning. To illustrate, the ways by which people respond and react during a conversation influences the behavior of a child and usually non verbal expressions such as smiles, cuddles and other remarks creates a verbal interaction that shapes the development of literacy. Therefore, acquiring and developing literacy skills does occur anywhere; at home, in groups, with relatives among others and this natural way should be used in helping the process of literacy acquisition and development. With the classroom, the teacher should create a collaborative learning environment where children have the opportunity to provide positive feedbacks to their peers which specifically is encouraging and constructive in terms of learning literacy skills. With regard to this, little children should be engaged in learning whether at home or in school the teacher should help the children to aim at better speaking skills, reading skills, writing skills and listening skills at school in activities that help them to make sense of their acquired literacy knowledge and skills. Racial, class, ethnic and gender conflicts influence the quantity of literacy instruction in a racially mixed class. However, a teacher should influence children and parents from disfranchised cultural groups to develop measures of subverting negative pressure dominant group. Delpit notes that the community environment as well as home leverages the literacy development of a child. As such, schools, homes, families and classroom are learning environments situated in the community. In this case, the out of class element extensively influences learning opportunities and gives a chance to take part in the process of literacy acquisition and development of their child (Delpit, 2006). Significantly, this narrows down to a cultural aspect in learning and impacts on the literacy development children acquire. For example, a child from a poverty stricken neighborhood encounters a disintegrated learning environment and owing to the fact they are likely to be face social emotional and behavioral conditions that are strong makes them develop non Standard English hence their literacy skills being interfered with. In addition, Delpit contends that the culture and environment directly relate to the ability of the child to develop vocabulary skills and thus the literacy development at kindergarten should be well structured because it determines how the child’s academic achievement varies in school and classroom. Children’s, socio behavioral, emotional self regulations are viewed within the precincts of cultural orientations   and all these are influenced by homes, families, schools and society at large. On this ground, Delpit postulates that the development of a child’s literacy skills should be allowed to take place at all times and in every place (Delpit, 2006). Accordingly, literacy is construed to be composite of varied dimensions that transcend the boundaries of classroom and society and this interplay strongly affect the learning opportunities that children are presented with both at home and in school. In light of this, there is considerable evidence that shows that proficient literacy obligate that children must have strong foundation in oral language; an element that borders phonological and vocabulary skills as well as the overall language skills which is basically determined by the cultural orientations. This falls in the wider dimension of influencing how a child demonstrates systematic and explicit ways of decoding, comprehending and writing language which is greatly impacted by the cultural base of the child. Due to the cultural influence in learning language and literacy skills, the preschool experience forms an important factor in the acquisition and development of literacy skills. Therefore, it has been speculated that achieving this learning element depends on the social economic status of the child’s family. Accordingly, children form less fortunate families begin their literacy levels late and without financial ability to buy literacy resource, many children from such backgrounds become literate very late. As such, the teacher should come to the aid of this group of children by working out a correlation that will improve home and classroom learning environment through what is inarguably called direct parent training and education. In essence, Delpit portends that parents from such economic thresholds should strongly embrace the concept of early preschool interventions in a bid to socially and academically make a vital difference in the literacy acquisition and development of their children. Similarly, the classroom environment influences the belief and mindsets of a teacher in their literacy development instruction. In essence, the attitude of the teacher over the children he is instruction posses a shared characteristic that   is marked by a safe and orderly environment high expectations for the literacy achievement of the students, strong educational leadership, the amount of time given to literacy instruction classroom management and available methods of evaluations and instructions. Accordingly, a flexible and homogenous literacy skill provides a more successful effect on reading, speaking and writing thus making the instruction children receive in the class more substantially. However, in the event of a heterogeneous literacy skill, it becomes difficult as the teacher to have clear cut expectations on the literacy achievement thus his beliefs may not allow him to substantially provide instruction that enhances literacy awareness. For the most vulnerable children in the black American community, the development of literacy skills is under certain progression challenges such as underachievement but Delpit shows that the social and motional support offered by the teacher creates a climate that leads to the efficiency in building literacy levels of children from multicultural backgrounds. The classroom setting should provide a highly social, emotional support and the teacher should therefore come in with a n instructional support which will systematically a stronger child literacy development and social outcomes. Particularly, such learning environment become important for children from the back community because they are typical of social problems and during the development of literacy skills, they may exhibit weak social skills. The engagement of children in different learning environment helps boots their motivation to learn and this contributes to their literacy growth. Conclusion From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that the type and amount of literacy instructions that a teacher should give to children in classroom and the continuous learning of literacy skills at home and in the society facilitates a constant and systematic literacy growth. Accordingly this involves a combination of methods that range from code focused strategies o holistic and meaning strategies prove to be the effective models of enhancing literacy development. Teachers therefore should use sustained interventions that range form intensive and balanced pedagogical aspects in literacy acquisition and development. Teachers therefore need to structure the instructional designs on the structure of the language and other social cultural elements that aids in the acquisition of literacy skills. Reference   Delpit, L (2006) Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in Classroom. New York: News press

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Strategic change management of British American Tobacco

Strategic change management of British American Tobacco British America Tobacco (BAT) was formed over 100 years ago, as a joint venture between the UKs Imperial Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company in a bid to end an intense trade war. James Buck Duke founder of America Tobacco Company became the first chairman. Despite deriving its name from the home bases of its two founding companies, British American Tobacco was established to trade outside both the UK and the USA; the two companies  will not  trade in each others domestic markets and acquire the right to use each others brands and trade marks in their own territory. The early period of the company formation saw a lot of expansion, consolidation, merging and de-merging until resent past when the 1902 agreement was revocated and BAT gains exclusive rights of is original brands. The company vision to achieve leadership of the global tobacco will be based on Growth, Productivity, Responsibility and building a Winning Organization. (BAT, 2008) PRODUCTS OVERVIEW Cigarettes; This account for about 95 per cent of the company product Smokeless snus; Swedish-style snus is a form of tobacco that isnt smoked, usually placed under the lip, chewed or in the nostrils. It is reported to be much less harmful than cigarettes. Cigars; British American Tobacco produces wide range of various shapes, strength and flavors. Roll-your-own; the oldest form of smoking sometimes referred to as hand-rolling tobacco or fine cut. Pipe tobacco; is aged, A pipe like tube for smoking tobacco. Global Drive Brands: Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall are marks. International brands Rothmans, Kool, Benson and Hedges, 555, Peter Stuyvesant and John Player Gold Leaf. The company is also improving the sales of Vogue and Viceroy. MARKETING STRATEGY Strategic management for most organization is a way of thinking and a term used in everyday conversation. A market generally is made up of sellers/producers/suppliers of Products/ services and buyers of these products/ services. Key to this exchange between buyers and sellers is the concept of needs and wants which marketers must strive to satisfy. Marketing is all about getting the right products and services to customers who want/need them. Strategy is looks into the future then develops and implements the plans that will drive the organization in the right direction; it presents the broad marketing approach to meet the marketing plan objectives. The marketing planning should be aimed towards designing marketing strategies that are efficient, effective, flexible and adaptable. According to (Brassington and Pettitt 2000), marketing strategy cannot be design in isolation, it has to include the objectives of the organization and take into consideration other strategies of the organiza tion. Competition British America Tobacco faces competition from many international and local players in the industry. Notable among them are; Imperial Group, Gallaher limited, Tltria, Japan tobacco, Altadis. They all compete in sharing the Global volume. Marketing Three stages of marketing techniques 5Ps (Adapted from the Times 100) Market research enables the organization to identify the most appropriate marketing mix for effective promotion. (The times 100) Successful marketing is the bedrock of growth for any fast moving consumer goods business. The company strategy to build its Organization. Growth, according to Marketing Director, Jimmi Rembiszewski does not mean increasing the number of smokers rather it means increasing the company share of those adult who have chosen to smoke there by increasing the value of share. Marketing in many businesses is based on the fundamental 5 Ps:   product, price, packaging, promotion and place.   For BAT, promotion is now much more limited and very carefully controlled due to increasing regulations. Product Product value and quality are high on company agenda. The company first Chairman once said to achieve success there need to be a quality product and right people. BAT also offers consumers smokeless Swedish-style snus, considered to be less harmful than cigarette. Price Pricing is one of the most important marketing strategies employed by tobacco companies all over the world. The rise of America Tobacco Company was largely due to aggressive pricing strategies used by James Duke led to the rise of American Tobacco Company, this was made possible by the cost advantages derived. This forced competitors to join him or leave the market. (Chaloupka et al, 2002) BAT is prided for quality, choice of flavors, diversified, segmented global brands at the super premium, premium, mid-price and value-for-money price points. Promotion Tobacco companies all over the world use myriad activities to promote their products. Laws governing tobacco brand advertising mean that promotion now has far less relevance than the other 4 Ps, and that mass media promotion is going or gone. As traditional marketing avenues have closed, tobacco industries now use other marketing strategies. One such strategy is the use of advertainment, possibly derived from two words advertisement and entertainment. This is a way of trying to link brand image to an entertainment event. Some of the Activities use by tobacco companies to promote their products includes: Event sponsorship For many years Tobacco companies have been using event sponsorships to promote their products, by sponsoring an event, a brand ties that events image to its own. While the parameters within which they can pursue this strategy are narrowing due to legislation, tobacco marketers continue to find ways to make connections between the images of events and the images of their products. Bars and Clubs Tobacco companies host high concerts and budget parties, which target a particular group. Tobacco products posters and signs are also used to promote the bars. Direct Mail Advertisement / Direct Marketing Tobacco marketing has in recent past shifted from traditional method of advertising to developing relationships with individual customers. (Anderson, et al). A major element of direct marketing is direct mail targeted to individuals on tobacco companies extensive mailing lists. Direct mail was found to be a major distribution channel for coupons, sweepstakes offers, brand-loyalty program catalogs and event sponsorship notice. (Delnevo, et al 2004). Point Of Sale Advertisement Advertising at the point of sale remains a major component of tobacco marketing. Places where cigarettes are sold are packed with promotional messages. Companies compete for trademark presence and best shelf space. Successful retailers are also rewarded sometimes. (Physicians for a smoke-free Canada 2002). Other methods commonly use by tobacco companies include; distribution of Giveaways and Print ads at events. Place The target group must be aware of the existence and availability, should never be out of stock and be at the right outlet. SWOT Analysis This part depicts opportunities and threats faced by BAT caused by the external environment Strengths The Community and BAT: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ worlds second largest quoted tobacco group by global market share, with brands sold in more than 180 markets . à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ products released under an open-source license meaning it is free to acquire and distribute à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the licensing structure means can benefit from Community involvement à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Global tobacco market with largest market in china where around 2,100 billion cigarettes are consumed by about 350 million smokers annually development team and other support for the Community and products à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A very broad geographic base, well placed to meet the changing environment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Portfolio of some 300 brands based on distinct must-win consumer segments à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 47 cigarette factories in 40 countries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ providing farmers with a welcome alternative crop.   In many cases, it provides a higher income than any other smallholder crop.   It integrates well into environmentally friendly crop rotations, benefiting subsequent crops like maize. Weaknesses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Tobacco consumption poses real risks to health, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ illicit tobacco trade à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Inability to totally eliminate non target group à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Child Labour in Tobacco Growing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ black market driven by ever higher taxes, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Weak criminal penalties, poor border controls, low arrest rates à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Non-Compliance Strategy e.g. selling in unlicensed establishment Opportunities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Delivering innovations and refinements to our products across leaf blends, finer cut tobacco, new filters, new formats such as slimmer products and improved tastes in segments such as menthol. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Able to innovate constantly à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Over 100 countries grow tobacco à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Largest leaf supply chain having no match in the industry of tobacco à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ This industry is possessed with the ability to rescuing itself for a long term Threats à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Price competition in tobacco industry can be fierce.   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the presence of many brands products in the marketplace à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the open-source license regime means anyone can re-brand and redistribute under new name à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Laws governing tobacco brand advertising and company restrictions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Counterfeiting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Smoking and health litigation (third party reimbursement, class action, individual action) The success of marketing activity should be monitored. General criticisms Tobacco use has been found to be harmful and addictive product that has huge health and economic impact for the users and passive users. It was found to be a single most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in most developed nations and addiction is one of the greatest threats facing young people (British Columbia Ministry of Health Services, 2003) Tobacco use has huge economic, social and environmental consequences. Some of which are highlighted in the table below: Direct Health Social economic Environmental Disability Reduced productivity Fire damage Premature death Worker absenteeism Liters from cigarette buts Lost income due to premature death direct health care costs Studies also found a link between advertising and promotions and encouraging adolescents to initiate smoking, and that point-of-sale advertising influences youths intentions to smoke in the future (Chaloupka et al, 2007). RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSSION Several studies have found tobacco product to be harmful to health with enormous economic and incalculable social impact. Reducing its use has also been found to improved general health and wellness. Government has always been torn between forfeiting a large sum derived from Tobacco industry through tax and job creation, and listening to the voice of experts who are determine to see that tobacco usage is banned. Tobacco companies all over the world use all sort of tactics, including lobbying, campaigns aim at health improvement, looking for allies to ensure they have a free market. It is identified in this report that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Tobacco industries will use any means of publicity to reach their target group à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ increasing global share value (profit) and tax are key strategic elements defining battlefield for the industry à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Costs and impacts of smoking are misinterpreted, and Tobacco companies will always found allies in stakeholders (Ross 2008)) This report suggests that any form of advertisement or promotion that has a large percentage of spilling over to non target group should be restricted e.g. point-of-sale advertisement. Authorities should put more effort in helping people to quit and protect passive smokers. There should be a clear definition of where smoking is allowed or not, it is not uncommon to see smokers smoking at bus stop or on the street. More research needs to be done on the effect of Nicotine, main component of tobacco products. Where products are found to be extremely harmful, companies should be mandated to withdraw such products.

Sleeping and Dreaming Essay -- Psychology Sleeping Dreams Essays

Sleeping and Dreaming Despite the large amount of time we spend asleep, surprisingly little is actually known about sleeping and dreaming. Much has been imagined, however. Over history, sleep has been conceived as the space of the soul, as a state of absence akin to death, as a virtual or alternate reality, and more recently, as a form of (sub)consciousness in which memories are built and erased. The significance attributed to dreams has varied widely as well. The Ancient Greeks had surprise dream encounters with their gods. Native Americans turned to their dreams for guidance in life. Shamans dreamed in order to gather information from the spirits. Sleep and dreams have defined eras, cultures, and individuals. Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of dreams revolutionized twentieth-century thought. Historical archives record famous short sleepers and notable insomniacs—some accounts reliable, some not. When Benjamin Franklin counseled, â€Å"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,† he was using sleep habits to symbolize his pragmatism. Important public policy issues have arisen in our modern 24-hour society, where it is crucial to weigh the value of sleep versus wakefulness. Scientific knowledge about sleep is currently insufficient to resolve the political and academic debates raging about how much and when people should sleep. These issues affect almost everybody, from the shift worker to the international traveler, from the physician to the policy maker, from the anthropologist to the student preparing for an exam. In 2004–2005, the Penn Humanities Forum will focus on the topic of â€Å"Sleep and Dreams.† Proposals are invited from researchers in all humanistic fields concerned with representations of sleep, metaphors used to describe sleep, and sleep as a metaphor in itself. In addition, we solicit applications from those who study dreams, visions, and nightmares in art or in life, and the approaches taken to their interpretation. We also welcome proposals about the effects of dreaming on the dreamer, and the resulting emotions, behaviors, and actions taken or foregone in response to dreams. In this Forum on Sleep and Dreams, we will see how the diversity of academic disciplines can help to answer important questions about sleep and dreaming—questions that may touch the basis of human intellect. The Forum is fortunate in... ...stingly, the same type of brain arousal takes place whether people actually do finger tapping or only imagine it. What surprised Sutton most, however, was detection of remarkably similar activity in much larger networks spanning areas of the cortex dealing with both input from the senses and output signals to the muscles. "Patterns of activity in small, more primitive areas of the brain are recapitulated in larger, more advanced parts," Sutton says. "This means that nature did not have to develop new rules of operation for different levels of the brain from small clusters of cells to large systems." In other words, as the brain evolved from a thimbleful of cells in a worm's head to the billions of cells with trillions of connections in humans, many of the same principles of organization were retained. Those similarities make it infinitely easier to make computer models of the brain. "We already have built models which allow us to understand what is going on more quickly," Sutton notes. "Many types of mental illness may result from disorders of this organization. Understanding the details of what is happening will allow us to help real people with real suffering."

Monday, August 19, 2019

Brave New World and Gattaca :: Brave New World

Brave New World and Gattaca Huxley   Living in a genetically perfect world is not necessarily a great achievement to mankind.   It makes one think, "where do you draw the line in the advancement of eugenics?"   Both worlds, the Brave New one and Gattaca, are alternative futures (clearly dystopic), written and shown in a believable way (not as much in BNW, though) through the use of satire.   Also, for GATTACA, the director incorporates the traditional elements of movie - a murder-mystery tied in with a love story PLUS a science fiction touch - very effectively.   Satire in Huxley's novel is glaringly obvious (mockery of the education system and the morals of today along with many more topics), as he writes with the purpose of teaching and humoring at the same time.   However, with GATTACA, the satirical messages are not immediately perceivable - even after having seen the movie three times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is apparent that within the GATTACA institution, there is a definite discrimination against the genetic underclass; that naturally born.   Director Niccol is mocking the present-day view of prejudice and racism.   In the future of GATTACA, this prejudice is referred to as genoism - genetic discrimination.   Racism is a less specific form of genoism, and although such discrimination is outlawed, the laws are unenforceable because in this dystopian society, as it is in BNW, one's "genetic quotient" is known from birth.   The underclass people of this world are limited but aware of their social status and they are not particularly happy with it.   With the BNW, the lower castes seem to be (they are made to believe so) aware but they are conditioned to like their "light,...childishly simple" work. (p.204 BNW)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another satirical message explored in both works in that of publicity.   Our society is becoming increasingly accessible, yet controlled, through the use of surveillance of ID.   Huxley and Niccol are merely pointing out that it is incredibly disconcerting to think that one day, our identities will be verified through daily blood and urine samples.   On this topic, the one difference between the BNW and GATTACA is the in BNW, the Director or Controller is aware of the "individuals'" level of promiscuity or behaviour through the word of mouth.   There is also one major similarity; in both worlds, the Director is quite conscious of the existence of the Alphas and in the case of GATTACA, the elites.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Transhumanist Philosophy Essay -- Future Science Fiction

Imagine that you are able to teleport to the not too distant future. In this world you discover that disease and poverty are no longer causes for human suffering, world hunger has become eliminated from society, and space travel is as easy as snapping your fingers. Cryonics, nanotechnology, cloning, genetic enhancement, artificial intelligence, and brain chips are all common technologies at a doctor’s office. You gasp as a friendly sounding electronic voice cries out, â€Å"Welcome to the future Natural!† You are unsure of whether being called a Natural is an insult or not, so you feign a half-hearted hello at the posthuman in front of you. Getting over the initial shock you ask the posthuman, â€Å"Who are you?† The posthuman gives an electronic sounding chuckle and shakes his head. He replies, â€Å"I am a Posthuman, and you Natural, are in Utopia. Welcome.† Sounds pretty science-fiction based right? Well, to those who follow the Transhumanist philosophy, a â€Å"utopian† world could be a reality. Susan Schneider a philosophy professor at University of Pennsylvania defines Transhumanism as a â€Å"philosophical, cultural, and political movement which holds that the human species is now only in a comparatively early phase and that its very evolution will be altered by developing technologies† (271). In simple terms, transhumanists believe that the human species is in its early phase. Our species is a work in progress and our evolution will be altered by advancing technologies. With these advancements in technology, transhumanists have optimistic plans about the future. Transhumanists hope that as our current technology advances we will soon be able to create superhumans or â€Å"posthumans†. According to the World Tanshumanist Association a... ...d, working definition of what a person is, enhancing will be newest fad. Humankind is on an irreversible evolutionary journey where super-intelligence will be the normal IQ for children, war and death are no longer terms in the english dictionary, and being 1,000 years old is considered young. It is a bright and prosperous future looking through the lens of a transhumanist. One that I cannot wait to see through bionic eyes. Works Cited Brooks, R. A. 2003. Prologue, In: Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us, Vintage. Elliott, C. 2003. Humanity 2.0. The Wilson Quarterly, 27(4): 13(8). Schneider, S. 2008. Future Minds: Transhumanism, Cognitive Enhancement, and the Nature of Persons. Forthcoming in: Penn Bioethics Reader. Accessed online July 20, 2010: http:/repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=neuroethics pubs

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Gender Socialization Essay

Every child is born to a particular society which has its set of values, norms and belief system. The first stage of socialization of the child is the family to which he/she is born. As the child grows, he/she is introduced to the way life is lived and the role he or she is to play in the family and the society. When a child is born, the first question that anybody asks is ‘is it a boy or a girl? †. This is the beginning of gender socialization. From that point, the clothes the child wears, the kind of treatment that is given to the child and the things that are expected of the child becomes distinguished. UNICEF defined gender socialization as â€Å"a process of learning cultural roles according to one’s sex, and provides examples of ways in which these are incorporated through parental and societal expectations from boys and girls† ( VAWnet, 2004). Taking a queue from my life experience and from my knowledge of socialization, I will say that the traits I see myself exhibiting are rubbed off on me as a result of my family socialization. At a very tender age, I grew to recognize my role in the family and how to relate with the elderly. My father taught me how to be a man and how to live the life of integrity and boldness, which he considered a necessity of any man. Furthermore, I grew up with an idea that some jobs were for ladies while some were for men. I was taught that men are strong and do not cave in to their emotions. I was taught how to be a fearless, courageous and decent young man and how it is my responsibility to look out for my family. Although I do not stay with my father and mother again, I still see some attributes of my father in me and sometimes when I do something, I smile and attribute that thing to what I learnt when I was growing up. Summarily, I believe no matter how hard we try not to draw a line between both sexes, the fact is we all have our roles in the society. Reference: http://new. vawnet. org/category/index_pages. php? category_id=813 â€Å"Gender Socialization† (2004). Retrieved on November 21, 2008.

Friday, August 16, 2019

A Description of the Graduate Record Examination

GREG subject test is used by very few universities for granting admissions. Universities usually use [email  protected] Subject Test for granting admission to the PhD program (sometimes for MS programs also) in Mathematics, Physics, Biological Sciences, English Literature, Psychology, Chemistry, etc. On the other hand, large number of universities do NOT use [email  protected] Subject Test for granting admission to the PhD program in the above mentioned fields of studies. Formats of [email  protected] : Two formats of [email  protected] revised General test are available : The computer based & The Paper based.Paper based format is available n only a very few countries. In India, only Computer Based [email  protected] is available. Who takes [email  protected] & When ? : Engineers, Architects, Doctors, Dentists, Biotechnologist, Science graduates, Physiotherapist, Pharmacists, Management graduates & postgraduates (MBA), computer professionals (MAC), Mathematicians, Psychol ogists, etc. Planning to pursue Masters or PhD programs, etc. The list is long. Almost 90% of the people who take [email  protected] are in their II or Ill or IV year of their college pursuing their degree in any stream such as Engineering or Science or Medicine, etc.Who accepts [email  protected] & how is it used ? Thousands of universities across the globe, more specifically almost all the universities in the USA & several in Canada use [email  protected] scores along with student's academic record in college, recommendation letters from Professors and/or employers, non-academic credentials such as projects, research papers, etc. To grant admission to their Masters or PhD programs. Several universities now also accept [email  protected] scores in lieu of GMTA scores to offer admission in their MBA programs. When & Where can one take [email  protected] ? : Unlike Indian college entrance tests such as GATE, CAT, etc. Imputer based [email  protected] is administered throu ghout the year at arioso Promoters (wholly-owned subsidiary of TEST) centers in India as well as at additional test centers in various cities such as Iambi, Delhi, Opal, Metadata, Allahabad, Achaean, Hydrated, Surgeon, Bangor, Kilowatt, Pine, Fedora, etc. At Promoters centers [email  protected] is conducted 3 times in a day, all weekdays & at additional centers on some selected days of the month. How many times can a student appear for [email  protected] ? You can take the [email  protected] once every 21 days, up to five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period.This applies even if you canceled your scores on a test taken previously. If you take the paper-based GREG revised General Test, you can take it as often as it is offered. Are there any US universities, which do not use [email  protected] scores ? There are several US universities, which do not require you to submit your [email  protected] scores. The admissions committee of these universities primarily base their admission decision on college grades, recommendation letters, etc. But some of these universities use [email  protected] scores to award financial aid in form of fellowships, Graduate assistantships, Teaching or Research assistantships, etc.Score validity [email  protected] scores are valid Upton 5 years from the test date. How can I appear for [email  protected] ? If you wish to take [email  protected] you have to first make your account at HTTPS://emigre. Test. Org/ grew/login/login. ]SP. Then you can proceed to fix your examination date by following the instructions. Please also remember to carry your valid passport on the test date as you will not be allowed to enter the test center without it. All other forms of identification such as school id. Or driving license or Dear card, etc. Are unacceptable. Test centers are available in all major cities of India.[email  protected] Test Fee The test Fee for computer based revised general [email  protected] in Ind ia is IIS$195 at present. Remember that in this test fee you can also send [email  protected] scores to four institutions (colleges/universities, etc. ) free of cost. If you decide later to apply to one or more of these 4 institutions, then you will not be required to pay IIS$27 per university to TEST to forward your [email  protected] score to these institutions. How are the [email  protected] scores reported to the universities ? Whenever you give your [email  protected], you can view your scores after about 12-15 days from your test date in your online emigre account.You can also print your score-sheet from your emigre account. The universities do not use the photocopies of the [email  protected] marks- whet and require the official scores to take admission decisions. To send official scores to a university, you have to go to your emigre account, where you will find your [email  protected] scores displayed as per the dates on which you appeared for [email  protected ] You can send all the scores to the universities or can use Corselets facility to send scores (by test date) of your choice by paying IIS$27 per university.Remember that in the test fee (about IIS$195 in India) of [email  protected] you can send [email  protected] scores to four institutions (colleges/universities, etc. ) free of cost. If you decide later to apply to one r more of these 4 institutions, then you will not be required to pay IIS$27 per university to TEST to forward your GREG score to these institutions. You have to choose the name of these institutions to which TEST will forward your [email  protected] scores at the test center on your test date, immediately after finishing your [email  protected] test.The complete list of the name of the countries, universities, departments will be displayed on your computer screen after you have viewed your score. If you do not use this free facility, you are losing IIS$108. Ask CHICHI for the name of these four institutions . When will oh get your [email  protected] scores ? After completing the computer-based [email  protected], you will be given the opportunity to Report or Cancel your scores. If you choose Report Scores, you will see your unofficial scores for the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections displayed on your computer screen.Because of the Analytical Writing essay scoring process, you will not be able to view your Analytical Writing score at the testing center. If you cancel your scores, neither you nor any universities will ever see them and they will not be part of your reportable history. Your official scores will become available in our emigre account and sent to your score recipients approximately 10-15 days after your test date. Test Structure of GREG [email  protected] consists of three major sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing.In the first two sections, the test taker receives scores on scale of 130-170 in 1 point increment s (such as 150, 151 & so on) and receives scores on a scale of 0-6 in half point increments (such as 3. 0, 3. 5, 4. 0 & so on) on the Analytical Writing (AWE) section. Total score is on a scale of 260-340 (such as 300, 301 , 302 & so on) with AWE score stated on a scale of 6. 0. In addition, an unidentified unsecured subsection may be included and may appear in any order after the Analytical Writing section. It is not counted as part of the test taker's score.An identified research subsection that is not scored may be included in place of the unidentified, unsecured subsection. This research subsection will always appear at the end of the test. The overall testing time for the computer-based [email  protected] revised General Test is about 3 hours and 45 minutes. There are in all 6 subsections with a 10-minute break after the completion of the third subsection. The Analytical Writing section will always appear iris. The Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and unidentified or the unsecured subsections may appear in any order.The test-taker must treat each section as if it counts towards his score. Adaptive nature of the test : As per the official site of [email  protected] (mm. ‘. Greg. Org) the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections are section- level adaptive, meaning that the first section of the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning measures spans a range of difficulty levels, from easy to difficult. The first section is assembled such that, overall, the first section is of average difficulty. The difficulty level of the second section of each of the measures depends on your performance on the first section.For example, if for the Quantitative Reasoning measure you do very well on the first section, the second section of the Quantitative Reasoning measure will be at a higher level of difficulty. The scoring for the Quantitative Reasoning measure takes into consideration the total number of questions answered correctly acro ss the two sections, as well as the difficulty level of the section (similar process for the Verbal Reasoning measure). How the computer based [email  protected] is scored ? : The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning assures are section-level adaptive.This means the computer selects the second section of a measure based on the performance on the first section. Within each section, all questions contribute equally to the final score. For each of the two measures, a raw score is computed. The raw score is the number of questions answered correctly. The raw score is converted to a scaled score through a process known as equating. The equating process accounts for minor variations in difficulty among the different test editions as well as differences in difficulty among individuals' tests introduced by the section-level adaptation.Thus a given scaled score of a particular measure reflects the same level of performance regardless of which section was selected and when the test w as taken. For the Analytical Writing section of computer-based [email  protected], each essay receives a score from at least one trained reader, using a six-point holistic scale. In holistic scoring, readers are trained to assign scores on the basis of the overall quality of an essay in response to the assigned task. The essay score is then reviewed by [email  protected], a computerized program developed by TEST, which is used to monitor the human reader.If the e-rater valuation and the human score agree, the human score is used as the final score. If they disagree by a certain amount, a second human score is obtained, and the final score is the average of the two human scores. The final scores on the two essays are then averaged and rounded to the nearest half-point interval on the 0-6 score scale. A single score is reported for the Analytical Writing measure. The primary emphasis in scoring the Analytical Writing section is on your critical thinking and analytical writing skil ls rather than on grammar and mechanics. Structure of the Computer-based [email  protected] revised General TestSection Number of Questions Allotted Time Analytical Writing (0-6 marks) (One section with two separately timed tasks) One â€Å"Analyze an Issue† task and one â€Å"Analyze an Argument† task 30 minutes per task Verbal Reasoning (130-170 marks) (Two subsections) 20 questions per subsection 30 minutes per subsection Quantitative Reasoning (130-marks) 35 minutes per subsection Unsecured Varies Research Verbal Reasoning (Score – 130-170 points (marks) The Verbal Reasoning section measures the ability of the test-taker to understand what one reads and how one applies his/her reasoning skills.The Verbal Reasoning section of the [email  protected] consists of 3 types of questions : 1. Reading Comprehension. 2. Text Completion 3. Sentence Equivalence Reading Comprehension : The test-taker has to read the passage and then answer questions following the pas sage. Reading comprehension passages are drawn from physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, arts & humanities and everyday topics. They are based on articles found in books and periodicals, both academic and nonacademic. The lengths of these passages range from 1-5 paragraphs.The test contains approximately 10 passages; majority of which are one paragraph in length and only en or two of which are several paragraphs long. Typically, about half of the questions on the test will be based on passages, and the number of questions based on a given passage can range from one to six. There are three types of Reading Comprehension questions: Multiple-choice Questions -? Select One Answer Choice : These are the multiple- choice questions with 5 answer choices, out of which test-taker must select one.Multiple-choice Questions -? Select One or More Answer Choices : In these type of questions, there are 3 answer choices and one has to select all that are correct. The erect answe r to these types of questions could be that either one, two or all three of the answer choices may be correct. Suppose two choices are correct and the test- taker has selected only one. He/she will not get any marks for this selection. There are no marks given for partially correct answers.Select-in-passage : The question asks the test-taker to click on the sentence in the passage that meets a certain description. To answer this type of question, one has to choose one of the sentences in the passage and click on it to highlight it. Text Completion : Questions in this subsection are based on vocabulary. Text Completion questions include a passage composed of 1 to 5 sentences with 1 to 3 blanks. There are 3 answer choices per blank, or 5 answer choices if there is a single blank.There is a single correct answer, consisting of one choice for each blank. The test-taker receives no marks for partially correct answers. Sentence Equivalence : Questions in this subsection are based on vocab ulary. Sentence Equivalence questions consist of a single sentence with one blank and six answer choices. These questions require the test-taker to select two of the answer choices. One does not get any marks for partially correct answers. For more details about this section of [email  protected] contact CHICHI or go to http://www. TTS. Org/Greg/revised_general/about/content/ quantitative_reasoning Quantitative Reasoning (Score – 130-170 points (marks) The Quantitative Reasoning section of the [email  protected] consists of four types of questions: Quantitative Comparison Questions Multiple-choice Questions -? Select one answer choice Multiple-choice Questions -? Select one or more answer choices Numeric Entry Questions Each question appears either independently as a separate single question or as part of a set of questions called a Data Interpretation set.All of the questions in a Data Interpretation set are based on the same data presented in tables, graphs or other dis plays of data. On-screen calculator is available. The Quantitative Reasoning section of [email  protected] assesses the test-taker for basic mathematical skills, understanding of elementary mathematical concepts & ability to reason quantitatively and to model and solve problems with quantitative methods.The syllabus (though not limited to) includes : Arithmetic topics include properties and types of integers, such as divisibility, factorization, prime numbers, remainders and odd and even integers; arithmetic operations, exponents and roots; and concepts such as estimation, percent, ratio, rate, absolute value, the number line, decimal representation and sequences of numbers.Algebra topics include operations with exponents; factoring and simplifying algebraic expressions; relations, functions, equations and inequalities; solving linear and quadratic equations and inequalities; solving simultaneous equations and inequalities; setting up equations to solve word problems; and coordina te geometry, including graphs of functions, equations and inequalities, intercepts and slopes of lines.Geometry topics include parallel and perpendicular lines, circles, triangles -? including isosceles, equilateral and 300-600-900 triangles -? quadrilaterals, other polygons, congruent and similar figures, three-dimensional figures, area, perimeter, volume, the Pythagorean theorem and angle measurement in degrees. The ability to construct proofs is not tested.Data analysis topics include basic descriptive statistics, such as mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation, intrauterine range, quartiles and percentiles; interpretation of data in tables and graphs, such as line graphs, bar graphs, circle rapes, foxtrots, shatterproof and frequency distributions; elementary probability, such as probabilities of compound events and independent events; random variables and probability distributions, including normal distributions; and counting methods, such as combinations, permutations an d Venn diagrams.Inferential statistics is not included. The syllabus does not include trigonometry, calculus or other higher-level mathematics. For more details about this section of [email  protected] contact CHICHI or go to http://www. Test. Org/Greg/revised_general/about/content/quantitative_reasoning Analytical Writing (Score – 0-6 points (marks) The Analytical Writing measure consists of two separately timed writing tasks, which the test-taker has to type using a basic word processor software available on the screen while giving the test.The tasks are : One â€Å"Analyze an Issue† task to be completed in 30 minutes One â€Å"Analyze an Argument† task to be completed in 30 minutes The Issue task presents an opinion on an â€Å"issue† of general interest followed by specific instructions on how to respond to that issue. The test-taker is required to evaluate this â€Å"issue† and write an essay by taking a position and give examples to support his/her views. The Argument task requires the test-taker to evaluate a given argument according to specific instructions.The test-taker will need to consider the logical soundness of the argument by assessing its claims and evaluating the evidence it provides rather than agree or disagree with the position it presents. Individuals taking the computer-based test will use a basic word processor developed by TEST. The basic word processor contains the following functionalities: insert text, delete text, cut-and-paste and undo the previous action. Tools such as a spell checker and grammar checker are not available in the TEST software.Complete sit of â€Å"Issue† & â€Å"Argument† topics, out of which one â€Å"Issue† & one â€Å"Argument† will appear in the actual test as the two writing tasks are given at http://www. Test. Org/Greg/ revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool and http://www. Test. Org/Greg/ revised_general/prepare/analytical_writ ing/argument/pool Prepare for [email  protected] It is not very difficult to score high on computer based [email  protected] revised General test. The first step to score high on [email  protected] or even on similar tests such as the SAT or GMTA is to plan the whole preparation for the test.Planning includes answers to various questions such as (1) When to start the preparation for [email  protected] ? 2) How to prepare ? (3) Time duration the student will spend on preparing the individual sections, on learning & understanding the vocabulary, on giving practice tests, (4) How many times should the student give [email  protected] (actual test) ? , etc. It is important to make a Time Table so that one's preparation is structured and focused. When to Start preparation for [email  protected] ? Usually majority of the students Join CHICHI [email  protected] coaching classes in their II or I year of their Bachelor degree.Some Join in Ill or IV year with a few Joining after the completion of their Bachelor/Masters degree or when they are working full-time. Starting early is the key to success. If you concentrate on GREG in your Ill or IV year, then you will be left with no time to do all the things (such as projects, working on papers, etc. ) required to obtain admission and financial support in a top ranked universities. So, try to give [email  protected] by the end of your first year or latest by the end of second year, when the academic load is less, so that later, you can concentrate on your studies.Getting [email  protected] score early also allows you to consider other options too, such as campus placement, MBA entrance or even appearing for Subject [email  protected] or GATE. Several companies use Aptitude Test similar to GREG for campus recruitment. If you have prepared well for [email  protected], you can perform very well in these tests as the syllabus of these examinations matches a lot with the syllabus of [email  protected] Ideal ly you should start preparation, on your own, by contacting CHICHI in first year of your degree.CHICHI will guide you, what you should do at home besides the regular college work so that when you Join the coaching class for [email  protected] at CHICHI after I or II year examinations, you will be well prepared to more actively participate in class discussions. To understand when to start preparation of [email  protected] & when to write the est. first time, one must understand how the universities admission process works. The academic year in the universities in the USA (as well as in other countries such as Canada, Australia, UK) starts between Gag. 15 to Septet. 15 (unlike India, where it starts from July).Different universities have different start date of their academic session. Usually the admission process starts about 10 months before the actual start date. So, a student who wants admission in August 201 5 (also called as Fall semester/ quarter) will start application pro cess to apply for admission in from November 2014. For applying to any university, the student has to complete and then submit an online application for admission to the university. The application deadline dates of universities vary a lot. Some universities will have admission deadline dates as early as Novo. And some will have as late as July 1. But usually most of the universities have DCE. 1 to Jan. 15 as their admission and financial aid (scholarship) deadline dates. So, a student wishing to obtain admission in a university starting from Fall 201 5 session should try to get best [email  protected] scores (assuming that the student gives the test twice) before Cot. 014 & latest by DCE. 2014. How much time does it take for the student to prepare for [email  protected] ? The time duration to prepare for [email  protected] varies from student to student but usually it takes about 3-4 months to prepare for [email  protected] along with college studies.Some students take long er and some are able to prepare for [email  protected] in duration of 4-6 weeks also. How to prepare for [email  protected] ? CHICHI has been conducting [email  protected] coaching classes for more than 19 years. Several students in past years have secured scores of 2320+ out of 2400 (previous pattern), 1 550 (old pattern) out of 1600, to 334 (the new computer based revised general [email  protected]) out of a total score of 340 leading them to obtain admissions & scholarships in top-ranked US/Canadian universities. CHICHI Small Batch Size : 10-20 students. Smaller batch size allows CHICHI teachers to give lot of individual attention and personalized training.All kind of students coming from various local colleges to coming from various parts of the country, from a newly opened college to various Its, NITS, BITS, NINJA, Anna university, Jodhpurs university, University of Iambi, Pine university, LIMIT, TACT, etc. With grades ranging from a low of 45% (4. 5/10) to a high of 90 % (9. /10) Join our [email  protected] classes. Some are weak at English, while few have a fear for Math. We make every effort to give individualized help to each student in the class and make sure that everyone participates equally in class-room discussions.Highly experienced Instructors : Our teachers have a combined experience of more than 20 years of teaching [email  protected] They not only have extraordinary teaching skills but are very sensitive to the individual needs of each student. You will often find teachers at CHICHI spending hours with our students solving their difficulties and boosting their confidence. Inspire of the dedication & passion of our teaching faculty, regular written feedback is taken from the students to see, if we are missing on anything and if any changes are required.These feedbacks are invaluable for us to grow and better our services. What is included in our Fee ? : The fee for [email  protected] coaching includes [email  protected] coachin g notes, complete coaching, all tests, usage of library, mock tests, etc. TOEFL [email  protected] training, notes, tests, etc. Are offered FREE of cost to GREY GMTA/SAT students. Course material : CHICHI through years has developed, updated and researched into thousands of pages of course material. This is added further by our excellent library, which has almost every book related to [email  protected] available in the entire world.We have amazing books. For e. G. A whole book will be dedicated to Just teach you how to solve the Reading Comprehension questions of [email  protected] or a book on just the vocabulary part of [email  protected] or on the complete Analytical writing section. Innovative approach to teaching : Whether it is solving questions related to complex and difficult to understand passage or memorizing & understanding thousands of words, we have developed through years very innovative ways to handle these problems. Details of how we teach is given at the en d of this section. Fee Validity : 5 years.Several students Join CHICHI right after their class I year but give their final [email  protected] in their II or II year. The students have to practice on mock Computer based tests, very similar to the actual [email  protected] tallest a month before their actual [email  protected] date. The fee paid at CHICHI for [email  protected] coaching is thus valid for next 5 years from the day a student enrolls at CHICHI so that the students can continue to obtain help & guidance at CHICHI without any hesitation. Batch Timings : CHICHI [email  protected] coaching classes are held in the evening (2 hours every day) & morning at timings convenient to the students.