Reading Development Essay

As literate persons, we all know something about reading, writing, and literacy. In fact, our understanding of what literacy is varies widely. Jeanne Chall concluded in Learning to Read: the Great Debate (1983), that children get a better start in reading if they are taught phonics because they break the code that links what they hear with what they see in print. Harvard Professor Jeanne Chall has outlined the stages of reading development that begin at preschool age and continue until university age. The stages of reading development explains how students’ progress as readers. Chall’s proposed scheme for reading stages includes six stages with the purpose of understanding the path of reading development from pretend reading to advance reading. The basic philosophy is that children learn to read as a developmental process; also advocating for the use of both phonics and exposure to challenging literature as the best method of teaching young children to read. Her approach encompasses the development of decoding, comprehension, and critical evaluation. Chall considers that her proposed stages of reading development resemble Piaget’s stages of cognitive and language development (Chall 1996). Accordingly, the methodology used to implement the theory entails the following. Each reading stage has a definite structure and varies from the other stages in characteristic qualitative ways. Each stage follows a hierarchical progression. Chall believes that individuals progress through the reading stages by interacting with their environments and that this interaction affects the individual’s reading development as much as the progression of the distinct stages (Chall, 1996, p. 11). Chall’s six reading developmental stages that describe how children typically learn to read. According to Chall (1996), students proceed through predictable stages of learning to read to becoming a proficient reader. During the pre-reading stage up until about six years old, learners begin to control language. By the time the learner reach kindergarten, he should have some print knowledge and vocabularies of about 6, 000 words. Many children at this stage know how to write their names. In stage 1, the learners develop a sense of alphabetic principle and utilize new sound-spelling relationships. The learner at this stage is more likely to be given reading materials easy to understand texts and that contains simple reading texts. Through Grades 2 and 3, the learner is at the second stage where he develops decoding skills, fluency and additional strategies in reading texts. At stage 3, the learner encounter wide varieties of texts and context, and all the reading demands that accompany these experiences. They extend on background experiences and strategic habits in reading. At stage 4 to 5, though high school and college, the language and intellectual demands of reader increase. They can analyze texts critically and they construct their own individual uses of reading based on analysis and synthesis. The age and grade conditions for the different stage may vary as the child’s culture and environment plays a part in how fast they progress. Therefore, individuals progress through the reading stages at different rates. How fast they advance depends upon the interaction between individual (biological, motivational, cognitive) and environmental (home, school, community) factors. The characteristics and descriptions given for the different stages serve primarily as models, presented to covey how reading develops, and changes. There are many ways to bring about the same results in reading. For instance, there are many procedures in teaching beginning reading from letters and sound to words to stories. Yet designed to accomplish the major beginning reading task of decoding. A person’s progress through the stages is not a straight upward path. At any reading stage, the individual’s performance also depends on the difficulty of the task. If the task is new and no additional instruction is received, the reader may temporarily drop to a lower level. For example, a child who has learned to decode familiar text (Stage 2) will start â€Å"guessing† when material is too difficult. The text may contain many words that needed to be decoded, too many that are not recognized immediately, and too many unknown meanings. According to the proposed reading stages, the table below shows each stage of reading development, what the child is learning, types of activities and the materials a child will be using.

My Inspiration

All throughout life, we come across people who, in the course of our mingling with them, become an inspiration to us because of different reasons. He or she could be a parent, relative, a friend, a neighbor, teacher, or anybody who we deal with on a daily basis. In my case, the person who serves as my inspiration is my next door neighbor. My parents are both very busy working in order to provide our family's daily needs. So raising me was a bit of a predicament for them. As luck would have it, we have a next door neighbor who is a motherly soul. She came forward and volunteered to keep an eye on me while my parents were at work. She does not have any children of her own and as far back as I could remember, spends most of her time in her home tending to her garden. She is like a second mother to me.   My parents were so glad to leave me with her because she made sure to instill discipline and values in the child left in her care. She says that I am the child she never had. She is proud of me just like my parents are. I am so close to her that sometimes, my mom gets jealous because I ask our neighbor for her opinion on anything I want to do. What my parents do not know is that this neighbor of ours was there for me at a very trying time in my life. When I was being bullied and failing my subjects in school. She helped me realize my potential as a student and learn to respect myself as a human being. Since I would come over to her house directly after school, she spent her afternoons tutoring me and helping me with my other schoolwork. Even when I was at my dumbest and when my parents had given up on me learning the task at hand, she always supported me and told me that I could do it. I just needed to figure out how I could accomplish things in a way that made me comfortable. Each time, I would amaze my parents because of what I was able to accomplish. My life is going great right now. I like the person I have grown up to be and I know that I can accomplish more, as I grow older. All of this is because of the unconditional, inspirational support my next door neighbor gave and continues to give me.    My Inspiration All throughout life, we come across people who, in the course of our mingling with them, become an inspiration to us because of different reasons. He or she could be a parent, relative, a friend, a neighbor, teacher, or anybody who we deal with on a daily basis. In my case, the person who serves as my inspiration is my next door neighbor. My parents are both very busy working in order to provide our family's daily needs. So raising me was a bit of a predicament for them. As luck would have it, we have a next door neighbor who is a motherly soul. She came forward and volunteered to keep an eye on me while my parents were at work. She does not have any children of her own and as far back as I could remember, spends most of her time in her home tending to her garden. She is like a second mother to me.   My parents were so glad to leave me with her because she made sure to instill discipline and values in the child left in her care. She says that I am the child she never had. She is proud of me just like my parents are. I am so close to her that sometimes, my mom gets jealous because I ask our neighbor for her opinion on anything I want to do. What my parents do not know is that this neighbor of ours was there for me at a very trying time in my life. When I was being bullied and failing my subjects in school. She helped me realize my potential as a student and learn to respect myself as a human being. Since I would come over to her house directly after school, she spent her afternoons tutoring me and helping me with my other schoolwork. Even when I was at my dumbest and when my parents had given up on me learning the task at hand, she always supported me and told me that I could do it. I just needed to figure out how I could accomplish things in a way that made me comfortable. Each time, I would amaze my parents because of what I was able to accomplish. My life is going great right now. I like the person I have grown up to be and I know that I can accomplish more, as I grow older. All of this is because of the unconditional, inspirational support my next door neighbor gave and continues to give me.   

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 37

Reflection - Essay Example ings for him in two basic ways; firstly, he developed a rift between himself, his colleagues, and his followers, and secondly, his wrong decisions led everybody into a trouble for which he was held accountable. It would not be so bad if the problem ended here; my leader would rationalize and try to defend himself on his wrong decisions rather than accepting his mistakes and moving forward taking everybody with him. I believe leadership is fundamentally affected by the type of personality traits and behavior one exhibits. In order to be a successful and strong leader, it is imperative that one builds good rapport with the colleagues and followers and serves as a role model for them. Ans. In order to change things for the better and become a strong leader, my leader needs to start working at developing good relations and rapport with the colleagues and followers. He can achieve this by having meetings with them, making them aware of his plans of action, intentions, and intended results, and how they would benefit the community and the institution as a whole. My leader needs to come out of his shell and socialize with his colleagues and followers, take them into confidence, and ideally, seek their advice and opinion in the future decisions. This requires a holistic change in the personality and behavior of my leader which is, in fact, not easy to achieve. However, certain steps may make this easier for him if he takes them. For example, he can read leadership books. These books are written by very experienced and knowledgeable authors who present practicable and expert opinions on ways to change one’s personality and behavior for the better. In order to develop my leadership skills to do justice to the role of a school director, I first need to brainstorm myself upon what exactly is a director of school and what are his responsibilities. Many books, articles, and blogs can be read to develop thorough understanding in this matter. Secondly, I need to assess my

Integrated marketing communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Integrated marketing communication - Essay Example The target groups that are used with the carbon footprint of the UK and the government is one that is identified by the awareness of global warming and reducing the carbon footprint. The approach is one which is dependent first on finding individuals that are interested in the carbon footprint reduction and which has the ability to alter and change the way that the government is able to create a response to riding the bus and train. The target groups will first need to be divided by those that drive and commute to work from different segments and sections of the town. By approaching demographics by area and by work sections, there will be the ability to show the convenience that is a part of the carbon footprint. Combining this with the encouragement and awareness will provide even more opportunities for the target groups and the expectations that are associated with this. The target group by demographic and areas in which individuals are located is one which is followed by enhancing the target group with communication techniques. The individuals will need to see the benefits of commuting to work. Convenience, saving the environment, reducing the carbon footprint and supporting government initiatives is some of the communication techniques which can be used. Combining this with the informative viewpoint of the carbon footprint will help to encourage even more drivers to take the bus or train while motivating individuals to find convenient and simplistic ways to reduce the carbon footprint.... As this grows, there will be the ability to expand the mediums into a sense of digital connectivity and word of mouth advertising to increase the popularity of commuting potential (Winer, 2009: 15). The ability to work with IMS is one which can further the communication by allowing users to work specifically with the options for commuting. The IMS is one that is combined with looking at segments that may be interested in different types of commuting options. Combining this with efforts for digital connections will enhance the communication that is used. Instead of creating benefits that are only based on the expectations and benefits, word of mouth and consumer interaction can help to produce a different level of popularity to the commute while creating a different dynamic toward various segments. This will also provide feedback to increase the commute options, specifically with providing the target markets with integrated options for better commuting, easier ways of connecting to ot hers and alternatives to increase the concepts of using a commute option as opposed to the need to have convenience within the workspace (Jiang, 2010: 33). 2. The Brockholes location is one which requires a segmented market between businesses for conference bookings and the entertainment that is available for families. These specific target markets can further be divided by interests, specifically because of the adventure trails, visitor center and discovery areas. The food shop and gift shop as well as specialized activities for wild birds can help provide even more alternatives to those that are looking at the different options for the conference bookings and family visits. To create the right approach, there needs to be communication about

Do Legislators represent their constituencies economic perspectives Term Paper

Do Legislators represent their constituencies economic perspectives - Term Paper Example One of the aspects that are of our concern is the bailout that tried to stabilize the economy after it crashed in the last decade. The proposal allowed the transfer of $700 billion to the Department of Treasury to purchase declining property that financial firms lost their money on. This paper will also focus on whether or not legislators equally represent their low-income constituents as much as they represent their high-income constituents. As much as it would be believable that representation is equal among everyone, there are many reasons why this is not the case. Because of the inequality of wealth in America, the poor become very poor and the rich become very rich. Likewise, when congressional representatives run for election the price is very high and they need support to be elected. This support is more likely to come from people who have enough money compared to the poor and middle class people who are concerned about their own needs. Both of these aspects will help uncover and answer the burning question regarding our legislators. Pertaining to the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP), better known as the bailout, the infusion of money was supposed to prevent large banks from going under and losing everything. It started in 2007 when many banks had loaned out mortgages to people who defaulted, or could not pay back. Soon losses were obvious and many knew of the situation but tried to cover up the problem. This made many banks insolvent in the period between late 2007 and 2008. The TARP was written to prevent a complete economic collapse caused by side effects of banks bankrupting. However, from the point of view of legislators, this helped the rich bankers who lost a lot on their poor investment choices leaving out the poor people that had been affected. Both conservatives and liberals did not appreciate the bill. For conservatives, the bill went against their belief in free market. For liberals, the bill benefited wealthy people

Artificial Intelligence Research Paper and Proposal

Artificial Intelligence and Proposal - Research Paper Example [Liebowitz, J. 2001. p.1-6] A research by Kaminka and Pynadath (2002. p.83-91) presented techniques of on-line monitoring of teams using a method of "overhearing" whereby their communication exchanges during business transactions are captured in computer systems and the learning of the agents are captured under three categories - No Learning, On-Line Learning and Using Previously Learned Predictions. They called the system as "Overseer" that can be effectively used to compare the performance gaps between novice agents and expert agents. The system could be used for performance evaluations of individuals as well as groups carrying out business transactions in any domain of the world. The researchers deployed two different hierarchies in the system - A team hierarchy and a plan hierarchy. The team hierarchy comprises of people fitting into the roles required to deliver tasks defined in the plan hierarchy. Hence, every individual in a role is expected to "execute a plan". They modeled the ground operations of an international airport whereby the human agents were allowed to query about the status of a plan and the future course of the plan in progress thus dealing with obstacles coming on the way of a plan. They querying was normally carried out by people in higher hierarchies and the plan reporting carried out by people in lower hierarchies. The learning about steps taken for plan executions were recorded in a plan library. They developed a probabilistic model of quantitative evaluation of the plan by plotting a time series of the plan state variables whereby all plans are represented by a set of Boolean random variables in such a way that the variable is true only if an agent is able to execute it at time "t". Thereafter the performance "belief" about an agent was plotted as a probability distribution with Markov property over all the variables within the set and was termed as Dynamic Belief Network (DBN). The start of a plan is overheard through initiation messages by the reporter and te rmination of plan overheard through

Employee relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Employee relations - Essay Example However, Third World countries are not able to implement this law effectively and child labor is heavily prevalent in such countries. The United Kingdom has set a proper regulatory system for employee-employer relations and aims to ensure that both sides receive their fair share. It is alleged at times that employees receive a greater amount of leniency and have more say than the employer has in the maintenance of this relationship. However, employees in the UK also have issues regarding the minimum wage, pension plans, and health benefits included in their pay (Lewis, pg. 114-184, 2003). Mainly, developed countries such as the UK, Australia, USA, and Canada have regulatory systems, which aim to moderate the relationship between employees and employers. Laws govern the contracts upheld by both parties and the clauses are testable by law. Hence, if one party fails to acknowledge or fulfill a clause mentioned in the contract, that party is liable to punishment by law. However, not all countries have a regulatory system. Most Third World Countries have neither a minimum wage nor an obligation to provide employees with any other benefits. Discrimination and unnecessary redundancy is strongly prevalent in such countries. No system exists to assist labor properly in standing up for their rights. Cheap labor is readily available in less developed countries and developed countries often end up exploiting this situation. Since their own countries have a strong system-regulating employee and employer relationship, they avail cheaper labor without any hassles in less developed countries (Lewis, pg 189, 2009). However, the international system and regulatory power for employee-employer relations details issues such as age requirements for work, health benefit plans, job security, minimum wage, and retirement plans. There are several agencies working to aim to secure such benefits for employees all over the world (Hollingshead, pg 24-32, 2010). Trade unions and worker assoc iations also do not have full acknowledgement and recognition under the laws of many countries. Hence, workers are unable to negotiate terms and conditions with their companies on a large scale or engage in â€Å"collective bargaining†. Mainly, in Third World countries, the blue-collared workers or labor classes lack education and awareness of their rights. These people also lack opportunities and hence are exploited by their employers by being offered low wages and practically no-benefits (Rose, pg 156-230, 2004). White-collar workers or skilled labor is more informed regarding international law; hence, usually such workers do engage in proper contracts and receive competitive salaries, according to their qualifications. They also receive benefits, health insurance, and retirement plans. Most Third World countries also implement international law upon their own government employees. Government employees enjoy proper employee benefits and adequate pays with pay raises wheneve r adequate. They get the treatment according to international standards of employee-employer relations (Lewis, pg 89-105, 2003). However, only one side of the story should not be accounted for as employees also have an obligation to fulfill their duties during the period of employment. International law states that employees may receive termination if they fail to perform all their duties. Hence, it is mandatory for employees to avoid over emphasizing their powers. In

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Research Proposal - Essay Example According to research, people today give little importance to ethics in financial sectors, due to which organizations that monitor company operations as well as prevent and detect fraud have come into being. In addition, the number of fraudulent activities that take place in organizations, especially in their accounting departments, has risen rapidly due to several factors (O’Gara, pp. 29-33, 2004). Due to this, the practice of anti-fraud and risk management organizations is becoming a part of ordinary business in financial sectors. Risk management usually focuses on insurance companies, but an area of growing concern for risk management experts is occupational fraud. Due to this fact, this proposed research plans to explore the various dimensions of occupational fraud. In depth, it will analyze the specific aiding factors, which individuals use to commit fraud in financial calculations. Statement of the Problem In the light of this plan, the proposed research will include eff orts on the following purpose statement: â€Å"To discover and analyze the risks and issues related to the occupational fraud that occurs in the financial calculations that take place in an organization† Aims and Objectives ... This research also plans to broaden the perspective of risk management professionals, when they seek problems in the financial sector only concerning typical occupational fraud, and to enable them to design better fraud-prevention measures. Apart from this, the researchers also aim to establish research and findings that are both realistic and eye opening so that they aid other researchers to come in the following years. Literature Review In order to conduct a research at a maximum level of efficiency, it is necessary to develop a thorough understanding of the thesis statement presented. Thus, this paper briefly analyzes available information about risk management, focusing on the different types of occupational fraud. Prior to presenting these types, most works define the occupational fraud, often employing similar terms (Wells, pp. 42-47, 2007). They describe it as exploiting an organization against the law through unethical actions, which result in the party committing the act gai ning benefit. Experts have further presented several categories of occupational fraud, of which each outlines a different aspect of it (Koletar, pp. 19-27, 2003). One of these types involves the thievery of a company’s assets, which in most cases around the globe, means cash. Over eighty-five percent of occupational frauds involve such thefts of cash from an organization. The other most frequently occurring type of occupational fraud is management fraud, where executives indulge in fraudulent activities by abusing their authority and power in an organization (Salinger, pp. 59-66, 2005). There are several other types of occupational fraud also,

Microsoft's Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Microsoft's Business Strategy - Essay Example Google has revolutionized the aspect of using a range of online sources such as books, journal, directories and others. Even it has the first mover advantage due to technological leadership in the search engine category and Google’s employees are always suggesting innovative ideas for enhancing the firm’s performance in the market so that it can remain competent and a market leader. It is evident from the case that Microsoft has undertaken a range of initiatives for giving a tough competition to the players in the search engine domain. Despite all of its efforts, it has been unable to offer the services in alignment with the demands of the customers. However, it is still considered to be the dominant company in hardware and software category as it is the pioneer of developing Operating Systems for providing a diverse range of tools to the customers. In order to excel in the search engine market, Microsoft tried to distinguish the Live Search feature so that it can meet the expectations of the customers effectively. Some of the efforts undertaken by the company comprised of integrating internal search service with Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, changing the service name from ‘MSN Search’ to ‘Live Search’, development of Live Search Club, Live Search provided the advertisers an opportunity of gathering information about user’s demographics in addition to the query, creation of ‘Opinion index’ for providing reviews about the latest products, introduction of cashback program and many more. The ongoing endeavors of Microsoft’s development team shows that it is keen towards dominating the search engine market, however, it is lagging behind due to rapid advancements done by Google. As it is evident that the users develop loyalty with the companies having first mover advantage, Microsoft will have to look for avenues which are untouched by the market leader. Even the

The Human and Professional Values of Managers Essay Example for Free

The Human and Professional Values of Managers Essay The Human and Professional values of Managers: Impact on the profession Some values which can be related to good managers are truth; care, peace, justice and responsibility. Truth is something which is inborn in human behavior. Whether one lives by it or ignores it depends on his upbringing and surrounding factors. A person who has been brought up in an environment where lying was the way of life, will end up doing the same in future even on becoming a manager. Another value is care or love. A manager should care for his employees and respect their feelings. This is a sign of a good manager. A manager should always try to maintain peace at the workplace. He should cultivate the thought of reason and negotiation instead of aggression. Justice is a trait which is required in a manager. He should be able to judge between the right and the wrong for his employees. He should see to it that deserving candidates are rewarded for their hard work. A manager should always bear the responsibility for his actions and not shrug them. It’s generally the manager who is responsible for the subordinates work and he should deal with it and guide his subordinates to perform the best possible work. Leadership Professionalism Effectiveness Innovation Management Public Interest Participation Planning Efficiency 10. Strategy Managers may face a situation when they have to take a choice whether to follow their human or Professional Values. This can be a very tricky decision to take. A situation may arise such as he may know that a certain employee is about to be laid off in a month. But he has order from his superiors not to let him know till the last minute. Now he has to decide whether he will tell the employee the truth or be professional and follow orders. Such decisions have a big impact on the mind of the manager and all people affected by the wrong decision. For a manager, he has to always try to emulate the company values so that all his subordinates can follow his example. He always has to be punctual, responsible, and efficient so that all his subordinates follow his lead. To do might require some compromise on his home front, since to adhere to his values; he might have to work overtime, thus losing out on time spent with his family. But it will certainly cause a positive reaction from his subordinates. A manager will many a times face the dilemma of which employees to reward or relegate. This is another time at which he has to take a decision based on his values. A lot of times, a manager may be in cohorts with an employee and decide to promote him over a more deserving candidate. He may even stick to is human values and promote the right person and ignore his friend and give adequate justice. It may even be a case where you have to lay off a friend when the situation arises. However he may choose not to and not behave in a professional way. Which value will any person choose depends on the situation, consequences and his own characteristics. The Impact of Professional and Human values on managers are huge. They determine the behavior of the manager in his day to day activity. One cannot say which value a manager will employ, but whichever choice he makes determines the personality of the manager. It can lead to success or failure of a manager in his work.

Short Story Example | In The Year 2050

Short Story Example | In The Year 2050 As a little kid I was taught, There is nothing new under the sun, and I believed that until yesterday. Yesterday was like any other day, except the fact that I was on midterm break. This meant no work, all sleep and all play! As I basked into the freedom of having my midterm break, my stomach started to growl, which meant it was lunch time. As I went into the kitchen to fix lunch, I heard a funny noise. The noise sounded like a thousand bubble gums popping at once. So I went out to the backyard to see if it was some of the rowdy boys from around the corner, playing a prank on me. And to my surprise there was no one there, so I followed the noise to see where it was coming from, and it was coming from my neighbors backyard. As I stood there with my neighbor called Mario, I was astonished to see he had a flux capacitor. He told me he had built a time machine and to my surprise it looked like one Ive seen on a movie. So I asked, Mario does it really work? He replied with excitement, Yip, Ive been to the year 2050, a lot has changed because they live underwater, and I saw your great granddaughter, shes doing fine! I stopped him and looked at him like he was crazy. So he replied and said You dont believe me huh? Come with me and Ill show it to you! So he turned on the flux thing and a hole appeared with some purple foam coming out of it. I was scared so he told me to count backwards from 5, as he held my hand; we stepped into the time machine. 5à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦4à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦3 Were here! he said. The machine had stopped and automatically I felt the atmosphere had changed. Mario said Welcome to 2050! This is our back yard! Honestly, it wasnt a pretty sight; the place where we lived looked like an empty street on the Boulevard of Broken dreams. The sky was bleak, smoke and fog filled the atmosphere. It was as though everyone had moved away 20 years ago and a category four hurricane had resigned their ever since. So I turned to Mario and asked him, Where is everyone? He replied like I said, they live underwater. as he turned around and showed me everything, he said This is why there down there. So I asked, How is it that theyre living down there? He explained to me that the Chinese had built huge see-through domes for each country as gifts, because land had become too dangerous for humans to live on. So I started asking Mario so many questions like, What do they eat? How do they dress? How do they live? How do they travel? He laughed at me and said Ill just take you down there so you can ease up on all the questions. Okay, I said, as we entered the time machine again. In the split of a second we were there. I was prepared to drown because I cant swim and I was also prepared to not being able to breathe, because we were going under water. But to my surprise I was breathing the freshest air I had ever breathed, and this was the most beautiful place my eyes had ever seen. The grass was green and pretty, there were coco plum trees everywhere, and the streets were paved with the pink part of the conch shell. It was like being on a up to date family island. As the sleek cars zoomed pass Mario and I. I turned to Mario puzzled and confused, and told him I thought by 2050 cars would be flying. He replied No not as yet, that happens in the year 3000. But these cars are better than the cars we have at home. I asked him Why do you think that? He said Because these cars runoff water. My mouth dropped. He laughed and said Pick up your lip! I need to show you something, its almost time to go back home. As we hurried, we passed really tall sky scrapers with extra big green domes that were rotating; they looked like they could be homes. So I asked Mario, Are these homes? He said No, these are farms! So I replied, If these are farms, what do their houses look like? He replied Well, they have smart homes, so however they want their house to look, thats exactly how the house will fix itself. Then he said Look!!! as he pointed to a lady, This is what I wanted you to see!! Look at that lady, what do you think shes doing? I replied Walking. He said Nope, look at her again. So I looked. The only thing I saw was a lady that was walking and she had futuristic clothes, pretty bands on her hands and shades. He said She is either surfing the net, on a phone call or checking her messages. So I asked him, How? He explained to me that, the band that she has on her hands is connected to her phone which is at home and she can see her messages anytime as long as shes looking into glass. Her shades are actually her computer. I looked at him funny and then looked at the lady and I said No that cant be, because she isnt moving her hands to select anything. He said She doesnt have to, because her eyes will do all the selecting. Also with her shades she can travel. So I replied, Duh I know that, because at home we can travel with are shades too, you forget we usually is have them in our bag or on our face aye? He laughed and said No, in 2050 their shades can teleport them to where ever they want to go, she just have to select the place with her eyes. Oh! I replied. He then said I have to carry you home before our parents come. But we can come back next week so you can see where your great granddaughter lives. I smiled because I was so excited. So as we stepped into the time machine, and I told him I truly enjoyed my day in the year 2050.

Physical, Emotional and Social Impairment Caused by Marijuana :: Use of Marijuana Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marijuana is a unique and controversial drug. It is a popular psychoactive drug that is easily accessible and relatively inexpensive. Marijuana is often considered a recreational drug despite its illegal status. It is illegal because there are many uncertainties surrounding this substance. In fact, some favor the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes while others oppose. Opponents of marijuana insist that legal approval will result in serious personal and social problems. There are three species of Marijuana. The most common and most psychoactive is a prepared mixture of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. Cannabis indica is known to be less potent and Cannabis ruderalis has virtually no psychoactive ingredients. Cannabis sativa will be analyzed in detail since it is the most commonly used species. This plant grows wild but it can be cultivated in temperate as well as tropical areas. Cannabis products can be smoked in pipes or cigarettes. They can also be ingested with food. Manufactured products range from paper to ink (WWW 2). Every plant varies slightly in composition and the different parts of the plant vary in chemical constituents. In 1993 researchers discovered 400 to 500 chemicals. Some of the major types of chemical constituents in marijuana preparations include acids, alcohols, aldehydes, and amino acids. Cannabinoids, esters, enzymes, glycoproteins, hydrocarbons, ketones, lactones, nitrogenous compounds, phenols, pigments, proteins, sugars, steroids, terpenes, and vitamins are others (Carroll 1993). These are among some of the naturally occurring chemicals in marijuana and were derived from the Institute of Medicine and the Marijuana Project from the University of Mississippi. Furthermore, researchers have found that when cannabis is burned, additional chemicals are formed and may be found in the gas and smoke. One of the chemicals produced is benzopyrene, which is a known carcinogen. It is approximately 70% more abundant in marijuana smoke than in tobacco smoke (Carroll 1993). Only about 30 of the chemicals in marijuana have been studied extensively for their psychoactive effects. Of these delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is known to be the most psychoactive chemical. This chemical is converted into over 60 other psychoactive metabolites by the liver (Carroll 1993). These chemical reactions, however, have either proved insignificant or not enough research has been conducted to prove their importance. Researchers have been mostly concerned with the interaction of THC in the humanbody. THC concentration in the human body depends on many factors. First of all, THC concentration varies throughout the plant.

Battle of Lexington :: essays research papers

The American Revolution was a tough time for America and the people who fought it. Many wars were fought and many people died, but throughout the whole events moments of inspiration were evident. One such time was in the Battle of Lexington which took place on April 19th, 1775 and one such poem the truly reflects it is called The Battle of Lexington which was written by Sidney Lanier. The poem reflects the thoughts of this man and Paul Revere during this time. In the first stanza Mr. Lanier tells Paul revere to ride fast and hard to Lexington so he can tell others that the British are coming. It is evident that he has to be in a rush because Lanier says, "While the way is clear". This shows that this option might not be open for a long time so Mr. Revere will have to ride fast. In the next stanza, the British are starting to cross the river and so a man name Deven, is trying to help Paul Revere. As he leaves Deven watches him ride into the night with what I think admiration. Also as he is leaving Deven is watching the British come closer and so I think this is a tragic point for him to accept. As the story goes on it is the next morning, and attention is called to a man named John Parker. At this point the British soldiers along with General Gage were marching toward concord. When this occurred there were also minutemen or the American soldiers waiting there as well to engage in a battle. This is seen in the poem. The man tells John Parker to look outside his windows and to witness independence. He says this because both men believe that the American soldiers will win. It is to say that they have no doubt in there minds that they will win. Continuing on, as the British approached concord and so the American soldiers are told to line up in formation. This man asks for all the men of [President] Lincoln to start getting ready to fight. He mentions that through the wounds of this war liberty will be won, because these men know that some will die in order to win. The poet calls Prescott and Revere in hurry. He tells the other men such as Chelmsford, Littleton, Carlisle, and ot hers to line up in formation.

Heroes Must Die :: English Literature Essays

Heroes Must Die Blaine the big was half badger and half troll. He was a huge beast (nearly twice the height of a human) and was almost completely covered in spikes. He hated his space colony. He lived with fake trees, fake grass, fake rain, and all sorts of fake things. He longed to live on Earth and see the real things. He tried multiple times to break into the space airports and enter a ship to Earth, but the wizard guards always caught him. One day, while Blaine was sleeping, the DANGER 1 alarm went off. The alarm was only used for extremely dangerous situations. Blaine and his pet dorg (a big dog trained to kill), Leo, ran out to see what the commotion was about. He felt cold fear run all down his body. There, right in front of him, was a huge troll. Trolls had horribly big bodies and had spikes everywhere below the neck. It smelt horrible and had a double-ended axe. â€Å"What do we have here?† the troll said. â€Å"Don’t hurt me-I’m half troll. You wouldn’t hurt me would you?† stammered Blaine. Blaine decided to go for the friendly approach. â€Å"Your axe looks †¦ marvelous,† he said. Trolls loved to hear their weapons get compliments. This troll was no exception. â€Å"You think so? I really like my axe. My name’s Pete the Perilous. So, what other half are you?† â€Å"I’m Blaine. I’m half badger as well as half troll,† answered Blaine . Blaine decided that Pete wasn’t all that bad. â€Å"What troll dynasty are you from?† Blaine asked. â€Å"Oh, I’m not a troll. I’m a seronto,† said Pete. â€Å"What!† blurted Blaine. Serontos were extremely rare these days because of their not-so-smart minds. Serontos have the power to change into anything they want, and a lot of times they would turn into something deadly. Therefore, the wizards kill them not knowing they were serontos. â€Å"Turn into something smaller!† hissed Blaine. With a â€Å"pop† he turned into a pen. Blaine hastily put the pen into his pocket. Just then, a score of wizards came around the corner, all with their staffs out. â€Å"Did you see a troll around here?† the eldest wizard asked. â€Å"No† replied Blaine. He didn’t dare tell the wizards that the troll was actually a seronto, because the wizards would have just taken him to the ejection room (a room where you are sent into space to die), innocent or not because of the chaos he created.

Introduction/Conclusion on Drug Abuse

Robert Cain Cocaine, Marijuana, Meet, Crack Cocaine, Heroin, and Prescription Pills are all illegal drugs. All of these types of drugs can be found on any corner of America these days. It seems that a lot of Americans are doing them. Many Americans are tempted by the excitement or possibly the escape these drugs seem to offer. Learning about the facts of these drugs can help you see the potential risk of chasing the excitement and escape. No one knows exactly why so many Americans are using drugs.Some use drugs as a way to escape reality and some may use them just to fit in. While others use them to be rebellious and get attention. Many people use drugs because they feel It will help them cope with whatever feelings they are trying to mask. The sad truth Is after using the drugs many of the users have a feeling of regret and feel worse than they did to begin with. Drugs can ruin every aspect of a person's life. That Is why It Is very Important to spread the word of how damaging drugs can be. In conclusion with drug use in America.No matter what type of drug you try you are that much closer to becoming addicted to it. All it takes is one time try it and like it. Drugs can ruin everything you have worked so hard for. Help me spread the word on how not to become a drug user. COW use drugs as a way to escape reality and some may use them Just to fit in. While they feel it will help them cope with whatever feelings they are trying to mask. The sad truth is after using the drugs many of the users have a feeling of regret and feel is why it is very important to spread the word of how damaging drugs can be.

Piri Thomas’ “Alien House” Essay

Throughout the short story Alien Turf, Piri, a little Puerto Rican boy who just moved to an all-Italian neighborhood encounters many obstacles. Piri will face rejection and inadequacy. He gets teased, and beaten up, but still, he stays strong and acts older than he really is. At the end of the story, Piri is encountered with a strong sense of compassion from Rocky, an Italian boy who had previously beaten him up. The boys realized that racism is only skin deep, but each person may be a kind, caring human being. In the beginning of the story, all Rocky saw was a Puerto Rican invading his Italian neighborhood. According to him, only Italians belonged in the neighborhood, and Puerto Ricans, like Piri and his family, should be ultimately banned. Racism is a belief that one race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities. Racial differences may produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Rocky fully lived by this in the beginning, and even throughout most of the story. What is compassion? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, compassion is sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Some other people may see compassion as being sympathetic toward someone or something when they are struggling or having some sort of problem. If this is what compassion means, then Rocky truly showed compassion for Piri at the end of the story. During the last fight that the Italian boys got into with Piri was when everything changed. One of the boys screamed to Piri from down the street, â€Å"You even buying from us paisans, you must wantta be an Italians.† Usually, he would just run away from them, but this day was different. Piri, sticking up for himself, screamed back to them, â€Å"I wouldn’t be a guinea on a motherfucking bet!† Rocky and his gang were shocked that he said this. The boys started fist fighting and Piri hit Tony in the stomach as hard as he could, watching him fall to the ground. Tony grabbed a handful of asphalt and threw it in Piri’s face. Rocky hit Tony in the face, knowing that his friend had crossed the line. Rocky showed compassion by sticking up for Piri. He took Piri’s hand saying,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Comon kind, lemme take you home. Rocky recognized that yes, Piri was a little bit different because he was Puerto Rican, but he was also a human being. He realized that racism is only skin deep, and everybody has feelings. Piri was also touched in this instant. He never would have thought that any of the boys, especially Rocky, the leader of the gang, would ever stick up for him. To his amazement, not only did Rocky yell at his friend, but he also threw a couple of punches at him. Compassion was displayed in this because Rocky new that even though he really didn’t like the fact that there was a little Puerto Rican boy that moved into his neighborhood, he could not dismiss the fact that what his friend did was wrong. He was going to help this little boy out. Rocky experienced a true epiphany during this part of the story. His views about everything were disregarded in that instant when his friend threw the asphalt in Piri’s face. He knew that if they really wanted to, they could have beaten Piri up real bad since he couldn’t see, but Rocky knew that it would not be a fair fight. Rocky also recognized the fact that Piri needed his compassion and care in that instant, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

Beauty Within The Cultures by Phillip Namara Essay

How do you define beauty? Is it a small waist and large breasts? A perfect smile and straight hair? If you flip through the pages of an American fashion magazine, you may think beauty is narrowly defined†¦but that’s not the case. From thick ankles to small noses, women from five continents are revealing what’s considered beautiful in their countries. â€Å"It’s a way of connecting yourselves from your kitchen, your living room, your bedroom †¦ to the rest of the world.† The first culture I will speak about are the Koreans. In any subway car you will see young Korean women checking their hair and makeup in mirrors that come attached to their cell phones. For those with less image-savvy devices, the windows provide ample reflection for women to fretfully fix stray stands of hair or rouge streaks of foundation. This preoccupation with beauty is no less reflected in how many Korean women dress. High heels, mini-skirts and frilled blouses are not reserved for nights out on the town – they are the norm for many women going about their daily business. While looking good is a matter of boosting self-esteem for many women, there are often more practical reasons for going under the knife. A lot of women believe that their chances of employment are largely dependent on their looks and will improve significantly after a cosmetic touch-up. In this highly competitive society, where it is routine to send your photo attached to your resume, a pretty face can give you the edge in a job or college interview. The next country/culture we will look at is Africa. There are some countries in Africa who have recently adopted a new definition of beauty accepting the same beliefs as Western culture. However, many countries maintain a quite different perspective of what beauty means within Africa. This different perspective defines beauty as: * Large Breasts: In some countries, women with large chests are much more desirable and considered much more beautiful than women with small chests. * Ample Backside: In some countries, generally the same ones that consider big breasts to be beautiful, a large backside is desirable and considered beautiful. * Fat vs. Skinny: Although it has become a newly accepted form of beauty, being skinny is not desirable in every country in Africa. There are countries where brides are force fed in order to make them fat or to make them more desirable to their male counterparts. Although this may not be considered healthy, it is what many in the culture of these countries consider beautiful. * Skin Color: Another aspect of beauty in Africa relates to skin color. Many countries believe that a lighter skinned African woman is more desirable than those who have darker skin. Therefore, a market has grown for skin creams that will lighten the complexion of African women in order to make them more attr active to the opposite sex. Importance of Curves in African Beauty Looking at this list of what beauty means in certain parts of Africa, we can deduce that the more curves a woman has in some countries across the African continent, the more desirable she is to the opposite sex. The idea of this form of accepted beauty has caused many clothing designers in Africa to increase their sizes available in their clothing lines in order to show their acceptance that even a bigger woman can be beautiful. In Southwestern Asia, the area often known as the Middle East, the rejection of Western culture and beauty standards, along with the insurgence of Islamic traditions, has seen the rise in more traditional, Arabic clothing. This clothing tends to cover more of the body and gives only an alluring glimpse at the feminine figure within as a clear denunciation of the revealing outfits worn by many in the Western world. These outfits display the humble, demure and secret beauty of the wearer, whose husband is the only one with access to the body hidden within the folds of fabric. Still, with increasing globalization, many Western beauty ideals have spread throughout the world, while cultures with little contact outside their indigenous communities continue to observe their own beauty practices. Either way, ideals of beauty are ever-present throughout the diverse communities of world. Beauty Throughout The Ages It’s hard to believe that once upon a time, women were celebrated for their natural god-given bodies. In fact, the female standard of beauty has gone through many drastic changes over the last several hundred years. I’ve compiled a timeline of all the major trends over the past 600 years, starting with the Renaissance up until the last decade. Renaissance Body Type: The ideal Renaissance woman was more voluptuous than any other time in history. Paintings from this era depict women who would be considered beyond curvy by today’s standards – but at that time, these full-figured ladies were the epitome of sexiness. For the first time in recorded history, women were prized for their natural bodies. Beauty: The term â€Å"blondes have more fun† may have stemmed from the Renaissance, because they believed that the lighter the hair color, the better. As for make-up, pale ivory skin was considered sexy, and vermillion was used to tint the lips to a deep red color. Pale complexion and blood red lips – it seems like the Renaissance era may have originated the popular vampire-chic look. Victorian Body Type: Unlike Renaissance women, Victorian women were very body conscious. Sexy meant having the smallest waistline humanly possible, and in order to achieve this look, women wore corsets. Some corsets were wound so tight that women could hardly breathe, to the point where sitting down was completely out of the question. Many women would even break ribs trying to get their waistlines down to an inconceivable 12 inches. Beauty: Modesty was the operative word when it came to Victorian makeup. High-class women were expected to use makeup sparingly. Bold colors were considered trashy, and reserved for prostitutes. Some religions at the time even proclaimed beauty products to be â€Å"the look of the devil.† 1920’s Era Body Type: The 1920’s was a time when women didn’t want to look like women at all. We can’t imagine that men today would find this sexy, but some women from the 20’s era would even bind their chests with strips of cloth to achieve a â€Å"little boy† look – quite contradictory to some of the measures that today’s women take in order to amplify their chests. The loose silhouette of the flapper dress was in stark contrast to the corseted waist of the Victorian era. Elastic webbed girdles replaced corsets and gave off the look of a flat boyish abdomen. Beauty: Going right along with the boyish look, the hair bob or finger wave was a big trend. Bold make-up, which had once been considered â€Å"trashy,† was now considered sexy. Powder was applied to make the skin look as pale as possible, and eyebrows were lifted and penciled in to appear thin and bold. Kohl was used to line the eye and achieve an overall dramatic look. 1930-1970s Era Body Type: As they became more body conscious, women started to pay attention to what they ate. Fashions accented the arms and legs, so women lifted light weights to build muscle tone. The new padded stretch cotton bra was introduced – something we’re sure all men and women are very thankful for. Designers like Chanel (credited as the originator of the â€Å"little black dress†), Dior, and Elsa Schiaparelli started designing glamorous attire that allowed women to show off their feminine curves. Beauty: Hairstyles became more feminine than they had been in the 1920’s. Hair color varied, depending on which movie star one was trying to emulate. Jean Harlow made platinum blonde a trend, and meanwhile, Rita Hayworth made being a redhead popular. Last, but not least, Marlene Dietrich was a symbol for all the brunettes out there. Make-up became a little less drag, and more girl-next-door than in the 20’s. The pasty white skin trend was final ly passà ©, and women started opting for foundations closer to their natural complexions.

Backsourcing Pain

When an individual from the United States nowadays calls the customer support center of a business organization, chances are the customer support representative is one who resides another country. Globalization has opened opportunities for businesses to outsource their IT and customer relations department to other countries, usually in Asia. Although offshore outsourcing is a relatively recent trend, companies outsourcing their IT needs to other countries in the United States have been going on for a very long time. Such was the case of JP Morgan Chase.This paper would provide a brief summary on the outsourcing venture with IBM in 2002 as well as the reasons for the premature termination of the venture between the two companies and whether the company’s decision was in full diligence in terms of the agreement between the two companies. It would also discuss the pros and cons of bringing back IT functions of JP Morgan Chase which were outsourced to IBM. Definition of Backsourci ng In order to full comprehend the decision of JP Morgan to backsource their IT functions, the definition and process of backsourcing should be first discussed.Companies have begun to look into outsourcing their Customer Relations and IT functions to other companies in order to acquire high quality services while cutting back expenses that the company would have to deal with if these were done in-house. However, once these operations are outsourced, it becomes more difficult to monitor the quality of service being provided. Because of this, many companies have decided to bring back these operations in-house through a process they have called â€Å"backsourcing† (Overby, 2005b; Tadelis, 2007).While this process may be the ideal choice for many companies who are unsatisfied with the services provided by the outsourcing company, many companies would rather choose to work thing out with the outsourcing companies as opposed to backsourcing the operations that have been originally outsourced because of the expenses that concur along with backsourcing so much so that out of the 70% of executives that have stated their disappointment in the quality of service being provided by outsourcing companies, only 25% of them have decided to backsource the operations that have been originally outsourced to other companies.These expenses include the reestablishment of all of its own systems, employees and operating procedures in order to realign these with the corporate structure and strategies of the company (Overby, 2005a). Backsourcing Endeavor of JP Morgan Chase Stephanie Overby’s (2005a) article â€Å"Outsourcing – and Backsourcing – at JP Morgan Chase† provides a look into the events surrounding the decision of the senior executives of JP Morgan Chase to outsource and ultimately backsource their IT functions to IBM.Since 2001, news started to circulate among the employees of JP Morgan Chase that the company was looking into outsourcing mo st of its IT functions to IBM. The venture was announced through a press release on December 20, 2002. The venture was to last seven years and had cost JP Morgan Chase $5 billion. In the contract between the two companies, IBM was to handle the data centers, helpdesks, distributed computing and data and voice networks of JP Morgan Chase. Thomas B.Ketchum stated in the press release that the venture would create an environment that will promote efficient growth of the company, acceleration of the innovation of the technology used of JP Morgan Chase, increase the service quality provided to the shareholders and customers of JP Morgan Chase and provide career opportunities for the employees of the IT department of JP Morgan Chase while reducing the expenses that the company would otherwise have to face (Overby, 2005a). Unfortunately, this was not the case.Many employees of JP Morgan Chase have stated that once the venture was underway, they had to first be re-interviewed by the executi ves of IBM for the same position that they were employed in prior to the outsourcing of the IT functions to IBM by JP Morgan Chase. Many of the employees have been laid off as a result. Those who were retained experienced salary cuts of as much as 20% (Overby, 2005a). On September 15, 2004, JP Morgan Chase had announced through a press release that they were prematurely ending their outsourcing venture with IBM.Austin Adams, CIO of JP Morgan Chase, stated in the press release that the decision was reached after the senior executives of the company believed that managing their own IT functions was the best options for the company in order to attain its long term goals since it would provide competitive advantages and more efficiency in the level of service being provided. Another reason for the decision was the completion of the merger between JP Morgan Chase and Bank One which was finalized on July 1, 2004.Because Bank One had previous experiences in backsourcing their own IT functi ons, the merger between Bank One and JP Morgan Chase would ensure a smoother backsourcing transition (Overby, 2005a). Diligence of JP Morgan Chase’s Backsourcing Just like all backsourcing projects of different companies, many analysts have viewed that the outsourcing and subsequent backsourcing of the company’s IT functions were both costly and challenging despite its senior executive being noted to state that the transitions were smooth.This was supported by the lack of diligence the senior executives placed on the morale and security of its employees as well as its selection of the outsourcing company (Overby, 2005a). In the past three years, IBM has made a mark in being an outsourcing company so much so that the company’s outsourcing activities, handled by IBM Global Services, was accountable in increasing IBM’s revenues from $36. 3 billion to $46. 2 billion between 2002 and 2004.During the time that JP Morgan Chase entered in an outsourcing venture w ith IBM, IBM has already been handling the outsourcing services of many multibillion dollar companies which included American Express, Deutsche Bank and Michelin. This impressive clientele would initially make any company looking into outsourcing their IT functions make IBM a viable choice (Overby, 2005a). However, the senior executives of JP Morgan Chase have failed to look more closely into the quality of service and performance provided by IBM to its outsourcing clients by doing more background research.Many financial experts including Schonenbach and Dane Anderson, program director of Meta Group, have actually noted that while IBM may continuously be catering to multibillion dollar companies, the most recent deals closed by the company have been significantly smaller and only lasting for a short period of time. This sudden shift on the contracts and deals closed by IBM resulted in the fact that multi-billion dollar deals are initially not lucrative on the part of the outsourcing companies.Hence, they would try to compensate for their losses by charging their clients for services which they would consider to be not included in the original contract signs. Oftentimes, the corporate clients would resist in paying for these added services and improvements in spite of them agreeing that these are necessary, severely hampering the IT functions needed by the corporate client (Overby, 2005a).Another shortcoming committed by JP Morgan Chase when deciding the outsourcing company they selected was to take into consideration of the experience of Bank One with IBM when they outsourced their IT functions that caused them to pull out their IT functions and return the operations in-house a few years prior to the completion of the merger between the two banks. In their experience, Bank One viewed that outsourcing their IT functions to IBM caused a stagnation of their entire IT staff.Once the venture between Bank One and IBM, the venture failed to meet the bank’s goa l to provide a competitive advantage as far as technology was concerned because the technology used was not updated during the venture and new projects were not looked into. Bank One also noticed that there were a number of things that were some things that were not accomplished as a result of the vagueness of the contract between the two companies. This provided a loophole for IBM to charge for services that were not previously done by the bank when the IT functions were still in-house.As a result, these additional services were not completed unless Bank One would pay more. One example of this was the need to add or remove user of a particular account, this would mean that the IT department would need to update all 1,500 servers being used by for the needs of the company manually. Although a Tivoli module was introduced that could allow the updating of the banks databases and servers faster and more efficiently, this was never implemented by IBM since Bank One refused to pay for th e additional costs that IBM was charging them for this module (Overby, 2005a).As a result of the failure of the executives of JP Morgan Chase to look more closely into these factors, the company not only experienced the same challenges that Bank One faced when it outsourced its IT functions to IBM, but also experienced a decrease in the morale of their employees as well as their level of trust towards the company. Employees no longer believe in anything that the senior executives would say or do (Overby, 2005a).Moreover, the executives failed to take into consideration the work and effort that would be needed in the backsourcing process. Jeff Kaplan, senior consultant with the Cutter Consortium’s Sourcing and Vendor Relationship Advisory Services and the managing director of ThinkStrategies, stated that there were seven steps that every company who is considering to backsource IT functions that have been outsourced to another company must take in order to ensure a smooth tran sition in bringing back the IT functions in-house.Among these steps, Kaplan mentioned that the company must first establish a schedule and plan for the backsourcing process which should include provisions in order to ensure that the outsourcing company would be able to support the client until such time that it is able to reassume complete control of its operations. The company must also be able to determine the staff rearrangement and responsibilities at the soonest possible time in order to minimize the decrease in the productivity and morale of the employees (Overby, 2005b).Unfortunately, this was not the case as clearly seen in the problems that JP Morgan Chase had to face during the backsourcing process. During the period when IBM handled the outsourced IT functions of JP Morgan Chase, employees were unable to get their jobs done because they did not feel that they were secure in their respective positions regardless on whether they were permanent employees of JP Morgan Chase o r contractual.Because they were unsure on whether they would be relocated to IBM, retained in JP Morgan Chase or laid off altogether, employees began to become hesitant in committing to new projects, resulting to JP Morgan Chase’s revenue to decline. More and more of the ongoing projects of JP Morgan had begun to also slow down in terms of its development and completion, causing an increase in the pent-up demands for IT services (Overby, 2005a). Things did not improve during when the backsourcing process was underway.JP Morgan Chase now had to reverse all the reorganization done in order to support its IT function. This caused disruptions in the normal operations of the company because both managers and staff members to re-establish the systems and operating procedures back into the company. On top of this, JP Morgan Chase had just completed a merger with Bank One. This resulted to a re-shuffling of the employees of the two companies based on the different staffing levels, cu rrent skills, budget and working assignments.In the end, more employees were laid off and more projects piled up (Overby, 2005b). Key Lessons from JP Morgan Chase’s Outsourcing Venture The decision to backsource or to switch vendors is becoming increasingly common as firms vie for ways to continue to IT costs and improve IT service levels (Whitten & Leidner, 2006). The outsourcing venture and subsequent backsourcing of the IT functions of JP Morgan Chase provides companies who are looking into outsourcing their own IT functions to other companies whether within the United States or overseas.While it is true that in the long run, outsourcing IT functions are able to minimize the expenses that a company would otherwise incur should the IT function remain in-house, companies should understand that these does not happen immediately. As such, executives of the company should first perform an operations audit and needs assessment in order to evaluate and weigh whether outsourcing t heir IT functions is indeed the most viable venture that the company should invest in. Indeed, deciding hastily on an outsourcing venture expected on instant improvements would lead to higher unit costs in the long run (Hummerston, 2007).Another lesson that could be gathered from the case of JP Morgan Chase is the amount of diligence that executives should put into with regard to the contract between the client and the outsourcing company in order to ensure that not only both parties would benefit from the venture, but would ensure that the client would be able to terminate the contract and regain control of the venture in the event that after careful evaluation, the outsourcing venture is not meeting up with the expectations of the client.While it can be assumed that JP Morgan Chase had ensured that there were such provisions allocated in the contract that they have signed with IBM regarding their outsourcing venture, the experiences and challenges JP Morgan Chase had to overcome d uring the short period of time that IBM handled its IT responsibilities.Aside from experiencing similar instances that had occurred with Bank One, many employees of JP Morgan Chase have stated that the situation between JP Morgan Chase and IBM was so dire that even the most trivial everyday activities were not accomplished because of contract obligations, which included the restocking of office supplies that are needed such as batteries for pagers, and reams of bond paper (Overby, 2005a; Overby 2005b).Ironically, the best time to think about backsourcing a company’s IT function is during the period when the company is just considering in outsourcing its IT functions. The reason for this is for the company to ensure that the expenses and the time to be allotted in both the outsourcing and backsourcing would not have an adverse effect not just on the morale and level of trust the employees of the company have, but also the overall productivity and financial standing of the comp any (Overby, 2005b).

Response to Comments on DQ1 C and DQ2 KSmith,Wk3 Essay

Response to Comments on DQ1 C and DQ2 KSmith,Wk3 - Essay Example You mentioned that the annual report is the most important report prepared by corporations for the shareholders and other stakeholders. I agree that the annual report is the most informative corporate statement since it provides valuable information about the business, its finances, and the strategic goals of the enterprise. Learning the basics about financial statements can help investors make better investing decisions. DQ2 The use of a classification system in the balance sheet is very useful because it creates consistency between statements. Investors can utilize the information contained in the classified balance sheet to perform quantitative financial analysis such as ratio analysis, variance analysis, or sensitivity analysis. The list of assets included in the classified balance sheet is ordered from top to bottom with the top accounts representing the most liquid ones. The most liquid financial asset is cash (Investopedia, 2011). When I answered this question originally I als o could not think of any additional classification that could add value to the classified balance sheet. The balance sheet internal structure follows the logic of the basic accounting equation which states that assets equals liabilities plus stockholder’s equity. The format used in the classified balance sheet is very easy to understand which makes it easier for teachers to teach accounting students.

Physiological changes associated with aging and the complications seen Research Paper

Physiological changes associated with aging and the complications seen in the hospitalized elderly patients - Research Paper Example The researcher states that the normal aging process in the human body is not a disease, yet involves functional degradation, susceptibility to disease, and progression to the death of the individual. With death of the individual inevitable, the interest in ageing lies in the susceptibility to disease and the interval to death. Gompertz law suggests a pattern for susceptibility to death, which is that in the modern world human death rate doubles with every eight years of advance in age, as a consequence of the aging processes in the human body. There are gender differences in the susceptibility to death from aging in humans. The susceptibility is higher in the male gender than in the female gender. The human body is a functional system. In evaluating the consequences of aging, the concept of failure in the system becomes relevant. From the perspective of the reliability theory, failure of the human body system is the outcome of deviation from the â€Å"optimistically anticipated and desired behavior†. There are two most often used classification for this failure in the human body. They are degradation failures and catastrophic failures or fatal failures. Degradation failures are those failures in the human body, wherein a component or group of components of the human body no longer functions at the proper levels. Catastrophic failures or fatal failures in the human body occur when a component or group of components in the human body cease to function. ... Age-related structural changes that occur in the heart are an increase in the size of the heart muscles and increase and thickness in the heart chambers and heart cells. These age-related structural changes, with particular emphasis on left ventricle, have an impact on the pumping efficacy of the heart. The impact causes reduction in the heart muscle flexibility, and through that a reduction in the pumping efficacy of the heart. Nevertheless, generally speaking, normal age-related changes in the heart has no affect on the contractile force of the heart and its ability to meet the need of pumping blood throughout the human body (Yee-Melichar, Boyle & Flores, 2011, p.356). There is greater impact of age-related changes on the flow of blood in the human body. With age the walls of the arteries stiffen and twisted, which increases the resistance to flow of blood in these blood vessels. This leads to the heart having to apply more pressure for flow of blood through these blood vessels. Th e increased pressure along the blood vessels from this response of the heart can lead to damage and more changes in the arteries. Age-related changes also occur in the veins. These changes include thickening of the walls of the veins, more dilation of the veins, and reduced elasticity of the walls of the veins. In addition, there is a reduction in the efficiency of the working of the valves in the veins to return blood to the heart. The consequence of all these changes is that there reduced return of blood from the body to the heart, resulting in pooling of blood in the extremities. These result in dependent edema in the lower extremities, when elderly individuals remain seated for long periods, like on long airline journeys (Yee-Melichar, Boyle & Flores, 2011,

Organizing Function of Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizing Function of Management - Case Study Example Managers distribute responsibility and authority to job holders in this function of management" The physical resources contribute to the greatest part of the balance sheets of the FedEx Kinko's Inc. Thus, the physical resources must be organized carefully. The division of those resources must be planned, coordinated and above all, inline with the organizational goals of efficiency and effectiveness without compromising the customer satisfaction. In the words of their ex Chief Executive Officer, the centre of FedEx Kinko's are organized in the pattern of hub and spoke. Just like all the spokes are connected through each other using the hub, likewise, in a region, all the braches are connected through a 'hub'. These branches, each being the integral part of the network, work in close coordination with the hub to form the setup in totality. Hub locations are opened round the clock and have greater domain of services to offer, thus containing greater number of products, services and equipments. Spokes, the local branches, offer self-serving and full-serving capabilities, but forward higher-volumes to hubs for over-night or specialized production. In order to determine that which stores should be the 'round the clock' stores, they have used a '15 minute rule', the rule used by most of the round the clock businesses. According to this rule, the store which is made the 'hub' must be accessible to the customer within the drive of 1 5 minutes. On one hand, this ensures the efficient use of the existing resources, while on the other hand, this also ensures the increased customer satisfaction and targeted use of the round the clock hubs. While on one hand, this service will attract a great number of individual customers, this will also enable FedEx Kinko's to attract those corporate clients who have bulk of production demand, with complex specifications. To make the customers aware of any changes in the locations of the 24/7 stores, customers are notified through signage, with bag inserts and by FedEx Kinko's team members. If a store is no longer a 24/7 one, the next closest locations are indicated through the signage. Their website is also very useful in providing those information regarding the locations of the stores. Thus, it this way, FedEx Kinko's has maximized the use of its physical resources beyond the traditional store hours, in order to create a value addition. (FedEx Kinko's website, press release) ORGANIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES: In today's rapidly changing world of information technology, knowledge management is one of the crucial issue for all the organizations, since the appropriate amount of knowledge sharing to the appropriate person at appropriate time with appropriate frequency is essential, besides the collection and filtering of the 'knowledge asset'. At FedEx Kinko's, two information systems are being used in order to properly organize the information, related to core as well as support functions. Both the

Agenda - Disparities and access to healthy food in the United States Essay

Agenda - Disparities and access to healthy food in the United States - Essay Example On the other hand, the healthy foods are very expensive compared to the unhealthy ones leading people to opt for the cheaper food and especially in the hard economic times (Smith, et al. 2013). This disparity in access to healthy food in the nation needs to be addressed immediately if the mortality rates from unhealthy eating habits are to reduce. This issue is more important than other agendas as it is in regards to the survival of human beings. Humans need food in order to live, be healthy enough to work as well as to reproduce. Without the necessary balanced diet food for every individual in the nation, the productivity will reduce and mortality will increase as has been established above. A nation cannot be built when people are unhealthy and if this agenda is not taken seriously and overlooked, then the economy of the nation will start plummeting. The issue is not about food scarcity as per se but rather about healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables which are available in the grocery stores. The ones being sold in supermarkets are organic in nature and not many Americans can be able to afford them. When people fail to afford, it means their access is curtailed and the other option is to purchase the unhealthy food that is cheaper and accessible (Smith, et al. 2013). Support for the agenda is needed to not only reduce the disparity but the access to healthy food as well. The support can be structural or economic and can be offered by the government which has a lot of influence as well as work in conjunction with the private sector which has more resources. The support to reduce and completely eliminate the issue of disparity as well as access to healthy foods is a joint effort. The government alone cannot be able to support the issue on its own. Farmers need to be encouraged to grow more of these healthy foods to curb the demand (Larson, Story and Nelson, 2009). With the supply being in plenty,

Case study Netflix Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Netflix - Case Study Example So the buyers force is rather neutral for Netflix. As Netflix provides home entertainment solution, the number of substitutes available to the customers is very large, starting from alternative sources of movie rentals and ending reading books or playing games instead. So the substitutes force is rather negative for Netflix. The threat of new entrants is quite strong since, with the development of new technologies, more and more companies are moving online. In addition, the Netlix’ industry is not too expensive to enter. Furthermore, the competition is already rather strong. So, in general the five-forces analysis leads to the conclusion that the competiti8ve forces confronting Netflix in the DVD rental marketplace are, in most cases, strong. 2. How is the online movie rental business changing? What are the underlying forces that are driving industry change and are their impacts favorable or unfavorable in term of their impact on competitive intensity and future industry profi tability? The online movie rental business changing due to the appearance of new technologies that allow for different ways of movie distribution. Technological advancements, therefore, are the underlying forces that are driving industry change – more and more people have access to the Internet, and more companies use new technologies to distribute their goods or services.

Hollywood & Beyond - End of Year Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hollywood & Beyond - End of Year - Essay Example The society was characterized by mass suburbanization and transition to consumerism and capitalism as the key directions of development. The country’s government was â€Å"deeply determined to prolong and enbance the economic recovery brought on by the war, lest the crippling depression of the 1930s return » (Cohen, 2004, p.236). Military production would be restored to a certain extent as the Cold War was announced between the two superpowers that emerged after the WWII – the Soviet Union and the United States. However, mass consumer market played a great role from then on, and economic growth of the U.S. depended much on mass consumer market. The new economic policy brought prosperity to most citizens and formed the idea of American dream as well as raised expectations of American citizens. At the same time, there still were numerous social issues undermining stability of the society: for instance, struggles to eliminate discrimination in levels like gender and race (for instance, African Americans made their efforts to challenge racial segregation on the ocurt level) and backlashes they led to. Along with the upsurge of welfare and democratization; the postwar epoch in the United States incorporated such features as dramatic growth of suburban areas; power and priority transition from the cities of upper Midwest and Northwest as well as old industrial states to the areas of West and South; and the idea of military and economic superiority of America as a guarantor of global peace and order. In the movies of early 1970s, postwar era in America was depicted in a rather nonobjective way – the movies such as American Graffiti shows it as a period of charm, Cadillacs and tranquility. However, the real image differs from what is seen in these movies: American society in the years following the World War II was characterized by dynamic changes, anxiety and emergence of revolutionary

Management in Context Essay 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management in Context 2 - Essay Example The restaurant is situated near the corner of the main street between a bookshop to the left and a winter garments store to the right. There is a local deli located a few shops down the busy road where people can be seen walking in the cold, shopping and tending to their routine businesses. From the outside the restaurant seems small, with a brick wall and a tiny wood and glass door which serves as the entrance for customers. Inside, the restaurant the atmosphere is warm and cozy, almost homely. Many wooden tables can be seen scattered around, some with colorful table cloths and different kinds of chairs, some wooden and some upholstered. In the dà ©cor there is a hint of the South East Asian, however despite being a Pakistani restaurant, it does not quiet seem as Pakistani as it should. The warm colored interior reflects bits of Moroccan and even Arabic inspired decoration. A corner sofa and coffee table set up in the extreme right near the window makes it appear like a pure European coffee shop. The restaurant seems inviting and welcoming when you step in the door. The walls a are painted hues of peach, and there are many colorful cloths and drapes hanging from the ceiling. Some handicrafts can be seen placed, hand painted pots, and embroider wall hangings which seem to be representing some form of Mughal art, a distinct culture in its own. The restaurant smells of masala and cheese a mixture of ingredients. The eatery specializes in Pakistani food; however the menu card lists dishes from many other Asian countries. The menu even includes Italian, fish and chips, and a variety of coffees, ice cream and other beverages. Some of the food on the menu seems to be Chinese. Besides the traditional yogurt drink lassi there is even other beverages such as milkshake made of European fruits such as strawberry and the tropical mangoes. Many of those who walk in are

Obesity Debate Essay Example for Free

Obesity Debate Essay In the five section article, â€Å"Rethinking Weight† by Amanda Spake, the author outlines the conflict surrounding whether obesity classifies as a disease. Spake discusses the prevalence of obesity in America and sheds light on the idea that obesity may contain genetic roots. The article continues with the author’s insights into whether weight or fitness retains the most importance. Spake concludes the article with thoughts on the growing concern of insurance coverage and obesity treatment. The author claims that â€Å"At the heart of this obesity epidemic is a debate over whether obesity is a biological ‘disease’ and should be treated like any other life-threatening illness – cancer, heart disease – or whether it is simply a risk factor for these killers† (282). Spake successfully supports the claim by incorporating a narrative account, explaining the biology, psychology, and scientific research of obesity, and stating how society may already classify obesity as a disease, but Spake strays from the idea of obesity qualifying as a disease when she describes the role insurance companies play when paying for obesity treatment. The article begins with a narrative account of Maria Pfisterer. Spake uses Maria Pfisterer’s story to reveal the struggles obesity and dieting inflict upon a person. According to the author, Pfisterer’s many attempted diets, in terms of weight â€Å"All resulted in a little lost and more regained,† which supports the idea of weight and dieting inflicting a constant burden in the lives of many Americans (282). Spake also included in the story of Pfisterer’s weight battle the idea that no matter how hard Pfisterer tried to lose weight or what method Pfisterer thought to try, the weight never permanently disappeared, which in turn supports the concept of obesity being more than just a physical ailment. The author also discusses the possible treatment of gastric bypass surgery for Pfisterer, which remains unavailable to Pfisterer due to the high cost and specific criteria an individual must possess in order to receive the surgery. The narrative story provides an appeal to emotions by showing one woman’s struggle with weight and the effect that struggle embodies in Pfisterer’s life. The story also provides a persuasive element, influencing a want for Pfisterer to achieve her personal weight goals. The author pinpoints a person’s biology and psychological state as possible factors in the development of obesity. Xavier Pi-Sunyer from the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital suggests â€Å"†¦obesity is a biologically determined process† (282). Many weight researchers also believe that â€Å"obesity is controlled by a powerful biological system of hormones, proteins, neurotransmitters, and genes that regulate fat storage and body weight and tell the brain when, what, and how much to eat† (284). Rudolph Leibel, a Columbia University geneticist, also states, â€Å"I believe there are strong genetic factors that determine susceptibility to obesity† (285). The given beliefs demonstrate how obesity qualifies as more than a personal decision. A person’s biology resists changes; therefore, the idea of obesity as a biological condition contains validity for Spake’s claim. The author also includes Brian Wansink’s perspective, â€Å"obesity is not just biology; it’s psychology† (286). The brain plays a key role in how obesity operates differently in individuals. The author continues to explain how, psychologically, obese individuals hold no control over the eating habits the overweight display. Spake’s inclusion of biological and psychological ideas presented by reliable professionals persuades critical audiences to agree with the author’s claim. Scientific research also plays a part in the obesity debate. Spake uses a variety of logos and ethos information to support the claim of the ongoing debate over the classification of obesity. The article incorporates the use of statistics from various studies on weight and obesity to solidify the author’s beliefs. The author gives a shocking statistic that â€Å"A majority of Americans—now 64   percent—are overweight or obese and struggling to conquer their expanding waistlines before their fat overtakes their health†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (282). A study done of twins showed that 20 to 70 percent of weight issues developed through inheritance. Another study conducted by RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions stated, â€Å"the nation is spending about $75 billion a year on weight-related disease† (283). Spake even includes the statistic saying that, â€Å"Simply eating with one other person increases the average amount eaten at meals by 44 percent,† which refers to the psychological aspect of obesity (286). The author’s use of statistical information provides a strong backing for Spake’s claim about the obesity debate. Although not officially categorized as a disease, some organizations in society already list obesity as a disease. Spake chooses to include examples of situations in society where obesity may already encompass similar characteristics to a disease. The diseases that result from excessive amounts of weight embody a prominent situation described by the author. â€Å"Almost 80 percent of obese adults have one of these conditions, and nearly 40 percent have two or more,† Spake suggests when referring to diseases, such as heart disease, Type II diabetes, and high cholesterol that relate to the presence of obesity. Another example the author mentions confirms that, â€Å"The WHO has listed obesity as a disease in its International Classification of Disease since 1979.† Spake raises concern as to why obesity still remains uncategorized as an official disease when large quantities of overweight individuals contract other diseases due to the affliction of obesity and when a substantial organization already includes obesity in a database of diseases. Another statistic included in the discussion reads â€Å"About 325,000 deaths a year are attributed to obesity† (283). This shocking statistic sparks the question of why obesity lacks the definition of a disease even further. However, the author strays from her claim when insurance problems come into the article. Bringing the topic of insurance into the discussion provides no backing for any of the author’s claim. Spake chose to incorporate that â€Å"The health insurance industry argues that obesity treatments  can’t be covered†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (287). The claim refers to whether obesity classifies as a disease, not the effect of insurance coverage on those affected by obesity. Also, the author included that â€Å"the cost†¦of treatment and health insurance will escalate† (288). The price tag of treatment and rising insurance costs gives no support to the debate of obesity classifying as a disease that Spake claims as the purpose of the article. The inclusion of the insurance debacle distracts from the key issues the article puts forth, leaving readers to question the main idea of the article. In summation, Spake successfully supports the claim by incorporating a narrative account, explaining the biology, psychology, and scientific research of obesity, and stating how society may already classify obesity as a disease, but Spake strays from the claim when she describes the role of insurance companies in paying for obesity treatment. Works Cited Spake, Amanda. â€Å"Rethinking Weight.† Writing and Reading for ACP Composition. Comp. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 285-88. Print.

Study of Chinese Wine Consumption Essay Example for Free

Study of Chinese Wine Consumption Essay Abstract Purpose  ± This research aims to examine Chinese consumers wine consumption and purchasing behaviour. Design/methodology/approach  ± The study, conducted during the Chinese New Year in early 2006, used in-depth interviews with 15 consumers in Guangzhou, Peoples Republic of China. Findings  ± The results suggest that Chinese consume Chinese spirits for all occasions, yet consume red wine only for special occasions such as Chinese new year and other holidays. A key point for selling red wine to the Chinese is its positive image; drinking red wine is considered trendy and shows good taste. Another key point is consumer perceptions of red wine as healthier than Chinese spirits because wine contains less alcohol. Two other findings are that most Chinese consumers assume all wine is red wine and have little wine knowledge. Most respondents did not know of white wine or that Australia produces wine. Finally, Chinas culture of face value, mianzi, plays a key role in purchasing and consuming wine. Chinese tend to purchase inexpensive wine for private consumption and public occasions, yielding more mianzi in front of others. In some important occasions, consumers will purchase a foreign (French) red wine to impress their guests and obtain even more mianzi. In most situations, Chinese purchase and consume wine for perceived health and symbolic  ± lucky or good face  ± values. Research limitations/implications  ± The small sample size is a limitation. Another limitation is that all the respondents lived in the urban area of Guangzhou, one of Chinas most developed cities. The findings do not generalize to China. Practical implications  ± The findings suggest that wine is a symbolic product rather than a necessity product in China; therefore, image is an important attribute for selling wine in China. Furthermore, limited wine knowledge tends to make Chinese consumers rely heavily on price for their wine purchasing decisions, as price relates to mainzi. Chinese consumers high awareness of France as a wine making country and their deep-rooted positive beliefs about French wines pose difficulties for marketing other foreign wines, such as Australian wines, in China. Originality/value  ± This is perhaps the first academic study in English of Chinese wine consumption and wine purchasing. It offers important insights on the characteristics of wine consumption and purchasing in China. Keywords Consumers, Consumption, China, Wines, Red wines Paper type Research paper 98 Fang Liu and Jamie Murphy International Journal of Wine Business Research Vol. 19 No. 2, 2007 pp. 98-113 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1751-1062 DOI 10. 1108/17511060710758669. Introduction Chinese wine production has grown dramatically since the 1980s, with an average annual increase of 14 per cent from 80,000 tons in 1980 to 440,000 tons in 2005 (ASKCI, 2005; Snapshot, 2005; see Figure 1). Wine consumption has risen alongside the wine production. From 2004 to 2005, Chinese wine consumption reached 420,000 tons  ± 564 million bottles, which brought China into the top ten wine consumption countries (Foodmate, 2007). From 2005 to 2010, Foodmate (2007) estimates that Chinese wine Chinese wine consumption 99 Wine production in China (1980-2005) Figure 1. consumption should increase by 35 per cent, or six times the worlds overall increase in wine consumption. Chinas per capita wine consumption of under 0. 5 litres is markedly less than the world average of 7. 5 litres, and 40 times less than the 20 litres drunk in western countries such as France, Australia, and the USA ( Jin, 2004). For the past 10 years, Chinese wine consumption increased from 10-15 per cent annually, grew 20 per cent in 2005, and this strong growth should continue for the foreseeable future ( Jin and Zhan, 2006). Chinas current low per capita wine consumption, augmented by the worlds largest population (1.25 billion) and decades of 7-8 per cent annual GDP growth (NBS China, 2004) has foreign wineries keen for a share of this market. In addition, a reduced wine import duty and the Chinese governments preferential policy for foreign wines further entice foreign wineries into China (SinoCast China Business Daily News, 2002). Foreign wines, particularly from France, the USA, and Australia, are pouring into China (He, 2004). From January to February 2006, China imported around 18 million litres of wine valued at E14 million, and its annual wine imports increased 79 per cent in 2005 (Worldbydata, 2006). Chinas wine market is also becoming competitive, with many local and foreign brands available (Tang, 2005). Despite its huge market potential, academic knowledge about Chinese consumers wine consumption and purchases is scarce. This paper reviews literature on Chinese wine consumption and then discusses the results of qualitative interviews conducted in early 2006 in Guangzhou, China. The paper closes with managerial suggestions for exporting wine into China and proposed avenues for future research. Chinas wine history China has a rich wine history. Towards the beginning of the Han Dynasty, around 206 BC, Chinese started to grow grapes and produce wines in the Yellow River region of northeastern China (Winechina, 2005). Grape wine production, however, lagged other alcoholic beverages such as Chinese spirits due to weather and soil conditions. During IJWBR 19,2 100 the Tang Dynasty, about 500 AD, there was still little Chinese wine production and China began importing wines, mainly from the Middle East. Due to its scarcity, only emperors, senior government officials, and rich merchants drank wine  ± usually for important occasions such as the emperors birthday (Winechina, 2005). Chinese spirits are alcoholic beverages distilled from grains and have been the traditional drink for nearly all occasions in China. Furthermore, due to historical and cultural reasons, wine has never gained the same popularity as rice spirits or beer (Li, 2006); tradition still influences who drinks wine and on what occasion. Wine is both a luxury and image product in China. Chinese who drink wine are usually educated, wealthy, and middle or upper class (Wang, 2006). Demographics aside, many Chinese consume wine for important social or business occasions (Tang, 2006b). Wine has a favourable image in China, but most Chinese have little wine knowledge or appreciation, such as judging wine quality or taste ( Jin, 2004). Macro-factors also hinder Chinas wine market. For example, few guidelines for wine advertising have led to many wine advertisements providing exaggerated or false information (Peoplenet, 2006). Yet, despite Chinas rich wine history and growing wine consumption, few studies have examined Chinese wine consumption and wine purchasing. The next section describes a qualitative study to help bridge this research gap of Chinese consumers attitudes towards wine. Research methodology Due to the complex topic and limited literature of Chinese consumers wine purchasing behaviour, this study adopted a qualitative method (Morse, 1994). Scholars often use qualitative methods in organizational and consumer research in order to help understand complex issues that may not be immediately implicit in surface responses (Goulding, 2005, p. 301). Furthermore, the qualitative approach is particularly apt for experiences such as consumption (Goulding, 2005, p. 303). This study investigated Chinese consumers thoughts associated with wine, wine drinking, and wine purchasing. The major research questions were: (1) when and where Chinese consume wine; (2) how frequently they drink wine; (3) how much they drink per occasion; and (4) what factors influence their wine purchasing. For a qualitative approach, this study used in-depth interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire of open-ended questions. Data collection All interviewees were friends of the researcher and thus inclined to discuss frankly and openly their attitudes towards wine. Interviewing friends is common in qualitative studies as friends will accept the interview as well as share intimate thoughts (Frankel and Devers, 2000; Pottie and Sumarah,2004). The criteria for selecting interviewees were availability, that they had consumed wine, and represented a balanced crosssection of age, gender, and income. Table I profiles the nine male and six female interviewees. Four interviewees were in their 20s, four in their 30s, five in their 40s, and two in their 50s. Defining Chinese income levels is difficult; different areas have different income levels and income disparity is a serious problem (Zhou, 2006). Chinas average ID A B C D Gender Male Male Male Male Age 33 24 42 23. Highest education University University Senior high New Zealand university Collegea Senior high University freshman University Senior high College Junior high Senior high Income Median Low High Median Occupation Marketing executive Engineer assistant Restaurant owner Bank customer service officer Washing business owner Small business owner University student Retired senior executive Working in a beauty shop Airline middle management Housewife Retired government official Lecturer Entrepreneur Account manager Marital status Married with one child Single Married with two children Single. Overseas travel None None HK and Singapore Studied in New Zealand; visited Australia. None HK None Holland, South Korea and a few others None Holland, Japan, Malaysia and HK None HK, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and a few others HK and Australia None HK Chinese wine consumption 101 E F G H I J K L Male Male Male Male Female Female Female Female 43 44 19 60 40 25 40 58 High High Low Median Median Low Low Median Married with one child Married with one child Single Married with one child Married with one child Single Married with one son Married with two adult children Married with one child Married with two children Single. M N O Female Male Male 30 35 34 University High school University Median High Median Notes: aCollege degree, da zhuan, is a three-year degree. A university degree, da xue, is four years. In China, the bachelor degree is four years and a three-year degree is not a bachelor. A four-year degree is much more valued than a three-year degree Interviewee profiles Table I. personal income per month is around E40, but E120 in Guangdong, Shanghai, and a few other developed areas. Even within the same area such as Guangdong, people in urban areas could earn approximately four times as much (E480) as people living in the rural areas. Thus, differentiating low and middle income depends on developed or less developed areas as well as rural or urban areas (Sina, 2006). As the interviews took place in an urban area of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong and one of Chinas most prosperous cities (NBS China, 2004), this study IJWBR 19,2 102 classified four subjects earning E530 as high income. Regarding education, nine subjects had or were studying towards a university degree and six had a high school diploma. The profiles show that the sample has good coverage in gender, age, income, and education level. The researcher  ± a Chinese from Guangzhou, conducted and taped one hour indepth interviews in Chinas official language, Mandarin. The interviews occurred from 29 January to 12 February 2006, during the Chinese New Year, an official holiday of about two weeks. Choosing this festive period for interviewing had three advantages. Interviewees are generally in a good mood and less concerned with the time spent on an interview. Finally, during Chinese New Year, Chinese have banquets with friends, colleagues, and family once or twice a day and usually drink alcoholic beverages when eating. Interviewees were comfortable and less inhibited answering questions related to wine and other alcoholic drinks. Data analyses Transcribing and analysing the taped interviews reinforced and clarified the interview notes. Furthermore, after reviewing the initial narratives, the researcher returned to some interviewees for a follow-up interview and clarifications (Colaizzi, 1978). General findings follow. Wine means red wine When the researcher asked have you tried wine, pu tao jiu, ten interviewees instantly asked do you mean red wine, or ni shi shuo hong pu tao jiu ma? After the researcher explained that wine could be red or white, they said they knew and had drunk only red wine. They never tried nor knew about white wine. In their minds, there were four types of alcoholic drinks: hong jiu or red wine, pi jiu or beer, bai jiu or Chinese spirits, and yang jiu or foreign spirits. Similarly, Fu (2004) noted that most Chinese think red wine represents the entire wine category. Of the five interviewees who knew both red wine and white wine, D and H mostly drank red wine, as it was more available in the market. A and C mostly drank red wines, albeit for a different reason; red is a lucky colour in the Chinese culture. The other subject, J, also drank more red wine due to availability, but she preferred white wines as they were sweeter. She added that companies should promote white wine much more aggressively in China. These results suggest that Chinese have poor general knowledge about wine; twothirds of the interviewees were unaware of white wine. White wine may be less popular because it does not fit Chinese culture. Red is a lucky colour, associated with good things such as weddings and birthdays. White is an unlucky colour, often associated with funerals. Besides the lucky association, Fu (2004) argued that red wine sold better in China as it has a stronger taste than white wine; the Chinese prefer strong taste. Given the low awareness of white wine, the following section discusses Chinese consumers attitudes towards red wine only (see Table II). Chinese attitudes associated with red wine When asked about thoughts associated with red wine, all 15 interviewees began with differences between red wine and Chinese spirits. Later, interviewees B and I compared red wine with beer and J compared red wine with foreign spirits. In these Chinese Thoughts Choosing red wine or Chinese spirits depends on the occasion Red wine is less strong and thus healthier than Chinese spirits Red wine has positive symbolic meaning (e. g. lucky and prosperous) Red wine is particularly good for occasions such as spring festivals or celebrating good things Drinking red wine indicates good social image People drinking red wine cares about their face or image Drinking wine is more elegant and gracious than drinking Chinese spirits Red wine is particularly good for occasions such as banquets with important guan xi hu. Chinese know much less about wine, than about Chinese spirits Red wine is expensive Well-educated people with good income drink red wine You can mix red wine with other drinks (e. g. sprite) so you drink less alcohol Beer tastes better than red wine Red wine cannot replace Chinese spirits Red wine is good for those who are not very good at drinking Red wine drinkers are young and modern Wine suits women more than men as it contains less alcohol People who often drink red wine like following western lifestyles Xiaozia prefer red wine Wine suits get-togethers with less familiar or new friends as nobody would get drunk. (getting drunk in public is embarrassing) Red wine tastes good You can mix red wine with other drinks (e. g. sprite) so you can try more varieties than Chinese spirits Red wine is a better gift choice than spirits People above 40, white collared, will like red wine Chinese spirits have a bigger market than red wine as people drinking red wine are a small group Wine is for appreciation not for competition like Chinese spirits (Chinese like to compete on the quantity they drink when they consume Chinese spirits) Count 11 8 8 8 7 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1. Chinese wine consumption 103 Notes: aXiaozi directly translates as small capitalist. Compared to other middle-class Chinese, this subset is extremely concerned with image and tends to consume expensive and branded goods to show that they live better than others do. They often favour western lifestyles Interviewee thoughts associated with red wine Table II. consumers perceptual maps of alcoholic drinks, red wines main competitor was Chinese spirits. Eleven out of 15 interviewees said that drinking Chinese spirits or red wine depended on the occasion or chang he. Among these 11 interviewees, eight said that red wine was particularly good for celebrating Chinese New Year and other holidays as red symbolises prosperity, luck, and good fortune. Interviewees C, E, and F, all businessmen,  ± said that red wine was good for banquets with important business connections or guan xi hu. This common thread among the businessmen suggested that red wine is starting to appear in business banquets, traditionally dominated by Chinese or foreign spirits. Besides occasion, another important thought related to red wine was attributes. Red wines health aspect was the most important, and most recalled, attribute. Some of this perception may stem from Chinese Prime Minister Zhus 1997 speech promoting IJWBR 19,2 104 red wine as healthy (Anderson, 2001). Eight of 15 interviewees believed that red wine was healthier than Chinese spirits as it contained less alcohol. Of these eight interviewees, four were high income earners (C, E, F, and N) and four were middle income (A, H, I, and M). Living healthy is an emerging trend for Chinas middleand upper-income classes, so red wines health aspect probably attracts wealthier Chinese. Comments from subject C, a businessperson, covered the major perceived benefits that Chinese consumers had regarding drinking red wine (see below). Due to his age, he appeared to emphasise the health aspect of the red wine. If I had a choice, I would drink red wines in most social get-togethers. Red wines contain less alcohol so it is not as lie (strong) as Chinese spirits or foreign spirits; therefore, it is better for health. You know, at my age, when you reach 40, you must take care of your health. You cant drink alcohol as if you drank when you were 18 or 20 year old. Also, there are different ways of drinking red wine such as straight red wine or red wine mixed with something else like a cocktail (so it is less alcoholic). Even elderly people and young kids can drink red wines whilst these people wont be up for Chinese or foreign spirits. In addition, red wine indicates good luck so it is good for important occasions such as birthday parties and festivals. Other attributes mentioned were red wine indicates good social image; people who drink it have good taste (B, C, E, G, I, M, and O). Red wine is expensive (B, G, and O), beer tastes better than red wine (B and M), and red wine is not strong enough (B). Compared with the health and social image, the other attributes seemed less important. Consumers evaluate products on intrinsic and extrinsic cues (Ophuis and van Trijp, 1995). Wines intrinsic cues include physical attributes such as colour, aroma, and taste, which cannot be changed without changing the physical product itself; extrinsic cues associate with the product but are not physically part of the product such as brand, price, and distribution (Dimara and Skuras, 2001, p. 692). Healthy seems an extrinsic attribute as it stems from the perceptions that red wine contains less alcohol than Chinese spirits, and red wine is a fruit- rather than rice-based drink. Good social image is also an extrinsic cue. The above analyses indicate that extrinsic rather than intrinsic attributes dominate Chinese consumers perceptions. This also suggests that Chinese consumers know little about wine and aligns with studies of intrinsic vs extrinsic cues. Expert consumers, knowledgeable about the product, rely more on intrinsic product cues, while novice consumers with little product knowledge tend to rely more on extrinsic cues (Maheswaran, 1994; Laroche, 2005). A final category of thoughts related to who consumes wine. The most frequently mentioned statement was red wine drinkers are conscious about their face or image (B, H, I, J, and M). Being conscious of mianzi, directly translated as face (Graham and Lam, 2003), is a key Chinese characteristic; people are conscious of what other people think about them (Zhang, 1996). Four respondents (D, G, J, and I) noted that drinking wine was more elegant and gracious than drinking Chinese spirits. Two subjects (M and O) commented that people who often drink red wine like to follow the western ways of life as red wine indicates something non-Chinese or, in particular, western. These results confirm the importance of extrinsic cues. Drinking red wine suggests good social image, elegance, and grace, all of which indicate good mianzi. However, the perception that red wine drinkers are conscious about their mianzi could be negative. For example, Subject M, a well-educated female in her early 30s, told the researcher that: Red wine is particularly attractive to those Xiaozi (Small Bourgeois) people but I am not a Xiaozi type of person. (Why? ) Well, I will consider myself a middle-class person with good income and education but a Xiaozi person is different. Xiaozi is not decided by education or income, but rather by the xingtai (values). Some people may not have high income but they are very concerned with their public image. They want to be seen as unique and different. When they speak, they will always use a few English words in a Chinese sentence. They would also speak Chinese with a somewhat different qiangdiao (intonation). They like to follow the trends and fashions from western countries. For example, they would drink Cappuccino rather than tea. A Xiaozi type of person may earn only 3000 yuan a month but he or she could spend 4000 yuan on a Luis Vuitton bag. Frankly speaking, Cantonese (Chinese living in and around Guangdong province) people seem to be less xiaozi because Cantonese are very shiji (practical or down to earth) so they care more about the actual functions or benefits of a product rather than the image. For example, a rich Cantonese man may drive a BMW (an expensive car in China) but he will stop in a small takeaway at a street corner to buy a bowl of beef noodles if he thinks the noodles are good. This will never happen with a Xiaozi type of person. Chinese wine consumption 105 The drinking scent When asked how often they drank wine, the responses were one to three times a month (A, C, D, E, and F), one to three times a year ( J, K, L, M, N, and O), and once or twice in their life (B, G, and I). Four out of the five heavy drinkers, albeit light drinkers compared to Australians, were businessmen over 40, and had the highest income. They had more opportunities to drink red wine as they attended more business and social functions.