Diskobolos vs. Ramesses Ii

Diskobolos vs. Ramesses II There are many unique qualities in art that depict the different time periods. One can decipher specific eras based on the attributes of the painting or sculpture. Ancient Egypt sculptures are completely different from Ancient Greece sculptures by way of body position, facial expressions and materials used. Understanding backgrounds, time periods, and history of the sculptures are important when analyzing the works of art. Ramesses II is located at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology. The statue was found at the Heracleopolis, Temple of Harsaphes, in Egypt â€Å"(Ramesses II). Archaeologists believe that the sculpture was made somewhere between 1897 and 1834 B. C during the time of the Middle Kingdom. The facial expression and body language illustrates his desire to be timeless. The sculpture is positioned in such a way that the body looks like it could stand the test of time. Made out of Quartzite stone, this sculpture is designed to pres erve the Pharaoh’s power and immortality. The Pharaoh is seated with both hands and feet placed purposely close to his body to signify success, reign and power. He sits upright in a tranquil manner reflecting power and kingship †(Ramesses II). Every inch of his body is made to perfection. His proportions are impeccable and is represents that of a god. The face of Ramesses is much, like all of the other Ancient Egyptian rulers during this tie period. The face has no personal qualities. â€Å"The same characteristics appear on almost all of his statues: a receding forehead with prominent brows; thoughtful, slightly downcast eyes; an aquiline nose with a broad bridge and rounded tip and a narrow mouth â€Å"(Ramasses II). The statue of Ramesses II is rather similar to the statue of Khafra. Ramesses II is seated in the exact same position as Khafra. Their hands and feet are close to the body while their faces have no personal attributes that give them their own identity. Both Statues were made to signify power and control. They wanted to be timeless and appear motionless. (See Figure 1) Figure 1. Statue of Ramesses II. The Ancient Greece era occurred after the Ancient Egyptian era and they had a very different design ascetic. In the classical period the Greeks created sculptures that were more life like. The sculptures actually looked like they were moving. Limbs were away from the body unlike that of Egyptian sculptures. The statues were asymmetrical and were positioned in a non-conventional way. A sculpture that has these characteristics is Diskobolos, It was originally created in bronze around 460-450 B. C. The statue is of a man about to throw a disk. He is bent at the waist with one arm out to the side. The potential energy expressed in this sculpture's tightly-wound pose, expressing the moment of stasis just before the release, is an example of the advancement of Classical sculpture from the Egyptian period†(Diskobolos). This position demonstrates harmony and balance because every inch of his body is working together to create a smooth movement and throw. Each movement is essential to establish the position. â€Å" The working left arm balances the engaged right leg in the forward position an d the relaxed right arm balances the free left leg†(Janson, 124). The facial features are much more realistic. In this sculpture his face looks like he is working hard and focusing on the game. Emotions were thought out at this time period when creating art. If someone was happy they looked like it and if some was in pain they had the look of extreme discomfort. Also the idea of movement is really predominant in this time period. All the statues look like they are going to take a step or throw something in order to create movement. (See figure 2) figure 2. Statue of Diskobolus Both Greek and Egypt Sculptures have considerable differences but they also have some similarities. Both cultures valued the idea of a perfect muscular body yet one valued movement over timelessness. Each culture is unique with the artwork and sculptures that they left behind for us to study. They each donated something special to us and each art style had a profound effect on how we look and judge art. Works Cited â€Å"Discobolus. † Sir Thomas Browne. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. . Janson, H. W. Janson's history of art the western tradition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2007. Print. â€Å"Ramesses II. † Grove Art Onine. Oxford university press. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. .

Milk Chocolate vs Dark Chocolate

Do you find yourself favoring your chocolate to be smooth and creamy or dark and beneficial? One might argue that dark chocolate in comparison to milk chocolate is similar to a Coca Cola and a diet Coca Cola. Whichever your chocolate preference may be, there are millions of different mouth watering assortments ready to be eaten. I am a fan of dark chocolate and the small, but significant health benefits it offers me. Safe to say the majority of people have encountered both milk and dark chocolate at some point in their lives. Immediately, one will recognize that milk types tend to be softer, sweeter, and addicting. The difference between the two is; milk chocolate is prepared with more milk powder or condensed milk rather than cocoa. This mix creates a smoother quality of chocolate, followed by the consumers’ taste buds instant cravings for more. Also, milk chocolate was introduced first; therefore, most candy bars on grocery store shelves will be milk based. Bear in mind, despite the luscious taste, any one who guzzles a candy bar of course has to work off the excess calories, saturated fats, and carbs later. In contrast, dark chocolate lovers are choosing a healthier route to treat themselves to. Although both types nearly equate in calorie consumption, dark chocolate, unlike milk chocolate provides antioxidants that are valuable to the heart. Also, for individuals with dairy restricted diets, there is nothing more to fear. Dark chocolate is purposely made lactose free; therefore lactose intolerants can refrain from avoiding those chocolaty deserts and enjoy! Regardless of the nutrients that come from dark chocolate, it is still advised to discipline your self around these tasty delights. Perhaps some devotees might find limiting servings of dark chocolate simple considering the bitter taste, but I on the other hand beg to differ. Under my jurisdiction, the pros of dark chocolate defeat the pros of milk chocolate by far. I would even consider opting dark a wiser decision because ones desires are met, with less of the consequences to deal with later.

Plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Plagiarism - Essay Example In common parlance, plagiarism simply implies copying a text from somewhere and pasting it in some other document without indicating that it was copied or, from where it was copied. Such a document is then used for personal purposes. Plagiarism can have serious consequences. The person who plagiarizes can be suspended, barred, his degrees can be taken away, he can be sacked out of his job and thus his career will be ruined. When a student plagiarizes, he or she can be sent away from the university. Persons, who plagiarize, lard their unimpressive works with the excellent works already done by other people. In case of academics, plagiarism done by students, teachers, professors and other staff are considered as academic offences and they are subject to punishment by their respective institutions. In case of journalism, plagiarism is supposed to violation of their contract. The most fast growing form of plagiarism in today’s world is the online plagiarism. It is very easy to cop y any document from the internet and therefore this problem is fast growing. Another form of plagiarism is self-plagiarism. In this form of plagiarism, an individual reuses the information from his own work to complete some other work without mentioning that he has done so. Many online softwares are being developed to limit the offence of plagiarism. Some of them are turnitin.com, duplichecker.com etc. (Calabrese; McCaldin; What is plagiarism) In this week, I did five assignments. The topics were provided to me. At first, I understood what the topic demands me to do. Then I took help from various kinds of references from the web. I studied the articles that were relevant for my assignment in detail and then I analyzed those articles and finished the assignment writing in my own words. I did not copy directly from the reference that I found. To protect myself from plagiarism, I have set quotation marks around any kind of copied text if any. I have also provided in-text references stating

Spirituality in nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Spirituality in nursing - Essay Example This paper focused on four different religious beliefs, that is; Buddhism, Sikh, Baha’I and the Christianity. The main objective of the paper was to investigate different religious beliefs with regards to spiritual perspective on healing. Basically, discussed how spiritual perspective on healing on Buddhism, Sikh, Baha’I compares to that of Christianity. According to the paper, the Sikh religion teaches that health care providers ought to understand the religious preferences in the aspect of the patients and their care while; Buddhism considers the health and disease as a common fact to the life of human and in this way. In the same way, the followers of Baha’i believe in that the body of man contains physical body hence there is need to take good care of the body. Christianity talks about health and healthy living. Most of the teachings in Christianity focuses on good living and love with translate to good health. As mentioned above, the above religious beliefs might have different way of talking about healing but they all talk about the same thing in the end, which is healing of the body. It is very important to agree with the meaning of spirituality since the paper is going to shed light on the topic of spirituality and three (to be discussed later in the paper) varied faiths. In this way, this paper is going to reveal as well as compare the philosophy of providing care from the varied faiths with the perspective of Christianity. However, the word â€Å"spirituality† has more than one conflicting meanings. Going throughout any library of online source of reading, one encounters a number of definitions for the word â€Å"spirituality†. In this context, the standardized dictionary, Oxford Dictionary, gives the meaning of the spirituality as 1). The human soul or spirit is different from the physical things 2). Religious belief of the human is called spirituality. Therefore, the root word of the spirituality is spirit and the rest of

Journal Articles Summaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Journal Articles Summaries - Essay Example rise, as Latin America had utilized the forces of globalization a lot better than the remaining parts of the United States of America before the 1920s. In the decade of 1930, however, the Latin American policies started to edge away from globalization and it was a very critical time period in Latin American history. This article outlines the problems and their possible explanations which are found not from the increase in output from protection as visualized generally, but in the needs of profits, coming up with strategies to respond to the tariffs of their trading partners, and the call for reimbursing those participants of globalization who did not succeed (Coatsworth, John H, and G W. Jeffrey). The article, ‘Always Protectionist? Latin American Tariffs from Independence to Great Depression’ is written by John H. Coatsworth and Jeffrey G. Williamson and is a part of the Latin American Studies compiled and published by Cambridge University Press. The article starts off by exposing the fact that a majority of people do not in a good way, except some groups in Latin America including historians of economics. That fact is, import and export taxes and tolls were much, much higher in Latin America than any other part from the 1860s to 1914, when the First World War ensued. The decades leading to the First World War, also known as the first globalization boom or belle à ©poque of Latin America, were the years in which the tariffs in Latin America kept increasing. Knowledge of this fact gives rise to an economical as well as political question: What caused the taxes to be so high BEFORE the Great Depression and not AFTER it? It is a known fact that he high taxes are the cause of a misshaped local economy and it stunts the economy’s growth with respect to performance as well. But why the tariffs were so high was the real question. Latin America was believed to have made the most of pre World War One belle à ©poque and was way ahead of others in the process of

Consumer Promotions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Consumer Promotions - Essay Example Consumer promotions comprise of activities that aim at enhancing the sales of a given product. This paper seeks to determine the most effective method by delving into the different types of consumer promotions. Sampling is one of the most common methods of consumer promotions. Companies provide free samples to consumers as a way of introducing them to new products in the marketplace (Ogden & Ogden, 2014). Samples offer consumers a chance to consider how much they like a product or something that they would otherwise not buy. For instance, manufacturers of fruit juices can give away free samples at a farmer’s market. Sometimes, sampling can be used as part of a bigger marketing campaign taking place in the radio and local newspapers. According to Tanner and Raymond (2008), coupons are often considered as certificates that entitle their bearer an affirmed saving on the purchase of a given product. Companies distribute these coupons to their consumers through a number of ways. Coupons for the new fruits juice can be mailed, inserted in magazines and newspaper advertisement or enclosed in other products. Winners of these coupons could then win pack of different juices from the manufacturer. Rebates, often referred to as cash refunds, is another effective method of consumer promotion. These can be likened to coupons expect foe the fact that the price reduction occurs after one has made the purchase rather than taking place at the retail shop (Tanner & Raymond, 2008). For this to occur, the consumer sends a given ‘proof of purchase’ to the manufacturer. The manufacturer then ‘refunds the consumer a potion of the purchase price through mail. Rebates can be used in the promotion of the juice products in which consumers that purchase a given number of products are refunded. Price packs refer to flagged offers on product labels or packages that are given to consumers and which allow them to save off the standard price of a product (Yeshin,

Whether Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, should be separated from India Essay

Whether Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, should be separated from India or should the entire Jammu & Kashmir State of India be separated from India, including no - Essay Example In addition, this paper presents some of the potential solutions that have been offered for the resolution of this issue and attempts to propose a possible solution to put an end to this issue once and for all. Kashmir is located in the Northwest of the sub continent. Historically, the valley consisted of the area lying between great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range. However, current Kashmir is referred to the area administered by India – Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh; the area administered by Pakistan – Azad Kashmir; and Aksai Chin, which is in China (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Kashmir has always been a Muslim majority area. As per the 1901 census that was carried out by British Indian Empire, almost 75% of the population consisted of Muslims, 24% were Hindus, and the others were Buddhists. The major population of Hindus was in Jammu which had almost 50% Hindus population, whereas in Kashmir valley, Muslims were in dominant majority with approximately 94% of the total population and Hindus were only 5% (Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908). As per the census of 1941, Muslim population of Kashmir was 93.6% and Hindus were only 4% (Mridu, 2004). In 2003, the percentage population of Muslims in the Kashmir valley was 95% with Hindus only 4%. In Jammu, the percentage population of Hindus was 66% and Muslims 30% (BBC, 2003). These figures clearly show that Kashmir valley has been a Muslim dominant area in terms of population whereas the major portion of population in Jammu consists of Hindus with Muslims as second majority. As per the formula for dividing the sub continent, agreed between both Hindu and Muslim leaders, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was to be either associated with Pakistan due to its Muslim majority in population, or had to be associated with India if the people of Kashmir want that. There was no resolution or advice to make it a separate state, free from both Indian and Pakistani boundary. The people of

Architecture of renaissance and baroque Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Architecture of renaissance and baroque - Essay Example The Santa Maria Novella is the greatest basilica in Florence. Though originally built by Friars in Florence, Alberti was commissioned to design its faà §ade. He contribute a broad frieze decorated with squares, four pilasters that were white-green in color and a round window, on it a pediment of the Dominican solar emblem. He added S-curved volutes on both sides and four columns with Corinthian capitals. The pediment and the frieze were inspired by the antiquity. However, the S-curved scrolls adorning the upper part had no precedent and have inspired similar ones in churches all over Italy. His touch obviously added to the glamorous beauty of the church’s faà §ade that has attracted worshipers and tourists alike over the years. Bramante’s Tempietto (Fig. 2) was designed with an emphasis on harmonizing of proportions and the simplicity of volumes (Norberg-Schulz, 89). Shapes such as cylinders and hemispheres were combined to great effect to create the grand circular sh ape that represents the divine order and completeness. The church pays great tribute to both antique techniques and Christian values. Bramantes plan represented illusionist painting and architecture that he had perfected in his lifetime. It was inspired by the shapes of temples. However, it was more a work of art than a utility building. Only 15 feet in diameter, it could not contain a congregation and was the subject of admiration from without and within. To him it represented the purity of the martyrdom of St Peter.

Approaches to Spanish Culture and Society Essay

Approaches to Spanish Culture and Society - Essay Example According to the study finding memory is usually associated with narratives while sites of the same harbor the locations for second-order remembrance where individuals remember their colleagues at specific locations besides how they victimized people. Many academic experts concur that past memories determine the future while at the same time enabling adaptation to the new order in the modern society. Dominant political authorities play a crucial role in shaping history, which is not a linear process. The political power continues to shift from the ideology through to images embedded in museums, memorials, and monuments. The following features remain part of the memory within the realm of social construction in the modern society. They include among others conflicted and shred persons, public, and official memories, collective recordings, factors that challenge the truth, modernism, and authenticity. As the report declares world hegemonic power and countries practicing the culture of capitalism continue to influence and spread new pieces of information that also erodes the original information involving many ethnic communities and states. Most of the eroded history entails a lot of information throughout their history guiding enlightenment, freedom of the market also referred to by other scholars as market liberalization, and rationalization among many more. The existing literature especially on Spain helps in discovering and digging into the past worth remembering in unprecedented volume and speed.

The effects of global recession on local economies Essay - 1

The effects of global recession on local economies - Essay Example Multinational and international industries, local industries, government establishments and the consumers themselves are all affected by the changes in the economic standing of the country. Global recession has a great impact on the value of local and international currencies, generally affecting end-users and households. In effect, the buying capability of the consumers goes down. The general concept in putting up a business is simple, to profit from it. However, this simple concept requires a lot of fields to be taken into consideration before investors or businessmen can make it happen. In a basic business planning, the structure of study for putting up a business or developing an existing one is as follows: investment, resources and raw materials, market demand and profit and loss forecast. Investment is the capital cost is one of the most common things that are taken into consideration in a large or small medium business setup (Northcott 1992). This is the total amount of currency or money a businessman or a corporation invests to put up or develop an existing business. The total cost of the investment will be a basis for the company to determine the total cost of their liabilities. There should also be funds or a part of the budget that goes to the emergency funds for unexpected situation. These are part of the investment cost and are called funds margin or more commonly known as petty cash. Although this is the type of fund that should be replenished every month, quarter or year depending on the initial business funding structure of the company. Its initial will still be included in the total investment cost. Resource is also one of the major factors to be considered in putting up or developing an existing business. Raw materials are products that are bought together for the use for production purposes (Blair and Hitchcock 2001). There are two major types of categories in the business industry: the

The Medieval Church Essay Example for Free

The Medieval Church Essay Lingberg and Duffy have a different look on The Medieval Church in the middle Ages. Unfortunately though, the church is often regarded as the capital of corruption, evil, and worldliness. An overview of the crisis concerned with farming, famine and the Black Death. I thought Lindberg was more persuasive than Duffy because of how he thought about farming, famine and the Black Death. As the Medieval church did offer many opportunities for ordinary people, makes us think they did not really cared about religion at all. The King needed the medieval church for political reasons, he did think about religion too. The medieval church offered salvation, for people to confess their sins to the priest. In medieval times people needed to go to heaven the only way was through the church. People were not allowed to think differently to what church had taught them, People were told that God had willed it; they needed religion and explanations to survive. The Church was really important in Medieval times than it is now. In those days people needed Church and religion to get their way through life. The Church controlled everyone even the King. It was important to people because it provided education for ordinary people, the priests gave advice, care and leisure in addition to religion. People needed priests to marry, baptize and bury them, without the church there would be no priests to do that. This shows that the Church was important to people in medieval ages. As we know not many people believe in heaven and hell now, but almost everyone believed in them in medieval ages. Everyone wanted to go to heaven when they died. They followed the church’s rules because it was the only way; they had to confess to their sins to the priest, for forgiveness from God. The church was more important to the king. He needed it to do coronations because they were religious ceremonies. Recognition by the church was important for Kings in the Middle Ages their reputation counted on it. People who were banned from the church and the kings were known as social outcasts. Duffy argues that the churches were directly tied into politics and laws of the land, there was very little distinction between what was holy and what was not. Much of the church was constructed of people who were wealthy and in positions of power; this was an avenue to  exercise that power was a bit more. They were abundant in the church and were a major part of that mindset that one’s work can get them into heaven. Much of the reform brought about by Martin Luther challenged the notion of purgatory, and therefore the significance of indulgences the way the church was misusing them. As many things define the distinct characteristics of history, the Christian church has made a remarkable milestone especially during the Middle Ages. Christianitys emergence as an official religion influenced not only the church, it enabled people to look beyond the obsession of power and worldly pleasures, but to a final and ultimate reward for a life well spent. Everybody put their faith in the hope and love of the Christian God. It gave the people goals and led them to the right path, yet why is it looked down upon so harshly? Maybe it was because of the wealth it exemplified, or the deterioration of morality in the popes. A contemporary account states: â€Å"The money was indeed the thing that killed the Jews. If they had been poor and if the feudal lords had not been in debt to them, they would not have been burnt† (Marcus 1973: 47). One can heedlessly conclude that the Medieval church was corrupt and unholy, but that would not justify its existence. Accordingly, the church was just trying to adjust itself to an age of chaos and uncertainty. Lindberg argued that along with the monetary benefits indulgence held for the church, there was a psychological component which kept the faithful in a state of fear of purgatory or even worse hell. This was one of the major abuses and signs of corruption in the Medieval Church. The Reformation more often emphasizes its social dimension, going beyond the doctrinal issues that divided Europeans. Because religion helped shape every aspect of European life, the practices of the new churches caused major changes. Duffys argues that the English Reformation was inevitable nor that it was the sole means by which the cause of human freedom could progress. Sacramental ceremonies from baptism to last rites had long marked key moments in the lives, families and communities. By abolishing or changing the sacraments, the Medieval Church challenged the social meaning of these rituals. This shattered older understandings about sexuality and personal holiness and led to intensified debate about the role of women in society resistance. Poor relief and charity meant something different when they no longer served as rich peoples way to perform penance. The idea that the medieval church was  immoral. Maybe putting together one thousand years of the history of the church with a disregard to any historical development may represent the medieval church as a corrupt institution, but still it is not necessary to go as far as to say that the church was corrupt. It is also worth noting that not all contemporaries who were interested in the reformation joined Luther in his famous feature, the Reformation. With this in mind, Luther and other reformers are usually credited with bringing the church back to the New Testament ideal, which is not necessarily the case. The Reformation in particular seems all the more worthy of when we realize that it may not have been merely an inevitable reaction to a corrupt Church but instead maybe a spontaneous movement, simultaneous or nearly so with similar movements that reformed politics and economics in equally radical ways. Works Cited Lindberg, Carter. The European Reformations. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2010. Print.

Applied Management Project Reflective Analysis

Applied Management Project Reflective Analysis Reflective analysis report is an interesting part of Applied Management Project. As an individual I had learnt lot from this project in terms of knowing my weaknesses and future lessons which are applicable in my professional life. This report demonstrates the basic concept of learning. As per my understanding the reflection report also makes us learn about others feelings and vice versa. Reflection is also known as everyday process. There are various kinds of reflection which we face on day to day basis, for instance: How was the day? Good and Bad experiences? How do I feel about it? There is no such formula to solve these question marks but it just happens in the normal life. Reflection is the best way to tackle the problems or to deal with the issues. Reflection is two way process, for instance sharing an ideas with others and same contributing in the same. According to JTCOBB (2009), the process of transforming information and experiences into knowledge is known as Learning. We can relate this definition with our dissertation experience where we are grabbing the knowledge which will be profitable in our future. The report consists of four different parts, for instance the first part illustrates the recollection of the experiences. Every human being learns something on day to day basis. Same concept is implemented while make the Applied Management Project and Reflective Analysis Report. The experiences have been demonstrated in report are related to group members, personal learning and the involvement of university staff in accomplishing the project. The different models have been used to explain the concept of learning, for an instance I had used the four stage model, which is related to different phases of dissertation. According to Gibbs (1988), reflection is the approach of describing the situation, feelings and evaluating the experience. There are six different stages in Gibbs reflective cycle and I had related same on the process of dissertation. I had also mentioned the five key lessons, which I got during the time of dissertation. These lessons will help me in the future practice. Finally the report is ended with conclusion and references. As per my personal perspective reflection analysis is the best approach to know our weaknesses and strengths. Recollection of experiences As we all finished with our first semester, ever body was waiting for the day to start there dissertation. The dissertation classes were scheduled on 15-june-09 till 19-june-09. These five days were compulsory for all the students. Many students had planned to do dissertation in their home countries. I was waiting for this day as international office informed us that we can work full time after the submission. The dissertation classes were held in University of Bedfordshire, Luton campus. The faculty divided the students into groups according to the streams. It was a good time because everybody knows that we are not going to sit together again. On the very first day the seminar class was full packed. First day The classes were started on 15-june-09 which was same for all the streams. It was a long day but the curiosity was about the dissertation topic so everybody waited till end of the session. Vincent Ong and Peter Patrick were the module leaders. They introduce all about the dissertation and had distributed handbooks to all of us. We all were doing general discussion with module tutors. At the end of session Rob Carman had discussed about the Reflection. He explained us very well. At last Vincent Ong told us to make the groups of six students. I was thinking to join some international group where I will get more exposure than joining the students from the same country. But there was no such group left, therefore I joined the previous group of semester one. The module tutors had told to appoint the group leader for the selection of topic. Our topic was Export Led Growth and to evaluate export promotion programmes of a country of our choice. It is really an interesting topic as Exports and Imports are helping the countries to improve the relations and also to improve the economies. Exports are the biggest support for Asian and other developing countries. We all had discussed the tentative structure of report in the class. It was my first time experience of doing Applied Management Project so I was nervous about it. But my group mates were supportive and cooperative. We finished the day with some discussions for the project. Second day Today we were having presentation on library resources. Most of the students were not aware of them; hence it was very important for everybody to know about it. Business school staff told us about the importance of keywords. This is the most important part of doing dissertation. Keywords make the task easy and efficient. The faculty had demonstrated the use of e-journals and e-books. I was amazed as we got lot of information in our library resources. These things made me confident and boost my energy to achieve the good results. Tutors told us to go through some articles and come back with quires for the next day. Third day In the beginning of third day everybody was ready with the questions and queries. It was an interesting and productive day as I personally grab important tips from the tutors and group mates. The tutors were helping us out for the keywords. Our group had started with literature review which I believe was the toughest part of the report. The business school staffs were putting more attention of students to maintain diary entries. As per my perspective it was a good approach of diary entries as it keeps an individual aligned with the task. It had really helped me during my dissertation. I was maintaining by putting everyday experiences, learning and had maintained the list of references. The management had arranged five tutors for five different groups and we were free to discuss about the topic with all of them. I am thankful to the university staff that helped us in the dissertation classes. Fourth day Today our group had started with aims and objectives. It was again a discussion session and tutors told us to discuss the issues within the groups. It was a good idea because everybody had gone through some of the journals. I was confused with the literature review therefore my group mates helped me out for the same. As it was a secondary research we were asked to emphasize on journals, books and magazines. They were against Wikipedia which I believe is right. The information given on Wikipedia is sometimes fake and anybody can edit their views, therefore we were asked to avoid the use of Wikipedia. This was the summary of fourth day. Fifth day The last day of our dissertation classes was bit sad as everybody was going to be split. Many of students were going to their home countries for doing Applied Management Project. I had left with three of my group mates. We shared our email ids for the further conversation about the project. The learning support tutor had given important tips for the report writing. Prof.Brain finally told us about the plagiarism. He had explained us the previous case and his personal experience when student gives excuses about plagiarism. At the end of the day students Vincent Ong had welcomed the students for quires. The students had clarified the doubts by module leaders and this was end of the session. Personal feelings and Learning from the Experiences As per my perspective the reflective report really helps an individual in expressing the feelings and learning experienced during the project. It is as opportunity for a person to know about the internal weaknesses which can be eliminated for the future prospects. Also it gives an opportunity to know other in terms of nature, style of working and cultures. This is the best way of knowing each other. This report illustrates the assessment criteria for the reflective report for International Marketing course. This is an individual as well as integrated report which shows the contribution of work done during the Applied Management Project. The main motif of the report is to explore our self in terms of expressing the experiences learnt during this time period. It is an overview which summarised the list of learning and experiences during dissertation. The below figure demonstrates different stages of reflection. The first stage shows initial step of reflective practice. Since I am learner, it is very important to know where I am good. I had related this model while doing the secondary research. As per my perspective, I had developed a good confidence level which I think is very important for an individual to survive in this competitive world. The second stage is related to the personal skills. An individual should be aware that what skills they need, for instance the person is having lack of leadership quality or lack of communication, therefore it is very important to aware of these things and to rectify them as well. During the project I felt these weaknesses which had been improved at the end of dissertation. The third stage is about implementing and monitoring. This stage was to start writing the report and to monitor the things going around. In this stage I had found my group mates very helpful and supportive. The university resources really had really helped out in doing the relevant research. The final stage had been related to evaluate evidence. The things were very critical on this stage as the report was nearly finished. For me it was very important to go through the work done and to make it more presentable. I had faced many hurdles on this stage but with my hard work and concentration, I had finished it before time. During the project I had learnt lot of things which I believe will be useful in my professional life. Reflective practice is not only to express the experiences; it also addressed the problems and hurdles faced while doing this report. As it was a group work but I had faced lot of ups and downs during the project. It is not very easy to co-ordinated with the individuals from different cultures as everybody is having different nature. My experienced was not very good with the group members as there was lack of co-ordination during this time period. I should have done little better if my group mates had joined me from the very first day. Personal dynamics and learning from the experience This was the good practice to express our self but as I had mentioned in the beginning the absenteeism of others had really affected my personal dynamics. In the initial stage I was dynamic and was expecting same from my group members. Unfortunately we were not able to sit together for the discussing and sharing ideas. This thing had distracted me from the target but later on after couple of weeks, my group mates had joined me, which made me happy and motivated to achieve the target on time. It was a good experience while working with different people from different cultures. I had personally gained many things while doing the project which had built up the confidence and had boosted my energy for future prospects. At the very early stage I was not very confidence on finding the key words for the research. But as the time moves I had learnt about the key words which I believe is very important for all the students. In the middle of my project the group mates were dynamic were helping each a lot. They were more supportive and helpful which made the project interesting and productive. According to Paula Freire(2000), active and reflective process an good approach for learning. An individual is not only learning from talking and writing, it also learns things from events and experiences. I believed that this is true as I had learnt a lot from discussions and sharing ideas. The integration of action and reflection creates a new knowledge. These both factors are very important to construct the knowledge. In the short reflection is the proper channel to work on critical analysis, solving problems, evaluating and creating meaning. I had related this with my dissertation course where we need to do analysis on the assigned topic. This leads to solve the problems and finally create the meaning for the same. According to Lew and Schmidt (2007), self-reflection helps students to become better learners, which I believe is true as we came to know our strengths and weaknesses. I am thankful to my group as they had appreciated the work done by me and vice versa. It is very important to appreciate the work, because this thing boosts the person to perform well. The supervisor consultants had also helped us out to accomplish the report on time. They were very prompt and helpful in answering the queries. Lessons for the future project I was very important and interesting module which helped me and all of my group members to enhance the personal skills. As we know learning never ends therefore what I had learnt will definitely help me in the future. There were many ups and downs while doing the project but I personally feel that it was part of our work. While working in the team it is very important to listen others what they say. It is more important to understand each other which make the task easy and efficient. Initially I had faced problems with my group members but in the middle of my project it was started running smoothly. After graduation most of the students started seeking for the jobs, which gives the another opportunity to work in business environment. While working professionally an individual have to maintain and organise many things. Reflection as discussed above is a process of evaluating, solving and generating the meaningful knowledge from our learnings. As we know that the countries are coming close due to globalisation and one should never know in which environment he/she is going to work. A person should mould according to the environment, the same thing I had learnt from the reflection analysis and during the dissertation. While working in the team it is very important to observe about the context and to contribute the ideas for the same. No doubt while discussing there might be arguments among the group members which can be resolved internally. This also helps in the professional life where we face these things on day to day basis. In todays busy life one should aware to time management which helps the person in achieving the target on time. During the time of Applied Management Project I met different kind of people which had helped me for some good ideas. It built up the confidence if we meet more people, as everyone has different idea for one topic. Having more ideas tends to be more qualitative rather than quantitative. Further I am going to highlight the five key lessons learnt during the Applied Management Project. Team work From the very beginning of our Maters degree, tutors had emphasized on working together as a team, which I believe is very important in this competitive world where the targets are very tough to achieve individually. Initially we were not able to co-ordinate with each other but later on it was fine which leads us to achieve the goal on time. According to Jonathan and Alan (2006), negotiating on different views where every individual comes across with different idea tends to work in a group which makes the task easier and achievable. Communication Communication plays an important role while working as a part of team or working individually. As I am an international student, it is very important for me to commute in the way that others do. Good communication resolves the solution as well as impresses the interviewer while attending the interviews. My personal thinking is that I had really enhanced my communication during this time period. Well organised In the beginning of this module the tutors had emphasized us to maintain the diary entries. This thing really keeps the person on track and saves the time. I had maintained the diary for keeping the brief summary on day to day basis. This thing made me aware for the next day planning during Applied Management Project. Diary keeping had helped me in projecting the target of dissertation; therefore finally I had submitted the report on time. Conclusion As per my perspective the practice of reflective analysis helps an individual in knowing the weakness and strengths. It is all about the personal feelings and the observation done during the time of project. I personally believe that these lessons will help me in my professional life, where I have to face or interact with different people from different back grounds. Conclusion has been made on the bases of lessons learnt during the project. Reflection makes the person more transparent which do not create miss understanding while working in the group. For the initial stage the tutors were telling us to work as a team which I believe is a good approach to achieve the target in the specific time. Various models had been implemented in the report which relates to our day to day learnings. I personally believe that learning never stops therefore it is another turn of cycle which built our confidence to tackle the problem.

Therapeutic Hypothermia for Postnatal Refractory Hypoxemia

Therapeutic Hypothermia for Postnatal Refractory Hypoxemia THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA FOR POSTNATAL REFRACTORY HYPOXEMIA « A CASE REPORT IN A TERM NEONATE K. Sarafidis1, E. Diamanti1, V. Soubasi1, K. Mitsakis2, V. Orossou-Agakidou1, Bianca Popovici3, M. Moga3 Summary We describe a term neonate treated with whole-body hypothermia several days after birth to counteract refractory hypoxemia due to persistent pulmonary hypertension unresponsive to optimal treatment. This approach was selected to improve oxygenation and protect the brain from the consequences of hypoxemia. In our experience, hypothermia did not worsen pulmonary hypertension, although no beneficial effect on oxygenation was noted. Never ­theless, the favorable neurological outcome of die neonate provides some evidence for neuroprotection against refractory hypoxemia using hypothermia. Key words: persistent pulmonary hypertension of the neonate, neuroprotection, mechanical ventilation Rà ©sumà © Lhypothermie thà ©rapeutique pour lhypoxà ©mie rà ©fractaire post-natale: prà ©sentation dun cas dun nouveau-nà © à   terme Nous dà ©crivons un nouveau-nà © à   terme traità © par hypothermie du corps entier quelques jours aprà ¨s la naissance afin de neutraliser lhypoxà ©mie rà ©fractaire due à   lhypertension pulmonaire persistante qui ne rà ©pond pas à   un traitement optimal. Cette approche a à ©tà © choisie pour amà ©liorer loxygà ©nation et protà ©ger le cerveau contre les consà ©quences de lhypoxà ©mie. Dans notre expà ©rience, lhypo ­thermie na pas aggravà © lhypertension artà ©rielle pulmonaire, mais il na à ©tà © notà © aucun effet bà ©nà ©fique sur loxygà ©nation. Nà ©anmoins, là ©volution neurologique favorable du nouveau-nà © a fourni des preuves de neuroprotection contre lhypoxà ©mie rà ©fractaire à   laide de lhypothermie. Mots clefs: hypertension pulmonaire persistante, neuroprotection Introduction anagement of late preterm and term neonates with moderate-severe hypoxic- ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) following perinatal asphyxia is, hitherto, the only evidence-based application of hypothermia in neonatology as it reduces mortality without increasing major disability in survivors [1, 2]. Other situations such as perinatal arterial ischemic stroke, neonates with HIE beyond the therapeutic window of the first 6 hours after birth or less than 36 weeks gestation and those with unexpected postnatal collapse could potentially benefit from this neuroprotective treatment, but, at present, only few or no data is available [2, 3]. This case describes a term neonate treated with whole-body hypothermia several days after birth to counteract refractory hypoxemia and protect the brain from its consequences. Case report A female, 3.470 g newborn was transferred to our hospital at 10 hours of life for respiratory distress. The baby was bom at 39+4 weeks gestation after caesarian section due to mild fetal distress. Bag and mask ventilation were given at birth, and the 1 and 5 minute Apgar scores were 6 and 9, respectively. Conventional mechanical venti ­lation was started upon admission to our department while the lung X-ray was suggestive of transient tachypnea. Temporal improvement in oxygenation was noted following exogenous surfactant administration (Beractant, 100 mg/Kg/dose). Thereafter, oxygen requirements increased significantly, despite optimal ventilation (including high-frequency oscillatory ventilation) and supportive management (sedation-analgesia, inotropes). Following X-rays consis ­tently showed the absence of parenchymal lung disease. Car ­diac ultrasound confirmed the clinical diagnosis of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the neonate (PPHN), but inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) at 20 ppm and other adjunctive therapies (oral sildenafil, bosentan) had no clinical effect. Repeat sepsis work-up was negative. Continuing, severe impairment in oxygenation prompted us to apply whole-body hypo ­thermia (Tecotherm Neo ®, target rectal temperature 33.5 ±0.5  °C)for 72 hours starting from day of life (DOL) 6, which was well tolerated. During hypothermia, the respira ­tory failure slightly improved, in the short term, as indicated by the reduction of alveolar-arterial difference of oxygen (fig. 1). Despite refractory hypoxemia, no clinical seizures were obsewed whereas there were no pathologic findings on head ultrasound scans and amplitude-integrated-EEG. Interestingly, the sleep-wake cycle was lost during cooling but normalized after the end of this treatment. From DOL 14 onwards, oxygenation started to improve (although still with variable) finally allowing weaning from the ventilator (DOL 20) (fig. 1). Brain imaging (ultrasound scan, magnetic resonance imaging) were normal at hospital discharge (DOL 36) as was later neurodevelopment (6 months). Discussion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case to report the use of whole-body hypothermia in neonates with refractory hypoxemia secondary to PPHN as adjunct to mechanical ventilation and as neuroprotection. PPHN is an important cause of neonatal respiratory failure associated with increased mortality and neurological impairments in survivors [4]. Hypothermia reduces oxygen consumption as well as C02 production [5]. Moreover, experimental animal data show that hypothermia may protect [6] or attenuate the ventilator-induce lung injury mitigating the pro-inflammatory response [7]. Improved gas exchange has also been reported in the latter investigations [7]. Similarly, there is evidence although limited from studies in critically ill adults suggesting an improvement in oxygenation [81 and ventila ­tion [91 with hypothermia. Therefore, this therapeutic technique could potentially be beneficial in our patient breaking the vicious circle of hypoxemia, PPHN and ventila ­tor-induced lung injury. On the other hand, aggravation of Figure 1 Supportive care and serial changes of alveolar-arterial difference of oxygen (AaD02, best and worse) during the first 3 weeks of life (B and C). Initial lung X-rays (A) and snapshot of the a-EEG recording before and during hypothermia (D) are also shown. hfov CMV: Conventional mechanical ventilation, DOL: Day of life, HFOV: High-frequency oscillatory ventilation, iNO: Inhaled nitric oxide PPHN was a possible clinical scenario, given the metabolic response to cold stress (increased catecholamines and pulmonary vascular resistance) [5]. In large randomized controlled trials of hypothermia in perinatal asphyxia, PPHN at randomization was considered as an exclusion criterion [21. It is our clinical observation that a slight and temporal improvement in alveolar-arterial difference of oxygen was indeed observed during hypothermia. However, this could be an oxygen extraction issue. At lower temperatures, oxyhemo globin dissociation curve is shifted to the left resulting in decreased oxygen release to the tissues which in turn have decreased oxygen demands [5]. Nevertheless, the fact that improved oxygenation was not sustained and, also, that coin ­cided with the application of high frequency ventilation does not allow us to support any significant effect of whole-body hypothermia per se on oxygenation. Yet, this trend towards improvement in oxygenation is in line with the most recent relevant meta-analysis, in which hypothermia was found not to increase the risk of PPHN, at least as indicated by the need for Ino [1]. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) could be an alternative treatment to PPHN [4], but no ECMO center was available. Conversely, this invasive intervention encompasses severe risks for the brain. Actually, for this very reason mild hypothermia was preventively attempted for 12 hours in a small cohort of neonates receiving ECMO. Unfortunately, neurodevelopment outcome was not assessed [10]. We applied therapeutic hypothermia as this is a promising means of neuroprotection in neonates. None the less, two facts merit comment in the present case: the lack of any clinical or other evidence of brain injury (normal head ultrasound scan, a-EEG) when cooling was decided and the application of hypothermia several days after birth. So far, hypothermia is only indicated as early as possible in neonates with evidence of HIE following an acute perinatal event, so as to limit the already activated molecular mecha ­nisms of neuronal damage and death [11]. It is impossible to know whether prolonged hypoxemia triggered such a cascade of events in our neonate. However, therapeutic hypothermia has also been tested in neonatal conditions, independent of neuroprotection. Advanced necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants is such an example, where mild hypothermia was applied as an alternative therapy to reduce intestinal injury and distal organ damage [12]. Specific biochemical biomark ers or more sophisticated techniques (e.g., magnetic resonance spectroscopy) could possibly have provided some indications as to the presence of cerebral injury secondary to refractory hypoxemia and the impact of hypothermia. Such techniques, however, are available for use at the bedside only in a few centers [13]. Additionally, our baby-girl was not part of a relevant study and, therefore, no investigations beyond those indicated in everyday clinical practice were performed. Nonetheless, its favorable neurological outcome is encouraging. Since we are not, however, able to know whether and to what extent hypothermia had any neuroprotective effect against hypoxemia related to respiratory failure, this approach needs to be evaluated in large trials.

Sports Ethics Essay -- Athletics Sports Ethics Drug Abuse Essays

Sports Ethics Vince Lombardi, most likely the best coach to ever lead a team to victory or multiple ones on a football field. His ethics sometimes questionable, but never misunderstood, were always meant to lead and encourage his team to be nothing but the best, and the best was achieved in 1967. After nine incredible winning seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Lombardi decided to retire as head coach. The Packers had dominated professional football under his direction, collecting six division titles, five NFL championships, two Super Bowls and acquiring a record of 98-30-4. After less than a year, however, he realized that he still wanted to coach. He accepted the head coaching position for the Washington Redskins in 1969. During that season, he kept what had become the Lombardi tradition and led the Redskins to their first winning record in 14 years. In January of 1970, his professional coaching record stood at a remarkable 105-35-6, and the NFL named him their acclaimed "1960s Man of the Decad e."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His statement that â€Å"winning is the only thing that matters in sport†, is one of the truths that is still inherent in today’s world of sports. Athletes are willing to cheat to guarantee success, either through the use of performance-enhancing drugs, or through the act of injuring others. These days, drugs, blood doping, corruption, injuring others and the consequences of winning and more importantly losing is all evident. Lombardi’s statement is not only applicable to athletes, but it also applies to the countries that the athletes are representing. Events such as the Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey, are a source of national pride and some countries are willing, and fully wanting to try and do anything to bring prestige back, many of them resorting to unethical tactics. Lombardi’s statement does not only affect players, or athletes, it also affects coaches, owners, and managers. They too place winning as their number one concer n. In many cases, fair play generally takes a back seat to the desire for winning. The truth of the matter is that, some will bend rules, while others will outright cheat. The corruptness of sports today has lead to the endless methods and desires of unethical behaviour.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the history of ethics there are three principal standards of conduct, each of which has been proposed as the highest good: happiness or pleasure; du... ...n the world of sports today. Although many people put a huge influence on winning, many if not more put more of an influence on losing, or trying not to. Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing –Vince Lombardi –. Works Cited 1. A September to Remember. 7 Apr. 2001 . 2. Beckham, Darren. Blood Doping: Is It Really Worth It? 25 Apr. 2001 . 3. Jennings, Andrew. The New Lords of the Rings. Toronto: Pocket Books, 1996. 4. Lajis, Razak Haji. The History Of Drug Abuse In Sports. 14 Apr. 2001 . 5. Microsoft Encarta (http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761555614&pn=1&s=1#s1). 6. Simon, Robert L. Fair Play Sports, Values, & Society. San Francisco: Westview Press, 1991. 7. Stoll, Sharon Kay. Who Says This is Cheating. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1993. 8. Ten Controversial Olympic Moments. 15 Apr. 2001 . 9. Vince Lombardi Homepage http://www.vincelombardi.com/bio.html 10. Washington Post. The Tonya Harding Nancy Kerrigan Saga. 12 Apr. 2001 .

Social Conflict and Inequality Essay -- Philosophy Economics Inequalit

Social Conflict and Inequality The social conflict paradigm is a theory based on society being a complex system characterized by inequality and conflict that generate social change. Personal life experiences dictate me to believe this theory is true. Discussion of the theory in question and how it pertains to myself will be covered in the paper. Social conflict can be seen all over the world we live in: in sports, politics and normal social engagements. The main point I have experienced with this theory would be the fact that I don’t come from a rich, powerful, and prestigious family, which in turn limits my chances of being successful. Karl Marx studied social conflict His entire life and wanted to reduce social inequality. The social conflict theory can be described as favoritism. Society tends to show favoritism to the prestigious members of that particular society. Social inequality is shown throughout the world from situations of race, ethnicity, gender, and age. These factors may dictate wealth, scho oling, power, and prestige. The social conflict paradigm views the patterns that benefit some people more than it would others, due to their social standings. Karl Marx was a sociologist who embraced the social conflict paradigm. Marx made his main goal to not just understand society but to reduce social inequality. Karl Marx devoted his life to explaining a contradiction in society. That contradiction was â€Å"How in a society so rich, so many could be poor.† Marx makes a good point here: If America is supposed to be a rich country and a free country where the streets are paved with gold and opportunity is knocking around every corner, then why is it that there are so Many poor people in America? The answer is social conflict. America does not provide the same opportunities to people from a poor family as they do with people who come from a rich and prestigious family. Two people with the same academic backgrounds and qualifications may apply for a job; however, one comes from a poor family and the other from a well-known rich family. Through the social conflict that exists in the world the person from the rich family has a much grater chance of receiving the job than does the person from the poor f amily. The same can be said of a person of color and a white person. The typical African-American family earns about 54% of the income of the average white ... ...he fact that I want to prove the Marxist or social conflict theory wrong and become prestigious myself and not just settle for a working class position. The social conflict theory is seen everywhere everyday. The struggle to achieve despite the hand you’re dealt at birth is part of everyday life. Sports teams draft second generation players because of their family backgrounds as opposed to another player with the same ability. Politicians are voted into office due largely in part to their economic stature. A poor person wouldn’t win an election would they? Not without the deception of the public leading them to believe they were a rich individual. There is no escaping social conflict it is everywhere and will continue to be a part of society forever. Maybe one day Karl Marx’s dream will come true to have society be on an equal playing field but do not look for that to happen in our lifetimes. Discrimination is a big part of society today and discrimination an d favoritism is what social conflict is all about. Discriminating against a person because of their background as opposed to a person with a wealthier background happens all the time and social conflict is the reason for it.

The Colour Purple and The Yellow Wallpaper -- Goodman L. Approaching L

For Walker the use of language is to do with an expression of self in opposition to gender oppression, of presenting self in opposition to a language which is not your own. Explain how this statement informs your reading of The Colour Purple (TCP), and The Yellow Wallpaper (TYW). In TCP, written in first person narrative, Walker uses the epistolary style of writing, giving authority to the voice of Celie and enabling the reader to accept her as having real presence and experience. In her opening letter to God, it is obvious she has no self-confidence, crossing herself out with a line through ‘I am’ (p.3 TCP). Because her mother is so ill, Celie becomes a sexual commodity for her Pa, epitomising a male dominated society, where women accepted patriarchy. This epistolary style of writing was popular in the eighteenth century novel sentiment, morally edifying the reader, with authority being given to the protagonist, in this case, Celie. ‘Celie writes to God, for lack of any living person with whom to share her troubles’ (p.155 Literature and Gender (LG). She is not able to defend herself due to her multiple jeopardy, of being a woman, being black and being uneducated. Celie is a woman who, through being raped and beaten by her ‘Pa’, is ‘taught to fear men and devalue herself’ (p.55 LG). As her letters progress, she grows in confidence within and about her own language. In an early letter to God, written when her Pa stopped her going to school after he got her pregnant the first time and her younger sister continued to go, shows how she wanted to be educated, ‘I feel bad sometime Nettie done pass me in learnin’ (p.12 TCP). Later on, she meets Shug Avery, her husband’s mistress, who helps her find conf... ...aper and uses it to ‘liberate’ herself from the normal domestic role expected of her, and from the patronising husband’s language, such as ‘What is it little girl?’ (p.353 TYW). Through her hysteria, she interprets the patterns on the wallpaper with a female language which is deliberately illogical, Emotional, non-linear, intuitive, as opposed to rational and logical. She writes, ‘There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down’ (p.351 LG). Both women are using their own language against male authority. Bibliography Goodman L. Approaching Literature. Literature and Gender. Walker A. (1983) The Colour Purple. Great Britain The Women’s Press. Audio/TV Audio Cassette 2: Women and Poetry AC2121 Audio Cassette 3: Gender and Drama AC2122 TV 2 Alcott and Woolf, Gilman, and Walker.

Consumer Behavour

Models of Consumer Behaviour UNIT 9 Objectives MODELS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR After reading this unit, you should be able to: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ identify the different levels of consumer decision-making explain the process of consumer decision-making differentiate between types of buyer decision behaviour describe the buyer behaviour with the help of an input, process, output model Structure 9. 1 Introduction 9. 2 What Is a Decision? 9. 3 Levels of Consumer Decisions 9. 4 Process of Decision- Making 9. 5 Types of Purchase Decision Behaviour 9. 6 Stages in the Buyer Decision Process 9. 7 Models of Buyer Behaviour 9. 8 Summary 9. 9 Key Words 9. 0 Self-assessment Questions 9:11 Further Readings 9. 1 INTRODUCTION In this unit we shall examine how a consumer actually arrives at the decision to purchase a specific product or brand out of the so many available in the market. Or, in other words, we shall study the process of consumer decision-making. In the previous unit we had di scussed a simple model of consumer decision-making, comprising an input, process and an output. A consumer receives stimuli from the environment and the specifics of the marketing strategies of different products and services, and responds to these stimuli in terms of either buying or not buying the product. In between the stage of receiving the stimuli and responding to it, the consumer goes through the process of making his decision. 9. 2 WHAT IS A DECISION? A decision is the selection of an alternative out of the several number of alternatives available. It is only when theme are two or more alternatives available that there is the need to make a choice. In the field of consumer behaviour, we are only concerned with situation in which the consumer has to take a purchase decision where there is a choice available. 27 Understanding Consumers 9. 3 LEVELS OF CONSUMER DECISIONS As a buyer or consumer you are all the time making decisions such as what product to buy (a book or a shirt as a birthday present for your friend), Which brand (Lux, Liril, Hamam, Rexona or OK toilet soap) from where (Super Bazar, nearby corner shop, chemist), etc. Table 1 presents a summary of the different levels of purchase related decisions most commonly encountered by consumers. The table highlights the broad range of choices the consumers have to select from when making a decision, starting from the generic product category level to the brand level and retail outlet level. 9. 4 PROCESS OF DECISION-MAKING The most basic and important requirement for the marketer is to understand how consumers make choices. Ajzen and Fishbein have attempted to explain human choice behaviour in their theory of reasoned action which states that: â€Å"Generally speaking-human beings are usually quite rational and make systematic use of information available to them. People consider the implications of their actions before they decide to engage or not to engage in a given behaviour. † Thus, making a decision is a rational and conscious process in which the consumer evaluates each of the available alternatives to select the best amongst them. Each decision you make involves an elaborate mental thought process, a degree of active reasoning, though on the surface it may not always seem to be so. This may be because over a period of time you have taken certain decisions so many times that they now seem to be made almost automatically but that is not true at all. Even your daily decision of buying a loaf of bread involves the element of active reasoning as buying a new sofa set for your drawing room. However, in the former case, the extent and intensity of active reasoning may be much less as compared to the latter case. 28 In the case of bread, the only decision variables may be which brand, quantity and retail outlet. But in case of buying a sofa set the decision variables are far more in number. These may be: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ ready-made or made to order from a furniture shop or to be built at home type of material for frame: Wood, Steel, Aluminium type of material for cushion: cloth, rexine, leather design: with or without arm-rests, height, depth of seat, seating capacity, loose or fixed cushion. Models of Consumer Behaviour Thus, depending on the type of decision being made, the degree and strength of active reasoning will vary. There are three factors which influence the degree of active reasoning that is undertaken by the consumer in his process of decision-making. These are: i) involvement, ii) alternative differentiation, and iii) time pressure i) Involvement: When a product is perceived to be of great personal importance to the customer, such as personal clothing, or its purchase involves a great deal of money or risk such as jewellery, car, house, company shares, the level of involvement in making the decision is likely to be very high. The consumer is likely to spend a great deal of time before arriving at the final decision. In contrast, when buying items which do not reflect much on the consumer's personality or their purchase involves small amounts of money . or the risk associated with them is not high, the degree of involvement of the consumer is likely to be low. Products such as shoes, polish, toilet soap, toothpaste, biscuits etc. would fall in this category. i) Differentiation: When the consumer perceives that the various alternatives which are available are very different from one another in terms of their features and benefits offered, he is likely to spend more time in gathering information about and evaluating these different features. On the other hand, in case of products which are not very different from one another either in terms of their features or benefits offered, the consumer is bound to perceive them as being almost the same and buy the first available product/brand which satisfies his minim um expectation. He will not like to spend much time in evaluating the various alternatives. The various brands of washing powder available in the market today are an excellent example of low level of differentiation with the consumer perceiving the different brands to be offering almost identical benefits. All the brands, such as Nirma, Vimal, Vijay, etc. look similar with identical packing and carry almost the same price tag. Till a few years ago, the two wheel scooter market in ,India was highly undifferentiated with Vespa and Lambretta offering almost identical scooter to the consumers in terms of basic features. But today the same market is highly differentiated. The consumers have a wide range of brands to choose from such as Kinetic-Honda, Lohia, Bajaj etc. each offering a variety of shapes, horse power and many other innovative features to choose from. A potential consumer of scooter would have to spend considerable time in evaluating each brand before he is in a position to make his decision. iii) Time Pressure: When you are under pressure to make a decision quickly, you cannot afford to spend a long time finding out about the various products or brands. You would probably buy whatever is readily available. While traveling in your car to a hill station your car tyre bursts and you need to buy a new one. At that time you would buy the brand that is available at whatever price without giving it too much thought. But under a different situation, when you need to buy new tyres, you would certainly like to find the features of nylon and radial tyres and evaluate various brands e. g. Modi, MRF, Dunlop and Apollo etc. on their individual advantages and disadvantages. 29 Understanding Consumers Activity 1 a) For each of the products/services written below, identify whether the purchase decision involves a high or low degree of involvement under normal circumstances: i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix) x) Scooter Tyre Steel almirah Transistor radio Bicycle Shirting material A pair of shoes Toothpaste A family planning device such as Nirodh Restaurant Voltage stabiliser. b) In respect of the above products, record which differentiated alternatives (brands) are available in the market. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9. 5 TYPES OF PURCHASE DECISION BEHAVIOUR Consumer buying behaviour varies with the type of buying decision. Earlier, we stated that while a decision for buying bread was almost made automatically, the decision for buying a sofa set was more deliberate and time consuming. Similarly, there is a great deal of difference in buying a tube of toothpaste, clothes for yourself and a refrigerator for your home. We shall now distinguish three types of buying behaviour: i) Routinised response behaviour, ii) Limited problem solving, and iii) Extended problem solving. ) Routinised response behaviour (RRB): This occurs when the consumer already has some experience of buying and using the product. He is familiar with the various brands available and the attributes of each and has a well establ ished criteria for selecting his own brand. Consumers do not give much thought or time when buying such products and already have a preferred brand. The degree of involvement in buying such products is low. Frequently purchased and low cost products such as razor blades, coffee powder, toothpaste, soap, soft drinks, etc. fall in this category. Marketers ealing in products involving routinised response behaviour must ensure the satisfaction of existing customers by maintaining consistent quality, service and value. Also, they must attempt to attract new customers by introducing novel features, using point-of-purchase promotional material and special displays. ii) Limited Problem Solving (LPS): In this type of buying behaviour, the consumer is familiar with the product and the various brands available, but has no established brand preference. The consumer would like to gather additional information about the brands to arrive at his brand decision. For instance a housewife buys refined vegetable oil for her cooking. She is familiar with the concept of vegetable oil (as opposed to say vanaspati and ghee) and also knows that Postman, Dalda and Ruby are some of the prominent brands available. But to establish her choice of brand, she would like to check with her friends and regular shopkeeper about the attributes of each. Limited problem solving also takes place when a consumer encounters an unfamiliar (or new) brand in a known product category. The housewife who buys refined 30 vegetable oil, on her next visit to the market, sees a new brand of oil, Saffola. Apart from being a new brand, this brand of oil also claims the unique attribute of being low in cholesterol. To arrive at a decision, whether or not to buy this brand, the housewife needs to gather information about the new brand which will allow her to compare it with the known brands. The marketer's task in a situation where he is introducing a new brand in a well known product category is to design a communication strategy that gives complete information on all the attributes of the brand, thus increasing the consumer's confidence and facilitating his or her purchase decision. ii) Extensive Problem Solving (EPS): Extensive problem solving occurs when the consumer is encountering a new product category. He needs information on both the product category as well as the various brands available in it. This kind of decision is by far the most complex. For instance, you are thinking of buying a Flat colour television to replace your existing black and white TV set. You do not have much idea about how to judge the quality of a, colour TV set. You have heard about the various rands, such as Videocon, BPL, Samsung, LG, Sony, Thomson etc. but you do not know what t heir respective quality ranking is in colour TV. Each brand makes claims of foreign technology, latest features such as flat square tube and channel display. Further, t here is a range of models to choose from within each brand, models with remote control . different cabinet colour finish, vertical monitor styling etc. To arrive at a decision, you have to gather information at three levels and also establish a criteria for evaluating this information. The three levels of information gathering and evaluation are at generic product level, brand level and model level within each brand. The marketing strategy for such buying behaviour must be such that it facilitates the consumer's information gathering and learning process about the product category and his own brand. The marketer must be able to provide his consumer with a very specific and unique set of positive attributes regarding his own brand, so that the purchase decision is made in his favour. The concept of EPS is most applicable to new products. The product may be new at the generic product concept level (such as Maggi noodles) or it may be an established product concept but new for a particular consumer. In case of a new product concept such as ready to cook instant snack, the entire consumer universe is unfamiliar with the product. The marketer has to spend large amounts of money in educating the consumers about his product. The consumers in turn need a great deal of information before they can take a decision; and the decision process takes a long time. On the other hand, you may have the situation where the product concept is well understood by a majority of the consumers, but it is being bought or used by a particular consumer for the first time. To take a very simple example, a tribal who is exposed to the concept of toothpaste for the first time in his life will seek a lot of information and take a long time to decide. For him, buying a toothpaste is a EPS behaviour, whereas for most of us it simply requires a routinised response behaviour. Models of Consumer Behaviour 9. 6 STAGES IN THE BUYER DECISION PROCESS Even buying decision involves an element of active reasoning. The manner in which this active reasoning manifests itself is illustrated in Figure I. In making a purchase decision the consumer goes through the five stages of: i) ii) iii) iv) v) problem recognition, pre-purchase information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post purchase behaviour. However, in case of routine purchases, the consumer may skip the second and third stages and straight away go to the stage of purchase decision. But in case of purchase 31 Understanding Consumers decision involving extensive problem solving, the consumer is likely to go through all the five stages in the specified sequence. The important point to note is that the buying process starts much before the actual purchase and has implications even after the purchase has been made. This should give ideas to the marketer as to how he has to start designing his marketing strategy in order to achieve his specified marketing objectives. Figure I: Stages in the Buyer Decision Process Let us understand the stages in decision-making process with the help of a Mr. Rao's specific decision to purchase a briefcase. i) Problem Recognition: The buying process starts with the buyer recognising a need or problem. Mr. Rao feels very uncomfortable carrying his papers, files and lunch packet in his hand or in a plastic bag to his work place. Sometimes, the papers and even files from his hand and get spoiled Mr. Rao feels the need for a suitable receptacle to carry papers to and fro from his office and has identified a briefcase as the solution to his problem. i) Pre-Purchase Information Search: In response to the stimuli provided by the need for a briefcase, Mr. Rao starts searching for information on the kinds of briefcases available in the market. Search can be of two types: internal and external. Internal search refers to recalling relevant information stored in the memory. For instance, Mr. Rao may recall having seen the different kinds of briefcases used by his colleague s. Or he may recall having seen some advertisements for briefcases on the television or in some magazines and newspapers. External search refers to the deliberate and voluntary seeking of new information regarding the product/brand under consideration. Mr. Rao can seek information from the following three sources: †¢ †¢ †¢ Personal sources: family, friends, colleagues, neighbours. Commercial sources: advertisements, retailers, salesmen. Public sources: seeing others, consumer information centres. By tapping all these sources of information, Mr. Rao is able to identify the different types of briefcase on the basis of material, branded versus unbranded, high-mediumlow priced. A wide variety of materials are used for making briefcases ranging from the best leather to rexine to plastic. There are branded briefcases available and Mr. Rao can choose from the well known VIP, Safari and Aristocrat and some less known local brands, or he can choose to buy an unbranded briefcase. The price ranges from Rs. 125 to Rs. 1200. Also, there are a number of other features which can influence the choice, such as type of lock, and number of partitions and pockets for keeping different documents. By the end of this stage, Mr. Rao has gathered enough information about different kinds of briefcases available and has narrowed down his alternatives to moulded plastic, branded briefcase. Within this broad range there are various brands and price ranges to make the final choice from. Evaluation of Alternatives: Mr. Rao will make his final decision using certain evaluative criteria. The most commonly used criteria are: (i) product attribute, (ii) the relative importance of each attribute to the consumer, (iii) brand image, (iv) attitudes towards the different brands or alternatives under considerations. For instance, the product attributes of the (Plastic branded briefcase) alternatives identified by Mr. Rao are: , unbreakable, lightweight, spaciousness, reliability of locking system, colour, price. Mr. Rao attaches maximum importance to the product attributes of light weight and spaciousness as compared to other attributes. He already has some kind of attitude towards the various brands developed in the stage of information search which will affect his final decision. 32 This stage of the buying decision process gives the marketer a chance to modify his product offering in keeping with the relative importance attached to each attribute by various consumer segments, altering beliefs and attitudes about his own brand, and calling attention to neglected product attributes, Purchase Decision: In the evaluation stage, Mr. Rao has ranked the various brands in terms of his first, second and third preference. In short, he has made up his mind about which brand he wants to buy. However, Mr. Rao may finally end up buying a brand which is not his most preferred. This may happen because attitudes of others and †situational factors. For instance, when Mr. Rao goes to the shop to make his purchase, the shopkeeper's negative remarks about his (Mr. Rao's) most preferred brand may make him change his mind. Also, it is possible that Mr. Rao's preferred brand is not available, or there is a very attractive price discount on the brand ranked third by him which eventually makes him change his mind. Post Purchase Behaviour: After purchasing the briefcase, if Mr. Rao finds that its performance or utility matches up to his expectation, Mr. Rao will feel satisfied with his purchase. The satisfaction will reinforce Mr. Rao's perceived favourable image of the brand, which is likely to be extended to the entire range of products manufactured by the Company. Also, Mr. Rao is likely to strongly recommend the brand when his friends ask his advice for buying a new briefcase. A satisfied customer is thus a very powerful source of influence for potential customers. However, if Mr. Rao feels that the briefcase which he has purchased is not upto his expectation, then he is likely to feel dissatisfied. The gap between expected (or perceived) and the actual performances causes discomfort or dissonance to the buyer. As a result of this, Mr. Rao may decide to stop buying other products sold by the same Company and also warn his friends about the poor utility of his briefcase. To reduce his own state of discomfort or dissonance arising from the feeling that he has not made the right choice, Mr. Rao can: (i) re-evaluate the unchosen brands and downgrade their desirability by identifying some negative features, and (ii) search for information to confirm his choice. Models of Consumer Behaviour Activity 2 a) Consider the case of a consumer durable which you may have recently purchased. Try to recall the actual process you might have undergone in buying that. Write down the specific activities you undertook at each stage of the decision-making process. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ b) Do you find any differences in the approach described above and the approach that you may have followed? What could be the reasons for these differences? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 33 Understanding Consumers 9. 7 MODELS OF BUYER BEHAVIOUR Consumer behaviour is a process and purchase is only one stage in that process. There are many underlying influences ranging from internal motivations and attitudes to social and external influences of many kinds. Having explained the consumer decision. making process, now let us turn our attention to the process of consumer or buyer behaviour. We shall explain the process of buyer behaviour with the help of four models. The first two models describe the decision process as applicable to individual consumer. The third model explains the decision-making process of a group, namely the family. The fourth model explains the decision-making process in the context of an organisation. Howard-Sheth Model This model explains the buyer decision process using four major sets of variables as presented in Figure II. The four sets of variables are: (i) inputs, (ii) perceptual and learning constructs, (iii) outputs and (iv) exogenous or external variables. i) Input: The input to the customer decision process is provided by three distinct types of stimuli. Of these two types of stimuli are provided by the marketer in the form of physical, tangible product characteristics known as significative stimuli, and intangible, perceptual product characteristics known as symbolic stimuli. To return to the example of Mr. Rao, while the physical appearance, sturdiness, finish, and spaciousness would constitute the significative stimuli for quality, the overall quality that Mr. Rao perceives in his briefcase connotes the symbolic stimuli. The actual price paid for the briefcase is significative stimulus while the perception that the price is reasonable, or too high or is a good bargain is the symbolic stimulus. The third type of stimuli is provided by the consumer's family, reference groups and social class to which he belongs. 34

Rizal – Man of Mystery

Rizal was really Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper is polled as Great Britain’s most evil person on BBC History Magazine. His hatred for women and savage killing of at least 5 prostitutes is a tale of horror still talked about today. His case was never solved thus his identity is one of the world’s great mysteries. How is this related to Rizal? Our national hero Jose Rizal was in London during the killings from May 1888 to January 1889. He was copying a book, â€Å"the Sucesos de las islas Filipinas† staying in the library for the whole day.But not much is known of his whereabouts at night. Other than his mere presence in London, the killings link to Rizal because he was a doctor. Skilled with the surgical knife, he even performed on his mother’s eye. Jack the Ripper’s victims were brutalized with strategic cuts on the neck and incisions that took out the uterus from the abdomen. In his many letters sent back home, not once did he mention the killing s – undoubtedly the biggest news of that time.When Rizal departed from London in 1889, the killings stopped. In 1986, the present day owners of the house Rizal stayed in reported finding preserved human innards and a confession letter from Rizal. Most obvious of all, the links is that Jack the Ripper and Jose Rizal shared the same initials. Illustration depicting how Jack the Ripper cut his victim Reflection I was really shock and horrified while reading this article. I never ever thought that Dr. Jose Rizal our national hero would be a murderer.About the story of Jack the Ripper, I already saw a part of it but in anime form from the anime Black Butler because I am really an anime lover, but I really thought that it’s just a story, not real. That’s why I’m really surprise when I had read the article. I was almost convince by the evidences presented though, as well as the letters by Jack the Ripper that was left at the crime scenes and the preserved human innards found at the house where Rizal stayed. But after thorough thinking, I said to myself that this wasn’t the kind of hero we have.Our hero is not a murderer but a passionate one. If he was that violent, then he would have agreed to Andres Bonifacio have a bloody war using swords, and other deadly weapon against the Spanish colonizers. But, he didn’t agree to Andres Bonifacio because what he wants is a silent war and not the bloody war, where lots of life would be wasted. So, with that perspective of mine, I don’t believe that Dr. Jose Rizal is Jack the Ripper. And, there’s also one question that keeps running in my mind, who name Jack the Ripper as Jack the Ripper that it even coincides to Dr.Jose Rizal’s initial letters to his name? And another is that the preserved human innards at the house where Rizal stayed were only found out almost a century after that is Dr. Jose Rizal left the place in year 1889, and yet it had been discovered only al most a century after that is in year 1986. If it had been discovered sooner, it would have been a strong evidence I guess, but it took a long time before it had been discovered. And if ever it would be true, then I guess it’s not that really a big deal since Jose Rizal is a doctor, and he even operated his own mom.Who knows he’s on a study of something at that time, trying to discover something new for his career. Another is, he has a purpose why he went to London at that time and that is to copy a book entitled â€Å"the Sucesos de las islas Filipinas† and certainly not to murder. To sum it all, I really don’t believe about the content of the article. Though, there are evidences presented, still it’s not enough to judge Dr. Jose Rizal. Because for me, he is a passionate man who even wrote â€Å"Mi Primera Inspiraccion† or My First Inspiration that is especially dedicated for his mother.

Pros and Cons of Television

For most people, watching television is an enjoyable way to spend time. It is an undemanding activity that passes the time and there are very few families that don’t own at least one television. Since so many people now own a television, there has been a proliferation in the number of channels available and shows to watch, so that you can quite easily find yourself spending hours in front of the television.Consequently, you may neglect other activities that need doing. Thus, although television may help to ease boredom, there are also some negative aspects associated with watching television.Breaking news shown live on your TVGlobal news network allows the latest global events to be aired worldwide and beamed directly to your living room. Examples (from top-left, clockwise) include September 11th attack, 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia, 2008 H1N1 outbreak and 2011 earthquake in Japan.Pros of watching televisionThe positive aspects of watching television include that you have somethi ng to talk to friends and relatives about. There are certain programs which are more popular than others and if you watch them you feel included and that you have something in common with the people around you. Television can help to foster a sense of national identity, since a significant proportion of the population will be exposed to the same kinds of news programs and television shows, so that people feel that they belong to a wider community. Plus, television can also be informative and educational, opening people’s eyes up to the world outside.Educational TV programsEducational TV programs provide priceless information that not only educate but also opens up your mind. Most of these programs teach and educate people on subjects that you may otherwise will not know and are never taught in schools.Cons of watching televisionNon-educational TV programsHowever, there are also a lot of television shows that are not very educational, and could even be considered trash. Realit y shows, for instance, offer nothing of any worth to the audience, yet people still tune in. People get hooked on shows which are poorly produced and concentrate mostly on issues of sex and violence. Although there is no conclusive evidence that watching violence on television makes children more violent, when there is so much violence on television, it makes sense that people would become desensitized to it, and that this could make it easier for children to engage in violent activities.Watching too much TV can lead to weight gain, poor social skills and lower academic results Unsupervised children spending too much of their time in front of a TV can have a big impact on their life. Obesity, lack of social skills and poor academic results are just some of the effects TV have on children. Some psychologist believe that too much TV time can have a major effect in the psychology of the child. Children are suppose to interact and play, not sit and watch.Poor parenting and weight gainIt is also evident that many people spend too much time watching television, so that parents don’t bother to spend any time playing or talking with their children. It is far easier to stick them in front of the television, rather than taking them to the park. It can’t be a coincidence that so many people are now overweight when they spend much more time watching television than they would have done years ago. People used to be a lot more active, but now television is the most convenient way for individuals to keep themselves occupied. Thus, they burn hardly any calories while most probably consuming an excessive amount of calories.It’s addictiveEven though there are many negative aspects associated with watching television, many people enjoy television far too much to reduce the amount  they watch or to avoid watching television altogether. People enjoy not having to think for themselves and to be able to sit down and watch something that helps them to relax, so why would they change?

Competitiveness of Philippines in global map Essay

0.5% of world-wide GDP share implies Philippines is really an insignificant player in world economy in terms of economic output, and 95 millions population, about 1.5% of ~7 billion world population, means current productivity level is only one third of world average. This is a typical characteristic of developing Asian countries, i.e., high population but low economic production output. However, even if only comparing with average of developing Asian countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the growth of Philippines’ GDP per capita is still significantly lagging behind in the past 20 years, and the gap is continuously widen since 2006. Philippines is at the stage of transitioning from factor driven economy to efficiency driven economy. What is promising for Philippines is that the global ranking of competitiveness among 144 countries is improving for the last three year, 85 – 75 – 65, and indices â€Å"Macroeconomic environment†, â€Å"Market size† are even among the top 40. The indices show â€Å"Labor market efficiency†, â€Å"Infrastructure†, â€Å"Health and primary education†, â€Å"Institution† and â€Å"Innovation† are area lagging behind. From the survey data of â€Å"The most problematic factors for doing business† in Philippines show government corruption, bureaucracy and policy instability are the most problematic issues businessmen are facing, other than inadequate infrastructure such as road, stable supply of electricity etc. I. Trade and Foreign Direct Investment in the Philippines Historically, the Philippines have been an important centre for commerce for centuries for its important location in south east Asia. Since 1980s, the Philippines have opened their economy to foreign markets, and established a network of free trade agreements with several countries. Some Philippines’ Import and Export Indicators and Statistics are list below: – Total value of exports: US$50.72 billion – Primary exports – commodities: semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, fruits – Primary exports partners: US (17.6 percent of total exports), Japan (16.2 percent), Netherlands (9.8 percent), Hong Kong (8.6 percent), China (7.7 percent), Germany (6.5 percent), Singapore (6.2 percent), South Korea (4.8 percent) – Total value of imports: US$59.9 billion – Primary imports – commodities: electronic products, mineral fuels, machinery and transport equipment, iron and steel, textile fabrics, grains, chemicals, plastic – Primary imports partners: Japan (12.5 percent of total imports), US (12 percent), China (8.8 percent), Singapore (8.7 percent), South Korea (7.9 percent), Taiwan (7.1 percent), Thailand (5.7 percent) The United States is one of the Philippines top trading partners. In 2010, according to US Department of Commerce data, trade between the Philippines and US amounts to US$15.4 billion. US is also the Philippines largest foreign investor, with foreign direct investment close to US$6 billion at the end of 2009. As of 21st century, the country is member in several international trade organizations including the APEC, ASEAN and WTO, under the new Aquino administration, the government plans to open up the country to more foreign investment in industries such as business processing operations, mining and tourism. However, this move may be hindered by restrictions such a prohibition of foreign ownership of land and public utilities. Also foreign investment was also impact by the financial crisis in 2008-2009 period, historical foreign investment data, breakdown by industry and country are listed below: Net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) to the Philippines for the first two months of 2012 were $850 million, three times higher than the $335 million during the same period in 2011, showing a strong recovery of the foreign investment in Philippines. II. Basic Education System The former basic education system of the Philippines is composed of: 6 years of elementary education starting at the age of 6 or 7, and 4 years of high school education starting at the age of 12 or 13. In this system, high school education is not compulsory. A formal public education system structure is show below: Participation rate for elementary school in 2009 is 89.43%, go up to 89.89% in 2010. As for secondary school, 2009 is 59.86%, go up to 61.26% in 2010. For Kindergarten, 1.65 million children enrolled in 2010, participation rate of 75.72%, grow to 2.04 million, participation rate of 91.67%, in 2011. These numbers are not impressive even compared to Asian developing countries. As the country need to improve overall productivity, higher quality human resource is a must pre-requisite, more resource allocation to education is in top priority list of Philippines government. Since June 4, 2012, Department of Education started to implement the new K-12 basic educational system, which includes the new curricula for all schools including one year of kindergarten(for 5 years old), 6 years of primary education, 4 years of junior high school and 2 years of senior high school. In this system, basic education is now compulsory. Program implementation in public schools is being done in phases starting SY 2012–2013. Grade 1 entrants in SY 2012–2013 are the first batch to fully undergo the program, and current 1st year Junior High School students (or Grade 7) are the first to undergo the enhanced secondary education program. First cohort of K to 12 grade 6 and Grade 12 will graduate in 2018. III. Population and Workforce Population – 103,775,002 (July 2011 est.) Age group – 0-14 years: 34.6% (male 17,999,279/female 17,285,040) 15-64 years: 61.1% (male 31,103,967/female 31,097,203) 65 years and over: 4.3% (male 1,876,805/female2,471,644) (2011 est.) Population growth rate – 1.873% (2011 est.) Birth rate – 24.98 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) Death rate – 4.98 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) Urbanization – urban population: 49% of total population (2010) Major cities – population – MANILA (capital) 11.449 million Relatively young population, due to high birth rate, is one of the key force that push Philippines economic growth. This means sufficient young labor force supply to industries and also a big consumer market demand for young people. It is estimated that between 9.5 million to 12.5 million Filipinos work or reside abroad, these Overseas Filipino Workers, or OFWs, constitute 11% of the total population. In 2012, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, expects official remittances from OFWs coursed through banks and agents to grow 5% over 2011 to US$21 billion, but official remittances are only a fraction of all remittances. Remittances by unofficial, including illegal, channels are estimated by to be 30 to 40% higher than the official BSP figure. OFW remittances represent 13.5% of the country’s GDP, the largest in proportion to the domestic economy. Philippines is considered having a highly skilled labor force, proficiency in English, and a constant stream of college-educated graduates entering the workforce. This attracts many foreign companies to set up operation here. Take one of the fastest growing industries in the country, Call center, as example, Call centers began in the Philippines as plain providers of email response and managing services, these have industrial capabilities for almost all types of customer relations, ranging from travel services, technical support, education, customer care, financial services, and online business-to-customer support, online business-to-business support. Due to its less expensive operational and labor costs, highly skilled labor force, the Philippines is overtaking India as the largest call center hub in the world. Reference 1. World Economic Forum. 2012. Global Competitiveness Report_2012-2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.weforum.org/reports. [Accessed 25 November 12]. 2. Economy Watch. 2012. Philippines Trade, Exports and Imports. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/philippines/export-import.html. [Accessed 25 November 12]. 3. Department of Trade and Industry, Philippines. 2012. Total Approved Foreign Direct Investments 1996-2009. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dti.gov.ph/dti/index.php?p=3. [Accessed 25 November 12]. 4. Slideshare. 2012. The State of Basic education. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/arangkadaph/state-of-education-in-the-philippines-2012. [Accessed 26 November 12]. 5. Department of Education, Philippines. 2012. The K to 12 Basic Education Program. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.deped.gov.ph/default.asp. [Accessed 26 November 12]. 6. World Bank, Human Development Department, 2010. â€Å"Philippines Skills Report, Skills for Labor Market in the Philippines†, Report No. 50096-PH, March 2010. 7. Youtube video: Population in the Philippines, 2012. [Accessed 26 November 12]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YatkDHzahWw&feature=relmfu. Filipinos Working abroad, 2012. [Accessed 26 November 12]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At1OVpefZus&feature=relmfu. World Call Center Capital, 2012. [Accessed 26 November 12]. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=kFBgauGCOEQ&NR=1,