Jewish Civilization Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Jewish Civilization - Assignment Example Significant of Tanakh to Jewish history Jewish are also called â€Å"the people of the book†. After the demolition of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Jewish sacrifices were impossible and the life style of Jews turned to Tanakh study accompanied with synagogue prayers. The study Tanakh including other Jewish writings is important to the life of religious. Tanakh, Talmud, and other writing are major sources to learn about Jewish history and God’s commandments, whereby this two continue to portray a main part in Jewish. To remember various things that God did to the Jewish and His commandments, selections of important Tanakh and prophets takes place in the synagogues. To help in good interpretation of the God’s commandments, effective rabbinical writings develop daily. Studying Tanakh is significant in the Jewish history since it is an important portion of the Jewish children’s education, and thus Jewish religion centers on intensive writing study. 3. Oral Torah Apart from the written Torah, there was also oral Torah, which God gave to Moses at Mount Sinai during the forty years Israelites took in the desert. Oral Torah involves two parts, the Gemara and the Mishnah both of which gives a wide range of principles included in the written torah. The Oral Torah is a tradition explaining the meaning of the written Torah, ways of interpreting them, and ways of applying the Laws. Jewish believe that Gog gave Moses and taught him the Oral Torah, who taught the other Jewish. This Jewish tradition remained functional until 2nd century C.E. During this century, Jewish piled up the Oral Torah and wrote it down in a form of a document known as Mishnah. Examples of oral Torah include the Halachah (Laws given to Moses at Sinai) and the Shlosh Esreh Middot Sheha Torah Nidreshet Bahem (The thirteen principles of Torah Exegesis). Significance of Oral Torah to Jewish History The Jewish theology believes that Oral Torah brings value as commentary, history, an d understanding of how Jewish interpreted certain aspects. For instance, â€Å"an eye for an eye† statement means financial compensation. However, many Messiah teaching are in the Oral Torah and extra information explaining the meanings of these Messiah teaching are in the Talmud. Additionally, Oral Torah teaches us the issue and thinking processes of Christians and therefore Oral Torah deserve good understanding and respect. Oral Torah is significant because it contains broad interpretation of the written Torah in the light of transforming circumstances to enable it adapt new situations. However, it shows Jewish people daily basis requirements. Although different Jewish people apply the Oral Torah laws in dissimilar ways, they normally acknowledge significance of Oral Torah by ensuring that all oral principles remain applicable. Nevertheless, Oral Torah plays a significant role in the current Judaism practices. 8. Siddur A Siddur is a Jewish prayer book, which contains a set of daily prayers. The earliest portions of this Jewish prayer book are the Hear O Israel (Shema Yisrael), and the Numbers (Priestly Blessing), which were contained in the Torah. Soncino in Italy published the Siddur in the year 1486, although it its distribution was in the year 1865. As early as 1538, Siddur started to come into view in the vernacular. Significance of Siddur to the Jewish History Siddur prayer book is significant to the Jewish

Leslie Annexstein & Eileen Ordover Essay Example for Free

Leslie Annexstein Eileen Ordover Essay The issue of equity is one that remains and will continue to be relevant to organization managers. This has been particular challenging in industries that have been associated with particular genders, cultures or demographics which has increased the factors affecting individual performance and participation in organizations (Reeve, 2005). As shown in the article for the study, the issue has shown a great sensitivity to developing issues while at the same remains as an effective benchmark of changes in social perspectives. The sentiment expressed highlights not only the role of management in equal employment opportunities. Leslie Annexstein, Eileen Ordover, Levon Esters, Blannie Bowen and Edward Reeve are given credit in particularly for their efforts in the empowerment of women, the disabled as well as bridging social disparities. However, there is also acknowledgement that even with such advancement in research, legislation and social policies, equalitarian ideals are still far from being realized. It is troubling to think that despite legislation and popular acknowledgement of the need and value of diversity and equal opportunity that such disparities would persist. Therefore, the challenge is one that has to be taken up not only in the interest of social responsibility but as a means of ensuring one’s own welfare in the future (pp. 5-6). How can there be real sensitivity for diversity, in particular for language, cultural and social differences? Are current standards and measures able to accommodate for developing needs? What is the long term consequence of the inability to address issues? How the issues impact individual members of society? Reference Reeve, Johnmarshall (2005). Understanding Motivation and Emotion. New York: John Wiley SonsMook, D. G.

The Effect Of The Russian Orthodox Religion On The Cult Essays -- essa

The Effect of the Russian Orthodox Religion on the Cult Orthodox Christianity has had an immense effect on the culture of Russia. The adoption of the Orthodox faith from Constantinople by Prince Vladimir in 988 introduced cultural influences that profoundly affected the Russian consciousness. As the people embraced Orthodoxy it developed a uniquely Russian flavor and rooted deep in the fertile Russian soul. Orthodoxy had a major impact on politics, art, and nearly every other aspect of Russia's culture. Orthodoxy helped forge Russia's world view and defined her place in the world. The church affected the thought patterns and motivations of a whole culture and changed the way Russians thought about themselves and the ways that they lived their lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The church acted as a unifying factor for the Russian nation. Church holidays and fasts enriched and brought meaning to the cycle of seasons and sowing in the subsistence society. Russians possessed a deep religious faith and from it they derived a sense of purpose in the universe and the promise of salvation. The church nourished and preserved the culture of Russia during centuries of internal strife and foreign intervention. Orthodox people feel a strong sense of community and brotherhood towards one another through a shared bond of faith. As a result of this emphasis on community, the rights of the group tend to take precedence over the rights of the individual in Russian culture. The Orthodox and Catholic faiths had an adversarial relationship for years. As this rift deepened and grew increasingly antagonistic, the rift between the East and the West also grew. The difference in religion between Russia and Europe can largely explain the vast differences that developed in their cultures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Tsar of All Russia derived his power and right to rule from his status as God's chosen representative on earth. As it is God alone who bestowed power on the tsar, it was in the best interest of the monarchy to protect and promote the church. This conception of the tsar possessing a divine right to rule contributed to the political passivity of the Russian people. In the Byzantium tradition the concept of symphonia defined the relationship between the church and the state and acted as a balance on the unlimited power of the tsar. As the head of the church and the... .... Those who refused to change their rhythms of worship were called Old Believers and they were executed and silenced by the authorities. The Old Believers insisted on following the old forms because they feared committing heresy. The way they saw the situation was that Rome had fallen because of heresy. Moscow was the last seat of Orthodoxy and if Russia fell from the grace of God, it would mean the end of the world. The basic issue in the schism was the relationship between the Russian and Orthodox churches. Some felt that since Russia had adopted Orthodoxy from Byzantium she should remain a ‘junior partner'. Others felt that it was Russia's destiny to be a leader and to free her Eastern brethren.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Orthodox relegion has been essential to the people to bring them a sense of hope and destiny and a glimpse of heaven on earth. The choice of Orthodoxy was as influential as the Mongul Yoke on the formation of the Russian character. Orthodoxy brought the people a lot of joy, created a sense of community, intensified the countries isolation, created beautiful art, started wars, complicated politics, and best of all, reminded the people to love each other.

Stream Loads and Erosion

Streams or rivers are bodies of water that constantly travel from its source, which is usually a mountain or an underground source, towards an exit point into the sea. These bodies of water carry different kinds of materials. There are three kinds of loads that streams carry: Dissolved, Suspended, and Bed Loads. Dissolved Loads appear invisible because they compose of the smallest particles. These are transported by the stream in the form of chemical ions.Dissolved Loads can result from alteration of minerals from chemical erosion. It may also be a result of groundwater seepage into the stream. Suspended Loads are materials left dangling in the stream since they are too big to dissolve yet too small to sink to the stream bed. The flow of the stream keeps these particles suspended. Suspended Loads are usually the result of materials eroded by hydraulic action and erosion from the channel itself.Bed Loads are the biggest materials that can be found lying at the bottom of the stream. Du e to stream flow, Bed Loads are gradually transported in two ways: Traction (scooting and rolling) and Saltation (bounce-like movement). The transportation of Dissolved Loads are least affected by changes in stream velocity. As they are the smallest particles that can be found in streams, they will still be transported even under low stream flow since they are not big enough to settle down.Bigger loads are harder to transport hence requiring greater stream velocity. Bed Loads are the main contributors to stream erosions. Since they are the biggest among the three loads, they are able to dislodge materials from the stream bed when they are transported through Traction and Saltation. They can also hit the walls of the stream as they move. Bed Loads also erode the channel through the process of abrasion as they scoot and roll around the stream bed when they are transported.

Religion and the Meaning of Life Essay

According to Frederich Nietzche, â€Å"A man who has a why to live can bear any how†. To me this statement provides massive insight into the human experience: all people need a purpose in life. As humans we need a constructive outlet through which we can invest our thoughts, emotions, efforts and energies. We need something to thrive for and strive toward. Religion, for many people provides this outlet in life in a most positive manner. It allows people to find themselves by losing themselves foremost. Religion encourages service to others, selflessness, forgiveness and ascetic values that allow people to displace personal prejudices and mental barriers that are roadblocks on the path toward self awareness and understanding. Religion teaches that human beings are direct creations of God. Due to this, the religious person places immense gravity into the definition of what it means to be human. To the religious person human life is sacred therefore all human beings are treated as if they are sacred entities. Dignity is vital to this experience and the religious person lives a decent life based largely on the fact that they find it a grave injustice to engage in dehumanizing acts. A dehumanizing act is any action that undermines the value of what it means to be human, and because human life to the religious person is sacred; treating other people and oneself with respect is part of the job description. Religious people also are heavily focused on remaining loyal to traditions and place heavy emphasis on the concept of togetherness through ceremonies, rituals and even celebrations. Religious people congregate and come together in a forum of mutual understanding of one another’s beliefs and values, and respect for the characteristics that make individuals unique. This is how religious institutions have survived throughout the ages. People of all sorts come together based on a mutual understanding of the same truths. The idea of coming together forms a family-like atmosphere that strengthens dynamics within individual households and strengthens interpersonal bonds among all people whom the religious person encounters. The religious person lives a life of kindness, simplicity and dignity highlighted by unity, loyalty and fairness. These concepts are vital to becoming a well integrated person which is the key component to finding one’s purpose and meaning in life. Once a person gains a sense of purpose, the other aspects of their lives fall into place based around what that person chooses to life for. When a person lives for their faith, their lives are based around morals that encourage reverence for all human beings and a genuine perceptive of righteousness. This is why religious people not only have a strong sense of self, but also have unshakable character based in a solid affection for mankind.

Three Strikes Law Essays - Criminal Law, Criminology, California Law

Three Strikes Law Essays - Criminal Law, Criminology, California Law Three Strikes Law CJC2000 Prof. Taylor, Patrica 02/19/2015 All round the world there has been an ongoing issue with crime. Many of the crimes committed are both violent and nonviolent actions towards innocent people or places. What can possibly be done by law makers and enforcers to stop this ongoing problem? To help minimize these offenses the states has develop a way to take a stand against it being done, the Three Strikes Law. It basically states that if you are a convicted felon, on your third offense, misdemeanor/felony, youre out. With the states passing the three strikes law, it allows repeating offenders to remain behind bars for the rest of their lives. But is it fair to all offenders that continuously commit a crime to remain behind bars or should the ones that commit petty crimes be punished because of this law? In my opinion, if a person consist of committing a crime he or she shall be held responsible after the second time. Committing a crime in the first beginning can be more than enough times. Depending on the type of the crime such as murder or molestation, the person should be behind bars and stay there for the rest of their lives after the first offense. Think about it for a minute, if all the habitual offenders are force to remain behind bars, our crime rates should drop opposed to if they are still on the streets committing the crimes. I think the three strikes law is a good effect on crime because it will make offenders think twice about committing a crime. Besides, lets be realistic, a person knows if they will constantly commit the same crime or another one for that matter.

Describe law and order in London in the late nineteeth essays

Describe law and order in London in the late nineteeth essays The police solved crimes by relighing very heavily on a huge network of information who roamed the dark streets of the east of London also they did door to door knocking and asking residents for answers, their was careful searches and enquiries which revealed very little because their were no real whitnesses to the Ripper attacks. The police had a tough image as they didn't carry weapons on the streets, when the police was scared they were eager to resort to the army. Capital punishment was meant to stop deter criminals. (The threat of capital punishment or transportation). The number of crimes punishable by death had reduced from the early nineteenth century of about 223 crimes to 50 by the end of the century because it was clear that these punishments didn't work. The polices reputation was not respected because in investigations the police showed force and made no nonsence approaches and were very tough mainly only the unruly poor e.g. in 1887 a mass riot of the unemployed in Trafalger squarem, which sir Charles Warren suppresses through military force. The police investigations on crimes derived from the politics. Corruption had been uncovered in the higher areas of the CID. The met police were regarded as an increasingly militaristic force as the press had supported the forces and law and order in cracking down mainly in the unruly poor then began to support the working classes. Societys problems was that there was too much alcoholism in the streets and alot of thefts and alot of pick pocketing, other society problems was that there was over 1,200 prostetudes in the streets and in doss houses so the crime rates had been rising. Crime is rife because there is so much unimployment and it is increasing so it means that people need the money and the only way of getting money is to steal from people and places. Crime is also rife because the streets were like mazes and dark also very crouded, their was dirty side streets and a...

How to Get an Internship in College When You Don’t Know Anybody

How to Get an Internship in College When You Don’t Know Anybody You know the drill. Good things happen to people who know people. That’s how internships and jobs are landed- personal connections. But what if you don’t know anyone? How are you supposed to get that internship, let alone a job? Here are four proactive and creative things that you can do to beat the odds.Brand YourselfIt’s never too early to craft a unique personal brand. That’s the kind of thing that really sings to recruiters, plus it shows a fluency with valuable social media platforms. Use your favorite apps to create a platform and an atmosphere around yourself and your particular skills and interests. And use web software and blog sites to showcase your best accomplishments online. Think of it as an online portfolio, no matter what your field.And keep it professional. Double-check your e-presence with the help of a site like Reppler.com. Then get involved in any important discussions in your chosen field.Be SpecificWhen you’re working on your resume and cover letter, do yourself a favor and make them as targeted specifically to the job or internship you want as possible. Try printing out both the job description and your resume and then go through both with a highlighter. You want as many keywords to overlap as possible. If you don’t have many, go back through and retool your resume. Then draft a customized cover letter for that particular position. It shows your thoroughness and also your level of investment- before you even get an interview.Go to the OfficeYour college or university has a career office for a reason. Use it. Career advisors are trained to help with general job search strategies, and can be an invaluable resource, but there are also career advisors there who have specific knowledge of the field you’re trying to break into. Go and pick their brains. Have them run a fine-toothed comb over your materials. Ask them for strategic advice. You never know what they could turn up, including companie s searching for candidates just like you!Go Above and BeyondThe rest is up to your professionalism and charm. Read up on the company before the interview. Practice your answers to typical sample questions. Get a good night’s sleep, dress appropriately, always be 10Â  minutes early. Shake hands with everyone. Make eye contact. Stay on your toes. Be personable and warm while making them see how qualified you are. Then write a thoughtful follow-up thank you email and address it to your interviewers by name.

TNT Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

TNT - Case Study Example The organization or company has to come up with objectives with an intention of supporting the aims. The objectives of a company ensure that employees get to know how and when things are needed. Objectives ought to be specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant and time bound. The objectives can be changed to help overcome threats and other obstacles. The topmost objective of TNT Company focuses on gaining a profitable growth. The mission statement of Coca Cola is to inspire happiness and optimism moments and to make a difference and create value. The aim of the company is to make the company a better working place for its employees and to be lean, fast moving and highly effective company. Objective of the company is to always respond to change and act with urgency (â€Å"Delivering a business strategy†, 2014). Business strategy is the ways in which a company achieves the stated objectives. An effective business strategy has to be planned and should relate to the environment, product and chosen markets. A strategy that is considered competitive is based on; distinct market position and development of core competencies. The strategy map of TNT is customer centered. The tool focuses on directing everybody involved; on how the company will be able to achieve the stated Goals. The strategy map acts as a frame work and practical guide in achievement of the stated objectives. The strategy is also considered a reference point that connects the organization together. The business strategy map makes everyone accountable in accomplishing their stated roles (â€Å"Delivering a business strategy†, 2014). The overall strategy of the TNT Company is set out under innovation, customer relationship management and operational Excellency. The services provided are reliable, quality and fast. The allegiance and loyalty of the customer is built by understanding their wants

Capital punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Capital punishment - Essay Example However, the debate concerning capital punishment according to Sustein and Vermeule is merely centered on an unquestioned assumption that acts are morally different from omissions in the eye of the government, and the failure to question this assumption is a fundamental moral error. In this case, they argue that â€Å"an indefensible form of the act or omission distinction is important to some of the leading objections to capital punishment† (Sustein and Vermeule 705). Therefore, defenders of capital punishment have failed to notice the logical conclusion of their theory that capital punishment is in fact morally obligatory and not just permissible, by making the same distinction. To this end, Sustein and Vermeule suggest that on the strength of certain empirical assumptions, capital punishment may not only be permissible, but also it may be a moral requirement to discourage the taking of innocent lives, rather than for punitive reasons. Steiker critiques Cass Sunstain and Adr ian Vermeule’s argument that establishment of the validity of recent empirical studies that have associated capital punishment with a substantial deterrent effect should lead consequentialists and deontologists to conclude that capital punishment is not only morally permissible, but also morally required. Steiker (751) contends that â€Å"while the empirical evidences suggesting associations between capital punishment and considerable levels of deterrence are highly suspect, acknowledging that the government has special moral duties does not render inadequately deterred private murders the moral equivalent of government executions.† In this case, Steiker argues that executions constitute not only a purposeful moral wrong, but also a distinctive sort of injustice and acceptance of ‘threshold’ deontology does not call for a commitment to capital punishment, the proven substantial deterrence notwithstanding. In addition, Steiker suggests that Sustein and Verm eule imposes the acceptance of brutal or disproportionate punishments, and urges that not even consequentialists should be convinced with the argument that capital punishment is morally required (Steiker 786). The two articles disagree on the issue that capital punishment is morally required; whereas Sustein and Vermeule claim that capital punishment is not only permissible but also morally required, particularly give the proven empirical evidence between capital punishment and deterrence, Steiker firmly refutes their conclusion. Steiker faults Sustein and Vermeule because their conclusion automatically sanctions the acceptance of brutal and disproportionate punishments. This is because according to Steiker, capital punishment is not morally required because it is both a moral wrong and an injustice. The disagreement between Sustein and Vermeule, and Steiker is both sociological and legal in nature, particularly because whereas the former content that the government has the moral ob ligation of deterring the taking of innocent lives, the latter contend that capital punishment is morally required wrong and unjustifiable. Whereas Steiker arrives at his conclusion by critiquing and countering Sustein and Verme

Gourmet review about Great wall Chinese food (experts review) Essay

Gourmet review about Great wall Chinese food (experts review) - Essay Example The staff in this restaurant is simply adorable catering to every need of the customers without having to be asked twice about the same thing. Their service is also faster compared to other Chinese restaurants and hence encouraging people to come back again for excellent service (Tripadvisor 2015). The pricing is just right and within the normal pricing range of other Chinese restaurants. This is despite the personalized services offered to the customers whether it is during peak or off peak hours (The Examiner, 2012). They also offer specials which is effective and convenient for those customers in a hurry and have no time to start looking at the menu and deciding what to eat or take away. The specials are also sometimes new menus which increases the diversity of their foods (Schwab, 2015). With the competition in Chinese restaurants, what makes this restaurant stand out other than the quality location with good atmosphere is the fact that they serve special vegetarian food on Mondays (Lyness, 2013). This provides a chance for the unhealthy eaters to indulge in healthy food once a week as well as cater for the vegetarian population. Lyness, Stephanie. Dim Sum, and Much More, in a No-Frills Setting. The New York Times, 2013. Retrieved from

The popular english accents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The popular english accents - Essay Example Accent is descriptive of pronunciation and not vocabulary or grammar. English speakers who are not native to the UK tend to integrate the phonemic and intonation inventory into their English pronunciation from their mother tongue. Among the native speakers, there exist many accents. Some of these accents from specific regions, for example, the Pennsylvania Dutch English, can be identified easily by particular characteristics. There are further variations that can be found in the regions discussed in this report; for instance, the towns that are found less than 16 km from Manchester like Salford, Oldham, and Bolton posses varying accents that all form the collective Lancashire accent (Giegerich, 2011: p28). However, in extreme circumstances, they are different such as to be noticed by listeners, not from the area. People from various regions have a lot of room for misunderstanding; the manner in which one word’s pronunciation in a specific accent will sound different when said in another accent. For example, the word petal when pronounced in American English is different from its pronunciation as pearl by the Scottish. Methodology This research will utilize a methodology that was first used by Ainsfeld and Lambert in the late 50s and early 60s. The methodology was further refined by Bourhis and Giles and involves the important feature of matched guise that employs one person speaking in two accents that are different (Yan, 2009: p716). All attempts were made minimizing the paralinguistic variables like number of hesitations and reading speed. However, paralinguistic variations do occur, despite this minimization on these variables. Therefore, it was important to consider this, especially because of the monotonous reading style in the recordings. The practice voice used in the study was meant to familiarize the listeners with the questions they were to fill in the questionnaire found in the appendix. The study was interested in impressions that were create d in listeners by the speaker. Often, it is possible to tell where the speaker is from using the voice alone, for instance, when one hears a stranger talk on the radio or even on the telephone. The listeners were given recordings of various speakers with the speaker saying similar things and were obligated to pay attention to the way the person sounded rather than the content of the speech (Yan, 2009: p717). After hearing each speaker, the subjects, were expected to take a moment to think and then answer the questions in the questionnaire according to their impression. The subjects were not expected to take too much time in answering but were, rather, expected to give their first impressions with no wrong or right answers (Yan, 2009: p717). Discussion The United Kingdom, probably, is the nation that is most obsessed with accents in the entire world. With accents that are believed to have been shaped through many years of history, few nations that speak English have as many varieties of the language in a space as small as the UK (Donn & james, 2011: p25). The following were the accents that were identified during the study. Received Pronunciation This accent is the closest we have to a standard accent in the United Kingdom. While it originated from London English, at present, it has no specific region of origin. This accent is especially common in Oscar Wilde plays, Merchant ivory films, and Jane Austen adaptations. Received

Social Network and Privacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Social Network and Privacy - Research Paper Example To realize this aim, five major objectives were set, based on which research questions were developed. The research questions became a guide for the researcher to collect primary and secondary data, with particular emphasis on primary data collection, where a questionnaire was prepared for 50 respondents selected from a university campus. All 50 respondents were users of social networking sites and had strong academic background in journalism and communication, putting them in a position to providing well informed answers to the questions on the respondent. The primary data collection emphasized largely on the attitude of the respondents towards privacy issues whiles using social networking sites. The primary data collection exercise was also committed to knowing the depth of knowledge on privacy issues with social media networks. Through secondary data collection also, the researcher had the opportunity of knowing what the hosts of social networking sites are doing to protect the pr ivacy of users. Salerno, J. et al. (2011). Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling and Prediction: 4th International Conference, SBP 2011, College Park, MD, USA, March 29-31, 2011. Proceedings. New York: Springer. 37 Stewart, K. (2013). Social Network: An Extraordinary Guide on Social Networking for Business, Social Networking for Career Success, Social Network Marketing, Diaspora, Digital Age and More. Montgomery: Tru Divine Publishing. 37 Technology has long been with us but there is no denying the fact that the issue became very topical with the coming of the internet. Up to date, the internet is considered as the most transformed innovation in technological advancement (Zittrain , 2013). Quite so, the internet has several components and aspects that affect the lives of people in different way. The concept of social network had long

Service Quality & Customer Satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Service Quality & Customer Satisfaction - Essay Example Yet when they asked for the manager in order to voice their concerns they were told that, the manager was out on a meeting. Still they had no lack in talking to other staff in the restaurant. Lastly, the contact between staff and the client has the component of perceived command in both par ¬ties. The staff intends to control the conduct of the client to render their own job more practicable and less demanding; similarly, the consumer is attempting to obtain control over service encounter to obtain the most gain from it (Zeithaml 2010).For instance the staff who had told the students that the manager was unavailable must have said this so us to make her work easier. While the students wanted to complain to the manger in order to get a good service. Supremely, the 3 parties benefit much by functioning together to generate a useful service encounter. The decisive moment may be dysfunctional; conversely, the minute one party controls the interface by focusing exclusively on her or his own manipulation of the service encounter.The extent of subjective features of consumer service hinges on the compliance of the anticipated gain with the alleged result. This then relies upon the client's expectation concerning the service they may receive in addition to the service giver’s talent and ability to deliver this expected service. Prosperous Companies add reimbursements to their delivery that not only please the clients but also delight and surprise them. Delighting clients is a question of surpassing their expectations. Quality service can be linked to service prospective (for instance, worker's skills); service process (for instance, the rapidity of service) in addition to service result (client satisfaction). The quality service of the Burger King Restaurant is poor except for the part where the staffs are polite and courteous. The environment setting of the restaurant was not accommodative for the university students. They could not obtain a table large enoug h to cater for

Social Network and Privacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Social Network and Privacy - Research Paper Example To realize this aim, five major objectives were set, based on which research questions were developed. The research questions became a guide for the researcher to collect primary and secondary data, with particular emphasis on primary data collection, where a questionnaire was prepared for 50 respondents selected from a university campus. All 50 respondents were users of social networking sites and had strong academic background in journalism and communication, putting them in a position to providing well informed answers to the questions on the respondent. The primary data collection emphasized largely on the attitude of the respondents towards privacy issues whiles using social networking sites. The primary data collection exercise was also committed to knowing the depth of knowledge on privacy issues with social media networks. Through secondary data collection also, the researcher had the opportunity of knowing what the hosts of social networking sites are doing to protect the pr ivacy of users. Salerno, J. et al. (2011). Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling and Prediction: 4th International Conference, SBP 2011, College Park, MD, USA, March 29-31, 2011. Proceedings. New York: Springer. 37 Stewart, K. (2013). Social Network: An Extraordinary Guide on Social Networking for Business, Social Networking for Career Success, Social Network Marketing, Diaspora, Digital Age and More. Montgomery: Tru Divine Publishing. 37 Technology has long been with us but there is no denying the fact that the issue became very topical with the coming of the internet. Up to date, the internet is considered as the most transformed innovation in technological advancement (Zittrain , 2013). Quite so, the internet has several components and aspects that affect the lives of people in different way. The concept of social network had long

The assignment it is a marketing subject and it a research Paper

The assignment it is a marketing subject and it a - Research Paper Example This research study holds importance since promotion is a common tool utilized by all real world companies. Promotion strategy is also a kind of competency which can be acquired by a firm. The importance of this study lies in analyzing wide arrays of theoretical frameworks related to promotion. Research objectives have been stated below- According to Easwaran, marketing can be defined as an approach that enables direct flow of services or products from manufacturers to end customers. It helps to satisfy customer requirements, involved in exchange process. There are wide set of activities included within the approach of marketing. Marketing mix comprises of four basic elements – product, price, place and promotion. Additional elements in marketing mix are physical evidence, process and people. Hence promotion is one of the significant elements of marketing mix. Any service or product always needs the support of effective promotion scheme. Planning is required before promoting brand through advertisement campaigns, leaflet distribution, etc. There are other decisions which are focused on along with planning promotional activities like determining objectives, selecting target group, outlining promotion budget, distribution, new product launch, etc. Promotion is a medium of spreading awareness about a brandâ€⠄¢s offerings. There are three major purpose of promotion – presenting information to target customers, differentiating a product and increasing market demand. Promotional plan is solely responsible for wide array of outcomes such as brand equity building, increase in sales, positioning, and acceptance of new product, corporate image development and competitive retaliations (Easwaran 112). As per Arens, promotion can be stated as a variable to communicate brand message to target audience and eventually change their behavior or attitude. Market share and sales percentage can only be increased when appropriate promotional strategy

Social media as a distraction for African students Essay Example for Free

Social media as a distraction for African students Essay Social media as a distraction for African students social media has formed a massive part of our lives whether we embrace the concept or discard it. Social media is all around us; on all continents and in most countries. It can be likened to death, regarding its inevitable nature. Social media can be defined as the relationship that exists between networks of people. (Walter Riviera, 2004). We as individuals cannot imagine a world without social media, not to talk about the internet. The income or the earnings of some individuals actually come from social media as a result of the advertisement. One can confidently say that social media has been of immense benefit to the general public. It has helped to reduce communication barriers, it has helped us relate better with our friends and relatives, and it has created avenues for business opportunities, but like every natural phenomenon, it has a flip side as well. Social media has been and is still a major distraction for students in Africa and as young adults or students, we are mostly caught up in this web on countless occasions. This paper will talk about how social media has been and is still a distraction for students. Like stated earlier on, social media has been lauded for its benefits to the world. It has helped in terms of socialization, in that, it helps us rewire our relationship with our long-lost friends, it helps people to advertise their products which actually turns their business into a very lucrative one, it also creates avenues for business opportunities and so forth. We could sit and devote our time to describing how social media has been a blessing to this generation but as the saying goes every yin has its yang. Social media like every natural thing has its cons as well. It has become a major distraction for students in almost every country in Africa. According to a report by common sense media, 75% of African teenagers presently have profiles on social networking sites, of which 68% of them use Facebook as their main social networking tool. According to Sephora, a digital marketing website, studies have shown that 50% of 18-24-year-olds go on Facebook when they wake up (Noyes, 200 2). Most students in this modern era, cannot go a day without visiting social media websites, not to even talk about their phones. One major effect of social media on students is that there is no privacy in their lives. The figure below shows the kind of information people put on social media. Students of today find nothing wrong in sharing their personal information on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook because they see it to be the â€Å"new thing† trending or they try to stick to the status quo. Some students deliberately turn a blind eye to the consequences or the effects of putting such information out there, thinking that there are no harmful people in the world or thinking that it’s the status quo. All these information put out there can actually bring harm to the students because there are people out there who have bad intentions or who have the mindset of getting the information of people and blackmailing them. According to daily graphic, a 21 year old girl who always used to put her photos or what is going on in her life on social media was one time blackmailed by one criminal because she put an explicit picture of herself there thinking no one would see and was asked to pay a ransom of GHS100, 000 for the picture not to be leaked. She then h ad to appeal for funds just to be able to redeem herself. It sometimes would not be this easy to come out of blackmailing, so it’s better to avoid all these problems, as the saying goes â€Å"prevention is indeed better than cure†. In the same vein, social media is seen as the cause for the low grades some students get during the exams they take or the assignments they get from school. Most students when in class do not pay attention but rather use their phones with the excuse of â€Å"checking what new song Justin Bieber has released† or â€Å"what dress Serena Williams wore to her recent wedding†. Although it’s good to be up-to-date on the things happening around us, there is time for everything. Time magazine US edition, an article called Wired for distraction, conducted a research and realized that students who are seriously involved in social media have what we call â€Å"continuous partial attention†, which was said by Linda Stone, a Microsoft executive. This means, their attention to focus on one thing or person at a time is nearly impossible. Most students find it very difficult to pay attention in class because they are distracted by the least thing or noise they hear. The c onstant distraction of social media tends to affect how the students learn and absorb information. Students who try to multitask by using their phones to text and surf social networks while listening to the lecturer teach end up not using their brains to its full potential or capacity. According to the University of California, Los Angeles, there are two kinds of learning segments in the brain. The â€Å"focused learner† is one that pays attention and is not distracted by their phones, friends or their laptops. These people use the â€Å"hippocampus† region of the brain, the part of the brain used in long-term memory. And we have the multitaskers; these people try and perform one or more tasks at the same time. They use the part of the brain called the striatum; this part, on the other hand, is normally for those who try and study patterns or habits. Students of today are easily distracted and must learn to pay full attention in class in order to turn their dreams into reality. Social media takes a lot of time from students. Students normally have the intention of checking Facebook or Instagram for a specific amount of time. They plan on spending 5 minutes on social media but before they can say jack, they spend over 3 hours on it. In 2010, the Kaiser family foundation came out with a report that children between the ages of eight (8) to eighteen (18) use over 7 or more hours on social media sites. One research study done by Phil Smith was that once an hour, 9 out of 10 students are distracted by Facebook or Twitter. (Smith, 2011). References Noyes, D. (n.d.). Digital Marketing Consultants top 20 valuable facebook statistics 2017.https://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/Sterling, G. (2014, July 22). Pew: 94% Of Teenagers Use Facebook, Have 425 Facebook Friends, But Twitter Instagram Adoption Way Up. https://marketingland.com/pew-the-average-teenager-has-425-4-facebook-friends-44847 Conley, D. (2011, 19 May). Wired for Distraction: Kids and Social Media. Time Magazine U.S. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article

Estimation of Salbutamol Sulphate and Guaiphenesin

Estimation of Salbutamol Sulphate and Guaiphenesin SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF SALBUTAMOL SULPHATE AND GUAIPHENESIN IN THEIR COMBINED LIQUID DOSAGE FORM BY HPTLC METHOD Kruti D. Bhalara, Ishwarsingh S. Rathod, Sindhu B. Ezhava, Dolarrai D. Bhalara, ABSTRACT A simple, specific, sensitive and validated high-performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of Salbutamol sulphate and Guaiphenesin. Spectro-densitometric scanning-integration was performed at an absorbance wavelength 280 nm. A TLC aluminium sheet pre coated with silica gel 60 F254 was used as the stationary phase. The mobile phase system containing Ethyl acetate: Methanol: Ammonia (25% w/v) (75: 15: 10 v/v) gave a good resolution of Salbutamol sulphate and Guaiphenesin with Rf values of 0.47 and 0.65, respectively. The calibration plot of Salbutamol sulphate exhibited good linear regression relationship (r = 0.9987) over a concentration range of 200-1000 ng/spot. The calibration plot of Guaiphenesin exhibited good polynomial regression relationship (r = 0.9997) over a concentration range of 10-50 ÃŽ ¼g/spot. Detection and quantitation limit was found to be 70 ng and 100 ng respectively, for Salbutamol sulphate and 30 ng and 50 n g, for Guaiphenesin. The proposed method was used for determination of both drugs in Ventorlin and Asthalin Syrup containing Salbutamol sulphate and Guaiphenesin with satisfactory precision (Intraday) [2.67-4.46% for Salbutamol sulphate and 2.39-4.42% for Guaiphenesin] and accuracy [100.97 ± 0.50% and 100.45  ± 0.58% RSD, for Salbutamol sulphate and Guaiphenesin respectively] INTRODUCTION Salbutamol sulpahte (SAL) is the selective prototypic ÃŽ ²2-adrenoceptor agonist. It is used as an anti-asthmatic in the treatment of bronchial asthma, bronchospasm, in the patients with reversible obstructive airway and in prevention of exercise induced bronchospasm(1-3). It may be used in uncomplicated premature labour. SAL is chemically (RS)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-hydroxy- methyl phenyl)-2-(tert-butyl amino) ethanol sulphate(2, 3). Guaiphenesin (GUA) is used as an expectorant in the symptomatic management of coughs associated with the common cold, bronchitis, pharyngitis, influenza, measles etc(1-3). It is chemically (RS)-3-(2-methoxyphenoxy)-1,2- propanediol(2, 3). SAL and GUA combinations are available in the market for the respiratory disorders where bronchospasm and excessive secretion of tenacious mucus are complicating factors, for example bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis emphysema. Chemical structures of GUA and SAL are shown in Figure 1. SAL (API) is official in the Indian Pharmacopoeia(2), British Pharmacopoeia(4), and US Pharmacopoeia(5), and SAL syrup and tablets are official in British Pharmacopoeia(4). GUA (API) is official in the Indian Pharmacopoeia(2), British Pharmacopoeia(4), and US Pharmacopoeia(5), and GUA tablets, capsules and injection are also official in US Pharmacopoeia(5). However, the combination of SAL and GUA is not official in any pharmacopoeia. Several methods have been reported in literature for individual estimation of the drugs but very few methods have been reported for simultaneous estimation of SAL and GUA in combined dosage form, which includes chemo metrics-assisted spectrophotometry(6), Electro kinetic chromatography and Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry(7) and Micellar electrokinetic chromatography(8). HPLC, though accurate and precise method, is time consuming, costly and requires skilled operator. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop and validate simple, specific, inexp ensive, rapid, accurate and precise High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) method for simultaneous estimation of SAL and GUA in their combined dosage form. The proposed method was successfully applied to two marketed cough syrups Ventorlin ® and Asthalin ® and the contents were determined without any interference of excipients. MATERIALS Reagents and Materials (a) Solvents: Analytical reagent grade Ethyl acetate (Finar Chemicals, India) and methanol (RFCL Limited, India) and ammonia (25% w/v) (s. d. Fine Chem Limited, India); Iso propyl alcohol (s. d. Fine Chem Limited, India); Sodium bicarbonate (s. d. Fine Chem Limited, India) (b) Standards: SAL and GUA were a gift sample from Preet Pharma, Gujarat, India. (c) Ventorlin ® syrup (GSK Pharmaceutical Ltd, India) – Batch 02053, labeled 2 mg SAL and 100 mg GUA in each 5 ml of syrup, were purchased commercially. (d) Asthalin ® syrup (Cipla Pharmaceuticals, Mumbai, India) – Batch 060305, labeled 2 mg SAL and 100 mg GUA in each 5 ml of syrup, were purchased commercially. Apparatus (a) HPTLC Plate: 20Ãâ€"20cm, percolated with silica gel 60 F254, 0.2 mm layer thickness ( E.Merck, Germany) (b) Spotting device: Linomat IV Semiautomatic sample applicator (Camag, Switzerland) (c) Chamber: Twin trough chamber for 20 Ãâ€" 10 cm (Camag) (d) Densitometer: TLC Scanner-3 linked to win CATS software (Camag). Scanner mode- absorbance-reflectance; Scanning Wavelength: 280 nm; lamp: Deuterium; measurement type: remission; measurement mode: absorption; detection mode: automatic. Scanner setting- Slit dimension: 3.00 Ãâ€" 0.1 mm (e) Syringe: 100  µl (Hamilton, Switzerland) (f) Analytical balance: Shimandzu Libror AEG – 220 balances METHODS Preparation of SAL and GUA standard solutions Stock solution of SAL (equivalent to 2 mg/ml) was prepared by dissolving 20 mg SAL pure substance in 10 ml methanol. Working stock solution of SAL (equivalent to 0.2 mg/ml) was prepared by transferring 1.0 ml of above stock solution in 10.0 ml methanol. Stock solution (10 mg/ml) of GUA was prepared by dissolving 100 mg GUA pure substance in 10.0 ml methanol, separately. These solutions were stored under refrigeration at 40C. A mixture of the drugs was prepared by transferring 1.0 ml of stock solutions of each compound to 10 ml volumetric flask and diluting to volume with methanol. (Final concentrations of SAL, 0.02 mg/ml and GUA, 1 mg/ml) Preparation of calibration curve 10-50 micro liters of standard solutions of combined standard solution of SAL (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0  µg/spot) and GUA (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50  µg/spot) and 2 sample solutions (20  µl; corresponding to 0.4  µg SAL and 20  µg GUA/spot) were applied onto a pre coated HPTLC plate using the semiautomatic sample spotter (bandwidth: 3 mm, distance between the tracks: 5 mm). The plate was developed to a distance of 45 mm in a HPTLC chamber containing the mobile phase, i.e., Ethyl acetate-methanol-ammonia (7.5+1.5+1.0 v/v/v), at 25  ± 2 0C. The plate was dried at room temperature. The substances on the silica gel layer were identified densitometrically at 280 nm. The chromatograms were scanned at 280 nm with slit dimensions of 0.1 mm Ãâ€" 3 mm; 400 nm was used as the reference wavelength for all measurements. Concentrations of the compounds chromatographed were determined from changes in the intensity of diffusely reflected light. Evaluation was via peak area with linear re gression for SAL and polynomial regression for GUA. Preparation of sample solutions A 5 ml aliquot of the Commercial syrup (Ventorlin ® or Asthalin ®) was transferred into 10 ml volumetric flask. The volume was adjusted with methanol. From this solution, 2 ml was pipetted and transferred into another 10 ml volumetric flask. The volume was adjusted to the mark with methanol. The methanolic solution was used for chromatographic analysis. (SAL 20 ÃŽ ¼g/ml and GUA 1 mg/ml) Method validation The method was validated in compliance with International Conference on Harmonization guidelines(9). (a) Specificity._ The specificity of the method was established by comparing the chromatograms and measuring the peak purities of SAL and GUA from standard and sample solutions of liquid dosage forms. The peak purity of SAL and GUA were assessed by comparing spectra obtained at the peak start (S), peak middle (M) and peak end (E) of a spot. Correlation between SAL and GUA spectra from standard and sample was also obtained. (b) Accuracy._ The accuracy of the method was determined by standard addition method and calculating the recoveries of SAL and GUA . Prequantified sample stock solution of SAL and GUA ( 1 mL equivalent to 200 µG/ml of SAL and 10mg/ml of GUA) was transferred into a series of 10 mL volumetric flasks. Known amounts of standard stock solution of SAL(0, 1,2 and 3 mL equivalent to 200, 400, 600 ng/spot ) and GUA ( 0, 1, 2 and 3 mL equivalent to 0, 10,20 and 30  µg/spot) were added to this prequantified working sample solutions and diluted up to the mark with methanol. Each solution (10  µL) was applied on plates in triplicate. The plates were developed and scanned as described above, and the recovery was calculated by measuring the peak areas and fitting these values into the regression equation of the calibration curves. (c) Precision._ The intraday and interday precision of the proposed method was determined by estimating the corresponding responses five times on the same day and on five different days over a period of one week for three different concentrations of SAL (200, 400, 600 ng/spot) and GUA (10, 20, 30  µg/spot). The repeatability of sample application was checked by repeatedly measuring the area of seven spots having same concentration of SAL (400ng/spot) and GUA (20  µg/spot) applied on the same plate, while the repeatability of measurement of peak area was checked by repeatedly measuring the area of one spot of SAL (400ng/spot) and GUA (20  µg/spot) for seven times. The results were reported in terms of RSD. (d) LOD and LOQ._ The LOD and LOQ of SAL and GUA were calculated by preparing a series of solutions containing decreasing concentrations of SAL from 0.02 to 0.004 mg/ml and GUA from 1 to 0.001 mg/ml by appropriate dilution of the stock solutions of these drugs (SAL 0.02 mg/ml and GUA 1 mg/ml). (e) Robustness._ The robustness of the method was studied by changing the composition of the mobile phase by  ± 0.2 mL of organic solvent, development distance by  ±1 cm, and temperature by  ± 2ËÅ ¡C. Determination of SAL and GUA in Liquid Dosage Form The responses of sample solutions were measured at 280 nm for quantification of SAL and GUA by the proposed method. The amount of SAL and GUA present in the sample solutions were determined by fitting the responses into the regression equation of the calibration curve for SAL and GUA, respectively. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Since both SAL and GUA have nearly same wavelength maxima, interference becomes prominent in UV-Visible spectrophotometry. Also the estimation of any component at its null point is not that much reliable as the estimation at maximum wavelength. Consecutively for highly specific methods like HPLC and HPTLC, physical separation of those substances is usually necessary before quantitative determination of those substances. So, attempt has been made to develop a validated separation technique for the separation of SAL and GUA in the mixture by HPTLC. The chromatographic conditions were adjusted in order to obtain an efficient and simple routine method. Different mobile phases were tried for the separation of the above substances. The optimized solvent system was Ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia (25 %w/v) (7.5:1.5:1;v/v/v). The Rf values were found to be 0.47 for SAL and 0.65 for GUA. (Figure 2) The maximum wavelength of SAL was found to be 279nm-280nm and the maximum wavelength of GUA was 274nm-275nm. As both compounds have nearly same ÃŽ » max, 280 nm was selected for simultaneous scanning of SAL and GUA. In this way, SAL can be detected at low concentrations in the presence of GUA at high concentrations. Preparation of calibration curve As the concentration range of SAL is from 200 to 1000 ng, direct proportionality (linearity) of the concentration with its absorbance was obtained. Linear regression analysis is applied to analyze calibration curve of SAL. The equation is y = 3.659x + 409.8 (Figure 2) With the objective to allow simultaneous analysis by developing method in wider concentration range, non-linear regression analysis mode was utilized for estimation of GUA. Polynomial regression mode is applicable if wide concentration ranges (1:50 to 1:100) are worked out and with high amount of substance measured in non-linear detector range. The equation for calculation is y = -4.207x2 + 578.12x + 9343.48 (Figure 3) Method Validation Specificity._ The excipients present in the liquid dosage form did not interfere with the chromatographic responses of SAL and GUA as the peak purities r(S, M) = 0.997 and r (M, E) = 0.9996 for SAL and r(S, M) = 0.997 and r(M,E) = 0.9996 for GUA. Also, good correlation (r= 0.9999 for SAL and 0.9998 for GUA) were obtained between standard and sample spectra. Accuracy._ The mean recoveries obtained for SAL and GUA were 100.07 ± 0.49% and 100.04  ± 0.63% RSD , respectively. The accuracy results are shown in Table 2 Precision._ The values of RSD for intraday and interday variations were found to be in the range of 2.56-4.57% and 2.67-4.46% for SAL and 1.95-4.20% and 2.39-4.42% for GUA. RSD for repeatability of sample application were found to be 1.86 and 1.48 for SAL and GUA respectively, while the repeatability of peak area measurement was 0.47 and 0.18% for SAL and GUA respectively. LOD and LOQ._ The LOD and LOQ were 70 and 100 ng for SAL and 30 and 50 ng for GUA. Robustness._ The method was found to be robust, as the results were not significantly affected by deliberate but slight variation in the method parameters. Determination of SAL and GUA in Liquid Dosage Form The proposed HPTLC method was applied successfully for the determination of SAL and GUA in liquid dosage form. The results obtained for SAL and GUA were comparable with the corresponding labeled claim values. (Table 4) CONCLUSIONS Due to the absence of an official method for this binary mixture, the high-performance thin layer chromatographic method proposed in this article could represent an alternative to chemo metrics-assisted spectrophotometry, Electro kinetic chromatography and Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry previously published. This method has been validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, and specificity, and has proved to be convenient and effective for the quality control of SAL and GUA in marketed syrups, with out any interference of excipients. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We are thankful to the principal, L.M. College of Pharmacy for providing us the facility for successful completion of our project. REFERENCES 1.Klaus Flory, H. G. B. in Analytical Profiles of Drug Sunstances and Excipients, Vol. 25, pp. 121, Acedemic Press, Inc. 2.(1996) The Indian Pharmacopoeia, The Manager of Publication, Delhi. 3.Parfitt, K. (Ed.) (1999) Martindale The Complete Drug Reference, The Pharmaceutical Press, UK, The Pharmaceutical Press, UK. 4.(2007) The British Pharmacopoiea, Department of Health on behalf of the Health Ministers, London. 5.(2007) The United States Pharmacopoiea-30 NF-25. 6.El-Gindy, A., Emara, S., and Shaaban, H. (2007) J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 43, 973-82. 7.Pomponio, R., Gotti, R., and Hudaib, M. J. Sep. Sci. 24, 258 264. 8.D., N. L., Quiming, N. S., and Saito, Y. (2009) J. Liq. Chromatogr. Related Technol. 32, 1407 1422 9.International Conference on Harmonization (2005) Validation of Analytical Procedure Methodology (Q2R1), Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, Geneva, Switzerland Table 1. Data indicating various validation parameters of the developed method Table 2. Results of precision study for SAL and GUA determination by the proposed HPTLC method a Repeatability of sample application. b Repeatability of measurement of peak area. Table 3. Data for the recovery study of SAL and GUA Table 4. Analysis results for SAL and GUA liquid dosage forms by the proposed HPTLC methods (n=5) Figure 1. Chemical Structures of (a) SAL and (b) GUA Figure 2. Calibration curve of SAL Figure 3. Calibration curve of GUA Figure 4. (a) HPTLC chromatogram showing separation of SAL and GUA in their combined standard solution at 280 nm , with Rf 0.47 and 0.65, respectively. (b) Chromatogram showing the separation of SAL and GUA in Ventorlin Syrup. Figure 5. (a) HPTLC chromatogram showing separation of SAL and GUA in their combined standard solution at 280 nm , with Rf 0.47 and 0.65, respectively. (b) Chromatogram showing the separation of SAL and GUA in Asthalin Syrup.

Government Intervention On The Internet Essay -- essays research paper

Government Intervention on the Internet During the last decade, our society has become based on the sole ability to move large amounts of information across great distances quickly. Computerization has influenced everyone's life in numerous ways. The natural evolution of computer technology and this need for ultra-fast communications has caused a global network of interconnected computers to develop. This global network allows a person to send E-mail across the world in mere fractions of a second, and allows a common person to access wealths of information worldwide. This newfound global network, originally called Arconet, was developed and funded solely by and for the U.S. government. It was to be used in the event of a nuclear attack in order to keep communications lines open across the country by rerouting information through different servers across the country. Does this mean that the government owns the Internet, or is it no longer a tool limited by the powers that govern. Generalities such as these have sparked great debates within our nation's government. This paper will attempt to focus on two high profile ethical aspects concerning the Internet and its usage. These subjects are Internet privacy and Internet censorship. At the moment, the Internet is epitome of our first amendment, free speech. It is a place where a person can speak their mind without being reprimanded for what they say or how they choose to say it. But also contained on the Internet, are a huge collection of obscene graphics, Anarchists' cookbooks, and countless other things that offend many people. There are over 30 million Internet surfers in the U.S. alone, and much is to be said about what offends whom and how. As with many new technologies, today's laws don't apply well when it comes to the Internet. Is the Internet like a bookstore, where servers can not be expected to review every title? Is it like a phone company who must ignore what it carries because of privacy; or is it like a broadcast medium, where the government monitors what is broadcast? The problem we are facing today is that the Internet can be all or none of the above depending on how it is used. Internet censorship, what does it mean? Is it possible to censor a... ...m for our mind's thoughts will fade away. We must regulate ourselves as not to force the government to regulate us. If encryption is allowed to catch on, there will no longer be a need for the government to intervene on the Internet, and the biggest problem may work itself out. As a whole, we all need to rethink our approach to censorship and encryption and allow the Internet to continue to grow and mature. Works Cited Compiled Texts. University of Miami. Miami, Florida. http://www.law.miami.edu/c6.html. Lehrer, Dan. "The Secret Shares: Clipper Chips and Cyberpunks." The Nation. Oct. 10, 1994, 376-379. Messmer, Ellen. "Fighting for Justice on the New Frontier." Network World. CD-ROM database. Jan. 11, 1993. Messmer, Ellen "Policing Cyberspace." U.S. News & World Report. Jan. 23, 1995, 55-60. Webcrawler Search Results. Webcrawler. Query: Internet, censorship, and ethics. March 12, 1997. Zimmerman, Phil. Pretty Good Privacy v2.62, Online. Ftp://net-dist.mit.edu Directory: /pub/pgp/dist/pgp262dc.zip.

Evaluation Paper on People with Disabilities

? Why it is important to believe in change for individuals with disabilities in today’s community. (Hader)Developmental Services, Inc. is a nonprofit agency established in 1975 to help children and adults with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities reach their greatest potential at home, work and in the community. DSI provides early intervention services as well as job training and job placement, independent and group living, life skills training, respite care and family support. DSI currently provides service to individuals in 27 South Central Indiana counties. DSIs Web-Site Article) Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and dignity. There are several reasons for choosing to work for or use DSI as a service provider for a loved one. The staffs are trained with specialists that have a vast amount of knowledge about working with people with disabilities. The people that DSI provides for are often in need of local support, obtaining a job, or to give a family membe r a chance away from home knowing that there loved is in the best hands possible. There are many services available for families to choose from at DSI. Weather the situation calls for a job placement or a full time service staff DSI can help individuals with disabilities in many ways. The staffs go through vigorous training before being placed on the job. The training never really ends as doctors and specialists find new and exciting ways to better life for individuals with disabilities, or special needs. When placed with DSI the individual with needs becomes a client and has their very own staff people, or staff person. Every effort is made to insure the client and family’s needs are met. There are many services that DSI can do that help make lives better, and families happier in life. Weather it is a short period of time or a family has made a decision to have an individual live in a twenty four hour group home DSI can provide the daily life style everyone has. We encourage people with disabilities to have many activities, obtain a job or volunteer, and be a versatile part of the community as anyone else would be. Since DSI is a non-for profit organization many services are ordered through a doctor’s order. Families can receive this with a regular visit, or they may need to visit a specialist where tests are ordered. When an individual with disabilities comes to DSI there is also an orientation type visit where the family helps to decide which services would be the best for the individual. The staffs meet with the families to tell what experience they have with people with disabilities and see if the family would like to have that particular staff care for the individual. Staffs are trained in blood borne pathogens, and are responsible for providing support in the homes during all hours that residents or clients are present. This ensures the residents of group homes receive the training they need to be as independent as possible. Staff also assists the residents with meal preparation, housework, laundry, good hygiene and recreation activities. Other members of the team include a QMRP (Qualified Mental Retardation Professional), registered nurse along with social workers. Along with the doctors the team effort that DSI provides ensures the client gets into the community and has life skills needed to be a functioning part of society, and thrive in their own lives. Events are held to help raise money in the community to help support the many people with financial needs. There are over 31 companies located in Indiana that bring work to clients of DSI. This is an essential need for everyone including any individual with disabilities to be able to earn an income. For a person with a disability to have a job and earn a pay check every week makes them know how important they are, and bring joy to their life. The money they earn goes back into the community and provides opportunities to learn and grow. When a client gets a pay check, they then get the opportunity to go to the bank and cash it. This builds life skills threw doing and acting as a part in the community. After the check is cashed then the individual gets to spend their money, and who doesn’t like to go buy something you want or need. There are many events held to help clients learn life skills, and daily living skills as well. Our responsibility to the client as staff is to make every learning opportunity and life experience available as it would be to anyone else in the community. The support that DSI provides to people with disabilities is always growing along with the need of good trained staff. Being a non for profit company means many people depend on the state being able to help with financial needs of the individuals receiving services. There are fundraisers held every year to help raise funds, and keep DSI going. The DSI Company has been in business for over 30 years along with over 130 outside company’s providing stable and good employment for those with disabilities. DSI has helped hundreds of families with special needs and support. With the DSI company being an accentual need in every community DSI will only to continue to grow and help support thriving families for years to come. At this time we serve over 30 counties in Indiana. We expect to grow larger every year with the support of the community, and the ever growing demand of services that we provide. Hader, Bill. â€Å"DSI. org. † 18 Jan 2009. DSI. org. March 2010 .

Why are some acts (like sex or killing) considered by others as clean and by some as unclean?

Based on human history, it can be observed that sex and aggression have become very normal part of human life. Procreation involves sex with the objective of creating another life and to continue the existence of men (Casad 1). It is also seen as an act of pleasure and a way of showing affection. However, the sexual act done within particular context will be considered unacceptable or even unclean. Based on the theories of Sigmund Freud, sex and aggression is embedded in the nature of man (Stafford-Clark 1973). In this manner, the notion of killing also becomes a vital part of human nature.Although we are aware that death is the ultimate end of the physical body, death because of killing stirs up moral issues. In these regard, it is very important to ponder on the true nature of sex and aggression. Prostitution is considered one of the longest running professions in the world (Liberator 2005). However, it is also considered one of the main problems of society wherein people of both s exes and all ages are involved and exploited. The fact that these people are exploited and exposed in different kinds of diseases and other problems causes it to be considered unclean.Mary Douglas (1966) also points out the exchange of sexual fluid during intercourse wherein she says â€Å"each sex is a danger to the other through contact with sexual fluids†. In this regard, we are aware that direct sexual contact may pose great harm to the health through sexually transmitted diseases, making it what Douglas calls bodily pollution. In the context of prostitution, sex is also considered unclean because there are no emotional ties between the sex provider and the patron. Also in this case, sex becomes the service being traded for money.Based on the question raised regarding cleanliness, it is said that there is still the clean notion of sex. This is if sexual acts are done within the bond of matrimony or other emotional commitment. In this context, there is the involvement of l ove and the goal of procreation which makes the act clean. Because the sexual union of male and female becomes a â€Å"collaboration and distinctiveness of social units† the act becomes cleaner. Also, this suggests that physical sex is considered less clean than emotional sex or sex done for procreation.Deviation from the normal notion of sex is also considered unclean like people vowed to celibacy suddenly involves in a sexual act or people having extramarital affairs. Animals are known to kill for survival while man also kills for fun (Kemp 1997). Aggression as a part of human nature is also considered a mode for survival. Killing for survival has been a source of the notion of uncleanness. Douglas (1966, 16) quotes â€Å"the ideas of survivals are used to account for irrational rules of uncleanness†.This suggests that other than the fact that killing is morally unclean the savage use of killing for survival is also considered unclean. In the primitive context, Dougl as notes that there is â€Å"no clear distinction between sanctity and uncleanness† (Douglas 1966, 9). This is true for other later acts of killing for sacrifices or other divine purposes. In the present context, although there are still some isolated cases of killing for sacrificial offerings for their divine Gods, killing is just considered immoral and unclean.At this point, it can be considered that there is a clear realization of the disparity between holiness and impurity. This is also considered true because the primitive purpose of killing for religion is slowly fading. Usual reasons for killing and aggression have been rooted on man’s self-centeredness, personal objectives and goals. The two sections on sex and aggression show the other half of Douglas compounding of dirt â€Å"care for hygiene and respect for conventions† (Douglas 1966, 8). Although not explicitly stated in the text, there is always the inclusion of the issue of morality especially if s een in today’s context.

Child Protective Services

CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES REFORM 1 INTRODUCTION Child Protective Services (CPS) is a complex system of assessments, investigations, and conclusions. CPS is the central agency in each communities child abuse and neglect service system. It is responsible for ensuring that preventative, investigative, and treatment services are available to children and families endangered by child abuse and neglect. As a result, CPS workers must perform a variety of functions when responding to situations of child maltreatment and play a variety of roles throughout their involvement with child protective clients.Reporting a suspective case of child maltreatment to the local CPS agency (or a family member’s own request for help with the problem) initiates the CPS response process. Once the intake is completed, an investigative process is done, and then the initial assessments and services planning processes are completed. Then the stage is set for implementation of ongoing services(Schene)(1). Th is description of the process of child protective services sounds acceptable and workable. However, an increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases have presented themselves in recent years.According to Jane Waldfogel, a writer for Child Welfare, about three million children were reported to the CPS in 1997, a more than fourfold increase over the number reported just 20 years earlier. In our society today, with increased violence and agitation the number has risen dramatically again. SHE ALSO 2 stated that caseloads of child protection workers increased dramatically in response to widespread concerns about CSA (child sexual abuse)(Waldfogel)(2). The number of children coming into the child welfare system remain at unacceptably high levels because of substance abuse, poverty, joblessness, housing, and other social problems.This increasingly high number of reports turning into caseloads for social workers has combated the effectiveness of the above CPS process. The average socia l worker handles approximately 135 cases. The high number of caseloads per social worker ratio is driving down the original intended purpose of CPS. There is also the issue regarding gaps of protection for the children. Twenty-five to fifty percent of deaths from child abuse involve children who were previously reported to authorities for suspected maltreatment.Tens of thousands of other children suffer serious injuries while under the supervision of CPS (Besharov)(3). At the same time, overreaction to complaints of abuse plagues the system. Children have been removed from parental custody and placed in foster care for weeks and months based on the most cursory investigations. Sometimes the children were removed on the basis of unvalidated complaints. Many courts have begun to find that when CPS employees fail to do their jobs well, the agencies and the employees may be liable for resulting injuries.There have been some setbacks though. For example, in 1989, the U. S. Supreme Court held that the failure to protect a child who had been reported to CPS as in danger and who was under the agency’s supervision through home visitation, was not an actionable claim under . 3 sec. 1983 of the Federal Civil Rights Act. The case was DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services(Trial)(4). This history of foster care as child protection is quite recent, expanding into it modern core components as a result of a law passed by Congress in 1961.As the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform (NCCPR)(5) points out in a Child Welfare Timeline on their website (www. nccpr. org), the tension between placing children out of the home and preserving and restoring the family has proven to be the decisive struggle in child protection. As a result of decisions made during the Presidencies of Reagan and the senior Bush, undermining of support for family preservation and strengthening of incentives for foster care placement effectively reversed the trend.The res ult is that as of 2006 there are nearly 600,000 children in foster care nationwide. Statistics are given by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services in annual reports to congress in their Adoption Foster Care Report (AFCARS) (6). According to another report by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Child Abuse and Neglect National Statistics (CANNS)(7), the composition of children in foster care is the result of, 10% sexual abuse, 19% physical abuse, and 63% neglect. The cost of foster care is a staggering $9,400,000,000 annually.It seems apparent that the CPS system is in dire need of reform. Funding for services needs to be completely overhauled. The higher caseload situation is compounded with reduced resources and lack of support for both families and workers. These issues are very important to all of us Americans. These children are our future. 4 We as Americans need to look into what types of reform are needed and have these issues addressed to Congres s. RESEARCH QUESTIONS During my research, I will be conquering questions that are important to this subject.Questions like, â€Å"What types of reforms are currently in place? † â€Å"What type of education does a CPS worker need? † â€Å"How can we ensure expanded voluntary/preventive family support systems are adequately funded for child well-being systems to be put into place? † â€Å"What type of funding should be allocated by the federal government and state government? † â€Å"What type of liability does CPS have for inadequate protection? † â€Å"Which cases really belong with CPS and which ones should be more community- based cases? † METHODS My approach for my research will consist of multiple different facets.I will be using archival information, including both journal articles and books, from the library. I will also be gathering information from various websites that pertain to Child Protective Services. The websites will be both federal and state governmental sites, child protective services reform sites, and psychiatric based perspective on children in protective services. In addition, I will be conducting a personal interview with Mrs. Tammy Houtari LMSW, ACSW, CAADC. Mrs. Houtari is a local social worker who has numerous years of experience working for local human services agencies.Currently, she is an instructor here at Lake Superior State University and also has her own private practice. 5 My hopes are that Mrs. Houtari will be able to enlighten me on many different facets of the social worker and their responsibilities to ensure the safety of children. I will also explore what other researchers have contributed to this issue and what they are currently saying. I will also examine present day statistics involving the funding for protective services. In addition, I will study the current plans for reform and what types of community programs are available to children and their families.Utilizing these v arious methods will provide me with a broad range of information and resources that will aide me in completing my research. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Society’s expectation of the child protection system is that it will keep children safe from serious injury and that it will reach out effectively to all legitimate community concerns for the safety of children. This expectation is not being met with the current system and resources, and it is the standard by which any newly designed communitybased system of child protection should be judged.The bottom line for any system of child protection is that it assures safety for children, not just for those who make it into the system. It is for all those who are at risk in the nation’s communities. Public support for any such system will depend primarily on whether it can assure that safety while simultaneously recognizing and respecting the responsibilities of parents to raise their own children. 6 WORK CITED (1) Patricia A. Schene, PhD, consultant in children and family services and is associated with the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado, Denver.THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN – PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ABUSE AND NEGLECT, VOL. 8 – NO. 1, SPRING 1998. http://www. americanhumane. org/children (2) Jane Waldfogel, BA ME d MPA PhD, professor of social work and public affairs at the Columbia University School of Social Work. http://futureofchildren. org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/19_02_09. pdf (3) Douglas J. Besharov, Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, D. C. and a visiting professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs. See RECOGNIZING CHILD ABUSE: A GUIDE FOR THE CONCERNED (1990). ttp://www. welfareacademy. org (4) DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services Trial. Sec. 1983 of the Federal Civil Rights Act. Http://www. welfareacademy. org (5) National Coalition for Child Protectio n Reform. http://www. nccpr. org 7 (6) U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. The AFCARS Report Availability: http://www. acfhhs. gov/programs/cb/dis/afcars/index. htm (7) Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics distributed by National Clearing House On Child Abuse/Neglect. Http://www. calib. com/nccanch/pubs/factsheets/canstats. com

Perception vs Reality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Perception vs Reality - Essay Example Stakeholders need to be informed of the prevalent circumstances irrespective of the nature of the information (Jackson, 2012). Communicating challenges and successes eliminates the negative perception from the stakeholders. Always maintain strict resource observance: Stakeholders are continuously interested in the resources and confusions arise whenever the project management is not strict as it should be. Anything that seeks to deduct from the resources or affects the distribution of resources should be well documented. There are no little requirements in the management of resources, and that perception should be avoided at all cost. The resource management team should communicate to the stakeholders on the efficient utilization of resources and the documentation requirement to access resources emphasized (Jackson, 2012). The project manager is responsible for the management of the resources and decisions made by the other levels of management should be inclusive. Quality supersedes quantity. Resources should be effectively and efficiently used and allocated accordingly to achieve better performance. In any project, stakeholders desire to have it completed quickly and inexpensively (Jackson, 2012). Perceptions of the management of how the outcome can be quickly achieved arise from executives making unrealistic promises to the stakeholders. In most cases the project has to give to receive; completing projects quickly and inexpensively results to low quality projects. Time for all the projects is a limited resource that should be carefully considered. The stakeholders need to realize that more resources need to be utilized to achieve quick results (Jackson,

Anheuser Busch and Harbin Brewery Group of China Essay

Anheuser Busch and Harbin Brewery Group of China - Essay Example It is because of this fact that no particular local player emerged as the leading national beer producer in the country. The government intervention in the market is not up to that extent as normally considered by outside players. Since the industry experience very small margins and mushrooming of the low cost producers of regional level therefore there is a greater threats of substitutes for AB to enter into the market. As discussed in the case that no international beer brand has been able to make in-roads into Chinese Consumers subtly suggest the level of strong presence of substitutes developed according to the taste buds of the local consumers. The lack of market space for the leading beer brands of the world suggest that the substitutes have strong presence in the market and pose a greater threat. The threats of substitutes are from moderate to High. If the basic use of beer is just to quench the thirst of the consumer than the threats of substitution can be high however since Chinese consumer prefer to have some level of liquor in it therefore the scope of substitutes get bigger as wine and liquor products also become direct substitutes of our products. It has been the strategy of Chinese government to allow the entry into the Chinese Market through the formation of Joint ventures with the local companies in order to help the local players to gain technology and management expertise. Thus the biggest barrier to the entry into the market is the fact that companies looking for making in-roads into the Chinese Markets have to find local players to pair with as they themselves cannot start the sort of Greenfield projects. The current experiences in the Chinese Market suggest that the companies that have brought in foreign capital in the country has been not been able to sustain in the longer run therefore they have to look for the local players to take over their stakes in the

ESSAY of POETRY ANALYSIS Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Of POETRY ANALYSIS - Essay Example Notice how the author subtly uses the word ‘try’ at the beginning of the title. The statement seems more like a gentle plea, a provocation on the part of the author toward victims and people affected by the tragedy (Zagajewski) – signifies how we ought to discover beauty amidst the myriad occurrences, so tragic and mutilating, not only of environments and systems, but also of the fabric of inner harmony. There is an innate optimism and forbearance in the theme of the title. Zagajewski talks about ‘praise’ and not mere tolerance. This implies that there is a need to transcend circumstances, and through transcendence peace is found, no matter how seemingly damaged or ‘mutilated’ the circumstances or environment might seem. There is an allusion to â€Å"June’s ‘long’ days† transporting one to a moment in the past, when there was leisure and a sense of lightheartedness. An almost sensual image is being painted, wherein ‘wild strawberries, drops of wine, the dew’ (Zagajewski) all combine to create an experience of beauty and extravagant indulgence in life’s finer aspects. The tone is turns slightly morose, where there is a reference to â€Å"nettles that methodically overgrow† (Zagajewski) Nettles are flowering plants, but also have stinging hairs on their stems. While the nettle produces something as beautiful as a flower, it also has the hidden potential of killing and destruction. There is an implication here that, the world, no matter how ‘toxic’ is filled with pockets of ‘flowers’ and it is up to us to identify and focus on that which is beautiful in the world. The repetition of the title here has an undertone of an inst ruction. This verse indicates the dualities, the opposites, and the inseparable tragedy in luxury. â€Å"†¦.stylish yachts and ships† (Zagajewski) are images used to either explain themselves in all their opulence, or represent the people in fancy suits and offices in the WTC, just before the 9/11

Operational Amplifiers Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operational Amplifiers - Lab Report Example The slight difference in the measured and calculated values is because of the non-ideal character of an Op-Amp, the connecting wires etc. The moisture component present in the atmosphere, the wiring arrangement of the library, some High Tension (High Voltage) public supply electricity line going around the laboratory also affects the measurements. Sometimes if the connecting wires make a loop then the induction effect also comes in picture. Once again the non-ideal nature of electronic gadgets comes into picture. In fact the inherent resistive component of the power supply too causes some variations in the output parameters. The moisture present in the atmosphere or less than ideal nature of oscilloscope probes too causes variations. The ideal output voltage should be the product of the dc input signal and the amplifier's closed-loop voltage gain. However, the output voltage has an added error component. If the ideal value of output voltage is large with respect to the error component, then we can usually ignore the op amp characteristic that causes it. But if the error component is comparable to or even larger than the ideal value, we must try to minimize the error. The closed loop gain mainly depends upon the external resistors. Op amp characteristics that add error components to the dc output voltage are: When we disconnect the feedback loop (Resistor R), then it is no more 'closed loop gain' for the op amp. There is no negative feedback. And input voltages at oscilloscope terminals are different. The measured values are; Channel1: 3V Channel2: 14V Ans. 8. Now to get a gain of 6 in figure 5 (above), the calculated value of resistance R is; 6 = 1 + (R/10000) i.e. R = 60000-10000 = 50K Measured voltages : . . . . . . Channel1: 3V Channel2: 14.3V Calculated gain : . . . . .6 . . . . . . . . . . . Ans 9. Changing the potentiometer setting to + 2 V, Measured voltages : . . . . Channel1: 2V Channel2: 12V Calculated gain

Aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis in UK Essay

Aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis in UK - Essay Example The UK government has embarked on a number of missions to sustain the financial sector and the overall economy. This paper will focus on the measures taken by the UK government in the aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis to deal with the effects of the external forces on business organizations. In modern times, has been identified that global financial system is an interdependent system between all the countries (Shiller, 2008, p.xi). The current global financial crisis has created instability of economic systems in most countries including UK to such an extent that the UK government has been compelled to intrude into the financial markets in an unprecedented manner. The financial crisis although has not created problems in the UK constitutional system, nevertheless has proved that the constitution lacks flexibility to cope with financial crisis of such mammoth proportions (Black, 2010, p.1). The crisis has shown that the government has to face legal barriers arising from various u nanticipated sources. The European Union (EU) has a rule imposed on state aid which gives more power to the EU Commission than the Westminster parliament to decide the fate of taxpayers’ money. Moreover, various corporate and financial norms restrict the management capacity of the UK government of investments in the banks (Black, 2010, p.2). UK has â€Å"globally very active financial services industry with cutting edge financial innovation† (Williams, 2011, p.41). Previously, the UK government had a â€Å"tripartite† regulatory system which allowed the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Treasury to contribute towards maintaining economic progress in the country. However, the government felt that this system failed in three ways – a) it failed to assess any troubles that hinder economic progress, b) it could not assess appropriate steps to tackle such hindrances, and c) it failed to act effectively at the onset of the crisis ( Giudice et al., 2012, p.17). The effects of the global financial crisis first created waves in August 2007 and were enhanced throughout 2008. The impact of the crisis reached its peak in September/October 2008. Several financial institutes were rescued like the Northern Rock in UK. However, it was not before late 2008 that any major fiscal and monetary policies were established as response to the crisis. Most of the policies were put into practice only after the fall of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. Even in March 2008, the Treasury claimed that the government is duly abiding by all fiscal regulations and economy is stable. This indifferent perception was changed as a result of the events that occurred in September/October 2008. A reduction was made for a temporary period in VAT from 17.5 percent to 15 percent. In the end of 2009, it was brought back to the original rate. Moreover, the government made provision of ?3 billion for capital spending. In the beginning of the global c risis, the approximate valuation of public sector net borrowing (PSBR) was increased by 2.4 percent of GDP to 5.3 percent. Out of this, 0.6 percent was used for â€Å"discretionary budget changes† (Sawyer, 2011, p.206). In a wider context, the UK government has made plans and policies in response to the economic crisis with three main goals. First, the UK government has provided capital support to banks to reinforce their balance sheets. Secondly, the government has taken steps to enhance the competence of banks so that

My Passion and Pet Peeve Essay Example for Free

My Passion and Pet Peeve Essay Life is like a movie. People play their respective roles each day. This world is a theater and we are regarded as protagonist and antagonist on different ways. I tend to compare life to movies because watching films has become one of my greatest passions in life. On the other hand I consider bad and reckless driver in LA as my pet peeve since I view them as villains of this world. My passion for movies started when I was young. I use to go to movie houses together with family and friends. I cannot last a day without watching any movie ma it be old or new. I gain lessons and information from it and can put it into application. I also discover things and became more aware of the different personalities that each individual possesses. As my aforementioned statement we are the lead actors and actresses of our own movie and it is up to us how we can make a happy ending. Globalization is elsewhere and part of it is the invention of automobiles. Talking about cars and other vehicles with wheels, it easily annoys me whenever I saw and hear news about reckless drivers especially if it happens in Los Angeles. It is one of America’s biggest cities and I hate the fact that they are not putting focus in driving. I consider reckless drivers as criminals which I have seen on movies. They are unmindful of their actions and only care about themselves. It is not a joyride after all if you are causing trouble on other people. We are all given the freedom to choose what is best for us. Watching movies and driving cars can both be entertaining. But then it depends upon the person who is doing it. I am passionate about movies because I can put myself on the shoes of the character I like most and learn more about life. On the other hand every time I pass by the streets of Los Angeles and see reckless driving, my hormones rages and wanted to curse my greatest pet peeve: reckless drivers. They abuse the rights given to them and may end one’s life like a tragic movie.

Business Plan for Record Label

Business Plan for Record Label Business Planning Introduction to unit eight coursework In this unit, I have the opportunity to structure a business plan for a business proposal, which I will have the opportunity to create. For this segment of the assignment, I will clarify the main activities of the business, in addition to its aims and objectives. The assignment will also be focusing on the marketing and financial planning of my chosen business, notwithstanding, the operations and financial planning of the proposed business proposal. At the end of it all, I will be evaluating my business and its viability. However, to start a business I will need a business plan. A business plan is essentially a plan of a business that is to be set up; this is usually a written piece of statement about the business (think of it as a blueprint). This is a useful document to have because; firstly, it outlines the business itself and outlines what the business is essentially about, and secondly, it allows the owner/manager of the business to work towards the success of the business by spotting and avoiding failures. In general, a business plan will have the following statements; what the business is all about (i.e. the nature of the business), the aims and objectives of the business (What they hope to achieve and expect in the future) and how the individual plans and will o about creating the business. This can be illustrated in a majority of ways however; a financial planning of the first six months or perhaps even a year would be ideal or information about how the investments are to be raised for the business. A business plan is a very indispensable piece of document to have if someone is considering starting their own business, this is because a business plan outlines/predicts what the business will be like after setting up that gives a clear understanding of how the aims and objective are to be obtained as well as defining them. Furthermore, a business plan will also help to plot any pitfall along the way, i.e. a detailed cash flow of a businesss first six months will be able to suggest if the business will have a higher cost when compared with the profit they make, even before the business has started, and this can prevent major loss of profitability. Not only does a business plan outlines and spots major flaws in the business, but many businesses and entrepreneurs use it as a source of motivation; a backdrop to compare their current performance against. Further adding more, a business plan would be beneficial to establish or to re-evaluate the businesss competitive position within the market place by conducting a thorough analysis of the competition. This would involve finding out the strengths and weaknesses of the competition and how the business can be taken advantage of. In conclusion, as mentioned above, a business plan is important for a business because it helps to clarify the vision of the business and decide whether to forge ahead with the idea. Without a business plan, it would be very difficult to convince external investors to invest the business. Not only that, a business plan will also help the business determine their target market that they want to aim their product at, which is always useful to know. The Business Proposal For my chosen business proposal, I have decided to create a music label, and have named it P.K. Media. Generally, the term â€Å"Record label† is something that is associated with the music industry. A Record label is a brand and a trademark, which is associated with the procedure of marketing and distributing musical recordings and music videos of their signed artists. A record label is also the company that manages the artists/bands and coordinates, manufactures, promotes and distributes their productions i.e. music/videos. Record labels are also responsible for the enforcement of copyright protection on the media that they distribute such as CDs and DVDs, so that their content (such as music), cannot be copied and sold as pirated versions of their work to the customers by other individuals. The business I intend to propose will primarily focus on the production and the promotion of the music of its artists/bands in the local area, the Midlands. The reason for this is that there is a much lower cost of setting up a music label for the local area as there are less promotional activities which the label would have to finance and carry out, thus reducing the start up cost of the business compared to if it was a nationwide business. The main services/products that P.K. Media will provide to its consumers and music acts are as follow: * Music sold using online services such as iTunes and the business website. Some music will be available for free download as a promotional activity. * Provide live performances by its artists and bands as a secondary service. o Commissions from artist will be charged on this, depending the amount of tickets sold by the act. * Offer promotional services for unsigned artist and band acts and charge commission depending on their popularity, music sold, the amount of record deal they receive etc. o Free promotional services will also be available for unsigned artists on the businesss website for uploading their work to display to the internet audiences. o Manufacturing CDs and DVDs will also be available for artists wishing to use for promotional use, however it is highly likely that there will be a fixed cost for this service. * Record deals will be available for artists; majority of the aforementioned services will available with this, as the business will undertake the sole responsibility for the promotion, distribution, production and the sales of the artist/bands music signed to P.K. Media. * Recording facilities and personnel will be available to customers who wish to record their own music that will be mixed by a professional studio engineer. Customers will be charged on an hourly basis or perhaps special offers upon depending upon how much music they wish to record. Live performance are a good way of raising additional profit other than selling CDs because with live performances, My business can charge commission from the local pubs/bars to supply the live performances with beverages, as a result the pubs and bars will also get some promotion of their products and services which will benefit their businesses as well. Furthermore, the business will also be able to make profit through selling tickets for the live performances. The location of this business will be varied and may not be based in a single location, the reason being that if my business is organising the performances, then it will have to be located at the performances to manage the bands and other aspects of the performance i.e. selling the tickets. However, P.K. Media will need facilities to record the band/artists music and venues for live performances, for this it will be a necessity to have access to a recording studio and to be able to rent a venue in the local area. Having acce ss to a studio can be done in a number of ways such as renting a recording studio in the local area or purchasing the equipment and setting up the recording studio at home or other location, such as a youth centre or other rented location like flats or houses. The cost of the musical equipment such as; mixing boards, computers, mics, instruments, audio processing hardware and sound proofing the location can add up to a significant amount and as a new business the cost of starting up should be kept at a minimum. Ultimately, a more convenient option would be to rent a recording studio, which is pre-provided with all the equipment needed (as described above). Another issue which may arise would be that if my business had to purchase the musical equipment I would have to purchase the low-end equipment as the high-end (studio quality) equipment can cost thousands and upwards and as a small independent music label there would be limitations for the finance. In addition, the low-end equipm ent could also reduce the quality of the recording, and as a record label that will not be beneficial for the artists because consumers would not want to purchase bad quality products especially if the product is aimed at entertainment purposes. Imagine listening to ones favourite song with hissing noisiest, crackle and static noises, it would not be pleasant to listen to which is why quality of the audio is a substantial element of a record label. Reason for choice of business? The idea of a record label interested me because; with a record label, there is no need to purchase stock; it is a service-based business, which means that a record label does not have to manufacture or purchase anything other than to sign the artist and record CDs. A record label is basically, the intermediate service between audiences/customers and the artist. In essence, while the artist makes the product, the record label simply delivers it to the customers, almost like an intermediary. Another thing which seemed interesting is that the possibility of a sole ownership of the business. Since a record label is a service-based business, it is not necessary to have partners (as with any other businesses). It can be set-up with a moderately low cost, which mean that there is no need to invite external investors to invest in the business and hold a percentage of shares in the business, leaving room for more creative control over the business. Personal interest is another factor that may have influenced my choice to pick a record label for a business proposal. Unqualified amateur musician myself, I find that music is the greatest past time for all ages which is why I liked the idea of providing people with good quality of music to listen to which is easily accessible and is at moderately low price. Overall, I believe that a record label should be a viable business proposal for this assignment because like many businesses it requires marketing strategies, target consumers and a product. A further consideration is that almost everyone listens to music (to some extent) whether it is purchased from store or downloaded from the web and it is because of this that music is considered as one of the major immersed art form, which hints of a profitable market sector. What are Aims and Objectives? It is imperative for a business to have a basic requirement and have clear aims and objectives in order to prosper and move forward in their field. Aims and objectives are frequently used together to set/represent a certain achievement which is why they can often be mistaken to having similar meaning, however, they have a significant different to each other. Aims, to summarise, are essentially a brief statement, which majority of the time are short sentences; for instance, ‘maximise profit or ‘increase customer growth. Aims are most commonly use to identify the overall target of a business, states their intentions, and what they hope to achieve in the future of the business. On a different note, objectives are more complex and ‘to the point than aims. Objectives, unlike aims, are more detailed and can be longer depending on the objective itself. For example, if a company wanted to increase their market, they could set themselves and objective of ‘increase employee productivity by 20%, within in the next six months. As you can see, an objective is more complex, and more detailed. Furthermore, the detail in objectives tends to be numerical details such as specific dates, time frame, percentages etc. This is because objectives are a follow-up of aims. An objective is set merely set to accomplish or to achieve an aim. To illustrate, if a businesss aim is to ‘maximise profit, then they may decide to set themselves the objective of ‘increase sales from 15.7% to 20%, within six months period. By increasing the sales of the business from 15.7% to 20%, a business can ensure that they are retaining their customers and increasing their profi t within six months. However, some businesses may decide to have a sub-objective to this which could be something like ‘increase employee productivity by 2% in 30 days, to ensure that the business is getting the most out of their employees. This also proves the fact that individuals who either own the business or are in charge of the business are the ones who normally make aims. They may decide that their business should be making more profit so they pass it down to the managers who would look at it and perhaps add more detail to it, and as aims are passed down from person to person they become more detailed and complex, thus being objectives. There are a numerous reason as to why a business should set itself aims and objective;, the most obvious one would be that aims and objectives sets a goal for the business and gives some a target to work for, for many businesses this is a good source of motivation. Aims and objectives can also help a business realise their progress because aims and objective provide a backdrop for achievement in which a business can compare their current or previous progress with their aims or objective and calculate what is required to be done in order to meet those targets they have set for themselves. A controversial use of aims and objectives is to use them as a publicity device, in unit one, I had to investigate Tesco as a business and what I found was that Tesco had use their objectives as a publicity device by having economical objectives such as ‘reduce carbon footprints to gain good publicity from the media and their customers. Nevertheless, businesses have to be careful how they use or establish their aims and objectives because if they set objectives for their employees which are not applicable or achievable for the business then the business could face some pitfalls. The employees may feel under-pressure/ stressful and could de-motivate them which would evidently lead to a low productivity rate and could in some circumstances affect the businesss income. S.M.A.R.T Targets SMART targets or sometimes called SMART Objectives, are considered to be a sub-division of objectives, SMART targets are a method to ensure that the objectives which are set by a company are actually achievable by the business and the employees; it is a method of measuring the credibility of an objective which has been set. SMART is an acronym that stands for: Specific objectives, which are set, need to be specific and state exactly what the business wants to achieve. The reason an objective needs to be specific is because the manager/supervisor and the employee need to know what is expected of them and perhaps the time frame if that is applicable. Measurable most often, when objectives are set they need to be able to measure how much an individuals or a business have progressed towards those targets. Measuring a target is often very crucial towards the success of achieving that target because by measuring a target, businesses can estimate how much work is underway and how much additional effort needs to be exerted in order to achieve certain objectives. Achievable when objectives are set, one of the major issues, which a business must realise is that the target is achievable for the business. The business needs to think about; whether they have the required skills, recourses, investments, tools, human recourses etc. If the objectives are unrealistic or not achievable by the business then (as mentioned above) it can affect the productivity of employee and de-motivate them, and low productivity would surely affect the businesses activities and profits. Realistic or relevant objectives should also be relevant to the businesses aims. For example, if a business wants to increase market share, it would be irrelevant for them to set the target eliminate competitors products from the market; it would be very unrealistic. An objective needs to be relevant, they need to be something, which the business can take an action upon or have access to. Timely normally, when objectives are set, they have a timescale such as ‘increase the growth and the market share of the business by 2010. Setting timescale within an objective is beneficial as it gives a business a deadline as t when the objective needs to be achieved by, so the business can move onto their other objectives, which needs to be completed towards their aims. Aims for my business Just like any other modern businesses, my business needs to have aims and objectives, which it should be able to accomplish. Setting aims and objectives will help determine investors as well as myself the main goals of my business, and along the way, it could also help my business spot the potential target market hic hi should aim my business at in order to achieve some of businesss targets. ‘Minimise costs and increase potential profit. One of the major aims of my business would be to minimise the costs of the business, which goes into the production of the products (i.e. music albums and singles) and therefore must be kept at a minimum range. The reason behind this is that, if I were to start the business as a sole trader, there would be a limited amount of investments, which I could have access to and since my business is a record label there arent any need of purchasing any kind of stock or manufacturing materials in the sense of hard labour. As a newly set up business, it would be most advantageous to reduce the cost of the business to reduce the chances of getting into a cash flow problem such as over-budgeting or not having enough sales of the product where the costs would out-weigh the profit. It is because of this issue that leads to many businesses failing within the first year because they run into cash flow problem such as these; however, a good cash f low analysis should be able to determine any issue such as these that may arise. As well as reducing costs, my business also needs to be considering maximising its profits because without profit there will be no business to operate. Maximising profit is a necessity for any business, because it is what influences/motivates their day-to-day operations and their employees, without profit a business would not have the funding to employ employees or rent premises or other necessities. Furthermore, another crucial reason for a good profit for a business is that if a business is backed-up by inventors then the business (Owner) needs to prove to the investors that the business is worthwhile investing in because if the business starts to show a decline in profits then the investors are going to be the first ones who will back-out from the investments because they will not to make a loss themselves. As a summary, if there is no profit, there is no business. In my businesss quest to maximise profit; there could be a number of challenges/issues that could affect my business achieving the aim of ‘Minimise costs and increase potential profit, and the following explains; One of the most significant issues that my record label business would have to deal with is the recession, which was caused by the financial crisis during the year 2007 and the year 2009. The financial crisis was the reduction in the availability of loans (credit) and to some extent; tightening of the condition required to obtain a loan from the banks, this evolved into the interest rates being incredibly high. The definite caused behind the credit crisis is highly doubtable, however, one reason might be that UK bought many mortgage debts from the U.S. (this might have been directly or indirectly) therefore when U.S. mortgage default rose, preponderance of the UK banks lost money. Because interest rates rose dramatically, many individuals in the population had to pay more for their loans and mortgages, which meant that individuals and many businesses had less disposable cash to spare and consequently, many businesses found themselves being either bankrupt or making employees redundan t to prevent bankruptcy. The reason why I believe that the recession may affect my business is because many individuals are un-employed, which means that they may be on some sort of limited income (either through council or jobseekers allowance). Ultimately, this would mean that many individuals would have less disposable income to spend on CDs and DVDs for personal entertainment and if my business is not selling many products, it will be in a high risk of having very high costs that could out-number the total sales of the business. This could put my business in a potential risk of being bankrupt, as you can see from fig.1, it is estimated that the recession will only get worse. In contrast, the recession may not be disastrously bad for my business. The reason behind this would be that because of the recession more people would be un-employed and have a whole lot of spare time on their hands as less people would be working nine to five shifts, this would mean that individuals would be looking for activities to pass their time. This could mean that people will be more reliant upon entrainment such as the cinemas, movies, theatre, music etc. This could potentially excel my business because more individuals would be interested and looking to escape from reality through the financial crisis, similarly to people who went through the Great Depression in the United States during 1929, which saw the rise of movie sales. To conclude, the recession is something that is known as an external factor, which no business has a control over. The recession could have a big impact on my business; however this factor could prove to be advantageous for my business as mentioned earlier, there are a lot more people with more spare time on their hands, and as a result they will be looking for something to entertain themselves and if marketing is done correctly for the business, it will prove to be beneficial. As one can see above, regardless of the recession and the credit crisis that started in 2007, the sales of digital music increased dramatically through the years and the digital music industry is more profitable than ever in the US with industry profit of 2.9 Billion dollars, a 15% from 2004 which was only 0.4 billion profit being made. One of the major issues that my business will have to confront other than the recent financial crisis is the piracy of music through the internet. In essence, music piracy the violation of copyright infringement (copyright), this means the unauthorised use of materials that is covered by the copyright law. For electronic and audio-visual media, this is normally referred to as piracy. Piracy is a factor that could have the biggest impact at my businesss aim to ‘Minimise costs and increase potential profit. As one can see in the article opposite, the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) has predicted that music piracy has risen by thirty-six percent, which has cost the UK music industry twenty-six million pounds, which is a tremendous amount of load-sum. Music piracy is a factor which could directly affect my business because if my business released a single which was popular (Music hit) then the probability is that a lot of customers will be reluctant to purchase the single or the album in order to save money and they would perhaps download the product through an illegal download website or through the use of torrents (which is a peer-to-peer download service provided free from the internet). This is the most likely event to occur because as mentioned previously, the recession has left a lot of people un-employed which means that they may have a very low inco me and have limited amount of disposable cash to spend on entertainment. Because a lot of my businesss target consumers will be getting my product (music) through the internet without pay for it, this could result in my business have a major decline in profit because although the products my business offer may be very popular amongst the target consumers but because they are not paying for the goods my business will have no way in which they can financially benefit from. Many of the bi names in the record label business like ‘Universal Music or the ‘Sony BMG group do tend to copyright the CDs and DVDs that they manufacture and distribute, however, recent technological development has given an regular computer user to copy content from these copyrighted disks (using free software from the internet) from a single click of a button, and if that individual uploads the content of the disk to the internet then the content of that disk will be exposed to thousands if not millio ns of users on the internet which is why the modern music industry is suffering from million of pounds and dollars of damage from piracy and it is very unfortunate for my business as there is no method to battle the rising issue of music piracy because if my businesss products were copyrighted, many consumers or users will be able to find a way to copy content. In addition, copyrighting thousands of disks would prove to be a very costly task and evidently, this will prevent my business in achieving my aim to ‘Minimise costs and increase potential profit. However, not all is tenebrous, my business could still prevail if it turned to a more digitals means to provide the products to the customers, such means could be; having free web player on the businesss website to play the hit singles; free selected music downloads of popular songs; and most importantly selling products through the internet. Most of these solutions would eliminate the cost of producing CDs because a lot of teenagers nowadays are using things like their mobile phones, mp3 players and devices such as the iPod for playback of their music. If the popular products of my business (songs) are being provided free from the companys own website, then the business will have more exposure from the public, which, in the end, could work out to be beneficial. As the businesss website generates more viewers, the chances are internet companies like Google; YouTube; Amazon etc. who will want to advertise their services on my businesss website, which the business could generate some i ncome from as well as gaining public interest and recognition as business. Music piracy most definitely will affect my business and the corporate aim to ‘Minimise costs and maximise potential profit. Internet nowadays is available to almost every house, office and schools/college in the country that millions of people have access too, and the internet is too big to have control over. Nevertheless, good marketing and internet advertisement may fill in the lacunae of profit that may be lost due to music piracy. ‘Increase/attain good public relations with the local community and customers. In my opinion, good public relations with customers should be an imperative aim for abounding businesses. After all, businesses depend on their customers satisfaction and support by which if they did not have good relationship with customers then it will be highly likely that the business will not be able to retain their customers. This issue could lead to a decline in their profit margins or worse gain an incredible amount of bad publicity or a bad reputation as a whole. A record label is not a publicly noticeable business because a record labels product is what gains notoriety as publicity rather than a business as coherent whole. This is because customers are mainly attracted to the stars and the music they make rather than the service that provides them the service. This can be beneficial or a drawback, consider which way one looks at it. From my personal perspective, it is a benefit because it means that my business will not be in the public eye and will not attract major interest if my business were have an issue, this could be a number of things like mistakes (which a lot of businesses make) or redundancy of a major band or artist etc. So in order to gain good public relations with the local community and customers will be a very laborious task to conduct. Nevertheless, with dubious tasks, there are always strategies, and my main strategy to in achieve this aim to ‘Increase/attain good public relations with the local community and customers, will be to organise youth activities and perhaps cultural events, the next page will explain this. As one can see in 4 (Next page), an extract from BBC news website, the level of youth crime has increased dramatically over the past decade in the United Kingdom. Teenage knife crime has increased so much that law enforcements had to enforce harsh laws upon teenage delinquents in order to keep crime at a minimum. The articles below states that boys from the age of eleven to eighteen are likely the ones to be carrying knifes, and are the most likely culprits in the rise of such crimes. The article also states that most of these young offenders have been; excluded, dropped out of school or have already had been given time to serve under law custody. So ultimately, these are the age groups which are been targeted by the law to tackle such crimes. How does this issue help my business to achieve good customer relationship one may wonder? Well to start with, teens that have been expelled, excluded, dropped out etc. from school have nothing to do other than wonder around with friends on the streets and cause trouble to the society and the individuals in the local community. This leads me to believe that, organising local youth music activities and providing creative services such as recording facilities and musical guidance for youths free of charge may be a very beneficial factor not only for my business but also to the local community. Having to organise such events for young people will be very beneficial to a majority of people youths, local community and my business. This is because firstly, by providing youths will free services and activities will encourage them to stay off the streets and be passionate and involved in something creative for their time, and secondly, by having lees teens on the streets in the local community will prevent crime and hopefully reduce the crime rate locally, so older generation who may be intimidated by teens will feel much more safer. Personally, I believe that teens only resort to crime as a recreational activity as well as to gain attention to themselves; this is only an opinion of course. However, by giving teens, facilities to be in and express themselves artistically through music may help to make a productive use of their time; also, it could be a place where teens can get attention that they desire from other like friends, other social groups or even the community. Knife sentencing not effective A selection of knives found by police The study found young people were living in constant fear of attack Longer jail terms are not an effective way of persuading teenagers to stop carrying knives, research suggests. Pentonville Prison governor Nicola Marfleet interviewed 14 to 17-year-olds who had either been excluded from school or were serving time in custody. She found most believed tough sentences were only meant to scare them, and they were more likely to be tagged. The Home Office said the government was using a combination of deterrence and education to tackle the problem. Rival gangs The study found that some boys were carrying knives from the age of 11. Ms Marfleet concluded that knife-crime prevention work must be targeted at this age group in order to be effective. She interviewed about 24 boys in focus groups at pupil referral units in Hackney and Haringey, north London, and four boys one-to-one at Feltham Young Offender Institution in west London Possession of a knife carries a maximum jail term of four years, but most of the teenagers did not believe they would receive such a harsh punishment. Two of those interviewed said that regardless of the possible penalty, they would not stop carrying a knife because they needed one for protection. Almost all of the teenagers said they could not rely on par Business Plan for Record Label Business Plan for Record Label Business Planning Introduction to unit eight coursework In this unit, I have the opportunity to structure a business plan for a business proposal, which I will have the opportunity to create. For this segment of the assignment, I will clarify the main activities of the business, in addition to its aims and objectives. The assignment will also be focusing on the marketing and financial planning of my chosen business, notwithstanding, the operations and financial planning of the proposed business proposal. At the end of it all, I will be evaluating my business and its viability. However, to start a business I will need a business plan. A business plan is essentially a plan of a business that is to be set up; this is usually a written piece of statement about the business (think of it as a blueprint). This is a useful document to have because; firstly, it outlines the business itself and outlines what the business is essentially about, and secondly, it allows the owner/manager of the business to work towards the success of the business by spotting and avoiding failures. In general, a business plan will have the following statements; what the business is all about (i.e. the nature of the business), the aims and objectives of the business (What they hope to achieve and expect in the future) and how the individual plans and will o about creating the business. This can be illustrated in a majority of ways however; a financial planning of the first six months or perhaps even a year would be ideal or information about how the investments are to be raised for the business. A business plan is a very indispensable piece of document to have if someone is considering starting their own business, this is because a business plan outlines/predicts what the business will be like after setting up that gives a clear understanding of how the aims and objective are to be obtained as well as defining them. Furthermore, a business plan will also help to plot any pitfall along the way, i.e. a detailed cash flow of a businesss first six months will be able to suggest if the business will have a higher cost when compared with the profit they make, even before the business has started, and this can prevent major loss of profitability. Not only does a business plan outlines and spots major flaws in the business, but many businesses and entrepreneurs use it as a source of motivation; a backdrop to compare their current performance against. Further adding more, a business plan would be beneficial to establish or to re-evaluate the businesss competitive position within the market place by conducting a thorough analysis of the competition. This would involve finding out the strengths and weaknesses of the competition and how the business can be taken advantage of. In conclusion, as mentioned above, a business plan is important for a business because it helps to clarify the vision of the business and decide whether to forge ahead with the idea. Without a business plan, it would be very difficult to convince external investors to invest the business. Not only that, a business plan will also help the business determine their target market that they want to aim their product at, which is always useful to know. The Business Proposal For my chosen business proposal, I have decided to create a music label, and have named it P.K. Media. Generally, the term â€Å"Record label† is something that is associated with the music industry. A Record label is a brand and a trademark, which is associated with the procedure of marketing and distributing musical recordings and music videos of their signed artists. A record label is also the company that manages the artists/bands and coordinates, manufactures, promotes and distributes their productions i.e. music/videos. Record labels are also responsible for the enforcement of copyright protection on the media that they distribute such as CDs and DVDs, so that their content (such as music), cannot be copied and sold as pirated versions of their work to the customers by other individuals. The business I intend to propose will primarily focus on the production and the promotion of the music of its artists/bands in the local area, the Midlands. The reason for this is that there is a much lower cost of setting up a music label for the local area as there are less promotional activities which the label would have to finance and carry out, thus reducing the start up cost of the business compared to if it was a nationwide business. The main services/products that P.K. Media will provide to its consumers and music acts are as follow: * Music sold using online services such as iTunes and the business website. Some music will be available for free download as a promotional activity. * Provide live performances by its artists and bands as a secondary service. o Commissions from artist will be charged on this, depending the amount of tickets sold by the act. * Offer promotional services for unsigned artist and band acts and charge commission depending on their popularity, music sold, the amount of record deal they receive etc. o Free promotional services will also be available for unsigned artists on the businesss website for uploading their work to display to the internet audiences. o Manufacturing CDs and DVDs will also be available for artists wishing to use for promotional use, however it is highly likely that there will be a fixed cost for this service. * Record deals will be available for artists; majority of the aforementioned services will available with this, as the business will undertake the sole responsibility for the promotion, distribution, production and the sales of the artist/bands music signed to P.K. Media. * Recording facilities and personnel will be available to customers who wish to record their own music that will be mixed by a professional studio engineer. Customers will be charged on an hourly basis or perhaps special offers upon depending upon how much music they wish to record. Live performance are a good way of raising additional profit other than selling CDs because with live performances, My business can charge commission from the local pubs/bars to supply the live performances with beverages, as a result the pubs and bars will also get some promotion of their products and services which will benefit their businesses as well. Furthermore, the business will also be able to make profit through selling tickets for the live performances. The location of this business will be varied and may not be based in a single location, the reason being that if my business is organising the performances, then it will have to be located at the performances to manage the bands and other aspects of the performance i.e. selling the tickets. However, P.K. Media will need facilities to record the band/artists music and venues for live performances, for this it will be a necessity to have access to a recording studio and to be able to rent a venue in the local area. Having acce ss to a studio can be done in a number of ways such as renting a recording studio in the local area or purchasing the equipment and setting up the recording studio at home or other location, such as a youth centre or other rented location like flats or houses. The cost of the musical equipment such as; mixing boards, computers, mics, instruments, audio processing hardware and sound proofing the location can add up to a significant amount and as a new business the cost of starting up should be kept at a minimum. Ultimately, a more convenient option would be to rent a recording studio, which is pre-provided with all the equipment needed (as described above). Another issue which may arise would be that if my business had to purchase the musical equipment I would have to purchase the low-end equipment as the high-end (studio quality) equipment can cost thousands and upwards and as a small independent music label there would be limitations for the finance. In addition, the low-end equipm ent could also reduce the quality of the recording, and as a record label that will not be beneficial for the artists because consumers would not want to purchase bad quality products especially if the product is aimed at entertainment purposes. Imagine listening to ones favourite song with hissing noisiest, crackle and static noises, it would not be pleasant to listen to which is why quality of the audio is a substantial element of a record label. Reason for choice of business? The idea of a record label interested me because; with a record label, there is no need to purchase stock; it is a service-based business, which means that a record label does not have to manufacture or purchase anything other than to sign the artist and record CDs. A record label is basically, the intermediate service between audiences/customers and the artist. In essence, while the artist makes the product, the record label simply delivers it to the customers, almost like an intermediary. Another thing which seemed interesting is that the possibility of a sole ownership of the business. Since a record label is a service-based business, it is not necessary to have partners (as with any other businesses). It can be set-up with a moderately low cost, which mean that there is no need to invite external investors to invest in the business and hold a percentage of shares in the business, leaving room for more creative control over the business. Personal interest is another factor that may have influenced my choice to pick a record label for a business proposal. Unqualified amateur musician myself, I find that music is the greatest past time for all ages which is why I liked the idea of providing people with good quality of music to listen to which is easily accessible and is at moderately low price. Overall, I believe that a record label should be a viable business proposal for this assignment because like many businesses it requires marketing strategies, target consumers and a product. A further consideration is that almost everyone listens to music (to some extent) whether it is purchased from store or downloaded from the web and it is because of this that music is considered as one of the major immersed art form, which hints of a profitable market sector. What are Aims and Objectives? It is imperative for a business to have a basic requirement and have clear aims and objectives in order to prosper and move forward in their field. Aims and objectives are frequently used together to set/represent a certain achievement which is why they can often be mistaken to having similar meaning, however, they have a significant different to each other. Aims, to summarise, are essentially a brief statement, which majority of the time are short sentences; for instance, ‘maximise profit or ‘increase customer growth. Aims are most commonly use to identify the overall target of a business, states their intentions, and what they hope to achieve in the future of the business. On a different note, objectives are more complex and ‘to the point than aims. Objectives, unlike aims, are more detailed and can be longer depending on the objective itself. For example, if a company wanted to increase their market, they could set themselves and objective of ‘increase employee productivity by 20%, within in the next six months. As you can see, an objective is more complex, and more detailed. Furthermore, the detail in objectives tends to be numerical details such as specific dates, time frame, percentages etc. This is because objectives are a follow-up of aims. An objective is set merely set to accomplish or to achieve an aim. To illustrate, if a businesss aim is to ‘maximise profit, then they may decide to set themselves the objective of ‘increase sales from 15.7% to 20%, within six months period. By increasing the sales of the business from 15.7% to 20%, a business can ensure that they are retaining their customers and increasing their profi t within six months. However, some businesses may decide to have a sub-objective to this which could be something like ‘increase employee productivity by 2% in 30 days, to ensure that the business is getting the most out of their employees. This also proves the fact that individuals who either own the business or are in charge of the business are the ones who normally make aims. They may decide that their business should be making more profit so they pass it down to the managers who would look at it and perhaps add more detail to it, and as aims are passed down from person to person they become more detailed and complex, thus being objectives. There are a numerous reason as to why a business should set itself aims and objective;, the most obvious one would be that aims and objectives sets a goal for the business and gives some a target to work for, for many businesses this is a good source of motivation. Aims and objectives can also help a business realise their progress because aims and objective provide a backdrop for achievement in which a business can compare their current or previous progress with their aims or objective and calculate what is required to be done in order to meet those targets they have set for themselves. A controversial use of aims and objectives is to use them as a publicity device, in unit one, I had to investigate Tesco as a business and what I found was that Tesco had use their objectives as a publicity device by having economical objectives such as ‘reduce carbon footprints to gain good publicity from the media and their customers. Nevertheless, businesses have to be careful how they use or establish their aims and objectives because if they set objectives for their employees which are not applicable or achievable for the business then the business could face some pitfalls. The employees may feel under-pressure/ stressful and could de-motivate them which would evidently lead to a low productivity rate and could in some circumstances affect the businesss income. S.M.A.R.T Targets SMART targets or sometimes called SMART Objectives, are considered to be a sub-division of objectives, SMART targets are a method to ensure that the objectives which are set by a company are actually achievable by the business and the employees; it is a method of measuring the credibility of an objective which has been set. SMART is an acronym that stands for: Specific objectives, which are set, need to be specific and state exactly what the business wants to achieve. The reason an objective needs to be specific is because the manager/supervisor and the employee need to know what is expected of them and perhaps the time frame if that is applicable. Measurable most often, when objectives are set they need to be able to measure how much an individuals or a business have progressed towards those targets. Measuring a target is often very crucial towards the success of achieving that target because by measuring a target, businesses can estimate how much work is underway and how much additional effort needs to be exerted in order to achieve certain objectives. Achievable when objectives are set, one of the major issues, which a business must realise is that the target is achievable for the business. The business needs to think about; whether they have the required skills, recourses, investments, tools, human recourses etc. If the objectives are unrealistic or not achievable by the business then (as mentioned above) it can affect the productivity of employee and de-motivate them, and low productivity would surely affect the businesses activities and profits. Realistic or relevant objectives should also be relevant to the businesses aims. For example, if a business wants to increase market share, it would be irrelevant for them to set the target eliminate competitors products from the market; it would be very unrealistic. An objective needs to be relevant, they need to be something, which the business can take an action upon or have access to. Timely normally, when objectives are set, they have a timescale such as ‘increase the growth and the market share of the business by 2010. Setting timescale within an objective is beneficial as it gives a business a deadline as t when the objective needs to be achieved by, so the business can move onto their other objectives, which needs to be completed towards their aims. Aims for my business Just like any other modern businesses, my business needs to have aims and objectives, which it should be able to accomplish. Setting aims and objectives will help determine investors as well as myself the main goals of my business, and along the way, it could also help my business spot the potential target market hic hi should aim my business at in order to achieve some of businesss targets. ‘Minimise costs and increase potential profit. One of the major aims of my business would be to minimise the costs of the business, which goes into the production of the products (i.e. music albums and singles) and therefore must be kept at a minimum range. The reason behind this is that, if I were to start the business as a sole trader, there would be a limited amount of investments, which I could have access to and since my business is a record label there arent any need of purchasing any kind of stock or manufacturing materials in the sense of hard labour. As a newly set up business, it would be most advantageous to reduce the cost of the business to reduce the chances of getting into a cash flow problem such as over-budgeting or not having enough sales of the product where the costs would out-weigh the profit. It is because of this issue that leads to many businesses failing within the first year because they run into cash flow problem such as these; however, a good cash f low analysis should be able to determine any issue such as these that may arise. As well as reducing costs, my business also needs to be considering maximising its profits because without profit there will be no business to operate. Maximising profit is a necessity for any business, because it is what influences/motivates their day-to-day operations and their employees, without profit a business would not have the funding to employ employees or rent premises or other necessities. Furthermore, another crucial reason for a good profit for a business is that if a business is backed-up by inventors then the business (Owner) needs to prove to the investors that the business is worthwhile investing in because if the business starts to show a decline in profits then the investors are going to be the first ones who will back-out from the investments because they will not to make a loss themselves. As a summary, if there is no profit, there is no business. In my businesss quest to maximise profit; there could be a number of challenges/issues that could affect my business achieving the aim of ‘Minimise costs and increase potential profit, and the following explains; One of the most significant issues that my record label business would have to deal with is the recession, which was caused by the financial crisis during the year 2007 and the year 2009. The financial crisis was the reduction in the availability of loans (credit) and to some extent; tightening of the condition required to obtain a loan from the banks, this evolved into the interest rates being incredibly high. The definite caused behind the credit crisis is highly doubtable, however, one reason might be that UK bought many mortgage debts from the U.S. (this might have been directly or indirectly) therefore when U.S. mortgage default rose, preponderance of the UK banks lost money. Because interest rates rose dramatically, many individuals in the population had to pay more for their loans and mortgages, which meant that individuals and many businesses had less disposable cash to spare and consequently, many businesses found themselves being either bankrupt or making employees redundan t to prevent bankruptcy. The reason why I believe that the recession may affect my business is because many individuals are un-employed, which means that they may be on some sort of limited income (either through council or jobseekers allowance). Ultimately, this would mean that many individuals would have less disposable income to spend on CDs and DVDs for personal entertainment and if my business is not selling many products, it will be in a high risk of having very high costs that could out-number the total sales of the business. This could put my business in a potential risk of being bankrupt, as you can see from fig.1, it is estimated that the recession will only get worse. In contrast, the recession may not be disastrously bad for my business. The reason behind this would be that because of the recession more people would be un-employed and have a whole lot of spare time on their hands as less people would be working nine to five shifts, this would mean that individuals would be looking for activities to pass their time. This could mean that people will be more reliant upon entrainment such as the cinemas, movies, theatre, music etc. This could potentially excel my business because more individuals would be interested and looking to escape from reality through the financial crisis, similarly to people who went through the Great Depression in the United States during 1929, which saw the rise of movie sales. To conclude, the recession is something that is known as an external factor, which no business has a control over. The recession could have a big impact on my business; however this factor could prove to be advantageous for my business as mentioned earlier, there are a lot more people with more spare time on their hands, and as a result they will be looking for something to entertain themselves and if marketing is done correctly for the business, it will prove to be beneficial. As one can see above, regardless of the recession and the credit crisis that started in 2007, the sales of digital music increased dramatically through the years and the digital music industry is more profitable than ever in the US with industry profit of 2.9 Billion dollars, a 15% from 2004 which was only 0.4 billion profit being made. One of the major issues that my business will have to confront other than the recent financial crisis is the piracy of music through the internet. In essence, music piracy the violation of copyright infringement (copyright), this means the unauthorised use of materials that is covered by the copyright law. For electronic and audio-visual media, this is normally referred to as piracy. Piracy is a factor that could have the biggest impact at my businesss aim to ‘Minimise costs and increase potential profit. As one can see in the article opposite, the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) has predicted that music piracy has risen by thirty-six percent, which has cost the UK music industry twenty-six million pounds, which is a tremendous amount of load-sum. Music piracy is a factor which could directly affect my business because if my business released a single which was popular (Music hit) then the probability is that a lot of customers will be reluctant to purchase the single or the album in order to save money and they would perhaps download the product through an illegal download website or through the use of torrents (which is a peer-to-peer download service provided free from the internet). This is the most likely event to occur because as mentioned previously, the recession has left a lot of people un-employed which means that they may have a very low inco me and have limited amount of disposable cash to spend on entertainment. Because a lot of my businesss target consumers will be getting my product (music) through the internet without pay for it, this could result in my business have a major decline in profit because although the products my business offer may be very popular amongst the target consumers but because they are not paying for the goods my business will have no way in which they can financially benefit from. Many of the bi names in the record label business like ‘Universal Music or the ‘Sony BMG group do tend to copyright the CDs and DVDs that they manufacture and distribute, however, recent technological development has given an regular computer user to copy content from these copyrighted disks (using free software from the internet) from a single click of a button, and if that individual uploads the content of the disk to the internet then the content of that disk will be exposed to thousands if not millio ns of users on the internet which is why the modern music industry is suffering from million of pounds and dollars of damage from piracy and it is very unfortunate for my business as there is no method to battle the rising issue of music piracy because if my businesss products were copyrighted, many consumers or users will be able to find a way to copy content. In addition, copyrighting thousands of disks would prove to be a very costly task and evidently, this will prevent my business in achieving my aim to ‘Minimise costs and increase potential profit. However, not all is tenebrous, my business could still prevail if it turned to a more digitals means to provide the products to the customers, such means could be; having free web player on the businesss website to play the hit singles; free selected music downloads of popular songs; and most importantly selling products through the internet. Most of these solutions would eliminate the cost of producing CDs because a lot of teenagers nowadays are using things like their mobile phones, mp3 players and devices such as the iPod for playback of their music. If the popular products of my business (songs) are being provided free from the companys own website, then the business will have more exposure from the public, which, in the end, could work out to be beneficial. As the businesss website generates more viewers, the chances are internet companies like Google; YouTube; Amazon etc. who will want to advertise their services on my businesss website, which the business could generate some i ncome from as well as gaining public interest and recognition as business. Music piracy most definitely will affect my business and the corporate aim to ‘Minimise costs and maximise potential profit. Internet nowadays is available to almost every house, office and schools/college in the country that millions of people have access too, and the internet is too big to have control over. Nevertheless, good marketing and internet advertisement may fill in the lacunae of profit that may be lost due to music piracy. ‘Increase/attain good public relations with the local community and customers. In my opinion, good public relations with customers should be an imperative aim for abounding businesses. After all, businesses depend on their customers satisfaction and support by which if they did not have good relationship with customers then it will be highly likely that the business will not be able to retain their customers. This issue could lead to a decline in their profit margins or worse gain an incredible amount of bad publicity or a bad reputation as a whole. A record label is not a publicly noticeable business because a record labels product is what gains notoriety as publicity rather than a business as coherent whole. This is because customers are mainly attracted to the stars and the music they make rather than the service that provides them the service. This can be beneficial or a drawback, consider which way one looks at it. From my personal perspective, it is a benefit because it means that my business will not be in the public eye and will not attract major interest if my business were have an issue, this could be a number of things like mistakes (which a lot of businesses make) or redundancy of a major band or artist etc. So in order to gain good public relations with the local community and customers will be a very laborious task to conduct. Nevertheless, with dubious tasks, there are always strategies, and my main strategy to in achieve this aim to ‘Increase/attain good public relations with the local community and customers, will be to organise youth activities and perhaps cultural events, the next page will explain this. As one can see in 4 (Next page), an extract from BBC news website, the level of youth crime has increased dramatically over the past decade in the United Kingdom. Teenage knife crime has increased so much that law enforcements had to enforce harsh laws upon teenage delinquents in order to keep crime at a minimum. The articles below states that boys from the age of eleven to eighteen are likely the ones to be carrying knifes, and are the most likely culprits in the rise of such crimes. The article also states that most of these young offenders have been; excluded, dropped out of school or have already had been given time to serve under law custody. So ultimately, these are the age groups which are been targeted by the law to tackle such crimes. How does this issue help my business to achieve good customer relationship one may wonder? Well to start with, teens that have been expelled, excluded, dropped out etc. from school have nothing to do other than wonder around with friends on the streets and cause trouble to the society and the individuals in the local community. This leads me to believe that, organising local youth music activities and providing creative services such as recording facilities and musical guidance for youths free of charge may be a very beneficial factor not only for my business but also to the local community. Having to organise such events for young people will be very beneficial to a majority of people youths, local community and my business. This is because firstly, by providing youths will free services and activities will encourage them to stay off the streets and be passionate and involved in something creative for their time, and secondly, by having lees teens on the streets in the local community will prevent crime and hopefully reduce the crime rate locally, so older generation who may be intimidated by teens will feel much more safer. Personally, I believe that teens only resort to crime as a recreational activity as well as to gain attention to themselves; this is only an opinion of course. However, by giving teens, facilities to be in and express themselves artistically through music may help to make a productive use of their time; also, it could be a place where teens can get attention that they desire from other like friends, other social groups or even the community. Knife sentencing not effective A selection of knives found by police The study found young people were living in constant fear of attack Longer jail terms are not an effective way of persuading teenagers to stop carrying knives, research suggests. Pentonville Prison governor Nicola Marfleet interviewed 14 to 17-year-olds who had either been excluded from school or were serving time in custody. She found most believed tough sentences were only meant to scare them, and they were more likely to be tagged. The Home Office said the government was using a combination of deterrence and education to tackle the problem. Rival gangs The study found that some boys were carrying knives from the age of 11. Ms Marfleet concluded that knife-crime prevention work must be targeted at this age group in order to be effective. She interviewed about 24 boys in focus groups at pupil referral units in Hackney and Haringey, north London, and four boys one-to-one at Feltham Young Offender Institution in west London Possession of a knife carries a maximum jail term of four years, but most of the teenagers did not believe they would receive such a harsh punishment. Two of those interviewed said that regardless of the possible penalty, they would not stop carrying a knife because they needed one for protection. Almost all of the teenagers said they could not rely on par