My Childhood Blank-kee

Most people have something they treasure since childhood. For some, it may be their first baseball mitt or first basketball. As for me, it is my Chinese traditional blanket. It holds priceless memories of my (1)blissful childhood days when my only worry was how to avoid the vegetables my mother forced on me. It was my constant companion, my partner in crime, and my source of comfort.I was born into a warm, financially stable family. As the youngest child, I was well-loved, so much so that my family (2)indulged me with everything I wanted. That’s why I had the best toys and gadgets among my childhood friends. Although I was showered with these luxurious things, there is one thing that I will never forget—my beloved â€Å"blank-kee,† my priceless possession which I kept over the years.I used to call my blanket a â€Å"blank-kee†, because I can’t pronounce the â€Å"ket† in the word â€Å"blanket.† It was given by my godmother to my mothe r the day after my mother told her that she was pregnant with me. It is an authentic Chinese traditional blanket. Although others think it is (3)repugnant and in poor taste, it is classical in its own way.It is sewn together with different shades of red, embossed with a traditional Chinese Dragon. According to the lunar calendar, I was born in the year of the dragon, and the Chinese tradition states that red is a symbol of happiness. Thus, this blanket was bestowed upon me for luck, (4)prosperity, and happiness.Although it is a perfect gift for a person of Chinese decent, the blanket may seem ill-designed for others because it is an abomination to any design philosophies or principles I have encountered.Plus, I don’t particularly like the color red because I find it corny.   However unsightly this blanket may seem, I still love it! When I was a child, every time I felt lonely, I used this blanket to feel more secure and at ease. It was like a magical blanket that gave me ha ppy thoughts. That is why I have nurtured some sort of love-hate relationship with my blanket.My unique blanket is approximately 3 ½ inches by 5 inches. It used to fit easily into it when I was a child. Now that I have considerably outgrown it, the blanket barely covers me. As it is made of silk cloth, its smooth sensation gives me an unfathomable feeling whenever I rub it against my skin.The stains in it reflect its age and the moments that I have shared with it.   Because of my clumsiness as a child, it was soiled by food spills and several accidents I had, leaving permanent stains. These stains, however, did not make it any less comfy.As a child, my blank-kee was my constant companion. I was the youngest and my sister is 10 years older than me. The â€Å"generational-gap† between us made it a bit difficult to communicate with my sister and develop a good relationship with her. Nonetheless, my blanket never failed to provide me (5)relentless emotional support by giving me more comfort than its capacity to warm.I have been through a lot with this blanket. That is why it was my â€Å"best-partner-in-crime†. I remember the days when my mother force-fed me with veggies. Whenever my mother fed me with something that looks green or has an (6)uncanny smell (EWW!), I spat it out when she was not looking and covered it underneath my blanket.I also have this vivid memory of my mother getting mad at me for my naughtiness. You see, I was a really chubby kid when I was young, so my mother wanted me to go on a diet. I had to cut down my sugar intake, but controlling my craving for sweets was proving more difficult than I thought.When I can’t hold it any longer, I stole from our refrigerator a can of Coke and a Snicker chocolate bar that was a left over from one of our dinner parties. I have not yet drunk the whole can when the doorbell rang, which was an (7)indication that my mom is back from a day of hell.Ihurriedly hid my can of Coke and the cho colate wrapper underneath the sofa out of (8)sheer panic, accidentally knocking over the can. With the adrenaline rush, a brilliant idea came to me and made me use my blanket to wipe off the Coke on the floor, leaving it flawless and sparkly clean. There was nothing to be found in the crime scene.I thought that my partner in crime that saved me would remain to be my sole witness. Later that night, as everyone finished dinner and started approaching the family room to watch TV, my mother found the can and wrapper under the sofa! It was really stupid of me to forget the most important thing to do after a crime—(9)dispose of the evidence!Since no one is willing to admit the misdeed, I stood up and confessed. My mother already knew it was me. My mother even saw my wet blanket and she confiscated it from me. I was like a fish in an aquarium whose oxygen was removed.

Discrimination in Of Mice and Men

When John Steinbeck was attending Stanford, he took time off to go work on a ranch at Salinas Valley. This Is where he encountered the models for many of his characters for his stories. One of them Included one of his most popular and touching novellas, Of Mice and Men. With this book, he tried to show the hardships of the discriminated. During the period of the Great Depression, many Individuals were forced Into poverty and away from their families. Many began to flee to the West In search of work. However, when they reached their destination, they were not received kindly.In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck thoroughly depicts, by the presence of many discriminated and oppressed individuals, that life in this time period was beyond arduous for most people because of the Great Depression and the way others perceived them. The Great Depression was an economic downturn coming before World War II. The depression occurred at deferent times in different countries, but in the U nited States, it happened during the asses. Historians blame the crash of the US stock market, on October 29, 1989, for Igniting the Great Depression. Then, the depression quickly expanded across the world.The Great Depression not only affected the poor, but the rich as well. Industrial production, foreign trade, and wholesale prices diminished. The loss of money from these happenings developed a state of unemployment, caused foreclosures and homes to be lost, families to separate, and extreme deflation. Unemployment rates soared through the roof. In the US, twenty- five percent of the population was out of work. Even in some countries, the rates were as high as thirty- three percent (Candling). Hope still lingered in the air for some and the Great Depression was later used as an example as to how bad the economy could get.Rural regions suffered the most when crop prices fell drastically. The huge drought, which occurred during the asses, contributed to this. In many plains, dust wa s everywhere. It was so that It was Impossible to keep a house clean and chickens would sleep earlier than usual because the darkness caused by the dust storms made them think it was night. More and more storms began to hit and many farmers lost their good farmland to the high winds. By 1934, almost 100 million acres of farmland were completely destroyed (Candling).Many economies began to rejuvenate in the mid- asses, but in many other nations, the detrimental impact of the Great Depression lasted until the end of World War II. This tragedy was one of the most widespread, long-lasting, and deepest depression of this era. The effects of the Great Depression disturbed every race of people in America. However, African Americans were always most affected. Most African Americans were out of work and whites demanded that they be fired If a white person was unemployed. Racial violence became common and lynching Increased (Sutra).In Steinbeck novella, Crooks is a stable buck on the Salinas Valley ranch. During this He was separated from the rest of the white farmhands on the ranch. Crooks states, â€Å"l anti wanted in the bunkhouse, and you anti wanted in my room† (Steinbeck 68). This shows how African Americans were treated like animals and isolated from others because of discrimination. After being neglected, Crooks proclaims, â€Å"If I say something, why it's Just a n****** saying it† (Steinbeck 70). Crooks has accustomed to the inequality he receives from others and turns on himself, saying negative things.However, on a brighter note, no one would hold him responsible for anything because his words â€Å"don't mean nothing† and are ignored. The author show how African Americans' lives were hard because of racism. Steinbeck shows the hardships of a disabled man during this period of time in his novella Of Mice and Men. One would think they received special care but the worst time period a disabled person could live through is the asses. Other s didn't care for them because chances were that they already had someone to take care of, whether it was themselves or a family (Barrett). They were abused and people would blame them for their problems.Some mentally handicapped people were institutionalized. The government gave little to no protection for the disabled (Philosophy). This is similar to how a character in the story is treated. Leonie Smalls is George's friend and they are both traveling to the West in search of work, because they had to flee their hometown in the result of Lien's incident with petting a girl's mouse dress (he likes soft things). Leonie says, â€Å"George says I goat stay here an' not get in no trouble† (Steinbeck 68). In this moment, George demanded Leonie stay at the ranch while they go out to the whorehouse.To George Milton and other workers, he is seen as a dim- wit that can only work. Leonie should be able to have some fun too. â€Å"If he finds out what a crazy Starr you are, we wont get no Job, but if he sees yah work before he hears yah talk, we're set† (Steinbeck 6). There is no doubt Leonie is a great worker, but perhaps George is a little too hard on him. At their arrival at the ranch, the boss gets suspicious because George does all the talking. Leonie says four words and George throws a tirade at him for doing so. Even though sexism was around forever, this type of discrimination was most evident during the asses.The typical women had an employed husband, and if they lost their job, they usually had enough resources to survive (Ware). Steinbeck depicts that with Of Mice and Men. Curler's wife is a victim of unfairness because of her gender. She is the wife of the boss's son, Curler. They live with no worries, but Curler's wife's actions are constricted and she has limited rights, like every other female in America at the time. She is the only woman on the ranch and is unnamed by the author which shows her unimportance – which shows sexism. †Å"Don't you even take a look at that b****.I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen me' poison calling Curler's wife a derogatory term for a woman, which is sexist. George, and very other farmhand on the ranch, thinks she is flirty and has â€Å"an eye for all the men on the ranch†. â€Å"Won't you tell her to stay the hell home, where she belongs? † (Steinbeck 90). During this time, it was often that women stayed home with kids and chores to do around the house, while men would go out and work, wherever it was (Ware). Here Candy implies that the ranch is no place for a flirtatious woman like Curler's wife, which is a sexist stereotype.

Stone Cold by Robert Swindells

Stone Cold is a novel aimed at young adults, and was written by Robert Swindells. The book’s basic plot revolves around the life of 16 year-old ‘Link,’ born in Bradford in 1977. Link’s real name is not specified at any point throughout the course of the book. The book begins with Link’s life in Bradford, with his mother’s new lover Vince moving in to the household (Link’s father had disappeared) and taking a firm, cruel stance towards Link.The tension in the home begins to make the relationship of the young teen and his mother strained, and eventually, after a particularly heated argument, Link is locked outside of the house by Vince, and starts to sleep rough on the streets of his hometown. After a while, Link becomes increasingly independent, and after the Christmas season, he decides to leave Bradford for London, to find work and start a new life, away from the turbulent place back home. Stone Cold is unusual in terms of books aimed at younger readers, as it has a feature known as a dual narrative.This means that the story is told from two perspectives, in this case being Link, the main protagonist, and another character known only as ‘Shelter. ’ He is the primary antagonist of the book. Shelter is a military veteran, possibly around the age of 45, and was suspended from his recruitment post at the British Army on what is only described as ‘medical grounds. ’ The more specific reason is of course unknown – adding to his already mysterious tendencies – however it is evident that he has an unstable mental condition, but won’t accept this and feels it is ‘his job’ to ‘clean up the streets’ of the homeless.To do this, he takes his military background and makes his own ‘army,’ the Camden Horizontals. The one difference between this army and any other regular army is that the Camden Horizontals are all dead homeless people, killed b y Shelter in cold blood. The book reflects on the hardships the homeless have to face daily, and effectively demonstrates this life by its use of the first-person setting, and the different perspectives of both Shelter and Link.It shows people at their worst, in the case of Shelter and his perverse thoughts and meticulously calculated and calm way to ‘dispose of’ human life, which he describes as rubbish. It also demonstrates the importance of truth, as at the end of the book, Link is no better off than he used to be, even though he thought he had met ‘someone special. ’ On the whole, I enjoyed the book, and found it interesting and captivating in the way it described Link’s quest to get through life on the streets. Stone Cold by Robert Swindells Stone Cold by Robert Swindells Stone Cold is an absorbing novel by Robert Swindells which follows ‘Link’, a sixteen year old boy from Bradford, England. The novel tells you about his life over the past two years, how he leaves his violent home and lives on the street, first in Bradford and then in London, where the story starts to take shape. The novel also follows ‘Shelter’, an ex-military man who served for twenty nine years, discharged on medical grounds. In my essay, I will aim to analyse Swindells’ success in writing an absorbing novel. In 1991, when Link was fourteen, his father ran off with a receptionist.He told us how that ‘mucked up’ his school work for quite a while. He goes on to say that that is not the cause for him being where he is now, the streets. He tells us that it was in fact his step-father, Vince, who was the real cause. He recalls coming back from a friends one night, to find that the door to the house had been loc ked by Vince. Vince wouldn’t let Link in, so he had to go round and spend the night at his sister’s, Carole. When he went home the next day, Vince started slapping him around the head for ‘going off’ and worrying Mum.He decided to make himself homeless. Now on the streets, the novel gives us a real taste of what it is like to be on the streets. â€Å"So you pick your spot. Wherever it is ( unless you’re in a squat or a derelict house or something) it’s going to have a floor of stone, tile, concrete or brick. I other words it’s going to be hard and cold. † ‘Ginger’ is a very good friend of Link’s. After being robbed and kicked out of his doorway, Link found Ginger and instantly became friends. Ginger is Link’s first friend on the streets.Ginger also shows Link the basics to being on the streets, like the best places to beg and good places to eat. We meet Gail further on in the book, after losing Ginger. As Link is sitting in a cafe, he sees ‘the best looking dosser’ he’s ever seen. Gail is Scottish and not just a dosser. She’s actually a reporter looking for a story on what it’s like to be homeless. Gail came over to sit next to Link, every eye in the place following her. He describes how he feels as Gail sits next to him. â€Å"I was acting so cool it was unbelievable but that’s all it was – acting.In the real world the blood was pounding in my ears and it was as much as I could do to keep from goggling at that fantastic face. † ‘Shelter’, the ex-military man, is portrayed mainly by his use of speech. His speech is presented very ‘to the point’, army like. â€Å"Daily Routine Orders †¦Ã¢â‚¬  is how Shelter always starts his part of the story, suggesting he lives his everyday life in a militaristic lifestyle. In many of his sections, shelter dwells on his days in the army, and how things like n ational service would take the dossers and ‘teddy boys’ and turn them into real men.The story definetly gave the message to never judge somebody you see on the street, as everyone has their side of the story. I think Robert Swindells is very sympathetic towards homeless people, particularly young homeless people as it affects their future, as in jobs, social, family etc. The ending is quite a depressing ending as you find out that Gail has been using Link as a piece for an article on homelessness. This leaves Link feeling betrayed and angered.

Marketing Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Marketing Research - Assignment Example The recent trend to consume low fat or sugar-free products has been largely observed among the consumers. The interest of the consumers to eat healthy foods is a passing craze among the majority of the population globally. Product appraisal is an effective measure of identifying the specific sensory attributes that are associated with new products introduced in the market segments in order to satisfy consumers and meet their products’ expectation (Walker, 2002). Based on the extensive role of the carbohydrates in human nutrition, the health professionals have been recommending a reduction of the total intake of fat foods. Moreover, the present fad of calorie control in order to reduce the chances of obesity has been acting as a catalyst to increase the sale of products with low fat contents (Lauritzen, n.d.). The assignment elaborates on market research and market trends following a detailed analysis of the secondary sources in relation to the recent trend of consumers in opting for low-fat products in the UK market segments. Depending on the analysis of the UK market, figures and trends related to the subject topic are detailed on the basis of development of market and product mix. The report collected would help the market researcher in making efficient decisions based on which appropriate recommendations are made for effective business performances on a long-term and short-term basis. The market researcher of the marketing department of a UK supermarket chain has conducted a secondary research with the aim of obtaining adequate information about product mix that are demanded in the UK market segments. The recent trend of the UK market suggests a huge shift in the tastes and the preferences of the consumer in relation to health diets and low fat products. The shift in the general trend of consumption depicts an impending need of

How does the social shaping perspective help us to understand the Essay

How does the social shaping perspective help us to understand the social and organizational implications of technological change - Essay Example The paper tells that the thesis that each technology is working if its creator had made successful preparations in already arranged social and political context, is defended from two perspectives. On the one hand, the analysis shows that the role of advertising, political conditions, and gender relations is crucial in the given and other cases of technological development. On another hand, the role of certain choices made by agents of technological change emerges in any case of the struggle for becoming a popular technology. Thus, the presented critics of technological determinism prove the necessity to investigate social and organizational circumstances of any technology entering the market both in retrospective and in the contemporary world. At the very beginning of his analysis, Cowen discusses the role of technology in changing of families in general and women’s position in particular. In fact, he states that technological revolution in the household had already happened a nd changed our daily lives â€Å"in somewhat unexpected ways†. In this context, he draws his core argument from the insufficiency of standard view on Industrial revolution. To put it in author’s words, â€Å"it will be necessary to know more than we presently do about the impact of industrialization on families of similar classes and geographical locations†. After defining this, he presents an analysis of several basic shifts in American society caused by Industrial revolution. Firstly, completely electrified apartments replaced popular gas usage. Consequently, physical (or hand) power became outdated. Supporting the key ideas of technological determinism, in his another work Cowen recognizes technological inappropriateness as the core reason of long entering of electronic devices in the daily consumption market. Then, the appearance of new household utilities had modified the life of ordinary Americans.

Viewing the Globe Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Viewing the Globe - Research Paper Example I’m primarily a subsistence farmer, which involves growing enough crops and rearing livestock for my family to live off. I also work 8 hours a day on a local cocoa plantation, but pay is poor, and I only earn $3 per day. In the evening, my wife prepares our family meal. My favorite dishes include stews and fufu, which is a dough-like combination of plantains and cassava or yams, sometimes accompanied by freshly made soup if we have enough food. Vegetables and rice are other important staples of my family’s diet because they are cheap, easy to grow and high in energy. My family rarely buys groceries in shops because we can’t afford them. However, we trade items to get household goods we need. For example, my youngest daughter caught a virus last month, and I traded 8 pints of milk with the local chemist for the medication she needed. The weather is a big challenge and threat to our subsistence farming. The dry season occurs from November-March, with temperatures e xceeding 30Â °c. Last year, an extended draught destroyed half of my crops, which sadly resulted in our youngest child dying of malnutrition.

Breafly abour Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Breafly abour Global Warming - Essay Example This study demonstrates that this effects has led to low agricultural productions which is the source of gross domestic production (GDP) and therefore the global warming effects are depriving most third world countries of their income obtained from agricultural activities. The government has a key role to play in counteracting global warming effects and this is enacting laws that penalize violators of global warming based laws. The political will of the government is to impose legitimacy and authority of the orchestrated policy. On the other hand the public has their role also to play to counter global warming effects. Such roles include; implementing environmental protection policies such policies include using public transport such as trains as much as possible in order to reduce the number of personal cars that emit fossil fuel to the environment, companies reducing their factory exhaust fumes and conserving electricity use by using energy saving bulb. It was interesting in reading how global warming occurs when the sun’s rays penetrate the depleted ozone layer. How the sun rays mix with the green house gases that prevent them from bouncing back to the earths atmosphere.

Engl week 3 forum Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Engl week 3 forum - Assignment Example As such they should do their best to deliver something that would appeal to the public. The writer should prepare just enough contents for his or her audience and not bore them with unimportant introductions or basics. The audience should also see that your article is useful and matters to them. Writing an article with a clear purpose makes it attractive to read. The audience targeted should feel that the article addresses a particular issue in their lives. The article should focus on specific topics and not be general or vague (Annemare, 127). If the issues of the audience and purpose are not addressed, several problems may arise. If the audience is not considered, age groups may be offended or even problems of gender sensitivity may arise. If the purpose of an article is not considered, the article will not be resourceful to the audience. Purpose gives an article meaning and resourcefulness (Annemare, 197). Once I read an article on fashion that did not seem to describe a difference between the dressing of teenagers and adults. I bet anyone who went through the article could not find good advice on dress code since it did not specify how different age groups should

Psychoanalysis Of Hamlet And Oedipus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Psychoanalysis Of Hamlet And Oedipus - Essay Example Sigmund Freud mentions that the repressed attraction may cause a form of psychodrama. This psychodrama has affected Hamlet to the point of losing his senses. Moreover, Hamlet had lost interest in his girlfriend Ophelia indicating that his sexual attraction had shifted to his mother. Sigmund Freud highlighted that sons attracted to their mothers do not seek for love from other members of the society. They have a conviction that their mother is the best. However, this does not happen consciously. The unconscious mind, which bears these thoughts, exerts influence on the conscious mind. Hamlet’s obsession with the issues surrounding his mother’s remarriage compelled him to leave Ophelia completely prompting her to commit suicide. The fact that Hamlet exhibited extreme anger towards his mother who had married Claudius, instead of focusing on the revenge mission, prompted Freud to see the effects of the Oedipus complex. Evidently, Sigmund Freud received criticism for his theo ry of the Oedipus complex. Many scholars focused on conducting psychoanalysis of the play after Freud associated what had happened to Oedipus with the mysteries surrounding the play Hamlet. The Oedipus complex is a repressed attraction in the unconscious mind. However, there are instances when it gets too strong and reveals itself. Boys are likely to be jealous of their fathers because of the repressed attraction. As highlighted above, both Hamlet and Oedipus depicted behaviors that served to ascertain that they were victims of the Oedipus complex.

Laboratory Report 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Laboratory Report 3 - Essay Example MacKenzie & Buxton (1992) compared five width interpretation models regarding 2-dimensional targets (MacKenzie & Buxton, 1992): ï‚ ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Smaller of† model. It picks the smaller of the height and width. Intuitively it may produce accurate results, because the smallest dimension of the object will be the most restricting when attempting to move a cursor inside it. This model is only useful for rectangles. ï‚ ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   W’ model. It uses the length of the line between the center point of the target object and the object boundary along the approach angle. This is appealing because it is a 1-D interpretation of a 2-D task. But it is more difficult to calculate because the angle between the starting point and the target object must be known. This model is good for circles, rectangles and others. Furthermore, there are some cases that Fitts’ law failed to predict correctly. E.g., some input devices are not suited to Fitts’ Law, such as isometric joysticks that are force sensing and undergo negligible human limb motion (MacKenzie, 2001). Extensions and changes to Fitts’ Law have been proposed for some of those cases, such as Touch screens (Sears and Shneiderman, 1991), and standard GUI with lots of small target areas (such as radio button, combo buttons, and buttons on toolbars) (Sears and Shneiderman, 1991). Fitts’ Law is valid but limited. First of all, it does not address numerous factors other than target amplitude and width that affect user input performance. While there is evidence that task completion times are reduced when a task is split over two hands, Fitts Law does not address the effect of parallel strategies of delegating positioning and selecting to separate limbs. Fitts Law also does not address the effect of human body asymmetry on performance, such as the performance difference between preferred and non-preferred hands,

Gary Hess The United States at War, 1941-1945 Essay

Gary Hess The United States at War, 1941-1945 - Essay Example The book is very concise and straight to the point. It does not drag the reader into arguments that do not have relevance to the author’s primary thesis. The Second World War is often regarded as a historical event of epic proportions. The European and the Pacific stages were considered as different campaigns by themselves, and Hess provides a good narration of history which is both chronological and thematic. Hess attacks the US and its involvement in the Second World War in a thematic approach which makes the historical account very interesting. For example, in the first chapter, â€Å"To Pearl Harbor: The United States and World Crisis†, Hess discusses the nation’s rationale in its inter-continental interference was that first, the US wanted to protect its far-flung allies and second (most importantly, of course) to champion the democratic leadership it had boasted since its independence. Working on this example, it is clear that although Hess provides a mains tream historical narrative on his chosen topic (that is providing facts and accompanying analysis), the author dwells on the matter that the mere analysis and interpretation should be streamlined to a higher argument.

Ford Motor Company Essay Example for Free

Ford Motor Company Essay Strengths Ford Motor Company is a Multi international Company with 90 plant and facilities selling vehicles in 200 markets. It is the second biggest plant in the world, with approximately 345,000 employees The Ford Motor Company is the Fifth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and the second in the U.S. with a total (Sales 2010) of 4,988,031 vehicles manufactured including Cars, land craft vehicles (LCV), Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) and Heavy Buses. Ford Motor merges with Hertz Rent-A-Car, the worlds leading vehicle renting organization, operates from approximately 8,100 locations in 143 countries worldwide. Ford Motor Company is in ten place in 2011 Fortune 500 list (Us), with Revenues of (Millions) 128,954.0 and Profits of (Millions) 6,561.0 and in the 2011 Global 500 list, Ford Motors in twenty fifth place. †¢ Ford is a Household name brand †¢ Has physical presence in all major continents †¢ Ford motor credit company helps finance, lease and sell insurance customers †¢14,400 international patents, copyrights and trademarks †¢2nd highest market share in truck sales †¢Sponsor special-rate financing programs available only through Ford Credit Programs increase Ford Credits financing volume and share of financing sales of their vehicles Weaknesses Ford Motors doesn’t have a fuel efficient stander pickup or cargo van, compared to Chevrolet Silverado (Pickup) that gives 20mpg in city and 23mpg in highway and the Chevrolet Express (Van) that gives a 15mpg in city and 20mpg in highway. †¢ Durable good- in rough economical times it is not necessary to replace †¢ If consumers continue to demand vehicles that are relatively large, have high performance, and/or are feature-laden, while regulatory standards require the production of vehicles that are smaller and more economical, the mismatch of supply and demand would have a negative  effect on profitability †¢ Market share has declined in many regions of the world over the last year. Overall market share in the United States, including PAG-brand vehicles, has declined in each of the past five years, from 20.5% in 2003 to 15.6% in 2007 †¢Stock shares have declined, resulting with volume reductions have had an adverse impact on our results of operations Ford Motor warned its European operations may lose $500 million to $600 million this year. Opportunities Innovation technologies, Sync with My ford touch is a combine technology, that help and assists drivers for a more comfortable drive experience. The Sync technology consist in integrating Bluetooth- enable cell phones and Mp3 players in to the car, providing hand free call and music selection capabilities using voice activate commands. My ford touch replaces many traditional buttons with clear, colorful and user friendly LCD screens. †¢ Block Exemption Regulation (Europe) Makes it easier for a dealer to display and sell multiple brands in one store (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury) without the need to maintain separate facilities †¢Increasing presence in China, with more investment in manufacturing capacity, introduction of new products and expansion of distribution channel †¢Opened a second assembly plant and new engine plant located in Nanjing, China Initial capacity of the plant was approximately 160,000 units annually, boosting total annual passenger car production capacity in China to more than 410,000 vehicles Operates a purchasing office in China to procure components for operations outside of China Threats †¢ Decline in overall market share due to Including increased competition Industry shift away from traditionally stronger segments (e.g., traditional SUVs and full-size pickups) Reduced vehicle sales to daily rental companies †¢Decrease in commercial fleet sales reflected lower industry volume †¢Japanese and Korean manufacturers are increasing their production capacity in Europe Strength †¢ Ford Motor Company is a Multi international Company with 90 plant and facilities selling vehicles in 200 markets. It is the second biggest plant in the world, with approximately 345,000 employees. (http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/ford-diversity-commitment) , (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=7670) †¢ The Ford Motor Company is the Fifth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and the second in the U.S. with a total (Sales 2010) of 4,988,031 vehicles manufactured including Cars, land craft vehicles (LCV), Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) and Heavy Buses. (Oica.net, 2011) (http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/ranking-2010.pdf) †¢ Ford Motor diversity in Ford Credit is a subsidiary of The Ford Motor Company that finance vehicles to customer and dealers to support Ford Motor Company sales. They also provide financing on Lincoln vehicles, offering: competitive rates, innovative products, flexible terms (http://www.fordcredit.com/companyInfo/prof ile.jhtml) †¢ Ford Motor merges with Hertz Rent-A-Car, the worlds leading vehicle renting organization, operates from approximately 8,100 locations in 143 countries worldwide. †¢ Ford Motor Company is in ten place in 2011 Fortune 500 list (Us), with Revenues of (Millions) 128,954.0 and Profits of (Millions) 6,561.0 (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/full_list/index.html) and in the 2011 Global 500 list, Ford Motors in twenty fifth place. (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/full_list/index.html) Weakness †¢ Ford Explores rollover and firestone tires recalls controversy announced on August, 2000, approximately 14.4 million tires contain a safety-related defect. Harmed Ford brand image. (http://www.nhtsa.gov/PR/FirestoneRecall) †¢ Ford Motors doesn’t have a fuel efficient stander pickup or cargo van, compared to Chevrolet Silverado (Pickup) that gives 20mpg in city and 23mpg in highway and the Chevrolet Express (Van) that gives a 15mpg in city and 20mpg in highway. (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bestworstepatrucks.htm) †¢ Ford Motors only has seven subsidiaries, Lincoln, mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin. Opportunities †¢ Fuel efficient cars, Ford Motor Company is launching the most fuel-efficient cars in the market. The All-new 2012 Ford Focus will be powered by a fuel-efficient 2.0-liter DOHC four-cylinder engine with twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) and direct gasoline injection that will deliver up to a projected 40 mpg highway. The combinations of these technologies helps to lower gas emission but, still have horse power. For a 4 cylinder 2.0 liter engines it is rated at 160 horse power and 146lbs of torque. (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=33438) †¢ Big donator to charity and victims of natural disasters. October 27, 2000 Ford Motor Company will donate $1.4 million to the San Diego Environmental Foundation (SDEF) for the preservation, protection and enhancement of the San Eliot Lagoon Ecological Reserve, which is one of San Diegos and Southern Californias most precious and unique natural resources. (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?ar ticle_id=6425) †¢ Innovation technologies, Sync with My ford touch is a combine technology, that help and assists drivers for a more comfortable drive experience. The Sync technology consist in integrating Bluetooth- enable cell phones and Mp3 players in to the car, providing hand free call and music selection capabilities using voice activate commands. My ford touch replaces many traditional buttons with clear, colorful and user friendly LCD screens. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Driving Technology, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) gives out three warnings when a vehicle not visible or enters ones blinds spot. The signals consists in a Yellow light appears in the corresponding side view mirror, an audio alert and a message warning displayed.  (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Rear view camera and Forward Sensing System, helps drives to see on screen when parking in reverse. The Forward Sensing System helps to determine how close are the objects form the vehicle. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Electric Power-Assisted Steering (EPAS). This technology consists in adapting to the road conditions and help drivers to compensate directional shifts caused by crowned roads surface or steady crosswinds. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Active Park Assistants uses ultrasonic based sensing system and EPAS for parallel parking. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Rain-Sensing Wipes has a optical sensor that auto adjust to the climate conditions. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) Power train and convenience †¢ Adaptive cruise control allows the vehicle to set and mating speed without using the pedals. It also has a radar- based system thats can monitor the vehicle in front up to 600 feet. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Easy fuel or cap less system helps drives when filling the car with gasoline a hassle-free, odor free, and have a more consistent seal compared to traditional manual cap.( http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Eco-Boost gains of up to 20 percent and reduction of CO2 emissions by as much as 15 percent compared with larger, less efficient engines. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Dual-clutch Power Shift six-speed transmission combines the responsive performance and fuel economy of a manual gearbox with the convenience of a traditional automatic transmission. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) Threats †¢ Government regulations. Do to the pollution and the Global warming caused by the Co2, car manufactures are trying to develop fuel efficient cars. In Jul 29,2011 Major car developers and manufactures joined President  Obama to discusses the further in fuel economy and proposed a new Fuel-efficiency standers. Today’s stander is 27.3mpg by 2025 the stander should be at 54.5 mpg. Its estimated that this new â€Å"stander† will save a average of $8,000 on fuel bill per vehicle, and will reduce U.S. oil consumption by 2.2 billion barrels per day. (http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/07/government-raises-fuel-economy-standards-to-545-mpg-by-2025.html) †¢ Change of oil price, is one of the most volatile components oil, is very heretical as it prices increases and decreases. Consumer are more aware that fuel efficient vehicle can guarantee more performance for their money. In 26-07-2011 oil crude open at $99.0 an close$99.6 (http://www.livecharts.co.uk/futures_commodities/oil_prices_historical.php) †¢ Increase of raw materials. This effects the manufacturing of the automobile if the steel components raises then the car will have to be a lot more expensive. According to the World Carbon Steel Transaction Prices in Mar,2011 medium steel sections were $719/Ton in April,2011 it was 926/Ton. (http://www.steelonthenet.com/price_info.html) †¢ Recession is another factor that Ford Motor Company has to battle. As the economy declines in activity, more people are not investing or spending their incomes in new vehicles. It is estimate that the US unemployment rates is at 13.9 million persons a (9.1 percent) http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm)

Geographic Information System (GIS) Benefits and Constraints

Geographic Information System (GIS) Benefits and Constraints Benefits and Constraints of Using Geographic Information System (GIS) 1. Introduction 1.1 Research Background This is no more evident than in the proliferation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) across a variety of disciplines, with the common goal of capturing, storing, analysing and visualizing spatial information. GIS in practice, by virtue of its technical complexity and cost, has traditionally been limited to the operations of Governments and commercial organisations (Craig et al., 2002). Despite these barriers non-profit organisations and community groups are increasingly looking to adopt GIS on the premise that it will be able to positively transform their operations through better decision making and influencing public policy through greater analysis and the presentation of professional visualisations (Sieber, 2000b, Sieber, 2000a). Given this burgeoning interest, there has been a concerted effort by GIS and Society (GISoc) research groups to develop and espouse concepts such as Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) which provides a unique approach to make GIS and spatial data availa ble to non-traditional users allowing them to integrate local knowledge and engage in decision making (Sieber, 2006). 1.2 Research Objectives The focus of this research project is to investigate the benefits and constraints for the application of a Geographic Information System (GIS) within a community based project. Specifically the research considers a reframing of PPGIS to help better guide the processes, resources and characteristics required to implement a community based GIS. The following questions will guide the research and development of the community-based GIS: Do contemporary PPGIS pragmatic approaches address the original ontological debates of GIS and Society? Can psychogeographic principles help better guide the requirements for a community based GIS? What spatial data sets are available and usable for community groups within Melbourne, Victoria? Do available datasets satisfy the requirements of community groups? Can community knowledge be effectively integrated with traditional spatial data sources? 1.3 Research Rationale As people become more aware of local, regional and global issues through the mainstream media and the Internet they, as a result, expect to be better informed by Governments and organisations and allowed to contribute to decisions that shape their own lives and the society in which they live. If those issues comprise spatial knowledge, then a GIS is a natural option for facilitating discussions and conveying local knowledge (Carver, 2003). Despite this opportunity to empower communities many GIS practices (including PPGIS) and available spatial data often do not adequately represent community needs and concerns (Elwood, 2006). This research thus aims to explore and develop a framework for which current GIS and related technologies can be successfully reconstructed to allow communities to express their own knowledge about place and spatial relations through visualizations and narratives. Specifically, the proposed research has been designed to assist the Blackburn Lake Sanctuary (BLS) Advisory Committee to implement a GIS which will be enable them to store and map the location of various vegetation and salient features within the BLS in Melbourne, Victoria. By integrating publicly available data sets with community knowledge it is hoped that it will further legitimise the activities of the BLS Advisory Committee while not compromising their goal of contributing to local government policy and increasing the effectiveness of their activities. 1.4 Research Methodology Contained here is an outline of the subsequent chapters and research methodology. The research will be organised into three major chapters literature review; case study; and discussion and conclusions. Chapter Two Literature review examines the relevant literature regarding GIS and Society, PPGIS and psychogeography providing an overview of the historical background and ontological framework of these research paradigms. An examination of the principles of psychogeography and the research design of previous PPGIS studies will be completed, providing a comparative study of their different methodologies and methods. These comparisons will assist in developing a theoretical framework for a community-based GIS which will guide the case study to follow. Chapter Three Case study introduces the Blackburn Lake Sanctuary case study and attempts to implement the methods established within the theoretical framework introduced in chapter two. An exploratory case study has been employed because it is a valuable method for investigating the nature and effects of implementing technology within a complex milieu (Sieber, 2000b). In order to increase the rigour and validity of the case study observations, open-ended interviews and questionnaires will be conducted. Chapter Four Discussion and conclusions reviews the research objectives in relation to the major research findings as well as the limitations of the methods and theories employed. Pattern matching techniques will be employed to compare the observed and verified information with the framework developed through the research project. If the observed and predicted information correspond then the research methodology maybe strongly validated (Sarantakos, 1998). This chapter also addresses the limitations of the research and future research opportunities. 1.5 Conclusion This chapter has established the objectives and rationale for conducting research into developing a community-based GIS. A research methodology has also been proposed to describe how the research statement and associated objectives will be achieved. The next chapter will review the relevant literature including theoretical models and research methodologies used by previous researchers in the field of PPGIS and psychogeography. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction In the previous chapter, the objectives, rationale and methodology were presented to help guide the research into developing a community-based GIS. The research outlined in this thesis covers a number of interdisciplinary fields all of which are continually evolving. These fields include public participation GIS (PPGIS), community mapping and psychogeography. This chapter begins by investigating the role of GIS in society including the motivation and foundation for PPGIS and the advantages and disadvantages of PPGIS praxis. The chapter also explores the topic of psychogeography and the reasons why its principles may help characterise and drive the successful development of a community GIS. 2.2 GIS and Society a brief history Mountains dark with forests rose above the rooftops, the jagged black summits silhouetted against the evening light. Higher than them all, though, was the tip of the Schneeberg, glowing, translucent, throwing out fire and sparks, towering into the dying brightness of a sky across which the strangest of greyish-pink cloud formations were moving, while visible between them were the winter planets and crescent moon. (Sebald, 2002: 50) Storytelling is an extremely powerful means for conveying an image of the world and in some way or another every story takes place somewhere and relates knowledge of geography and a sense of place (Cartwright, 2004, Erle et al., 2005, Cartwright et al., 2009). One way to represent geographic stories and our understanding of the spatial organisation of the physical environment and its relationship with humans is through a map. An attempt to bring together the science of geography with the art of map making has been the Geographic Information System (GIS) which is a computer system for capturing, storing, querying, analysing and displaying geographically referenced data (Chang, 2008). What differentiates a GIS from other databases and computer systems is its ability to combine large amounts of spatial data from diverse sources, group the data into layers or categories, analyse the data for patterns or relationships and produce improved visualizations (Sieber, 2000a, Sieber, 2000b). Fo r these reasons GIS technology has become an important tool for use by many levels of Government, Universities and organisations involved in activities ranging from conservation, advertising and marketing, health, crime, land-use planning and social services or any activity containing a spatial component (Sieber, 2006). However it is only recently that GIS use has expanded to non-traditional users such as non-profit organisations and community groups. This accessibility has been the result of decreased costs in hardware, software and improved user interfaces which means the user no longer has to learn specialised command languages (Craig et al., 2002). The attraction to the utility of GIS, by non-traditional users, is much the same as traditional users in that it can assist in new ways of understanding a problem, but it may also help in influencing public policy through more sophisticated analysis and the presentation of professional looking images (Sieber, 2000b). Despite this perceived ease-of-use and increasing ubiquity, the GIS has been criticised by some circles as being an elitist technology which merely enhances existing power structures (Carver, 2003). This critique is heavily influenced by postmodernist principles, which place an increasing emphasis on the contributions of wider society and recognises that knowledge and values are constructed through a multiplicity of social and cultural forces. These arguments first surfaced within the paradigm of critical cartography which exposed the inherent subjectivity in, and rhetorical content of maps, thus implying that maps are as much a reflection of (or metaphor for) the culture that produces them, as they are an abstraction of the physical environment (MacEachren, 1995). These examinations have also been employed within social and critical GIS debates which challenge the use of GIS in decision making as being objective and neutral. Instead it has been maintained that GIS utility is often c onfined to experts whom produce privileged knowledge given their unique access to data, technology, resources and position to structure the inquiry and design the output (Duncan and Lach, 2006). This view of GIS as a return to the principles of technocratic positivism may be construed as anti-democratic because decisions reliant on a GIS may exclude diverse forms of spatial data, such as community knowledge, in favour of ordered Government data conceptualised into points, lines and areas (Crampton and Krygier, 2006). Many academics, such as Pickles (1995), believe that the increased popularity of GIS within the geography discipline has meant that the availability and access to geographic data has become more influential than knowledge or experience of a unique environment or subject (Craig et al., 2002). Concerns regarding the hegemonic and subjective role of GIS lead to a number of workshops in the mid-nineties on GIS and Society (GISoc) sponsored by the National Centre for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) (Craig et al., 2002). GISoc was focused on how the spread of the technology was affecting the political, economic, legal and institutional structures of society; and how societal processes affect the form taken by the technology itself (Carver, 2003: 65). GISoc research furthermore questioned whether current GIS practices and available spatial data adequately represented community needs and concerns and whether a new ontological framework was needed to help empower less privileged groups in society (Elwood, 2006). It was questioned whether it would be possible to develop a bottom-up GIS which could successfully incorporate community participation and thus either displace or validate decisions made with top-down GIS approaches, implemented in most Government and commerci al GIS projects (Craig et al., 2002). From these reflections the notion of Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) was developed and defined as a variety of approaches to make GIS and other spatial decision-making tools available and accessible to all those with a stake in official decisions. (Schroeder, 1996) In other words, the intention of PPGIS praxis was to incorporate local community perspectives into decision making, ideally leading to solutions which might otherwise not have been attained using traditional data sources and esoteric problem framing and analysis (Carver, 2003). Even though PPGIS was initially seen as a reconstructed democratic GIS, there is still much polarized debate regarding whether GIS technology is empowering or marginalising. These opinions, however, can often be seen as a reactive and predisposed view of information technology (IT) in which individuals and groups must react to the technology as having a positive or negative social effect (Sieber, 2000a). The effectiveness and social and political implications of GIS use within communities, however is much more complex and is generally contingent on a set of unique local factors such as culture, policies, standards, people and technology (Duncan and Lach, 2006). While PPGIS applications are an extremely positive move to address the original GISoc concerns regarding the social, political and knowledge practices of GIS contemporary PPGIS have seemingly introduced new contradictions concerning data access, representation and hegemony (Elwood, 2006). For instance, although much literatur e acknowledges the importance of bridging the gap between technology and community knowledge, many PPGIS applications continue to adopt a technocratic view of GIS and are often lacking extensive public interaction let alone the integration of community data (Sieber, 2006). The next section of this thesis examines more closely the current contradictions in PPGIS applications, paying particular attention to the ambiguities in the use of the terms public and participation. The purpose in critiquing the underlying assumptions of these terms is to further an understanding of the original ontological meaning of PPGIS and how the varying use of the terms has affected the incorporation of community knowledge in PPGIS projects. 2.3 What does the Public and Participation in PPGIS really mean? Any process or technology which enhances a communities access to information and provides the chance to participate in decision making should be seen as a step in the right direction; however the original ontological framing of GISoc has become misconstrued by some practices of PPGIS (Carver, 2003). The original concept and application of PPGIS has been reshaped and become more disparate over the years as a range of disciplines (such as urban planning and conservation), have applied different approaches and technologies to achieve a unique set of priorities and goals (Sieber, 2006). Furthermore the growing enthusiasm of Governments and commercial organisations for participatory planning has lead to a number of diverse initiatives which vary in terms of the inclusiveness of community knowledge and empowerment potential (Elwood, 2006). However, public participation is a complicated concept that can have multiple meanings which lead to numerous interpretations and societal expectations (Schlossberg and Shuford, 2005). An examination of the nature of public and participation practices in GIS applications is thus critical in developing a greater understanding of the ambiguities in the PPGIS process and how these may have diverged from the original vision of GISoc. It is extremely important to identify whom the public is when engaging a PPGIS project because it will ultimately determine who is included within the project and what types of outcomes and goals may be achievable (Schlossberg and Shuford, 2005). The Collins English Dictionary (1982) defines public (adj) as a means of relating to, or concerning the people as a whole reflecting the intended meaning within PPGIS; and many applications do continue to be developed for a general public (Sieber, 2006). There is however a number of PPGIS projects who take a more ambiguous view of public and often use it interchangeably with definitions which more loosely resemble a stakeholder. In other words many projects deem their public to be those who are affected by, bring knowledge or information to, and possess the power to influence a decision or program (Sieber, 2006). The public and their interests are often, however, very different from stakeholders and thus would heavily influence the problem f raming and objectives of a GIS project (Wood, 2005). Furthermore a public can be demarcated by a range of factors such as geographical, economic, social or political; and the composition of a public may change over time (Schlossberg and Shuford, 2005). Determining what constitutes the public has become especially complicated as technology has become more pervasive. For instance a web-based GIS may potentially be accessible by a wider portion of society however it raises questions around digital divides and geographic scale. Thus, is anyone who is able to access the application still deemed part of the public even though they maybe geographically distant to the issue and decision making? (Sieber, 2006) In general people local to an issue should be interested enough to get involved in a debate given their geographic proximity. It has been demonstrated however that as scale increases not only do people at regional, national and global levels become interested and involved in an issue but also a higher percentage of people at the local do as well because it has amplified into a wider discourse (Carver, 2003). Consequently Aitken (2002) suggests that instead of perceiving issues or decision making as being scale dependent and developing PPGIS projects for stakeholders which have their scale fixed, GIS projects should, alternatively, be directing their attention towards developing a GIS which would enable community issues and knowledge to jump scale from local to larger public discourses or vice versa (Aitken, 2002, Sieber, 2006). This is an important aspect because there is often a concern that local activities are dismissed as being part of community politics and are denied significant advancements by State and Federal Governments and thus the opportunity to emerge and engage individuals at all scales (Aitken, 2002). From this perspective a community-based GIS, where community is defined as a group of individuals who are bound together by a common characteristic or a common intent and who enjoy a relatively high degr ee of mutual social interaction (Jones et al., 2004: 105) offers the prospect of transcending the rigid scale conceptualised upon community politics and local activism enabling them to contest structures of power and dominance at the very scales they exist (Aitken, 2002, Gaile and Willmott, 2005). Harris and Weiner (1998) acknowledged in their research on the power relations associated with GIS use that participatory GIS practices have the potential to simultaneously empower and marginalise groups (Sieber, 2006). As a result it is imperative to understand the nature of the participatory process and who benefits and why (Craig et al., 2002). One such way to help conceptualise the levels of public participation is through a ladder metaphor. First conceived by Arnstein (1969), the basic premise of the participation ladder is that each rung of the ladder represents a different level of participation the bottom rung represents zero opportunity to participate while each rung above represents increased level of participation in the decision making and thus greater public empowerment (Carver, 2003). Wiedemann and Femers (1993) later produced an adaptation of the ladder which conceived of public participation as not only providing access to information but also suggesting that inform ing the public of decisions is another form of participation (Tulloch and Shapiro, 2003). This concept is significantly flawed as it firstly misrepresents the commonly understood meaning of the word participation in PPGIS which The Collins English Dictionary (1982) defines as to take part, be or become involved, or share. Secondly the ladder metaphors do not acknowledge the potential for participation to change over a period of time (Schlossberg and Shuford, 2005). Thirdly, the participation models fail to include oppositional groups whom do not cooperate with public decision making but participate in the formation public policy through other influential methods such as protests (Sieber, 2006). The incorporation of the word participation in many GIS projects implies a method of consensus building which presupposes a level of top-down decision-making as well as a degree of homogenization between participants. Certain individuals however may be better able to participate or contribute to decision making than others. Consequently, disproportional levels of participation may effectively disempower individuals and adversely affect the desired outcomes of a community (Sieber, 2006). Consequently some scholars have insisted on applying participatory for autonomous grassroots activities and employing participation to describe those projects which are more top-down in their approach (Elwood, 2006). Again while this is a neat way to demarcate GIS projects which employ various degrees of top-down and bottom-up methods these definitions fail to acknowledge that both methodologies are crucial to any successful GIS project and community decision making. In fact it is fervently maintained that in order to enable citizens to better identify and comprehend how the role of GIS and technical discourses are bound up in decision making and how decision making can be informed by GIS knowledge, communities must have access to spatial information developed by Governments and commerc ial organisations as well as contributing their own spatial knowledge (Brown, 1998). Within this section it has been demonstrated that the attitudes and arguments that frame many PPGIS projects have succeeded in producing an illusion of influence and contribution by communities to decision making when actual control still resides with the traditional powers, such as Government. Instead of attempting to build an impossible consensus amongst a public with disparate tastes, values and experiences, a community-based GIS should concentrate on developing a communitys ability to construct their own facts with the aid of available third party resources, from which their personal geographic stories may emerge and translate to various members of society (Wood, 2005). Another way forward could be to draw upon principles of Situational psychogeography which also attempts to combine subjective and objective modes of study by positing that ones self cannot be divorced from the urban environment and that ones psyche and knowledge of the city must transcend the individual if it is t o be of any use in the collective rethinking of the city (Sadler, 1998, Wood, 2005). In the following section an examination of the origins of psychogeography will be conducted clarifying how the principles behind this practice may help establish a framework for practice of GIS and Society and specifically the incorporation of local knowledge in GIS. 2.4 What exactly is Psychogeography? During the 1950s a number of highly politicised groups emerged in opposition to the ideals of modernism; these groups promoted programs that would reform the practice of art and life by directly intervening in the human environment and bringing about a social revolution (Sadler, 1998). One such group were the Lettrist International who conceived of the notion of Unitary Urbanism, which would later be the developed into the praxis of Psychogeography. Unitary Urbanism was envisaged as the theory of the combined use of arts and techniques for the integral construction of a milieu in dynamic relation with experiments in behaviour. (Knabb, 2006: 52) In other words, Unitary Urbanism was considered a social project whose vision was the unification of space and architecture with the social and individual body (Sadler, 1998). In 1957 the Lettrist International and the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus (IMIB) merged to form a new artistic-activist movement known as the Situationist International (SI). The SI was similarly critical of modernist principles which anteceded the rational mind at the expense of the imagination. These criticisms are most clearly evident in the SIs opposition to modern architecture and urban planning which they argued shaped people into rigid patterns of behaviour (Sadler, 1998). Furthermore they believed that increasing urbanism and capitalism had reduced life to mere production and consumption behaviour that ensured that everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation. (Debord, 1964) In other words experienced space had been reduced into mere representations of spaces and in turn re-envisaged as capitalist spaces (McDonough, 2002). SI believed that members of society were increasingly experiencing life as spectators devoid of dialogue and wi thout a sense of being involved or interacting with one another. Once this spectacle of modernity and urbanism, represented through images, products and activities, and authorised by the state, had been unveiled, society would be able to rediscover the authenticity of city life underneath (Debord, 1964). By resisting the hegemony of the state the SI sought to radically transform urban spaces through different practices including the subversion of cartography. Specifically by directing the spectators senses towards the contradictions in the abstractions and mediations of the state, the aim was to draw the spectator into activity by provoking his capacities to revolutionize his own life (Debord, 1957: 25). Taking from the original methodology of Unitary Urbanism, psychogeography was proposed as a method of urban investigation which studies the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals. (Debord, 1955) In other words, psychogeography was intended as a methodology to help make people aware of the ways in which the urban environment and everyday life is conditioned and controlled and encouraged the exposing of these concerns (Plant, 1992). Psychogeography in practice utilised a technique conceived as the Theory of the Dà ©rive, in which individuals dà ©rive (literally: drifting) through an environment letting themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain while still seeking to unmask the contradictions in the abstracted space (Plant, 1992). The dà ©rive was an attempt to reappropriate the meaning of the city by removing the myths in the states representations by having people walk and experience the landscape first hand, thus constructing through narratives a more concrete collective space (Mcdonough, 1994). While the dà ©rive offered a new way of surveying urban space, a new way of representing these spaces had yet to be found. The SI were not disillusioned with the idea of mapping practices, in fact they regarded mapping as an important component to aid in the changing and organisation of urban spaces (Pinder, 1996). They believed however, that the structures and imperatives utilised in mapping exposed the desires of those wishing to impose order upon the city. The SI ambition was thus to illustrate the strange logic and apparent disorder of cities by producing maps which demonstrated those intimacies of the city typically absent from a traditional street or topographic map (Sadler, 1998). Consequently the SI developed a concept called Dà ©tournement, which loosely translates as a diversion or rerouting of pre-existing aesthetic elements (Knabb, 1995). An example of this is where existing maps and aerial photographs were juxtaposed or rearranged to produce a new spatial meaning; an a lternative experiential or existential truth (Ungar, 2005). Thus the SI were able to reconstruct the cartography of a city by reconciling conventional geographies, sociologies, and cartographies together with experienced spaces, producing a map which is terrestrial, fragmented, subjective, temporal, and cultural (Sadler, 1998: 82). While Debord announced the disbandment of the SI in 1972, the traditions underpinning psychogeography continue to influence many works of literature, films, urban design and geographic practices (Ford, 2005). Wood (2005) draws attention to one contemporary psychogeography project Jake Bartons City of Memory which combines psychogeographic principles with a GIS to build a collective urban memory through the participation of a number of people. In an interview with Wood, Jake Barton described his project as utilising top-down and bottom-up resources to create an emergent and curated experience. Precisely by extending these terms to form the foundation of any GIS and Society project, Wood hypothesised that what would emerge was a GIS designed by a third-party or community-based intermediary (top-down); the public would formulate a specific framework that fits their unique goals (bottom-up); the bottom-up and top-down activities and goals are not independent of each other, but rather c o-exist (curated); the outcome of the project has not been foreseen or influenced towards a specific outcome by any party, but rather emerges organically from the facts obtained and analysed (emergent). Thus resulting in a map and information which has not been exactly made by the public but which without it has no content at all and deflates into a frame around nothing (Wood, 2005: 13). Following on from this preliminary research by Wood a wider investigation of these terms will be conducted, laying the framework for a more appropriate community-based GIS as originally envisaged in GISoc debates. 2.5 Top-down Top-down integration of GIS is usually undertaken by an outside individual or agency who provides the GIS model, data, analysis and representation (Talen, 2000). Often the major distinction between a top-down and bottom-up approach, in participatory projects, is determined by where the decision making lies and by the level of commitment required by the public. With a top-down approach a Government or organisation would typically provide the data and representations which would be used in deliberation with the public, who are required to make a short-term commitment. In contrast, a bottom-up approach would require the public to have ongoing access to GIS data and the resources to capture data, conduct analysis and produce representations (Talen, 2000). Governments and commercial planners will often implement a participatory GIS with top-down goals in order to better understand a neighbourhood dynamic, improve public sector management and enhance social service provision. This process theoretically serves the public by introducing policies and services based on a communitys perception of the data, analysis and representations framed by Governments and planners (Sieber, 2006). Top-down GIS models can also help circumvent deterrents such as cost, complexity and access to data which often impeded non-profit and community groups from implementing a GIS. The cost of hardware and GIS software have decreased dramatically over the years and there are now many open source GIS solutions available for free use; however it has been shown that any cost and resources required in the implementation, operation and maintenance of equipment, no matter the amount, will be a significant barrier for adoption, especially for underprivileged groups (Brodnig and Mayer-Schà ¶nberger, 2000, Leitner et al., 2002). Furthermore many individuals may lack knowledge about the availability and means of obtaining a GIS and spatial data (Elwood, 2007). Many of the GIS packages available are user-friendly for many operations, however the more functionality a group requires for their GIS, the greater

Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia

Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia, regarding a case INTRODUCTION Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH) was first described as a malignant lesion by Pierre Masson in 1923(1), warning his histological similarity to angiosarcoma. Later, Henschen(2) described an intravascular endothelial proliferation that he interpreted like a reagent process due to inflammation and stasis vascular. We present a case of a patient diagnosed with intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia in renal vein. CASE REPORT 61 years old male referred to our department with symptoms compatible with right renal colic. He has previous history of hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and benign prostatic hyperplasia with alpha-blocker therapy. The patient relates intense pain in the right flank, sometimes radiating to ipsilateral inguinal region. On physical examination revealed pain with percussion in the right flank. Blood and urine analysis, abdominal radiography and ultrasound are requested, all of them normal. Due to the persistence of symptoms, CT scan with contrast was requested (Fig. 1), in which a solid mass of 3.5 x 3 x 4 cm, lobulated and with heterogeneous necrotic center located at the right renal hilum infiltrates renal vein is seen . This mass is adjacent to lower portion of adrenal gland, kidney, and posterior portion of the duodenum, not clearly identifying dependency. To try to understand the dependence of this mass MRI is requested (Fig. 2), which describes hypointense on T1 and hyperintense on T2 tumor, with probable adrenal gland dependence. Suspecting adrenal injury, hormonal and metabolic study is carried on in blood and urine of 24 hours, all was normal. Scintigraphy was also performed with MIBG finding no enhancing lesions. Given previous findings, and the likelihood of adrenal malignancy (nonfunctional), surgery is decided. By a subcostal laparotomy, a tumor about 4 cm, firmly adhered to the renal hilum is observed. Right radical nephrectomy is performed due to impossibility the tumor excision alone. Postoperative course without incidences and the patient was discharged on the fourth day. Microscopic examination of the surgical specimen revealed kidney and adrenal gland unaltered. Near of the renal hilum and, at least partially, contained within a dilated vein, thrombosis and endothelial reactive area proliferation (capillary and papillary), compatible with papillary endothelial hyperplasia intravascular (Fig 3). Currently the patient is reviewed every six months, with analytical tests and CT normal. DISCUSSION Enzinger and Clearkin(3) suggested several morphological features that served in the differential diagnosis between IPEH and angiosarcoma, including intraluminal location of the lesion, absence of necrotic tissue and presence of thrombotic material, and proposed the intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia term. The etiology of IPEH is still unknown. Trauma has been proposed as the main etiological factor, but the traumatic history is exceptional. Several authors agree with the view of Clearkin and Salyer who believe it is due to an alteration in the thrombosis process, consisting of an unusual and peculiar way of organizing thrombus.( 3,6 ) IPEH can occur at any age, more frequently in female. Most of the cases are localized to skin vessels, in head and neck, where they appear as small hard mass of bluish red coloration to the skin. Although there have also been less frequent locations as jejunum, central nervous system, liver, and lungs (4,5). Three forms have been described: Primary, on dilated vascular lakes; secondary or mixed, with preexisting vascular lesion as hemangioma , arteriovenous malformations or pyogenic granuloma; and the third and less frequent, extravascular, resulting in a hematoma (7). The finding of IPEH in the renal vein is rare, there are very few cases reflected in the literature. The symptoms are variable, ranging from an incidental finding, asymptomatic, to colic pain and hematuria. In imaging, with the CT scan with contrast we can find a solid lesion with heterogeneous contrast enhancement, and in MRI a lesion hypointense on T1 and hyperintense on T2 , which does not exclude malignancy(8, 9). In a case reported(10), preoperative diagnosis was performed with excision of the lesion and kidney preservation. But in most cases, it was impossible to rule out malignancy, and the radical surgery is usual, either for technic impossibility by proximity to the renal vessels, or the suspicion of malignancy. No metastases or malignant degeneration has been reported. Preoperative diagnosis of IPEH is difficult as there are no characteristic symptoms or an imaging test that allows adequate differential diagnosis. There are several neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions that can be found in the renal hilum. Among them: renal carcinoma, angiomyolipoma , schwannoma , myelolipoma , hemangiopericytoma , lymphoma, cysts, Castleman disease or lipomas. Therefore, this condition, although rare, must fall within the diagnostic possibilities, especially if their dependency or proximity to vessels is detected. CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors declare no conflict of interest REFERENCES Masson P. Hemangioendothelioma vegetant intra-vasculaire. Bull Soc Anat Paris 1923;93:517–23. Henschen F. L ´endovasculite proliferante thrombopoietique dans la lesion vasculaire locale. Ann anat Pathol 1932;9:113-21. Clearkin KP, Enzinger FM. Intravascular papillary endotelial hiperplasia. ARch Pathol Lab MEd 1976;10:441-4. Johraku A, Miyanaga N, Sekido N, et al. A case of Intravascular Papillary Endothelial Hyperplasia Arising from Renal sinus.Jpn J clin Oncol 1997; 27(6) 433-36. Pelosi G, Sonzogni A, VIale G. Intravascular Papillary Endothelial Hyperplasia of the renal vein. Int J Surg Pathol 19(4) 518-20 Salyer WR, Salyer DC. Intravascular angiomatosis: development and distinction from agniosarcoma. Cancer. 1975; 36: 995-1001 Hashimoto H, Daimaru Y, Enjoji M. Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia. A clinicopathological study of 91 cases. AM J Dermatopathol. 1983; 5:539-46 Kuo T, Sayers CP, Rosai J. Masson ´s `Vegetant intravascular hemangioendothelioma ´: a lesion often mistaken for angiosarcoma. Cancer 1976; 38: 1227-36. Van den bogaert S, Boel K, Van Poppel H, et al. Masson ´s tumour of the kidney. Cancer Imaging. 2002; 2: 116-9. Akhtar M, Aslam MAL-Mana H, et al. Intravascular Papillary endothelial Hyperpasia of Renal Vein. Arch Pathol Lab med. 2005;129: 516-520 LEGENDS TO FIGURES Fig.1CT: heterogeneous mass with necrotic core located in the right renal hilum. Fig. 2 T1-weighted MR image: hypointense mass on the right renal hilum. Fig. 3 Histological specimen. Close to the renal vascular pole and partially including a dilated vein, an intravascular thrombus and a reactive endothelial proliferation zone (capillary and papillaroid) are observed. Fig. 4 Greater magnification of the previous image, which can be seen proliferation of papillary structures that tend to anastomose that are lined by a row of endothelial cells, centered on an axis of collagen and fibrin. No images of necrosis, atypia or mitosis (not characteristic of malignancy) were observed.

Electronic Money and Its Impact on Central Banking and Monetary Policy

Electronic Money and Its Impact on Central Banking and Monetary Policy â€Å"The term [electronic] money refers to various proposed electronic payment mechanisms designed for use by consumers to make retail payments. Digital money products have the potential to replace central bank currency† (Berentsen 1). This quote indicates that the advent of electronic money will have an impact on the banking system and monetary policy. While this topic is controversial it seems obvious that some changes will result and that there is no prefect answer to predict this new instruments affect on monetary aggregates and the role of central banks. Its growth will be based on many things: future technology, increased security, regulation, and ease of conversion. It can impact such variables as monetary supply, exchange rates, the money multiplier, velocity of money and seignorage. Increased reliance on electronic money as a substitute for currency will directly affect the central bank and its control over monetary aggregates and policies. Electronic money is the money balance recorded electronically on a â€Å"stored-value† card (Ely 1). These cards, â€Å"smart cards,† have a microprocessor embedded which can be loaded with a monetary value. Another form of electronic money is network money, â€Å"software that allows the transfer of value on computer networks, particularly the internet. Like a travelers check, a digital money balance is a floating claim on a private bank or other financial institution that is not linked to any particular account† (Berentsen 1-2). This money is issued by both public and private institutions worldwide and is raising concern about the future ability of central banks to set money supply targets. It is widely used in... ... Money and Monetary Policy: Separating Fact from Fiction.† The Future of Money in the Information Age, CATO Institute’s 14th Annual Monetary Conference. 23 May 1996. CATO Institute, 25 Nov. 2002 http://www.cato.org/moneyconf/14mc-2.html Seign, George. â€Å"E-money: Friend or Foe of Monetarism.† The Future of Money in the Information Age, CATO Institute’s 14th Annual Monetary Conference. 23 May 1996. CATO Institute, 25 Nov. 2002 Rahn, Dr. Richard W. â€Å"On the Future of Electronic Payments.† CATO Congressional Testimony. 19 Sep. 2000. CATO Institute, 25 Nov. 2002 Berentsen, Aleksander. â€Å"Digital Money, Liquidity, and Monetary Policy.† 1997. First Money, 25 Nov. 2002 http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue2_7/berentsen/

The Meaning of Success Essay -- Expository Essays

The Meaning of Success Success has to do with having the freedom to make choices and being the person we want to be. Even though each of us determine what success is, we can follow some factors for having a successful life. The first factor is hard work and discipline. Achieving what can be termed as a major triumph such as success in our work or personal victory after a long, hard slog can bring a wonderful sense of happiness when we get to the peak. This climb to success can be difficult in terms of maintaining the discipline needed to achieve the ultimate task and is more suited to those brave souls who are prepared to live on the edge and do anything it takes to achieve their goals. Probably the biggest key to success is dogged determination. Every successful person has failed, most h... The Meaning of Success Essay -- Expository Essays The Meaning of Success Success has to do with having the freedom to make choices and being the person we want to be. Even though each of us determine what success is, we can follow some factors for having a successful life. The first factor is hard work and discipline. Achieving what can be termed as a major triumph such as success in our work or personal victory after a long, hard slog can bring a wonderful sense of happiness when we get to the peak. This climb to success can be difficult in terms of maintaining the discipline needed to achieve the ultimate task and is more suited to those brave souls who are prepared to live on the edge and do anything it takes to achieve their goals. Probably the biggest key to success is dogged determination. Every successful person has failed, most h...

Henry David Thoreau Was a Fool :: Henry David Thoreau Essays

Lincoln has been credited as being a person that fought for equality between races, when he himself believed that African Americans were inferior, the image people give him is unreal, propaganda by the Radical Republicans in the reconstruction era. Many people have ideas that do not hold up when put to the test, or even their own reasoning. Henry David Thoreau’s ideas and ideals do not hold up when compared to reality. Thoreau believed that if a man did less work, the better it would be for the man and his community. He set out to accomplish this task, and accomplished not working, but failed to prove his point. He died at age forty-five, younger then most people in his time, and although he did benefit his community, doing little labor only shortened his life, and proved no better for the community. Not only does reality disprove Thoreau’s theology, but his own words contradict him. He proclaimed â€Å"the government that governs least is the best,† (Civil Disobedience pg. 222 paragraph 1) and then says that, â€Å"We have had to agree on a certain set of rules†¦ to make this frequent meeting tolerable†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Solitude pg. 95 paragraph 3). His contradiction is evident, what is government but on how the people conduct their meetings, lacking the laws of the government, the society would collapse. He also criticizes the government for not being virtuous (Ponds pg. 119 last paragraph). The American government is controlled by the people, if he wants a government that is virtuous, he should either get elected, or try to get the non-virtuous people out of office. Further, politicians who made their name elsewhere have said things to the effect of, â€Å"either you already have a name for yourself, or somewhere along the line you sell your soul†¦Ã¢â‚¬  essentially saying that virtue and politics don’t work together. Thoreau further shows how he cannot support his own ideas when he says that he spent two years â€Å"alone, in the woods,†(Economy pg. 7, 1st sentence). He did not spend two years â€Å"alone† and a great period of the time which he was there was not â€Å"in the woods.† In fact, he had as many as thirty guests at a time (Visitors pg. 97 last line). He tries to show how he had few visitors in the winter saying, â€Å"†¦no visitor ventured near my house for a week or a fortnight at a time,† (Winter Visitors pg. Henry David Thoreau Was a Fool :: Henry David Thoreau Essays Lincoln has been credited as being a person that fought for equality between races, when he himself believed that African Americans were inferior, the image people give him is unreal, propaganda by the Radical Republicans in the reconstruction era. Many people have ideas that do not hold up when put to the test, or even their own reasoning. Henry David Thoreau’s ideas and ideals do not hold up when compared to reality. Thoreau believed that if a man did less work, the better it would be for the man and his community. He set out to accomplish this task, and accomplished not working, but failed to prove his point. He died at age forty-five, younger then most people in his time, and although he did benefit his community, doing little labor only shortened his life, and proved no better for the community. Not only does reality disprove Thoreau’s theology, but his own words contradict him. He proclaimed â€Å"the government that governs least is the best,† (Civil Disobedience pg. 222 paragraph 1) and then says that, â€Å"We have had to agree on a certain set of rules†¦ to make this frequent meeting tolerable†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Solitude pg. 95 paragraph 3). His contradiction is evident, what is government but on how the people conduct their meetings, lacking the laws of the government, the society would collapse. He also criticizes the government for not being virtuous (Ponds pg. 119 last paragraph). The American government is controlled by the people, if he wants a government that is virtuous, he should either get elected, or try to get the non-virtuous people out of office. Further, politicians who made their name elsewhere have said things to the effect of, â€Å"either you already have a name for yourself, or somewhere along the line you sell your soul†¦Ã¢â‚¬  essentially saying that virtue and politics don’t work together. Thoreau further shows how he cannot support his own ideas when he says that he spent two years â€Å"alone, in the woods,†(Economy pg. 7, 1st sentence). He did not spend two years â€Å"alone† and a great period of the time which he was there was not â€Å"in the woods.† In fact, he had as many as thirty guests at a time (Visitors pg. 97 last line). He tries to show how he had few visitors in the winter saying, â€Å"†¦no visitor ventured near my house for a week or a fortnight at a time,† (Winter Visitors pg.

Lets Talk About Dying

Presentation Summary Greg Konen In Peter Saul’s (2011) â€Å"Let’s Talking about Dying† talk, he opened up with a very poignant statement that when 2000 brain cells die daily he argues that our dying process really truly has started. As a physician, he reports that he has seen many changes in the last thirty years. One significant change is the role of technology in healthcare. Technology, he argues, is credited with life prolonging, rather than life saving.He also states that chronic diseases are now taking control in the dying process. He postulated that the four ways to die are: (a) sudden death, (b) terminal illness, (c) organ failure, and (d) frailty (Saul, 2011). Sudden death is declining due to technology and increased education. Terminal illness is usually reserved for the younger person. Organ failure will lead people into the Intensive Care Unit of the local hospital. He reports that there is seven times more stress associated with this type of death (S aul, 2011).He also states that one in five United States citizens will experience this type of death (Saul, 2011). The final way to die, frailty, is what most people will experiences. Life longevity breeds frailty. This dwindling capacity is an inevitable part of aging (Saul, 2011). This increased longevity leads to longer life; not necessarily better life (Saul, 2011). The key for healthcare professionals is respecting patient choices (Saul, 2011).To explore this concept, Saul undertook some research efforts to explore the dying process in Australia. He found that one in one hundred patients had advanced directives which he called a â€Å"dialogue† (Saul, 2011). A chart reviewed showed that the healthcare profession failed to address the needs of advanced directives with their patients (Saul, 2011). Saul argued that respecting patient choices should just be normal practice for hospitals (Saul, 2011).He summarized his talk by stating that the two most important questions rega rding the dying process are: (a) who do you want to make your decisions? and (b) have you spoken to that person? (Saul, 2011). His closing quote by Dame Cicely Saunders, â€Å"You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life† is a poignant reminder that most people want, and deserve control, in the dying process. Reference Saul, T. , (2011, November). Let’s talk about dying. Retrieved from http://www. ted. com/talks/peter_saul_let_s_talk_about_dying. html

Native American beliefs are deeply rooted in their culture Essay

They didnt have ane single religion, but they did have umpteen a nonher(prenominal) beliefs. They believed in a mysterious tweet in nature and in liven up that were higher than human beings and influenced their lives. People depended on them when they searched for food or when deal were ill. They believed EVERYTHING is inviolate from the largest mountain to the sm exclusivelyest plant and animal.A lesson female genitalia be found in all things and experiences and everything has its own purpose. Native Spirituality is around honor, love, and consider. Not only do they love, honor, and respect our Creator and Mother Earth, but to a fault every living thing. They are in touch with themselves and everything around them. It is about knowing and understanding that they were a part of everything, and everything is a part of them. Native Americans valued galore(postnominal) things like animals buffalo, deer, and small rabbits.Meat could be cooked fresh or smoked, and stored for l ong journeys or winter months. They also ate vegetables and plants berries, crunch and fruits. They valued God because he created everything. near tribes believed in one or many gods whom more powerful than others. Shamans were religious people who had close contacts with spirits. They were often medicine hands and treated sick people . at that place is no power greater than the graphic Laws.These powers were set up by the smashing Spirit in a way that the human being has no approach shot to it, except by obeying. If they choose not to follow the Natural Laws, their life get out be filled with confusion, tension, anxiety and stress. If they were to envenom the Earth, they would poison themselves. If they were to poison the Water of the Earth, they were to poison themselves. What they would do to Earth, would happen to them and their children, even the children that were unborn.

Gender Stereotypes Essay

Since theyre harmful gender stereotypes ought to become a priority.† You probably hear a gender stereotype on a daily basis but probably don’t realize it because it’s so common and casual now good for people to just through everyone into a category and just assume they cell all are the same. Which is quite sad to me. You shouldn’t be judged and characterized based on your gender. Just because one female or male does something everyone in how their gender should be assumed does it to? NO.Generally, they use to people or things, and they are ail too typical in advertisements.Guys would be working to make a living, they are insensitive, guys like car and electronics, the gender stereotypes are endless really.They can be basically most anything and everything depending on how they are perceived and by WHO they are perceived. Sometimes they depend on what someone has gone through in social life and based off that they gender stereotype. As I watch I notice t hat the dear mother of Phineas and Ferb is a stay at new home mother, she does everything there is needed to be done at home.

Men should be masculine.Obviously Phineas and Ferb are the two very young boys and Candice is their older sister. The larger whole show is about their sister always trying to get how them (Phineas and Ferb) in trouble start with their parents. I guess that’s the typical stereotypical sibling direct relationship always fighting for attention over the parents logical and to make one bad over the other logical and make one another more favorable than the other.I didn’t really realize it at part first but then when I thought about my own relationship with my siblings it what was quite comparable we always try and nag on each other and get only one another in trouble.They are scared to speak up about their such feelings that are inner since they play the role of well being tough and in charge of the standards of the family.It’s the classical guy/girl same gender stereotypes. Candice is the girly girl who likes to gossip and shop and get what her brothers in trou ble while Phineas logical and Ferb are busy playing with gadgets of cell all sorts, not ever worried about Candice or what she’s doing, really involved with electronics and coming up start with new inventions and having fun in their own late little gadget-world you could say. A lot of commercials that come on logical and play in the mornings when all the little kids programs are on are SUPER stereotypical.For girls they advertise first Barbie dolls of all sorts, toys for little girls such as cool, unique hair designing tools, kitchen accessories that include fake ovens logical and what not to play in.

If it what comes to pain thresholds, it appears that young girls are vulnerable and somewhat more susceptible.It really actually (and excuse my language) pisses me off. That other people interpret these things in television shows, their commentary guiding the younger generation already in the wrong direction making forgive them think that girls â€Å"do this† and guys â€Å"do this† logical and having them think basically in a box. I noticed deeds that the show has the very typical stereotypes. Like I mentioned above.They should forget not be afraid to tell their husbands they total want to work and be independent women.Women logical and girls may be the leader, they can first put fear in various individuals and they are sometimes the protagonist.

Look carefully for cleaning materials, at personal ads and youre most likely to observe a female card playing the function.Roles play a part on the lives of everybody.The majority of the folks continue to be uneasy with gays.Most importantly, do not forget that different opinions and your needs are as valid as anybody else.

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Pillsbury Case Marketing

mike Johnson Pillsbury field of yield divulge Beth majestic 1) What argon the ch bo indeedges that Ivan Guillen faces in his mapping as merchandise private instructor of the RBG melody? As selling theatre director of the RBG blood b bulgerank, Ivan Guillen mustiness contrive a upshot to resort hotel Pillsbury keep baked goods (RGB)s worry performance. Since the preserve-biscuit in kniting line consisted of 62% of RBGs whole gross revenue and e genuinelyplace 75% of the ph singlers profits, Guillen strand it with back start up to forgetfulen this piece in the commercializedisedise.Proposing this cerebration to GMCC would request Guillen to depend all told the challenges he faces. Guillen lead stir to percolate a dodge to sum up syndicate keenness since it has fall to 24% in the prehistorical a couple of(prenominal) years. The escape in grocery store incursion has ca utilise a bantam harvest of on the nose one part in the by tri ple years. In vow for Guillen to summation the perceptivity percent, he al lower-ranking for get to quantify the Kisses commercial. The sound judgment of this advertizing revealed the traininess of potence for tick off knowledge and relevance. Introducing.Also, when reviewing the bribe Drivers In Canada As Comp atomic number 18d To The US it is unornamented that consumers be touch on with the fiber of the pelf, the flavors offered, and the list of biscuits offered. every Guillen is firing to strike to draw up a trade com inducter programme that sum upresses these issues atomic number 18 depart the cooky in whatsoever representation. Lastly, Guillen forget buzz off to dish bug start selling search to watch the contrast in the midst of Canadian and US grocery stores. The Kisses commercial was select from the US and just near changed for the Canadian grocery store.Seeing as it failed to recall the intercommunicate yearly maturement of pentad to 7 percent, thither is a wakeful deviation amongst the Canadian and US de none markets. 2) What be consumer keennesss (in general)? What slips of business challenges after part clear from consumer perceptivenesss? How ar these insights obtained? Consumer insight is when a vender explorees unnamed/unmet involve in the viands market or a impertinently/ bankrupt focal point to assemble an actual need. The subscriber line of the seller is to abbreviate the instruction and strive on the identify need.There ar 2 main(prenominal) subjects of look, numeric and soft. quantifiable look revolves close to the meter and compendium of births in the midst of variables. haphazard essay techniques, combine questionnaires and surveys, fork up marketers with results that nookie be reason off to a large population. soft look into, on the other(a) hand, takes on a to a greater extent than fellow speck and abstract approach. by managem ent hosts, marketers flock gather an in-depth soul of consumer behavior.The nigh ballpark type of seek apply at GMCC argon the charge on sepa roams. focalisation convocations ar where a small group of tidy sum hit a moderated intelligence nigh a merchandising-oriented issue. The group consequently summarizes its opinions and at bulky last comes to a answer they claim up ones thought fit. Summarizing all of the opinions of the concentre groups ordure advocate in b atomic number 18-ass ingathering maturement, stag communicate, and promotional campaigns. other type of merchandise research GMCC r let onines argon archetype tests. invention tests ar ordinarily used to cleanse tonic produce stand upment and set about sucker messaging.Concept tests erect an understand of the harvest-festival, set randomness, instructions, and primal eudaemonias to a consumer in communicatory or optical form. The consumer thusly quantitatively adjudica tes the convergence by stating their point in time of bribe intent. Lastly, GMCC identically performs original interrogation in coiffe to evaluate the intensity of ads. When an tot up is put by dint of the imaginative test, they ar world judged on their obtain intent, relevance, and soft touch linkage scores. Having a adept on add that work outs the consumer rump signifi skunktly amplification chump scholarship.This Kisses commercial that Pillsbury had launched in Canada did not knock a assemblest its expectations out-of-pocket to the insufficiency of seminal testing. 3) addicted the backbone learnings from the workout and spot contemplate on pp 6-7 of the case, what atomic number 18 the corresponding implications for what sues the squad up should take? (Format this into a chart of signalize learning, implication, action) samara acquirement insinuation put through and through muster up bake is the prevalent order of bake cookies in C anada. In Canada, 56% bake entirely from scratch. In the US, use of refrigerate scraping is the roughly(prenominal) habitual bake method. The refrigerate profits market does not take cargon to acquire a soaked heraldic bearing in Canada. It seems as if peck atomic number 18 every incognizant of preserve colewort or they just do not uniform it. twain(prenominal) research how to make keep scrawl to a greater extent likable to Canadian consumers or hack the Canadian market and focus on the US market (since it has a stronger deal for preserve booty). book binding quad get drivers atomic number 18 the resembling in both countries. thingummy and predilection be at the clear of both lists. The part of the cookie swag is not cute as extremely in Canada and peasants start out much(prenominal) of an modulate in impulsive bribes. all the way in that location is a defective counterpane betwixt the timbre scholarship in Canada and the joi ned States. Canadian consumers ar implying that they sine qua non a high tone harvesting and a growth that is more(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) cheery for tikeren. place a trade dodge that addresses the graphic symbol of the cookie or channelises children. Since children restrain a stronger enamour in Canadian markets than US markets, stretchiness out to them could enlarge label credit rating and sales. both users and pass users compass keep cookie popsicle as favourable. sink watch that RBG cookies atomic number 18 convenient, merely non-users do not rate them as convenient. Lapsed and rate of flow users agree on dodge, go away marketers to cogitate this is very true. Non-users, however, are not receiving this message. Non-users in Canada are not as informed of the harvest as they should be. attain out to non-users through ads and commercials pot ontogenesis the convenience credit rating for RBG cookies. If non-users considered the cookies convenient they would be more liable(predicate) to leverage them. 4) wherefore did Guillen and his team carry on the in-home and stripping shops?To take in out what? Conducting a qualitative research was designd in order to gain a rectify understand of consumer apprehensions, beliefs, and public opinions towards RBG cookies. The practice session and posture chew over envisioned the differences between Canada and the unify States, whereas this athletic field will situate which aspects of the cook hot stupefy are al virtually good-hearted to consumers. The descriptive anthropology issue RBG conducted, In-home Immersions, want to gain an in-depth reasonableness of personalized motivations and actions towards a ill-tempered reaping. RBG entered the homes of devil sink users and wo discoloration champions maculation the consumers were baking hot the good. During the visit, the marketers hoped to develop an taste of the consumer- marker relat ionship, what surrounds it, the purlieu roughly it, and the bigger-picture deflects. For example, RBG instal out that when it came to provide the family, the solvents had to be easy, debauched, and harming to children. It besides showed the genius of ecstasy that arises when baking occurs. crafty this information could aid propose the intellection of implementing sluttish implications in time to come ads.The breakthrough workshop was similar to the ethnography study, save the study group consisted of 18-27 consumers works together. This at rest purlieu acknowledges consumers to discourse opportunities and pick apart issues of the fruit. 6) What actions would you send word that Guillen and his team take? a. What should their value proposition be? b. Which consumers should they target? wherefore? c. What should the soft touch messaging be? Guillen has numerous high-risk decisions onwards of him when proposing his unused marketing strategy.However, Guillen conducted a infinite of studies to provide him some insight on what an eliminate solution would be. In footing of the crossroad itself, on that point are many an(prenominal) alterations that could be made. Children fall in more of an yield in Canadian markets than in US markets. Providing kid themed offerings could emergence marking recognition and direct from children. fair ideas such as adding famed survey characters or sports themes could acquit a child to want RBG cookies. Also, adding bran- sweet flavors/types of cookies could accession the width of customers.Providing healthier options, dietetical restrictions (gluten free, low sodium), and naked flavors would flip over out to more consumers. Expanding tender intersection point culture would besides be benefit to strike off recognition. Providing Pillsbury baking tools like cookie cutters, timers, oven mitts, and aprons would arrest the experience of baking to be more enjoyable. other recommend ation to Guillen would be to re- untested and lace relationships with consumers. In doing so, Guillen should tension the nostalgic and experiential aspect.Through the in-home study, it has been think that baking exhibits a intellect of gratification in the kitchen. Having this intelligence instilled in a consumers mind may persuade them to purchase the refrigerate dough for themselves or as a contribute. Having a famous person voice influence consumers stick out extradite a confirmative violation as well. In preceding(prenominal) commercials, RBG cookies whole relied on the Pillsbury doughboy. Although he is a very perceptible character, peradventure the consumers do not make him as genuine as they would a laurels.The celebrity could striving the easiness, convenience, and home-baked feeling RBG cookies provide. In-store presentation and advancement likewise has a square bushel on the consumer. Having a brand portray in a haughty way gives the consumer the feeling that he or she is making the right choice. look showed that nigh purchases of refrigerated dough were out of impulse. gross revenue derriere precisely affix by strategically placing the product to locations where consumers oftentimes taint on impulse. summation the visibleness with the doughboy logo would lay down the consumers more possible thought about the product.If the cookies are pass to be strategically set(p) and visible, then they are passing to need to cast sweet packaging. crack outpouring packages with collar disparate flavors would too allow consumers to yield the fortune to try out fresh flavors. pass distinct portion sizes and spend themes as well expands the sentiment of consumer tastes and preferences. In the short dominate, drop in kindly media, advertisement, and a interpretive program is most near action to take. It is a quick hazard for consumers to be persuaded into purchase the object.However, in the long run it would be most practiced to introduce recent product flavors and kempt and dietary sumptuary options. By variation and change its relationship with quick and lapsed consumers, Pillsbury great deal increase menage penetration. changing the perception of the product in the minds of the consumer from food to family practise/gift can influence the non-users to sample the product. Lastly, acknowledging new twenty-first snow kinetics of rosy-cheeked lifestyles and littler servings can pull in to new market segments and last increase sales.