Athletics In MacGregor’s Sporting Landscape Essay

However, using tactics which corroborate teamwork and competitive factors which in theory will motivate students to strive and increase their participation levels. 1. 0 Introduction This report will provide a detailed analysis of the participation of athletics in Macgregor’s microcosm as the societal norm believe that the status quo is â€Å"uncool†, it is known that the position of Australia’s porting landscape is very weak as there is a lack of participation within Australia as a whole This can be answered by a simple formula created to find the reason why some sports have a lack in participation in mainstream society today, Figueroa’s framework, this formula is divided into Levels listed in the following Cultural, Structural, Institutional, interpersonal and individual levels, nonetheless, it Is concluded that it is up to the individual of whether they decide to participate in Athletics or not. 2. 0 Figueroa’s Framework The social factors that influence an individual’s decision to participate in Athletics may indirectly or directly impact them by shaping their values, attitudes and beliefs. Knowing this the individual may find themselves being subjective to the people and also the certain factors they face in society ranging from cultural differences to peers to themselves. Sociologist, Peter Figueroa, develop a framework that analyses the equity of social resources that can also be implemented into the participation of athletics. . 1 Individual Level It can be argued that when it comes to equity and access issues, the individual level is the most important. This is because, while all levels of Figueroa’s Framework can identify how equity and sporting opportunities are presented to an individual, in the end it is the individual’s choice that will determine his or her access and level of participation in physical education. Kiss, 2012) This level is specific to Macgregor’s sporting landscape as it highlights the lack of participation in students; nonetheless, these decisions about sport and physical activity are ultimately made by the individuals Genes, values, attitudes and personalities which are specific to each individual. 3. 0 Action plan In Macgregor’s deteriorating athletics program, the lack of participation in the carnivals can link to many reasons why they don’t compete in such events. Study shows that the majority of students would prefer to sit and chat with their friends instead of competing in athletics, however, to allow students to participate, an action plan was developed to; in theory create a more fun and enjoyable carnival thus increasing participation levels, using successful methods utilized in Australian sports such as Cricket, NRL, AFL, etc. The ideologies used within these sports can be integrated within the society of Macgregor’s microcosm shaping the status quo of Macgregor’s Athletics program in a more positive, enjoyable way. . 1 Justification of Action plan Throughout sporting history there are various techniques to strive for in order to have a successful carnival, the majority of successful sports share many similar techniques to better improve the participation of athletes in Australia such as making it more interactive for the audience thus improving their participation rates; for example, in tennis they implement a board that measures the speed of the serve for each game as well as the Olympics which show the world record for each event. nowing this; a supposed board that lists all the records of each event is shown publically pre-athletics carnival and during for students to observe and in theory become more motivated and strive to train and compete in the events believing they are able to break that record thus improving participation rates. Secondly, the appearance of famous sporting athletes have known to improve the participation of sports for example, NBA players frequently appear in many occasions of street basketball games as it obviously creates publicity, however, also improves the participation due to the fact that this allows the ‘average basketball fanatic’ who normally would watch their idol from the comfort of their own television, but in fact they are able to play side by side with their idol increasing their moral and motivation to play. This can also be implemented in the athletics carnival by having the famous athlete participate and motivate the students to join in and also create a slight sense of competition. Finally, it is a fact that Australians love to play team based sports as listed, AFL, Cricket, Football, NRL, Soccer, Basketball, Rugby League are in the top 10 Australian sports; this is 7 of the 10 sports that are shown. With this in mind, Students would be required to form groups of 3 and compete in the athletics carnival, with a twist; each event would hold a certain amount of points varying on the position the student places, 10points for 1st, 7points for 2nd, 5point for 3rd and participation will be worth 2 points. The team that scores the highest points will be rewarded with a prize, such as vouchers, etc. 4. 2 Links to survey results The action plan created was based on a census of the whole school to observe whether they would participate in athletics and their reasons to not. To justify the particular choices created in the action plan by showing the statistics which have guided the development as the spikes in the statistics assist in improving the participation by surveying the trend. The reason a record chart was implemented as it adds a competitive flair and students receive social rewards within the athletics carnival as 19% of students feel that there is no reward for students if they win the events, this will help students strive for the record instead of just trying to win. A massive 27% of students feel that they are not good enough for the athletics carnival and believe there is no point to participate and simply just socialize with their peers, with the appearance of a famous athlete; students would be motivated to part take in the events as the special guest can provide moral support and advice to improve their technique, etc. during the carnival as they can join in with the students. By creating team based events the 80% of students that prefer team sports are able to participate and at the same time fill the social void according to the 25% as they strive to motivate fellow teammates and allow each other perform better overall, also considering the 66% that would participate in the carnival if their peers were to join in. (Buckley, et al, 2013) 4. Links to research material including the individual level of the framework The research gathered of Figueroa’s framework on the individual level, it is realised that students values and beliefs are to strive for competition and rewards, as these factors have been fulfilled it will allow students to participate in a more enjoyable way, due to the fact that an individual’s values and beliefs reflect directly upon their parents, siblings and peers, however, it is proven that the individual learns to behave through the experience they have accumulated from mainly their peers, also the fact that students view the sports society in a ‘boring’ manner, they often assume they cannot socialise with their peers which majorly affect their participation rates. 5. 0 Conclusion

Severe Acne Vulgaris And Isotretinoin Health And Social Care Essay

ProblemEver had a comedo, hickey, blemish, pimple or whitehead? These are the more common names for acne vulgaris lesions, which is a skin upset that afflicts many people at some point during their lives [ 1 ] . Described as non-inflammatoryA unfastened or closedA blackheads and inflammatory pustules, papules and nodules [ 2 ] . Topographic points on the tegument with heavy population of greasy follicles like the face, back and chest are usually affected with it. Acne vulgaris is caused by anaerobiotic gm positive bacteria ( rod called propionibacterium ( P.acnes ) . Greasy secretory organs in hair follicles produce sebum, a type of oily substance.A When hair follicles get blocked, sebum that normally drains to the surface via the hair follicles become trapped in the pores of the skin.A Bacteria finally attack the sebum taking to infection, Pus and finally, acne. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ourhealthnetwork.com/UserFiles/Image/Hair_Follicle.jpghttp: //www.ourhealthnetwork.com/UserFiles/Image/Infected_Hiar_Follicle.jpg Figure – shows a clotted tegument pore Figure – shows a healthy tegument pore Figures 2 and 3 courtesy of hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ourhealthnetwork.com/cosmeticdermatology/Acne-2007-12-19.asp Increasing degrees of endocrines ( androgens ) during pubescence cause the tegument to go oilier, which can ensue in the development of acne vulgaris. Acne can be genetically linked, as those with acne frequently report holding a parent or other close household member with a similar tegument status. Stress can besides lend to acne eruption. Severe acne involves more scarring and happens if mild acne goes untreated and deteriorates into cystic acne. Acne is foremost treated with antibiotics ( Achromycin or Erythrocin ) , topical disinfectants ( benzoyl peroxide or clindamycin ) or topical retinoids ( Adapalene or Tazarotene ) . However, if it is a signifier of terrible acne vulgaris, it will be harder to handle as it will be unresponsive to most antibiotics and over the counter merchandises. So is there any solution or intervention that can be taken in order to bring around terrible, fractious acne vulgaris?Solution:Isotretinoin The best solution for terrible acne vulgaris is to take prescribed Isotretinoin which will cut down the happening of acne and lower the opportunities of its return. It is the most effectual unwritten agent used when handling severe acne vulgaris such as cystic acne [ 5 ] .In the beginning, Isotretinoin was developed as chemotherapy medicine to handle malignant neoplastic disease due to its ability to kill quickly spliting cells rapidly [ 9 ] . Since it is derived from vitamin A and is found of course in the organic structure in infinitesimal measures, it is a retinoid. Oral isotretinoin goes under many trade names, most normally Accutane, Amnesteem, Claravis, Roccutane and Sotret [ 2,3 ] . hypertext transfer protocol: //a876.g.akamai.net/7/876/1448/v00001/images.medscape.com/pi/features/drugdirectory/octupdate/ROC01690.jpg Figure -image of isotretinoin capsules hypertext transfer protocols: //www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-6662- Isotretinoin+Oral.aspx? drugid=6662 & A ; drugname=Isotretinoin+Oral & A ; source=0 & A ; pagenumber=2 Isotretinoin has a chemical expression of 13-cis-retinoic acid and the structural expression is: ACCUTANE ( isotretinoin ) Structural Formula Illustration Figure: structural formation of isotretinoin hypertext transfer protocol: //www.rxlist.com/accutane-drug.htm Isotretinoin is an unwritten agent taken when acne status is terrible and other medicines prescribed has failed. It works by cut downing or shriveling the size of greasy secretory organs ( dermis bed ) . [ 6,3 ] This reduces the sum of oil produced and therefore, prevents blogged tegument pores which causes redness and acne. Isotretinoin is taken orally over a period of 16-20 hebdomads at a dose of 0.5-1 mg/kg/d, which is equal when covering with terrible acne vulgaris. It is so followed with a short period of remainder [ 6 ] . However, if a sudden backsliding occurs or acne is non to the full cleared up, more classs are prescribed. This is because factors such as organic structure weight, use of other interventions at the same time and acne badness must be taken into history when ordering the right dose as different persons react otherwise to the medicine. During this period, if patients are monitored and found unresponsive to the intervention, their physicians will halt therapy [ 4 ] . The medicine is taken orally after repasts as it increases bioavailability up to twofold comparative to fasting as a consequence of easier soaking up of this medicine which is extremely lipotropic into the system. Isotretinoin is the most effectual drug available when handling severe acne that is unresponsive to other signifiers of unwritten agents such as antibiotics [ 5, 8 ] . Figure – graph shows the consequences of patients treated with tetracycline/adapalene ( aˆ? ) or isotretinoin ( i‚? ) . Comparison in decrease in ( a ) superficial inflammatory lesions, ( B ) deep inflammatory lesions, ( degree Celsius ) non-inflammatory lesions, ( vitamin D ) face acne rating. hypertext transfer protocol: //adv.medicaljournals.se/article/pdf/10.2340/00015555-0211 Figure 7 shows a graph of denseness of P.acnes counts in patients treated with tetracycline/adapalene ( aˆ? ) or isotretinoin ( i‚? ) . hypertext transfer protocol: //adv.medicaljournals.se/article/pdf/10.2340/00015555-0211 Figure -graph From the graphs, it is clear that the bacteria count decreases at a much greater rate when Isotretinoin is used with a far lower rate of backsliding compared to tetracycline/adapalene therefore it besides has a lower rate of follow up. This is because Isotretinoin is effectual in cut downing the size of the oil secretory organs and holding the activities of the bacteriums that causes acne. By analyzing graphs 6 and 7, the consequences of this clinical survey show that relatively to other antibiotics, Isotretinoin is seen to work increasingly faster doing it a more effectual intervention. From the research carried out, I believe that Isotretinoin has a great efficiency rate when handling acne if the class of medicine prescribed harmonizing to the skin doctor is completed. Isotretinoin should be taken daily during the first 12 hebdomads. This is to avoid a backsliding and to secure more lasting consequences which will last. [ 6 ] In Group 1: treated foremost 10A yearss of each month for 6A months. Group 2: given daily in the first month, afterwards the first 10A yearss of each month for 5A months. Group 3: conventional intervention class was used for 6A months. Dose: 0.5A mg/kg/day hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2094720/ hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a681043.html Object name is 403_2007_777_Fig2_HTML.jpg Figure – graph of backsliding rate When Isotretinoin is taken daily continuously for six months, the backsliding rate is lower comparison to group one and two. This is because when Isotretinoin is taken continuously without intervals, the drug is more effectual as it successfully has controlled the activities of the secretory organs and therefore, drastically reduces the denseness of acne vulgaris. I believe that the intermittent dose method can be used on patients enduring from mild instances of acne or who can non digest the high doses prescribed. Figure -effectiveness of isotretinoin Based on surveies found in the Journal of Dermatological Treatments, Isotretinoin produced more than 60 % betterment in 88 % of patients. [ 19 ] Isotretinoin is the most effectual drug available when handling severe acne that is unresponsive to other signifiers of interventions such as unwritten agents ( antibiotics: Achromycin or eryhthromycin ) . [ 5,8 ]Social and economic effectsâ€Å" There is no individual disease which causes more psychic injury, more maladjustment between parents and kids, more general insecurity and feelings of lower status and greater amounts of psychic enduring than does acne vulgaris. â€Å" A — Sulzberger & A ; Zaldems, 1948 [ 5 ] By and large, person enduring from any grade of acne will experience really negative about their life. They begin to hold certain behavioral traits such as societal backdown, embarrassment, low self-pride, and depression which point towards being psychologically disturbed. One agony from acne is prone to hold a negative mentality on their societal life whether in their calling or communicating accomplishments. A certain survey showed that acne can take to low employment rates in patients enduring from it [ 5 ] .To turn out my point, the followers is a testimony of an acne patient: Direct 1: â€Å" It is truly mortifying to experience like I have no control over my acne. I hold my caput down and I am ashamed to look at: people, embarrassed. I am 25 old ages old and to be moving this manner is really frustrating. â€Å" [ 5 ] In merely a few words, the patient has shown rather a figure of negative societal traits due to holding terrible acne. I believe that most societal jobs mentioned exist due to the negative perceptual experience of society on acne being caused by soiled tegument. Acne patients shy off from public visual aspects as they are disgusted by their status. There are patients who become self-destructive when enduring from this tegument job. Acne when non treated can do all types of societal jobs which finally become interconnected and psychologically upseting to the 1 that is enduring. However, surveies carried out have shown that with the right intervention of Isotretinoin prescribed, these jobs lessen. Figure 10 – Mortality Statistics & gt ; Acne ( most recent ) by state. January 2004. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nationmaster.com/red/pie/mor_acn-mortality-acne Figure -shows mortality statistics caused by acne in different states. In the economic facet, handling acne can be expensive when utilizing isotretinoin. Furthermore a prescription is needed to purchase the drug. However, with Isotretinoin, the rate of return is really low and more lasting consequences are produced. [ 11 ] In my sentiment, this lowers the sum of money spent by patients or insurance company for ongoing therapy, doing isotretinoin cost-efficient. I besides believe the earlier the therapy is started, the more economical and effectual the intervention will be in for the patient or insurance company. Due to the high cost of securing the merchandise, Isotretinoin will be a fiscal load to wellness suppliers such as NHS. Nevertheless, research found in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment concluded that, â€Å" For the intervention of moderate/ terrible acne, isotretinoin proved to be significantly more cost effectual † . [ 19 ]Benefits and hazards:The chief benefit that can be obtained from utilizing Isotretinoin is that it clears up acne in a affair of months and is considered to be the most powerful drug available for acne. [ 12 ] . It is the lone drug that can unclutter acne after one class of intervention [ 21 ] .The intervention can efficaciously reconstruct a patient ‘s self-esteem and societal accomplishments. However, there are many hazards involved when taking this drug which makes it the first drug in the history of medical specialty that requires a adult female to subscribe a consent signifier known as the iPLEDGE. The chief hazard with Isotretinoin is that it is a tetratogenic and is considered by the FDA as Category X because it causes birth defect in developing fetus [ 13 ] . Merely after halting Isotretinoin, can a adult female see acquiring pregnant. In order to avoid gestation, adult females are told to follow two signifiers of birth control methods. Breast-feeding is besides non allowed during the class of the intervention as Isotretinoin can perforate membranes and enter the female parent ‘s milk.Figure – warning mark for adult females on isotretinoin hypertext transfer protocol: //isotretinoinsideeffects.com/ Direct exposure to UV beams while on medicine will ensue in terrible tan due to heightened radiosensitivity of tegument. Other side effects besides include depression weariness, dry mucous secretion membrane, delicate tegument, and concerns. For some, the side effects become more serious if they are allergic to the medicine or if they consume more vitamin A while taking Isotretinoin. Patients under Isotretinoin can non donate blood for at least one month after they complete the intervention. Waxing or any skin resurfacing processs should be done at least one twelvemonth after finishing intervention so to avoid marking [ 13 ] . As there are many hazards involved, Isotretinoin is merely used for bring arounding terrible acne vulgaris which is immune to other interventions. Although there are hazards, I believe that since isotretinoin can unclutter up terrible acne vulgaris the fastest and bring forth more lasting consequences, it is the best possible solution.Alternate solutions.1 ) Interlesional corticoid injection Figure -corticosteroid injection process hypertext transfer protocol: //www.acne.org/cortisone-shots-for-acne.html Our organic structures release a natural chemical, Cortone Acetate, in response to redness. Cortisone is injected into an country of redness if the organic structure does non bring forth plenty. Cortisone is a corticoid ; a steroid endocrine produced in the adrenal secretory organ. However, it should non be confused with â€Å" anabolic steroids † which are drugs used to increase strength and musculus size and come with a excess of harmful side effects [ 16 } . Side effects of this process are that it can do impermanent hypopigmentation for dark skinned persons, existent harm to steel or tendon if needle penetrates incorrect country and wasting of fatty tissues. The benefits are, Cortone Acetates reduces marking and clears up acne 2 ) Acne Surgery ( drainage and surgical deletion ) Surgery for terrible acne is done to let the septic country to run out. It is a minor surgical process. Following surgery, a unit of ammunition of antibiotics will be prescribed to guard against infection. An antibiotic soap is besides prescribed [ 16,17 ] . Surgery is recommended for terrible acne intervention that does non react to medicine. Drain and surgical deletion should be performed by trained skin doctor under unfertile conditions. This process involves nicking the pustules with a little acerate leaf and so run outing the lesion. Sometimes little scratch are needed. Although incising a lesion may go forth a little cicatrix unlike shooting corticostersoid, terrible acne lesions that do non react to other interventions need to be incised.EvaluationThe beginning hypertext transfer protocol: //www.skincarephysicians.com is really dependable and trustable. In my sentiment, the information in the web site is factual as it is established by the American Academy of Derrmatology ( AA D ) . It has a particular subdivision dedicated to acne known as AcneNet which aims to educate on any acne related issues. The two quotation marks on page 7 were taken from this web site based on research carried out by AAD. Other beginnings such as the Journal of Dermatological Treatment, besides came up with similar information. The website information could hold some restrictions as merely research carried out by the AAD is taken into history and updates may non be current. Another of import web site used is http: //www.acneorg.com. The information derived is dependable and precise as it is a reputable web beginning. There are many positive cuttings in the media sing acne.org such as the New York Times and NBC.com. However the biasness was nil, since lone facts and figures of surveies were taken. Another beginning used in this research is an article from the newspaper, News Straits Times, dated the 30th of May 2010. It was a study on Isotretinoin. The information was precise and up-to-date as it was published late. There was no biasness as it was an article on facts and written to educate the populace.

Lobbying Essay

Lobbying is a pathway of action, a way for citizens to influence government, that is essential for to be able to use, but is dangerous when lobbyists push for ideas that are from a minority instead of the majority. Lobbyists are those who attempt to persuade or influence the opinion of the actions of government through sharing information, persuasion, and political pressure via telephone, email, letters, and voicing your opinions directly to your representatives (Congressmen, city council members, senators). Lobbyists also lobby through offering financial aid for their re-election. Lobbyists lobby their representatives usually because they have a closer connection with and were elected by them and other members of their community. Social lobbying is creating a relationship with your representatives through inviting them dinners and trips in order to discuss issues that they are passionate about. Reasons for lobby are usually Lobbying is beneficial to bringing change faster than the other pathways of action, for lobbyists are directly influencing their representatives. Lobbyists benefit government through giving public opinion to issues and through upholding the desires of the people Federal and State Government officials do no just come up with ideas for laws on the spot by themselves; they obtain ideas for laws through the ideas and concerns of the people in order to keep them happy, for the main goal of any political official is re-election. It is required to register as a lobbyist in Texas after 5 days of lobbying and that has contacted any legislature for the purpose of persuasion along with receiving $1000 in compensation or $500 quad-annually. Lobbying benefits government because it is a pathway of action that the citizens of the country can take for the purpose of influencing government, but it can also corrupt government through lobbying the interests of minorities instead of the majority. The creation of the relationships through social lobbying can put a leash on legislatures, and cause these legislatures to be act on the will of the min ority group.

Regulation of financial reporting by large listed companies in the UK Essay

Regulation of financial reporting by large listed companies in the UK - Essay Example Let us start with interpretation of Standards. Different companies have interpreted the standards in different ways; and it appears that this interpretation aspect is the major cause of inconsistency or lack of uniformity appearing the implementation of IFRS among companies. Uniformity and creditability are highly essential for financial reporting and its regulation ensures that directors and auditors provide reports that are credible by giving them guidance to point out instance relevant rules when certain policies are considered appropriate.(Barry Elliot and James Elliot, 2005)4 IFRS is considered a principal- based system. â€Å"The advantage of a principle based system is that it offers the accountant possibilities to adapt the reporting of transactions to their unique economic settings. A high portion or flexibility increases the possibility to provide a fair presentation of transactions†. (Wyatt, 2005)19. But this advantage is coupled with limitation of different interpretations in order to achieve fair presentation as far as possible, and thereby the inconsistency creeps in affecting the comparability. If a review is made of notes to financial statements of large companies, it will be revealed that most of these are either declaration of accounting principles and policies or other necessary disclosures required to be made under IFRS. Out of such detailed and It would be sufficient if companies make only one line declaration that policies and procedures have been followed as laid down in IFRS manual, except for the principles and procedures detailed in the notes. In other words notes to financial statements of larger companies should contain disclosure of those policies and procedures that have not been followed by the company knowingly or otherwise. Matez Bosnak12, partner of Ernest & Young in Slovakia has, while assessing the first year implementation of IAS, rightly stated that â€Å"typically, IFRS financial

RATEOFDECOMPOSITIONOFHYDROGENPEROXIDE Lab Report

RATEOFDECOMPOSITIONOFHYDROGENPEROXIDE - Lab Report Example Therefore, hydrogen peroxide appears to exhibit a metastable characteristic in solution or its pure state (Egan and Nills, 2005). Oxygen evolution is rapid at room temperature and in concentrated solutions the released heat may increase the temperature so that an explosion occurs. On heating, hydrogen peroxide decomposes and it may be explosive. The stability of hydrogen peroxide at room temperature is attributed to the fact that the first step in its thermolysis involves the splitting of the molecule into hydroxide radicals whose formation demands much heat. Catalysts such as silver, gold, platinum, manganese dioxide act as heterogeneous catalysts whereas ions such as I-, IO-, OH-,Fe3+ or copper act as homogenous catalysts. Catalysis of hydrogen peroxide decomposition by iron ions is an important in redox catalysis. The steps in the process as demonstrated by Evgenil, Oleg and Gerts (2005), gives data on the mechanisms of redox catalysis. This decomposition is also important in processes in living organisms. The decomposition may be represented as below; 25 mL of the ten†volume hydrogen peroxide was dilute to about 200 ml with distilled water. A Dewar flask was rinsed with distilled water and then with a few mL of the dilute H2O2 solution. Hydrogen peroxide solution was added into the Dewar flask, and the solution temperature noted at a constant value. 10 ml of Fe3+(a) catalyst solution was added into the beaker while stirring gently. A stop watch was used to keep track of time. Thirty seconds after the addition of the catalyst, 10 mL aliquot of the reaction solution was pipetted and transferred into an Erlenmeyer flask containing 18 mL of 2 M H2SO4. The acid provides an acid medium for the titration and also quenches the decomposition reaction. 10 mL samples were draw from the reaction mixture at 5 min intervals and titrated with potassium permanganate. The titration reaction follows the

Charolett Murder Case Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Charolett Murder Case - Assignment Example The couple has no children. They kept to themselves and did not have a social life. There is nothing relevant in their past that can be a reason for Tina Smith’s killing. The incident was reported to the police by the victim’s husband. He saw his wife lying on the floor when he came home from work. A search of the victim’s car came up negative for evidence regarding the crime. There was no information gathered from the couple’s computer/s as well. An interview with the husband revealed that he works as a Maintenance Supervisor for the local municipal airport. On the day of the murder, cell phone records show that the husband was in his area of work. Moreover, there was no entry recorded on his time sheet that he had left his workplace. A scan of his truck did not come up with any significant legal evidence. There are also no witnesses to verify if he had left work and had returned at any time. A check of his co-workers shows that none has a criminal background. No one from his place of work has ever been convicted of a felony. That he had killed his wife for the insurance money has been ruled out. Research has gathered that there is no significant amount of life insurance between husband and wife. Since there is also no evidence to place blame on the husband, I am not considering him as a suspect as of this time. A common reason for spouses to kill their partner is to claim insurance. With Tina and Tony, there is no large amount of insurance money waiting for Tony in the event of Tina’s death. Interviews with the apartment complex maintenance staff resulted in nothing significant. There are no issues tying them to the victim or her husband. A background check on the couple shows they did not have any problems with anyone before moving in the apartment complex. Because there is no evidence incriminating the maintenance staff, I do not believe any one of them killed Tina. If any one of the maintenance people wanted to kill

Doryphoros and Augustus of Prima Porta Assignment

Doryphoros and Augustus of Prima Porta - Assignment Example The second style is a portrayal of actual Roman attributes with full body adornment and symbolizing authority. 2. Line- is used in Doryphoros and Augustus of Prima Porta to define the male body in its most proportional form; this is because this element is used to determine its size and shape (Janson & Janson, 2003). It is used to outline full body shape and curvatures while also defining the postures of the objects under study. Shape- In both the sculptures, the shapes come out because the sculptors divided the human body into different parts. They then designed all these and made sure they are proportionate when assembled into a whole. Texture and Balance- The images have a fine balance between relaxation and tension because of their postures; that creates harmony. The shades fade off very gently from one color code to the next making the balance and texture very clear; however, they have a simulated texture which makes the objects poses real textures. This is seen for instance in Augustine’s clothing and adornments. 3. The objects have a subject the sculptors wanted to pass across; The Doryphoros is a symbolism of male beauty with balanced body parts. Augustus of Prima Porta is a sculpture made by Tiberius in recognition of his father’s role in protecting their empire. 5. The artist message when making Doryphoros is a portrayal of a perfect male; this is coupled with nakedness which symbolizes civility thus bringing out a contrast with Greek’s backward neighbors. Augustus is personified as being a perfect ruler of the Roman Empire (Janson & Janson, 2003). He does this by giving him features of both strength and agility. He is compared to the powerful Greek gods as he wields authority which was essential in ruling the expansive empire and protecting it from foreign occupation.

Hip-hop and the link between industry, media, fans Essay

Hip-hop and the link between industry, media, fans - Essay Example Cultural theory is a branch of knowledge that applies experience based techniques, in a quest to develop theories that give an explanation of different elements of human expression. Human beings use communication techniques to express, emotions, feelings and different states of mind acquired in their daily activities in respect to the environmental set up they are in. The term expressions denote forms of communication that human beings use to pass certain information from one person to another. The existence of these forms of communication forms the base for cultural theory. The need to explain how human beings relate with their environment, adapt to it and communicate their experiences to successful generations’ forms the relevance of cultural theory.Human beings use different forms of expression to communicate formation from one person to another. These forms include language, signs, art, music and dance, and observation. Language is used to communicate information either or ally or through written work. Signs and dances, on the other hand, are used to transmit information through the use of visible sense, where ideas are encoded in gestures, body movements and other forms of physical signs. Art involves the use of carefully developed carvings and drawings to communicate ideas (Giddens 1997). Music is a complex form of communication that carries cultural information usually expressed in a coherent mix of the other forms of communication. Music involves combined use of language, dance, musical instruments, signs and art in a good proportion to communicate information from one person to another. All those music elements determine its variation. Music is a cultural phenomenon and can only be understood from a well organised study of cultural elements that build it. Music is also made of key components which include industry, genre formation, media, and fans. The interrelationship between the components can be understood through the cultural theory (Negus 1 996). The theory also analyzes the interrelationship that exists between different people to establish the ideologies that govern their interactions. Cultural theory has a number of elements that outlines several ideologies that govern the interrelationship of different parties in the music. Racism is one of the elements of cultural theory that analysis music with the aim of understanding how music industry, genre formation, media, and fans interrelate. Racism refers to prejudice and discrimination of people based on physical differences that exist between them. Members of a community can discriminate other people based on some physical variations such as the skin colour (Longhurst 2007). This discrimination is seen in the behaviour of a particular group toward another. For instance, in United State the white people may disqualify the black people from access public swimming pools for entertainments. For instance, as revealed by the photo below. Such swimming pools may be linked wit h a particular music genre where fans come to swim while enjoying the entertainment from that music genre. Since the black fans may be limited from participating in those entertainments, then it determines the kind of funs to get involved in the music genre. This kind of racism also influences genre formation, for instance, the black people may find that they are being discriminate by the white people, and decide to form music genre that fit their race. Racism creates an ideology that some people are superior to others based on physical differences. The instincts of superiority felt by a tribe create an environment where one tribe is abusive to the other. This result into one tribe exhibiting behaviours that directly disqualifies others in different areas of life. Mase says that racism is evident in music and society in three interdependent dimensions. The first one is the structural where there is social and economic discrimination against

Introduction to Financial Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Introduction to Financial Accounting - Assignment Example The researcher states that it is important to recognize that there are various types of financial statements; the balance sheet, the income statement, the statement of retained earnings and the fourth one is the statement of cash flows. The balance sheet also abbreviated as BS is the one that includes records that show the financial position of the organization as at a certain time. It is particularly charged with offering information on the organization’s assets, liabilities and lastly the capital outlay. Through the balance sheet, the various stakeholders are able to analyze the strength and potential of the enterprise. The income statement, on the other hand, gives information on how the enterprise performed within a certain period in time. It usually includes operating and non-operating activities that resulted into bringing in revenue or incurring of expenses by the firm. Therefore, when the two are drawn together the end result is a loss, a profit and rarely an equal bal ance and for this reason it is in other words termed as the profit and loss account or statement abbreviated as P & L. The third is the statement of retained earnings which gives information on the various changes that have occurred to retained earnings of an organization within a certain period. It shows how the retained earnings as at the beginning of a certain period was affected during the period to arrive at the closing balance of that period. The last record is the statement of cash flows which shows where a company’s financing is derived from and the various spending channels of the said finances. It shows an account of cash and cash equivalents and how these are flowing in and out of the company.

Objective summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Objective summary - Essay Example On the other hand, proponents believe that such laws protect vulnerable victims. Nevertheless, colleges are imparting rules and regulations to lessen the dangers of date rape. Alan M. Dershowitzs "The Case for Torture Warrants" is an article about the debate whether law enforcement forces be allowed to torture suspects who are thought to have information pertaining to terrorism. Dershowitz is concerned with the methods of torture and how it can generate truthful information by giving examples of the Israeli, French, English, and American methods of torture. Among these, Dershowitz believes the American approach has over-stepped the boundaries of legal code of conduct. He is of the view that the availability of torture has given rise to unauthorised tortures. There is a resolution to this problem - the obtainment of warrants for authorising torture of suspects. This he believes would curb unaccountable imprisonment and torture across the United States among law enforcement agencies. More importantly this law would reduce exploitation of authority among law enforcement officials who do not have the full understanding of the risks of guessing the wrong suspe ct. Michael Levin demonstrates in his article "The Case for Torture" that in severe cases, torture is justified and morally mandatory. This is a reality that one must face in todays day and age of terrorism. He is of the view that the death or torture of one individual for the better or survival of many is justified even though it is unconstitutional. Torture is justified because Levin believes that victims of terrorism are innocent individuals who run the risk of deaths. On the other hand, terrorists have made the choice of running the risks of death. Whether for idealism or for profit terrorists carry out death plans and have excluded themselves from the civilised standards when they make the decision to kill others. In this context, torture is but a small mean to stop them from victimising

Discussion board Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion board - Assignment Example Serving the poor is an ethical issue and should be done by everyone as response to humanity. A major and most tragic manifestation of poverty is hunger as described by Mohammad Yunus in his book Banker to the Poor. In 1974, famine struck Bangladesh and Yunus wrote about his experiences of witnessing agricultural lands left uncultivated due to lack of irrigation technological awareness among the villagers. He described the scenario in Bangladesh as hungry people multiplied every day, â€Å"Hungry people were everywhere. Often they sat so still that one could not be sure whether they were alive or dead† (Yunus, vii). Yunus nurtured the dream of eradicating poverty from the world. He has taken a bold initiative to help the poor people in Bangladesh. At first he physically stepped onto the fields to show the farmers how to cultivate rice to optimize yields. Although his hands-on approach received skepticism, his next step was the launching of Chittagong University Rural Development Project which provided the poor people academic credit. In order to do more for the poor, he next focused on providing small loans to the very poor to buy raw materials. Initially he became personal guarantor to Janata Bank which is one of the largest government banks in Bangladesh. From this concept, Grameen Bank evolved that provides un-collateral loans to the poor. He encourages repayment of the loans on weekly and even daily basis to prevent accumulation of large debts. Yunus’s efforts have proved to be fruitful and he dreams of a poverty free world by 2050, â€Å"poverty does not belong in a civilized human society. Its proper place is in a museum† (Yunus, 248). There are ways in which people can move towards fulfilling the mission of making this world free of poverty, and the process lies in desire among all people to do something for the poor. Rich countries often provide financial resources to the poor countries, but this is not

Three Key Techniques for Better Listening Essay Example for Free

Three Key Techniques for Better Listening Essay In this McKinsey article, Bernard T. Ferrari explores three key techniques for better listening and its importance. By showing respect, keeping quiet and challenging assumptions, Mr. Ferrari argues that will create a â€Å"base of knowledge that generates fresh insights and ideas. First, show respect. Respect breeds confidence and trust. If you’re a manager, you probably have a complex set of responsibilities. You can’t know everything about every facet of your domain. By respecting your teammates, you will naturally draw them into the conversation and learn from them. If you simply jump to a solution, you short circuit the entire process. Not only do you miss out on any advice about the current situation, you also teach your colleagues not to offer advice in the future. Second, keep quiet. Ferrari suggest a variation of the 80/20 rule — let the other person speak about 80% of the time while you speak only 20% of the time. Many executives struggle as listeners because they never think to relax their assumptions and open themselves to the possibilities that can be drawn from conversations with others. But many executives will have to undergo a deeper mind-set shift—toward an embrace of ambiguity and a quest to uncover â€Å"what we both need to get from this interaction so that we can come out smarter.† Too many good executives, even exceptional ones who are highly respectful of their colleagues, inadvertently act as if they know it all, or at least what’s most important, and subsequently remain closed to anything that undermines their beliefs. Third, challenge assumptions. This doesn’t just mean that you challenge other people’s assumptions. It also means that you encourage your colleagues to challenge your assumptions. So it takes real effort for executives to become better listeners by forcing themselves to lay bare their assumptions for scrutiny and to shake up their thinking with an eye to reevaluating what they know, don’t know, and—an important point—can’t know. One of the interesting twists in Ferrari’ s framework for effective listening is his â€Å"field guide to identifying bad listeners†. He identifies six â€Å"types† of bad listeners: The Opinionator listens to others primarily to determine whether or not their ideas conform to what he or she already believes to be true. Grouches are poor listeners who are blocked by a feeling of certainty that your idea is wrong. The Preambler’s windy lead-ins and questions are really stealth speeches, often intended to box conversation partners into a corner. Preamblers use questioning to steer the  discussion, send warnings, or generate a desired answer. Perseverators talk a lot without saying anything. If you pay close attention to one of these poor listeners, you’ll find that their comments and questions don’t advance the conversation. Everyone wants to solve problems, but Answer Man spouts solutions before there is even a consensus about the challenge—a clear signal that input from conversation partners isn’t needed. Pretenders feign engagement and even agreement but either aren†™t interested in what you’re saying or have already made up their minds. This article is particularly aimed at executives. However, it is useful for every person who wants to learn how to communicate better. Ferrari uses very interesting and humorous examples, so it’s easy and interesting to read. I find this article very helpful because I struggle to be a good listener. When I’m engaged in an intense conversation, I’m often framing my response or am thinking about a solution to the problem at hand. Of course, when I’m thinking about something else, I’m not really listening. More importantly, if the other side thinks I’m not listening, they’re less likely to be persuaded to my point of view. Also, I had always thought of questions as being solely an expression of interest and generosity. Now, I am beginning to better understand that questions. Even seemingly friendly inquiries can be a subtle source of control. We simply can’t listen if we’re talking, even if we are talking by questioning.

Sales System for Customer Management Software Program

Sales System for Customer Management Software Program Sales Management Coursework Assignment Outline what you believe to be going wrong with the sales efforts at Gardnov. Richard Booth is the newly appointed sales manager of Gardnov Limited, he has spent his first four weeks by simply observing how the sales force operated by accompanying them on sales visits and by talking to the customers. According to his observation, he found the company sales force are generally lacking in motivation and without energetic. Even customers can feel about that. Therefore, Richard has to do something in order to arouse the motivation of the sales force. As no new account has been opened during the past four months, it means that the sales force havent expend their market and just keeping the existing customers. Sales will not grow lots if new account hasnt been opened. Richard found the sales force are not trying very hard to get new customers. Richard had visited some customers in each region and he was depressed to hear that even regular customers felt that they didnt relate closely to Gardnovs sales force, customers felt the sales force has been more like order-takers instead of order-makers. It shows that the sales force are not putting efforts on the customers, customers feel that they are unimportant because the sales force showed little interest in them. Besides, a lot of customers reflected that the sales people were unable to answer questions about some of the products in the catalogue. It shows the sales people have lack of knowledge about the products that they are selling, it makes customers without confidence to buy the products because even the sales people did not know the details of the products. They felt that the salespeople showed little concern, spent less time on them, and had little enthusiasm for the products they were selling. Outline what steps Richard should take to investigate further the problems highlighted by his initial research, whilst gaining/maintaining the support of the sales force. By gaining/maintaining the support of the sales force, Richard analysed his initial research, and he will need more research to investigate further problems. By investigating the problems, he will use primary research and secondary research. According to the existing situation, Richard has already done some primary research which included: spending his first four weeks observing how the sales force operated by accompanying them on sales visits and talking to customers. By communicating with the customers directly, Richard can be able to understand what customers need and want from the sales force, and also be able to know if the sales force are effective or not. By observing the sales force, he knew how they work normally and in which aspects that they need to improve to achieve the sales profit. Richard will also need to find out how the company can help the sales force, supporting them and motivate them to sell more products to customers. Besides, Richard also use other ways of primary research to investigate how he can support the sales force and improve the problems in the sales force. He may send questionnaires to every customers (may enclose a brochure or leaflet which include the introduction of new products of the company or even with discount coupons), therefore he will be able to get more opinions about the sales force and he will directly know the problems in the sales force because customers are the most important sources of a company. After analyzing those statistic results, he can be able to take steps to improve sales performance accordingly by using those opinions from customers. Apart from primary research, Richard can use secondary research to investigate more information and can find out more ways to solve out the problems of the sales force. He can use internet research to get some ideas to maintaining the support of the sales force, internet is very useful nowadays, therefore lots of information can be found in internet. By using the research, Richard can investigate more about the problems of the sales force, e.g. to motivate the sales force by using rewarding methods, training the sales force†¦..etc. After Richard knows the problems of the sales force, he can get some solution by using research and therefore he can be able to gaining and maintaining the support of the sales force. Research can help Richard a lot, by taking some marketing research, he can be able to define the problems, decision alternatives and the research objectives. Then it can develop the research plan from the data sources he found, the research approaches including face to face interview customers, questionnaires, internet searching solution. So that Richard can take those steps to improve the sales performance in the sales force and therefore can lead the sales force and make them to develop effective selling habits and finally increase the profits of the company. What are the disadvantages of the present salary-only compensation plan? Salary-only compensation is mean straight salary, the sales people receives a fixed amount of money at fixed intervals, such as weekly or monthly. These security-oriented people prefer base salary or drawing account so that they can depend on some regular income to meet basic living expenses. In Gardnov Limited, the sales force are each paid a straight salary averaged  £21,000 each, within a range of  £16,500 to  £27,300, depends upon his age and the length of time he has been with the company. The disadvantages of straight-salary method of compensation plan are: It provides no financial incentive to put forth extra effort. Thats mean the sales force will not put much more efforts if the salary is fixed, they wont get more salary if they gain some new customers or sell more products to customers. Therefore they will not work very hard to sell the products to customers because they can still obtain the same amount of salary every month. It may increase selling costs because salaries go on when sales are not being made. If the sales force are not putting effort on selling the products to customers, then the sales profit will not made but Gardnov Limited still need to pay salary to the sales force because of its straight-salary. Therefore it might become a big expenditure if sales force didnt earn any sales profits for Gardnov Limited. It often leads to income inequities, since the least productive salespeople tend to be overpaid, and the most productive to be underpaid. There have six salespeople in Gardnov, if only few salespeople working hard and selling products to customers, then they will feel the straight-salary is not equities because they are working harder than other salespeople. They tend to be underpaid and the others tend to be overpaid, so that Gardnov Limited will need to make sure every salesperson are working their best to sell the products to customers under and let the salespeople think Gardnov Limited is fair to them. It also leads to adequate, but not superior performance. By using straight-salary method, it would lead adequate sales profits by sales force, but it will not leads to superior performance because it cannot motivate the salespeople to put a lots of efforts on their selling job, as they can get the same amount of salary each month even though they put little effort on it. The pay of the salary in Gardnov Limited is depends on the salespeoples age and the length of time they have been with the company. Therefore if the youngest salesperson works very hard and sells lots products to customers, he will not get the high pay and he may even get the lowest pay in the company because of his age and the length of time in Gardnov. It will discourage his working enthusiasm and ambitions because he knows that he just get the same pay every month. On the other hand, the oldest salesperson will not working hard as well if he knows that he will get highest pay. Under this circumstance, it cant motivate both of them to work and sell products for Gardnov initiative. And therefore the salary-only compensation plan might not suitable for Gardnov at this moment. Produce some initial recommendations on how Richard might improve sales performance. There have some ways to improve sales performance, it might help Richard to improve the sales performance. Improving team performance is very important for Gardnov, the sales force are aligned with the Gardnovs mission and culture. Gardnov has a committed and empowered workforce. Improving the utilization of the salespeople will help to increase sales volume and profitability of Gardnov, it can improve the sales performance by improve the sales force team workforce. Training is one of the way that Richard can take, according to the case study, customer complain that the salespeople were unable to answer questions about some of the products in the catalogue, they felt that they didnt relate closely to Gardnovs sales force. Therefore customer already felt Gardnovs sales force are not professional because they are deal with their problems. Training is a important job for Richard, it can develop the sales force into a successful, productive part of the team. Sales training and sales force development should be thought of as a long term, by training them more knowledge of the products they are selling, the skills to deal with customer, satisfy customer needs and wants. Motivation is another important part of improving the performance of the sales force. There are many things can motivate a salesperson to perform better, for example, salespeople can be motivated of they feel a lot of work to do on the job will lead to better performance, with better performance leading to higher rewards. Therefore Richard might try to reward them to sell more products to customer, it might help the sales force to increase sales because the salespeople will begin a healthy amount of competition. Another motivation way to motivate the sales force perform better is changing the compensation plan of Gardnov. At the moment Gardnov is using straight salary and they get paid depends on their age and the length of time with the company. Therefore some salespeople might think its unfair and it will not motivate them to work harder because they will not get more paid if they work harder and selling more products to customer. So there have others method of compensation plan, e.g. straight commission. Straight commission is the person receives an amount that varies with results, usually sales or profits. It provides incentives rather than security, the salespeople will increase their productivity because they can get their own commission rewards after selling products to customers. For example, a salesperson may receive 10% of commission on all sales, which mean if he sold  £400, he can get  £40 of commission with his base salary. Therefore income is directly related to productivit y, its easy to calculate, so salespeople may keep track of their earnings. Richard has to develop a sales system to invest in a customer management software program, therefore all the data will be in one locale, enabling Gardnov to increase sales while simultaneously being more efficient.

Dissection of Microrna-30Ds Function Roles

Dissection of Microrna-30Ds Function Roles DISSECTION OF MICRORNA-30DS FUNCTION ROLES IN MAMMALIAN PANCREATIC-BETA CELLS By:  Yiping Mao   ABSTRACT MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small non-coding RNAs (about 21-22 nucleotides long) that fine tune target protein output through messenger RNA degradation or inhibition of its translation. Recent studies showing that miRNAs and their function components respond to cellular stress to maintain steady state physiology of the cells. Since there are thousands of microRNAs existing in all kind of cells, their functional characterization during the normal states or stress conditions is not fully addressed yet. In this thesis, important aspects of pancreatic ÃŽÂ ²-cell function under normal or stress condition such as apoptosis, proliferation, insulin production and release and their regulation by the miRNA were explored. Pancreatic ÃŽÂ ²-cell is a group of insulin producing cells and plays critical role in maintaining glucose hemostasis. By combining mouse and cell line genetic approaches, high-throughput deep sequencing, a list of cell assays and molecular techniques, we have shed light on the novel roles of miR-30d, one highly expressed miRNA when ÃŽÂ ²-cell responding to high glucose stimulus, in regulating ÃŽÂ ²-cell mass on the middle aged mice. We demonstrated that overexpress of miR-30d deteriorated glucose tolerance ability of the mice with or without high fat diet treatment by significantly reducing the ÃŽÂ ²-cell mass with less insulin production. Additionally, we demonstrated that the reduced ÃŽÂ ²-cell mass is because both apoptosis pathway and proliferation p athway have been effected by miR-30d by targeting variety of protein factors expression. BCL2 interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) and cyclin E2 (CCNE2) have been respectively confirmed as miR-30ds targets and the effect of their regulation by miR-30d in pancreatic ÃŽÂ ²-cell proliferation or apoptosis aspects have been addressed as well. Furthermore, we could show that silencing of miR-30d in MIN6 cell (ÃŽÂ ²-cell mimicking cell line) by CRISPR-CAS9 gene editing system promotes the insulin secretion, which is through potentiated expression of MAFA, an insulin transcription factor. These studies uncovered novel functional roles of the miR-30d pathway in mediating ÃŽÂ ²-cell function and fate. Further dissection of these pathways shall uncover several mechanisms by which the ÃŽÂ ²-cells undertake to maximize their efficiency during disease states such as T2D.   CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1.1 The Brief History of Diabetes and Research Long before terming diabetes, which means to pass through by Greek Apollonius of Memphis in 250 BCE and the re-discovery of honey-like-urine (glycosuria) by Thomas Willis, who included the term mellitus, Diabetes has discovered its first saying around 1500 B.C. in an Egyptian manuscript. It was perceived as a disease related with too great emptying of the urine (polyuria). Later, important discoveries includes Matthew Dobsons first proof of elevated urine and blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) in people with diabetes (Dobson, 1776). In 1889, Joseph von Mering and Oskar Minkowski were the first to give evidence that pancreas removal in dogs induced diabetes, proposing that pancreas functional related to glucose levels. Afterward, Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer proposed that diabetes could be brought on by losing a pancreatic chemical, which he named as insulin in 1910 (Polonsky, 2012). Taken together, diabetes is currently well recognized as a gathering of heterogeneous disorders cha racterized by hyperglycemia because of loss of insulin or its effectiveness. Current worldwide trends demonstrate a surprising 382 million individuals have diabetes and this is predicted to ascend to 592 million by the year 2035 (IDF Diabetes Atlas, 2013). The cases of diabetes complications, including diabetic retinopathy, cardiovascular disease and renal failure are constantly rising and the death rate because of those are worsen every year. Claude Bernards identification of liver as the major glucose production organ led to the first concept of homeostasis which has been termed and expanded by Walter Bradford in the mid-nineteenth century, to describe the maintaining of steady-state physiology of the cells (Robin, 1979). This gave the notion that actually the disturbed glucose homeostasis is one of the important events of the diabetes progression. Given the evidences of insulin is involved in maintaining the glucose homeostasis, Frederick Banting and Charles Best integrated a series of scientific approaches, and were able to purify the insulin from the pancreas. Moreover, they successfully treated the patients who suffer from the diabetes, with their purified insulin (Banting Best, 1922; Banting et al., 1922). This landmark finding set the stage for treating the severe diabetes with insulin. However, it has been almost a century now since the first time insulin was discovered and purified, diabetes remains the incurabl e disease, requires life-time attention and treatment because of its complexity. Diabetes has been classified as a couple different types nowadays, the major two types are known as the Type I Diabetes (T1D) or Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) and Type II Diabetes (T2D) or Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM). Surprisingly, these two major types has been notified as early as 100-200 B.C by Indian physicians (Kahn, 1994). However, the first scientific evidence was brought by Wilhelm Falta and Harold Himsworth after they set the standardized glucose/insulin tolerance test in human to distinguish the insulin sensitive from non-sensitive patients (Himsworth, 1936). Insulin dependent T1D is featured in insufficient insulin production due to autoimmune response to the pancreatic beta-cells and it mostly affects young kids. T2D is more described as a metabolic syndrome with emergence of insulin resistance and obesity etc, and it is more common among adults (Moller, 2001). There is a complex network of several insulin responding tissues contributes to the maintenance of glucose homeostasis, and of course any abnormality in this network induces the progression of T2D. Besides the metabolic relevant tissues, the gene-interactions also play critical roles in the development of T2D and obesity such kind of metabolic diseases (Doria et al., 2008). 1.2 The Islet Architecture, ÃŽÂ ²-cell Fate determination The islets of Langerhans are specialized endocrine part of pancreas and are the only part producing the secreting hormones. They basically comprise of various cell sorts named ÃŽÂ ±, ÃŽÂ ², ÃŽÂ ´, PP, and ÃŽÂ µ that secret the islet hormones glucagon, insulin, somatostatin, polypeptide Y, and ghrelin individually, and these hormones are required to maintain the glucose homeostasis at normal or stress state. Furthermore, the islets are known to have dynamic and plastic architecture that is proposed to be adjusted over the time of development (Steiner et al., 2010). During the progression of insulin resistance, pregnancy or T2D, the islets extend in size to make up for expanded insulin requirement (Weir and Bonner-Weir, 2004; Kim et al., 2009). But afterwards, there is a considerable loss of ÃŽÂ ²-cell mass because of environmental or genetic factors, inducing the serious hyperglycemia in cause of insulin deficiency. While islets count to just ~1-2% of the whole pancreas, the insulin producing ÃŽÂ ²-cells represent ~65-80% of the islet mass, constituting to roughly 2% of pancreatic weight. Furthermore, the rest other cell types are considered as non ÃŽÂ ²-cells of the islets (Weir and Bonner-Weir, 2013). During the development, these distinctive cell types are known to emerge from a single progenitor cell that producing Neurogenin3 or Ngn3, a transcription factor that decides endocrine cell destiny (Edlund, 2002). Afterwards, other transcription factors, for example, Pdx1, Pax4, Nkx2.2, Nkx6.1, MafA, and Foxo1 help the ÃŽÂ ²-cell fate determination (Ziv et al., 2013). While it had been learned as that ÃŽÂ ²-cells proliferate by self-duplication from old ÃŽÂ ²-cells instead of differentiation from stem cell (Dor et al., 2004), some other study suggested that multipotent cells inside the pancreas could differentiate into ÃŽÂ ²-cells as well (Xu et al., 2008). The latter study is a lso confirmed by researches showing how expressing the ÃŽÂ ²-cell specific transcription factors in non ÃŽÂ ²-cell could trigger a ÃŽÂ ²-cell lineage in mice (Collombat et al., 2009; Al-Hasani et al., 2013). Recent studies additionally showing that non-ÃŽÂ ² cells, for example, ÃŽÂ ±-and ÃŽÂ ´-cells could experience transdifferentiation into ÃŽÂ ²-like cells when the mice is suffering from significant ÃŽÂ ²-cell loss (Thorel et al., 2010; Chera et al., 2014). On the other hand, a few researches demonstrate that the ÃŽÂ ²-cells can likewise lose their fate or dedifferentiate into non-ÃŽÂ ² or progenitor cells when losing any of the previously mentioned ÃŽÂ ²-cell particular transcription factor (Ziv et al., 2013). Moreover, a current study demonstrated that human ÃŽÂ ²-cells are capable of converting into ÃŽÂ ±-cells with no genetic modification (Spijker et al., 2013). Taken together, all these researches have showed that the dynamic plasticity of islet cells. 1.3 Glucose Stimulate Insulin Secretion One unique and significant feature of ÃŽÂ ²-cells is to detect the blood glucose changes and secrete insulin into extracellular milieu in response to keeping the glucose levels within the range of 4-8mM (Weir and Bonner-Weir, 2013). This is primarily accomplished by the take-up of extracellular glucose by the glucose transporter 2 (Glut2; Bell et al., 1990) at the plasma membrane. Upon uptake, the intracellular glucose sensor, glucokinase (Gck), subjects glucose moieties to quick metabolism system by glycolysis (Matschinsky and Ellerman, 1968). This brings about the producing of three carbon products: pyruvate, which takes part in the tricarboxylic corrosive (TCA) cycle inside the mitochondrion to eventually create adenosine triphosphates (ATP) by means of the electron transport chain system. The ATP therefore leads to the increase of ATP/ADP proportion in the cytoplasm, activating the closure of the ATP sensitive potassium (KATP) channel. Vitally, mutation in the kir6.2 subunit o f this channel were demonstrated to induce neonatal diabetes in both mice and human because of loss of insulin secretion as a consequence of constitutively open KATP channel (Koster et al., 2000; Gloyn et al., 2004). It has long been realized that glucose stimulates the closure of these KATP channels thus leading the slow menbrane depolarization (Ashcroft et al., 1984). This promotes extracellular calcium influx by voltage dependent calcium channels and potentiates the releasing of insulin (Matschinsky et al., 1998). Insulin is secreted in an oscillatory manner because of the blood glucose level and triggers downstream insulin signaling cascade in insulin-responsive tissues for the taking up glucose. It has well been shown that islets can be entrained to small changes in glucose and thus the plasma insulin has high frequency of oscillation. However, this capacity of entrainment of the islets is disturbed in patients with T2D (Mao et al., 1999). It exhibits ÃŽÂ ²-cell malfunction because of loss of insulin secretion is a major issue during the clinical indication of T2D. 1.4 Compensatory Islet Expansion During Insulin Resistance During the state of insulin resistance or over-weight, elevated plasma insulin levels (named hyperinsulinemia) has been found in polygenic mouse models showing insulin resistance and human subjects because of increasing of insulin secretion (Yalow and Berson, 1960; Polonsky et al., 1988; Brà ¼ning et al., 1997). It has been suggested later that both in rodents and people, this improved insulin secretion is apparently because of an expansion in ÃŽÂ ²-cell mass by either ÃŽÂ ²-cell proliferation (Steil et al., 2001) or ÃŽÂ ²-cell hypertrophy (Weir and Bonner-Weir, 2004). On the other hand, ÃŽÂ ²-cell failure because of different genetic or environmental variables, is known to cause declined plasma insulin levels in diabetics (Maclean and Ogilvie, 1955). It has been showed that lessened levels of insulin are frequently associated with a noteworthy loss of ÃŽÂ ²-cell mass because of ÃŽÂ ²-cell apoptosis (Butler et al., 2003; Rhodes, 2005). Other than the diabetes perspective, it has been demonstrated that matured ÃŽÂ ²-cells have long life-span and low proliferative rates at steady state. This is because of a potential limitation of the entry of matured ÃŽÂ ²-cells into cell cycle (Teta et al., 2005; Kushner, 2013). Other than this perception, later study suggested that adult ÃŽÂ ²-cells do have the ability to proliferate (Stolovich-Rain et al., 2012). In light of these findings on ÃŽÂ ²-cell proliferation, a few research groups have revealed various proteins essential for assisting ÃŽÂ ²-cell proliferation on knockout or transgenic mouse. Known cell cycle controllers including Cyclins D1 and D2, Cyclin subordinate kinase 4 (Cdk4), Cdk inhibitors (CKIs) such as Cip/Kip and INK4, transcription factors Retinoblastoma (Rb) and p53, have been proved on genetic mouse models as regulators of ÃŽÂ ²-cell proliferation and survival (Heit et al., 2006). Although transient high glucose has been considered as the result of insufficient insulin secretion or insulin resistance, it has also been revealed to promote the compensate ÃŽÂ ²-cell mass expansion (Bonner-Weir et al., 1989). This hypothesis was further supported recently by another observation, that it is the glucose metabolism, instead the glucose itself that triggers compensatory ÃŽÂ ²-cell proliferation in vivo (Porat et al., 2011). Some other attentions have been centered on the effect of activation of insulin/IRS2 pathway on driving ÃŽÂ ²-cell proliferation. The components of the pathway including IRS2 (Withers et al., 1998) and AKT (Bernal-Mizrachi et al., 2001) were demonstrated to be fundamental for ÃŽÂ ²-cell survival. Moreover, study has shown that the impact of insulin in ÃŽÂ ²-cell proliferation is even stronger when with hyperglycemia (Paris et al., 2003). It is notable that when in the state of severe insulin resistance, the pancreatic islets adjust t hemselves to meet the expanding requirement for producing and secretion more insulin by increasing their ÃŽÂ ²-cell mass (Weir and Bonner-Weir, 2004). Other than the involvement of protein coding genes, a few non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), mostly microRNAs and long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), have been shown in the diabetogenes list, adding on to the complex genetic architecture of human diabetes. 2.1 The Brief History of MicroRNAs The most recent decade has seen huge attention regarding a new and special class of little ncRNAs such as microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating the structure and function of ÃŽÂ ²-cells. With the first observation of a miRNA, lin-4 in C. elegans, researchers showed how a gene product encodes two little RNAs, instead of a protein. Besides, they demonstrated that these small RNAs binds to the compensatory sites at the 3 end of untranslated region (UTR) of lin-14, a development related heterochronic gene. This interaction is appeared to negatively regulate the expression of lin-14 by blocking its translation (Lee et al., 1993; Wightman et al., 1993), proposing miRNAs as negative regulators of gene expression. Even since the discovery of microRNAs, a lot of related research results have updated the mechanism of gene regulation to a novel level. miRNAs now are known as a group of small ncRNAs of ~21-22 nucleotides long that can complementary or non-complementary base-pairing the mRNA of protein coding genes, thus to regulate their expression at post-transcriptional level (Bartel, 2004 and 2009). Actually after the identification of lin-4, another miRNA called let-7 was revealed like lin-4 in both biogenesis and function level. Soon after, there starts a prevail in discovering new microRNASs mostly by high throughput sequencing technologies in research area and surprisingly, about 30,000 miRNA over about 200 species have been identified, which includes about 2,500 mature human miRNAs. (Kozomara and Griffiths-Jones, 2014). Many computational methods have also been produced to predict the potential targets of miRNAs based on the stable miRNA-target mRNA binding model (Lewis et al., 2003; Krek et al., 2005). 2.2 MicroRNA Induced Gene Silencing The intercellular gene silencing mechanism, termed as RNA silencing (RNAi) or post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) is currently well known to be led by a group of small RNAs, for example, short interfering RNA (siRNA), piwi interacting RNA (piRNA), or the miRNAs. Basically, their working mechanisms are similar and the difference exist mostly in their biogenesis inside the cells (Ender and Meister, 2010). Mature miRNA producing has been through several steps: transcribed from DNA by RNA polymerase II, primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) has much longer sequence. Once transcribed, the pri-miRNA is further processed to precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA) about 60 nucleotides long by enzyme Dorsa and DGCR8 protein complex (Lee et al., 2003). Once pre-miRNAs are produced inside the nucleus, it will be export out of the nucleus by protein Exportin 5 to the cytoplasm in a Ran-GTP dependent manner (Lund et al., 2004). Another important enzyme, which is also critical for mouse development, Dicer would re cognize the pre-miRNA and process it to about 22 nucleotides long mature miRNA duplex form (Bernstein et al.,2003). Only one of stands of the duplex will be transported to miRNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) by Dicer, and the other strand, termed miRNA* is usually degraded in the end (Schwarz et al., 2003; Ender Meister, 2010). There are several components on the RISC, and one key protein component is AGO family. There are four well characterized members of AGO family in human AGO1, AGO2, AGO3 and AGO4. And AGO2 is expressed more often than other forms (Su et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2012). All the AGO proteins have the ability to slice mRNA because of their PAZ and PIWI cleavage domains under the guidance of miRNA sequence. Each miRNA has an important seed region, typically from 2nd-7th nucleotides, that could fully or partially bind to the mRNA 3 UTR sequence. The base pairing condition between the miRNA and target mRNA determines the target recognition and binding of miRISC, but also the fate of the mRNA- to be cleaved or to be repressed in translation. In animal system, the miRNA does not fully complementary bind to the 3 UTR of the target mRNA, through blocking the translation machinery, miRNA silencing the gene expression, without interference of the target stability. However, recent studies on the miR NA mediated gene silencing in mammalian cells reveals that miRNA may act through two step modes: at first, repressing the translation, then deadenylation and destabilization of target mRNA [27qualifier]. The deadenylation has been suggested to induce mRNA degradation [48] and translation inhibition is probably the requisite of mRNA degradation in mammalian cells [49].

An Analysis of Frosts Tree at my Window Essay -- Tree at my Window E

An Analysis of   Frost's Tree at my Window      Ã‚   "Tree at my Window" was written by Robert Frost, an American poet who was born in 1874 and died in 1963 (DiYanni 624). His poem will be the basis of the discussion of this brief essay. The narrator in this poem appears to be speaking to the "tree at my window"; then, repeating the phrase in reverse order, he calls it the "window tree," as if to emphasize the location and nearness of the tree. Calling the tree a "window tree," might also suggest that this tree is something he sees through, perhaps to some higher truth, to something beyond the mere physical presence of the tree. As night approaches, the "sash" or movable portion of the window is lowered, perhaps to prevent the air, cooled from lack of the sun's warmth, from entering the house (Webster 1026). The narrator continues, "But let there never be curtain drawn / Between you and me." Literally, this statement could imply that he does not want a drape to cover the window betwen them. A sense of foreboding arises if one looks at additional definitions. "Curtain" can refer to death and "drawn" can refer to being brought about by inducement or being allured (Webster 280, 346). The narrator begins the second stanza mentioning a dream that is unclear. He then stops short and continues, seemingly describing the appearance of the tree. Referring to "head lifted out of the ground, / Not all your light tonuges taliking aloud / could be profound." Perhaps the speaker could be describing the vastness of the tree's height and width along with the magnitude of leaves. Comparing tongues to leaves is a possibility because, as the wind rushes through them, it causes a distinct sound. The speaker may even believe that the tre... ...In stanza four, the speaker compares "outer" and "inner" lives. "Tree at my Window" contains descriptions and comparisons that almost bring an image to one's mind. Perhaps I have been able to relate to this poem because I have often looked out of the window at the trees and mountains in the distance and contemplated some dilemma. Perhaps we could all learn from nature not to be so anxious about things that in the long run do not really even matter.       Works Cited Cox, James, M. Robert Frost: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1962. DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. Thompson, Lawrence. Robert Frost: The Early Years 1874-1915 New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. Massachusetts: G&C Merriam, 1977.

You are the SBD (Strategic Business Department) director for a company :: Business and Management Studies

You are the SBD (Strategic Business Department) director for a company operating in the entertainment industry  · Introduction We are currently deciding to set up a subsidiary company which shall enter the fast food industry. This report will give a step by step detailed look upon what is to be done, to accomplish such a mission.  · Establishing Objectives Our main objectives are to be inline with those of the parent company, these are: o Obtaining a market share of 15% during the first 3 years of operation o Cost cutting exercise shall increase o To be customer oriented o To reach a 5% return on investment o To avoid a price war with the existing operator o To provide a high quality service, and o To be a market leader.  · Planning the strategies When planning the setting of the strategies, this process would be divided into two parts. First we shall conduct the research and secondly formulate the strategies form the research obtained. To obtain good strategies for the organisation it is very important to set up a good research team, as the strategies shall base themselves upon the research. A SWOT analysis is an important factor to research, these are the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats. o It has a parent company, it has recruited the top management o Greenpeace societies might be at a disadvantage o It is shaped towards the fast food industry, having new technology, thus being at advancement over competitors. o Would have to face setup costs, cause of the present competitors. The PESTLE should also be conducted, these consist of: Political aspects, Economic aspects, Socio-cultural aspects, Technological aspects, Employment aspects, and Legal aspects. o Political – Malta currently joined the European Union thus we shall abide by the common laws. o Economic – the Maltese population consume quite a high percentage of fast food, thus we have a good landing in the market. o Socio-cultural – nowadays a lot of families have both parents working thus, lunch or dinner is a quick meal or a meal grabbed from a take away. o Technological – up to date computerized systems will be installed thus creating an upscale form competitors. o Employment – our fast food organisation shall have top management employed within. o Legal – legal issues shall be reviewed regarding recycling and littering. The strategies of the organisation shall be to extract healthy eating and inform our customers, to target young children with their parents, we shall be investing in latest technology and most importantly we shall be setting a lot of promotion.

How one learns best Essay

The way I learn best is from observation and a little explanation. I mainly prefer to find things out for myself rather than have it told to me. This allows me to have more of a connection with what I have learned. When I learn something I like to learn it properly and fully. I like to learn it from all perspectives, so I can truly understand things â€Å"from the inside† as Van de Lagemaat nicely puts it. I dislike having a serious conversation with narrow minded people. It disgusts me to see people blindly supporting their own view and reject everything that contradicts their ideas, without even giving it a single thought. It is natural thought because it is part of human nature to have this type of mentality when only â€Å"my view† is the right one. Once humans learn to view things in other people’s shoes, they will start to view the world in a different way. I believe that human nature is basically wild. Society we are living in covers up our wild side but at some points this side is exposed. I enjoy reading during my free time. But to have a book forced on me slightly puts me off reading it. There are certain exceptions where the book fits my likings, but over the year, they have been an odd occurrence. To have an assignment on a novel that is devoid of interesting ideas and information is almost painful. I would very much welcome flexibility with deadlines. With sport practice and extra-curricular activities, some extra time would be truly appreciated. I would also welcome teachers to always point out my mistakes and make a big deal of them. This way it can stick in my mind and I won’t forget it as easily. I always like to see my teacher be very active in class bring up class discussions and stating his/her opinion on things. For me to entirely succeed I would need to change certain things about myself. Most of which I have already started to do, such as my organizational skills. Other aspects I should improve upon are my concentration skills. I sometimes find it hard to focus on any given subject when there are distractions present.

Development as a Dynamic System

The dynamic systems theory in development explicated by Thelen and Smith conceptualized the process of development as a process of change. In the theory, the authors explained how the development of human occurred. The concept of the theory greatly uses the experiments and study on motor, perceptual and cognitive development. The dynamic system theory is considered as a new scientific paradigm that is continuously evolving from the concept of development as a dynamic, non-linear, self-organizing or even chaotic system.The dynamic system theory of development encompasses different principle widely used and accepted in different fields such as in physics, chemistry, and mathematics. (Stolorow, 1997) Thelen and Smith concerned with the explanation as to how development occurs in humans proposed a radical alternative to the exiting cognitive theory. (Storolow, 1997) Their emphasis on dynamic representation of the process and the process evoking the concept of change is also stressed.As a n alternative to the traditional cognitive theory existing at the time the theory was developed, it attempt to apply the complexity theory to psychology as they reinterpret several traditional concepts used in the cognitive development theory in psychology. In this approach, the theory started with fundamental questions with regards to the cognitive theory.As the new theory of dynamic system of development revealed, it is regarded as a theory of development of cognition and action, at the same time unifying the recent advances in their conceptualized theory and the current research findings and analysis in the neuroscience and neural development field. The dynamic system of development theory shows how the processes governed by principles of exploration and selection and multimodal experiences form the bases for self-organizing perception and action categories. (Thelen, 1994) The theory became a powerful source of new metaphors for the field of psychoanalysis.The theory includes ana lysis of phenomena like conflict, transference, resistance and the unconscious intertwined with the perspective of the development process as dynamically emergent properties that elucidate the process of pattern formation and the process of change. The theory is useful in understanding the complexity of the development process. As a function of the theory, it permits theoretical statements about development of societies and groups but also the individuals within the societies and the entities that govern the group.The dynamic system approach attempts to answer the different levels of problems and at some point avoids it by defining the process of development being multilayered. The theoretical assumptions of the dynamic system theory tries to avoid the concept of stages in outward behavior because the concept of the theory acknowledges the fact that outward behaviors that appears to be staged-like is or can be explained through the occurring continuous changes in the components gove rning those behaviors.  (Thelen, 1994)The theory stresses the importance of the concept of change and transition, and attributes the process of development in the mechanisms of change that has a process of the first step towards the last. The theory focuses on the concept of change, and limits its regards to change being time-bounded or as a series of stages with transitions. Dynamic systems being self-organizing are a consequence for the idea that development is a result of spontaneous emergence of higher-order structure.The emergence of higher-order structures contributes to the recursive interactions among the simple components included in the process. Essentially connected with human development is the concept of human individuals being developing organisms having continuous and numerous genetic, physiological and psychological attributes. In turn this results to behavioral changes which include the interaction between the individual and its environment. In turn the dynamic sy stem theory of development is given less of the credit it deserves as a theory that explains further the human development of an individual.The concern of the theory is to stress the value of the concept of change and how it is important in the understanding of development and other factors that surrounds the concept of development. The dynamic system of development in humans greatly contributes to the fact that behavior is the outcome of the interaction between the individual and its environment. Thelen and Smith objectively presented a new theory that governs the principle of development being a process of change, which includes the transitory and stages in resulting to development. Reference: Stolorow, R. D. (1997). A Dynamic System Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action: By Esther Thelen and Linda Smith. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis 1(78), 620-622. Storolow, R. D. (1997). Dynamic, Dyadic, Intersubjective Systems: An Evolving Paradigm for Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytical Psychology, 1(14), 337-346. Thelen, E., & Smith, L. B. (1994). A dynamic systems approach to the development of cognition and action. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.   

Competitive and internal information Essay

Write an essay on the typical main sources of business information generated both internally and externally for public companies. How is such information used to establish a company’s place in the market? Illustrate your answer with examples from one or more business sectors of your choice. INTRODUCTION Information consists of data that have been retrieved, processed, or used for informative purposes, argument or as a basis for forecasting or decision making. Without information, a business cannot survive. A recipe for a good decision is 90 percent information and 10 percent inspiration. Information is the catalyst of management and the ingredient that coalesces the managerial functions of planning, operating controlling. Managers depend on information for making decisions. Any organization is held together by the possession of means for the acquisition, use, retention and transmission of information. The purpose of management system is to develop plans for achieving objectives, to organize for implementing plan and to control performance so that plans and actions occur on schedule. The place of information in performing these three basis processes is shown in the following. MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND INFORMATION NEED 1) Performance against plan 2) Environmental, Competitive and internal information concurring problem and opportunities. Evaluation of 1 and 2 in order to Make a prediction of estimate of Alternative courses of action Alternative source. Prediction of results for alternative Courses of action. Communicate details of plan and Control standards. Performance against PK In the above figure for information needs 1) In the the first step, recognition of problem or an opportunity is prompted by information from the control process concerning a deviation from standard or by search and evaluation of those system (environmental, competitive, Internal) 2) Definition of problem, determination and evaluation of alternative course of action. 3) Once a decision is made, it is necessary to implement and control a solution. Among the above steps, planning information needs of an organization can be classified into three broad types. 1) Environmental 2) Competitive 3) Internal 1) Environmental information It can be classified as (A) Political and Government consideration Some information on political stability is important for forecasting plans. (B) Demographic and Social trends Some information is necessary to forecast the Social Trends and consumer buying behavior for both the long and short run. (C) Economic Trends. Employment, Productivity and numerals other economic indicators provide valuable planning information for the firms whose output is a function of these important variables (D) Technological environment Some information is necessary to forecast the technological changes in their industry and probable effect on the firm. (2) Competitive information. Information concerning factors that affects the operation of the firm within an industry includes data concerning industry and firm demand as well as the data on the competitors. The information can be classified into three types. They are (a) Industry Demand. Information is needed for forecasting the demand for the Sale and the corresponding level of operation of a single firm. (b) Firm Demand The demand for products of an individual firm is a function of the Industry demand and the capabilities and activities of the individual firm relative to the capabilities and action of competing firms. (c) Competition Data on competing firms are very important for forecasting the individual demand and making decisions and plans to achieve the forecast. (3) Internal information They are vital for subsidiary planning at all levels in the organization. Internal data are aimed at an identification of the organization’s strength and weakness.. The types of internal information are (A) Sales forecast: Some information is necessary for forecasting the Sales. (B) The financial plan It is the system that links all activities of the company together. (C) Policies Some information is necessary to frame the basis policies for long run purpose. Data and information come from many sources – both internal (inside the business) and external. This revision note summarizes the main sources: Business data and information comes from multiple sources. The challenge for a business is to capture and use information that is relevant and reliable. The main sources are: INTERNAL INFORMATION Accounting records are a prime source of internal information. They detail the transactions of the business in the past – which may be used as the basis for planning for the future (e. g. preparing a financial budget or forecast). The accounting records are primarily used to record what happens to the financial resources of a business. For example, how cash is obtained and spent; what assets are acquired; what profits or losses are made on the activities of the business. However, accounting records can provide much more than financial information. For example, details of the products manufactured and delivered from a factory can provide useful information about whether quality standards are being met. Data analyzed from customer sales invoices provides a profile of what and to whom products are being sold. A lot of internal information is connected to accounting systems – but is not directly part of them. For example: – Records of the people employed by the business (personal details; what they get paid; skills and experience; training records) – Data on the costs associated with business processes (e. g. costings for contracts entered into by the business) – Data from the production department (e. g. number of machines; capacity; repair record) – Data from activities in direct contact with the customer (e. g. analysis of calls received and missed in a call centre) A lot of internal information is also provided informally. For example, regular meetings of staff and management will result in the communication of relevant information. SAMPLE SOURCES OF INTERNAL INFORMATION: Balance Sheet of ICICI PERIOD ENDING 31-Mar-00 Assets Current Assets Cash And Cash Equivalents 1,479,000 Short Term Investments – Net Receivables 194,000 Inventory – Other Current Assets – Total Current Assets – Long Term Investments 1,185,000 Property Plant and Equipment 48,000 Goodwill – Intangible Assets – Accumulated Amortization – Other Assets 81,000 Deferred Long Term Asset Charges – Total Assets 2,987,000 Liabilities Current Liabilities Accounts Payable – Short/Current Long Term Debt – Other Current Liabilities 2,454,000 Total Current Liabilities – Long Term Debt 57,000 Other Liabilities 215,000 Deferred Long Term Liability Charges – Minority Interest – Negative Goodwill – Total Liabilities 2,726,000 Stockholders’ Equity Misc Stocks Options Warrants – Redeemable Preferred Stock – Preferred Stock – Common Stock 45,000 Retained Earnings 44,000 Treasury Stock – Capital Surplus 171,000 Other Stockholder Equity 1,000 Total Stockholder Equity 261,000 Net Tangible Assets $261,000 Source: Yahoo Finance Stock movement of I-Flex solutions Series Date Prev Close Open Price High Price Low Price Last Price Close Price Total Traded Quantity Turnover in Lacs EQ 03-Mar-2008 1,078. 95 1,037. 00 1,080. 00 1,020. 00 1,029. 90 1,042. 55 17954 190. 31 EQ 04-Mar-2008 1,042. 55 1,020. 00 1,075. 00 1,017. 00 1,047. 65 1,048. 25 36723 382. 44 EQ 05-Mar-2008 1,048. 25 1,070. 00 1,070. 00 1,030. 15 1,045. 00 1,039. 20 22219 231. 63 EQ 07-Mar-2008 1,039. 20 1,021. 00 1,032. 00 983. 00 1,004. 95 1,001. 50 22103 220. 45 EQ 10-Mar-2008 1,001. 50 955. 00 1,040. 00 946. 40 1,005. 00 1,015. 50 19099 192. 55 EQ 11-Mar-2008 1,015. 50 992. 50 1,065. 00 992. 50 1,045. 00 1,054. 65 21805 226. 22 EQ 12-Mar-2008 1,054. 65 1,100. 00 1,100. 00 1,000. 00 1,004. 00 1,007. 45 13398 139. 14 EQ 13-Mar-2008 1,007. 45 987. 05 1,010. 00 952. 00 954. 00 959. 10 15931 155. 65 EQ 14-Mar-2008 959. 10 962. 00 992. 00 920. 00 990. 00 983. 15 21685 210. 01 EQ 17-Mar-2008 983. 15 925. 00 970. 00 925. 00 965. 00 942. 95 12307 116. 99 EQ 18-Mar-2008 942. 95 931. 00 958. 50 925. 10 927. 00 936. 50 21230 200. 13 EQ 19-Mar-2008 936. 50 970. 00 978. 00 922. 00 925. 00 925. 55 21245 199. 40 EQ 24-Mar-2008 925. 55 948. 00 950. 00 895. 00 905. 00 908. 25 21626 197. 55 EQ 25-Mar-2008 908. 25 913. 50 1,008. 00 913. 50 990. 10 992. 55 58576 571. 10 EQ 26-Mar-2008 992. 55 988. 90 1,027. 00 974. 00 974. 00 986. 85 33402 335. 28 EQ 27-Mar-2008 986. 85 975. 00 1,003. 00 935. 00 951. 05 947. 10 118566 1,140. 60 EQ 28-Mar-2008 947. 10 970. 00 994. 00 956. 00 976. 00 984. 40 21658 210. 89 EQ 31-Mar-2008 984. 40 970. 25 985. 00 935. 00 948. 20 941. 10 39622 376. 60 Source: NSEINDIA EXTERNAL INFORMATION As the term implies, this is information that is obtained from outside the business. There are several categories of external information: – Information relating to way a business should undertake its activities E. g. businesses need to keep records so that they can collect taxes on behalf of the government. So a business needs to obtain regular information about the taxation system (e. g. PAYE, VAT, Corporation Tax) and what actions it needs to take. Increasingly this kind of information (and the return forms a business needs to send) is provided in digital format. Similarly, a business needs to be aware of key legal areas (e. g. environmental legislation; health & safety regulation; employment law). There is a whole publishing industry devoted to selling this kind of information to businesses. – Information about the markets in which a business operates This kind of external information is critically important to a business. It is often referred to as â€Å"market† or â€Å"competitive intelligence†. Most of the external information that a business needs can be obtained from marketing research. Marketing research can help a business do one or more of the following: 1. Gain a more detailed understanding of consumers’ needs – marketing research can help firms to discover consumers’ opinions on a huge range of issues, e. g. , views on products’ prices, packaging, recent advertising campaigns 2. Reduce the risk of product/business failure – there is no guarantee that any new idea will be a commercial success, but accurate and up-to-date information on the market can help a business make informed decisions, hopefully leading to products that consumers want in sufficient numbers to achieve commercial success. 3. Forecast future trends – marketing research can not only provide information regarding the current state of the market but it can also be used to anticipate customer needs future customer needs. Firms can then make the necessary adjustments to their product portfolios and levels of output in order to remain successful. The information for marketing research tends to come from three main sources: Internal Company Information – e. g. sales, orders, customer profiles, stocks, customer service reports Marketing intelligence – this is a catch-all term to include all the everyday information about developments in the market that helps a business prepare and adjust its marketing plans. It can be obtained from many sources, including suppliers, customers and distributors. It is also possible to buy intelligence information from outside suppliers (e. g. Mintel, Dun and Bradstreet) who will produce commercial intelligence reports that can be sold profitably to any interested organization. Market Research – existing data from internal sources may not provide sufficient detail. Similarly, published reports from market intelligence organizations cannot always be relied upon to provide the up-to-date, relevant information required. In these circumstances, a business may need to commission specific studies in order to acquire the data required to support their marketing strategy. – http://tutor2u. net/business/ict/intro_information_sources. htm SOURCES OF BUSINESS INFORMATION Details of following types of organizations are required to be maintained by NCTI for guiding entrepreneurs/exporters to approach to the right organization for getting the desired information, assistance and help. †¢ Foreign Embassies/High Commissions/Consulate in India †¢ Indian Missions/Consulate abroad †¢ Chambers of Commerce & Industry †¢ Trade Promotion /Import Promotion Organizations †¢ Export Inspection Agencies †¢ Export Processing Zones in India and Abroad Details of these organizations are readily available with NCTI. – http://archives. nic. in/ncti/ncti8. htm SAMPLE SOURCES OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION: AMR Research Releases ERP Market Report Showing Overall Market Growth of 14% in 2004, Tuesday, June 14, 2005, Kevin Reilly As Market Consolidation Continues, Top 5 ERP Vendors Account for 72% of Revenue Today, AMR Research released its annual report on the state of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market. The Market Analytix Report: Enterprise Resource Planning, 2004-2009 revealed that ERP market revenues increased 14% in 2004. The report indicates that approximately one-third of the growth in the overall market was due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. While the ERP market has grown in revenue, consolidation continues to change the industry. In 1999, the top five vendors (J. D. Edwards, Baan, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP) in the ERP market accounted for 59% of the industry’s revenue. AMR Research expects the top five vendors in 2005 (SAP, Oracle, Sage Group, Microsoft, and SSA Global) to account for 72% of ERP vendors’ total revenue. â€Å"The ERP market showed solid organic growth in 2004 as IT spending improved,† says Jim Shepherd, vice president of research at AMR Research. â€Å"The market was also affected by consolidation within the segment, as well as ERP vendors acquiring best-of-breed players to broaden their portfolios. † While many ERP vendors struggled in 2004, SAP AG increased overall revenues by 17% and license revenues by 20% – without any acquisitions. SAP’s ERP market share increased to more than 40%. Oracle nearly doubled the size of its application business through the acquisition of PeopleSoft, but AMR Research expects SAP to finish 2005 with more than twice the revenue and market share of the combined Oracle-PeopleSoft. Report Findings and Analysis The report delivers revenue and growth rates for the top ERP players as well as growth forecasts through 2009. ERP vendors ranked by 2004 ERP license revenue can be seen in the chart below. The top ten ERP vendors by revenue include the following companies: The report revealed several trends that affected the ERP market in 2004, including: The ERP market is entering another major technology transition phase. Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) may have the same disruptive effect that other technologies have had on the market, such as the emergence of client-server systems had in the 1990’s. The pace of acquisitions shows no sign of slowing down. Oracle’s purchase of Retek and vendors like Sage Group, SSA Global, Infor Global Solutions, and Epicor have all been very active in the M&A space and have grown more rapidly than the overall ERP market. The midrange ($50M – $1B in annual revenue) and SMB (less than $50M in annual revenue) markets continue to be a major focus area for many of the ERP vendors. Midrange solutions and channels are critically important for penetrating China, India, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. ERP buyers have moved away from large, upfront purchases. Now most tend to license user seats and functional ERP modules incrementally as they deploy a product. Along with widespread discounting, this has led to smaller average deal sizes. BANK’S REPORT BY FDIC Dollar Amounts in Billions Fourth Quarter 2007 All Insured Institutions Commercial Banks Savings Institutions Credit Card Lenders Mortgage Lenders Number of FDIC-Insured 8,533 7,282 1,251 27 786 Number of FDIC-Supervised 5,197 4,772 425 10 317 Total Assets $ 13,039 11,176 1,863 479 1,334 Total Loans $ 7,906 6,626 1,280 369 944 Domestic Deposits $ 6,912 5,807 1,105 142 737 Net Income (QTR) $ 5. 816 10. 540 -4. 724 3. 027 -3. 230 Percent Profitable (QTR) % 82. 3 83. 2 77. 0 88. 9 79. 1 Average Return on Assets (QTR) % 0. 18 0. 38 -1. 00 2. 61 -0. 94 Average Return on Equity (QTR) % 1. 74 3. 76 -8. 70 11. 96 -10. 51 Net Interest Margin (QTR) % 3. 30 3. 38 2. 86 8. 97 2. 52 Equity to Assets % 10. 37 10. 24 11. 17 21. 26 8. 61 Noncurrent Loan Rate – Total Loans * % 1. 39 1. 30 1. 86 2. 00 1. 87 Real Estate Loans % 1. 71 1. 62 2. 01 1. 81 1. 94 C&I Loans % 0. 66 0. 64 0. 92 2. 21 0. 88 Consumer Loans % 1. 43 1. 48 0. 98 2. 10 0. 96 Coverage Ratio ** % 92. 54 102. 84 55. 35 207. 47 45. 74 Net Charge-Off Rate – All Loans (QTR) % 0. 83 0. 86 0. 68 4. 23 0. 66 Real Estate Loans (QTR) % 0. 44 0. 43 0. 49 2. 61 0. 54 C&I Loans (QTR) % 0. 87 0. 85 1. 24 5. 13 1. 35 Consumer Loans (QTR) % 2. 75 2. 77 2. 54 4. 39 3. 16 Source: http://www. fdic. gov/bank/statistical/stats/2007dec/industry. html REFERENCES ? James O’ Brien, Management Information system, Tata Mcgraw Hill, 2007, Pg. 245-267. ? AMR Research Releases ERP Market Report Showing Overall Market Growth of 14% in 2004, Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Kevin Reilly ? Yahoo Finance ? www. nseindia. com ? http://archives. nic. in/ncti/ncti8. htm ? http://tutor2u. net/business/ict/intro_information_sources. htm http://www. fdic. gov/bank/statistical/stats/2007dec/industry. html