PALETIVE CARE FOR LUNGS CANSER PATIENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

PALETIVE CARE FOR LUNGS CANSER PATIENT - Essay Example â€Å"Bronchogenic carcinoma is a major cause of mortality world-wide and the survival rate has not improved significantly in the last 20 years. Over 150000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in Europe every year but less than 10 percent are cured†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doyle, Hanks , Cherny, and Calman, K., 2005) The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage. (Morrow, 2009). It is an experience and assessment is difficult. There is no simple definition for palliative care also, and the definition based on the World Health Organization states â€Å"A Palliative care is care that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing life-threatening illness. With palliative care particular attention is given to the prevention, assessment, and treatment of pain and other symptoms, and to the provision of psychological, spiritual and  emotional support.† (Avert, 2010) Due to lack of effective surgical and medical cure especially for the lung tumors, the importance of palliative cure in this area has significantly increased. In the disease management of lung cancer major surgery is rarely justified for palliation. â€Å"The National Council for Hospice and Specialist Palliative Care Services (1997) has defined psychosocial care as concerned with the psychological and emotional well being of the patient and their family/carers, including issues of self-esteem, insight into an adaptation to the illness and its consequences, communication, social functioning and relationships.† (Jeffrey, 2003, p.1) Palliative care for the patients who are at the verge of death has several dimensions to it apart from the pain associated with the disease. Understanding these following factors is very important as the entire gamut of the care hinges on appreciating the complexities of these factors, as the issue is not

American history - essay - about The Black Cat Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American history - - about The Black Cat - Essay Example My interaction with the narrator as his pet was awesome at first. The fact that I was following him step by step means that we were compatible in various aspects. It felt good when I was being favored through exclusion from harassment while others in the house were being mistreated (Poe and Andrewasine 79). Being singled out when others were being mistreated always gave me a reason to stick to the narrator. It also strengthened the instincts between us. I felt special by being singled out among the pets that he had and even introduced me to his wife as his favorite pet of all. Our relationship, however, was mysterious and also supernatural in nature an element that was also evident in the gothic genre. The emotions of the narrator, however, ruined the friendship that was in existence and our sound interaction changed drastically to become sour. The person I was always comfortable when we were together became the person I was to run from. The drunkenness changed the narrator I knew to someone close to a murderer (Poe and Andrewasine 76). It was unbelievable to see him attacking me and even plucking one of my eyes irrespective of our cordial relationship that had been in existence. This interaction taught enlightened me that people changes and there have been something sinister with the narrator. It is weird for a close ally to become a monster within a very short time frame. The monstrous aspect resembles the gothic set up aspect and element. With such mistreatments, it was evident that the best way of living with the narrator is avoiding him. However, this interaction created dilemma in my life on the best mode of living that would assure me of survival. This is because after he perceived that I was avoiding him he plucked one of my eyes (Bloomfield 249). On the other hand, it is very insecure to stay close to such a person. However, it was unbelievable seeing the narrator holding me in a manner that

Childhood sexual abuse and effects on marital functioning

Childhood sexual abuse and effects on marital functioning Childhood sexual abuse victimization has detrimental effects on a womans intimate relationships. Adult survivors of child sexual abuse may show difficulties in interpersonal relationships, including avoidance or fear of intimacy, showing low emotional engagement with partners and a pattern of withdrawing from couple interaction during times of high emotion. Adult survivors also may have trouble with trust and may have a poor sense of boundaries and have a sense of powerlessness. Survivors of this trauma often have difficulty establishing and maintaining intimate relationships and experience a high rate of sexual dysfunction. Also, women with child sexual abuse experiences are twice as likely to experience rape as adults and to report having been physically abused by their partners. Thus, this paper will guide me to this paper will channel me to conform and portray substantiation to my claim that childhood sexual abuse operates as a precursor to marital dissonance and marital dissatis faction. It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime. The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini Childhood sexual abuse: The subject of child sexual abuse is still a taboo in India. A conspiracy of silence exists around the subject of abuse and a large percentage of people feel that this is a largely western problem and thus abuse, especially child sexual abuse does not occur in our country. Part of the reason of course lies in a traditional conservative family and community structure that does not talk about sex and sexuality at all (Study on Child Abuse: India 2007). Most of the time, parents do not talk to their children about sexuality and during puberty girls are not told about the physical and emotional changes that take place. What then happens is that all forms of sexual abuse that a child faces do not get reported even to close individuals. Children do not realize that they are being abused most of the time. Most victims report having buried the incident as a painful and shameful one not to be ever told to anyone (RAHI, 1998). As defined by the World Health Organization (1999), CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend; is unable to give informed consent to, or that violates the laws or social taboos of society. The activity between a child and an adult or another child who by development or age is in a relationship of trust, power or responsibility with the activity being intended to gratify or satisfy the need of the other person is what child sexual abuse is evident by (W.H.O., 1999). This may include but not limited to: The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful activity The exploitative use of a child in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. Sexual violence is any act which may be verbal and/or physical which threatens to break a persons trust and/or safety. It includes rape, incest, child sexual assault, marital rape, sexual harassment, exposure and voyeurism. Yet, sexual abuse can be defined as severe forms of sexual abuse and other forms of sexual abuse. Severe forms of sexual abuse include: assault, including rape and sodomy; touching or fondling the child; exhibitionism forcing a child to exhibit his/her private body parts and photographing a child in nude. Other forms of sexual abuse include: forcible kissing; sexual advances towards a child during travel; sexual advances towards a child during marriage situations or other social occasions; exhibitionism exhibiting before a child and exposing a child to pornographic materials. The World Health Organization (1999) estimates that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under the age of 18 have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence involving physical contact. A review of epidemiological surveys from 21 countries, mainly high- and middle- income countries, found that at least 7% of females (ranging up to 36%) and 3% of males (ranging up to 29%) reported sexual victimization during their childhood. According to these studies, between 14% and 56% of the sexual abuse of girls, and up to 25% of the sexual abuse of boys, was perpetrated by relatives or step parents. Thus, it is important to understand the implications of such traumatic experiences and the effects it has on an individuals latter life. Child sexual abuse and its severity, onset and duration of abuse have a crippling effect on the victims life. There are a number of possible pathways by which childhood traumas could impact adult relationship outcomes, including marital satisfaction and disruption. Childhood traumas can result in intimacy disturbance (e.g. fearing, distrusting, and experiencing ambivalence about interpersonal closeness; impaired ability to trust), difficulties with sexual relating, increased probability of physical violence and revictimization, problems with emotional expressiveness and intimacy, and emotional avoidance, which may in turn interfere with effective relationship functioning (Briere,1992; Compton Follette,1998). Review of Literature: Clinicians have long operated under the assumption that early abuse represents a traumatic interpersonal experience with the potential to result in long-term difficulties with intimate partner relations. A number of theoretical models also point to intimate partner relations as an area of difficulty for adult survivors (e.g. Alexander, 2003; Finkelhor Browne, 1985; Polusny Follette, 1995). Among these theories, Finkelhor and Brownes (1985) traumagenic dynamics model has received a great deal of attention because of its utility for explicating the processes by which early sexual abuse may affect a variety of long-term outcomes (e.g. Coffey, Henning, Turner, Leitenberg Bennett, 1996). Although developed with sexual abuse in mind, the proposed traumagenic dynamics are likely to be common across various types of child abuse. Briefly, this model holds that the impact of childhood trauma can be accounted for by the dynamics of betrayal, traumatic sexualization, stigmatization, and powerlessness, which are said to alter childrens cognitive and emotional orientation to the world, and create trauma by distorting childrens self-concept, world view, and affective capacities (Finkelhor Browne, 1985). Finkelhor and Brownes (1985) dynamics are useful for conceptualizing how various marital outcomes may be affected by early maltreatment. For example, the dynamic of betrayal may come into play in the aftermath of abuse when victims come to realize that an adult (often a family member) has violated the tacit but fundamental trust that normally exists between children and adults. Neglect represents a breach of trust whereby adults, who are expected to provide care and protection, deprive children of basic needs such as food, shelter, medical care, and supervision. Traumatic sexualization, which refers to developmentally inappropriate and dysfunctional sexual behavior stemming from sexual abuse, may manifest in a variety of lasting difficulties, including increased vulnerability to sexual assault, over-sexualization of adult relationships, or aversion to sexual relations (Finkelhor Browne, 1985). A third process, stigmatization refers to internalized feelings of shame, guilt, and self- blame that arises from experiencing maltreatment. In the case of psychological abuse, for example, stigmatization may evolve from direct berating by the perpetrator. For other forms of maltreatment, stigmatization may develop in response to the secrecy that often surrounds abuse, reactions from family and the broader community upon the discovery of abuse, and from victims themselves. Carried into adulthood, stigmatization may contribute to lack of openness, feelings of detachment, and general dissatisfaction in intimate relations. Finally, the dynamic of powerlessness refers to a lack of self-efficacy that is said to evolve from the uncontrollable and repeated boundary violations that accompany maltreatment. Powerlessness engendered by early sexual and physical abuse may undermine survivors sense of control in relationships, rendering them less effective in asserting their needs during conflict and decision-making interactions with partners. In the extreme, such an imbalance of power or control may become a risk factor for additional victimizations within the marriage. Conversely, a preoccupation with issues of power may also manifest in compensatory striving on the part of victims to maintain or exert personal control in relationships. The extreme form of this tendency may again be linked to aggression, perhaps initiated by victims against their partners. An emerging empirical literature has begun to test clinical and theoretical assumptions linking maltreatment to long-term deficits in couple functioning. Most of these studies have been conducted with women involved in dating relationships. For example, compared to non-abused women, unmarried women recruited from college and community settings who were exposed to child sexual abuse report having less emotional trust in their partners and view their partners as less reliable in following through with important aspects of the relationship (DiLillo Long, 1999; Mullen, Martin, Anderson, Romans, Herbison, 1994). Although studies of sexual functioning typically have focused on female survivors sexual risk-taking that occurs outside the context of committed relationships (e.g. Orcutt, Cooper, Garcia, 2005), maltreatment has also been linked to sexual difficulties with intimate partners (Leonard Follette, 2002). In a study, women with a history of childhood sexual or physical abuse report engaging in less frequent sexual activity (Dinnerstein, Guthrie, Alford, 2004), whereas both women and men who experienced sexual abuse report more symptoms of sexual dysfunction, including pain during intercourse, difficulty achieving and maintaining arousal, premature or delayed orgasm, and anxiety about sexual performance (Najman, Dunne, Purdie, Boyle, Coxeter, 2005). These difficulties may contribute to survivors lower sexual drive and sexual satisfaction (Randolph Reddy, 2006), as well as greater negative affect while sexually aroused (Schloredt Heiman, 2003). Studies of unmarried individuals have found that a history of maltreatment is associated with later psychological, physical, and sexual victimization by an intimate partner (DiLillo, Giuffre, Tremblay, Peterson, 2001; Whitfield, Anda, Dube, Felitti, 2003). Conversely, links have also been found for both men and women between a history of child maltreatment and the perpetration of physical aggression against a partner (DiLillo et al., 2001; White Widom, 2003; Whitfield et al., 2003). Beyond group comparisons of victims and non-victims, evidence suggests a dose-response relationship between maltreatment and partner aggression, such that men and women from a community setting who were exposed to greater adversity as children (including maltreatment) are more likely to perpetrate partner aggression as adults (Anda, Felitti, Bremner, Walker, Whitfield, Perry, 2006). Difficulties in these more specific domains of couple functioning may contribute to general dissatisfaction and ultimately relationship dissolution for victims of maltreatment. For example, cross-sectional findings indicate that individuals with a history of maltreatment are less satisfied in their intimate relationships than are no maltreated individuals (DiLillo Long, 1999; Nelson Wampler, 2000; Whisman, 2006). Moreover, in the few studies that have examined marital functioning, both husbands and wives with a history of sexual abuse, physical abuse, or neglect experienced higher rates of separation and divorce than did spouses without such histories (Colman Widom, 2004; Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, Smith, 1989; Whisman, 2006). The research conducted to date suggests that childhood traumas are indeed associated with marital outcomes in adulthood. For example, evidence from both clinical (Nelson Wampler, 2000) and community (Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, Smith, 1989) samples suggests that childhood sexual abuse is associated with increased likelihood of experiencing relationship problems (DiLillo, 2001; Rumstein-McKean Hunsley, 2001). In addition, a lifetime history of physical attack has been associated with lower marital harmony and lower marital satisfaction in a national, population-based sample (Broman, Riba, Trahan, 1996). However, although the evidence is suggestive that the occurrence of childhood trauma is associated with marital outcomes during adulthood, most existing studies have looked at only one or a few childhood traumas and only one type of marital outcome (e.g., marital disruption or marital satisfaction). Therefore, based on available research, it is difficult to know whether the results obtained from the traumatic events evaluated in existing studies would be found for other traumatic events, and whether specific traumas would be associated with multiple marital outcomes. Similarly, insofar as people who experience one trauma are at elevated risk for experiencing other traumas, it is unknown whether the interpersonal consequences that are attributed to a particular trauma are independently associated with that trauma, or are secondary, due to their shared association with the co-occurring trauma. Finally, as with many studies in the area of marital functioning, samples used in some prior studies are small and not representative of the population of married couples, insofar as they are often based on people in treatment or convenience samples recruited from local communities, which thereby restricts the external validity of studies on childhood trauma and marital outcomes (DiLillo, 2001). Conclusion The current review shows implications for researchers and practitioners alike. Past research has mainly included women although the current literature suggests that among newlywed couples, a history of maltreatment may also be detrimental to husbands marital adjustment. This reinforce the need for future research to take a dyadic approach rather than focusing on only one partner. Maltreatment may have an increasingly negative impact on husbands marital satisfaction over time reinforce the need to examine longer term marital trajectories in relation to mens prior abuse. Extending the examination of change trajectories would enable the testing of the supposition that maltreatment places couples at risk for more quickly reaching critical levels of relationship discord. Studies could also examine the ways that couples with a history of abuse adapt to contextual shifts in the marriage, including those that arise during important developmental transitions already associated with marital de cline (birth of a first child; Huston Holmes, 2004). Clinical writings (Oz, 2001) also suggest that partners of abuse survivors may struggle with unique issues related to their involvement with adult victims. Examining these cross-partner effects will be important to further enhance our understanding of the dyadic impact of early maltreatment. From a treatment standpoint, the early stages of marriage may become increasingly difficult for adult survivors. Thus, child maltreatment should be considered part of the constellation of factors-internal and external to the relationship-with the potential to disrupt marital functioning.

Katherine Anne Porters The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Essay

Stream of Consciousness in Katherine Anne Porter's The Jilting of Granny Weatherall In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," Katherine Anne Porter applies the rhetorical technique stream of consciousness to guide her audience through the last sixty years of a leathery, bitter woman jilted in life, and finally in death. The seemingly aimless and casual technique, similar to a human's thought pattern, effectively develops the exposition, conflict, and denouement. By using the stream of consciousness technique, Porter establishes Granny Weatherall's background. The occasional glimpse into the main character's past reveals the demanding responsibilities of a young widow. She reflects on how digging post holes, riding country roads in the winter, and sitting up nights with sick horses, negroes, and children, changed her from the bride her late husband had known. Furthermore, the technique challenges the reader to draw conclusions from the vague references of death of her husband, John, and her daughter, Hapsy. Granny Weatherall imagines seeing John again, pondering on how her children a...

Moral Degradation of Modern Society or Moral Evolution? Author: Unpretentious Diva

â€Å"I fully subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that of all the difference between man and the lower animals, the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important† Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man. Is it the phase of moral degradation of society? To even attempt answering this question we have to first arrive at a definition of morality. The first question is are we clear as to what it is?In the study of ethics morality has been defined from two perspectives, personal morality which is what you feel from your conscious as right and social morality which is what the society as a whole feels to be right. While the origin of personal morals are very simple and pure dictated by only one basic dictum that is innate nobility of the human soul. A person may be a criminal but he will always know from deep with that he is wrong unless he is a psycho. Social morals however are not so, they evolved for the singular reason that is to control man, to tame him so as to allow sustenance of society.In its essence it too is noble, for society too is a need of humanity. We wouldn’t have evolved to this juncture without this structured organisation called society. If I am sitting here and typing this, it is because someone else is cooking for me. Not everybody can be thinker and scientist, but they all in their own ways help in sustenance of the society and evolution of mankind as a whole. It is however difficult to conclude from here that social morality is right in all its perspectives.The sad part of the society is that it was not formed best logic of will full cooperation and subordination, with reverence to human soul and its spirit. For most part of the history it has been dominated by mystiques and brutes, the purpose of the society was to serve mankind as a whole but it ended up serving a few who had the power and intellect to manipulate the rest. It is for these lacunae in social morality that I consider personal morality as a far more superior guideline to judge whether you are right or wrong.There are many such arbitration in the social code of morality that has no logical support to its stance except some vague religious dictums or traditions that a society has been following from time immemorial. This article Honour Killings†¦. the Ultimate Price Women pay for the False Male Ego is an apt example of how unjust and harsh these codes of socio-religious morality can become. Of the many such debatable issues of conflicting personal and social morality I would like to discuss here the issue of sexual morality.The sexual liberation of the modern times has been largely viewed as a serious moral degradation of the society at large. On the issue of sexuality and our sexual needs, first question is whether it is our need or of the society. I believe that all of us would agree that we have sex not just to produce kids, to refurbish the human resource. We have it because we need it, nature made us so. I have a deep reverence for nature, for I believe that any need that nature instilled in us has a purpose and is innately good.The society in its primitive from had put in a lot of restriction on sex. The first reason was If sexuality is liberated it would have killed the institution of marriage and therefore the society. Models of these societies were all very authoritarian/ tyrannical where men were expected to have a very high quotient of obedience. As we evolved we slowly moved on into more democratic and cooperative models of society where the quotient of personal responsibility and maturity and free volition outweighed any kind of socio-religious adherence or obedience.Many a moral codes of conduct however were just borrowed from the old model of society which obviously has no space for these individual freedom and volition The new world order as was dreamt by philosophers and intellectuals is slowly coming to reality. It is for sure that if you refer to the old book of social moral s we would find ourselves morally degraded, but if we believe that at least now we are living in a free world free society, then society must start existing for man rather than vice versa.We need to rework on our studies of ethics and come up with better a moral code which cater for needs of a man and gives him/ her freedom to seek what they desire as long as they are not harming the society at large. A society that respects man as an entity, his rationales his intellect and his judgement and the innate goodness in him. There used to be a time when it was moral to burn wives down alive on their husband’s pyre (Sati). Is it today moral? Will all of us call our change in perspective as moral degradation?How can those women think of another man? What is wrong in free sexuality, if it is forced, it is a rape then it is wrong because you are violating the will and independence of another person. Is homosexuality wrong? I think no, not at all because it is volition of individuals, it is what they need what they desire. It is thus I feel that we need to rework on our books of ethics, make our moral codes more humane and Man friendly. And that actually is Moral Evolution. (Rudra)

Port Aventura

————————————————- CONFIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM To:| Fernando Aldecoa| From:| | Date:| | Re:| Port aventura| ————————————————- ————————————————- Executive Summary Port Aventura was launched in 1995 and since that time has transformed from a theme park to an all-encompassing resort. Due to this change, management now requires the ability to identify and target individual customers, as opposed to statistical averages of broad groups. One-to-one communication will allow for customized marketing packages and the ability to maximize revenues.However, information management systems currently in place are not capable of tracking customers to the degree needed to supp ort a one-to-one marketing approach. Therefore, it is the recommendation of Nielsen consulting that Port Aventura implements a data warehouse to facilitate the required analytics to determine who their customer is. ————————————————- Problem Identification Port Aventura is poised with the problem of having insufficient information and data on their individual customers.Seeing as the customer base is comprised of vastly different groups, it is imperative that Port Aventura take the time to identify who their customers are and what their individual profiles look like in an attempt to not only better serve customer requests, but also maximize park profits. Accurate and detailed information such as favorite restaurants, spending patterns, hotel stays and park activity preferences will allow Port Aventura to market to individual customers wants and needs on a one-to-one basis. T he lack of customer information is due to inadequate information management processes and systems.Port Aventura does not currently have the infrastructure needed to properly collect and manage large amounts of customer data or the ability to strategically analyze that information. Multiple small information systems are collecting high level data, but these systems are not integrated nor do they provide the level of detail required for successful one-to-one customer marketing. ————————————————- Evaluative Criteria Collect Individual Customer Preferences The desired solution must be able to present a concise snapshot of individual customers preferences based on past behaviours.Examples of required information include: * Frequency, seasonality, and duration of a customer’s visit * Did the customer stay in one of the hotels, and if so which one and what type of room * I s the customer visiting for business or pleasure or a combination of the two * Which park activities did the customer partake in; golf, amusement rides, beach club, shows, water park, corporate events * How much does the customer spend and what are the funds being spent on * What is the social-economic attributes of the customer: age, gender, family members, annual income, geographical location This type of detailed information will allow Port Aventura to intimately know each of its customers and provide the opportunity to understand consumer value preferences. Searchable and Scalable for Data Mining The solution must be conducive to analytical queries and provide the ability to turn raw data not only into customer information, but customer knowledge. This knowledge will then translate into business intelligence which will provide the basis for data mining.Port Aventura needs the ability to extract the relevant information to identify opportunities, strategies, and predictive behavi ours on its customers. Additionally, historical data must be stored and easily accessible while maintaining data integrity. Ease of Implementation and Ease of Use The optimal solution must be one that can be implemented quickly and without considerable disruption to the work flow within Port Aventura. Employees must be educated on the data collection processes to ensure the information management system is usable and accurate. Therefore, training must be thorough, concise, and cost effective. System maintenance and sustainability must also be possible through the use of the Information Systems Department employees. CostTotal cost to implement, train employees, and maintain the infrastructure needs to be kept in mind when determining the optimal solution. ————————————————- Alternatives Data Warehouse A date warehouse would allow Port Aventura to leverage the information man agement processes currently in place and provide a precise means of tracking individual customers. * Collect Individual Customer Preferences – The implementation of a loyalty rewards program and unique customer ID will allow the existing management systems to feed the required information into the data warehouse. * Searchable and Scalable for Data Mining – A data warehouse will provide a central storage from which customizable reporting tools can be made. Ease of Implementation and Ease of Use – A data warehouse will require the hiring of a project manager and take approximately 3 months to implement. Training for end user staff in both data entry and reporting will be minimal as there is already familiarity with the existing systems. IT staff will be trained on the data warehouse in order to ensure ongoing support and maintenance. * Cost – Cost for the implementation of a data warehouse is estimated at $250,000. New Integrated Information System Port Ave ntura could retire all of the existing information management processes and implement a new fully integrated information system to tie all aspects of the business together and track individual customer behaviour. Collect Individual Customer Preferences – A new integrated system will be designed for optimal information gathering and tracking. * Searchable and Scalable for Data Mining – Custom reporting will enable identification and tracking of all individual customer behaviours. * Ease of Implementation and Ease of Use – A new integrated system will require the hiring of a project team to scope, tender, and organize the undertaking. Implementation will take approximately 1 year. Systems will be required to run in parallel for some time to ensure functionality of the new system. End user and IT staff will be required to undergo extensive training to familiarize themselves with the new system. Cost – Cost for a new integrated information system is estimated at $1,000,000. See Exhibit 1 for the Decision Matrix for the above two alternatives. ————————————————- Implementation The optimal solution for Port Aventura is the implementation and integration of a data warehouse. Seeing as the existing infrastructure can be modified to provide the required data tracking elements, a data warehouse will be the timeliest, most cost effective, and efficient means of implementing one-to-one marketing to customers. Action Plan In securing the data warehouse for Port Aventura the following action items are recommended: * Hire an independent project manager.The total duration of the project is mapped to last 3 months; therefore the total cost of the project manager will be approximately $25,000. Start date for the project manager is June 15, 2009. * The project manager will meet with the principal owners of the data warehouse project to gather requirements. * Fernando Aldecoa – Director of Finance * Robert Magi – Director of IS * Mercedes de Pablo – Managing Director of Port Aventura Additionally, the project manager will meet with end users of the existing management systems to understand processes and procedures as well as current functionality. * Users of the Prestige Hospitality Management Tool Users of the Presence system – contact center operators * Users of Store Flow system * Users of the Concept Golf System Interviews and requirements gathering is mapped to last 2 weeks. * Issue a RFP for a data warehouse vendor. The duration of the tender is mapped to require 1 month. Selection of the data warehouse vendor will be based on the above pre-determined criteria. Cost for the data warehouse is estimated at $250,000. * The Marketing Department will design a loyalty rewards program whereby unique customer ID’s will be created as a means of tracking individual customers behaviour. The project manager will be responsible for implementing the unique customer ID entity into the existing information management systems.The marketing department will be responsible for rolling out the loyalty rewards program in conjunction with the implementation of the data warehouse. Total cost for implementation and marketing of the loyalty rewards program is estimated at $100,000. * Implementation of the data warehouse is mapped to require 1. 5 months. During this time, IT staff will be trained on the functionality of the data warehouse and end users will be trained on the new data inputs as well as the data mining capabilities of the data warehouse. * The go-live date is mapped to be September 15, 2009. Ongoing support and maintenance will be provided by Port Aventura IT staff. Reporting functionalities are then to be used by the marketing department to implement one-to-one communication with customers. Summary The implementation of the data warehouse is expected to last 3 months a nd requires $375,000 in capital (including the implementation of the loyalty rewards program). Ongoing support and maintenance of the data warehouse is estimated at $25,000 per year. This cost is minimal compared to the expected revenue from one-to-one marketing to consumers. ————————————————- Exhibit 1: Decision Matrix | Weight| Data Warehouse| New Integrated System| | | Raw| Weighted| Raw| Weighted| Individual Customer Preference| 30%| 8| 2. 4| 9| 2. 7|Data Mining| 20%| 8| 1. 6| 8| 1. 6| Implementation and Use| 20%| 7| 1. 4| 1| 0. 2| Cost| 30%| 8| 2. 4| 2| 0. 6| Score| | | 7. 8| | 5. 1| Raw Data is out of 10 with a score of 10 being the best option ————————————————- Exhibit 2: Data Warehouse Data Warehouse Data Warehouse Extract Transform Load Extract Transform Load Extract Transform Load Extract Transform Load Sales Sales HR HR SAP R3 SAP R3 Purchasing Purchasing Finance Finance Fix Assets Fix Assets Presence Presence Website Fans Website Fans Survey Results Survey Results Storeflow Storeflow Clients Club Clients Club Concept Golf Concept Golf Galaxy Galaxy Prestige Prestige

Free Essays on “The Questions That Liberate New Life”

â€Å"The Questions that Liberate New Life† We are moving away from the traditions of the past, and are focusing more on our values of the present. Our issues of today and social, political, religious faith, medical ethics, human rights, etc. This differs from the past by being more in tune with today’s actual events. A lot of people of strong, deeply embedded faith for traditions of the church (or their religious beliefs) are concerned that issues of today are being focused on too much as opposed to those having been taught by generations prior or thousands of years prior. â€Å"The new generations of theologians, theologizes around the perennial questions of our time: human rights, ecology and environment, medical ethics, third way, politics, economics for justice, liberation from all forms of oppression, and the furtherance of right relationships at every level of life.† (O’Murchu, 79) According to this statement in quotations, I would have to say that I agree with how society and the church are more concerned about the issues of today. From my own experience, in church, during the pastors sermon, he sometimes brings up issues of today’s society. If there was an issue such as abortion and the politics of it, he would discuss it. There are pro-life and pro-choice issues and the politics of whether they should make abortion become legalized or illegalized in the United States. I guess I would have to say that it should be a women’s choice to have a child or to terminate this child. If it were me in the situation, I would have this child because I couldn’t see myself terminating a part of me and my life. There are many different aspects that faith and society today can get involved in. Discussion Questions: First of all, I should ask how everyone feels if this was a positive or negative thing to happen to churches? I feel it was a positive thing to have develop in churches around the world. People are able to help ea... Free Essays on â€Å"The Questions That Liberate New Life† Free Essays on â€Å"The Questions That Liberate New Life† â€Å"The Questions that Liberate New Life† We are moving away from the traditions of the past, and are focusing more on our values of the present. Our issues of today and social, political, religious faith, medical ethics, human rights, etc. This differs from the past by being more in tune with today’s actual events. A lot of people of strong, deeply embedded faith for traditions of the church (or their religious beliefs) are concerned that issues of today are being focused on too much as opposed to those having been taught by generations prior or thousands of years prior. â€Å"The new generations of theologians, theologizes around the perennial questions of our time: human rights, ecology and environment, medical ethics, third way, politics, economics for justice, liberation from all forms of oppression, and the furtherance of right relationships at every level of life.† (O’Murchu, 79) According to this statement in quotations, I would have to say that I agree with how society and the church are more concerned about the issues of today. From my own experience, in church, during the pastors sermon, he sometimes brings up issues of today’s society. If there was an issue such as abortion and the politics of it, he would discuss it. There are pro-life and pro-choice issues and the politics of whether they should make abortion become legalized or illegalized in the United States. I guess I would have to say that it should be a women’s choice to have a child or to terminate this child. If it were me in the situation, I would have this child because I couldn’t see myself terminating a part of me and my life. There are many different aspects that faith and society today can get involved in. Discussion Questions: First of all, I should ask how everyone feels if this was a positive or negative thing to happen to churches? I feel it was a positive thing to have develop in churches around the world. People are able to help ea...

Define what is meant by the term `learning organisation` Essay Example

Define what is meant by the term `learning organisation` Essay Example Define what is meant by the term `learning organisation` Essay Define what is meant by the term `learning organisation` Essay Define what is meant by the term `learning organisation` . What might help advancement towards this in a wellness or societal attention administration? Introduction The term learning organisation’ has grown out of the construct of womb-to-tomb acquisition. Learning administrations concentrate on the societal mileu in which larning takes topographic point and this implies a more holistic attack to larning which is favorable to Government efforts to advance womb-to-tomb acquisition in all administrations. Griffin ( 2000 ) has identified the larning administration as portion of the scheme of authorities to do womb-to-tomb larning a affair of educational policy. This is apparent in undertakings such as the Higher Education Active Community where the Government made funding available to promote the thought of organizational larning through partnerships between institutes of higher instruction, the voluntary sector and local concerns. Griffin ( 1999 B ) has argued that: The scheme of authoritiess is to make the conditions in which people, households, communities and administrations are most likely to larn for themselves, therefore rid ofing the demand for instruction policy in the traditional sense( Griffin, 1999b:440 ) . Whether or non one agrees with Griffin’s point of position people within a learning administration learn and develop together in ways which may convey benefits to the wider community. The acquisition administration is still a heatedly debated and therefore non easy defined subject, however this paper will get down withadefinition of what is meant by the term learning administration. Then, utilizing an administration called Homestart, it will try to place what might help their advancement towards a more to the full developed larning administration. The Concept of a Learning Administration The thought of the learning administration is developed most clearly in the work of Senge ( 1990 ) . He describes a learning administration as one where: †¦people continually expand their capacity to make the consequences they genuinely desire, where new and expansive forms of thought are nurtured, where corporate aspirations is set free, and where people are continually larning to larn together( Senge, 1990:4 ) . Within a learning administration there is concentration on how administrations gain, usage, and portion cognition and how organizational action and development programs are drawn up on the footing of that cognition. Within a learning administration people should reflect on what they have learned and utilize it to inform their pattern and to help the accomplishment of the ends of their administration. Those people most involved in authorship and learning about larning administrations ( peculiarly those outside of an academic context ) examine forms of behavior in administrations ( Roper and Petit, 2000 ) . The values that lie behind Senge’s ( 1990 ) construct of the acquisition administration are: Valuing different sorts of cognition and acquisition manners and making a learning environment’ so each organizational member can gain his/her full potency. Dialogue and geographic expedition of different positions and experiences to bring forth originative thought. Team work and interrupting down traditional barriers or winkers within organsiations and so release originative potency. Fostering leading potency throughout the administration and cut downing differentiations, such as those between direction and staff, between strategians and implementers, between support and professional staff and so on. ( Roper and Petit, 2000:2 ) . Within a learning administration reflecting on acquisition and incorporating it into pattern should bring forth greater self-knowledge and the willingness to dispute personal premises and stereotypes and therefore to associate better to others. The Learning Organisation in the Voluntary Sector The acquisition administration is a topical topic of argument and the construct is going progressively popular with voluntary administrations. However, the construct is a challenge for the voluntary sector where, as Jones and Henry ( 1994 ) contend bottom up’ acquisition is common pattern. Voluntary administrations ( such as Home Start ) must get down with oppugning their ain organizational construction and request: . . . how we can make organizational constructions which are meaningful to people so they can help, take part and more meaningfully command their ain fate in an unhindered way’( Jones and Hendry 1994:160 ) . Home Start began with an initial undertaking in Leicester more than thirty old ages ago. It is now a national administration consisting some three hundred undertakings. National Office provides a nexus and support for the assorted vicinity voluntary undertakings. Home Start was formed to give aid and advice to female parents with immature kids, peculiarly those who were off from household and friends. Home Start and the Concept of the Learning Organisation Administrations such as Home Start make full the spread for households who have trouble in accessing statutory services ( Oakley et al, 1998 ) . It is non easy to measure whether administrations such as Home Start could be termed learning organisations’ because the charity is composed of many little voluntary groups. However, like many charities Home Start does hold a mission statement and a set of guidelines and runing rules that the assorted groups adhere to and for this ground it might be looked on as holding the capacity to go a learning administration. The pattern of underside up acquisition ( Power et Al, 2002 ) means that Home Start and other administrations take into history user’s positions to mensurate its public presentation and to set up organizational precedences based on user feedback so that users are actively involved instead than as Power et Al ( 2002:4 ) maintaindevelop them.If Home Start truly does seek to avoid developing client’s lives and gi ving them a voice in organizational structuring so the application of Senge’s position that the interrupting down of barriers and the thought of squad work will be indispensable. This means that the voluntaries that Home Start relies on to work with households referred to them will necessitate non merely their ain life experiences but specific preparation in furthering the originative potency of the people with whom they work. Decision Homes Start already values different sorts of larning but if it is to win as a learning administration and to carry through its committedness to the construct of household larning so it will necessitate to be borne in head that among its users there will be a assortment of different acquisition manners. The acquisition environment will therefore necessitate to be flexible plenty to accommodate to these different manners. While other research ( Oakley et al, 1998 ) tends to the position that it is hard to measure what if any benefit and alteration occurs in households who use Home Start’s services, the administration and its users tend to take the position that any positive alteration in users’ fortunes reflects good on the administration. From my ain experience of a short enchantment detecting the work that Home Start does it would look that within the assorted groups at that place needs to be less differentiation between workers and users. Sometimes the voluntary secto r tends to keep the position quo between its professional workers and its voluntaries instead than furthering leading potency. Implementing this sort of teamwork would intend alterations in construction, direction and support issues. This would increase the value of its services within the community ( Powers et al, 2002 ) . I would reason that a decrease in the differentiations between the assorted agents in the voluntary sector and greater engagement of all concerned in the determination devising procedure would increase the likeliness of societal attention undertakings such as Home Start come oning in their purpose to go a learning administration. 1000 words Mentions and Bibliography Griffin, C. ( July, 2000 ) Lifelong acquisition: Policy, Strategy and Culture Working Papers on the Global Colloquium on Supporting Lifelong Learning ( online ) Milton Keynes, UK: Open University hypertext transfer protocol: //www.open.ac.uk/lifelong-learning accessed: 9/9/05 Griffin, C. M. ( 1999b )Lifelong acquisition and public assistance reform. International Journal of Lifelong Education Vol 18 No 6 Nov-Dec 1999 ( 431-452 ) Jones, Alan M. and Chris Hendry ( 1994 ) The larning administration: grownup acquisition and organizational transformation’ ,British Journal of Management5:153–162. Petit, J. , Roper, L. and Eade, D. 2003Development and the Learning OrganisationLondon, Oxfam Academic Oakley, Rajan, and Turner1998. Evaluating parent support initiativesHealth and Social Care in the Community6( 5 ) , 318–330 319 Powers, G. Maury, M. and Maury, S. 2002 Operationalising underside up acquisition in international Nongovernmental organization: Barriers and optionsDevelopment in PracticeVol 12 No. 3-4 1stAugust 2002 p. 272-284 Senge, P. ( 1990) . The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation, New York: Doubleday.

How Authors and Editors Can Work Better Together

How Authors and Editors Can Work Better Together How Authors and Editors Can Work Better Together Reedsy was created with the purpose of allowing independent authors to work with some of the best editorial and design talent out there, and build long-lasting, fruitful collaborations. In this guest post, editor and novelist Andrew Lowe explains how self-publishing has transformed the author-editor connection into a powerful creative partnership.Have a look at this sentence:â€Å"Jim dropped the amulet into the bag and hooked it through his belt.†You could argue that there is a confusion over the object here. Is Jim hooking the amulet, or the bag, through his belt? The ‘correct’ form would be something like:â€Å"Jim dropped the amulet into the bag, which he hooked through his belt.†The object confusion has gone; it’s clear that the bag, not the amulet, is being hooked through Jim’s belt. It’s technically correct, but dead on the page. We’ve fine-tuned the mechanism of the sentence, but murdered it as a piece of flowing prose.A good editor – particularly in the case of fiction – understands that the work is a delicate balance of art and science and that sometimes one has to be sacrificed in favor of the other.In this example, I would keep the original sentence, arguing that the technical imperfection is secondary to the feel of the prose.Other editors might reach for our favorite mantra: never confuse the reader. But it would be fussy to argue that a reader, immersed in the wider narrative, would stop to ponder the amulet/bag question as presented here.It’s a subjective judgment call which, for me, taps into the most important quality that authors should expect from your editor: a passion for collaboration. A "passion for collaboration" is the most important quality authors should expect from their editor @ReedsyHQ When you hire an editor, you are not giving over your precious darling to be defaced and remoulded. You’re paying for a professional eye; a sympathetic assistant who will work to a set of consistent criteria and help you to make your book as good as it possibly can be.* * *So, let’s define terms.Actually, let’s not. If you Google something like ‘book editing copy line structural’ (and you really shouldn’t) then you’ll soon be sucked into a swirl of fuzzy definitions and conflicting concepts.Like most creative disciplines in the digital age, the different types of book editing are ever-changing, mostly because of the connected and collaborative nature of online tools.I was a consumer journalist – mostly at editor level – for fifteen years, and I understand the need for specific publications to adhere to established rules. They face numerous copy-streams flowing in from hundreds of writers to be worked on by a multitude of s ub-editors. A unified house style ensures that the task isn’t tethered to a single individual.Traditional book publishing has generally followed this model, for similar reasons. It is an industry and must operate at industrial scale, with hundreds of titles taking their place on a trusted and cost-effective production line. The editing process is often just another cog in this corporate machine.But the rise of self-publishing has presented an opportunity for the process to be more collaborative; to strengthen the relationship between author and editor.Because self-publishing does not mean ‘do it all yourself’.I believe that all the very best creatives – even those with a reputation as stand-alone auteurs – rely on some form of collaboration to realise their vision. The ‘self’ in self-publishing is more about self-empowerment. You make the decisions – including which editor is right for you. But an editor can now care about the wo rk almost as much as the author. "The ‘self’ in self-publishing is more about self-empowerment. You make the decisions." - @andylowe99

Trifles a drama by Susan Glaspell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Trifles a drama by Susan Glaspell - Essay Example The wives, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale accompany the men to take some personal belongings for Mrs. Wright. The men get busy looking for evidence to account for the murder and leave the women to the â€Å"trifles†. It is then that they look around and find the various things in the kitchen and the room upstairs to establish a plausible connection between the murder and the objective. Starting out from the title, â€Å"trifles†. Trifles are things which are little, irrelevant and insignificant. The irony of the matter is that the â€Å"trifles† are so just for the men, and they mean quite a lot to the women. The ruined fruit reserves, symbolize the state of Minnie’s life - she too must have bottled up under the watchfulness of John Wright. The comment Wright makes about wanting only â€Å"peace and quiet† might throw some light on the loneliness of their lives. The messy tabletop also points out to things undone, which could have been because of the disturbed state of mind of Minnie. The coldness in the house also suggests the solemn and sad atmosphere in which they lived. Mrs. Hale comments that the house was never lively, it was down the hollow and did not look up the road and that is why she never felt like coming there. It is evident that a place which looks dreary from the outside must have been quite a burden to live in for Minnie. This coldness also symbolizes the warmth leaving the relationship between the two. The house being down in the hollow, John’s refusal to the party telephone, the childless home, all indicate the lonesomeness of the couple. Minnie who was cheerful and would dress up nice, now stayed in all the time with her songbird as her child. The death of the bird is empathized by Mrs. Peters in remembering the death of her own 2 years old child. What that meant to Mrs. Peters now meant the same to Mrs. Wright. This highlights the graveness of the wrung neck of

Labor Relation Law and The Railway Labor Act Essay

Labor Relation Law and The Railway Labor Act - Essay Example As the report declares The guiding purpose of the Labor relations Law was to protect the worker by providing a workable vehicle by which the unionization process would be facilitated, thereby enabling collective bargaining. It (was) a reality that basic labor law did not favor labor or unions. The NLRA was ostensibly structured to provide a more equitable approach to dispute resolution. According to the paper findings The National Labor Relations Board is a five person appointed federal agency charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. The NLRB was established in 1935 through passage of the National Labor Relations Act, better known as the Wagner Act, and amended by the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. The Board’s jurisdiction is limited to private sector employees; it has no authority over labor relations disputes involving government employees, or railroad and airline employees covered by the Railway Labor Act or agriculture employees. In those parts of the private sector it does cover, on the other hand, its jurisdiction standards are low enough to reach almost all employees whose business has any appreciable impact on interstate commerce. The Taft-Hartley Act also created a formal administrative distinction between the Board and the General Counsel of The NLRB. In broad terms, the General Counsel is responsible for investigating and prosecuting unfair labor practice claims, the Board on the other hand, is the adjudicative body that decides the unfair labor practice cases brought to it. ... and remedying unfair labor practices. The NLRB was established in 1935 through passage of the National Labor Relations Act, better known as the Wagner Act, and amended by the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. The Board's jurisdiction is limited to private sector employees; it has no authority over labor relations disputes involving government employees, or railroad and airline employees covered by the Railway Labor Act or agriculture employees. In those parts of the private sector it does cover, on the other hand, its jurisdiction standards are low enough to reach almost all employees whose business has any appreciable impact on interstate commerce. The Taft-Hartley Act also created a formal administrative distinction between the Board and the General Counsel of The NLRB. In broad terms, the General Counsel is responsible for investigating and prosecuting unfair labor practice claims, the Board on the other hand, is the adjudicative body that decides the unfair labor practice cases brought to it. While the general Counsel has limited independence to argue for a change in the law in presenting cases to the Board, once the Board has decided the issue it is the General Counsels responsibility to 3 defend the Board's decision, even if it is contrary to the position he argued when initially presenting the case to the board. The Board is also responsible for the administration of the Acts provision governing the holding of elections and resolution of jurisdictional disputes. The Board has

We live in a world of new diasporas Critically assess this comment in Essay

We live in a world of new diasporas Critically assess this comment in relation to forced migrants - Essay Example However, instances of Diasporas never seem to end. In various parts of the world we often come to experience instances of forced migrants who are forcefully evicted from their home countries and expelled to new countries without regard to their rights to reside in whichever destination they prefer. For instance, the forceful migration of the Cyprians to many parts of the world due to invasion from the Turkish militia is unrealistically injurious to the rights of Cyprians. It indicates that the world is indeed a world of new Diasporas. This paper attempts to describe the situation of Diasporas and explain whether the world is a world of new Diasporas or not. Using the case of forced migrants in the Cypriot Diaspora, this paper will examine the circumstances surrounding Cypriot Diaspora and establish whether the Diaspora is an indication of the world being ailed with new diasporas on not. In order to bring the situation into a clear perspective, this paper will first explain what Diaspora actually means, when it started, whether it is still occurring and whether there is still some emergence of new Diasporas. The paper will then examine Cypriot Diaspora in depth so as to determine the situation of new Diasporas in relation to forced migrants. This examination if the Cypriot Diaspora will help the writer to support the argument in way that the reader will be able to understand. When people talk about Diasporas, what comes into one’s mind is the contact of different countries in terms of borders, travels and Diaspora. As explained earlier, Diaspora refers to dispersion of people out of their home countries to new destinations across the world. However, it is not clear whether the Diasporas experienced in the past during the colonial period are the same as the Diasporas of today. Studies indicate that there are new Diasporas that seem to relate to the colonial Diasporas. It is unfortunate that the

Comparising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparising - Essay Example As commonsense would dictate, a person's words are only as convincing as the listener's opinion of it. Two distinguished explorers have written historical accounts of their trip to China during the Mongol period. Both explorers wrote about the geographic details of the land, the cultures and beliefs of the inhabitants, and the political aspect of the society. However, seeing that William of Rubruck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary who, under Louis IX's orders, set out from Constantinople on a missionary journey to convert the Tartars, obviously illustrates the idea that his view is that of a religious individual's view. Whereas, Marco Polo, an explorer who came from a family of Venetian traders, may have views that are more freethinking in nature, as well as may bend towards the more political side. Although William of Rubruck was in China earlier than Marco Polo, they wrote historical accounts that could be compared to each other, especially on the physical and cultural circums tances surrounding these voyagers among different societies during the Mongol period. Life under the Mongol rule was illustrated by both writers, and both showed that indeed, during that time in history, it is the Khan who held power. In William of Rubrick's account, he told of how people bowed in reverence to the Mangus Khan, and that the latter was so powerful in society that once he summoned an individual, he hastens to the court of the Mangus Khan. In one of William of Rubrick's anecdote during his stay at Karakourum, he noted that once the Khan notices an irregularity and questions it, those questioned seem to tremble in fear of such circumstance. Marco Polo's account regarding the Khan's position in society was very much similar to that of William of Rubrick's. Polo described the Khan as a powerful individual, wherein each city they passed were all subject to him, and his power in conquering kingdoms is highly stressed by Polo. Polo also mentioned of the Great Khan's authority over the decisions and fate of the cities and its inhabitants. However, William of Rubrick wrote about the Mangus Khan in a more religious view. He talked about the Mangus Khan and his wives, taking into particular detail who were pagans, and who were Christians. He also noted his life in Karakourum, the encampment of the Mangus Khan, wherein he was fed well, as were the other priests, but that there were many inhabitants who were hungry and they had to share everything that they had with these unfortunate individuals. Polo, on the other hand, related about the Great Khan's power in a more political view. He acknowledged the Great Khan's power when he mentioned in his account the Great Khan's taking of Siang-yang-fu city in the province of Manzi, wherein he, his father, and his uncle were acknowledged and given credit for the successful taking of this city due to their idea. It is also stated in Marco Polo's narratives that he governed the city of Yang-chau for three years. Whereas, compared to William of Rubrick, Marco Polo enjoyed a higher pos ition of authority in society during

Strategic management developement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Strategic management developement - Essay Example All these resources may become useless unless the organization formulate suitable strategies to exploit it. For example, Apple Inc was on the verge of destruction in 80’s and 90’s because of the loop holes in the strategic management of its business. However, Steve Jobs changed the business strategies of Apple Inc during the latter part of 90’s and at the beginning of 2000. The transformation of Apple Company from a computer company to a consumer electronics company has brought huge success. At present, Apple Inc. is the second largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization and they are the most valuable technology company in the world. At the same time, Microsoft was the leader in IT industry until a couple of years before. Same thing cannot be said about them now. Samsung is another company which was successful in developing suitable business strategies to increase its competitive power in global market. In short, strategic management of busines s is the most important topic in the organizational world at present. This paper analyses various theories with respect to strategic management in general and Porters five Forces Model theory in specific. General Discussion: Strategic Management â€Å"Good strategy is about letting alone and about creating the conditions of innovative adaptations† (Robert and Holt, 2009, p.56). Innovation is the key for organizational success. In the absence of innovative strategies, organizations may struggle to survive in the heavily competitive business world. As mentioned earlier, Apple Inc. is one company which showed the importance of innovation to the business world recently. It should be noted that Nokia was the leader in the mobile phone industry until recent times. They thought that nobody can question their supremacy in the mobile phone industry. Apple proved Nokia wrong. When all the traditional mobile phone manufacturing companies thought about enhancing the features of mobile ph ones, Apple thought differently and developed the touchscreen phone. The entry of iPhone in the mobile phone market caused huge problems to mobile phone manufacturers including Nokia. At present Apple is one among the top two mobile phone manufacturers in the world. In fact Nokia and other mobile phone manufacturers forced to follow the path of Apple. According to De Wit and Meyer (2010), â€Å"the four components of strategy are market opportunity, corporate competence and resources, personal values and aspirations and acknowledged obligations to segments of society other than stakeholders (p.76). Sustainable business practice is gaining grounds at present. It is impossible for modern organizations to excel in the market without showing commitments to corporate social responsibility. Companies which follow unethical business behaviours are blacklisted by the modern consumers. The reputation and brand image of the company is important things for the modern consumers. In short, ethi cal business practices are part of strategic business management at present. â€Å"Since the world is changing rapidly, we can also expect the firm’s strategy to do so. This may involve developing new bases of competitive advantage or completely new lines of business†(Fitzroy and Hulbert, 2004, p.5). Diversification of business is one of the major elements in strategic management. It should be noted that competition is increasing day by day in global market after the introduction of globalization. Along with existing players, new players are also

Murder of Westerman as a Catalyst of the American Civil War Cruelty Coursework

Murder of Westerman as a Catalyst of the American Civil War Cruelty - Coursework Example The alliance of Southern slave states was named as the Confederate States of America, and this alliance was a result of secession of slave states from the Northern American States. There are many books that have narrated the brutal and significant events of Civil War; however, Tony Horwitz’s book Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War is a considerably appropriate and successful book in which Horwitz has narrated the events in contemporary and personal context. In describing the Civil War Horwitz wrote that, â€Å"Historians are fond of saying that the Civil War occurred in 10,00 places. Poke a pin in a map of the South and you're likely to prod lose some battle or skirmish or another tuft of Civil War history† (Horwitz 18). The storytelling acquired by the author illuminates the criticality and impact of the Civil War in contemporary American Society (3-27).In the Civil War, the murder of Michael Westerman who was a supporter of confederate s is considered as one of the most significant events which had intensified the Civil War. This paper will discuss the event of the assassination of Westerman, and it will also explicate the happenings in response to this murder. It is also aimed to describe the social and emotional reasons for the murder of Westerman along with reasons which intensified the war after the murder of Westerman in the light of Horwitz narration in his book Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War.Michael Westerman was during a journey with his wife Hannah just after she gave birth to twin children. Westerman was driving a red pickup truck on which a confederation flag was mounted. He was in Todd County which is a county located in Kentucky. Kentucky was not declaredly a part of Confederation States of America; however, there were many significant similarities present in the conduct of Kentucky with the ideals of Confederation States. Westerman stopped at a gas station for ref illing the fuel in his vehicle. At the gas station, there was a group of black teenager who noticed the Westerman’s vehicle with a confederation flag mounted on it which the group of black American teenagers considered as an offense (89-91). The Confederation flag was considered offensive because of the ideology of racial inequality that the Confederation States followed. Westerman was followed by the group of black teenagers who harassed him on the road several times. Westerman increased the speed of his vehicle to escape the encounter with the group of teenagers. Westerman did not know that he was being chased by another car driven by black teenagers. As soon as the car came near to Westerman's car, a teenager shot a bullet on his car. The gunshot targeted Westerman, and he was murdered in the middle of the road in Kentucky (90-93). Horwitz metaphorically displays the intensity and brutality of civil war along with his interest in it by stating, â€Å"The War’s actu al landscape was lush with color and beauty† (15).

Strategic management developement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Strategic management developement - Essay Example All these resources may become useless unless the organization formulate suitable strategies to exploit it. For example, Apple Inc was on the verge of destruction in 80’s and 90’s because of the loop holes in the strategic management of its business. However, Steve Jobs changed the business strategies of Apple Inc during the latter part of 90’s and at the beginning of 2000. The transformation of Apple Company from a computer company to a consumer electronics company has brought huge success. At present, Apple Inc. is the second largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization and they are the most valuable technology company in the world. At the same time, Microsoft was the leader in IT industry until a couple of years before. Same thing cannot be said about them now. Samsung is another company which was successful in developing suitable business strategies to increase its competitive power in global market. In short, strategic management of busines s is the most important topic in the organizational world at present. This paper analyses various theories with respect to strategic management in general and Porters five Forces Model theory in specific. General Discussion: Strategic Management â€Å"Good strategy is about letting alone and about creating the conditions of innovative adaptations† (Robert and Holt, 2009, p.56). Innovation is the key for organizational success. In the absence of innovative strategies, organizations may struggle to survive in the heavily competitive business world. As mentioned earlier, Apple Inc. is one company which showed the importance of innovation to the business world recently. It should be noted that Nokia was the leader in the mobile phone industry until recent times. They thought that nobody can question their supremacy in the mobile phone industry. Apple proved Nokia wrong. When all the traditional mobile phone manufacturing companies thought about enhancing the features of mobile ph ones, Apple thought differently and developed the touchscreen phone. The entry of iPhone in the mobile phone market caused huge problems to mobile phone manufacturers including Nokia. At present Apple is one among the top two mobile phone manufacturers in the world. In fact Nokia and other mobile phone manufacturers forced to follow the path of Apple. According to De Wit and Meyer (2010), â€Å"the four components of strategy are market opportunity, corporate competence and resources, personal values and aspirations and acknowledged obligations to segments of society other than stakeholders (p.76). Sustainable business practice is gaining grounds at present. It is impossible for modern organizations to excel in the market without showing commitments to corporate social responsibility. Companies which follow unethical business behaviours are blacklisted by the modern consumers. The reputation and brand image of the company is important things for the modern consumers. In short, ethi cal business practices are part of strategic business management at present. â€Å"Since the world is changing rapidly, we can also expect the firm’s strategy to do so. This may involve developing new bases of competitive advantage or completely new lines of business†(Fitzroy and Hulbert, 2004, p.5). Diversification of business is one of the major elements in strategic management. It should be noted that competition is increasing day by day in global market after the introduction of globalization. Along with existing players, new players are also

Beer industry Essay Example for Free

Beer industry Essay This case is centred on the European brewing industry and examines how the increasingly competitive pressure of operating within global markets is causing consolidation through acquisitions, alliances and c/osures within the industry. This has resulted in the growth of the brewers reliance upon super brands. ln the first decade of the twenty-first century, European brewers faced a surprising paradox. The traditional centre of the beer industry worldwide, and still the largest regional market, Europe, was turning off beer. Beer consumption was falling in the largest markets of Germany and the United Kingdom, while burgeoning in emerging markets around the world. China, with 7 per cent annual growth, had become the largest single market by volume, while Brazilian volumes had overtaken Germany in 2005 (Euromonitor, 2006). Table 1 details the overall decline of European beer consumption. Decline in traditional to several factors. Governments key markets is due such as Tesco or Carrefour, which often use eut-priee offers on beer in order to lure people into their shops. are campaigning strongly against drunken driving, affecting the More th an one-fifth of beer volume is now sold propensity through supermarkets. to drink beer in restaurants, pubs and German retailers such as bars. There is increasing awareness of the effects of Aldi and Lidl have had considerable alcohol on health and fitness. Particularly ln the United their own private-Iabel Kingdom, there is growing hostility towards so-called beers. However, although on-trade volumes are fallin_ binge drinking, in Europe, the sales values are rising, as brewers excessive alcohol consumption in pubs and clubs. Wines have also become increasingly introduce higher-priced success with (rather th an brewery-branded premium products such popular in Northern European markets. However, as extra-cold beer consumption other hand, a good deal of this increasing demand per capita varies wic;lely between lagers or fruit-flavoured beers. On the countries, being four times higher in Germany than for premium products is being satisfied by the in Italy, for example. Some traditionally import of apparently exotic beers from overseas consumption low- European markets have been (see Table 2). showing good growth. Brewers main purchasing The drive against drunken driving and binge (accounting costs are packaging for around half of non-labour costs), ra drinking has helped shift sales from the on-trade material such as barley, and energy. The European (beer consumed on the premises, as in pubs or packaging restaurants) to the off-trade (retail). Worldwide, the industry is highly concentrated, by international companies off-trade increased from 63 per cent of volume in and Owens-Illinois 2000 to 66 per cent in 2005. The off-trade is Dutch brewer Heineken complained increasingly dominated by large supermarket chains dominat such as Crown in cans in glass bottles. During 2006, rise in packaging costs. of an 11 per c GLOBAL FORCES AND THE EUROPEAN BREWIN (JY European beer consumption by country and year (000 hectolitres) 1980 2001 2000 2002 2003 \~ 2004 7651 8627 8734 8979 8881 8970 12945 10064 5452 4024 9703 5202 4136 20629 100385 4247 5536 9935 5181 4179 21420 103105 4288 5594 9986 5282 4085 21331 100904 4181 5625 9901. NIA NIA NIA NIA 4174 9539 417 8762 16289 472 16694 445 16340 440 12213 7651 3534 20065 3935 13129 2327 6453 29151 5011 4194 57007 12922 2290 6276 31126 4932 11985 2420 5948 30715 4998 4127 59384 6698 2738 23745 89820 land =-ance 3ennanyt NIA 3reece ay* :::ortugal ::Jain : eden : vitzerland 4433 65490 -~ n-EU countries; t1980 excludes 4141 58234 4862 4370 20200 95639 21168 97107 3905 5315 17452 94994 NIA NIA NIA 5~6 17194 17340 NIA NIA 12687 2490 6266 373 12771. 2270 6008 33451 4969 4334 60302 12747 NIA 6224 NIA NIA 4635 4262 59195 4566 NIA NIA GOR. Figures adjusted. rce: www. Brewersofeurope. org. able 2 Imports of beer by country Acquisition, tria = =elf1ce 3ennany .. 5reece _and Imports 2004 (% of consumption or production » =algium ~:; mark and Imports 2002 (% of consumption untry or production) 5. 1 4. 74 2. 6 2. 3 23 3. 1 4. 1 NIA 27. 15 NIA 3. 2 5. 4 :oain 1. 1 11. 7 : eden NIA : 15. 4 10. 9 titzerland 3 licensing and strategie alliances have ail occurred as the leading brewers battle ta control the market. There are global pressures for consolidation due ta overcapacity within the industry, the need ta contain costs and benefits of leveraging 6. 4 strong brands. For example, Belgian brewer Interbrew 10. 2 NIA purchased parts of the old Bass Empire, Becks and 7. 3 31 Whitbread in 2001 and in 2004 announced a merger with Am Bev, the Brazilian brewery group, ta create 4 the largest brewer in the world, InBev. The second NIA NIA largest brewer, the American Anheuser-Busch, 37 38. 4 14. 4 2002, South African Breweries acquired the Miller has been investing in China, Mexico and Europe. ln Group (USA) and Pilsner Urquell in the Czech NIA NIA NIA Republic, becoming fast-growing SABMilier. Sm aller players in Chinese and South American markets are being snapped up by the large international 18 15. 6 12. 3 brewers tao. Medium-sized is withdrawing Australian brewer Fosters from direct participation in many international . port figures do not include beers brewed under licence in home ntry; countries vary in measuring 3ource: www. brewersofeurope. org. % of production or consumption. markets, for example selling its European brand-rights ta Scottish Newcastle. Table 3 lists the worlds top 10 brewing companies, accounted which for around half of world beer volumes. There remain many small specialist and regionalca ~ CH APTER 2 THE ENVIRONMENT Table 3 The worlds top 10 brewery companies by volume: 2005 Company Share global Country of origin volume (%) sales in 2005 of â‚ ¬313m, it is less than a twentieth of the size of Heineken. Its key products include Grolsch premium lager and new flavoured beers (Grolsch lemon and Grolsch pink grapefruit). ln The Netherlands InBev 10. 8 Brazil-Belgium Anheuser-Busch 9. 4 USA SABMilier. 7. 3 South Africa (relocated to UK) Grolsch holds the rights for the sale and distribution of the valued US Miller brand. About half its sales are obtained overseas, either through export or licensing of production: the United Kingdom is its Heineken 5. 7 Netherlands second largest market. ln 2005, Grolsch centralised Morelo 2. 9 Mexico its own production Carlsberg 2. 9 Oenmark to increase efficiency and volume, and opened a Coors 2. 6 USA sm ail additional TsingTao. 2. 4 China Baltic Brewery Holdings 2. 2 Oenmark/UK Asahi 2. 1 Japan on a single new Dutch brewery trial brewery in order to support innovation. Innovation and branding are core to the companys strategy. The company believes that its strong and Source: Euromonitor International, The World Brewing Industry. distinctive beers can succeed in a market of increased homogenisation. Brewers, such as the Dutch company Grolsch (see below) or the British Cobra Beer, originating in the Indian restaurant market. Its brand is reinforced by its striking green bottles and its unique swing-tops. InBev (Belgium/Brazil) InBev was created in 2004 from the merger of Belgian InterBrew and Brazilian AmBev. With a turnover of Four brewing companies â‚ ¬13. 3bn in 2006, it is the largest brewer in the world, Heineken (The Netherlands) different countries. Heineken is the biggest of the European brewery include Becks and Stella Artois. Through a series of businesses, and has three-quarters acquisitions, holding number one or number two positions in 20 of its sales in the region. Total sales in 2006 were â‚ ¬11. 8bn (EBbn). About 5 per cent of sales are in Asia-Pacific and Its well-known international brands InBev has become the second largest brewer in China. The company is frank about its strategy: to 17 per cent of sales are in the Americas. The transform companys the world to the best. It aims to do this by building biggest brands are Heineken itself and Amstel. The company remains a family-controlled itself from the biggest brewing company in strong global brands and increasing efficiency. business, which it claims gives it the stability and Efficiency gains will come from more central independence coordination to pursue steady growth internationally. Heinekens strategy overseas is to use locally acquired comparues as a means of introducing of purchasing, from the optimisation the including media and IT; of its inherited network of breweries; and from the sharing of best practice Heineken brand to new markets. It aims to strengthen across sites internationally. local companies continue, InBev is now emphasising technology. by transferring expertise and The result is to create economies of scale Although acquisitions organic growth and improved margins from its existing businesses. for both the local beers and K~ineken. Heinekens four priorities for action are to accelerate revenue growth, Scottish and Newcastle (UK) to improve efficiency and cost reduction, to speed Scottish and Newcastle is a European-focused up strategy implementation and to focus on those markets where the company believes it can win. brewing group based in Edinburgh. ln 2005, its turnover was f:3. 9bn (â‚ ¬5. 5bn). Its key brands include John Smiths, Kronenbourg, Grolsch (The Netherlands) Royal Grolsch NV is a medium-size brewing group, established Kanterbrau, Baltika and (in Europe) Fosters. It is the fourth largest brewer in international in 1615. With overall Europe in volume terms, and market leader in the UK, France and Russia. The company has made many GLOBAL FORCES AND THE EUROPEAN BREWING INDUSTRY . ions in the UK (including Bulmers eider), . Greece and Finland. The groups 50 per cent ent in Baltic Beverages has given it exposure fast-growing ic countries. markets of Russia, Ukraine and ln China, Scottish and Newcastle a 20 per cent stake in CBC, the countrys brewery. ln India, the companys les is the countrys fifth United largest brewer, with the _- her brand. ln the USA, Scottish and Newcastle second largest importer of foreign beers. The , -r-,ny emphasises the development of innovative emium beers, and is closing down its more rent breweries. Questions 1 Using the data from the case (and any other sources available), carry out for the European brewing industry (i) a PESTEL analysis and (ii) a five forces analysis. What do you conclude? 2 For the four breweries outlined above (or breweries of your own choice) explain: (a) how these trends will impact differently on these different companies; and (b) the relative strengths and weaknesses of each company.

The Co-operative Group: Financial Auditing Analysis

The Co-operative Group: Financial Auditing Analysis Pak Liu Background knowledge, evolution from origin and ethical issues Ever since the establishment of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in 1844 together with the subsequent major merger incurred within its expansion period during 2000 to 2012. The Co-operative Group, colloquially known as the Co-op, has been burgeoning for the last 17 decades, contingent upon the Rochdale principle which espouses dividend returns to members. Pending between its 172-years life up till now, it had metamorphosed the core business from a solely wholesale operation to an 85%-engrossing food retail within the conglomerate; affiliating no longer with just the struggling lower income groups, but the more prosperous middle class. The sagacious quality possessed by previous chief directors to overlook the impact initiated by multiple-grocers buy to the retail market in the 1940s, in corporation with numerous business disposals and replacements, set cornerstones for the introduction of the Co-op brand in 2007. It has effortlessly entitled itself as the largest consumer co-operative in the UK. The businesss long-term economic scale, involving over 70,000 employees across the wide geographical spread of 4,500 locations within the UK, is sustained by the 8 million members who are democratically engaged in determining the co-operatives operational strategies via voting. Quoted from Co-ops annual report in 2007, Voting for corporate members is in proportion to trade with the society. Each individual member has one vote in the appropriate region of the society and each region has voting rights calculated on the same basis as a corporate member. Historically, the merger with UKs second largest co-operative, the United Co-operatives on 16th February 2007 was concurred by the majority. The degree of influence members that is delegated can sometimes protract the implementation of proposals such as the Policy and Programme for Post War Development, published by the Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1944. In the meantime, members loyalty is bolstered through the incentivised dividend scheme; in the last quarter of 2016, approximately 15 million pounds were returned to members. However, potential member outflow is expected during the year of 2017, since the Group is unable to pay dividend until 2018. Even though the food retailing business is presently the largest division of the group, nevertheless its profitability and market share dwindled between the 1970s and 1980s, partially but prominently because of inflation leading to more affordable importations. Conjointly due to the inefficient national distribution network in the early 20th century, the Coventry National Contribution Centre is now served as the solution to which; resulting a huge preconceived transportation cost which discouraged purchases. It was further exacerbated by the paucity of preparations to accustom its shifted association with the middle-class customers. Inferior to externality, redevelopment projects during the 1970s devastated 18,000 stores to be closed since employees were moved from terraces to purpose-built estates, so a redundant provision of co-op stores was observed in certain areas. Until 2015, the Group had converted their focus on the 2,500 convenience stores; an extraneous 200 convenience stores were added to the fixed asset account utilising the fund from liquidating 100 supermarkets. The remaining 25% of the business is encompassed with sectors concerning funeral-care, banking, legal service, electrical products sale and joint-ventures such as insurance service and travel agency. An excessive 900 funeral homes, whilst some continue to use their own brands, had contributed a revenue of  £399 million in 2015 and positioned the funeral-care sector as the largest funeral director in the UK. During Co-ops expansion period, the funeral-care sector was appraised to have optimistic performance abreast with the Co-operative Pharmacy, which was soaring to become the third largest pharmacy group in the UK. Unfortunately, the investigation stretching back to 2008 exposing the  £1.5 billion capital blackhole in the Co-operative Banks account had arose a financial crisis in years of 2013 and 2014 for the Group. In purpose to reduce its debt level, the entire 800 Co-operative Pharmacy branches were sold to the Bestway Group for a substantial  £620 million. Other former businesses underwent disposal, serving to either minimise debt level or simply eliminate non-profitable divisions include the milk processing and distribution division Associated Co-operative Creameries (ACC) and the Co-operative Motor Group. Until recently, the Co-operative Travel also announced the intention to sell its 30% stake in the joint venture with Thomas Cook, putting the 100-years trade to an end. Barry Tootells scandal, resigned Banks executive, of failing to exercise due skill, care and diligence in managing the firm was calamitous to Co-ops reputation, which was once sabotaged because 38 Co-op stores in Sussex disappointed the fire safety requirements in 2007. From attempting to restore its long-established ethical image to becoming a Fairtrade champion, many initiatives have been commencing including providing nutritional information on Co-ops branded food, environmentally friendly household products productions, raising awareness of animal welfare standards and investment into generating renewable energy. Whereas the partnership between Miles Smith and the Co-operative Insurance will be continued. On the other hand, the national legal service provider founded in Bristol in 2006, furnishes a broad coverage of services straddling domestic and matrimonial law, testamentary constitution and related probate and conveyancing, as well as employment law and personal injury. Meanwhile, the Co-op Electrical is the pioneer in selling extended warranty insurance products at cost price. It also offers delivery service with a guaranteed timeslot of 60 minutes, confirmed on the day of delivery via SMS. KPMG had been the Co-operative Groups auditor for the previous 40 years until 2015. A profuse amount of audit fee of  £700,000 was paid, excluding the extraneous  £1.2 million consulting fee which involves a particular  £500,000 for tax planning.

Human Cloning Essay -- Clones, Cloning Essays

Cloning humans has recently become a possibility. It is achieved by the production of a group of identical cells or organisms that all derive from a single individual (Grolier 220). It is not known when cloning humans really became a possibility, but it is known that there are two possible ways that we can clone humans. The first way involves splitting an embryo into several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human being and cloning them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to that particular person. With these two methods almost at our fingertips, we must ask ourselves two very important questions: Can we do this, and should we? There is no doubt that many problems involving the technological and ethical sides of this issue will arise and will be virtually impossible to avoid, but the overall idea of cloning humans is one that we should accept as a possible r eality for the future. Cloning humans is an idea that has always been thought of as something that could be found in science fiction novels, but never as a concept that society could actually experience. "It is much in the news. The public has been bombarded with newspaper articles, magazine stories, books, television shows, and movies as well as cartoons ¡Ã‚ ¨, writes Robert McKinnell, the author of Cloning: A Biologist Reports (24). Much of this information in these sources leads the public in the wrong direction and makes them wonder how easy it would be for everyone around them to be cloned. Bizarre ideas about cloning lie in many science fiction books and scare the public with their unbelievable possibilities. David Rorvik wrote a highly controversial book entitled In His Image. In it he describes the story of a wealthy man who decides to clone himself. He is successful in doing this and causes quite an uprise in his community. This book was written in the late seventies and even then, societies reaction to the issues of human cloning was generally a negative one. We face a problem today even greater than the one in this book and it involves the duplication of human beings in a society that has always been known for its diversity. The main issue as to whether or not human cloning is possible through the splitting of embryos began in 1993 when experimentation was done at George W... ...nkind, ¡Ã‚ ¨ Time (June 21-27): 63-76. Grolier, Thomas. Can We Still Talk. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994. Hamilton, Bernard. Cloning of embryos. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1991. Habgood, John.  ¡Ã‚ §Manipulating mankind. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Nature, Vol. 365 September 23, 1993: 3 04. Kolberg, Rebecca.  ¡Ã‚ §Human Embryo Cloning Reported. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Science, October 29, 1993, Vol.262: 652-653. McCormick, Richard A.  ¡Ã‚ §Should we clone humans? ¡Ã‚ ¨ Christian Century, November 17- 24, 1993: 1148-1149. P. J.  ¡Ã‚ §The pros and cons of freedom of access to human genome data ¡Ã‚ ¨, Nature, Vol. 333 June 23, 1988: 692. McKinnell, Robert. Cloning: A Biologist Reports. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989. Radford, Tim.  ¡Ã‚ §Designing the Next Generation. ¡Ã‚ ¨ World Press Review, March 1994: 22-23. Rorvik, David. In His Image. New York: Harper & Row Publisher, 1992. Shah, Dilip M.  ¡Ã‚ §Engineering Herbicide Tolerance in Transgenic Plants. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Science, July 25, 1986: 478. Watson, Traci.  ¡Ã‚ §Seeking the wonder in a mote of dust. ¡Ã‚ ¨ U.S. News & World Report, October 3, 1994: 66. Voelker, Roger B.  ¡Ã‚ §Who ¡Ã‚ ¦s Afraid of the Human Genome? ¡Ã‚ ¨ Hastings Center Report, July/August 1989: 19-21. Human Cloning Essay -- Clones, Cloning Essays Cloning humans has recently become a possibility. It is achieved by the production of a group of identical cells or organisms that all derive from a single individual (Grolier 220). It is not known when cloning humans really became a possibility, but it is known that there are two possible ways that we can clone humans. The first way involves splitting an embryo into several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human being and cloning them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to that particular person. With these two methods almost at our fingertips, we must ask ourselves two very important questions: Can we do this, and should we? There is no doubt that many problems involving the technological and ethical sides of this issue will arise and will be virtually impossible to avoid, but the overall idea of cloning humans is one that we should accept as a possible r eality for the future. Cloning humans is an idea that has always been thought of as something that could be found in science fiction novels, but never as a concept that society could actually experience. "It is much in the news. The public has been bombarded with newspaper articles, magazine stories, books, television shows, and movies as well as cartoons ¡Ã‚ ¨, writes Robert McKinnell, the author of Cloning: A Biologist Reports (24). Much of this information in these sources leads the public in the wrong direction and makes them wonder how easy it would be for everyone around them to be cloned. Bizarre ideas about cloning lie in many science fiction books and scare the public with their unbelievable possibilities. David Rorvik wrote a highly controversial book entitled In His Image. In it he describes the story of a wealthy man who decides to clone himself. He is successful in doing this and causes quite an uprise in his community. This book was written in the late seventies and even then, societies reaction to the issues of human cloning was generally a negative one. We face a problem today even greater than the one in this book and it involves the duplication of human beings in a society that has always been known for its diversity. The main issue as to whether or not human cloning is possible through the splitting of embryos began in 1993 when experimentation was done at George W... ...nkind, ¡Ã‚ ¨ Time (June 21-27): 63-76. Grolier, Thomas. Can We Still Talk. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994. Hamilton, Bernard. Cloning of embryos. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1991. Habgood, John.  ¡Ã‚ §Manipulating mankind. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Nature, Vol. 365 September 23, 1993: 3 04. Kolberg, Rebecca.  ¡Ã‚ §Human Embryo Cloning Reported. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Science, October 29, 1993, Vol.262: 652-653. McCormick, Richard A.  ¡Ã‚ §Should we clone humans? ¡Ã‚ ¨ Christian Century, November 17- 24, 1993: 1148-1149. P. J.  ¡Ã‚ §The pros and cons of freedom of access to human genome data ¡Ã‚ ¨, Nature, Vol. 333 June 23, 1988: 692. McKinnell, Robert. Cloning: A Biologist Reports. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989. Radford, Tim.  ¡Ã‚ §Designing the Next Generation. ¡Ã‚ ¨ World Press Review, March 1994: 22-23. Rorvik, David. In His Image. New York: Harper & Row Publisher, 1992. Shah, Dilip M.  ¡Ã‚ §Engineering Herbicide Tolerance in Transgenic Plants. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Science, July 25, 1986: 478. Watson, Traci.  ¡Ã‚ §Seeking the wonder in a mote of dust. ¡Ã‚ ¨ U.S. News & World Report, October 3, 1994: 66. Voelker, Roger B.  ¡Ã‚ §Who ¡Ã‚ ¦s Afraid of the Human Genome? ¡Ã‚ ¨ Hastings Center Report, July/August 1989: 19-21.