Experimental economics, history of trust game Essay

Experimental economics, history of trust game - Essay Example This is why there is sometimes a collusive tendency in an oligopoly. There are four distinct models of it, namely, the kinked demand curve, cost-plus pricing, the price leadership and collusive pricing (McConnell and Stanley, p.224). The first experiment conducted relative to the Ultimatum Game was by German economists Guth, Schmittberger and Schwarze or collectively known as GSS in 1982. What they dis was to divide 42 students where one is Player 1 or the allocator and the other is Player 2 or the recipient. Each Player 1 is asked to allocate however much of the German marks to Player 2. The core of the experiment is simple, if the allocator does not give the recipient anything then they both receive nothing, after a week they were asked to return. This is the basic principle of a simple Ultimatum Game. They found that it is much easier to interpret the bahavior of the recipients. A low offer is viewed as an offshoot of a sacrifice rather than accepting the low amount. The following week, the offer of the allocators became much less while there are two motives in the offer of allocators. The first motive is simple fairness and the other is anxiety over rejection because they may see that an unfair amount may be rejected. It may be either of these reasons or both that ise moving factor for their offer (Thaler, p.196-197). Berg, Dickhaut and McCabe performed an experiment to determine trust behavior among comsumers in a controlled environment. The basis of their study is anonymity. In the presence of which, consumer behavior is reverted to nonexistent as there is no knowledge or relation between buyer and seller at first meeting. This is presupposed by Arrow’s suggestion that â€Å"transaction costs trust is ubiquitous to almost every economic transaction† (p.123). Moved by questions of factors affecting trust in economic behavior, the experiment sets out to eliminate preconceived notions and subject the participants into a trust game. The experime nt guaranteed complete anonymity and the participants only get to invest once, thereby, they controlled the setting and â€Å"eliminate(d) mechanisms which could sustain investment without trust; these mechanisms include reputations from repeat interactions, contractual precommitments, and potential punishment threats† (idem). The experiment found that there exists reciprocity and that decisions of the subjects depend upon their interpretation of each room’s behavior. If it depends upon mutual benefit, then the there is a higher likelihood to reciprocate in that scenario and it is conjunctured with trust. Social history was found to be a determining factor in this analysis. This factor inclines the person toward trusting the other. To further eliminate this fator, those who are recruited were not a part of any previous sessions and they were provided a summary a no history background affects the results (p. 124). The participants were given $10 to invest at various sta ges throughout the experiment. The experimenters expected that they will realize sending money in the first stage is risky as there is no concrete evidence of reciprocity. In stage two, it was predicted that they will release money and third where money triples, it is the ideal stage that they will send their money. As a result, they concluded that primitives trust and reciprocity are the moving facors in decision-making among the investors. â€Å"By inventing property rights and allowing social history, society stimulates norms of

Types of schools Essay Example for Free

Types of schools Essay 1. Community Schools Run by LA’s who own both the land and buildings and are responsible for employing the staff. The LA decides the schools’ admissions criteria for the allocation of places should the school be oversubscribed. These schools are supported by the community and as such the school facilities are used by local groups such as adult education and childcare classes. 2. Foundation and Trust schools Foundation schools are run by their own governing body who employ the staff and determine the admissions policy in conjunction with the LA. The governing body (or charitable foundation) owns the school and the land. A Trust School is a type of foundation school but forms a charitable Trust with an outside partner such as business or education charity whose aim is to raise standards and new ways of working. They buy in support services for Speech and Language, Educational Psychologists etc. The decision to become a Trust school is taken by the governing body in consultation with the parents. see more:examples of school facilities 3. Specialist Schools These schools operate in partnership with private-sector sponsors and within the requirements of the National Curriculum. They apply for specialist status to develop in one or two specialisms music, sport, languages, science, arts, business and enterprise, mathematics and computing, technology, applied learning, engineering, humanities and receive additional government funding for doing so. They are usually secondary schools but not necessarily SEN schools although SEN schools can become a specialist school  under one of the four areas of the SEN Code of Practice communication and interaction, Cognition (understanding) and learning, behaviour, emotional and social development, sensory and/or physical needs. 4. Voluntary-aided Religious or ‘faith’ schools but all can apply for a place. Run in the same way as Foundation schools but the land is usually owed by a religious organisation or charity. The governing body contributes to the building and maintenance costs employs the school’s staff and set the admissions criteria. These schools are funded partly by the governing body, by a charity and partly by the LA who also provides additional support services. 5. Voluntary-controlled Similar to voluntary aided but run by the LA who sets the admissions criteria and employs the school’s staff. The school land and buildings are normally owned by a charity, often a religious organisation which will also appoint some of the members of the governing body. 6. Independent Schools Not run by LA but funded by fees paid by parents and income from investments. They must be registered with the DfE and their standards are monitored by OfSTED or by an inspectorate approved by the Secretary of State. They set their own admissions policies and curriculum (they do not follow the National Curriculum). Teachers working in Independent schools do not have to be qualified. 7. Academies Sponsored, publicly-funded independent schools. Sponsors come from a wide range of backgrounds such as successful schools, businesses, charities, universities and faith bodies. Sponsors, are however, accountable for improving the performance of their schools. Although Academies have a close link with the LA they are not controlled or maintained by them and benefit from greater freedom than State schools to set their own pay and conditions for staff. They have freedom on how to deliver the curriculum and freedom to change the lengths of terms and school days. Identify the school you work in, state which type of school it is, and the age-range of the pupils. Swiss Garden, Shoreham-By-Sea is a ‘community school’ with approximately 410 pupils from the age of four to eleven years of age.

Eating Disorder Among American Teenage Girls

Eating Disorder Among American Teenage Girls Research question: To what extent has the modern media had an impact on the development of eating disorders among teenage American girls. Every society has a way of torturing its women, whether by binding their feet or by sticking them into whalebone corsets. What contemporary American culture has come up with is designer jeans. -Joel Yager, M.D. ABSTRACT The problem with eating disorders is that it is impossible to find the root cause of them; this essay focuses on the modern medias influence and the extent of it in regards to the spread of these disorders among teenage girls, in American society. I begin this investigation by defining eating disorders as a psychological disorder, after which I analyze the difficulties associated with discovering the causes. I focus on the two commonly known eating disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia. This essay analyses the most significant aspects of the modern media, and examines in detail the different types of it, including magazines, television and the Internet, as well as books. To be able to support the data located in this investigation I conducted a survey, where I interviewed 170 teenage girls, to deduce what causes them to diet in the first place. I conclude this essay by showing that despite the influence the modern media has on eating disorders, it is not the source of the information, but is simply used as a process to spread information. Because of this it is hard to solely blame the media for eating disorders, which also means that people may overestimate the effect that media alone has on these disorders. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 3 INTRODUCTION 5 ROLE OF MODERN MEDIA IN SOCIETY THROUGHOUT HISTORY 6 TYPES OF MODERN MEDIA AND WAYS THAT THEY HAVE INFLUENCED 7 THE SPREAD OF EATING DISORDERS OTHER FACTORS THAT AFFECT EATING DISORDERS 10 ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM SURVEY 13 CONCLUSION 14 APPENDIX 16 BIBLOGRAPHY 18 INTRODUCTION The definition of an eating disorder according to an encyclopedia states that it is a group of psychological ailments characterized by intense fear of becoming obese, distorted body image, and prolonged food refusal and/or binge eating followed by purging through induced vomiting, heavy exercise, or use of laxatives.  [1]  From that definition an eating disorder can be categorized as a psychological disorder, which is strictly speaking common knowledge. The truth is that these disorders have become epidemic among teenagers, especially teenage girls. This has led me to focus on this particular segment, as well as to discover the medias position in this increasing problem, as the media is often accused of being the main cause of these disorders, and some would go so far as to say, the source of this disease. It is no surprise that the promotion of excessive thinness as an ideal body image, as a healthy lifestyle and as one of only ways to be happy, is bombarded at todays youth. But even though we are constantly attacked with vicious advertising campaigns to lose weight Americans health has reached a point of crisis. According to the American Obesity Association, 65% of adults and 30% of children are overweight, and 30% of adults and 15% of children meet the criteria for obesity.  [2]  Whether society likes it or not, the problem of eating disorders has get out of control over the last few decades, a sufficient amount is now consider as a social problem. This is very bad news, especially when you think that these diseases are already starting to affect girls who are still attending elementary schools, this is because they start dieting, purging or starving themselves in order to look thinner, the truly horrifying part is that these girls are not even teenagers yet. There are clear connections between eating disorders and the medias influence on it, but this is no surprise as the media already influences almost every aspect of our lives. Regardless of its i nfluences, in this essay I shall focus on another aspect of the matter, in other words to what extent is the modern media actually responsible for creating this disorder; and what else could be responsible, even if only partially, for its spread. ROLE OF MODERN MEDIA IN SOCIETY THROUGHOUT HISTORY It is not a secret that the modern media has an enormous influence on our lives and how we perceive things in our everyday life. Due to the colossal expansion of technology, information has the ability to travel from one part of the world to another in a split second. Television shows, radio stations, and the entire Internet surrounds us, everywhere we go. And this process does not seem to be slowing down or even attempt to decelerate. Now almost every teenager in America is in possession of a mobile phone, which has to have access to radio stations and Internet sites. They are immediately informed of what is new, what is or is not fashionable, what they should perceive as right or wrong, and what kind of opinions are vital to have. Even though some people still feel that they are in control over their own opinions, they are sadly mistaken, as it is virtually impossible to live in a modern world and not be affected by the media. The process is exactly the same in relation to what has happened to the perception of the body image; the modern media have created an idea of how the perfect body should look like. Perfection is the constant point the media use when showing the public a skeleton covered with a thin layer of skin. They bombard them with these images, and the group of people in American society, who are affected the most and extremely suffer because of this, are girls that are already self conscious and are at a particularly gullible age. They are led to believe that in order to be accepted by society, whether it is at school or in any other social group, girls need to meet the requirements of certain image. The media is an important and day to day aspect of the American culture; it could even be classed as an ever growing subculture that has been increasing drastically in size over past couple of decades.  [3]   TYPES OF MODERN MEDIA AND WAYS THAT THEY HAVE INFLUENCED THE SPREAD OF EATING DISORDERS I have decided to discuss the ways modern media accesses the minds of American teenage girls to influence them. After taking all of the various types of media into account, I decided to limit myself to a few ways in terms of importance, my choices include fanzines, fashion magazines, advertisements, movies, and, probably the most important and influential of all, the internet, which is fastest and the most effective in the global transfer of information.  [4]   I began by mentioning magazines; I was referring specifically to magazines that target women and girls. In these magazines it is more than likely that in every issue it is possible for one to find at least one if not many more articles about how to stay fit, how to loose few more pounds, advice regarding dieting, or even starving oneself. Most of these so called tips will not only get in the way of you loosing weight and achieving your goal, but in some cases these tips may actually be a danger to a persons health, as this advice is not recommended by doctors, but by journalists. Young girls do not realize how dangerous this advice may be, or even that it simply does not work. Because of this they become extremely unforgiving towards themselves and diet even more, and when that does not work they begin throwing up or give up eating altogether, hoping it will make the process work a little faster. This is how most of these disorders start. But this is not the only thing that forces th ese girls to consider that their beauty is not good enough for them and immediately should be changed.  [5]  These girls reevaluate their definition of beauty, because they are bombarded with images of the perfect being, starting from the beautiful and supper skinny princesses from fairytales to the photos of modern day princesses, in other words celebrities and models. These celebrities and models are shown to look wonderful in their clothes and look much better then a regular everyday person would, but naturally the magazines fail to mention that the clothes are sown especially to fit the models perfectly, and that all photo sessions are edited so that even the smallest flaws are removed. Unfortunately their prey, the young gullible teenage girls, would not even consider any of this. As the process of photo editing (Photoshop) is an inseparable part of media I consider it an important tool of manipulation. Another way to spread the image of a very unhealthy body to a wider audience is through the use of commercials. These commercials subconsciously tell us we are too fat, as almost all models in them are a size 6 or less, even when advertising something as average as toothpaste or as obviously unhealthy as McDonalds. Commercials may not be the direct cause of the insecurities faced by todays youth, and they most likely do not even realize the extent of the damage they cause as a constant reminder of the body image.  [6]  Other ways that television can cause teenagers to become more self-conscious include TV shows, or movies that show girls played by actresses, who have even been known to faint, whilst filming, due to malnutrition. For instance popular TV shows focused at teenagers, which in theory should illustrate the lives of teenagers, like 90210 or Gossip Girl, have the main cast acted by adults; therefore girls from 14 to 18 are played by 24 to 28 years old actresses, which gi ves a completely unacceptable image of a young and still developing girls body. Moreover as these actresses are terribly skinny, this causes complexes among teenagers that are trying to imitate their role models, and, among other things, look exactly like they do.  [7]   As I mentioned, the most important and the most dangerous, of all the types of modern media, is the Internet. One may ask the question: what is so horrifying about Internet? The answer is more complicated than most would actually think. The main problem with the Internet is that the flow of information is entirely unmonitored and too vast for anyone to control it even if they wanted to. This means that shocking websites can be created, that contain information on exactly how to be an anorexic, for example. Despite the information being widely available, it would be highly unlikely for one to find such advice in a magazine, as they may be sued for endangering readers lives. It is very hard to sue a website, most often because it is impossible to find its publisher. Web logs (also known as blogs) belonging to American teenage girls have in recent times been created in order to support either anorexia (known as pro-ana) or bulimia (pro-mia). This is something that I found worrying, as w ell as distasteful, not to mention the extremely questionable ethically. These websites contain information such as how to stay thin, what toothpaste covers the smell of vomit best, or that if you swallow cotton wool soaked in orange juice, you will not be hungry for hours and as an added bonus it does not contain any calories, which helps the young girls with these disorders in achieving their sick goals. Such pages also include an entire collection of photos, of literally starved girls, with comments underneath them with high regards, and by reading that you can feel jealousy and evident desire to look like them. These girls show, through these actions, that they are willing to lay down their life for this perfect figure, because as the saying goes no pain, no gain. Some of the advice on these websites is nonsense or a cruel practical joke, but the majority of it can lead to frightful consequences, including stomach ulcers, loss of hair and teeth, and as you might expect death. T here are a variety of ways and means by which these girls undertake the challenge to have a perfect body image. Of course not all of these girls have in fact anorexia or bulimia, but despite that, more often these damages they have caused on their own bodies are irreversible. This means that they have damaged their bodies for ever and will probably always have trouble with maintaining a constant weight. And what is a worst, constant improvement and breakthroughs in technology have meant that now everything can be located in the Internet, including the types of media mentioned. And from what it seems no one is able to prohibit this constant death promotion.  [8]   OTHER FACTORS THAT AFFECT EATING DISORDERS Even though the modern media seem to be responsible for the unrelenting spread of eating disorders, mainly due to the materials released for young girls to find everywhere, they are not the only explanation for the increasing sprawl of these disorders. The American society is exposing its youth through a very many different factors that may possibly exasperate the situation further. As times have changed, children have become more interested in spending all their free time in front of computers or televisions, instead of playing outdoors with their friends. Apart from the changes in their interests, children, now, see only one practical way form of nutrition, which is empty, sugar filled food. Due to these changes in lifestyle it is more than likely that the problem of obesity will occur, which, through the process of a chain reaction, will cause a lack of acceptance among society. This will lead, after a certain amount of time, to certain individuals making irresponsible decisions about dieting, exercising or even undertaking more drastic steps, such as taking diet pills. But this is only a logical succession, due to the reaction of certain lifestyle that most of teenage girls are among. A problem with this logic is that people do not always act rationally, which is why this is only a theory. Another factor that is strongly connected with the spread of eating disorders in teenage girls, and that may be contrary to expectations, are toy manufacturers. Despite their importance in the body image, they are not as closely connected with modern media as would be expected. Toy manufacturers set extremely high expectations on the way women should look by developing and marketing the Barbie doll, whose measurements are physiologically impossible  [9]  . Fortunately, the Barbie dolls figure was slightly altered by its designers in the late 1990s, into a body image that is somewhat more realistic, but still unlikely to occur naturally. Now with increased availability of plastic surgery, todays women are faced with similarly unrealistic expectations every time they open a fashion magazine1. Perhaps the most surprising of all is the next factor, which is a whole assortment of books that are meant to show girls that eating disorder is a problem. But these books ultimately end up giving girls hints on how to avoid eating, how to cover up their problems, including not being seen with food, vomiting. This is achieved by real life stories that explain in vivid detail the ordeal that sufferers have faced. Until now books have been considered to be the least likely to have a negative impact on girls and causing eating disorders, considering the lack of pictures. But nowadays even if a book is created to help and give hope to girls who were unfortunate enough to be touched by anorexia nervosa or bulimia, unconsciously the author of book gives advice on how to be anorectic, by describing the ways in which they can starve, or purge themselves so nobody will notice their problem. Despite being gullible, young girls have picked up on this and use these books for dietary advice.  [10]   One more factor that is present nowadays and is considered one of the most influential causes of eating disorders, and which is really hard to change is the fashion industry and sizes that they constantly promote. The most common problem with this as being a factor is it influences eating disorder by promoting the size zero clothing, which is widely spread among girls and is the only size they aim to achieve. All of this begs the question: how did we allow it to escalate to such an extent, to let it get to this point? It began with fashion designers who would only hire the skinniest girls around, so girls started to become thinner and thinner to reach their dreams, which led to certain image being created of what is fashionable. This situation is complicated because nobody in the industry is willing to admit fault, not the designers and not the modeling agencies, which it ultimately is. Size zero clothing is actually too small for most of the girls who work in modeling, therefore these women promote a figure that is not only unattainable for most women, but is also unattainable for them. Despite the fact that the fashion industry is impervious to almost everything, once editors began protesting, the fashion industry finally needed to respond, by employing bigger women, who are still extremely skinny.  [11]   The root causes of these diseases are quite complicated and almost impossible to deduce, mainly due to the many existing theories on the subject, each one based on another aspect of these disorders. A major role is played here by human psyche. As I have mentioned in introduction anorexia and bulimia are both psychological illnesses, which affects young girls in America. It is very difficult to draw a line that separates between a reasonable concern for a shapely figure, which is indeed affected by all factors above, and between weight loss associated with an eating disorder. It has been suggested that dieting takes the form of a disease from the moment from which the person loses control over their behaviors associated with the intake of food and the discharge of unnecessary food. People with anorexia nervosa and bulimia are characterized by a large discrepancy between what they feel and what they do. If these diseases, as stated, are in fact psychological and they start with the los s of control over ones own body the problem must be pre-existing, before all the influences of the modern media or society begin to affect these girls with their unhealthy or too healthy lifestyle, fashionable and simply unreal body image. Anorexia and bulimia are classified as a serious mental illness and should in no case, should it occur, be underestimated. Not every thin person should be suspected of anorexia and not every girl with anorexia is terribly thin. For this reason one should not judge another persons state of mind solely on their body weight. Although in such cases, when a person insists on dieting, despite their skeletal appearance, their self-destructive behavior is closely related to the appearance of their bodies. Due to the dangerous effects of these disorders, many psychiatrists have started to compare anorexia to other dangerous psychological disorders, which have the same problems of perceiving reality. Suffers from anorexia nervosa are characterized by an extreme perfectionism, these people are very systematic and critical of themselves, despite their accomplishments, and also suffers try to do physical activities as often as is possible.  [12]  They often drop out of friendships, become neu rotic and often complain, their self-esteem is very low, and they sink deeper and deeper into depression. Some of the girls that were able to overcome their disorder are proud and relieved that they have finally gained control over their own bodies.  [13]   ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM SURVEY Throughout whole essay I have tried to discover whether the modern media are actually responsible for girls, in American society, who suffer from eating disorder; of course there will be as many opinions as there are people. Because of these differences in opinion I decided to survey a number of girls, in order to find out what is the real reason for their dieting. It turned out that most of the interviewed teenagers are convinced that they are simply too fat, which clearly shows a correlation between this problem and its connection to their self- esteem. The modern media are partly at fault, as a result of the incessant promotion of skinny figures, but are not necessarily solely responsible, as it could be also be due to trends that occur in each individual society, for example at school, where it is more likely that a girl will be perceived better only because she looks thinner than one of her peers. Unfortunately there is no concrete proof that any of these factors are in any way responsible, let alone fully responsible, but at the same time there is also no solid proof that states that the modern media has an impact at all on eating disorders, as anorexia and bulimia are psychological diseases. CONCLUSION As I have shown, the problem of eating disorders among teenage girls in America is very complicated and there is no one particular factor that has influenced the spread of it. It is impossible to conclude that the modern media is for certain the blame for this spread. There is a strong cultural influence on these girls that pushes them to the point of starvation. It is now believed that society may be able to prevent the spread of eating disorders, by simply changing their eating habits. These changes could include teaching youngsters about the importance of their eating habits and the importance of having a balanced diet. They should also be taught about the ethnic differences in diet, which should not be taken lightly. Yet another strong influence on girls, especially younger ones, but not necessarily connected to the modern media as mentioned above are toy manufactures, which create unrealistic role models for young girls. Despite this, due to advertising, which is a type of moder n media, almost everything ranging from books to movies that are advertised automatically become a media influenced problem. Therefore I believe that it is safe to say that all of these factors are interdependent. And even though culture sets a certain way of living, when it is promoted by the media, it qualifies as part of the modern media sector. Following this train of thoughts it is hard to define precisely whether the media influences the spread of eating disorders, or is it just used as a way to pass on information. If this is the case it would be significant to determine what can be classed as media, and what should not be. The modern media, even though it is widely promoted through the use of advertising, television series, films or, the most significant of all, the Internet, it does not necessarily mean that they are the source of the information. In most cases the modern media are used as just a way to promote information, but are not in fact the direct cause of it, thus t he interdependence. If the modern media does not have as a significant impact as is considered, then American society should focus more on teenage girls and their welfare, and especially take care of them in a way that involves parents, as well as society, paying more attention to their development. According to The American Academy of Pediatrics current advice is that children should watch less than two hours of television a day and that parents should be involved during this time by monitoring what they are watching and later discussing and explaining the content to them. If this advise would be followed, then maybe the spread of eating disorders may be limited.  [14]   APPENDIX Questionnaire for English B Extended Essay: 1. Are you a. Female b. Male 2. Have you ever diet? a. If so, why? 3. How many times? a. once b. twice c. more than twice d. I am always on diet 4. Did you succeeded? Yes Not really Im in progress 5. Are you planning to get on a diet again? Yes No Maybe Responses: 1. Total number of female responses 170 2. 159 have already diet (93%); 11 did not (7%) In order to make it easier to analyze I have grouped answers to open question into 2 most significant groups: Girls felt they need to change 148 (Mostly because they felt fat or needed to fit their clothes) Did not have a reason 11 3. a. 23 (14,5%) b. 27 (17%) c. 78 (49%) d. 31 (19,5%) 4. a. 12 (7%) b. 44 (28%) c. 103 (65%) 5. a. 111 (70%) b. 6 (4%) c. 42 (26%)

Samuel Coleridges Poem Kubla Khan Essay -- Poem Poet Coleridge Kubla

Samuel Coleridge's Poem Kubla Khan In the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Coleridge, language is used to convey images from Coleridge’s imagination. This is done with the use of vocabulary, imagery, structure, use of contrasts, rhythm and sound devices such as alliteration and assonance. By conveying his imagination by using language, the vocabulary used by coleridge is of great importance. The five lines of the poem Kubla Khan sound like a chant or incantation, and help suggest mystery and supernatural themes of the poem. Another important theme of the poem is that of good versus evil. The vocabulary used throughout the poem helps convey these themes in images to the reader. In the first two lines, Coleridge describes the ‘pleasure dome’ in Xanadu. In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree Kubla Khan did not merely order, but decree that a ‘stately pleasure dome’ be built. This dome is evidence of how unnatural the place of Xanadu is, it has a ruler who ignores the unpleasantness that can be found in life. The use of vocabulary challenges and teases the imagination into seeing what he, Coleridge saw in his dream. In Xanadu, there are not small streams, but ‘sinuous rills’ and wall and towers do not enclose the gardens but are ‘girdled round’. Coleridge’s use of language and vocabulary helps to convey the extent of his imagination. In the poem Kubla Khan, imagery is also important for Coleridge to convey his imagination to the reader. There are images of paradise throughout the poem that are combined with references to darker, more evil places. On example of this is the ‘demon lover’ that has bewitched the woman. Coleridge’s image of the ‘dome of pleasure’ is mystical, contradicting the restrictions of realism. Xanadu is also a savage and ancient place where pure good and pure evil are much more apparent than in the monotony of everyday living. By using images, Coleridge conveys the extent of his imagination to readers. The structure of Kubla Khan is really in two parts. The first, which contains three stanzas, describes Xanadu as if Coleridge is actually there, experiencing the place first hand. The second part of the poem is filled with longing to be in Xanadu, but Coleridge is unable to capture the experience again. The first stanza has a definite rhythm and beat and describes the beauty and sacredness of Xanadu with rich,... ...tant threat of destruction. ‘Ancestral voices prophesying war’ could be likened to God’s warning to go near the tree, as Eve fell for the snake’s treacherous charm. Coleridge describes the river as ‘sacred’ on numerous occasions throughout the poem, and to Xanadu as ‘holy and enchanted’. This is yet another contrast, how can something holy be enchanted at the same time? Coleridge talks too of ‘miracles’ but mingled with the holiness, Coleridge refers to hell with his choice of language to depict what is outside the pleasure dome. The demons described are closely related to witchcraft and the closing lines of Kubla Khan describe pagan rituals that attempt to protect not only the reader, but also Coleridge himself from the forces of evil and the extent of his imagination. Coleridge, having ‘drunk the milk of paradise’ desired and sought after the beautiful image of Xanadu and Utopia and his final stanza is his way to describe to the reader how badly he wants to go back there. By using his wide vocabulary to depict images and contrasts with the help of some literary techniques such as imagery and contrasts, Coleridge easily conveys to the reader the extent of his imagination.

Creating My Own School Essay

The benefits of education on the individual person no doubt extend beyond economic effects. Jeremy Behrman and Nevzer Stacey cited that the effects of education â€Å"spread beyond direct economic effects (1). † As such is the case Behrman and Nevser adds, benefits â€Å"include a better way of taking care of ourselves and consequently creating a better society in which to live† (1). Based on this notion, it is important to make education available for everyone regardless of race, color, social status and gender or even physical condition. Education should be a right of everyone and no one should be denied of this right. However, the quality of education has been the focal point in the educational arguments. The report of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) cited that although teachers play an essential role in improving the students’ performance, the quality of education especially in areas where poverty is high, remains bad due to teachers’ lack of competency in the subject they teach (1). Thus it remains a burden of the government and of the society to establish schools that will cater to the increasing demand of a quality education. The No Child Left Behind Act was a response to this demand, yet it is clear that there is still a great demand for schools that would cater to the growing need of the society of a quality education for children. It is for this reason that I should like to introduce the Early College Communications (ECC) school which is designed to serve especially working class student and those with special cases. With highly competent teachers duly licensed by the states licensing board, the ECC provides quality education for grades 9-12 that would prepare students to college with a high level of competitiveness and a strong sense of achieving success in life. The school is deeply anchored on the government’s policy under No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) which emphasized on the qualification requirements for teachers. Under this act, the GAO report stated that states, districts, and schools are â€Å"responsible for ensuring that teacher meets these requirements† (1). The GAO also stated that the NCLBA â€Å"requires teachers of core academic subjects such as math and science be highly qualified†¦. † (1) The ECC proudly announces that it meets these requirements. The ECC’s philosophy of education is based on the principle that education is for everyone and that everyone deserves quality education. The ECC adopts a method of teaching based on Ramden’s (1992) distinctive ways of understanding teaching that is applicable to high school education wherein the teacher is seen as the organizer of student activity. Kate Ashcroft and Lorraine Foreman-Peck explained that in this method of teaching, the focus of the teaching and learning situation is on â€Å"what the student does† (69) and the role of the teacher is supervisory. In this case, as Ashcroft and Foreman-Peck pointed out, â€Å"the interest of teaching methods is now focused on ensuring that students learn† (69) and the teacher’s main concern is to motivate students â€Å"to be actively engaged† (69). With this method of teaching, the ECC management ensures that all students get quality education as we are implementing strict compliance for teachers to facilitate the student’s learning through motivating them to active and lively participation in the learning activities. As the school is committed to providing quality education, we have also implemented strict guidelines on the selection of teachers. Teachers were thoroughly screened if they have genuine interests in helping students learn regardless of their color, race, social status or physical condition. Thus, we are assuring everyone that the ECC is student friendly and we are very much concern all our student get quality education as they finished their term with us. For students with disabilities, that is, those belong to section two of the definition given by the Individuals with Disabilities Education act of 2004 (IDEA) cited by Roger Pierangelo and George Giuliani which held, (ii) Disorders not included. The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage (1) Students with disabilities that do not include learning problems because of the reasons mentioned in the definition, we encourage them to enroll at ECC as we have highly competent teachers to handle this special class. However, we require students with disabilities to seek certification from the local educational agency whether they responds to scientific, research-based intervention as part of the evaluation procedures. With teachers’ genuine concerns on students with disabilities, their primary aim is to ensure that students with disabilities learn equally with other students. Furthermore, the school facilities are designed for the convenience of these special students. These teachers are licensed by the state to handle special classes and they are skilled in communicating with students with disabilities. Overall, the school is committed on preparing our students to become successful individual regardless of their color, race, social status, and physical condition. The student who could finish their term at ECC will have an early college credit because the school offers subjects that will provide them advantage when they go to college. Thus, with our commitment towards the future success in life of our students, and with efficient and highly qualified teachers we are confident we can lead our students to become competitive, success oriented and determined to achieve their dreams in life. For everyone out there, enroll now at Early Communication College and be assured of a quality education and of an exciting learning situation in the classroom. Work Cited Ashcroft, Kate & Foreman-Peck, Lorraine Managing Teaching and Learning in Further and Higher Education Great Britain: Routledge, 1994 Behrman, Jere R. & Stacey, Nevser The Social Benefits of Education USA: University of Michigan, 1997 â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act Improved Accessibility to Education’s Information† USA: The United States GAO, 2005 Pierangelo, Roger & Guiliani, George A. Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities USA: Corwin Press, 2008

buy custom Opiate Addiction essay

buy custom Opiate Addiction essay The paper will introduce opiate addiction and explore its important aspects such its prescription, diagnostic criteria, etiology and opiate prevalence. The paper will also survey manifestation and course of opiate addiction and its differential diagnosis. The treatment of opiate addiction through self help and support groups will be explored in this paper. Assessment of the effectiveness of the available treatment methods will be discussed in detail. The history of medical involvement in opiate addiction is depicted by political disagreements over deviance descriptions. According to Hunt, Milhet Bergeron, the description of opiate abuse has differed from a late 19th century due to lack of concern as a societal problem to 20th century as a criminal offense of those use it (2011). Opiate addiction is pathological condition although in instances where opiates leads to addiction the amount of time involved cannot be simply predetermined (Hunt, Milhet Bergeron, 2011). Prescription Opiate Addiction Worldwide there is a serious worry for opiate addiction and opiate overdose deaths. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) defines drug abuse as the use of a Schedule II through Schedule V drug in a way or quantity that is incoherent with the medical or social pattern of culture (Lowinson, 2005). Schedule V drug refers to a class of drugs that have a small prospective for abuse or addiction. Opiate dependency in the addiction field is more than taking a large quantity of opiates. Lowinson (2005) says that a patient who takes a prescribed opiate on a regular basis may become physically dependant on the medication but is hardly an addict unless the patients behaviour meets the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnostic criteria for opiate dependence (Hunt, Milhet Bergeron, 2011). Surveys have found fundamental increase in misuse of hydrocodone and oxycodone products. These are opiates and their availability has remained relatively stable from 1994 to 1999. Prescription opiate abuse relates to the inherent abuse liability of the prescribed opiate and its distraction from the intended route of distribution (Lowinson, 2005). Prescription opiate abuse is associated with certain pharmacologic properties. Opiates include morphine, heroin, codeine, meperidine, and hydromorphone. Heroin is available only unlawfully in the United States. Opiates are frequently used for pain control (Murphy CowanBottom of Form, 2008) Diagnostic Criteria The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM) delineates the diagnostic criteria for prescription opiate dependence and abuse. Opiate addiction is characterized by significant level of tolerance defined by the need for markedly increased quantities of opiate to attain intoxication or desired effect (DSM, 2000). For opiate dependence, tolerance is also defined by diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of opiate (DSM, 2000). Individuals also experience withdrawal which is marked by the typical withdrawal syndrome for opiates and remarkable withdrawal symptoms of dysphoric mood, nausea or vomiting, muscle aches, lacrimation or rhinorrhea, diarrhea, yawning, fever, insomnia, gooseflesh, sweating (DSM, 2000). Opiates are also taken to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms. The central feature of opiate diagnostic criteria is continued use of the drug despite persistent and recurrent social, occupational, psychological, or physical problems caused by the use of the drug (DSM, 2000). For opiate addiction to be diagnosed at least three signs must be present. Individuals desire for the drug persists (Hunt, Milhet Bergeron, 2011). The signs include craving for an opioid drug, rhinorrhea or sneezing,lacrimation, muscle aches or cramps, abdominal cramps and nausea or vomiting (DSM, 2000). Opiate addiction is not restricted to low socioeconomic classes even though the prevalence of opiate dependence is greater in these groups than in higher socioeconomic classes (Sadock, Kaplan Virginia, 2007). Sadock, Kaplan Virginia (2007) noted that social factors associated with urban poverty possibly contribute to opiate dependence. Studies indicate that 50 percent of urban opiate users are children of single parents or divorced parents and are from families in which at least one other member has a substance related disorder (Sadock, Kaplan Virginia, 2007). Children from such settings are at high risk for opiate dependence particularly if they also evidence behavioral in school or other signs of conduct disorder (Sadock, Kaplan Virginia, 2007). Sadock, Kaplan Virginia (2007) indicated that some consistent behaviour patterns seem to be especially pronounced in adolescents with opiate dependence (p. 445). Opiate addicted individuals experience behavioral powerlessness counterac ted by disturbances in social and interpersonal relationships with peers maintained by mutual substance experiences (Sadock, Kaplan Virginia, 2007). Prevalence The prevalence of opiate addiction is determined by several factors. The first one is availability of the drugs. This implies that the greater the availability, the greater frequency of addiction (Souhami Moxham, 2002). The second factor is the accessibility of the drug. This explains the virtual commonness of drug addiction amongst doctors and nurses and in big cities and coastal areas in a certain state or country (Souhami Moxham, 2002). Souhami Moxham (2002) noted that the most important cause of opiate addiction is its availability. Availability of opiates means that susceptible individual expose themselves to the drug, either because they inhabit a subculture in which drug taking is prevalent, or because they are psychologically susceptible owing to family difficulties, dejection or boredom (Souhami Moxham, 2002). Murphy CowanBottom of Form (2008) says that opiate use and abuse are common in the United States. Prevalence for heroin dependence is about 0.1 percent, and prescription pain reliever dependence is about 0.6 percent. People who use opiates recreationally become addicted (Murphy CowanBottom of Form, 2008). Manifestation and Course of Addiction Pharmacological features of opiates tolerance and withdrawal syndrome ensure the establishment of a habit, and as well as physiological factors that enable people to maintain the addiction and make rehabilitation difficult (Souhami Moxham, 2002). Souhami Moxham (2002) indicated that it is possible that individuals susceptible to addiction may genetically be deficient in endorphins and hence opiate hungry (pg. 243). Opiates reduce the amount and effects of other cerebral neurotransmitters such as acetycholine (Souhami Moxham, 2002). In their research, Souhami Moxham (2002) also articulated that cerebral neurotransmitters has led to the super sensitivity theory of withdrawal syndrome, which postulates tha addicted individuals have reduced amounts of transmitter reaching postsynaptic receptors. Halting opiates results in a sudden increase in transmitter and stimulation of the already supersensitive receptor. Continued use of opiates causes long term transformations in the brain that can be successfully treated with prescriptions (Fulco, Liverman Earley, 1995). Opiate withdrawal occurs when an individual with a chronic opiate addict abruptly stops or dramatically reduces opiate use. Miller Gold (2011) says that although abandonment from opiates causes bodily discomfort, it is not life threatening. Miller Gold (2011) established that the most general treatment for opiate withdrawal is methadone alternative; in which methadone is replaced with the drug for the addicted person and then slowly reduced once the patient is soothed (p. 102). Since methadone has a longer half-life than other opiates, the withdrawal and threats of difficulties are reduced, creating a smoother treatment. Furthermore, methadone can be orally given since it is a long-acting agent (Miller Gold, 2011). The DSM differential diagnosis Differential diagnosis enables a clinician or practitioner to characterize a disorder from another disorder that has similar features and criteria. The diagnosis of opiate addiction is generally obvious after a careful history of mental status and physical examinations (DSM, 2000). Opiate addiction is characterized by difficulties in solving problems, focusing on reading and writing and understanding what others say DSM (2000). The symptoms of opiate-related disorders are equivalent to the substance use disorders of Nicotine dependence, Nicotine Withdrawal, Cocaine Intoxication and Amphetamine or Phencyclidine Intoxication. DSM (2000) noted that opiate addicted patients like mental disorder victims experience a maladaptive pattern of drug use leading to clinically important distress. Opiate dependence is illustrated by the incapacity to stop taking opiate drugs or medications (Junig, 2008). Opiate addicts have a fascination to use opiate prescription that persists even after months or years, when withdrawal has long passed (Junig, 2008). Junig (2008) noted that opiate addiction is infuriating to the individual addicted and to his or her loved ones. Life for an opiate addict revolves around the drug because the addict is preoccupied with finding the subsequent prescription so as to evade becoming dope sick (Junig, 2008). Stine Kosten (1997) noted that there are two imperative characteristics of opiate dependence which include; easiness, regarded as a deteriorating drug effect after frequent administration and reliance exposed by a withdrawal condition after immediate discontinuation of opiate exposure. Opiates cause both bodily and psychosomatic dependence (Stine Kosten, 1997). Subsequently, regular prescription of opiates, going over a long period of time forms a physiological need for its sustained use (Lindesmith, 2008). Lindesmith (2008) established that when regular use is bunged, a number of worrying symptoms materialize, rising in sternness in quantity to the period of dependence and depending upon the amount and regularity of the dosage (p. 28). Researchers say that sustained use of opiates leads to an episodic, synthetically produced gloominess and distress which fades away instantaneously upon reiteration of the dosage. Within a period of three weeks of daily use, the moderation symptoms apparently increase at faster tempo and swiftly become very harsh and even treacherous (Lindesmith, 2008). Opiate drugs can simultaneously interrelate with major types of receptors in the brain and act as an agonist (Fulco, Liverman Earley, 1995). The prejudiced outcomes of opiates are arbitrated through activities at mu opioid receptors, and intrusion with actions at these receptors causes a rational plan for coming up with medications for opiate dependence (Fulco, Liverman Earley, 1995). Studies show that among the numerous effects of opiate drugs on neurons are alterations in gene expression. The modifications in gene expression are identified as significant in this type of dependence because of its steady and progressive expansion and the perseverance of many of its characteristics long after discontinuation of drug exposure (Fulco, Liverman Earley, 1995). In addition, opiates can manage some transcription features that are significant in neuronal gene expression. The idea of narcotics anonymous self-help group is a traditional and a valued approach of treatment to many drug addiction problems (Ghodse, 2010). Narcotics Anonymous is a support group for individuals suffering from drug addiction. Narcotics anonymous (NA) self help groups is a group of individuals with comparable problems who meet together willingly to help themselves. Opiate self help groups help individuals become ascetic (Ghodse, 2010). Ghodse (2010) says that there is an underlying philosophy that it is impossible for an individual to overcome opiate addiction alone, but that this can be achieved with the help of the group (p. 173). Self help groups also provide mutual aid of people helping each other by offering companionship and sharing universal experiences (Ghodse, 2010). Ghodse (2010) indicated that self help groups provide group support, social recognition and social personality for individuals who may have become very isolated because of their drug problem. Opiate addicts in established groups have access to a wide range of experience and build up skills and knowledge that may be genuine and realistic help to those trying to manage with opiate addiction (Miller Gold, 2011). Since those who able to cope with abstinent continue to attend the group for a while, new members are able to meet and identify with such people (Ghodse, 2010). These groups provide a life-long supportive program for sustained recovery. This is because opiate dependence is a chronic disorder in which there are many reversions (StellmaTop of Form. 1998). Self help groups are open to everyone with any type of drug problem and the only prerequisite for membership is the aspiration to stop using drugs (Ghodse, 2010). The approach of self help groups is based on the idea of addiction as a spiritual and therapeutic disease that can be prohibited but never cured. Opiates addicts follow the twelve steps stipulated in NA and AA programme for attaining abstinence (Ghodse, 2010). Ghodse (2010) indicated that the twelve traditions of AA and NA safeguard the freedom of the group by outlining the principles that guide its organization and administration (pg. 174). The groups are autonomous, self supporting and decline outside contributions (Ghodse, 2010). The members of opiate dependence self help groups attend meetings recurrently (Ghodse, 2010). Ghodse (2010) noted that during the meetings there is often a discussion based on the Twelve Steps and huge amount of emphasis is placed on complete openness and honesty with other members of the group (pg. 174). As an approach towards individuals recovery, the single shared common issue creates a strong bond between the members (Ghodse, 2010). New members of the group are encouraged to look for a sponsor within the group, a particular person to turn to during incidents of great need. The mandate of being a sponsor can be rewarding for the person concerned (Ghodse, 2010). Support Groups Support groups differ from self help groups in the way they are organized and run (Ghodse, 2010). Support groups offer the third form of opiate addiction treatment. Ghodse (2010) noted that support groups are run by a professional but they offer similar caring and non-critical environment (pg. 175). The support groups play a fundamental role to individuals who are parents and they and their children have exceptional needs which can be taken care of to some extent in an informal group setting. For opiate addicts support groups assist in mutual support between the members by providing them with a time and place to meet (Ghodse, 2010). Ghodse (2010) indicated that for addicts who are parenting, support groups gives them a chance whereby they can chat about general child-care matters and important aspects of bringing up their families. Opiate dependence parents need this support but they may be reluctant to attend an ordinary playgroup because of anxiety about their drug problem (Ghodse, 2010). Support groups are accommodating to those who have just come off opiates and who are still at risk of going back to opiate use (Ghodse, 2010). Ghodse (2010) established that those who are near the end of a detoxification programme for example taking less than 10-15 mg methadone daily may also attend self help group (pg. 196). Support groups are regularly organized as part of the total programme of services of an expert clinic. They are also organized by voluntary agencies as one component of community response to opiate abuse problem (Ghodse, 2010). Support groups should use Yaloms principles were leaders learn the maintenance of stable groups, culture building and the use of the here and now group leadership skills (Haight Gibson, 2005). Haight Gibson (2005) noted that Yaloms principles help group leaders to carry out subgroupings, resolving crises in the groups, social reinforcement and act as transitional objects in the support groups. T Narcotics Anonymous Experience I attended a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting so as to learn what actually goes on in such meetings. The group is well directed by a leader who ensures that no one is placed out of their profundity without intending to do so themselves. The meetings run for 60 to 90 minutes. In each meeting one of the twelve steps is read and discussed. They usually start with a word of prayer from the group leader and then afterwards Chapter 2 of the AA Big Book is read. The topics of discussion include the twelve steps and traditions of AA. Majority of the group affiliates are enthusiastically willing to read this narrative. Everyone is encouraged to get a sponsor to stand behind him or her. For example, with the analysis of the sponsor story we examined the significance of identifying a sponsor for constant support. After reading, the group member discussed about her understanding of how he or she used her sponsor over the last week. After the introduction, the group leader asked if there were newcomers or members attending the meeting for the second time. At the same time a list was passed around for anyone who intends to be contacted over the week or wanted to be a sponsor. Afterwards, one group member narrated his opiate addiction tale. The meeting was then opened for general discussion among the members. All members reviewed their weekly progress according to set procedure. During this time other group members were discouraged from commenting on the individual check-in report. The group leader made brief summary comments that recognized and positively reinforced behavioral changes that established that the group members was making an effort to achieve moderation and stability. After the break, the group members were asked to list common early warning signs of dejection, obsession and opiate addiction setbacks. Members were requested to bring in their daily symptom monitoring calculator to share what they noted about their symptoms and if they found it supportive. The whole procedure included five steps. The first step involved 15 minutes of the check-in procedure. The second step involved 5 minutes of the review of last weeks group topic and reading personal signals and early warning signs of trouble. The third step included the review of the last weeks skill practice questions on the first handout. Step four involved discussion of avoidance of high-risk situations and skills to refuse opiates if offered. The fifth step involved reviewing the skill practice for the next group and asking all members to keep developing and practicing their refusal skills. When I attended the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) group meeting I acknowledged that people experience problems while overcoming opiate addiction. This approach of treatment is good because it encourages meeting other people with similar problems helps them to realize that they are not alone (Mueser, Noordsy Drake, 2003).This models the experience of opiate addiction, resulting in social validation and acceptance of the members who attend. I realized that many people benefited from sponsorship (Mueser, Noordsy Drake, 2003). This is because new members in the group choose a mentor with some experience, from whom he or she could learn and receive individual support. Sponsors helped new members both within and outside the group meetings. In my view Narcotics Anonymous (NA) group meetings give members the chance to understand the treatment procedures and information that we obtain from books, libraries, internet and medical personnel. This is a big opportunity to confront, in a secure setting, all those detrimental opinion that we have cultivated for so long, and to generate new skills that overrun those delusions from the past. While attending the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) group meeting I noted that for people who were receiving professional care for their opiate addiction complications, self help groups are useful adjunct to their treatment (Mueser, Noordsy Drake, 2003). Self help groups promote diverse membership in that people from all walks of life attend these groups, so that a person can usually find someone with who to identify with. From the literature review it can be noted that self help and support groups play a fundamental role in the recovery of opiate addiction. The effectiveness of self help and support groups in the treatment and recovery of addicted individuals has been evaluated. It was found out that many people (35-65 percent) drop out in the first few months. Ghodse (2010) noted that those people who remain in the groups become active members. Ghodse (2010) commented that 65- 70 percent improve to some extent, taking opiates less than formerly or not at all (pg. 176). Treatment of opiate addicts is effective because during its administration it starts with a thorough assessment and detoxification if it is required. During the treatment period, patients participate in NA self help groups while in the primary stage of treatment and continue to do so when discharged to after care. Buy custom Opiate Addiction essay

Shinto and its relationship with China and Buddhism

Shinto and its relationship with China and Buddhism Buddhism and Shinto are religions which are largely practiced in the South East Asia and other countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Japan, China, South and North Korea among other countries within and outside the region. The origin of these two religions dates back to about 2,500 years (Ellwood and Pilgrim 4). The Buddhist religion and its practices such as meditation way of the religion have continued to spread across many parts of the world.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Shinto and its relationship with China and Buddhism specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Shinto practices have existed for several centuries and are common among the Buddhists. Shinto is a term used to describe a set of indigenous spirituality practices of the Japanese. The earliest records of the Shinto practices were made in the 8th century. These records are found in The Record of Ancient Things, 712 (Kojiki) as well as The Chronicles of Japan, 72 0 (Nihon Shoki). The practices are conducted to connect the Japanese people to their ancient past. Today, the term is generally used to refer to public shrines which are used for harvest festivals and war memorials among other religious practices. The word Shinto which means way of the gods (Sokyo 2) is derived from Chinese words shà ©n do. These two words are combined so that they produce â€Å"shin† and â€Å"tÃ… Ã¢â‚¬ . â€Å"Shin† means kami; which refers to innate supernatural force which includes deities, spirits, as well as, essences which occur in many forms and may exist in human-like or animistic form or in abstract natural forces (Ellwood and Pilgrim 7; and Sokyo 2). Kami can sometimes be associated with lightning, mountains, trees, wind among other natural forces. â€Å"tÃ… Ã¢â‚¬  in Chinese means a philosophical path or could also mean a philosophical study (Sokyo 2). Thus, Shinto generally means ways, beliefs and practices adopted by the Japanese p eople to worship kami. The origin of Shinto was influenced by the Japanese contacts with the Chinese religions. For example, the term itself is of Chinese origin. Besides, the codification of its mythology was done in such a way that it responds to the Chinese influence. Most mythology applied in Shinto practices were acquired from Chinese doctrines. As a result, both religions have had an influence on each other. Most people who practice Shinto rituals especially in Japan also profess Buddhism. In both faiths, one does not have to identify with a particular faith to be a believer. This means that many people who practice Shinto rituals are also Buddhists and vise versa. This includes the Chinese people who live in Japan and even those who live in China. Because of this, it is difficult to distinguish between Buddhist and Shinto beliefs regarding the world as both have greatly influenced Japanese religious culture. Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's s ee if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While Shinto beliefs emphasize what happens while one is still alive, which is finding happiness in life, Buddhism puts emphasis on life after death (Herbert 17). Thus, although the two religions have varied perspectives on the world, they have continued to co-exist. Accordingly, it is not unusual to find people who engage in Shinto practices in life being accorded Buddhist funeral. Japanese have had an affiliation with both Shinto and Buddhism religions. Shinto religion has its origin in China and Chinese religions; however, the two religions have been blended together in practice even though have distinct differences. As such, those who identify with the two religions have continued to engage in practices of the Buddhist and Shinto faiths either knowingly or unknowingly. Ellwood, Robert and Pilgrim, Richard. Japanese Religion, 1st edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 1985. Pr int. Herbert, Jean. Shinto: At the fountainhead of Japan. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1967. Print. Sokyo, Ono. Shinto: The Kami Way, 1st edition. Rutland, VT: Charles E Tuttle Co., 1962. Print.

NAFTA and Globalization essays

NAFTA and Globalization essays Globalization over the past twenty has become an issue in many countries. This industrialization of second and third world countries by Western Civilization creates many opportunities for the inhabitants. Not only does it expand trading markets, but also promotes productivity and efficiency; thus improving the country and integrating it into the industrial world. This process not only benefits third world counties, but also industrialized nations by allowing them to export goods to the developing world and increase their profit margin. East Asia and Latin America seem to benefit most from this. The East Asian economy has developed the fastest with an annual growth of nearly 8 percent (Stand 43 4). This has been achieved through maintaining economic stability and production output. However, western influence in some ways has harmed the culture within these countries, many of them now talk of returning to their roots through Asianization or Islaminization. Many of these people feel that western influence has stripped away values and hindered their cultural growth. With the rise of international industries such as McDonalds, Wal-Mart and K-mart western culture has invaded the world in an attempt to modernize these countries that could very well do with out. CEOs may think that they are helping by providing jobs and easy access to goods, but with this help there is also the price of destroying values and exploiting workers. They attempt to Americanize these people and enforce our values upon them. With the rise of industrialization, the question of free trade has arisen. Free trade is the elimination of taxes, tariffs and quotas over international borders. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), consisting of Mexico, the USA and Canada, creates the largest free-trading zone in the world (Stand 51 1). Does NAFTA help or harm an economy is one of the most poignant questions? The Mexican economy seems to...

The Fifteenth Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Fifteenth Amendment - Essay Example Before the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the United States Constitution, inequality ran rampant throughout America. Not only were African Americans treated unfairly and denied the same rights as white people, but the majority of them were also kept as slaves. Though African Americans were being oppressed, there were politicians, civilians, and even some slave owners that were against the unethical treatment of African Americans that came about simply due to the color of their skin. To people who supported slavery, they believed that unless you were white, you were considered less than a human being and, therefore, were not entitled to the rights of American citizens. This helped to prompt the American Civil War in 1861. While there were many factors that incited the American Civil War, such as economic and social differences between the North and the South and states versus federal rights, the war was primarily â€Å"instigated by the continuous debates over the rights and freedo ms of African Americans and slaves† (Richards 58). After the Louisiana Purchase and America began to expand, there was controversy as to whether or not the new states should allow slavery. Many of the southern states that approved of slavery forced their beliefs on these new states, arguing that since the other states allowed slavery, the new states should be made to follow the same laws. Furthermore, the more that the southern states pushed for legalized slavery, the more that the northern states opposed slavery not just in the new states, but in all states. The final straw was when Abraham Lincoln, â€Å"a man who was an outspoken proponent for abolishing slavery† (Fletcher 104), was elected as President of the United States in 1860. Toward the end of the American Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was passed. This amendment, approved of in 1864, completely abolished slavery. This may have seemed like a good start in fully liberating African Americans and those trapped in the yokes of slavery, but it posed new problems in the world of politics. It became the belief that if the African Americans and former slaves were not treated like proper citizens of America than they would rebel against their former owners and those that aided in and encouraged their oppression (Keyssar 118) . To prevent this from occurring, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868, which provided United States citizenship for African Americans and those slaves that had been freed. These aforementioned amendments, also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, were nothing less than peace offerings to the African American population. However, the Republicans realized that they could be even more appealing to the African Americans and former slaves if they offered them to opportunity to vote. As such, the Fifteenth Amendment, which would provide people who were not white the opportunity to vote, was proposed. The road to approving this amend ment was not an easy one, but the men who were in charge, the Radical Republicans who believed fully in the freedom and rights of all men, were not easily swayed by the opposition. Fortunately, they had more in favor for the Fifteenth Amendment than those who were against it. Aside from the Radical Repub

Capital Funding in School Districts Research Paper

Capital Funding in School Districts - Research Paper Example Replacing old buildings with new buildings, repairing old buildings, incorporating more facilities to the existing building etc are expensive acts. It is difficult for the school management or the authorities to find funds for the renovation or replacement of the school buildings from the tuition fees alone. According to a rough estimate done by the 2003 State Auditors Office report, statewide need is around $4.7 billion for the school building replacement or renovation (Colorado Department of Treasury, 2010). In short capital funding is necessary for the American schools to ensure the safety of the existing school buildings or to make new buildings. This paper briefly analyses various aspects of capital funding in schools. Capital funding or bonds in schools are the funds allocated to the schools by the government for the modernization of the school buildings according to locally agreed priorities established in the Schools Asset Management Plan. The government wants to raise the standards of education in schools and for that purpose, ample infrastructure facilities are necessary in the school compound. Capital funding is given to the individual schools by the authorities based on the requirements estimated by the school authorities and the local authorities. In UK, school capital funding is intended for the â€Å"standards focused projects which contribute to achieving government targets for educational improvement. Projects must have a minimum value of 500,000 of which 20% of the funding must be met from Local Authority/local sources† (Capital Funding for School Buildings, 2010) â€Å"It is important that school districts have the resources to help schools recover from unexpected natural damage. As a result of this capital funding, students in School District can focus their attention on the business of learning, and not the condition of their school†(Governor Quinn Highlights $4.3 Million in Capital Funds for New Belleville Elementary School). Transfer

Review of the movie The shape of things Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Review of the movie The shape of things - Essay Example Adam (Paul Rudd) is a nerdy, unimposing English Major who works part - time as a museum guard. The stage for the rather one - sided battle of the sexes is set when he meets Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), a sexy, edgy art student. The names Adam and Eve (Lyn) are a not so subtle reminder of the original sin that paved the way for a state of eternal hostility between the sexes and emphasizes the sometimes biblical nature of the film. Evelyn has come to strip away the pretense and false modesty which symbolizes a huge statue that has its privates hidden by a leaf out of respect for the delicate sensibility of the public. Her purpose is to spray - paint a penis on the offending leaf. Shy, uncertain Adam intervenes and she disarms him with her ready charm and gives him her phone number. She then proceeds to deface the statue as she had originally intended. This random incident sets in motion the events that will bring about a drastic and gut - wrenching change in Adam's hitherto placid, uneventfu l existence. Not much of a ladies man, Adam is flattered by Evelyn's attentions and he can hardly believe she is attracted to him; therefore he clings to her with a desperate need that is at once pathetic and touching. Soon he is putty in her hands, literally. Initially she is merely a controlling girlfriend and she badgers him into losing weight, getting a more becoming haircut, losing his glasses and wearing decent clothes. She even convinces him to alter his rather large nose with the help of surgical intervention! But soon her influence over him takes a sinister turn, as he is intoxicated by her smoldering sexuality and overpowering personality and becomes nothing more than clay in her hands to be molded as she sees fit. He comes completely under her sway as she rules over him with an iron fist gradually alienating him from his friends, Philip (Frederick Waller) and Jenny (Gretchen Mol). Adam's transformation ends with a startling twist, a shattering revelation in the climax of the film. Compelling though the film is it is marred by a number of flaws. The transition from the stage to the big screen calls for certain modifications, particularly with regard to the characters and settings that are lacking in this film. This is particularly evident in the characters, who come across as rather wooden, one - dimensional and theatrical. Weisz's twisted and frightening Evelyn is a callous, notorious schemer and her motives are transparent to the viewer from the onset. Furthermore she lacks the redeeming quality of likeability which would have served to flesh out and breathe life into her character, while taking away much of its annoying plasticity. The clever twist at the end of the plot would have had more of a sting and been more forceful if the audience had not already become inured to her brand of cold, calculating cruelty. At the beginning of the film Adam says to her, "You stepped over the line, Miss" and that is exactly what she does throughout the movie, once too of ten as it turns out. Adam's chronic naivet tends to be unconvincing at times. Rudd as Adam is alternatively endearing and exasperating. He is a little too gullible to be true. For instance he fails to exhibit even a token curiosity towards her art project, her background, friends, interests etc. However, the interesting thing about his character

Financial statements of a company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial statements of a company - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is Stewardship as the ethical responsibility of the managers to effectively and honestly manage the resources of the firm. Managers therefore are considered as stewards of the firm however, managers are also considered as self-interested individuals who can pursue their own objectives too. Such tendency of the managers therefore requires that the shareholders must use company financial statements to ensure that the managers are performing their stewardship duty. Through techniques such as financial ratio analysis, shareholders can actually look into the overall performance of the managers and decide whether such performance is actually according to the ability of managers. If assessed performance is considered as below-par it may be concluded that the managers may not be fulfilling their responsibility. Agency Theory outlines that there may be conflict of interest between the shareholders and managers of the firm. The basic objective of managers is to ensure that they act in a manner which always results into an increase in the value for shareholders. This therefore requires that the managers must actively pursue the objective of maximizing shareholders wealth. This objective however, may be jeopardized as the managers may take actions which only result into their own benefits and may not entirely result into creation of value for the shareholders. For example, managers may make decisions to increase their compensation or earnings regardless of the fact that such actions may damage the overall shareholder interest in short or long run. Such conflict of interest therefore outlines that the managers must have been kept on watch in order to ensure that their actions do not result into losses for shareholders. It is because of this reason that the theories of corporate governance have been forwarded to design a framework which can ensure that the managers must act in a certain manner. This is for ensuring that the overall interest s of the shareholders are protected while at the same time ensuring that the managers get substantial authority to pursue such objectives. (Cane, 2008) An opposite to Agency theory is the theory of stewardship which requires the shareholders to basically to assume the roles of managers. Through active participation of shareholders, it may be possible to have an effective check over the actions of managers. Managerial Stewardship Stewardship as a concept has some ethical considerations because it embodies the ethical responsibilities of the management to responsibly plan and manage the resources of the firm. From accounting and finance perspectives, managers therefore are considered as the custodians of the firm’s resources and it is their professional and ethical responsibility to ensure that they plan and manage resources in the best of the interest of the organization and hence its shareholders. It has been however, outlined that the overall research on understanding the st ewardship and the role of mangers have been limited. It is also because of this reason that the accounting standard setters face dearth of information which can further strengthen the stewardship ability of the managers. Stewardship theory therefore outlines that the managers are stewards rather than rational individuals having their own self

Find article themes, analyze, critique, synthesize and write a Essay

Find article themes, analyze, critique, synthesize and write a conclusion - Essay Example Another theme in the readings, developed through March and Olsen is institutionalism, which the authors define as a study of political entities and their relationships, through theoretical concepts and formulated hypotheses (2005). Institutionalization establishes constraints within which actors in an economic system (Ingram and Silverman, 2002). Closely related to these themes is the theme of susceptible governance whose remedy is an extensive network through â€Å"collaboration† and â€Å"performance management systems† (Imperial, 2004, p. 4). The theme is evident among practitioners as they seek to achieve better governance in an environment that experience forces from both public and private sectors. Significance of relationships between members of the networks through mutual benefit is another theme that the readings establish through Stephenson’s article (n.d.) and Milward support through his proposed guide to manager’s selection and application of c ollaborative networks (2006). Virtual networks through technology promote the networking (Alstyne 1997). The theme of economic governance is also significant in the readings and is developed through Mintzberg’s article (1996). ... The concept of market failure is a tool to government’s intervention in the economy but its validity and application is questioned. While the market failure concept initially guided government’s point of intervention to regulate the economy, its role diversified to determination of intervention strategies while little attention has been paid to the concept’s validity and empirical and theoretical background into the concept do not exist. Existence of discrepancies, contrary to expectations under mixed market in which forced interact to ensure efficient resource allocation, shows that the market failure concept has failed. Government’s efforts to use the concepts towards resource allocation and optimization of social benefits have also failed and this discredits validity of the concept as applied by the government. Regulations towards environmental conservation such as taxes to curtail excessive pollution have for instance failed to identify inadequacy of t he market failure concept (Vogel, 2009). Existence of externalities also challenges applicability of the market failure concept because it induces the need for a wider perspective to determining market failure (Tragakes, 2011). These challenges to the market failure concept therefore supports the proposal that the concept is ineffective and are consistent with Zerbe and McCurdy’s perspective that the government misuses the concept to justify its intervention in the economy. The theme of unreasonable use of the market failure concept is also evident in the readings and while it offers a basis for criticizing governance, it does not disqualify the need for government intervention in the economy. This position is informed because the society expects government intervention to ensure fair

Expanding business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Expanding business - Essay Example Vietnam has a varied climate. In the north, the average temperature is around 27Â ° C and 21 Â °C in the south. Generally, Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate with average humidity of 84% all year round. Vietnam falls in both tropical and temperate climatic zones that varies climate of Vietnam. On the northern part, Vietnam falls in the temperate climate zone and tropical climate on the Southern part. The north part of the country experience cool and dry weather from November to April and hot and rainy weather from May to October. From July to November, the coastal regions of Vietnam experience typhoons that can have the devastating impact. Randomly, there are also floods and droughts that take place that has an enormous impact on lives and agriculture (VBN Para 8). Vietnam’s natural resources are phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, and hydropower (VBN Para 3). Agricultural resources of Vietnam are Rice, Rubber, Coffee, Cashew nuts, Pepper, Tea, and Fruits and Vegetables. Major industries include coal, tin, chrome, power station, tobacco, tea and cunning factories, pharmaceutical, textile, food processing (VBN Para 4). Vietnam’s main trading partners are Japan, China, the USA, Singapore and Taiwan. The relations between Vietnam and the USA ended up by signing a bilateral trade agreement in December 2001 that increased export to the USA from Vietnam. This trade agreement made the USA the second largest trading partner of Vietnam and increased trade between the two countries by $15.4 billions in 2009. The major export of Vietnam is Crude oil and it is the major crude oil exporter in Asia. Its main countries of export include China, Singapore, Japan, Britain, and the USA (VBN Para 6). Textile and Garment: Vietnam is the world’s 16th biggest garment and textile exporter. It currently accounts for 2.5 % of the world’s total market share and the major importing countries are the USA, EU, and

Financial statements of a company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial statements of a company - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is Stewardship as the ethical responsibility of the managers to effectively and honestly manage the resources of the firm. Managers therefore are considered as stewards of the firm however, managers are also considered as self-interested individuals who can pursue their own objectives too. Such tendency of the managers therefore requires that the shareholders must use company financial statements to ensure that the managers are performing their stewardship duty. Through techniques such as financial ratio analysis, shareholders can actually look into the overall performance of the managers and decide whether such performance is actually according to the ability of managers. If assessed performance is considered as below-par it may be concluded that the managers may not be fulfilling their responsibility. Agency Theory outlines that there may be conflict of interest between the shareholders and managers of the firm. The basic objective of managers is to ensure that they act in a manner which always results into an increase in the value for shareholders. This therefore requires that the managers must actively pursue the objective of maximizing shareholders wealth. This objective however, may be jeopardized as the managers may take actions which only result into their own benefits and may not entirely result into creation of value for the shareholders. For example, managers may make decisions to increase their compensation or earnings regardless of the fact that such actions may damage the overall shareholder interest in short or long run. Such conflict of interest therefore outlines that the managers must have been kept on watch in order to ensure that their actions do not result into losses for shareholders. It is because of this reason that the theories of corporate governance have been forwarded to design a framework which can ensure that the managers must act in a certain manner. This is for ensuring that the overall interest s of the shareholders are protected while at the same time ensuring that the managers get substantial authority to pursue such objectives. (Cane, 2008) An opposite to Agency theory is the theory of stewardship which requires the shareholders to basically to assume the roles of managers. Through active participation of shareholders, it may be possible to have an effective check over the actions of managers. Managerial Stewardship Stewardship as a concept has some ethical considerations because it embodies the ethical responsibilities of the management to responsibly plan and manage the resources of the firm. From accounting and finance perspectives, managers therefore are considered as the custodians of the firm’s resources and it is their professional and ethical responsibility to ensure that they plan and manage resources in the best of the interest of the organization and hence its shareholders. It has been however, outlined that the overall research on understanding the st ewardship and the role of mangers have been limited. It is also because of this reason that the accounting standard setters face dearth of information which can further strengthen the stewardship ability of the managers. Stewardship theory therefore outlines that the managers are stewards rather than rational individuals having their own self

Expanding business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Expanding business - Essay Example Vietnam has a varied climate. In the north, the average temperature is around 27Â ° C and 21 Â °C in the south. Generally, Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate with average humidity of 84% all year round. Vietnam falls in both tropical and temperate climatic zones that varies climate of Vietnam. On the northern part, Vietnam falls in the temperate climate zone and tropical climate on the Southern part. The north part of the country experience cool and dry weather from November to April and hot and rainy weather from May to October. From July to November, the coastal regions of Vietnam experience typhoons that can have the devastating impact. Randomly, there are also floods and droughts that take place that has an enormous impact on lives and agriculture (VBN Para 8). Vietnam’s natural resources are phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, and hydropower (VBN Para 3). Agricultural resources of Vietnam are Rice, Rubber, Coffee, Cashew nuts, Pepper, Tea, and Fruits and Vegetables. Major industries include coal, tin, chrome, power station, tobacco, tea and cunning factories, pharmaceutical, textile, food processing (VBN Para 4). Vietnam’s main trading partners are Japan, China, the USA, Singapore and Taiwan. The relations between Vietnam and the USA ended up by signing a bilateral trade agreement in December 2001 that increased export to the USA from Vietnam. This trade agreement made the USA the second largest trading partner of Vietnam and increased trade between the two countries by $15.4 billions in 2009. The major export of Vietnam is Crude oil and it is the major crude oil exporter in Asia. Its main countries of export include China, Singapore, Japan, Britain, and the USA (VBN Para 6). Textile and Garment: Vietnam is the world’s 16th biggest garment and textile exporter. It currently accounts for 2.5 % of the world’s total market share and the major importing countries are the USA, EU, and

How to Vote in an Automated Election Essay Example for Free

How to Vote in an Automated Election Essay The Philippines is a developing country. One of the proofs of these developments is the transformation from manual to automated election. New and old voters might have a little information or even nothing at all about this high technology used for the elections. Hopefully, this guide on how to vote in an automated election will make the procedure less confusing for the voters. Synchronized National and Local Elections will be in May 13, 2013 as per RA 7166 Sec. 2 and RA 10153. STEP 1: Go to the designated precinct on May 13 The voter must first find his/her name on the PCVL (Posted Computerized Voters List) posted near the door to determine his/her precinct number and sequence number. The voter must bring a voter’s ID or any valid ID along with the registration stub. Identity of the voter must then be verified by the Bureau of Election Inspector (BEI). STEP 2: How to use the ballot Listen carefully to the instructions of the BEI Chairman on how to properly fill up the ballot. Secrecy folder and a marking pen will be given by the Comelec. Only one ballot will be provided per voter. See to it that the ballot is clean. The oval beside the name of the chosen candidate must be completely shaded. STEP 3: Feed the ballot to the PCOS PCOS stands for Precinct Count Optical Scan machine. The voter will be the one to feed the ballot to the machine. Wait for confirmation or until the ballot is dropped into the semi-transparent box of the machine. If rejected, ask for the assistance of the BEI. The voter should return the secrecy folder and marking pen to the assigned person in the precinct. STEP 4: Go to the BEI for indelible inking The voter will then proceed to the BEI for the putting of indelible ink at the base of the right forefinger nail, then affix thumb mark in the space in the Election Day Computerized Voters List (EDCVL). REFERENCES: Commission on Election http://www.comelec.gov.ph/ Dado, Lauren â€Å"How to Vote in an Automated Election.† Philippine Online Chronicles Esem05 â€Å"Manual Election or Automated Election.† StudyMode.com. 10 2012. 10 2012

Mamee Double Decker Went Global Marketing Essay

Mamee Double Decker Went Global Marketing Essay The purpose of this assignment is to analyze and study the marketing case in Malaysia, particularly, a Malaysian company must be chosen and our choice of company is Mamee Double Decker Berhad. Various aspect of study under the subject matter has been considered. This includes the target marketing mix considerations which is the product, pricing, promotion and distribution decision. Target market analysis is also included. In order to analyze the internal and external problem facing the company, we have done a SWOT analysis (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat)This is to highlight and raise several problem or issue facing the company locally or internationally. Market research on comsumer behavior and compettion have also been carried out through a survey questionnaires and the summary or report of the summary have also been done. Mamee Double Decker Went Global Background of the company The company chosen for this case analysis is Mamee Double-Decker Malaysia Berhad.. Mamee was founded in 1971 by Datuk Pan Ching Hin and headquartered in Malacca. Mamee Double Decker is Malaysia food processing, snack and diary product company. It mainly produces and sells instant noodles, snack, confectionery and beverages. Mamee Double Decker not only sells its product locally but had penetrated the international market as well. Today Mamee products are exported all around the world to more than 80 countries and area it serve includes Asia, Middle East, Africa, America, Europe and Oceania. Products produced by mamee are popular and well known to most households especially children. Marketing practice from Islamic perspective When mamee first came into existence its product are only mamee monster noodle snack and double decker snack.. Mamee later had gain recognition from several countries because of its distinct and unique feature of the snack that is square-ish noodle like and the adorable face of monster on its packaging while the double-decker snack , is a flavored snack with a choice of prawns chicken and cheese. The company then goes through a major diversification when it produces carbonated drink under the brand cheers. Mamee instant noodle later was produced. However different instant noodles are provided to cater different countries, For example mamee bihun, express noodles, and mi goreng are only available in Malaysia as it suits the mlaysian taste, while these products are not made for the overseas market. The company had produced mamee oriental noodles for outside market. Marketing Mix Consideration Decission made by the company regarding to the price, promotion and distribution are the marketing mix consideration in making a decision. . Product decision. Initially, mamee mainly focus in producing snacks, but it had diversify its product in producing beverages such as soft drinks, cultured drinks and recently the new products by mamee a juice under the brand Rio Fiesta a healthier options for drinks produced by mamee. All product produced by mamee comply to the standards required. The company had obtained Hazzard Analysis and Crtical Control Poiint (HACCP) certificate. This obtainment of this certificate means that mamee had adhered to food safety from raw material production, procurement and handling, manufacturing, distribution and the consumption of the finished product. From Islamic point of view, mamee had free from gharar or uncertainty by providing adequate products description and specification of all its product. This includes complete labeling and nutritios information, ingredient used and its expiry date. At the same time other products evolve in the market under mamee double decker are nutrigen, is acultured drink for children. Mister Potato was out of the market later after that, Now, Mister Potato had officially become the global snack partner with Manchester United. Latest product by Mamee double decker is corntoz, corntoz is a crunchy snack came with different flavours and shapes. The main concern under this food processing, beverages and diary product industry is about the whether the product are halal (permitted). Since this company mainly sell their products in Malaysia and in other Muslim countries, therefore mamee double decker product must be certified halal. As reported in Malaysia Halal Directory Mamee double decker had obtained the halal certificate for all of their products. Their products are free from additives made from animal sources that are forbidden in Islamic Law. Stabilizers, Emulsion and colouring used in their production process are deemed as halal. Promotional Activities Mamee Double Decker, like many other companies in this competitive environment are driven to adapt an aggressive promotional strategies in order to gain market share.Mamee Douible Decker had use various promotional tools including advertising and sales promotion to capture the market. As reported in The Star newspaper July 17 2002, Rm40 million was allocated solely for promotional activities in Malaysia. On the same year, mamee had made an aggressive advertising in Myanmar and china to create brand awareness to familiarize their products in these markets. Recently, mamee had become an official snack partner with Manchaster United. This joint-venture is important as it aims to boost its market share in Asia. One of the interesting activities that has been carried out through this partnership was The Ultimate Manchester United Experience contest. Lucky winners had been treated to a trip to Manchester united to meet their favourite football players. Mamee had also use Malaysia local celebrities, such as Mawi, Felix and Amalyea as ambassadors for mamee sllrpp products in Malaysia. In the recent festive season hari raya, Malaysia celebrity Shahizi sam was featured in mamee sllrrp advertistment and they had conduct a mamee kusayang contest. This shows that mamee double decker had made several aggressive promotion activities throughout the years. Its promotional activities adhere to the basic Islamic principle of business and mamee had ensure its product reach the target market in all around the world. Any promotional activities to stimulate the demand from consumers are permissible as long as it does not exaggerating or breaching the Islmaic principle. Activities like free samples, cash rebates, joint promotion and contest conducted by mamee are therefore deemd permissible. Pricing Decission Pricing of mamee product are reasonable and affordable for the interest of all.This pricing strategy enables it to capture the market share of various market segments. For example in Malaysia, mamee monster snack only cost 30cents and mamee Double decker snack cost only RM2.50. Mamee had made no price discrimination for all of its product. The company Charge same price for same good irrespective of different markets. Therefor mamee pricing strategy is considered fair(Adil) and just. Distribution The distribution channels of mamee food and beverages in Malaysia consist of three stages (producer,retailer,consumer). Mamee which is the producer will sell its products in bulks to retailers (Giants, Tesco,etc) , and eventually retailers will sell it to the consumers. In international level, the distribution are being done through appointed subsidiaries. Mamee has favourable acess to distribution networks in Malaysia. Mamee Double Decker has 13 distribution centres and have about 150 vans for deliveries to about 1000 point of sales. Mamee Double Decker currently has five manufacturing facilities in Malaysia and one in Myanmar. Mamee double decker have centralized marketing and distribution system while mamee have assigned an export manager in each manufacturing subsidiary. . There are three companies under Mamee Double Decker responsible in producing each of their respective lines and products for example snack food and chilled products (KMM), instant noodles (PP) and beverages (MDDB). Target Market Analysis Target Market Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad is good in quality and unique brand which targeted to all group of people according to the product offered. As the company began with a single product and consistently grown to 50 products, targeted people become more. The product that already household names, for example, Mamee Monster, Mamee Instant and slurp, and Mamee snacks, are targeted to people whose age is from 6 to 30 years old. In addition, students also being targeted because most of the time they need snacks and drinks while studying to get away the stress especially female students. They always need something to chew and eat during study time or after lecture. The second group of people that Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad will target is people with healthy lifestyle. This is in line with the recent product addition that is Nutrigen Cultured Milk Drink. Geographically, the company will focus on every area that has grocery shop, petrol station or shopping complex. Moreover, people from lower income to higher income will be targeted as well because of the reasonable price and within their budget. From the family structure perspective, a mother with atleast 5 childrens, usually will buy more groceries and household products. Children love to have snacks like Potato Chips, Potato Crisps and Cheer Beverage because the products are very convenient and it comes with different taste based on their preferences. Furthermore, the company targeted people who like to spend their spare time with picnic and party. It is very clear that the size of the companys target market is very large and high. Everyone may be used and consume the product offered because it comes with varieties of food, snacks, beverages, instant noodles and to name a few. SWOT analysis Strength One of the strength pose by Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad is as reported in recent mamee double decker (M) Berhad annual report, the company had experienced 57.3% growth of profit before tax from 9.6 million. Mamee Double Decker(M) Berhad strength also lies in its ability to expand their business network by penetrating into new exports market. This is proved to be true as mamee experienced a growth of 6.2% in 2002 in its effort to venture to new exports market. The second strength of mamee is it has a good reputation among customers, since has become part of the choice made by household largely in Malaysia, mamee so far had not fail to impress its consumers all over the world by providing a tip-top service from the process of production to distribution, we can see that mamee products reach consumer easily as it is easily available in store from a small grocery store to large super markets. The third strength of mamee double decker is we can say that it has a quite strong brand name as according to their annual report, mamee had won several awards locally and internationally. The two local awards that mamee has honoured to receive are first, the chief minister awards for Promising local Company Awards in recognition of Mamee Double Decker Berhad (M) to local industries and the second award is by Malaysian Manufacturer packaging Council of Malaysia, given to one of Mamee Double Decker (M) Berhad product, that is Nutrigen Liteyo. Internationally, mamee had also been rewarded internationally recognized ISO 9002 togethe riwth China Awards Certificates. Weakness This includes the internal and external problem of Mamee Double Decker (M) berhad. The external problem pose by this company is as reported in the star newspapers 2007, mamee has not yet succeed in gaining a market share in China as there is a negative growth in Mamee double decker operation in China particularly,Mamee Double-Decker Food(Suzhou)Co. Ltd, demand for Mamee in China is low, thus generating low sales and revenue and consequently the company had incurred higher loss. however the company did not loose hope and have confidence in its China operation and Mmaee had appointed a consultant to resolve this issue. The second external problem face by Mamee is high dependency of raw material from Europe as such when there is a rise in Euro against USD the mamee double-decker earnings is affected since some of mamee products ingredients such as Mister potatao crips are imported from Europe, ,thus when the price of raw material increases, this gives pressure to its profit margin. In order to overcome this problem, mamee needs to do more reaseach and development to reduce its dependency from outside. One internal problem in mamee double decker lies in its small number of manufacturing facilities, considering that mamee products are marketed all over the world, with only five manufacturing facilities , limited production can be made per day. If mamee want to extend its product line, it will be restricted as there is a limited space for production. Oppurtunity Since now consumer are becoming more health conscious, one opportunity for mamee double decker is to come up with a product that is more healthy as it will give customer a more options for healthy good food. Mamee double decker plans to obtain health food supplier in an effort to expands its product line.Mamee had identified several suppliers and the company plans to negotiates with this suppliers in providing health supplies of food Threat As customer becoming more educated and conscious about the food they consume, consumer tend to compare prices and quality of products with other brands. Currently in market there are various brands and product they offered similar to Mamee double decker. Thus, the threat of mamee double decker is the competitors in market like for example, Munchys, nestle, unilever foods. Mamee do not only pose an internal threat, external threat in terms of competitors in china is also obvious. Mamee face a greater threat and especially in Shanghai, this is due to the complexity of market in China in addition to variety of snack food products produced by them. IN Shanghai, mamee had to face competitors that have a greater market share like. REPORT ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR FOR MAMEE DOUBLE-DECKER In order to evaluate the consumers preferences on Mamee Double-Decker products, a survey has been conducted within a population of 100 respondents and 30 out 100 were taken as a sample to this research. There were 17 male and 15 female involved in this sample. A set of 22 questions were asked during the survey session which majority of the respondents came from different background and the survey were conducted online. Before the surveys were taken in place, a short description of the company was given so that the respondents somehow know what they would be expecting during the session. Questions were separated into three parts started with the personal background information then likert scale questions which evaluate their decision making in making purchases and the last part of the questionnaire cover their own given answer accordingly. Result follow suits right after the research conducted was done. Majority of the respondents were Malays which covers 91percent of the total sample taken. This is explained by the major ethnic in Malaysia is Malay followed by Chinese with 6percent and others 3percent. As for income level, most of the respondents categorized as middle class earners because their income level is range between RM1001 to RM3000 with 47percent are in this group while the remaining 44percent belongs to lower income earner like students and jobless teenagers. Within this sample, most of the respondents are in their bachelor degree staying in urban area and living single life which eventually led them to such consumption with the ration of 63:84:97 for all categories. 84percent of these respondents also admit that they enjoyed eating snack food and beverages with a typical consumption of 1 to 2 packs a day. Why this happening is because during the earlier age like teenagers in university, they are prone to having a quick and light food as on the go. This somehow explained the viability of the result. When it comes to factors to decision making questions, the result was significantly expected. Almost all the respondents agreed that they are very cautious in choosing their favourite snack foods and beverages because this factor has to do with their taste buds. While pricing became the second factor that influenced the decision making; 35percent agreed that price do play a vital role in their purchasing power. Morever, 55percent of the respondents were also somewhat agreed that Mamee Double-Decker do became their preferred brand and offer wide range of products under one roof with their given competitive pricing on the products compared to other brands. So most likely consumers can easily make decision in making purchases and less confusion. Unfortunately, Mamee Double-Decker wasnt still at the par in offering good taste for their products because only 47percent out of the total respondents were somewhat agree with the companys taste performance but the remaining disagree with it. However, 41percent of the respondents agreed that Mamee products are reachable in the market which eases them in making purchases. Majority of the respondents bought Mister Potatoes and Mamee Monster snack which are two of the most popular snack foods from Mamee Double-Decker and they usually bought it at convenience stores like 7-eleven and hypermarkets like Tesco. As for substitution for Mamee brand, they usually go for Jack n Jill brand and Nestle which are two of the top snack foods and beverages producers in the world. Thus this is threat for Mamee Double-Decker because of the stiff competition from these giant producers. Mamee Double-Decker should improve their products taste and perhaps packaging in order to stay competitive in the market despite having cheaper price strategy. In a nutshell, Mamee Double-Decker is a proud home-grown snack foods and beverages producer that went global. However, Mamee Double-Decker cannot be relied truly on domestic markets with their currents products either domestic market or international market, instead they should keep doing product development program in order to come out with new line of foods and beverages that suits the preference of the consumers worldwide. REPORT ON COMPETITION FOR MAMEE DOUBLE-DECKER A survey has been conducted in order to evaluate the competition for Mamee Double-Decker products. Mamee-Double Decker (M) Bhd, which has made a name for itself with its snacks and confectionery products. A survey with a population of 50 was targeted and a sample of 30 was chosen for this research. Respondent consiste of 16 males and 14 females.The survey was a close ended survey requiring customers to answer a multiple chouce question with a 5 asnwer options. A set of 15 questions have been asked regarding their brand preferences. Mamee Double Decker have various competitors on market for example, Munchys, Nestle, Unilver Food. Under this company they too had offered various consumer or food products for example, maggi, a brand for instant noodle.Mamee to had rival branding for their beverages particularly cultured drink, for example, nutrigen cultured drink are competing against other various brands like yakult, vitagen and solivite. In a brief summary, 40% of respondents are quite loyal and repeat buyer for mamee products while 60% of them are somewhat in a middle as they also have other preferences and branding in buying consumer goods products. Based on the survey conducted, consumer prefers brand yakult and vitagen more compared to nutrigen which come from Mamee products. This is believe due to the reason that yakult are better in terms of quality as they contain probiotics . On the other hand their champions products like Mamee Monster, Mamee Noodles, Mister Potato, Double Decker and Nicolet Swiss Herb Candy are more preferred by consumers. In a survey, 65% od consumers prefer more of these products because of it tastes and the prices are affordable as compared to other products such as Pringles, Indo Mee, Maggi and etc. However, the remaining percentage of 35% do prefer other snacks brands like Pringles,Lays, Doritos as they may have perceive this brand are better in quality and tastier compared to mamee products. .