Friday, November 29, 2019

Adrienne Richs Rape Essays - Rape, NYPD Blue, Laws Regarding Rape

Adrienne Rich's "Rape" Have you ever been in a situation where you had something horrible happen in your life that you needed to do something about, but in order to do something about it, you had to confront the problem and that caused you pain and more troubles? I believe that to be the underlying conflict in Adrienne Rich's "Rape". The main character who the speaker is talking to first is a woman who has been sexually violated. She is a victim of a heinous and very private, embarrassing crime. The officer that she has reported her situation to is a policeman who patrols her area and who her family knows and trust. Her family is very close to this officer, for "he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers.(2)" She doesn't know him that well though, which makes her telling him about the incident that much more painful and uncomfortable. She gives him all the details of the crime and about her assailant. She has the idea that the cop may have been her rapist. The woman has a certain bit of suspicion about the officer, but she is not sure. "Rape" is a poem about a woman who is reporting a case of rape to a policeman who may just be the criminal responsible for the offense himself. The violated woman isn't convinced that the policeman is the rapist, but the speaker defiantly suspects him. The rape victim knows very little about the criminal in question, so the speaker tells the reader about the incident, the evidence, and about enough facts to let them come up with there own suspect. The first statement made by the speaker is "There is a cop who is both prowler and father.(1)" When he says "prowler" the reader automatically considers the officer to be a suspect, even before any background is given on him. This is a very important line in the poem. It expresses that the policeman is both a prowler and a father figure. He is suppose to be an ally against crime and problems on his beat. The role of a policeman is to protect the innocent from criminals and evils. But who protects you when officers of the law are corrupt and are involved in unlawful actions? There is also another line in this paragraph that the reader could interpret to be incriminating. The speaker says the "You hardly know him in his boots and silver badge, on horseback, one hand touching his gun.(4-5)" Since she doesn't know him that well anyway, maybe instead of seeing him as an officer of the law, she sees him as her assailant. The middle few stanza get a little more confusing. The second stanza tells of how intimidating and powerful the policeman is. The third stanza is where the woman takes her problems and concerns to the officer. The forth stanza is quite intriguing. It starts off with a description the cop's eyes, a very soothing image. Its the last verse of this stanza that takes a turn of suspicion against the officer. The thought of the "the hysteria in your voice pleases him best(20)" makes the reader believe that he is the rapist, a person who would enjoy such a thing. The last stanza contains some good closing thoughts. It is also interesting because it sounds like the speaker changes who he is addressing. This is obvious in the first line of this stanza when the speaker says "He has access to the machinery that could get you put away.(26)" The woman wouldn't get put away, for she hasn't done anything wrong. The speaker is now talking to the rapist. The speaker later talks about what the rapist says as being "like a portrait of your confessor.(29)" In these latter moments of this poem, maybe the woman is unsure of who violated her. "Rape", by Adrienne Rich, is a poem about a woman who was violated. At first the reader suspects the policeman as her rapist, then it seems like she suspects someone else. After writing this paper, I come up with another possible theory. I believe that no one she knows is her rapist, she just sees all males as possible rapist and feels scared and threatened by them.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Lars and the real girl

Lars and the real girl Introduction Though the genre of the movie Lars and the real girl released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 2007 can be defined as comedy-drama, the plot of the picture is based on real life psychological concepts. But for the enormously sympathetic attitude of the inhabitants of the town towards Lars and his delusions, the plot of the film seems plausible.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Lars and the real girl specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Even though it produces comic effect upon the audience, the non-pharmacological intervention strategy implemented for treating delusional disorder in Lars, the main character of the film, is effective and corresponds to the results of the real life empirical research. Film concepts The development of the events in Lars and the real girl is based upon the delusional disorder of the main character Lars Lindstrom. Living in a garage and having difficulties with communicating wit h his relatives, co-workers and especially representatives of the opposite sex, Lars orders a lifelike doll Bianca from the online store and persists that she is a real girl (Lars and the real girl). It is significant that Lars actually has difficulties even in communicating with his doll as he refuses any kind of intimacy with her, making Bianca sleep in a separate room. Lars’ delusions were so strong that even at the end of the film he announces that Bianca dies instead of obtaining a more sensible view of the surrounding reality. On the one hand, Dagmar as the family doctor chooses the most appropriate intervention strategy for treating the main character by establishing confidential relationships with him. On the other hand, the community creates favorable conditions for Lars’ recovery by treating Bianca as a real person and even involving the doll into volunteer programs and employing her as a model in a clothing store. The sympathy of the inhabitants of the town is touching as they even attend Bianca’s funeral (Lars and the real girl). The community’s attitude and feelings of Margo, Lars’ co-worker who is interested in Lars disregarding his obvious disorder, are the only details of the plot of the film which lack feasibility. As a rule, the individuals with delusional disorders are not met with open arms by the community. The sympathetic attitude of the inhabitants of the town not only creates plenty of comic situations, but also contributes to the atmosphere which was favorable for enhancing the effectiveness of Lars’ treatment.Advertising Looking for research paper on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lars’ case of delusional disorder with analysis of its main causes, symptoms and intervention strategies are central to the movie Lars and the real girl. Combining plausible data on psychological disorder and the enormously sym pathetic attitude of the community to Lars’ delusions, the author achieves the comic and dramatic affects at the same time. History of the concept of delusional disorder The concepts of paranoia and delusional disorders have been evolved over time and underwent a number of changes through continuing research and practical application of the findings. The term ‘paranoia’ was coined by ancient Greek and was combined of two stems which can be translated as ‘besides’ and ‘self’ or ‘mind’ (Grover et al, 2006, p. 62). This term was used for defining the conditions in which primarily cognition but not perception was disturbed. Kraepelin is known for making a significant contribution to the definition of the concept and distinguishing paranoia from other disorders. According to Kraepelin theories, the only behavioral changes in patients with delusional disorder were associated with their delusional beliefs, while the personality cou ld be preserved even if the illnesses lasted for several decades (Grover et al, 2006, p. 62). Kruger (1917) as one of Kraepelin’s followers claimed that the system of delusions does not go beyond the realms of possibility and can be logically assumed. Bleuler (1920) broadened the definition of the concept, discussing the occurrence of hallucinations and emphasizing the appearance of paranoid symptoms in other conditions (Grover et al, 2006, p. 62). In 1987, however, this condition was renamed as delusional disorder due, while the term ‘paranoia’ was recognized as vague and inappropriately applied (Manschreck and Kahn 2006). In general, as it can be seen from the above mentioned historical overview, the cases of delusional disorders have been known since ancient times. Disregarding the chosen terminology and theoretical framework, the definition of this illness is based upon the disturbance of the patient’s cognition while perception and the rest of persona l characteristics are preserved undisturbed. This definition is applicable to Lars’ case depicted in the movie under consideration, taking into account that the main character seems to be relatively normal but for the perception of the doll as a real girl.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Lars and the real girl specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Definition and classifications of delusional disorder Currently, the concept of delusional disorder is defined as the condition â€Å"characterized by the presence of one or more nonbizarre delusions and the relative absence of associated psychopathology† (O’Conor et al, 2007, p. 183). Depending upon the content of the delusions and the corresponding patients’ behavior, the delusions are subdivided into several main types. The first type which is defined as persecutory comprises individuals who believe that they are malevolently treated. The second type is called somatic and includes patients who believe that they have a certain physical disorder. The third type of delusional disorder is defined as erotomanic and is associated with belief in love at a distance. The patients with the third type may persist that they are in relationship with celebrities. The fourth type is jealous and is associated with belief in an unfaithful partner. The fifth type is called a grandiose one and is associated with belief in enormous power or knowledge (O’Conor et al, 2007, p. 184). Implementing the above-mentioned classification for Lars’ case, it can be stated that the main character of the movie under consideration can be diagnosed as a peculiar modification of erotomanic type. As opposed to the primary definition, there is no distance between Lars and Bianca as the object of his dreams, but he intentionally creates it by refusing any kind of intimacy and making the doll live in a separate room. It might seem that the do ll is intended to solve Lars’ problems with communication and isolation, but experiencing difficulties even with Bianca, the main character demonstrates the level of his communicative problems and the strength of his belief that Bianca is a real girl. Main causes and symptoms of delusional disorder The main theories meant to explain the causes of delusional disorder can be subdivided into three main groups, including those of cognitive, psychophysiological and psychodynamic theories on occurrence, development, maintenance and content of delusional beliefs. Cognitive theories as the first subgroup explain the occurrence of delusions with cognitive deficit, inability to draw logical conclusions from the available information and the distorted thinking. The second subgroup focuses on abnormal perceptual experiences following the normal cognitive processes, explaining the occurrence of delusions with anomalous psychophysiological mechanisms involved into the perceptual process an d responsible for interpreting the information retrieved from the surrounding world.Advertising Looking for research paper on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The third subgroup of psychodynamic theories places special emphasis upon motivational factors. It should be noted that all these theories are rather complementary than mutually exclusive. Malancharuvil (2004) noted that â€Å"a combination of factors could influence the formation and maintenance of delusions† (p. 163). Apart from theoretical research concerning the origin and explanation of delusional disorder in general, when treating a certain patient, practitioners have to answer two main questions concerning the roots of disorder in every particular case and the reasons for the formation of the peculiar type of delusions in every single patient. Proper diagnosis and a comprehensive understanding of the underlying causes of the symptoms would allow selecting the most appropriate and effective intervention strategies. In the course of time, the formation of delusions in patients has been explained with genetic predisposition, cultural and personal experience. Regarding the genetic predispositions, reviewing the results of the latest studies of the issue, it is possible to find the evidence supporting the contradicting hypotheses on the role of genetics in the occurrence of delusions in individuals. For example, according to the results of the study by Morimoto et al (2002), â€Å"polymorphism of the DRD2, DRD3 and/or TH gene was part of the genetic basis underlying the hyperdopaminergic state that produced paranoid symptoms† (Grover et al, 2006, p. 69). On the other hand, the findings of Cardno and McGuffin (2006) prove that there is no sufficient evidence for proving the links between the genetic predispositions and formation of delusional disorders and further research along with wider samples are required for establishing these relationships. Regarding Lars’ case, it is hard to define whether the disorder of the main character has got the genetic roots. However, taking into account the subnormal behavior of his father who blames Lars in his mother’s death and turns the lives of his sons to hell, it can be hypothesized that Lars’ father also had certain disorder which just was not diagnosed and investigated. Concerning the cultural background, empirical studies have proven that this factor does not have any significant impact upon the formation and maintenance of delusions. Grover et al (2007) noted that â€Å"the sociodemographic profile of delusional disorder is consistent across various cultures† (p. 462). Regarding the remaining factor of personal background, Maher (2005) noted that â€Å"The patient presents his particular delusion with content that is drawn from his past history or present circumstances because that is the kind of explanatory material available to him† (p. 141). Taking into account the results of the above-mentioned studies, it can be stated that the personal experience can be regarded as the most influential factor in development of delusional disorder in parti cular individuals. Taking into account the existing theories on the causes and content of delusions, it can be concluded that the unhealthy family atmosphere is the main cause of Lars’ delusions. His mother died during his birth and it preconditioned his fear of not only having children, but also having relationships with the opposite sex at all. Thus, though Lars’ genetic predisposition cannot be taken into consideration, his personal background has become the major cause of his delusional disorder. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment The existing treatment strategies are divided into pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions which are both applied by modern psychotherapists. The pharmacological approach which has been regarded is ineffective previously, has become popular among contemporary doctors and theoreticians. For instance, as it was cited in Grover et al (2006), Srinivasan et al (1994) found â€Å"good response to antipsychotic trea tment using trifluperazine, haloperidol, chlorpromazine, and electroconvulsive therapy† (p. 70). As opposed to the past belief that delusional disorder cannot be treated through pharmacological interventions, the results of the recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this method. Manschreck and Khan (2006) concluded that â€Å"delusional disorder should not be considered a treatment-resistant condition; medication can be effective if the patient adheres to the treatment regimen† (p. 118). Disregarding the available evidence on the effectiveness of pharmacological interventions, Dagmar as the family doctor decides on non-pharmacological treatment which appears to be sufficient for treating Lars. Recognizing the peculiarities of the patient’s condition, the doctor in a movie not only does not reassure the patient in his delusions, but also supports his ideas and even offers the treatment for the doll, playing according to the rules of the patient†™s game. Though this approach may seem extraordinary and even comic to certain extent, this treatment corresponds to the results of the recent research. Taking into account the fact, that most patients with delusional disorder do not recognize their illness and refuse any treatment, it can be stated that supporting Lars in his delusions was the best way out for avoiding his confrontation. O’Connor et al (2007) noted that â€Å"It seems crucial to initially adopt an accommodating and non-confrontational approach† (p. 187). This goal is successfully achieved by Dagmar who is supported by altruistic inhabitants of the town. Emphasizing the effectiveness of non-pharmacological approach, Malancharuvil (2004) noted that â€Å"Instead of considering the delusional thought as a thought problem, it should be examined as an affective problem that is intellectually defended† (p. 167). The small detail that Lars always carries a baby blanket with him proves that the chara cter looks for protection and tries to hide from the surrounding. Detailing the treatment strategies, Malancharuvil (2004) defined the main stages of working through delusional thinking, namely establishing therapeutic alliance with the patient, modifying defensiveness, connecting to core experience, restructuring and consolidation. All these stages were passed by Dagmar in treating Lars, though some of them were completed in a rather untraditional way by involving the community into the process of treatment. On the one hand, the fact of Lars’ recovery may seem doubtful, because he returns to reality by announcing that Bianca dies. Still, the facts that the patient gets rid of his delusions and has a love affair with his co-worker, a real girl prove that Dagmar’s treatment is effective. The community’s attitude to Lars’ delusions and his love affair with Margo can be regarded as an important component of the intervention strategy which was significant for Lars’ recovery. Conclusion In general, it can be concluded that disregarding the peculiarities of the genre of drama-comedy, the plot of the movie Lars and the real girl has sufficient theoretical basis on treating the patients with delusional disorder and can be regarded as plausible. Dagmar’s non-pharmacological approach in establishing the non-confrontational relationship with the patient, defining the causes of the delusions and restructuring them may produce a comic effect, but were effective for modifying Lars’ defensiveness and returning him to reality. Reference List Aubrey, S., Cameron, J., Kimmel, S. (Producers) and Gillespie, C. (Director). (2007). Lars and the real girl [Motion picture]. United States: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Cardno, A. and McGuffin, M. (2006). Genetics and delusional disorder. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 24: 257-276. Grover S, Gupta N, Kumar S. (2006). Delusional disorders: An overview. Journal of German Psychology, 9: 62-73. Gro ver, S., Biswas, P., and Avasthi, A. (2007). Delusional disorder: Study from North India. Psychiatry and Neurosciences, 61: 462-470. Maher, B. (2005). Delusional thinking and cognitive disorder. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 40 (3): 136-146. Malancharuvil, J. (2004). Delusional thinking: A thought or affective disorder? A paradigm for working through delusional thinking in Psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 58 (2): 162-173. Manschreck, T. and Khan, N. (2006). Recent advances in the treatment of delusional disorder. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 51(2): 114-119. O’Connor, K., Stip, E., Pelissier, M., Aardema, F. (2007). Treating delusional disorder: A comparison of cognitive-behavioral therapy and attention placebo control. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 52(3): 182-196.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Classroom Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Classroom Management - Essay Example As earlier mentioned, a learning centre usually has plenty of hands-on materials that provide the learners with opportunities to actively participate in learning. The students are therefore expected to be courteous, respectful and considerate for the equipment at the learning centre and handle them with care so that they can fully benefit from them. In the computer station, the K-8 students are also expected to show respect for school property, in this case, the computers. They should avoid inappropriate behavior such as scratching or writing on the computers and mishandling them because they are very delicate and they need to benefit from them fully. The students are also expected to be on time for the learning activities taking place at the computer stations and come prepared for the activities. This will entail bringing all the necessary classroom materials with them. These include paper, pencil or books. B. 1. Out-of-class activities are described as those activities that take pl ace outside the traditional classroom but within an educational context. The two out-of-class activities that have been chosen for this assignment are playground time or recess and field trips or assemblies. Playground time or recess is part of school activities that K-8 students are involved in during their day in school. Field trips are necessary so as to expose students to the abstract things that they have been learning in class. Assemblies on the other hand are inevitable in any school situation because there are many people who need to address their common goals. B. 2. During playground time or recess, it is expected that K-8 students conduct themselves in an orderly, respectable and responsible... This essay approves that a learning centre is defined as an area in a classroom which has a variety of meaningful activities and hands-on materials that provide the learners with opportunities to actively participate in their own learning. A computer station in a classroom may be defined as an area within the classroom that is outfitted with computer equipment and furnishings for the students to be able to make use of the computer when learning. These two centres are usually equipped with materials that are meant to enhance and promote teaching and learning activities. Evaluation is concerned with the assessment of something’s worth or significance using preset standards. In this context, evaluation entails all the necessary steps taken to determine whether all the students have understood the behavior expectations in and out of class. There are several methods that can be used to determine the level of students understanding of their own behavior and consequences. This report makes a conclusion that another method of evaluation is the use of student conferences whereby the students are involved in the process of goal setting and evaluation. In such conferences, the students are made to contribute in setting the behaviors that are expected of them and they later evaluate how they behaved during the lessons so as to see whether they met the behavioral expectations or not. They therefore have the opportunity to understand what is expected of them and know how to behave during activities in and out of class.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Smoking Cigarettes is Good for Your Health - Article Analysis Essay

Smoking Cigarettes is Good for Your Health - Article Analysis - Essay Example From the article, it is evident that the writer believes the only way to realize communication and draw the attention of readers is through taking this risk. Readers like reading stories that are the opposite of expectations. Although writers take the risk to explore a topic not previously done, they eventually bring new and viable ideas into the book. In writing to win a large number of readers, safety in writing is a risk that many writers overlook. Scholars have considered safety as a component with less weight in the art of writing (Tepper). Many people know that smoking is dangerous to one’s health to appoint that the cigarettes contain a warning of being harmful. However, the author brings a different idea to book, where he several advantages of smoking unlike what other writers do. In this case, it is risky for the author to choose such a sensitive topic and argue of benefits of smoking knowing very well that security agents are opposed to the idea. This means that the writer can be questioned by authorities hence risky to him. The idea that cigarettes are beneficial to humankind raises eyebrows and hence can rise the contest on the subject. Partiality in writing is most likely to increase the controversy and hence risks in writing. In whatever subject matter, the writer must argue on both sides. This means that the advantages and disadvantages must be well presented in the article. The author of the article analyses several disadvantages of smoking despite the fact that they are for the idea that smoking is health to one’s life. In an argumentative writing, the author must present both sides and show the strengths of each without been bias on one side., this means that the author should not take a side on whatever argument and should just make suggestions remaining partial at the end of the writing. Although the author tried to make a justification that smoking is healthy, disadvantaged of smoking are keenly presented in the article showin g the impartiality of the author. The difference in the presentation of ideas is from the diverse differences in both written and oral languages. With the growth of technology witnesses in the last past decades, language has moved from verbal to written. Every cultural setting has its norms regarding language and manner of presentations. As such, there is a classification of languages from standard, regional and local languages. Writers majorly concentrate with standard language. In the article, there is a proper use of standard language that is easily understood. Standard language goes hand in hand with the controversial topic (Ferraro). From this, the readers expect more of the article as they would when reading a normal scholarly article. To ensure that the author convinces the readers, facts and opinions are given and required evidence provided.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Creativity in music and children learning in 3-5 years Annotated Bibliography

Creativity in music and children learning in 3-5 years - Annotated Bibliography Example Creativity in music helps children build their confidence. Children learn to be independent by taking the initiative of forming their own songs. This could be with the help of their parents or their teachers. Examples of these songs are songs on responsibility. The songs help children face the world by making them know their talents count.Creativity in music helps enhance the quality of a child’s life. This is by enabling the child express his or her ideas and experiences by the use of music. Examples of these songs are songs on trust. These songs help guard a child around strangers. A child will remember the message in the song and know what to do when a stranger talks to him or her.Creativity in music allows a child to express his or her feelings through music. When children are given a chance to be creative, they can openly say what they feel or think confidently. Examples of these songs are the ones on compassion. These songs teach them how to behave and how to handle them selves around grownups and around their friends. This book explains that nurturing a child’s talent at an early age is important. Children can use their musical talents to earn a living when they grow up. At these stages, children are usually curious and they are always looking for answers. This stage is not of serious study and exposing a child to critical theory, makes him or her loose the desire to learn. When asking a child, what he or she learnt in school, it is possible that the child will not have a clue of a hint.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Lucozade SWOT and PEST Analysis

Lucozade SWOT and PEST Analysis Introduction: Lucozade is a recognised brand name known for its energy and sports drinks. The brand is an important product in the portfolio of GlaxoSmithKline PLCs (GSK), a global pharmaceutical company with sales of  £24 billion in 2015 (GSK, 2015, P.1). Lucozade was launched in 1927 as a medicinal syrup, until 1985 (Ward, 2009) when it was marketed as a mainstream drink, differentiating Lucozade as a perfect product to aid customers in their physical activity (Schuna, 2015). Since its launch, the Lucozade formula has been developed into many different forms from gels to edible tablets illustrating the versatility and strength of this brand and developing the brands portfolio. Lucozade has been around since the early 1920s and over the last 90 years has become one of the leading brands in the energy drinks market, however there are other strong energy drinks competitors in the market such as Gatorade by Pepsi and Powerade by Coca-Cola launched in 1965 and 2001 respectively (Zuccaro, 2015). Although these drinks came onto the market at later dates, the companies backing them are giant companies and global brands with a lot of financial strengths including large profits for re-investment, supplier bargaining power, large economies of scale and technological access, all of which allow them to pose a real threat to Lucozade. More recently, there are numerous other companies that have also taken out supplement brands including SIS and Clif that are aimed at smaller, niche markets to capture the lucrative opportunity of the energy market (Hanrahan, 2009). This report will critically examine Lucozades micro environment strengths and weaknesses and the macro envir onment which are the opportunities and threats. A PEST analysis is done as Porters five forces analysis. 1.2 SWOT Analysis: A SWOT analysis is a marketing tool that allows for managers to assess the companys strengths, weakness, opportunity and threats. Albert Humphrey claims it is a strategic planning technique that organisations can implement for their products and services when deciding on the best way to achieve future growth (Fair, 2005, pp.7-8). Strengths: One of the major strengths of Lucozade is that it is a well-known, established sports energy drink within Britain. It is also one of the leaders in the energy drinks market, and has a presence in numerous other international markets as well, including USA where it has sponsored many sports events (Wenner Jackson, 2009, pp.3-16). Another strength of Lucozade is its branding, Consumer brand knowledge can be defined in terms of the personal meaning about a brand stored in consumer memory, that is, all descriptive and evaluative brand-related information. (Keller, 2003, P.370-371) Lucozade has a very famous and strong brand with high level acceptance among energy drinks consumers acceptance since 1920s. The company is well- recognised for their innovation and consistent development and testing on their products to help consumers with their energy and performance. Lucozade has tried over the years to differentiate itself from other brands as a reliable company in the energy and sports drink market, which resulted in customers acknowledging it as a strong brand. The brand tries to reciprocate this by creating and continuing special relationships with their clients which leads to long term loyalty, making the brand much stronger. Social factors seem to be more in favour with individuals undertaking more physical exercise for health reasons (Cunningham, 2010). The ultimate goal for the brand Lucozade is to create an actionable audience which is done by developing an online community which can help Lucozade expand their business and sell more products to regain their number one position in the energy drinks market. Lucozade have collaborated with Spotify to allow them to widen their target market to promote and sell their products. According to Crimson Hexagons study in 2013, 15% of Lucozade consumers use it as a cold and hangover remedy. This is a valuable insight for Lucozade as it is trusted to help customers function with their daily lives after drinking too much and being ill. If customers are consuming Lucozade as a cold remedy, then there is a potential for marketing to target new customers through promoting this message in their advertising campaigns, maybe through using some real testimonials. Over the years Lucozade has expanded their range of flavours, currently offering 12. In 1996 they introduced the orange flavour which become the most popular and has increased revenue to  £75 million. They also innovated to create Lucozade energy, which has the same amount of caffeine as a cup of tea (Ward, 2009) targeting the customers that need a short term caffeine boost, without overriding negative effects. David Taylor (2004, p1) thinks expanding products is the cheapest and the least risky strategy compared to making a new brand (differentiating) and can increase the sales of the companys products. Lucozades effective forward planning in its product development was evident when the company introduced Lucozade Zero in 2016 after UK imposed a sugar tax on soft drinks. This product has proven popular as the sales increased by 58%, capturing the market that are looking for sugar-free energy drinks. (Lucozade Ribena Suntory, 2016) Weaknesses: Lack of awareness of a brand can cause issues that customers will not recognise the company in the future and move to their competitors.   (Nicholls, 1989, p. 31) The main weakness of Lucozade is the fact that there is not enough advertising in print media and television, especially in the USA comparing to Powerade and Gatorade, (Jarvie,2012). If Lucozade wants to continue grow internationally it needs to invest in marketing efforts to increase the awareness of the brand globally. This will prove useful if the market becomes saturated in the UK, and will help Lucozade become a globally established brand on par with its large competitors. Lucozade has 0.1% of ethyl (alcohol) which has ruined the image of Lucozade among certain groups of people who consume it as it is an energy drink not an alcoholic drink (BBC, 2004). In order to overcome this, Lucozade should look to develop an ethyl-free version to ensure that customers are not put-off the benefits of drinking Lucozade. Although this will require further capital to be invested in lab work and development of the formula, in the long term if it captures the market it can be a worthwhile investment into product development. Another weakness can be seen through the fact that the company has a relatively low number of followers for their Twitter and Facebook accounts of just over 58,000 and 600,000 respectively. Having a low presence on social media can be worrying in this day and age, as other top companies have moved to advertise themselves on social media since the number of Facebook users has reached two billion and Twitter has four hundred million users (Statista, 2016). Although expanding the product range can be advantageous, it can be a disaster for some companies as Aaker claims (2004, p211-214) products expansion can weaken the existing product which means the new items sale is increasing while the older products are outdated and have less demand for the original product. This cannibalising impact on sales of original products can end their life cycles and can reduce customer loyalty if new products are constantly added to the range. Opportunities: In USA people tend to attend sports events and there are various sports activities that people get involved in, therefore, many people consume energy drinks to gain strength, and boost their energy (Shilbury, Westerbeek, and Quick, 2014, p. 7). Lucozade has the opportunity to expand its market and can take advantage of this growing market to show the brands strength by offering its different varieties of energy drinks. Lucozade can use their established brand name as a strength to capture the opportunities available in the US market through the marketing budget offered by their parent company GSK (GlaxoSmithKline A. Report, 2010, p.6-11) which should be able to offer a large advertising budget and produce effective promotional campaigns to establish a strong presence in USA. There is an increased awareness of the economic potential of sport which results in an increase in activity levels around the world. China, an emerging country has a large portion of the younger generation which make it ideal expansion opportunity for Lucozade.   The Chinese market are apt users of social media, which if Lucozade can tap into, could prove to be a valuable opportunity. Hanrahan (2009) states that due to technological advancements being high in contemporary time, Lucozade has the opportunity to access the technologies with ease, following on from effective market research and investment into their social media platforms. If Lucozade want to pursue Ansoffs market penetration growth strategy instead of market development, UK is still presenting them with good opportunities. According to research performed by Mintel Group (2016), in the last three months of 2015 showed that one in four Britons have used sports nutrition products, which means 42% of men aged between 16 and 24 have used sports nutrition spending  £66 million. Lucozade should take this into account by increasing their products and marketing approach to target the consumers to use their drinks by introducing healthy ingredients. Their marketing message need to incorporate the idea that the drinks can be used as medicine to keep hydrated as it helps to replace electrolytes (Lucozade Ribena Suntory, 2016). Their message can focus on urging consumers to drink more energy drinks instead of alcohol, by increasing the awareness of the dangers of alcohol on their body, to avoid liver damage, hangover- free and the dangers of drinking and driving . Thus there is a potential for Lucozade to enter new markets like bars and night clubs, especially after introducing Lucozade zero which has no calorie and comes in different social flavours. Another opportunity for Lucozade is to capture the caffeine beverage market and become a substitute for drinkers of tea and coffee. As mentioned above, a 380 ml bottle of Lucozade has the same amount of caffeine, so it can be a replacement for tea and coffee, while Lucozade can advertise themselves as a better replacement because of the nutrition that the drink has in it. The price of Lucozade is too expensive based on survey made by Mintel group (2016), this is important as pricing strategies are internal decisions that Lucozade can control. Decreasing the price can help the company to attract more customers, but this has to be done in way that explains to people that the effectiveness of the drink has not changed, but the price has dropped down. This could compromise their profit margins, but can be a benefit in the long term if demand for their products increase. Threats: Lucozade faces fierce competition from three major energy drinks companies which are Powerade, Gatorade and Red bull. These energy drinks products mainly rely on young male customers, that have come to rely on these drinks. If the energy drinks market is seen as targeting just the younger male market segment, it could potentially put off the older lucrative market from purchasing these products. Lucozade can address this problem through their marketing campaigns. The fear of recession is one of the main threats that all companies are scared of as it affects all types of businesses. According to economists the UK economy is yet to recover from the 2008 financial crisis and yet the economy is further set for uncertainty following the 2016 Brexit decision. Uncertainty reduces customers purchasing confidence and inflation is set to increase over the upcoming years. This will reduce customers disposable income which could lead to the sales of energy drinks to decrease. Since Lucozade has been late on to the social media promoting platform, it may be too late for it to capture the opportunities its competitors have established through their large marketing budgets.. PEST Analysis: A PEST analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment that affects all firms. P.E.S.T. is an acronym for the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors usually are beyond the firms control and sometimes present themselves as threats.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   (NetMBA, 2002) Since it is an analysis of the external environment, thus it is broader forces affecting all organisations in a market (Chaffey et al., 2008, p. 49). These aspects need to be examined in order to analyse Lucozades environmental market situation. Political environment: National and international rules and regulation have an impact on how companies run. To apply that the EU has forced Lucozade to warn families that their product may contain artificial colouring and additives which are linked to behavioural issues in children which can cause hyperactivity. Lucozade has labelled this warning on their packaging to avoid the legal issues than can ruin their image. (Hickman, 2010) The UK has imposed tax on sugar in soft/energy drinks which is set to come into effect in 2018, this was the reason why Lucozade introduced Lucozade Zero in March 2016, it is a sugar-free and calorie-free version that will avoid this tax and attract a new market segment. However, the old products will still get taxed, which can cause the price to increase, reducing the demand for the products depending on its price elasticity (Matthews, 2016). The main political criticism of Lucozade is that it contains an unhealthy amount of sugar and caffeine. This has caused trouble to one of its main competitor Redbull, which led to it getting banned in Norway and Denmark. Lucozade has addressed this by introducing healthier versions in to their product portfolio. Lucozade has suffered some legal issues, one of which was the banning their 2014 TV advert. Lucozades multimillion advertisement which presented Real Madrid and Wales player Gareth Bale was banned from the EU after claiming hydrates is better than water: Lucozade Sport gives you the electrolytes and carbohydrates you need, hydrating you, fuelling you better than water, according to the advertisement. (BBC, 2014) The wording of their claim was criticised, and ruled that it was an unclear message to the audience. This financial loss was significant, making customers question the validity of their claims. There are other political factors that can affect Lucozade such as the obesity law in the UK which the government blames on the inclusion of additives, artificial colouring and sugar, all these can cause problems for some of Lucozades products. Climate protection laws and controlling the amount of water that Lucozade can use, according to environment agency (2016, p.14) Lucozades sustainable policy the company is regulating their usage of water to reduce wastage. They claim to be investing in pumps and other machinery to enhance their production process and have committed to increase their CSR activity to enhance the impact they make on the community. Although Lucozades target market is aged between 16 and 24, there are some children under 16 who have been buying energy drinks from supermarkets. Gavin Partington, director general at the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) says the energy drinks companies are failing to protect young people and they have been drawn into energy drinks. Thus there are many debates to set age-restriction on energy drinks too as they might affect the behaviour of children (Qvist, 2016). Economic environment: Lucozade is affected by a set of factors that are out of the companys control. Those factors include tax rates policies like imposing tax on sugar in energy drinks. Many of Lucozade energy drinks have a high amount of sugar this will, have a negative impact on the company. Another impact is the economic growth of countries where Lucozade is being sold, as the increase of the GDP can lead to the increase of employment and increase of the income and expenditure of people, this helps businesses to produce more products, services and better standards. According to Focus economics (2016) the British economy is going well although it stopped growing well in the third quarter, based on this prediction Lucozade can take the advantage by increasing its products and focusing on what people would rather have. After leaving the European Union, Britain will be more open to the worlds investment as it will be free from EUs restrictions. This is an opportunity for Lucozade to open to more to the coming investors from all around the world. (Bourne, 2016). Also exchange rate has an impact on businesses, the exchange rate means the price of one pound can buy foreign currency, therefore it has an effect on importing and exporting products.   Since the pound dropped after leaving the European Union in 2016, the prices of the imported products have gone up. However, Lucozade suppliers are mainly in the United Kingdom, this can be good for exporting, as the price of the products that get exported has decreased. Thus price of Lucozade has dropped for those who buy it from the UK, thus more products of Lucozade will be required from abroad, this can help to penetrate the market. (campaign Magazine, 2016). Sociocultural environment: Sociocultural examines the progress and improvement in a whole society, the effect of the populations structure and demographic, attitudes, life style, people tastes and demand, and the problem that the society face privately and publicly (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006, p. 850). Lucozade is influenced by the socio-cultural environment, as most of its consumers are male aged 16-24 and the life style of those men is heavily influenced by the media according to Mintel group (2016) research. This research showed that people tend to look after their body more due to the effect of media which shows healthy, toned bodies of celebrities which has made society become more conscious about the way they look and has led to nutritional and fitness trends. Lucozade did not ignore the fact that peoples life styles have changed and the new trends that have emerged. The company believes that Lucozades largest strength will be to use celebrity endorsements to exploit these opportunities mentioned above and make it an even stronger brand. Lucozades brand endorsers include sports personalities such as Gareth Bale and Ashley Young, who have participated in campaigns. The IBF Heavyweight World Champion boxer, Anthony Joshua is their most recent celebrity endorser, promoting the b rand to the keen, fitness market (Celebrity Group, 2016), showing Lucozades response to the trends. According to Ferrel et al (2016, p220) Lucozade is taking advantage of using the current trends and lifestyle which has targeted those who are enthusiastic about sports and fitness. This has helped to split the market into different groups and found more about what the different groups needs. Latest study from Mintel group (2016) shows that men are more interested in taking up sport activities than women. Also 72% of men aged between 16 24 and 54% aged 29 45 consume energy drinks, which shows that energy drinks are more popular among young men, in attempt to attract female market Lucozade launched an advert in 2014 the iconic figure of a female at a party and keeps on moving drinks Lucozade to gain more energy WHAT? Were they trying to attract the female market? (Argyle Green, 2014). Lucozade introduced Lucozade zero which is calorie free (Lucozade, 2016) aimed at people that tend to have a healthy lifestyle especially women according to Rodrick (2016). Besides that, diabetes and obesity have become common in the world, as USA has the highest level of obesity in the world, thus energy drinks companies have focused on making a strategic decision to make drinks that are suitable for overweight people (Winograd, 2014). The population of people aged between 10-25 is increasing according to the latest statistics (Statistics, 2016), which presents an opportunity for Lucozade, however, China has a large portion of young people which is ideal for Lucozade to expand in if it wants to pursue a market development growth strategy. Technological environment: Due to technological advancements being high in contemporary time, Lucozade has the opportunity to access the technologies with ease, following on from effective market research and investment into their social media platforms (Hnarhan, 2009). Technology has helped Lucozade to improve the design of the new caps. According to the social media director of Lucozade Ireland, the latest caps are designed so consumers can have an easier drinking experience, it allows them to get just the right amount of liquid from the bottle and is easier to drink without having to pause. It is designed to work better during sport (Healy, 2015). Innovations such as these will give Lucozade a USP improving their brand loyalty. Technology has an impact on advertising products, especially since the number of social media users is increasing. According to Lee Odden (2008) CEO of TopRank Marketing, social media should dictate strategy as well as tactics used for reaching the desired goals, instead of implying it as a tactic du jour. This shows that social media should be incorporated in Lucozades long term media activity and used for short term advertising purposes such as their partnership with Spotify. In 2015 Lucozade launched their biggest ever marketing drive for the Lucozade Energy product, primarily advertising on TV, radio and various digital advertising media, with limited focus on the social media outlets. This weakness is illustrated through the relatively low number of followers for their Twitter and Facebook accounts of just over 58,000 and 600,000 respectively. Although there are numerous social media applications that Lucozade use to promote their products, Spotify, seems to work in harmony with Lucozade to not only bring more awareness to the numerous products but to promote the products as well.   As previously mentioned even though most brands use Facebook to endorse their products, Lucozade have used Spotify to give them more of a stronger start to promote and sell their products. For this collaboration both companies were promoting one another, for example, Spotify offered users the opportunity to win Lucozade merchandise when they selected their favourite song from the website (Smith and Mae, 2011). Porters five forces: Competitive Strategy offered a rich framework for understanding the underlying forces of competition in industries, captured in the five forces. The framework reveals the important differences among industries, how industries evolve, and helps companies find a unique position. (Porter, 2008, p.xi). According to Porter the five forces are new entry, threat of substitution, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and rivalry. (Porter, 2008, p.6) Lucozade has a strong distribution network since GSK has expanded their range of products to cater for consumers with specific needs. Compared to other competitors, Lucozade has a dedicated website which delivers a strong online presence with plenty of engaging content intended to their target group including videos, colourful content and social media details. However, there are other strong energy drinks competitors in the market such as Redbull, Gatorade by Pepsi and Powerade by Coca-Cola. New Entrants: New entrants are the new competitors who enter the market and have the desire to gain market share, and often significant resources. As the energy drinks market is growing there is a possibility to see new competitors trying to enter this market, however, consumers tend to choose the healthier products. To reduce the threat of increased competition from new market players that are attracted through the potential of high profits, Lucozade should try to increase barriers to entry into the market. A method of doing this is by a high production-profitability, gained through economies of scale, such as purchasing and marketing. Through achieving cheaper unit costs and highly differentiated products which Lucozade has been developing through creating a variety of flavours catering for the needs of the different market, barriers to entry can be raised. Threat of substitution: Big firms may also face a stiff competition from substitute products, this happens when the product range is targeted on different customers or services (Porter, 2008, p.137). Although Lucozade is the leading energy drink, it still has to take into account the alternatives competing for this energy drink, before Lucozade introduced-zero, however, Powerade-zero and Gatorade-Zero had been introduced, those two companies are the main competitors to Lucozade.   Lucozade should take into consideration the groups of consumers and what their needs are and try to compete and stay ahead of competition instead of following them. Bargaining power of buyers: buyers play the competitors against each other by demanding high level quality of products or services at low prices (Porter, 2008, p.24). However, the consumer of this market are not sensitive to prices, those who are targeted are those who exercise and need to be hydrated. The level of buyers power is different, as it relies on the suppliers channel such as Sainsburys and Morisons that have a huge number of consumers. A problem facing Lucozade is the brand loyalty customers have to their competition. These customers are difficult to poach no matter how aggressive Lucozades marketing campaign is. Lucozade could try and buy out the smaller competitors if they want their brand to be promoted. By doing this they would also take over their competitors market shares, thus increasing their own, leading to increased profitability (Keegan and Green, 2014). Thus, Lucozade has to get the campaign execution absolutely right to avoid disgruntled customers. Bargaining Power of suppliers: the suppliers can control the buyers purchases by raising the price, reducing the quantity and especially, those who supply unique materials. This can cause loss or decreasing in profitability. (Porter, 2008, P.27). According to environment agency (2016, p.14), Lucozade owns some land to supply them with ground water, so the supplier power is low on Lucozade in this respect. However in regards to being able to purchase raw materials and packaging materials, if Lucozade buy their supplies from one main supplier then they are vulnerable to price increases which the supplier can choose. If they are buying from several suppliers, they may be missing out on opportunities to benefit from purchasing economies of scale. Rivalry: it refers to when there is another company or group who offer the same products and compete on a similar price, quality and advertisement basis as your company. (Porter, 2008, P.138) Lucozade has strong competitors which are PowerAde by Coca-Cola and Gatorade by Pepsi. These products have well known parent companies that have large budgets and industry expertise. Lucozade is less popular, as there is a lack of awareness and knowledge about it in the USA compared to Gatorade and Powerade. However, Lucozade can use their established brand name as a strength to capture the opportunities available in the US market through the marketing budget offered by their parent company GSK (GlaxoSmithKline A. Report, 2010, p.6-11) which should be able to match their advertising budget and produce effective promotional campaigns to establish a strong presence in US. Lucozade are also facing competition from companies that are bringing out energy supplement products which have a strong positi on within specific regions and groups. However, these companies are small and are susceptible to be taken over, which Lucozade may want to consider if they begin to pose a serious threat. Conclusion: To conclude, Lucozade is a market leader in the energy and sports drinks market. It is well established in the domestic market and has a strong brand developed over the last 90 years. It has many strengths including the companys large product portfolio and its innovative use of technology to enhance its products. The weaknesses highlighted in the report suggest that Lucozade need to enhance their marketing campaigns to increase their social media campaigns and be more careful with the claims they make in their advertisements, these are also presented as their opportunities. Further opportunities include developing products to attract the female market segment as the male one may soon be saturated and to develop in to emerging economies (China and India) that have a potential large young market. Lucozade are susceptible to a lot of economic changes in the economy, which they need to monitor and respond through effective forecasting and planning as these will also be problematic for th eir competitors. Lucozade are in a good position but cannot afford to become complacent in this highly competitive environment and have a lot of strategies they can explore to maintain their strong brand image.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Jane Austen :: essays research papers

She puts to rest her pots and pans and takes a new stand. She is conniving and explicit in her manipulative ways. She cares deeply for her beloved children. She fears not being headstrong and liberal-minded, and she truly believes that her epiphanies are gospel truth to her own life. Most important of all, she takes action, is heroic in her boldness to fix the wrong, and does not hesitate to look back on what she leaves behind. In his nineteenth century plays, Henrik Ibsen portrays Norwegian women sharing and contrasting many, and more, of these strong qualities. Like a vigorous and professional artist, Ibsen paints vivid female characters in his skillfully tragic plays, creating diversity among them. In three of his plays alone, A Doll’s House, An Enemy of the People, and Hedda Gabler, women are shown to play various roles under different circumstances in nineteenth century Norway. In these plays, the women’s characteristics range from being maternal and conservative, to being radically liberal and nonconforming.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, the protagonist is in fact, a woman, named Nora. At the onset of the play, Nora is shown to be like the traditional mother, simply making preparations for Christmas events. She is portrayed as a strikingly beautiful and almost perfect wife who is affectionate, kind, and always obedient to her husband saying things such as, â€Å"I should not think of going against your wishes.† However, this surface is only a mere cover to what really lies in the heart of Nora. It becomes evident that Nora is not completely complacent with her life. Gradually it becomes evident that she takes pleasures in other things that she does not have. For example, she longs for an affluent lifestyle and indulges in material things because she is more youthfully extravagant than she is maternal. In the play, she even admits herself that she desires grand opulence, saying, â€Å"†¦I used to sit here and imagine that a rich old gentle man had fallen in love with me†¦[and] that he died; and that his will contained†¦ ‘The lovely Mrs. Nora Helmer is to have all I possess paid over to her at once in cash.’† To fantasize about such a greedy thing shows that Nora prefers being a single and wealthy woman in society. Not only was Nora hungry for money, but she was hungry for simple respect. In all the years she was married to Helmer, no one ever took Nora seriously or accredited her with anything.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Is418 Lab8

IS 418 LAB 8 1. Explain the following command: rpm –qf/bin/ls -RPM command is used for installing, uninstalling, upgrading, querying, listing, and checking RPM packages on your Linux system. 2. Discuss the purpose of a software repository as it relates to YUM. -The yum system does not require any routine maintenance. It is useful to disable or remove repository definitions that are no longer required, as each repository that is defined and enabled is checked for every operation. You may also wish to periodically remove files relating to unwanted packages, in order to save disk space 3.How can one ensure a download tar ball is legitimate and hasn’t been tampered with? -Run a checksum test 4. List and explain at least 3 switches available with the tar command that can be useful in extracting and installing a tarball -ark 5. List and explain at least 3 switches associated with the rpm command that can be leveraged to verify, list and install rpm packages? tar zxvf makefile . tar. gz cd make file ./install/ 6. What security countermeasure can you enable to verify the integrity of download application or tar balls before you perform the installation? -used Ark to extract the tar ball . Explain what hashing is and how does this differ from encryption? -Hashing is just line of code and it not encrypted 8. If you wanted to know which package a certain program belonged to, what command would you run? -tar xvzf PACKAGENAME. tar. gz 9. Once you have downloaded an RPM package, what command would you run if you want to extract the files to a directory of your choice -tar xzvf file. tar. gz 10. Where would you find checksum hashes for all install program in a Fedora Core Linux Server? -Verification code called a hash computed from the original ISO files.

Friday, November 8, 2019

102 Analyzing a Text and Pathos Professor Ramos Blog

102 Analyzing a Text and Pathos Quick Write Quick Write Tips for Finding a Text Start with a question. What do you care about? What matters to you? Find a text you can see multiple times. Pick a scene from a movie. A short film, text, ad, song, video, or commercial. Something related to what you are interested in that you can look at several times. Ask yourself, How does this help others? Will analyzing this text connect to a broader or more important topic? 4 Ways to Persuade with Emotion (Pathos) Four Strategies Concrete Examples Connotative Diction Metaphors and Similes Tone Appeals to pathos target the link between audience members and their values. When we act on our values, we experience emotions like happiness, pride, satisfaction, etc. When we do not, we often feel shame, fear, or anger. The same goes for the actions of people around us: we are often pleased when the actions of people around us align with our values and angry when they don’t. Types of emotional appeals: appeal to pity appeal to fear appeal to self-interest Sexual bandwagon humor celebrity testimonials identity prejudice lifestyle stereotypes patriotic Rhetorical Analysis We are going to analyze a text together. Take notes on what you notice. Start with the Text See first, then look. What do you see? What stands out? What is happening? For this assignment you will pick a text, define, describe, and analyze the rhetorical context and/or argument the text is making. All texts have an author or authors and are created with a purpose. A rhetorical analysis helps us to understand the purpose it was created for and what it is saying or arguing. Consider the ethos, pathos, and logos of the text. What appeals are being used in the text you are analyzing? Ethos – appeals to character. Pathos – emotional appeals. Logos – appeals to reason and evidence. What to look at for  a Rhetorical Analysis Consider the topic. Consider the audiences of the text. Consider the author. Consider the medium and design. Examine the language. Consider the occasion. Be specific when referring to your text. Have the text in front of you if you can. Then you can reference specifics and avoid generalizations. A  Checklist for Analyzing Images (Especially Advertisements) on page 145  of our textbook is very thorough and helpful for analyzing visual images. Pages  181-182  have checklists that are helpful for doing the work of  analyzing arguments. Use these as guidelines to begin your analysis. Page  191-192 has a checklist for writing your analysis of an argument. Very helpful for the early stages of drafting. Sample Rhetorical Analyses Segregation and Unequal Representation Demonization What the Truck The Logic of Suicide Call Me, Beep Me, If Ya Wanna Reach  Me. In the Arms of an  Angel ‘Imagine’ World Peace. I Wonder If You Can Research for a Rhetorical Analysis The assignment asks you to research scholarly sources to add to your analysis. If your text is dealing with a major issue, you will want to find some scholarly research to help define, back up, and analyze the text. For example. If your text deals with gender issues, search for gender AND media. Or gender AND ads. Or sexism and media. What else can you look up? Find keywords related to the broader topic and bring in research to use in your analysis. Homework Rough Draft of Rhetorical Analysis Begin researching for your rhetorical analysis Journal Response 4 DUE Read Chapter 7, Using Sources

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Overview of London Ambulance System (Las) Disaster, 1992 Essay Example

Overview of London Ambulance System (Las) Disaster, 1992 Essay Example Overview of London Ambulance System (Las) Disaster, 1992 Essay Overview of London Ambulance System (Las) Disaster, 1992 Essay The London Ambulance Service (LAS) is world’s largest free ambulance service covering an area of more than 600 square miles with a population of 7 million people. On any given day, LAS transported more than 5,000 patients and handled more than 2,000 telephone calls. LAS employed over 2,700 people, including an operational staff of roughly 2,000 people. (Cited http://bobpinchbeck. com/College/Work/Papers/DispatchingFailure. htm) In the mid-1980s, the LAS emergency despatch system was run completely manually. The details of a call, such as the location and type of incident, were noted on paper and sent to a central collection point where duplicate incidents will be eliminated. Call details were then given to an allocator who selected which vehicle and crew to send. The details were next passed to a dispatcher who contacted the ambulance driver by radio or phone. Problems arise when paper details are lost, they were not able to track incident and there are difficulties in tracing how the original call had been dealt with. In order to improve the quality of the service, they introduced a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system in 1992. It was developed by two companies, Apricot Computers, a UK based hardware manufacturer, and System Options, a small UK software developer. CAD is a method of dispatching services assisted by computer. The idea of the CAD system is that people from the dispatch centre are able to view and understand the status of all the units being dispatched and provides tools and mechanisms for monitoring the dispatcher so calls can be handled more efficiently. The system consists of several modules that provide services at multiple levels in a dispatch centre and in the field of public safety. These services include the following; Call input, dispatching, status maintenance Handling incident details and locations Field unit status and tracking Call resolution and disposition It also include interfaces that permits the software to provide services to dispatchers, call takers and field personnel with respect to control and use of analogue radio and telephony equipment. (Cited www. erichmusick. com/writings/06/las_failure. html) The London Ambulance Service decided to put their new CAD system in to operation on October 26th, 1992. After a few hours into operation it became observable to the ambulance crews and control room staff that there is something wrong with the new system. The crisis was a high event in the UK news during that time, which claimed a number of patients have died as a result of the system. The following problems occurred within the CAD system when it was first in operation: Patient’s emergency calls that were accepted appeared to be getting lost in the system caused an increasing number of call duplications. Rise in number of calls led to the callers being held by the call-queuing system for up to 30 minutes before they were dealt with. At some point earlier calls were overwritten by newer emergency calls coming into the system, leaving a large number of unanswered calls which caused a number of exception messages. The ambulance allocation system failed to recognize certain roads. Staffs had to revert to using a map and telephone to deal with ambulance dispatches, which ultimately led to more delays. There was a communication failure between the ambulances and the system. Ambulance either arrived late, did not arrive at all or arrive two at the same time. (Cited www. comp. lancs. ac. uk/computing/resources/IanS/SE7/CaseStudies/LondonAmbulance/LASFailure. pdf)

Monday, November 4, 2019

How Can Social Media Sites Be Used To Improve Knowledge Sharing, Build Essay

How Can Social Media Sites Be Used To Improve Knowledge Sharing, Build Social Capital, Support Innovation, And Aid Problem Solving In Multinational Corporations - Essay Example The use of Twitter for professional enhancement is well established now. The educational philosophy of constructivism offers a strong rationale for greater social media integration within the organization. These days, just as the sweep and reach of social media has increased, so have the niche media spaces that facilitate the interaction. Hence, beyond the prominent household names of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, we now have other specialized avenues for interaction like wiki portals and Youtube repositories of learning videos. In today’s competitive business environment, it is imperative for mutli-national companies to adopt social media strategies for external and internal communication. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc can be useful allies for managers in promoting knowledge sharing and team building. If applied selectively and appropriately, these media facilities can be sources of innovation and problem solving within the business corporation. T he term ‘social media’ is a bit misleading and off-putting for managers, as it sounds as an avenue for recreation and time-pass. But when one understands the full scope of possible activities that could be carried out through these sites its utility for managers becomes clear. Another positive aspect of social media sites is their malleability/customizability to specific organizational purposes and goals. Beyond the prominent sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, there are a host of more specialized sites for sharing pictures or bookmarks or applications have cropped up. There are also niche professional blogs and wikis which are seeing steady increase in patronage. (Zielinski, 2012) The objective of this essay is to argue in affirmation of the positive role of social media to improve knowledge sharing, build social capital, support innovation and aid problem solving in multinational corporations. Social media as a tool for innovation and research: A key area where social media sites differ from conventional sites is the content. The former generate their own content, â€Å"collaboratively creating, editing, sharing, tagging, and organizing information, reshaping the contributions of others and engaging in peer-to-peer discussion. These are emergent technologies, meaning that structure and content and even application emerge with use, from the needs and activities of the users.† ("The Revolution Will Be," 2011) And it is in this feature of dynamic and contemporaneous content that best suits knowledge sharing exercises. This feature is as well suited to the organizational task of building social capital. Management thinker James Surowiecki has argued in his book, The Wisdom of Crowds, that by tapping the power of social media and in creating goal-specific discussion forums etc, substantial social capital can be built. In forums such as these, people from diverse backgrounds and opinions can bring to table â€Å"shrewd judgments and cre ative solutions†. The management can play a constructive role in this process by setting up apt mechanisms to collect and assimilate feedbacks, inputs and opinions. Surowiecki’s concept is closely aligned with that of ‘crowd-sourcing’, which is an emerging model of employee participation in the creative processes of business development. And social media outlets have been the backbone of prominent examples of crowd-sourcing. ("The Revolution Will Be," 2011) For a company to excel in innovation, it must allow employees a convenient and

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Is Educating Rita a comedy of gender or social class Essay

Is Educating Rita a comedy of gender or social class - Essay Example The education she would receive there, she believes, would liberate and enlighten her; by way of which she hopes to move away from the social strata of her birth. Professor Frank Bryant, on the other hand, is a middle-aged alcoholic, who has no interest what so ever in his professorship. Instead he openly displays his melancholy and acts indifferent to the requirements of his work. So when these two characters from disparate social and economic backgrounds cross paths, new and interesting developments take place in both their lives. While comedy is used by the director as a suitable narrative implement, the recurrent theme is one based on class. In Educating Rita, â€Å"Ritas desire for self-discovery places her in conflict with her class background. She is, thus, a kind of female version of the 1950s scholarship boy whose involvement in education and middle-class culture inevitably takes her away from her social origins. In this respect, the film follows the older school of working- class films in placing particular emphasis upon cultural rather than economic divisions. Unlike many of the working-class films that follow it, there is little evidence of unemployment or poverty. What Rita (who is herself employed) aspires to escape is not so much economic hardship as cultural deprivation† (Kramp & Humphreys, 1993). It is true of Educating Rita too, that the British nation can stake out intellectual turf as they have always done with class warfare. Running all the way from Richard Sheridan through George Bernard Shaw and John Osborne, the theme of class-conflict has provided the staple of comedy of attitudes and manners. In Educating Rita, the lead characters Julie Walters and Michael Caine bring to screen contrasting but complementary kinds of energy. To their credit, the lead pair also makes life in British academia more interesting