Mouth Cavity of Pig

Mouth Cavity Mouth: Opening into the oral cavity. Where food enters the body. Chewing and salivary enzymes in the mouth are the beginning of the digestive process (breaking down the food). Teeth: Used to break food down by (chewing) into smaller particles. Tongue: is used to manoeuvre food that is being chewed. Pharynx: tube-like structure that connects oral and nasal cavities to the larynx; provides passageway for respiratory and digestive tracts. Located in the back of the oral cavity. Esophageal opening: The entrance to the esophagus (food tube) can also be found in the nasopharynx. Esophagus- A muscular tube. The passage of food (via peristalsis) from the pharynx to the stomach. The esophagus is located dorsal to the trachea Nasopharynx opening: Passageway between the oralpharynx (throat) and the nasopharynx (nasal cavity) Nasopharynx: The nasopharynx is located above the part of the pharynx that food enters. Located just above the throat where food enters, the nasopharynx is connected to the middle ear, and it's purpose is to equalize ear pressure. And to allow air passage? Hard palate: hard bony structure that makes up the roof of the mouth. This separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. Soft palate: The movable fold, at the rear of the hard palate that closes off the nasal cavity from the oral cavity during swallowing or sucking. Epiglottis : a cone-shaped structure at the back of the mouth. fleshy flap the covers the glottis (which leads to the trachea) to prevent food and liquid from entering the trachea during swallowing. Glottis: The opening between the vocal cords at the upper part of the larynx.

Poetry: Its Universal Appeal and Merits Essay

Poetry was born out of the basic human desire to communicate; not only meaning but feelings. The reading of poetry is a matter of both: pleasure as well as enlightenment. It serves as one’s escape from the dullness, drudgery, and oppressive influences of life. Poetry appeals to our sense of beauty, thus giving us aesthetic pleasure. Thus, it is capable of evoking a range of different emotions; laughter, tears, sighs, nostalgia, etc. , in its audience. At the general and universal level, poetry recollects the actual experiences of mankind – joys, sorrows, misfortunes, love, hatred, etc. It is hard usually to distinguish among these complex emotions. However, poetic interpretation helps us distil these complex emotions. When it comes to interpretation, a poem can be seen in many ways: simply as an aesthetic object, a work of art to look at and be entertained by, or a new way of looking at the ordinary things. Or we may consider the poem to be a ‘new experience’. Poetry is all this and more. What I personally like about poetry is how it liberates the mind, opening my eyes to newer possibilities and meanings. It gives a broadness and richness to my life, perceptions, and imagination. Its study and appreciation is important because it enlarges one’s vision of life and broadens one’s sympathies and spectrum. Initially, a poem may look hard to crack through, but I have learnt that understanding a poem is a matter of time, and it requires patience, a certain frame of mind, and perspective. As I continue to read and re-read it, different layers of meanings begin to unravel. Thus, there is something new to be discovered every time I read a poem: a new revelation, a new insight, a new appreciation. I cannot help but awe and wonder how poets are able to convey the most extensive, in-depth meaning and images through the fewest words, and weave a web of the most intricate images and symbols. It is this brevity what makes poetry distinct from other genres of literature and forms of knowledge. It is not uncommon for students of Science to look down upon poetry or at least feel baffled by it. I, however, don’t share their sentiments. Poetry definitely stands out in terms of its merit when compared with Science and Prose. It can be said that if prose is the language of reason, poetry is the language of emotions. Similarly, the imaginative and emotional appeal of poetry distinguishes it from Science. Science teaches us knowledge and appeals to our minds. The aim of both is the same i. e. , to arrive at truth. While Science derives from facts and owes nothing to the extra mundane forces; in contrast, poetry seeks to express truth in the most concrete and pictorial form possible – in the form of images or pictures in which meaning can be seen with the mind’s eye. In Science and Mathematics, generality, abstraction, and impartiality are appreciated. But in poetry, particularity and novelty are marvelled at. Unlike Science, poetry operates in the sensory dimension, and thus acts as the third eye. A poet helps us see deeper into the truths of nature and life; and thus, poetry relies a lot on intuition and imagination. It teaches us the knowledge of the human heart, by appealing to our senses. However, in distinguishing poetry’s importance among other disciplines, we must understand that one cannot be substituted for the other. We should remember that although the Romantic Movement was a reaction against Science and reason and propagated the need for emotional intensity, yet others like the Victorians sought for a compromise, a balanced approach. Indeed, poetry seeks to coexist in harmony with other disciplines. I understand that life is complex, and one needs to approach it from all realms of knowledge in order to understand it. Thus, a wholesome approach to life contains a balance between both faculties: the rational as well as the emotional. One major criticism against poetry is that it is art for art’s sake. It is believed that poetry is divorced from real life and the poet is living in an ivory tower in isolation from real life. Some of this criticism is valid when it refers to the escapist form of poetry that it provides an escape to the reader by transporting him/her to an imaginary and seemingly perfect world. However, the appeal of this sort of poetry is momentary and very transient. The enduring form of poetry is one which talks about the universal issues and themes, relevant to all times. This why Shakespeare and others’ poetry have endured the test of time and continue to be revered. When we read poems, we not only have our emotions aroused as we are entrained by the poems, but we also have a chance to have an insight into the poets’ perceptions. A poet doesn’t merely use the poem as a vehicle for expressing his philosophy. He, above all, wants to help us experience things in the way he has experienced them. Hence, we are able to connect with the poet and his vision and the larger microcosm of the universe through that vision. We can also say that poetry is the result of divine inspiration, which doesn’t come easy and to just about every one. Therefore, a poet is a seer, and his method is insight, intuition, and a vision, which enables us to see what we may generally miss. A poet has a rich and vivid imagination; it travels far and wide and gathers exotic images, whether he is describing something farfetched or mundane. The poet chooses to describe the ordinary into the most extraordinary way. Poetry’s novelty lies in giving a new meaning to common place words, thus giving them new associations. Let me elaborate my point of view through examples. For instance, a poet may see the sun sinking and the shadows growing larger. This might remind him of the passage of time and the approaching of death. This common place observance may give him an idea for a poem. As he puts pen to paper, the product of this process would become a poem. Through his unique ideas, experiences, and opinions to a common observance, he gives a fresh perception of the world around us, relates it to and make it part of a larger whole. Thus, the poem begins to have larger and universal implications. Similarly, poetry lets us appreciate the beauty in woods on a snowy evening, and helps us resonate with the common sentiment of finding a moment of peace in an otherwise busy life. Likewise, a mathematician would tell you that one tablespoon equates to near about 25 grams, but only a poet like Eliot would use ‘coffee spoon’ as an appropriate device for measuring Prufrock’s life in his poem ‘The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’. While other disciplines inform us about facts; it’s only the poets who can seek the connection between two unlikely things and situations. The poet thus makes connections between two unlikely things. For me, lyrical poetry is the most enjoyable form because of its intense emotional and richly imaginative appeal. Literature’s primary purpose is to give us pleasure, and poetry is an embodiment of this sentiment. It is a source of keen delight for me to read the lyrical poetry of Shelly, the sensuous ideas of Keats, the narrative poems of Coleridge and Byron, the sweet and musical verse of Tennyson, the Nature poetry of Wordsworth, and the melancholy mood of Mathew Arnold. All this is a source of solace and peace, wonderment and bafflement. In a volume of poetry, there is something to be read every day, something to suit the pensive mood and vexed mind. The technical elements in a poetic piece, like the syntax, meter, rhyme, rhythm, etc. , make its structure, but ultimately, the metaphors, the imagery, the depth and range of emotions, the expression, the novelty of the subject and the poet’s ingenuity are what give the poetic piece its appeal. Wordsworth (as cited in Davie, 1972) has rightly said: â€Å"Poetry is the first and last of al knowledge – it is as immortal as the heart of man† (p. 9). Hence, one may argue that the best of the poetry is created out of life, belongs to life, and exists for life. A poet constantly ponders on ways to live and live well: in a beautiful and natural way, which happens to be my goal in life too. Work Cited Davie, D. (1973). Thomas Hardy and British poetry. Great Britain: Taylor & Francis.

Establishing Effective Working Relationship Essay

Establishing effective working relationship is one of the domain in the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s core competencies which have to be achieved in order to become a mentor (NMC 2006) I will discuss the important aspects mentor needs to consider during the initial interview with my learner. This time my learner is a new member of the staff. On his first day, I introduced myself, orientated and welcomed him to the unit. Nickin and Kenworthy ( 2000) mention orientation to a new placement (in my case a new job placement) as a key issue in practice learning climate. Competency pack was discussed including all his learning contracts and eventually agreed to a one month supernumery status and regular meetings for evaluation. I tried to established a professional yet relaxed relationship with the learner. This enables the learner to be more comfortable. Spouse (1996) cited in Buttleworth et al ( 1998) highlighted that learning in clinical practice works best when mentors develop a caring and trusting relationship with the learner. Amongst the learning needs he identified was the familiarization of the fasting guidelines. Exploring that learning outcome, we have discussed that every learning outcomes should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound (SMART). The NMC in 2006 requires mentors to support students or learners in critically reflecting upon their learning. Knowles (1984) discusses the learner’s involvement in identifying their learning needs, mutual planning, formulation of objectives and helping the learners to carry out their plan. Initiating a day with an aneasthetist will give my learner an opportunity for more understanding of his learning needs, and eventually be able to confidently practice his learnings. Indeed it is true that there are vast learning opportunities offered if not, available in their new practice placement or a new job placement. But I always believe that it is largely the learner’s responsibi lity to capitalize on their learning opportunities offered to them. Saarikoski (2003) defines a clinical learning environment as a group of stable characteristics unique to a particular clinical setting that have an impact on the behaviour of individuals within the setting. Learning opportunities available in the placement of a new job were identified initially. Few of which are venipuncture skills, communication skills, learning surgical procedures in an in depth manner, and understanding and interpretation of blood results. Thorell-Ekstrand and Bjorvell (1995) and Donaldson and Carter (2005 said, that clinical placement provides learner with optimal opportunities to observe role models, practice on their own and reflect on what is seen, heard, sensed and done. An initial performance review is set. This enables the mentor and the learner to review all learning needs were met and up to date. Considering any problems being encountered during the process. Considering learners weak and strong points. Miller and O’Brien (1986) identified that regular meetings and development of an action plan aids on going evaluation of the learners progress. Stuart (2007) states that, the initial interview or meeting is an ideal opportunity for the mentor to commence a facilitative relationship with the learner. Being a new member of the staff, I have to consider previous work experience. Stuart (2007) also suggest that an evaluation of the learner’s learning must be considered, as this will guide subsequent pl ans for learning. Conclusion I am confident that after considering all the factors during the initial interview, my learner will be able to adjust well in his new work environment. I have always been approachable and an open minded person. I am certain it will help me and my learner to work very well and produce a good if not an excellent outcome. Ogier (1989:37) stated that â€Å"facilitating learning cannot be divorced from competent management and humane relationship†.

Applying economic analysis ( Cost Effectiveness Analysis) to Alzheimer Essay

Applying economic analysis ( Cost Effectiveness Analysis) to Alzheimer bills and to school lunch program - Essay Example In CEA the relative costs and the outcomes are evaluated for two or more itineraries of action. This kind of analysis is divergent from cost-benefit analysis, which dispenses financial value to the appraise of effect. Normally the CEA is articulated in requisites of a proportion where the denominator is a put on in health from an evaluation and the numerator is the outlay allied with the health put on. The chiefly used upshot evaluate is quality-adjustment life years. The theory of cost effectiveness is practical in organization and preparation of many of sort of prearranged activity. It applicable to many aspects of life. In Alzheimer’s tab, for instance, that was ascertained by the secretary of health and human services (National Alzheimer’s project) to generate and sustain an integrated national plan to surmount Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The policies stipulated in the bill was intended at cutting down on the health care cost to the citizens of the federal state. The early diagnosis and acceleration of preventive procedures was found to be a little bit cost-effective compared to the treatment actions (Clyne, 2002 p 17). Cost-minimization is functional when evaluate drugs of equal acceptability and effectiveness. Therapeutic similarity must be oriented by the instigator carrying out the study preceding the cost-minimization exertion. As equal efficiency and equal acceptability is already established, there is no necessity finding a universal effectiveness denominator as study on cost-effectiveness would have demanded. All costs have to be measured when conducting a cost-minimization study together with resource expenses intrinsic to the liberation of the therapeutic intrusions and that are germane to the pharmacoeconomic perception. In the Alzheimer’s bill, for instance, the costs of alternative therapies can be compared to the Alzheimer’s disease treatments and

Building the Franchise of IHoP Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Building the Franchise of IHoP - Assignment Example Following a step by step process can then be used to ensure that the culture is one which is conducive to the needs of the franchise. The first steps implemented with the project are to ensure that the requirements with IHOP are met with the different needs within the organization. Even though the franchise creates specific developments with the space, electricity, requirements for functioning and the overall organization, the need to implement this is the requirement of the main manager and owner. The strategy implemented at the beginning stages of the franchise is one which incorporates ensuring that all tools and machinery are placed correctly while making sure that the different structure works effectively for the franchise. The franchise system is one which has to be developed specifically to incorporate a set of communication and culture with the main layout which is used while incorporating different methods with the work in the franchise. From recent studies, (Chiou et al, 19: 2004), it is found that the use of a system is one which creates a higher level of satisfaction among employees and customers (Chiou et al, 19: 2004). The main concepts which are used for the safety, organization and different concepts for IHOP are only the beginning stages of the franchise. When all requirements are met, the owners of the franchise are required to build a system for a franchise culture. The first step to this is to work with new employees, including chefs, customer representatives, and waitresses about the rules and regulations which are a part of the main system. Training sessions and the implementation of different ways to communicate become a part of the building of the franchise.  

Survey and analysis of the IT employment market Report Essay

Survey and analysis of the IT employment market Report - Essay Example Broadly speaking, these include the (1) design, (2) selection, and (3) setting up of computer systems. Systems engineers help organizations in acquiring and installing data processing systems that are affordable as well as workable, and are suited to the existing and anticipated needs. It has been noted that â€Å"systems engineers work at various levels in the design and coordination of large and complex projects known as systems† (Net Industries and its Licensors, 2010). However, fresh graduates are generally placed in the baseline positions. One of the major controlling bodies is Engineers Australia which is â€Å"the national forum for the advancement of engineering and the professional development† (Engineers Australia, 2010) of its members. According to the official website of the organization, â€Å"with more than 85,000 members embracing all disciplines of the engineering team, Engineers Australia is the largest and most diverse professional body for engineers in Australia†; it further claims that engineers who have been given chartered status by it â€Å"are regarded as trusted professionals not only in Australia, but worldwide† (Engineers Australia, 2010). Apart from providing official recognition to member engineers, the main activities of Engineers Australia include (1) advocacy, (2) professional development, (3) program accreditation, and (4) Migration Skills Assessment (MSA). This position is that of â€Å"a SharePoint architect, providing technical and design solutions; the focal point for coordinating and delivering SharePoint user support and optimization; a solution provider, troubleshooting and fixing technical issues; an application integrator, integrating SharePoint with other products; and a project manager, defining, planning and executing SharePoint and infrastructure projects† (IAEA,

Dangers of Underage Drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dangers of Underage Drinking - Essay Example Almost a third of college students exhibit a high-risk alcohol consumption behavior. The authors claim that these behaviors lead to the excessive alcohol consumption that not only affects the performance of the students but also drives them to alcohol dependence. Combined with environmental cues and exposure to stress, past sexual or physical abuse, college students are likely to continue drinking up to the alcohol dependency level (McGuiness & Kelly, 2012).   Exposure to stressors such as memories of abuse complicates treatment or recovery and may cause treated individuals to start drinking again. Individuals consume more alcohol if they face severe stressors. McGuiness & Kelly (2012) also note that lack of social support also serves to increase the rate of alcohol consumption. Users hope to get a time off from the difficulties they face in life though alcohol consumption.The article documents treatment options that are most viable for college students. The motivation enhancement therapy is one intervention that seeks to identify the causes of the drinking behavior, sources reasons for abstaining from alcohol consumption and the emphasis on the dangers of alcohol consumption. The prevention of relapse entails the identification of stressors such as financial stressors, relationship issues and environmental cues (McGuiness & Kelly, 2012). From this identification, there is an implementation of coping strategies as well as measures to curb the influence of the surrounding environment.

The Holocaust with Its Many Dimensions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

The Holocaust with Its Many Dimensions - Essay Example This Anti-Semitic movement was planned primarily to deprive the Jews from civil and political liberties that enabled their representation as a nation in Europe which was pointed by Adolf Hitler in order to satisfy his racial hygiene perception. In order to understand the destructive memoirs of the Holocaust we need to scrutinize Adolf Hitler as an individual who conspired the entire movement just because of his own beliefs and perceptions against the Jews and how he analyzed and consumed the vantage point of his power that he possessed right at that point in time. Through out the world the Holocaust period is known as an animation of Adolf Hitler's brutal motives and a symbol of inhumanity acknowledged by the vicious tactics which were employed to slowly or swiftly kill the people. To scrutinize meticulously the entire Holocaust movement with numerous aspects attached with it and most eminently to understand thoroughly the role of Adolf Hitler in this entire genocide can be done no better than through the source of the biography written on Adolf Hitler by 'Ian Kershaw'. This book was introduced to the literary world as just another brilliant addition to the Holocaust literature, but it differentiates itself from the typical in-depth Holocaust explanation solely because it projects for the most part Hitler's perception and his brutal aims and objectives leading directly towards the wiping off of Jews from the European realm completely which was his ultimate political objective. The author Ian Kershaw is a renowned historian and a professor teaching modern history at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. Ian Kershaw has primarily specialized in the medieval period and Nazi-Germany which inspired him to write numerous books on the respective subjects out of which most of the books were especially dedicated to the Holocaust period. This book was based on two volumes but eventually the fast track sales of this book convinced the literary world to combine the two to welcome a great source of understanding and innovative perceptions that Ian Kershaw introduced through this work of literature regarding the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler. Further description: Ian Kershaw with the inception of the book describes Hitler as someone who mistakenly entered the political sphere because as we recall correctly Hitler always aspired to be a famous painter which proves his credibility as a politician since he had no political upbringing or any sort of background for that matter. Kershaw also pointed out meticulously that Hitler entered the political sphere solely on the basis of his rhetorical capabilities which were out-standing if evaluated through his structured and coherent quality of speeches and regardless of what his political aims were. Moving on, the book explores Hitler's over all personality claiming like most of the texts based on Holocaust that Hitler had no private life possibly because he was so focused towards achieving his brutal revenge of a goal and because his possession of ultimate power at last required political participation every second of the day. "The book chooses to

Week 6_ DQ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 6_ DQ - Essay Example It is considered to be approximately 500 times the 3G speed. In addition, it applies internet protocol to make the connection and communication reliable. The levels of data transfer between the two networks differ. While third generation network can support 144 kbps, the fourth generation network do not have an exact rating but rather uses a series of standard depending on availability. In terms of coverage the 3G network outdo the 4G network by far since it is only a small number of centers in big cities that have implemented the lather whereas the 3G use is almost global. The stumbling block that affects the spread of 4G is the need for creation of more cell site that will accommodate it (Agbiny 2009) One strength that 4G has over 3G is its ability to accommodate and support large files. Making a video phone call is possible with the aid of high speed. In addition, one can download a video which is of high quality from the site such as YouTube and the download process will be uninterrupted. More so, one call also uploads large files directly via the 4G enabled phones with a lot of ease. Another difference is the frequency at which the two operates, while 4G runs at 1800 MHz and above; 3G has the highest frequency of 900 mhz. this implies that 4G can operate on dual band since it has short range. If the two are operating on the same network, 4G has higher speed of data transfer but when it comes to transferring of data through more than one media, 3G is averagely faster since it has a speed that is higher than 4G in some medium. Whereas many people go for 4G because of the misconceived idea that they are faster than 3G, it has a number of disadvantages since its application is still under taste. This is evident in the use of AT & T which is a 3G but provides a higher rate of data transfer than MetroPCS which is a 4G (Zheng2009 PBX or private branch exchange is a telephone switching system that belongs to a private

British Olympic Team Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

British Olympic Team - Essay Example Bill Sweetenham, the national swimming coach, said: "In swimming, we have the worst facilities in the top 20 countries in the world. That's not investment in sport - that's neglect and negligence. None of the 36 British Olympic swimmers trains at a London club" (Londonpoolscampaign.com 2004). Financing sport is an investment made for future. Many promising athletes may not reach the Olympic podium because of need for training facilities of world-class, which are currently in great deficit. There is a certain positive trends in this area: "Under the plans, young children aged between 10 and 16 will be able to apply for grants of up to 20,000 to help fund their training programmes" (The Evening Standard 2004, p.6). Situation described above is a significant subject to the study of the degree lack of facilities has on the overall performance of British Olympic Team. Many of contemporary UK athletes were trained on the base of sport development level achieved in previous years. Therefore their current performance may seem contrasting. However it is extremely important to determine what impact will have the current UK policy of investments in sport on the British Olympic Team of tomorrow. In the light of Olympic bid made for London 2012 it is crucial to find out whether UK has enough facilities of world-class to contain an Olympic capital for the year 2012. The research of the impact the lack of facilities has on the ov... class events and ethically fair and drug-free sport - aims considered by UK Sports as their mission - would help not only to determine whether it needs changes, but also could help to indicate what changes are needed. This proposal gives an insight on how the subject research should be held. Starting from questions' raising it describes methodology, which should be used when conducting the research. Interviewing and questionnaires were chosen as the main sources of data gathering. Additionally a case study of UK swimming could prove useful for demonstrating the results of survey. Implications Implications that should be considered when conducting the proposed research can be divided into two groups: research methods-related limitations and ethics-related considerations. Later on in the proposal both of these groups will be examined with more detail. It is important to stress that if not considered each of these implications could mislead researchers into false outcomes and thus inadequate recommendations on the investment policy. Research question: The research proposed will try to determine what place in the overall success of British Olympic Team, clearly illustrated at Athens is taken by governmental support, or more generally: to what extent does lack of facilities have on the overall success of the British Olympic Team Proposed Methods Design of the Study To answer questions pointed out in previous sections I suggest using a combination of a survey and a case study design. Arguments for using these methods are as follows: survey belongs to descriptive methods of research providing a descriptive information, which enables generalization to be made; surveys gather data at a certain point in time to describe the existing conditions, therefore they are economically

Use of Visual Aides in the Modern Classroom Essay Example for Free

Use of Visual Aides in the Modern Classroom Essay Visual aides have become important to the learning processes of children in all grades of school. From simple skits to enhanced computer calculations and comparisons, teachers everywhere are learning the power of having their students visualize and take part in what they are expected to learn. This process is a great departure from the classic learning model of reading along and taking notes, so it takes some teachers and faculty a while to accept and learn new styles of teaching. The three articles that I have chosen show the value of visual aides in the classroom, but also note the difficulties of changing long held educational beliefs. â€Å"You Gotta Have Art! †, by Roger Glass and Priscilla Nemeth, describes the impact of visual learning in classes around the United States. For example, in order to visualize â€Å"natural environments found in Florida†, students were prompted to paint a mural on a school wall showing what they had learned in their science class. The mural was a way to learn as well as a point of pride to the children who helped create it (Glass Nemeth, 2003, para. 5). Other schools use â€Å"a print of the city† to teach local history and geography, instead of simply using a plain map. The print allows children to see the buildings and sites that they discuss in class, rather than just have the areas pointed out to them on a basic city map that includes only streets and symbols (Glass Nemeth, 2003, para. 3). The results have been more than anyone could have expected. Attendance and discipline have improved in the schools that promote visuals in the classroom, and scores on standardized tests have risen dramatically (Glass and Nemeth, 2003, para. 2). It is apparent from this article that allowing children to see what is special about a subject, and also take part in projects that they can be proud of, encourages them to come to school interested and ready to learn. â€Å"Talking Science, Modeling Scientists†, by Elizabeth Edmondson, William H. Leonard, Chris Peters, and Anna O. Baldwin, describes a program in place in South Carolina schools that lets the students learn visually in class and then share the knowledge with students in other schools who are learning the same lesson. Students were taught a science unit on electric circuits by such means as â€Å"lighting a bulb with a battery, bulb, and wire, constructing a flashlight using a series or parallel circuit and switch, and designing and wiring a simple cardboard house† (Edmondson, et al. , 2006, p. 29). The learning did not stop there. Students learned to write about what they had visually learned, and then shared the information with student partners over a special system. (Edmondson, et al. , 2006, p. 30). This system allowed students from each school to post questions and answers to each other by means of a dedicated message board (Edmondson, et al, 2006, p. 30). Students were encouraged to â€Å"buddy up† and work on projects together (Edmondson, et al, 2006, p. 30). Also, those having trouble learning were paired with those who had a mastery of the subject, so long distance peer tutoring occurred as well (Edmondson, et al, 2006, pg. 31). Teachers reported that this system of visual and hands on learning much improved the students’ comprehension levels and incidently improved their writing skills due to the reports that they posted (Edmondson, et al. , 2006, p. 31-32). This project not only serves as an interest to children who easily catch on to the lesson, but it also gives them a chance to help fellow students who are struggling. Achievement is possible for all with this method, and it would be especially productive if a â€Å"richer† school district paired up with one that did not have the same luxuries. â€Å"Meet Mr. Shannon†, by Kristin Kearns Jordan, gives a viewpoint from a school in New York that struggles to add visual learning methods to their curriculum. The person in the title, Mr. Frederick Shannon, is considered a â€Å"master teacher† with his own manner of instruction called the â€Å"Shannon Plan† (Jordan, 2003, para. 2). He has used this method of primarily visual learning for twenty-five years, and he helps new teachers put it into place (Jordan, 2003, para. 2). For example, one teacher has picked up the habit of having a student dress as a â€Å"hamburger† to illustrate how a paragraph should be written. The â€Å"bun† simulates a strong opening and closing sentence, and the â€Å"meat† simulates the important information that should be given within the paragraph. She also uses â€Å"hand signals† to teach the components of a plot (Jordan, 2003, para. 4). Unfortunately, this school is plagued by regulations that cause the teachers to have to take classes on theory, which makes them not have time for special learning techniques (Jordan, 2003, para. 56). In this school, visual learning has to fall by the wayside. Considering that children now have to pass competency tests to move to the next grade, and seniors have to pass a graduation exam to receive a diploma, there is often little chance for teachers to vary from the standard program in their classes. It is little wonder that children with no chance for variation from the basic lessons tend to dislike school All three of these articles contain teachers who are ready and willing to use visual learning techniques, but some are much more lucky than others. Consider the South Carolina schools that have an expensive, state of the art visual program, and then think of the New York schools that are so bound in regulation that they can barely manage to fit a few skits in their lessons. Most schools will fall in the middle ground of using art and pictures as visual aides. In every case, though, visual elements enhanced the learning process, which should prove to even the most doubtful person that taking time for special types of learning enhances the educational experience. Notes and readings are not the only way to learn, and our nation’s educational system needs to bear that fact in mind if we are going to produce top caliber graduates.

On Ageing by Maya Angelou Essay Example for Free

On Ageing by Maya Angelou Essay Warning by jenny joseph is a humorous way of looking towards old age. It is written as a monologue within which the poet describes how she will behave when she is an old woman. In The first stanza she talks about herself and lists all the things she will do when she is old. She says she will wear the colours purple and red which are significant in the fact that they are bright garish colours. The two colours clash with each other and would not be put together by someone who cares about keeping up their appearance. One of the main themes to this poem is the idea of rebelling against the way society expects you to behave and the idea of not conforming therefore she decides to deliberately make a statement with her appearance by wearing clashing colours to show rebellion against the idea of everyone looking the same- everyone conforming. This idea of rebellion is further emphasised when she says I shall spend my pension on brandy and say weve no money for butter. She has decided that she is going to be deliberately difficult and irresponsible. She is desperate to rebel against the norms of responsible adulthood and change the way she has always been escape from the sobriety of my youth . The acts she chooses are harmless and humorous and she will be likely to get away with them as people will think she is senile. The fact that all of these things are what she wants to do in the future shows that she has never done this before and so she could be saying that old age is the time for freedom and to escape from the rules in society. However this could also show that she is only able to do these things with the excuse of being elderly. She would never feel comfortable to break the rules without having the excuse of being senile etc hence why she is waiting until old age to do these things showing that she is still trapped in the rules of society. This shows the underlying more depressing image behind the humour that society doesnt allow for freedom and the message of how the pressure there is to conform prevents you from being yourself. All of the lines in the poem run on with a quick pace into each other reflecting the excitement and anticipation for the things she talks about doing. Throughout she repeats and and I which also adds to the pace and energy of the poem. The second stanza itself is one long sentence in which she directly addresses the reader with words of encouragement. She wants other people to feel and be able to do whatever they like without worrying about the social pressures of conformity, she could be thinking that if everyone does this then eventually those pressures will not be a problem anymore.

The Hotel New World Collapse Commerce Essay

The Hotel New World Collapse Commerce Essay Public relation officers agencies are very important people to any organisation as they are the ones who in my opinion keep the ball rolling day in day out. Being a public relations officer, he or she must learn how to handle the media learn how to get clients to keep the business running and most importantly learn how to manage a crisis. There was crisis which took place in 1986, the Hotel New World collapse. 15 March 1986, at approximately 11.25 am The Hotel New World, which is also called the Lian Yak building, located at the junction of serangoon road and owen road, collapsed killing 33 people with 17 survivors. This collapse was a major factor why buildings in Singapore now are much more versatile and less likely to collapse. This was a major disaster which could also be classified as a crisis. And I believe there could have been more effective ways where they could have reacted better and save more lives. 2. Crisis management First and foremost what is crisis management? Crisis management, also known as firefighting, is where you know how to avoid the crisis if its possible and appropriately react to the crisis if it cannot be solved (Bernstein, 2011). During a crisis having a crisis team would be essential. Also the members of the team should be able to tell the higher officials in their organisation what to do during a crisis with no fear. The team members should consist of two spokesperson who are the mouth. One will be a backup. A leader who is the brain, someone who will make the important decisions and are accountable for those decisions, such as the CEO or owner of the organisation. And a lead in-house professional and the full PR agency team also known as the hands, for breadth of reach and redundancy reasons (Anthonissen, 2008). The spokespersons, also known as the mouth are representatives of an organisation. How many spokesperson an organisation needs depends on the size of the organisation as they might have many outlets in many countries. But the basics are two spokesperson. The first one would be the primary spokesperson. He or she would represent the company while handling the media. The second one would be a backup He or she will represent the company if the first spokesperson is not available or if is need to explain the crisis in another location. Also these spokesperson need to be media trained. They should know how to handle the media as its the organisations reputation which is at stake. Thus making a wrong move in front of the media would further add to the crisis hence the spokesperson need be a specialist but must be able to handle the media well. Next is the brain which is the crisis committee. This crisis committee is led by the leader who might be the CEO or owner of the company. The committee`s first job is to make a decision on how will they be operating during a crisis. A very simple way to operate is to make sure majority of the team agrees on the decisions made. But this might not be the best option as ex British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher said, Consensus is the negation of leadership. The team must co-operate with the leader to make it an effective committee. Also in the team one person has to be in-charge of all the communications taking place during the crisis This person has to be responsible for- getting the team together during the crisis Communicating the needs of the committee to the mouth Approving all communication messages before they go live Reporting the situation as it develops to the crisis committee Reporting the total crisis once it`s all over (Anthonissen, 2008). Usually the people who are in charge of communications point are the lead in-house communications professionals. During the crisis having a media contact team is also vital. As during the crisis calling up the media and updating would be time consuming thus this team would handle the information being given to the media. The team will need to inform he media about press conference etc. To have a good media contact team they must- Have good press contacts Have a clean and updated full media list at any given time Understand how journalists and editors from different news media work Be practised at media tools Have facilities to translate documents and provide simultaneous translations at a press conference or media interview, if required Have ability to move very quickly(Anthonissen, 2008). Therefore having these qualities would make the media contact team much more useful and essential to update the media about the crisis. Thus that would be one burden of the shoulders of the leader and therefore concentrate on how to resolve the crisis much more efficiently. A good public relations officer will not think that crisis would not happen in his or her organisation and would be well prepared for it. Therefore they must be well prepared for a crisis by looking into what could be the possible areas that might cause a crisis. Next they must come up with a crisis plan. A good public relations officer will plan out everything in detail on what to do when a crisis occurs. This crisis plan can include information such as what are the steps to take by the staffs, crisis management team members. Lastly they must implement the action plan. Planning for a crisis is one thing. But facing a real crisis will be very stressful and it will be a much tensed environment thus no matter how hard an organisation plans out a crisis plan it would be tougher when faced with a real crisis. Therefore it is important to select members of a crisis team for their ability to remain calm and in control while under pressure (Ali, 2011). Also during the crisis every member of the crisis management team should have a copy of what the crisis plan is. Also they should know what their roles are during a crisis. Therefore ensuring a smooth crisis management during a crisis. There are three types of crisis. They are creeping crisis, slow-burn crisis and sudden crisis. Creeping crisis is where a crisis is foreshadowed by a series of events that decision-makers dont view as part of pattern. An example of a Creeping crisis is when the steps take to save a persons life in an emergency situation is not clear. Slow burning crisis is where the signs or warning has been given about the situation but it has not caused any damage to the organisation yet. An example of slow burning crisis is when the organisation goes thru a lawsuit, discrimination complaints or when the organisations reputation is at stake. Sudden crisis is where the damage has been already inflicted and the crisis will get worst if the damage is not contained well. An example of sudden crisis is when a fire breaks out in the building or when the building collapses. The Hotel New World disaster is classified under the category of sudden crisis as it the building collapse was an unexpected event which took place too quickly for anyone to react in time. 3. Analysis The Hotel New World crash shocked everyone in Singapore. It killed a total of 33 people. The crisis is considered to be one of the worst in Singapore history. Before the collapse the building was also in the headlines as it left 35 hotel customers unconscious in August 1975 due to a carbon monoxide leak. The building came down within less than a minute. It was completely demolished. There were 17 people stuck in under rubbles still alive who were eventually the survivors. The building was occupied by an industrial and commercial bank and a night club. But major parts of the building were taken up by The Hotel New World. On 15 march 1986 at approximately 11.25 the lian Yak building came crashing down to rubbles. The building was brought sown within less than 60 seconds. The first call to the SCDF was made at 11.33 sending out their men to the area. First to arrive at the scene was station officer Abu Bakar. He was in charge of the first two fire engines which arrived at the scene with the thought of just nothing more then just a fire outbreak. Upon reaching at the location he then realise its way worst then what he had expected. There was not enough time for anyone inside the building to have escaped in time. Once the rescue team had arrived at that place they started planning on how to operate this mission as this building collapse was the first of its kind in Singapore thus the rescues team were not well trained for this situation and also the equipments were not the appropriate ones used for this type of rescue mission. By noon most of the ministers had arrived at the scene too and almost all the available rescue officers were deployed in order to help the survivors escape thru the rubbles. On first 2 days they tried removing the rubbles first then finding for people. After that on the second day the rescue officers consulted experts whom were at that time tunnelling for the MRT lines in Singapore. Then with their assist the rescue team had work intensively to find for survivors. On 19 march 1986, the rescue mission was called off. A total of 50 people were trapped under the rubbles of the building. 33 people died at the scene. There were only 17 survivors. Then president, Mr Wee Kim Wee had then set-up a group on 22 march to investigate why the building crashed without any warning. This team which was assembled consisted of Mr Justice L. P. Thean, Dr A Vijiaratnam, Professor S. L. Lee and Professor Bengt B. Broms. On 16 February 1987 the final report was submitted to the president. It gave the full details about the building the building owners and especially on why the building crashed was revealed. The main cause of the collapse was in the structural design. According and to the Report of the inquiry into the Collapse of Hotel New World, Analyses of the structural design showed that the dead weights of many structural elements were underestimated and that a large number of individual structural members were grossly under-designed. This is quoted directly from the report. This shows that the building is in fact a ticking time bomb. And the mistake was indeed made 15 years ago when the drawings of the building were made was the. Next w as the construction. The quality of the way the building was being constructed was unsatisfactory according to the report. Reinforcements were less than what was stated in the R.C drawings. Also there was no professional supervision in the construction site which was one of the many factors leading to the collapse. And finally three of the pillars in the building had cracked thus bringing the Lian Yak building down on 15 March 1986. It could stand its own weight because the building was like a time bomb waiting to collapse and when there were new installations placed in the roof the Lian Yak the building it could not hold any longer thus collapsing. The inquiry also brought to light that the managing director of Lian Yak Realty was the one who was the overall in-charge of the building. But unfortunately he had died in the collapse. It was revealed that he had actually used draughtsman to build the building. And the engineer did not calculate the weight of the building properly thus making the building collapse. Also after this incident, the Singapore government had made all their constructions of building rules much more tighter, did checks on existing buildings and find out which buildings were at risk and also they gave the power of authorising and inspection of the buildings to the Ministry of National Development. In my opinion this disaster could have been easily avoided. It was due to carelessness which caused 33 people lives. First and foremost I believe the managing director should not have overseen the construction of this building alone and they should have had group or a team which represents the Lian Yak realty company. Also I believe the communication process which went through the organisation was poor as in the end the managing director was at fault for hiring draughtsman to build the building. This shows that the organisation did not check what was the managing directors doing or who he was employing at the construction site. This is where a public relation officer would be vital. As they can come with a check list on what can be done when there is a crisis. What are the minor and major things to take note during a crisis. Also in my opinion I believe the government could have done their part by ensuring all the rules and regulations for construction were followed strictly. The recommendations that were given in the report could have been implemented earlier. They should have learnt from past disasters such as the collapse of Broadways Grandest Hotel which took place in the year 1973. Also they could have better prepared the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in theses type of crisis. They could haves sent them for training overseas instead of taking the hotel new world collapse as a lesson. This crisis clearly shows that nobody was prepared and had the mentality that the building will never collapse thus in my opinion a contributing factor for so many deaths. 4. Evaluation There are ways that could prevent this kind of sudden crisis. There are a lot of measures to be taken to avoid such crisis would be vital in life and death situations. Thus one must be prepared to face all kinds of situation. The definition of being prepared here is having a plan ready to be executed when there is a crisis (Anthonissen, 2008). This firstly there must be a check list created on what to do when a crisis occurs. When creating the check list the public relation officer must think of all possible crisis and what are the steps to avoid the crisis or escape the crisis. Like I earlier mentioned one must not be too complacent and think to themselves that the crisis would not happen. As a public relation officer we must expect the unexpected. Thus creating a check list would be beneficiary to anyone who uses it during a crisis. Also like earlier mentioned having a crisis management team would be very vital. Successful managers are those who work with successful teams (Hunsaker, 2001). Not only that the team should consist of people from various departments thus they would be aware of what to do when a crisis situation occurs. Thus it would be easier for them to escape during a sudden crisis compared to only one person handling the whole situation. This causes more stress on that individual this sharing the workload would be the best thing to do therefore having a crisis management team is definitely a positive impact. There also ways where we can prepare the people by having drills to for a sudden crisis would be a good solution to better prepare them and make sure they know what to do when having a crisis. There are three types of crisis drills. They are Tabletop exercises, Drills and Full scale exercises (Bernstein, 2011). Firstly the tabletop exercises. These exercises are usually done with the people sitting around a table. Its a discussion where the key manager explains the roles of the people during a crisis (Bernstein, 2011). Next is the Drill. Drills are where a specific department might be put to test to see how they would react when in crisis. External officers might sometimes do the evaluation. Finally the Full-scale exercise. As the names says it full-scale exercise, the organisation, the people working in that building will be put to test when they re-enact a crisis situation and would then see how quickly they escape and checking if their crisis management has been successful The Hotel New World collapse could have been a crisis avoided but the collapse has now educated the people the relevant authorities on how to improve their crisis management skills. The SCDF got experience on how to manage a sudden crisis like The Hotel New World collapse. The Singapore government came down hard on the rules of buildings. From a PR point of view, in my opinion the Lian Yak Realty failed in handing this sudden crisis. Yes this was a lesson but I believe the Lian Yak Realty should have been better prepared and should have at least done their part in the aftermath of the collapse. I am sure this crisis should have been avoided if there was a proper organisational structure in Lian Yak realty. This was an incident which changed the future of Singapore in terms of how the buildings were constructed and how to handle a crisis.

Sustainable Development Policies Can Reduce Urbanization Problems Essay

Cities all over the world are developing. This urbanization process is causing a number of problems and can be met by sustainable development policies. In the beginning, it is important to know what is the reason for urbanization. Most people move to the city because they want to get a better life. Another important term is a sustainable development. There are some definitions for sustainable development, but simply they say that sustainable development is a development which using resources now and preserving them for future generations (Adams, 1999, p.137). This concept has been agreed internationally at a Rio Conference in 1992 to be implemented by all government policies which mostly known as â€Å"Agenda 21† principles (Adams, 1999, p.141). This paper will show that traffic jams and housing problems caused by urbanization can be met by sustainable development policies. The structure of this paper will first explain the situation that leads to traffic jams and housing prob lems. Next, it will elaborate the sustainable development solutions, implications for the solutions, and evaluations how effective the sustainable development solutions solved the problems. A general situation of urbanization trend in developing countries and developed countries is increasing. In 18th Century only 3% of the world total population lived in urban areas but as projected in 2000 this number will increase at above 50% (UN as cited in Elliot, 1999, p. 144). According to UN (as cited in Elliot, 1999, p.144), it is figured that the total urban population in developing countries has increased from around 400 millions people in 1950 to around 2000 millions people in 2000. At the same time, total urban population in developed countries is double from ... ... high rise public housing, and control population growth, being implemented together should be sufficient enough to solve the housing problem brought by urbanization. In conclusion, increasing urbanization trend in the world has given rise to traffic jams and housing problems. These problems can be solved by sustainable development policies such as public transport investment, traffic management system, car control, develop new towns, build high rise public housing, and population growth control. As a result, most of the problems are solved, manageable or minimized. Although some solutions are considered better than others, having integrated solutions may have a more effective way to solve the problems. Future generations will suffer if the government did not implement the policies. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to implement them as soon as possible.

drugs report :: essays research papers

My partner and I both currently attend courses on the sociology of drugs and youth and it was from these classes where we derived our question for this project. As these subjects were a shared interest we decided to focus our question on the drug habits of Stirling University students as we would have no access problems to a sample. Once our topic was decided apon the specific question ‘Have the drug habits of Stirling University third year students changed since coming to university’. Even though the report had to be done in pairs this did not necessarily make the task any easier. I thought there would be a major benefit in the fact that we could negotiate reading duties between the pair of us but it emerged that for a really successful project we would have to have as wide a knowledge of the subject as possible. Communication was paramount at all times as we wanted the report to flow as apiece and not appear to be obviously written by two separate people. I believe our communication with each other was a significant contributing factor to the success of our project. The fact that my partner and I share the same timetable at university was highly advantageous as we had ample opportunities to meet up and discuss any developments or problems that arose. The only significant conflict that arose between my partner and I concerned the questions in which to ask our respondents during our interview. We had contradicting views as to what questions should and should not be asked and also about the wording of the questions. After some deliberation and by conducting ‘mock’ interviews with each other equilibrium was reached. My personal progress throughout the report was aided considerably by the use of a research diary. This was used to chart any progress, queries, ideas or problems that occurred during the semester. The research diary assisted me by keeping a personal record to share with my partner whom also had a research diary filled with her own thoughts therefore ensuring we never forgot any information. Furthermore, the research diary was also used to record advice given to us by our tutor at class time and at personal meetings. The true benefit of the diary, though, emerged when we finally came round to writing up our report as we had a physical reminder of problems and self-criticisms that would otherwise have been forgotten.

Teaching Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Teaching Philosophy Teaching is not about being a figure of authority, being in control or the adage, â€Å"June, July and August.† Those who are in the education profession with those goals in mind will not be effective teachers and they fail those who find themselves at his or her mercy in the classroom. The most effective and successful teachers are those who found it was all they ever wanted to do; found a passion for it that lasted through the tedious process of educating by state standards to make it their profession. They are â€Å"called† to teach, another adage in regard to those who are obviously doing what they are best suited to do, something they have a passion for. Anyone can be taught to play a musical instrument to some degree or other but only those with the talent seemingly born in them will become masters of their instruments. It truly takes more than practice and the same is true for the teaching profession; it requires a love and born in talent. Regard for the students is a requirement, not an option. First and foremost there has to be a full understanding that they are people, unique individuals with differing characteristics. It would be an awful mistake of anyone to try to mold them into an idea of what someone thinks they should be. Differences are a fact; they must be accepted as the individuals must be accepted for the wonderful part they play in making the diversity or our society such as it is. If everyone fit the â€Å"perfect mold† life would be an endless drudgery. My experiences to date have taught me that what we see on the surface, or what we think we see, is not always the truth. Our senses do after all fail us so often. The seemingly inattentive student that continually makes comments or asks questions is not an annoyance, he is learning his way. The quiet student in the back that appears to be listening and absorbing everything could very well be hearing nothing except the thoughts in her head about totally unrelated topics.

Gender Roles Today Essay

1. What subtle messages about sex, gender, gender identity and roles, and sexuality were evident in these images? There were many subtle messages when it came to the ads shown in the video. When it came to sexuality, women were shown to be vulnerable and weak; an example is the gang bang shown in the D&G ad with men surrounding the woman. Men are shown as dominant and having control over the woman in many images. Gender identity is similar when it comes to sex; women are shown to be soft, flawless and unrealistically thin; also, I noticed no lesbians in the ads as if gay women don’t exist. Also, men are shown in an unrealistic light and identity; for example, the old rich man who can have any woman because he is rich. As mentioned in the video, this gives many men anxiety and pressure to be ‘rich’. I think all together sex, sexuality and gender roles are shown in a very negative and mostly unrealistic light. 2. What was your response to seeing these images discussed in this way? Was it new to you? Had you noticed different messages being sent to men and women as you flipped through magazines before? Will you look at images in the media in a different way after watching this video? I was really shocked by the images shown in the video. I can’t say I’ve never seen the images shown but I’ve definitely never thought of the subtle messages behind them. I have to say it definitely provided an explanation to me as to why people struggle with things like weight and even depression. I realized media does put an immense amount of pressure on women to be thin but i never noticed the prejudice when it came to gender identity roles. I never noticed the vulnerability of women portrayed and the role of weakness that they place in these ads. All of it is surprising to me especially because I feel like women’s roles have changed over time. Right now they are considered head ho nchos of many companies and as mentioned in the beginning of the video, many companies who have women managing these corporations make more money. 3. How does Jackson Katz show that men’s behaviors are socially constructed and socially learned?  Jackson Katz demonstrates that men’s behavior is socially constructed and learned through the interviews in the beginning of the video. It is clear that men all have the same definition of what it means to be a ‘man’. On top of the one-on-one interviews, he also shows statistics that prove as evidence of men feeling the need to live up to this tough exterior. It showed that between men and women, men were often the violent offenders. He also shows examples of how media and companies put on peer pressure on to men to be a certain way. 4. How does a key social institution, the Media, shape how we perceive men in American society?  In the video, Katz uses the media and the men of large corporations like Disney who cause gender stereotypes. In general, I think the media has portrayed the male gender as dominant, tough, and ‘strong’. The media uses magazines, ads, TV commercials, and any other outlet exposed to the public. I believe even when it comes to the news, men who violate the law are more in the mainstream than women.

Amazon Business Model Essay

Overview: Amazon.com was founded in 1994, it started by selling books online. As it grew, the company started offering various products and services. Some goods include: DVDs, videos, electronics, camera and photography, clothing apparels, shoes, and so forth. Other retailers have merged with Amazon.com to offer diverse quality of items based on different degrees of usage, such as new, refurbished, and used items. The company’s headquarter is in Seattle, Washington. It has six global websites that serves customers that are based in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, and Japan. Their website features: e-mail order verification, customer review on products, and one-click shopping. Vision: According to Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, they want to build one of the most customer-centric company in the world. A place where people can find everything they want to buy online (Amazon.com: the Hidden Empire, 2011). Mission: â€Å"Work Hard, Have Fun, and Make History.† The company’s core value is based upon customer obsession. With the help of innovation and technology, they want to take lead in customer care (Fast Moving Consumer Goods, 2009). Business Model A business model is a conceptual framework which expresses the underlying economic logic and system. It proves how a business can appropriate costs, make money, and deliver value to customers. As a result, this segment will introduce this company’s model, and how over the course of several years, it has managed to adapt their model to keep itself ahead (Business Model Definition, N.D). Business Strategy: Business Foundation: The foundation of Amazon.com was built on the ability to transform. It has proved that when opportunities arise to serve new or existing customers, it manages to adapt new business models to exploit it. The company is able to launch and run new businesses while extracting value on existing ones. Accordingly, they will satisfy their customer’s need no matter what, even if it is foreign to their current model. â€Å"You cannot stop at what you are good at.† Jeff Bezos says, â€Å"You have to ask what your customers need and want, and then, no matter how hard it is, you better get good at those things.† (Jeff Bezos Biography, 2001). The leader of Amazon was always interested in building an online retailer. The business model was not uniquely customized to the peculiarity of the Internet, nor was it predominantly innovative as it was based upon an online catalog operation. He saw himself improving on the traditional brick-and-mortar stores saying, â€Å"Look at e-retailing. The key trade that we make is that we trade real estate for technology. Real estate is the key cost of physical retailers. That’s why there’s the old saw: location, location, location. Real estate gets more expensive every year, and technology gets cheaper every year. And it gets cheaper fast.† (Online Extra: Q&A, 2001). However, it was an inexperienced observation when the company assumed that it could expand without making physical investments. Currently, Amazon has invested a large amount of funds into warehouses. Third Party Sellers: After gaining a large amount of profit from their book industry, they began to expand into easily shippable consumer goods. This lead them into two new directions; the first initiative was to host small business as part of the Z-Shop project. The second was partnering with several e-retailers that sold goods that Amazon.com did not. These projects allowed merchants to list up to 3,000 items at cost of 9.99 USD a month (Amazon.com Opens zShops, 1999). Even though this creates competition between Amazon.com and the third party sellers, it gains a percentage of each sale as commission from these merchants. The company obtains information on consumer’s purchasing habits, and create one destination where purchasers enjoy a consistent experience (Chaffey, D., 2012). Competitive Environment As stated previously, Amazon.com is an e-market, and in order to analyze the competitive environment both SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and Porter’s Five Forces will be discussed. SWOT Analysis Strengths: As of January 2010, Amazon.com has three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples. By offering a large amount of varied categories through its website and other international ones (Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.co.fr, and so on), it has managed to grow to a customer based company with over 30 million people. In addition, the online retail format enables the company to reduce costs of managing inventory (Amazon.com; online bookstore, 2008). Due to Amazon.com building their business model around their customer’s ever-changing tastes and preferences, they were able to avoid the dot-com bust – a period between 2000-2002, where many dot-com companies went bankrupt (Dot-com bust, 2012). Amazon.com has successfully managed to make its customers to feel that anything they could possibly want could be found on their website. Additionally, its products are marketed at a competitive price. Another important factor is their speedy delivery with their usage of UPS and FedEx (United States) and Royal Mail (United Kingdom). The company also caters for people that prefer online shopping with extra services such as Amazon Prime – a service with a yearly payment, customers are eligible for free next day delivery. Even though Amazon.com is known to be an online seller of most things, it still excels in its original market of book selling. Evidence of such is that students are more likely to use the marketplace to purchase or sell used university books at a fair value. Weaknesses: From a financial standpoint, Amazon.com’s goal of being a customer-centric company that wants to gain a market share rather than profit may not be appealing to investors. Also by relying on third party sellers to provide products to customers, there is the risk that the seller may fail to commit to their sale. Customers will most likely blame Amazon; therefore, damaging Amazon.com’s reputation more than the third party. Another disadvantage is that prices may differ due to geographical location and economy, for example a FILCO Keyboard is 100USD in the in the States; whereas, in the United Kingdom, it is 100GBP. (Amazon.com; online bookstore, 2008). Opportunities: There is an opportunity to expand to other emerging countries such as China, India, and the Middle East. Not only does Amazon have opportunities to expand its base to other geographical locations around the world, it also has the chance to provide many local shops to sell its products abroad through their website. There will be an incentive for retailers to post products on Amazon’s website to increase their sales around the globe, as a result, the company will generate more revenue through third party sales. In addition, it is also possible to open retail stores or provide its own goods such as the Kindle Fire to well-known and established retailers. These suppliers could then be paid a small commission fee to have them display their goods in a proper showcase. This will allow customers to physically interact with the company’s gadgets similar to an Apple store. They could also provide tech support to any problems that may arise. Threats: Currently Amazon.com faces the threat of 15 court cases in regards to patent infringement. Moreover, international issues with their foreign websites may occur, such as export and import restrictions, taxes, tariffs, trade barriers, different payment cycles, and political instability. To illustrate, American electronics use different voltages compared to Europeans, which may cause issues to buyers that are unaware; therefore, Amazon must take extra precaution to ensure that customers are fully aware of what they are purchasing. It may also struggle to provide proper customer support to people that have purchased goods abroad. Porter’s Five Forces Threat of New Entrants: It is unlikely that competitors will be able to compete with Amazon.com’s information system. The technology that has been used in their website is unique, such as the One-click shopping. It has been patented to deter their competitors from copying it. Competitors will find it difficult to compete with Amazon’s brand recognition, because they are well-known for selling books online and are fairly established in that market (Analysing Amazon.com, 2006). Bargaining Power of Buyer: Due to a wide variety of choice, the bargaining power is high as customers may choose to buy from other sites rather than Amazon. Although, Amazon.com has been known to price their products lower to compete with other services such as iTunes. Threat of Product Substitute: It may be considered high, because people might prefer to physically visit a store rather than buy it online. Bargaining Power of Supplier: Amazon.com is not allowed to directly purchase electronic products directly from main distributers such as Sony, because of its low cost strategy. On the other hand, in their book sector, the company has opened five automated distribution centers located within the United States. This lessens dependence on their main distributer, Ingram (Analysing Amazon.com, 2006). Industry Rivalry: Amazon.com has little competition versus websites that sell everything; however, they will have to compete with websites with certain niche for products. For example, competing with Newegg.com with computer parts, iTunes with music, Netflix with movies, Barnes and Nobles for books, and Best-Buy for electronics. Potential Growth through Agility and Adaptation To be regarded as an agile company it must have four characteristics; it must be flexible, adaptable, coordinated, and balanced. The business must have the capability to adjust and adapt in effective ways to environment and market changes. There are three types of agility, one that involves the customers, another with partners, and finally with operations (Marakas, 2011). Consumer Focused Strategy: As previously mentioned, Amazon.com is obsessed with its customer base, the company’s aim is at gaining market share rather than profit. Accordingly, pricing is said to be the primary tool while considering customer’s bargaining power; therefore, adjusting the price of identical goods to correspond to the purchaser’s willingness to pay is a necessity. Amazon.com does not operate in any physical stores; all of its sales occur through its website. The company captures their customers recommendations and comments for site visitors to read, and this is similar to that of a salesperson in a store offering advice on which product to buy. Their website is consistently improved to be personalized and satisfying for customers. It tracks users traffic, the number and duration of visits, what products have been looked at, and so on. Amazon.com then uses all this information to create patterns. It then uses this data promotions and evaluation of goods. Unique and personalized features such as online customer reviews, personalized recommendations, and One-Click ordering, customers truly feel as if their needs are being catered to. Amazon’s website is so technologically advanced, that each customer’s front page would be different from another (Hill, M., N.D). Furthermore, Amazon.com offer its users almost everything due to the vast amount of resources available, such as Amazon.com Auctions, Marketplace (selling of used items), and Z-Shops (third-party sellers). Growth Strategy: In late 2007, Amazon created a subsidiary company called Lab126. Their first product was the Amazon Kindle E-Book Reader. Its business model was so foreign, that it had disrupted the entire industry. In order to be able to launch this product, Amazon became an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). It has linked the Kindle into a digital media platform that used both transaction and subscription based content delivery. Content producers have also partnered up with Amazon to create new content for the Kindle. Even after changing their business model several times, their ability to improve operational efficiencies such as shopping convenience, discount pricing, ease of purchasing, reliability of order fulfillment, and to purchase a large quantity of products from suppliers allowing them to benefit from discounts and offer a wide selection of goods to their customers is the key to sustainable competitive advantage (Kotelnikov, V., N.D). Innovation Strategy: Amazon has redesigned Android 3.0, as a result, The Kindle Fire has a clean, user-friendly home screen without random widgets scattered within the interface. The company has spent several years building up their services such as their cloud music player, video service, Kindle e-books, Android App Store; therefore, the tablet has a vast amount of content. As a result, consumers will know exactly what to look for in the device, and they will know where to get its content. The price point of 199 USD – compared to 269USD for the Xoom, 379USD for the Galaxy Tab, and 499USD for the iPad (A Tablet Buyers Guide, 2012) – is a price consumers are willing to purchase and weigh off the opportunity cost. It will not affect a large portion of their disposable income; therefore, they are more likely to purchase it for their kids. It is much more appealing to purchase an item that is practical at a price of 199USD in comparison to other practical goods at >350USD price range. The objective of the Kindle Fire is mainly about media consumption. Amazon has supplied this device at a low price point, in return, customers are being hooked into Amazon’s digital distribution ecosystem. The main purpose of this is to buyers to purchase high margin items such as the Kindle Apps and E-Books. The Kindle Fire will become a platform for selling digital content, and its distributer will most likely subsidize some hardware to be able to sell more content in the long run. This is a similar approach to what they have done with the E-Reader Kindles. Adaptation Amazon.com has managed to adapt its markets to current events by creating promotional sales that are equivalent to specific dates of the year; for example, Black Friday, Christmas, and Veteran’s Day. They have daily, weekly, and monthly deals constantly running throughout the year. The company’s website places recent products that are popular on their front page, in order to have people notice it. Furthermore, Amazon.com combats competition by allowing sellers to open their stores for a small fee of 9.99 USD a month, and taking a small percent free from supplier’s sales. Conclusion The essay first introduced Amazon’s business model. This model involved business strategy, foundation, and third party sellers. It then analyses Amazon’s competitive environment through SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces. To conclude, the company has unambiguous potential growth from agility and adaptation. Amazon.com has created one of the most unique e-commerce online store by having a variety of products as well as a huge customer base that, to this day, is steadily rising. Amazon.com is a behemoth e-commerce retailer, only time will tell what wonders and innovations this company will bring in the future. Bibliography A Tablet Buyers Guide. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://community.digitalmediaacademy.org/15165-ipad-2-vs-kindle-fire-xoom-others-a-tablet-buyers-guide. [Accessed 20 November 2012]. Amazon.com Opens zShops – Direct Marketing News. 1999. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dmnews.com/Amazon.comcom-opens-zshops/article/62986/. [Accessed 14 November 2012]. Amazon.com: the Hidden Empire. 2011. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/faberNovel/amazoncom-the-hidden-empire. [Accessed 14 November 2012]. Amazon.com; online bookstore. 2008. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/amazon.php. [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Analysing Amazon.com: Macro Environment and Competitive Forces – Yahoo! Voices – voices.yahoo.com. 2006. [ONLINE] Available at: http://voices.yahoo.com/analysing-amazoncom-macro-environment-competitive-138171.html?cat=31. [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Business Model Definition | Investopedia . N.D.[ONLINE] Available at: htt p://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businessmodel.asp#axzz2CcsE9gly. [Accessed 18 November 2012]. Chaffey, D. Amazon.com case study – Smart Insights Digital Marketing Advice. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/online-business-revenue-models/amazon-case-study/. [Accessed 13 November 2012]. Dot-com bust definition in the Free Online Encyclopedia. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/dot-com+bust. [Accessed 14 November 2012]. E Marketing Lecture, Part 1. 2009. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/Ballkultur/e-marketing-lecture-part-1-to-3. [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Fast Moving Consumer Goods: Amazon – Business Model. 2009. [ONLINE] Available at: http://fmcgcentral.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/amazon-business-model-company-overview.html. [Accessed 18 November 2012]. Hill, M., N.D. E-Business. Available at: http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/dl/free/0073195588/438531/sample_chapter3 .pdf. [Accessed 19 November 2012]. Jeff Bezos Biography — Academy of

Active Listening Reading Material

Poor Listening Habits Editing: You hear only what you want to hear. Rehearsing: You think about what you want to say while the other person is speaking. Delving: You focus on finding a hidden message, rather than existing to what the other person is saying. Daydreaming: You let your mind wander. Personalizing: You relate everything the person is saying to your own life and allow your thoughts to wander. Arguing: You focus on finding something to judge or ridicule. Agreeing: You nod your head to everything in order to avoid conflict.Switching: You change the subject quickly, as soon as the person stops speaking. Barriers to Listening Type of Barrier Explanation and Example Noise: Physical Distractions All the stimuli in the environment that keep you from focusing on the message. Example: loud music playing at a party. Mental Distractions The wandering of the mind when it is supposed to be focusing on something. Example: thinking about a lunch date while listening to a teacher. (Anybod y can make out that you are not listening. Factual Distractions Focusing so intently on the details that you miss the main point. Example: listening to all details of a conversation but forgetting the main idea. Semantic Distractions Over responding to an emotion-laden word or concept. Example: not listening to a teacher when after she mentions â€Å"Marxist theory. † Perception of Others: Status Devoting attention based on the social standing rank, or perceived value of another. Example: not listening to a freshman in a group activity. Stereotypes Treating individuals as if they are the same as others in a given category.Example: assuming all older people have similar opinions. Sights and Sounds Letting appearances or voice qualities affect your listening. Example: not listening to a person with a screechy voice. Yourself: Egocentrics Excessive self-focus, or seeing yourself as the central concern in every conversation. Example: redirecting conversations to your own problems . Defensiveness Acting threatened and feeling like you must defend whatnot have said or done. Example: assuming others' comments are veiled criticisms of you.Experiential Superiority Looking down on others as if their experience with life is not as good as yours. Example: not listening to those with less experience. Personal Bias Letting your own predispositions, or strongly held beliefs, interfere with your ability to interpret information correctly. Example: assuming that people are generally truthful (or deceitful). Pseudo listening Pretending to listen but letting your mind or attention wander to something else. Example: daydreaming while your professor is lecturing. (You appear to be listening).

The Advancement of Robot Technology

The advancement f robot technology is pointless in our world, other than to please the curiosity of the curios; Those who wish for a world full of robots intertwining with humans have not pondered the difficulty and the consequences that may come about with these advancements. An AIR is an advanced interactive robot that, in some cases, is a pet robot that can interact with humans and the environment around them. The Japanese have developed an AIR that is a pet seal named Paro. Paro is a white seal that can interact with humans and the environment by making baby seal noises as its response.Paro can be turned on and off at any time throughout the day, offering control over when it does and does not wish to be used by its users. In experiments, Paro has been found to reduce patient stress, stimulate socialization between patients and their caregivers, and even have the psychological effects of improving relaxation and motivation of its users. Some patients have experienced both positiv e and negative effects of using Paro. In the documentary, â€Å"Mechanical Love†, an elder woman used Paro while in a senior home and she loved it! The other elder women when living in hat same home, however, did not.They became annoyed with Paro as it continued to make noises during the evening game night. The next day, the patient using Paro was sitting alone with another elder woman while eating dinner, the patient said to the woman, â€Å"l really love my pet seal. † The other elder woman responded with a simple, â€Å"Hmpf†, displaying that she wasn't quite fond of Paro. Although some may not enjoy the company of Paro, I encourage the use of the pet seal for those who see a benefit in themselves with the use of it. Humans are born to interact with other humans.When a robot of any kind is introduced, there is always a level of caution and many questions arise during interaction with such robots. Along with the advancement of Paro, the Japanese have also deve loped a robot called a geminoid. A geminoid is a robot â€Å"twin† or clone of a human. One Japanese engineering scientist has developed a geminoid clone that looks almost identical to himself. As also displayed in â€Å"Mechanical love†, the scientists working with this geminoid put him to the test to see how his wife and his daughter would respond to interaction with the robot.The man that they cloned had sensors ttached to his body to portray the movements of his mouth and arms through the robot as ne talked into a microphone that projected his voice out ot the geminoid to mimic himself. The wife was first and she responded quite well to the geminoid. She stated that it was weird, she could deal with the robot but she would much rather prefer her real husband rather than the twin robot. On the other hand, however, the young daughter did not respond well to the robot twin. She found it to be scary and creepy while interacting with him.The father asked the daughter to touch the robot nd she refused because she was too scared. She explained that she wouldn't want the robot in her home in place of her real father in any case. As you can see, there is a high level of caution and awkwardness that is displayed by humans as they interact with the robots. Humans are not born to interact with mechanical beings. Humans are made to form relationships with those who are like them, not with specifically programmed beings. If there is such a day where robots are introduced into our everyday society, a numerous amount of difficulties and communication and relation roblems would arise.With the development of the AIR's and geminoids arises many difficulties of production and advancement of them. The elder women not using Paro thought that it was annoying. Engineering scientists are now attempting to make Paro more responsive to humans and its environment by programming it to know when to make its noises, when not to, and the loudness of its noise responses to e liminate turning it on and off multiple times throughout the day. The wife and daughter that were used in tests with the geminoid responded also saying that the its face and body ovements were awkward compared to a real human.The scientists are now working on making the geminoid's body and facial movements seem more natural, as well as programming the robot able to move and talk by itself, with out the sensors and microphone being used by the human twin. In the future they hope to engineer the robot function in everyday life along with humans. They plan for the robot to express emotion through its voice and body movements and even to perform specific jobs or become a universal robot that can respond to interaction with all humans, environments, and situations.As the scientists advance with such technologies, the robots become more prone to error and wrongdoing. There is always the possibility of a malfunction with the system of the robots, increasing the odds of the geminoid doing s omething that it normally wouldn't do. With the programming of emotion into the geminoid, they may express anger or frustration and become capable of crime or express violence towards its users in certain situations. As so many questions and complications emerge with the development of robot technology, is there really a point to their advancement?Because a large part of the development of robots is to allow them to take over some Job positions to make the production more efficient and more safe, there would be a lack of Jobs for humans. If geminoid technology advances to the point where they cant think, act, and work like humans(like in the documentary Mechanical Love), should our government pay them like we pay humans? There would be no point in paying robots because they cannot eat, they cannot drink, and they have no use in owning a house or any land, and they would have no family to care for. They merely would need a place to stay when they are not being used.Since the goal is to create a geminiod that can think and act like a human, we would have to treat them like a normal human being. Humans would nave to allow them to compete in sports and possibly even run tor president. Allowing them to compete in sports would create an unfair disadvantage to humans. They would be much more durable and be capable of much more athleticism and strength. If we were to allow them to run for president and other governmental positions, geminiods would have some rule over humans and for the majority of umans, that is a very hard subject to imagine.The development of robot technology would have little use a may negatively affect our society as a whole. The goal of the advancement of Paro is to aid certain people with their reduce patient stress, stimulate socialization between patients and their motivation of its users. The goal of the advancement of geminiod technology is allow them to think, act, and respond to their environment, like their human counter parts do. To repl icate the body movements, the responses, the emotions, the learning and emory functions, and Job specifications that humans have would be largely impossible.If this technology were to ever reach that point, there would be more room for error and malfunctions that may lead to crime or violence between humans and robots. Since the robots are clones of humans, we would be required to treat them like humans. This would allow for the next robot superstar sports competitor and possibly the next robot president. If future technology allows this to happen, how would you feel knowing that robots could potentially have rule over humans?

An Evaluation of the Activities, Reading Books and Watching Movies

An Evaluation of the Activities, Reading Books and Watching Movies Books vs. Movies Which one is better reading a book or watching a movie? People always debate on whether reading a book is better than watching a movie. Movies are just a live action version of a book, but the movies tend to leave out a lot of details one can get from reading the book. Grant it, reading a book takes more time, but a person gets to tap into their imagination more from reading a book than watching a movie. Books are just as great as movies if not better because books have no time limit, give people a better understanding, and they have more detail. Reading a book has no time limit, whereas; movies have a certain time period to get finished in. The books that are made into movies usually do not turn out the way we want them to be. Movies can be ruined by bad actors. The length of the movies determines how much details from the book go into the movie. Sadly, movies are all about the actors more than the details from the book ever were. When reading a book maybe the reader’s imagination was not met when they watched the movie. While reading a book you get a better understanding of the characters thoughts, feelings, and actions because it is written throughout the book itself. Reading a book lets the reader’s imagination flow. When the reader taps into their imagination they can imagine what the book is like visually. One can picture the characters in their head. They can picture what the characters voices sound like. The reader can visualize the scenes and imagine what the places look like according to what they read. People can relate more to a book usually than a movie because books have more detail. Not all the details from reading a book can be pictured in the movies. Typically the movies are worse than the book. Details draw the readers in and the more details they gather the more intrigued they get. When people get intrigued they usually follow what intrigues them. So therefore if they are reading the first book throughout a series it will make them read the other books. When someone picks up a book that they like they tend to find other books that are like the book they read. Reading books are better than movies due to the fact of having no time limit, a better understanding, and way more details. Books draw the reader in more than when a person watches movie. People go watch a movie typically because of actors. Books and movies are both great but books will always last longer. Books have a higher demand than a movie ever will.

A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Good Man is Hard to Find - Essay Example He was demanding respect because he thought that he was almost a man and should be respected irrespective. The story of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard To Find† speaks ironically of how hard it was to find a good man. The irony comes out clearly from the start to the end of the story. The grandmother is trying to draw the son’s attention about why they should not go to Florida as usual but should change to east Tennessee. She was reading a journal about the man â€Å"Misfit† and the harm he was causing. According to the report â€Å"Misfit† was headed to Florida that same day. She had thought it would be a good idea to let her son read the article as well. Bailey instead ignored his mother and did not even care to look at the article. Later, as they travel to Florida, they get an accident and the â€Å"Misfit† comes across them. He kills the whole family just like he does. The two stories, â€Å"A man who was almost a man† and â€Å"A good man is hard to find† both reveal the character of the two men in question. They were big headed and disobedience. Dave did not listen to his mother that he should not get a gun. Instead, he thought that a gun would protect his title –almost a man. In his quest to protect his image, he killed Jenny. Bailey on the other hand, could not listen to his mother. Even when she spoke, Bailey kept ignoring her. He thought that now he was a grown man and did not need his mother’s advice. In the end, the whole family perished under â€Å"Misfit’s† hands. Their deaths would have been avoided had Bailey listened to his mother and read the article prior to their departure from their

Analysis of a Work of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of a Work of Art - Essay Example Upon careful analysis, one can understand the techniques used by the artist as well as understand the subject matter that he tried to depict. The paintings were bought off by the museum at an auction, which sold the various components of art that existed within the villa since the late 1900. The villa was thought to be owned by Publius Fannius Synistor and Lucius Herennius Florus, however, there is no clue as to who was the first owner and who it was that commissioned the paintings (JSTOR 17). This work of art belongs to the Late Republican Roman period, somewhere between 50-40 BC (The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1). The work of art reveals a quite impressive garland made out of fruits and leaves, which has been suspended from a â€Å"brilliant wall of simulated masonry† (1). The garland has a sacrificial bull’s head, that is, the bucrania, from which a red thread hangs tied to a wicker basket that contains ivy leaves and out of which a snake is uncoiling (1). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Works of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History."  The Metropolitan Museum of Art. N.p.,  2014. Web. 19  July  2014.

Communication is the key to business success Essay

Communication is the key to business success - Essay Example It would build an integrated marketing communication system for a fictitious catering firm. The objective is to take all the aspects into consideration, like the company's SWOT analysis, SOSTAC (situation, objectives, strategy, tactics, action and control) for the IMC system, and develop an analytical approach to make the case as realistic as possible. Marketing communications are as important to a firm as personal relationships are important to an individual. They determine the identity of the firm in the market both absolutely, as well as relative to its competitors. Marketing communications are the heart of a company's strategy today. They determine the entire survival of the firm. With increasing competition and homogeneity of products, companies have to differentiate themselves from the other firms, for which they have to use communication effectively. Today's consumers are very knowledgeable and would expect the company to be in touch with them constantly, from advertising to after-sales service. Integration marketing communications can be simply defined as "the process of developing and implementing various forms of persuasive communication programs with customers and prospects over time" (Schultz professor at Northwestern University, 1993). Moreover, "the goal of IMC is to influence or directly affect the behavior of the selected communication audience. IMC considers all sources of brand or company contacts which a company or prospect has with the product or service as potential delivery channels for the future messages. IMC, makes use of all forms of communication which are relevant to the customer and prospects, and to which they might be receptive." The American Association of Advertising Agencies defines IMC as: the concept of marketing communication planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines (general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public relations) and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact." IMC can be pictorially represented as: Integrated marketing communications has an "outside-in" approach as opposed to the traditional "inside-out" approach. This means that companies have to look inside first, and then towards the customers. Customer relationship building starts from developing effective systems within the enterprise itself. To develop and adopt an effective IMC system, the company has to: identify the key audiences: present as well as potential customers determine the objectives design the communications content select the communication methods define the