Rene Desacartes and David Hume Essay

Rene Descartes and David Hume were two great philosophers during the modern period. Many of their issues focused on the existence of God. Hume’s writings on the existence of God are different to Descartes’. Descartes tries to prove Gods existence while Hume tries to show the foolishness of believing in God. However, both philosophers fail to solve the issue because they both hold many arguments. The major issue between Descartes and Hume is their conflicting methods on how the issue should be approached. Rene Descartes was an Enlightenment philosopher. He was also a rationalist. This is the opposite of empiricism as this theory claims that some knowledge can be known a priori, independently of experience. This means that if God were to be proved then experience would not necessarily be needed as some truth. The explanation of oneself is essential to Descartes’ thesis. That all â€Å"object relations except God are delusions promoted by the coherence of experience† (Weissman); that is, our everlasting subjective experience of the world could be false, although God is known to be true. Having decided that the empirical world and matter could be simply the creation of a devil, Descartes decides to follow his own consciousness, which is the only thing he could rely on. He is the type of person who only depends on himself and always thinks â€Å"I am† in situations. Descartes makes the unnecessary assumption that he is the carrier of his combined states. He states, â€Å"It is so self-evident that it is I who doubt, who understand and who wish, that there is no need to add anything to explain it†. This, as well as the truths of mathematics, is perceived â€Å"clearly and distinctly†. Clear and distinct ideas are very much relied on in the Cartesian philosophy of mind; for Descartes they are the necessary truths, grabbed by the intelligence. This central consciousness he claims equates to a â€Å"person†; the divisible body as an extended thing in space and time is finite, opposed to the infinite, non-physical, monadic soul. This distinction is the foundation of Cartesian ontological dualism. The mind and body are separate materials, existing on their own. Descartes believed that he developed a method by breaking a problem down into parts, accepting ideas that couldn’t be doubted and getting rid of one conclusion from another. Descartes came to the conclusion that the universe has a mathematically logical structure providing a unified body of knowledge. He believed that in order to obtain knowledge, there must be a normal method for achieving the truth, or any experience can not be a dependable source. David Hume was an empiricist which means that he believes all knowledge must come from experience, as there is no innate knowledge within the mind. If the existence of God were to be proved, it would require someone to experience or suppose his existence from experience in some way, because reason alone is inadequate to prove his existence. Hume’s position about knowledge is skepticism, which means he doesn’t believe we have knowledge for certain things. He is heavily influenced by the two philosophers, Locke and Berkley. Hume is similar to Berkley but without the part of believing in God. He believes in the analysis of causation. For example you know your friend is in France when you receive a post card from them in France. Hume’s explanations are more concerned with a passive physical brain and a graphic order of mind; the mind alone can tell us anything about the world. It contains an idea that simple and complex ideas are formed by direct perception of objects or self-reflection. Hume’s change incorporates an explanation on Locke’s ambiguous use of ‘idea’. He refers separately to perceptions of sensations and those of reflection. Simple ideas of Locke such as space and time became complex ideas for Hume. All perceptions are substances, capable of existence independent of the observer. Therefore we are perceptions, with a non-observable ‘self’. Furthermore since there can be no ‘impression’ of self, the idea of identity is weak. It is important to know that in Hume’s plan in order for people to obtain knowledge of something they must experience it first. Descartes believed that everything known, depends on perception, but if perception doesn’t have evidence not only from itself but also from the outside world than it will not be able to verify anything. According to Hume, â€Å"perceptions,† can be cut down to impressions and ideas. Axioms, were self evident principals which were â€Å"so clear and distinct† that they could not be doubted, and therefore accepted as certain contents of knowledge. Contrary to Descartes belief that effects must come from a cause, Hume believed that causes are senseless and uncertain. This contrasts sharply with Descartes’ proposal of ‘primary and secondary’ qualities. The primary qualities of objects are their geometric, indubitable measurements such as their extension, mass and location in space. These are only indirectly perceived through the secondary qualities of appearance, such as colour and tangibility. Descartes seeks to avoid a merely representationalist stance and attempts to further justify a belief in an external reality beyond our mental field of perception, and show that it is dependent on God. This is closely linked with Descartes’ equivocation of â€Å"clear and distinct† ideas; they refer both to the mathematical axioms of geometry – in a â€Å"triangle there is a certain determinate nature or essence or form of it, immutable and eternal, which has not been feigned by me, nor does it depend on [me]† – and to empirical statements about extension in space; in the Fifth Meditation he seeks to discover â€Å"something certain concerning material things†¦

Organization & Operation of International Investment Bank Essay

Nowadays, banks seem to be springing up in the nooks and corners of every city in every country. The banks are no longer operating globally, in fact most of the big banks have marked their presence in most of the continents and yet they keep on expanding their business. There was a time when banking only meant providing loans to people or keeping their deposits but this is not the case anymore. Many different kinds of banks have sprung up offering diversified financial service that provide clients with investment and insurance products but the major ones are the commercial banks and the investment banks. The banks not only offer services to the customers and make their own money in the process but are in fact a vital part of the economy and its development as well. The purpose of the study is to make an analysis of the role played by investment banks; through their importance will come to light. The study will also be discussed with respect to the working of these bodies internationally. Introduction: The study deals with investment banks it is important to know how these institutions are different from commercial banks. Commercial banks are those institutions which accept deposits, provide business loans, and also offer other relevant services. Besides, they also provide the facility of making a variety of deposits through accounts like checking, time deposits or savings (Harvey, 2004). The purpose of existence of these institutions is to make a profit and the owners are a group of individuals, of whom some may belong to Federal Reserve System. Though the commercial banks provide services to individuals or clients, but their prime concern is to receive deposits and lend to businesses. An investment bank perform a range of tasks including issuance of securities (underwriting), management of portfolios of financial assets, trading securities (stocks and bonds), helping investors in buying securities and providing financial advice and support services; they are also involved in various proprietary functions in the financial markets, where they are their own clients (Lim, 26). It is mainly an intermediary who brings together sellers of stocks and bonds with buyers of the same. It differs mainly from the investment bank in the aspect that it has no inventory of cash deposits unlike a commercial bank. The companies usually use investment banks for achieving the same end as the commercial banks. If capital is required by a company, it may either obtain loan from a commercial bank, or buy equity or debt from investment bank. Commercial banks have availability of funds through depositors unlike an investment bank who, for this reason, have to spend considerable time looking for investors from whom they may obtain capital for clients. Literature Review: In the earlier days, banks were usually restricted to their local place of origin and only a few large ones had their branches in other countries but during the 19th century it was seen that many small banks failed in trying times for the reason that they were dependant on the fluctuations that local trades and industries went through; on the other hand larger banks which had their branches across the border were much secure as the risks were extended across a larger market and a broader range of borrowers. This is what gave rise and added to the popularity of international banking. Banks are involved in a wide range of services including the safe keeping of money and its transmission by different means like checks. At a primarily level, a bank takes the money from the customers and undertakes to repay it when demanded or when a prearranged period expires. But the roles of bank are no longer restricted to taking deposits or providing loans, there has been a great change in the nature of banks and their business has become more complicated over the last 20 years and this can be greatly contributed to the addition of various services pertinent to non-banking areas. This is the reason that major banks have taken control of bodies like merchant banks, estate agencies or hire-purchase companies, and have moved into areas like insurance and leasing (Geoffrey, 38-41). International banks operating overseas often suffer downward rating as seen the course of history that when a country’s creditworthiness is downgraded by international private agencies because of slacking public finances, it is followed by a similar rating of banks issuing shares because they carry large amounts of foreign currency government debt. The reason for this is that debt carries foreign exchange risk since the country is issuing it in a foreign currency thus increasing the probability of default in case the domestic currency depreciates; the countries who issue Eurobonds exercise acceptable sovereign credit ratings which permits them to float, in international markets, foreign currency bonds that have been underwritten by major international investment banks and carry investment grade AAA. Funds from the sale of securities return to banks and then may be invested partly in the provision of loans to the private sector or any other asset which carries a lower risk than that of foreign currency government debt (Shaheen & Achkar, 353). A bank should work profitably but by no means it should turn into an organisation that is not trusted by its customers, employees or shareholders. Most of the customers across the globe consider banks with quiet suspicion and at times even with vocal hostility where they are considered evil and not a valued service industry and there is rarely a day when the tabloid press does not expose some apparent banking bungle or scam. Majority of the banks are bent opon extending their branch network and makreting their products. A customer who is anxious to just perform a simple transaction like cashing a cheque, often find himself/herself in the hands of a bank staff trying to make him go for the product of the week. The banks are no longer focused on creating a customer-oriented environment that may attract customers but are following the policy of ‘indiscriminate sell’ which are driving out customers. Merely, expanding the branch network in different countries is not enough unless the bank succeeds in establishing a reputation for loyalty and trustworthiness with its borrowers. There are occasionally times when conflicts arise between the interests of a bank and its borrowers, but the key is to maintain mutual respect. Like the other organizations in service industries, customer satisfaction should lie at the core of a bank’s culture (John, 27). With respect to working of the investment banks, there is great reliance on analysts. These analysts are essential to the organization and working of investment banks. Because of the servies that they provide and avail, investors depend on analysts to perform a skilled analysis of security valuation, as it is usually the art and science which they are unable to perform themselves. At individual level, these analysts normally give coverage to a group of companies falling within the domain of particular industries. For this reason all major investment banks and even smaller commercial ones have their own teams of analysts who perform essential research on public corporations. These analysts do not contribute directly in generating material revenue for the bank. Instead, their services support two major groups. The first group is of professional and non-professional investors who give commissions to the banks by means of their orders to buy and sell securities. In this domain, what the analyst does is to spend time talking with investors in order to collect orders from them, which are not directly given to them but instead placed through salespeople working in the bank and with whom analysts keep in touch on a daily basis. The other important group in investment bank is the corporate finance department. This department is the vital contributor to revenues and profits earned by banks. The majority of revenue earned by the corporate finance is a result of underwriting and arranging financing (debt and equity) and providing services like mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advice to the clients. The role of analysts in Corporate finance lies where they are seeked for the promottion and sale of capital offerings and M&A deals to investors (Hayward & Boeker, 1-5). In the past, investment banks have earned great benefits because of the high demand for its products and many existing macro trends prevalent in most of the countries. One such example is of disintermediation of traditional capital providers which facilitated the continued developments in the business arena of corporate bond and securitisaties; even on the investment side, there was disintermedation of traditional savings providers like banks or insurance companies, as a result a flood of funds rushed into equity markets which brought the need for execution of advice and transaction; another factor which contributed to the success of investment banks is the globalisation of corporations and investors. Another positive trend was the effort of continued restructuring by corporations and governments so as to achieve global competitiveness and thus requiring advisory services of the investment banks. The reaction of the banking industry to these trends was the decision to organise itself around the organizations that were product-orientated so as to take advantage of the situation. To put it in other words, the former range of services that were offered and product capability was amplified due to increased product demand (Kauffman & Howcroft, 214). The international investment banks expanded their network across many countries as result of opportunities that were offered due to structural changes in the economy during the nineties in the form of privatization and ownership reallocation both in the financial and non-financial sectors (Messori 177). The function of international investment banks in terms of the banks’ own business is not awlays and necessarily the desire to be a major force in the retail mortgage market; but sometimes what they are instead aiming for is the building of their securitisation businesses. By expanding into the mortgage space beyond the local arena, a ready supply of new assets for securitisation become accessible to these banks directly, rather than this that they source loans in the secondary market. The benefit of securitising most of the loans of the bank in the mortgage business originates implies that the investment bank is capable of passing the risk of credit along to investors, and not only this but in turn also earning feed by means of arranging the securitisation transactions(Wood 36). An international investment bank often reaps the benefit of geographical co-location in many of the cases. The concept behind geographical co location can be illustrated by means of a ‘local code’ which promotes the idea that the knowledge which is specific to a certain place can be best acquired and utilized by marking your presence at that place. When talking of investment banks’ services, let’s say, its M&A advisory service, such transaction requires knowledge that is of a non-cosmopolitan nature, meaning, that the availability of such knowledge is limited, which means that it is pertinent to local market besides being related to the professional knowledge of the international M&A community (Schamp et al. 11- 615). Methodology: This research is basic in nature and is done to have a better understanding of the investment banks. The qualitative methodology of research has been used and is based on the use of secondary data, which is one that is gathered from existing data sources and has not been done by the researcher himself. For the purpose of collecting data for this research, articles/journals on the subject have been used. The use of secondary data saves time of doing all the research from a scratch and saves cost due to easily available of databases catering to the need and providing relevant information. The methodology takes effort in identifying the correct data and discarding the irrelevant ones; besides it authenticity may also be questioned at times. Property and validity of data: The data is secondary in nature, and has been obtained through reliable sources like published articles and research journals. The data is valid since it is not obsolete, relevant and authentic. Analysis of findings: Now, we will present an analysis of our findings in light of the literature review. Expansion banking beyond the boundaries:Â  The workings of banks on an international level has not always been the trend, in fact, the banks usually used to be local and work within limited cities and towns but over time, such banks turned out to be unsuccessful and the counted few ones who operated internationally were seen to be making success. thus the banks saw opportunity in expanding their branches and their network as a whole beyond local boundaries. The reason for the success was that when they operated in diverse foreign markets and dealt with diverse borrowers, the risk was no longer linked with a single market only and was thus reduced. Rise of investment banking: The traditional functions of bank were limited to making loans and taking deposits and transferring of funds but this is no longer the case. There are banks now providing non-traditional services like leasing, insurance, mortgages. The investment banks became well versed among the masses as a result of diversification of bank services and of the trends that were prevalent in the economy during the 19th century. These trends among others, included disintermediation of financial services and different restructuring in the economy like privatization or resource allocation among different sectors which facilitated the need for advisory services. Organization of international investment banks: The international investment banks are organized in a manner so as to reap the best benefits from their operation in the international markets. These banks deal with local securities among other things of the countries in which they operate. This provides them with a better understanding of the local market conditions but at the same time, unlike local banks, they are not oblivious of the international markets and can play smartly in both arenas. But the back draw of this international arrangement is often visible in the form of downgraded rating when the foreign country of their operation is going through some sort of economical crisis but even then this downgrading is better than those of the local investment banks who are purely organized around the local financial instruments in their operations. The international investments banks are organized in such a way that only makes them visible in the international domain but also provide them with a supply of new assets thus enabling them to pass the credit risk to investors and also to arrange more transactions. Operation of the international investment banks: In the operation of the international investment banks, trust is a crucial element. Banks seem to be more focused on the expansion of their branch network and sale of their products than on building the customers’ trust. The customers must have the trust that their bank is providing them with the right investment options and that it is equally involved in the risk bore by them; only then can these investment banks operate successfully. The international bank operates through a complicated process but what is important is to know that these banks are dependant to a great degree on their financial analysts. These analysts are not involved in the direct generation of revenue but are in fact the essential elements for providing support to two of the revenue generating bodies, which are the investors and the corporate finance. The analysts spend considerable amount of time with the investors and give them advices regarding the right place to invest in; with respect to the corporate finance department, these analysts support those working with corporate finance department in persuading the clients into letting the bank handle their buying and selling of securities and other needs and in promoting their services by giving the right check and balance. Conclusion:Â  Banking is no longer traditional and the former traditional role lies with the commercial banks; the diverse operations have given rise to the investment banks that have expanded their networks internationally and are making success. By operating globally, the investment banks come to terms with the local market conditions which enable them to have a more in depth insight and thus make wise investment decisions and provide the clients with the right options for decision making; the main personnel involved in their operations are their analysts who provide support to the revenue generating bodies of the bank.

Full Day Kindergarten Programs Essay

The reason children attend kindergarten today is so they can be taught a meaningful and balanced curriculum filled with skills and information. Teachers do this through age-appropriate activities that encourage the children to learn more (Marzollo, 1987). In order for children to develop the necessary skills for success in life, they need to attend kindergarten. In full day kindergarten programs more time is available to develop the necessary social and academic skills children need for success later on (â€Å"Full-day and half-day kindergarten in the United States†, 2004). Full day programs have become more and more popular in the past few decades. In the 1970s fewer than 15% of all five-year-olds in the US attended full day programs; in the 1980s it rose to 30% of kindergarten children attending these programs (Votruba-Drzal, Li-Grinning, & Maldonado-Carreno, 2008). In the 1990s it rose to nearly 50%, and by 1993, 54% of kindergarten teachers were teaching at least one full day class (Paciorek, 2002). In 2001, 57% of kindergarten age children were attending a full day program (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Pays Off†, 2003). Review of the Literature Arguments for full day Kindergarten programs. Full day kindergarten programs that are taught in a good learning environment tend to offer a better learning foundation for children, and many important characteristics only found in full day programs are not able to fit into a half day program. The extended time full day kindergarten often boosts the opportunities for implementing these unique characteristics of kindergarten in a way not possible in the half day programs (National Education Association, 2006). There is an extreme need for full day programs in some parts of the country. Today in the US, there are an increased number of single-parent homes or homes where both parents work. This makes it necessary for children to be in school all day, instead of just half the day (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). The advantages that children receive from full day kindergarten extend into the first grade and sometimes beyond. These gains help children academically; enabling them to learn better, which makes them more well-rounded human beings (â€Å"Readings†, 2007). In full day programs, there are more opportunities for children to do in-depth studies and more time for hands-on learning. There is also more stability in full day kindergarten because teachers are given the time to balance large group, small group, or individual instruction. Having this balance has fostered higher learning abilities in children (NEA, 2006). Children in half day programs do not have the same opportunities as children in full day programs because of the time limitations. In half day programs, learning must be done in large groups because there is not enough time to have child-initiated learning. Children need to be given the opportunity to experience how all the different areas of learning are connected and how learning basic skills will help them to understand more complex skills later on in their education (NEA, 2006). Children change in many ways while in kindergarten. They learn to think about the world they are living in, and they also learn to think about themselves (West, Denton, & Reaney, 2000). In full day kindergarten programs children are taught processes of learning that will help them learn throughout life (DeCicca, 2007). â€Å"Full day programs are more likely than half day programs to spend to spend more time every day on letter recognition, letter-sound match, rhyming words, reading aloud, and alphabetizing† (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Pays Off†, 2003). President of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Paul Young, says, â€Å"If you don’t master certain skills at the kindergarten level, then you can’t be successful in first grade† (Thomas, 2002). In their first year of school children will gain the skills and the knowledge necessary for their success in the future (West, Denton, & Reaney, 2000). The number of children that attend full day kindergarten programs varies depending on the type of school they attend and where the school is located. Overall, 56% of kindergarten-age children in the US attend a full day kindergarten program. About 54% of children who attend public schools are in a full day program, while 67% of children who attend private schools are enrolled in a full day program (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). In the US 67% of private schools offer a full day program, while only 57% of public schools do. Catholic schools are more likely to offer full day programs than other private schools, with 78% of Catholic schools offering full day programs and only 63% of other private schools. Fifty-two percent of public schools offer half day programs which is more compared to only 29% of Catholic schools and 40% of other private schools (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Some schools offer only full day programs (53%) but fewer offer only half day programs (39%) and 7% of schools offer both full and half day programs. In the US 61% of schools with a kindergarten program offer at least one full day program and 47% offer at least one half day program (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). The enrollment of children in full day programs varies in different parts of the country. It also varies with the race and economic status of the child’s family. In the US, 60% of kindergarten children are enrolled in full day public or private kindergarten programs. Nine states mandate that a full day program be offered in every school (â€Å"Full Day Kindergarten Growing†, 2008). The majority of the children enrolled in full day kindergarten are children of single parents, children whose parents both work outside the home, and children of low-income families (Paciorek, 2002). The region of the country plays a role in the enrollment of children in full day programs. In the South, 84% of public schools offer full day programs, compared to only 57% in the Midwest, 38% in the West, and 37% in the Northeast (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). A larger majority of children in the Southern region of the country attend full day kindergarten program (82%) compared to other regions: 47% in the Midwest, 48% in the Northeast, and 31% in the West. Public schools located in the suburban and large town areas are less likely to have children attending a full day program (only 45%) compared to schools located in large and mid-sized cities (59%) or small towns/rural areas (65%) (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Parents of kindergarten children put them in these full day programs for many different reasons. One reason is so minority children, or children who are considered â€Å"at risk† for failing academically, are given the chance to stay on the same level as their peers. Full day kindergarten has been shown to considerably close the achievement gaps for minority or low-income children (NEA, 2006). This is especially relevant to gaining the basic skills of learning (West, Denton, & Reaney, 2000). Full day programs also have been shown to significantly improve the math and reading skills of all races (DeCicca, 2007). Children from low-income families have many risk factors they must face that could potentially threaten their health and their development. About one-fifth of US children live in poverty, which has been shown to be a major risk factor for children’s cognitive and academic achievement. Full day kindergarten can put these children on the same level as children who do not live in poverty. (Votruba-Drzal, Li-Grinning, & Maldonado-Carreno, 2008). Public schools with at least 75% minority enrollment offer full day kindergarten (76%), compared to public schools with less than 25% minority enrollment (44-48%). In private schools with at least 75% minority enrollment the children are more likely to participate in full day programs (93%) compared to private schools with less than 10% minority enrollment (54%) (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Racial characteristics play a role in enrollment in full day programs also. It has been shown that African American and Hispanic children enrolled in full day programs closed the achievement gap with white and Asian children in the basic math and reading skills, but African American and Hispanic children are not acquiring the more advanced skills at the same rate that white and Asian children acquire in their first year of schooling (West, Denton, & Reaney, 2000). Full day programs have also been shown to create a larger achievement in math and reading for low-income children than children in half day programs (â€Å"Readings†, 2007). Also, public schools with at least 50% of their enrollment consisting of low-income children are more likely to offer these full day programs (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Children that have completed full day kindergarten programs have been shown to be more prepared for first grade than their peers that attended half day programs. In a study of 22,000 kindergarteners nationwide, students who attended full day programs made larger reading gains than children who attended half day programs (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Pays Off†, 2003). Children will be better prepared to meet the strict curriculum of first grade if they have attended a full day kindergarten program, because they are used to the full day schedule and they know how their day will go (â€Å"Leading†, 2008). Full day kindergarten programs need to have a â€Å"content-centered curriculum for this age group† in order for the program to be successful academically (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Many benefits are available to children in full day kindergarten. Studies have shown improvement in full day kindergarten children’s academic skills (Votruba-Drzal, Li-Grinning, & Maldonado-Carreno, 2008). There are many positive academic and social benefits for children of low economic status or disadvantaged backgrounds from attending full day kindergarten. Research that has been done in the past 10 years has shown steady positive academic gains for children enrolled in full day programs. Full day programs offer children a curriculum that is age-appropriate while still providing major academic benefits (Paciorek, 2002). In full day kindergarten there is â€Å"greater socialization, generalization of knowledge, transfer of learning, and a deeper understanding of concepts. † This extra time is not only good for the child, but it improves the teacher’s and family’s experience as well (NEA, 2006). In full day kindergarten other gains are made, such as greater growth of reading and math skills over the course of the kindergarten year. Children who attend full day programs out-perform children who attend half day programs on reading, science, and math achievement tests. Children who attend full day kindergarten also tend to have lower levels of special education and grade repetition (Votruba-Drzal, Li-Grinning, & Maldonado-Carreno, 2008). Children who leave full day kindergarten with better reading skills are more likely to have more success in the first grade and beyond because the material that is taught in early elementary school is usually sequential (DeCicca, 2007). Children enrolled in full day kindergarten programs tend to make greater gains in reading/language arts than children in half day programs over the course of the year (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Since the school day is longer for full day kindergarten students, they tend to participate in learning experiences unavailable to half day students. These experiences will help to develop their early literacy skills so that they are more prepared for the first grade. Reading is the most important activity for kindergarten children. It is required for future success in not only school but in life in general (NEA, 2006). Children enrolled in full day kindergarten have more time to experience literacy. Having this time helps children get a head start on becoming readers and writers (NEA, 2006). Math skills are also improved in full day kindergarten. â€Å"Mathematical learning tends to be quite sequential in nature, so if one masters the basic concepts early it is likely that the burden of future learning will be lowered† (DeCicca, 2007). Sometimes the math taught in full day kindergarten is actually that of a first grade curriculum. This helps children get further ahead in their studies and can make them quite successful later on (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Science skills are also improved in full day programs. Children have time to take part in science experiments fostering the fact that in order to learn science, one must â€Å"do science. † Because of the extended class time, children are able to take part in more difficult math and science thinking. They are able to move beyond the basic counting and identifying numbers that are normally part of a half day kindergarten program (NEA, 2006). In full day programs, children also have greater opportunity to improve their behavior. Children in full day programs are able to have more child-to-child interactions, and this improves their social skills. In one study of full day kindergarten, there were 14 different dimensions tested. Nine of these dimensions were positive: â€Å"originality, independent learning, involvement in classroom activities, productivity with peers, intellectual dependency, failure/anxiety, un-reflectiveness, holding back or withdrawal, and approach to teacher† (Paciorek, 2002). In full day programs teachers are able to take advantage of the extra time. Teachers of full day kindergarten should provide â€Å"child-centered, developmentally appropriate activities† and balance small group and large group activities (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Teachers are able to allow more time for children to have free play, rather than large group activities. There is more time for indoor and outdoor play; children can use â€Å"learning centers†, and children learn how to cooperate with each other (Paciorek, 2002). In order for children to have a balanced development, play needs to be included in the school day. Children develop many different skills while playing which are necessary for success such as â€Å"inductive experience, cognitive dissonance, social interaction, physical experiences, revisiting, and competence†. Play-time has an influence on the intellectual development of children, and it improves learning abilities (NEA, 2006). In full day programs, children scored much higher on achievement tests than children in half day programs on all of the areas that were tested (Paciorek, 2002). There are many advantages to informal testing in kindergarten. Informal assessments focus on the â€Å"developmental and achievement changes in children over time†; it highlights the individual child, rather than the entire group of children. It also offers many opportunities to demonstrate a child’s competence, making the introduction of a tougher curriculum easier. Finally, it helps children understand their learning better, and it provides solid information to share with children’s families (NEA, 2006). Full day programs also create more freedom for teachers. Full day programs are pretty new, so teachers, administrators, and parents are able to create the curriculum themselves. This can be frustrating, but it has many benefits for the children and the teachers (Marzollo, 1987). Many teachers prefer full day programs to half day programs because they are able to instruct children individually. Teachers are also able to get to know their students better. This helps the teachers understand the child’s specific needs to better educate the child. Teachers say there are many advantages to having full day programs. The atmosphere of full day kindergarten is much more relaxed than half day kindergarten, the opportunities for children to develop their own interests are greatly increased, and there is also more time for creative activities (Paciorek, 2002). Teachers of full day programs are not as rushed to fit the whole curriculum in as half day teachers are. The full day teachers are better able to teach different concepts in many ways to ensure that children fully understand the material (NEA, 2006). Teachers of full day kindergarten are able to get to know the families of their students better than teachers of half day kindergarten. Because of this, they can meet the needs of the students more effectively. The relationships between the teachers and families are also improved with full day kindergarten. The parents are more comfortable communicating with the teachers, because they are able to get to know the teachers better. This also helps the teachers teach better (NEA, 2006). Most parents feel that full day kindergarten has done nothing but good for their children. Robyn Ann Kreusel says, â€Å"I never expected my child to be writing three-sentence paragraphs by the end of kindergarten. † (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Growing†, 2008). Parents are very satisfied with full day programs, and they believed that their children were better prepared for first grade because of the material they were taught in full day kindergarten. Parents also say their children greatly benefited socially in full day kindergarten (Paciorek, 2002). Today, parents are very interested in their children being able to read at an early age, and a full day kindergarten program is a great way to make this possible (Thomas, 2002). Arguments against full day Kindergarten In the past few years, many questions have been raised about the necessity of full day kindergarten programs. People want to know how all the extra time is going to be used. Some educators feel that this time will be used for â€Å"playtime† or â€Å"daycare. † Others feel that first grade material is going to be pushed down into the kindergarten classroom, making kindergarten too academic. People also want to take into consideration how children learn at this age and the purpose of kindergarten in the first place. Some experts say that academics should be increased, and others say the extra time should be spent on activities the students should do on their own (NEA, 2006). Some parents are worried about full day kindergarten programs. They feel that their children will come home after a full day and be tired and cranky. The full day kindergarten curriculum is tough. In this curriculum there are seven different subject areas. These areas are language arts (which consist of oral language, listening, reading and writing), social studies, science, math, art, music, and physical education (Marzollo, 1987). In a full day program, children have more time to master a curriculum which would normally be more of a first-grade curriculum (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Growing†, 2008). Children in full-day programs are also on the same schedule as a first-grade class, so teachers are able to work together on subject substance, which makes it easier for the children to transition into first grade the following year (NEA, 2006). People feel this is a problem in some cases. Experts say the worst way a school board could plan a kindergarten curriculum is to move first-grade material down to kindergarten. Some say that children are pressured to teach subjects that are too hard for them to understand. People also feel children are denied the large assortment of activities that normally take place in a kindergarten classroom (Marzollo, 1987). In some school districts 60% of children are not ready to enter the first grade after their first year of kindergarten because they are pressured to learn material too quickly. Each year, the kindergarten curriculum becomes tougher. Schools now want children to be reading full books on their own by the third grade (Thomas, 2002). Some schools do not provide full day kindergarten programs, but full day programs tend to be found in many Catholic schools. Also, full day programs are very popular in the South, with 84% of public schools offering them It is especially popular in cities rather than small towns, rural areas, and large towns, or suburban areas (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004). Many states whose school districts offer full day kindergarten fund these programs. Twenty-five states and Washington DC provide money to the school districts that offer full-day kindergarten (â€Å"Full†¦Half†, 2004), but many schools in the US do not have the money or the space to offer full day programs to families of kindergarten children (â€Å"Full-day Kindergarten Growing†, 2008). Conclusion Full day kindergarten has many benefits for everyone involved in the programs. It provides many experiences for children that they would not be given if they were enrolled in a half day kindergarten program. Kindergarten is a time of change for children and their parents. Children are able to learn different things in full day programs that they would not have enough time to learn in half day programs. Parents and teachers prefer to have children in full day programs because ultimately it puts the children further ahead and it provides a better opportunity for academic success than the half day programs. References DeCicca, Philip. (2007). Does full-day kindergarten matter? Evidence from the first two years of schooling. Economic of Education Review, 26, 67-82. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Full-day kindergarten growing. (2008). American School Board Journal 195. 3, 10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Full-day and half-day kindergarten in the United States. (2004). US Department of Education. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Full-day kindergarten pays off. (2003). District Administration, 39. 8, 18. Retreieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Leading the pack, continuing to move forward. (2008). Maryland State Department of Education. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: ERIC. Marzollo, J. (1987). The new kindergarten: Full day, child centered, academic. New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers. National Education Association. (2006). Quality full-day kindergarten: Making the most of it. Washington, D. C. : NEA. Paciorek, K. M. (2002). Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial issues in early childhood education. Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill Company. Readings and reports from parents involvement to wellness policies. (2007). American School Board Journal, 194, 55-57. Retrieved from ESCOhost: Academic Search Premier. Thomas, K. (2002, September 19). See Johnny read-by kindergarten. USA Today, p. 8. Votruba, Drzal, E. , Li-Grinning, C. P. , & Maldonado-Carreno, C. (2008). A developmental perspective on full versus part day kindergarten and children’s academic trajectories through fifth grade. Child Development, 79. 4, 957-978. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: Academic Search Premier. West, J. , Denton, K. , & Reaney, L. M. (2000). The kindergarten year: Findings from the early childhood longitudinal study. Washington, D. C. : NCES.

How and why does ethnic identity affect the beauty cross-culturally Research Paper

How and why does ethnic identity affect the beauty cross-culturally - Research Paper Example Often, it is the financial imperatives of mass consumerism that gains the upper hand. As a consequence, ethno-cultural idea of beauty is in a process of losing its prominence. This essay will further substantiate this claim, namely, that ethnic identity mediated notions of beauty is challenged and weakened in contemporary America. To begin with, let us take the case of the United States which has evolved as a melting pot of cultures, races and ethnicities. As a result, American society has developed the aesthetics that is based on inclusiveness as opposed to exclusiveness. While this inclusiveness is a sign of racial equality in one sense, it has less noble connotations, too. In other words, the assimilation of African Americans into mainstream culture is as much a reflection of social progress as it is a measure of commercial opportunity. â€Å"As minority spending power and social interactions of different racial groups in America have increased over time, advertisers have increas ingly been concerned with reaching minority ethnic groups through visual inclusion. With minority purchasing power increasing, this contingency could no longer be ignored by marketers. However, many companies were initially leery of offending the White majority that was their consumer base. In a 1953 study, only 0.6% of ads contained African Americans. By 1980, that frequency had increased to approximately 5.7%, indicating that the country was becoming more comfortable with the use of Blacks in advertisements.† 1 One of the key features of ethnic identity is skin tone. It is also a key factor in racial classification. Skin tone is not merely a statistical or academic detail in practical life. For an individual, his or her skin tone has implications in all realms of life – be it social, official or political. Skin tone is also identified as a specific variable at the root of racially related issues. Hence, while universality of beauty is a laudable idea, the flip side of it is discouraging. For example, researchers have correlated skin tone with â€Å"feelings of self worth, attractiveness, self control, satisfaction, and with quality of life.† 2 The theory of ‘colorism’ is of salience here, which states that people of lighter-skin tone (across ethnicities) are given privilege over dark-skinned members of the same community. The interesting finding here is the applicability of this concept across and between ethnic groups. For example, â€Å"African American's tend to feel more favorable towards Black models with a lighter skin tone. This phenomenon is not exclusive to African Americans because colorism is concerned with actual skin tone, as opposed to racial or ethnic identity. Research done by Shyon Baumann (2008) has shown that people within our culture, regardless of race, have a set of ideals about how people should ideally look, including judgments regarding skin color. Lightness and darkness of skin tone have specific me anings attached to them and we subconsciously relate those meanings to those we encounter.† 3 The statistical veracity of the theory of colorism is a setback to ethnically identified notions of beauty. It is a serious dent to the preservation of authenticity and nativity in an atmosphere saturated with uniformity and conformity. There are qualifications to the theory of colorism though for people with strong ethnic identification feel more affinity towards a model which resembles their own features. Likewise, black consumers generally respond

(5 paragraph illustration) Birthday party at the beach with a cook out Essay

(5 paragraph illustration) Birthday party at the beach with a cook out - Essay Example Having found my perfect destination, I sent out invitation letters to the family and some of Brittany’s friends she had not seen in a while even though they had gone to college together. This would be a perfect surprise. The day finally arrived; the cloudless sky was a clear sign of perfect weather. I started the morning preparations by setting up the venue. The party theme was white and sexy to blend in with the white sands of Boca Grande Beach. Therefore, for the furniture, I arranged for light comfortable chairs and tables. For the centerpiece, I put yellow scented vanilla candles – Brittany’s favorite scent. I arranged for toys, plastic tools like shovels, for the kids to play with on the beach. I set up jumping castles for the children too. I had invited Brittany’s favorite rock band – a surprise, too. I had a small but authentic gazebo set up for them, with deep black mahogany planks as the platform. This blended in nicely with my white theme. After finishing on the venue, I had to check on the catering. The party started at three in the afternoon. I did not want the guests to arrive and find me unprepared. I set off to collect the food, which included champagne, wine and beer; I also had some energy drinks and snacks for the kids. I also got biting for the adults: hot dogs, buns, potato crisps in apple sauce. I had to collect the birthday cake made especially for her. Brittany wanted a chocolate cake with a little bit of vanilla. I sprinkled the cake with blue berries. By half past 3, most of the guests had arrived and sat. The children were busy playing on the beach. My well-trained stuff began serving guests my homemade chilled cocktails, accompanied by sliced lemon. I offered kids some sunscreen and let them enjoy the sand. I had the hot dogs grilled and, within no time, they were ready to eat. The hot dogs placed in a fish shaped bowl served with

Career Design Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Career Design - Term Paper Example person involved in politics, I learned that there are actually intangible matters that are important and of lesser importance than others such as fairness rather than status, respect rather than recognition, health rather than stability, freedom rather than security, honesty rather than influence, and so on. This means that there are many important matters in life but there is a need to streamline which of them are the personal choices of an individual in order for him to determine his choices of action. 4) Values Assessment + Values alignment Paper: In 750 words or less, describe the alignment between your values and your career choice. How has your career and the role(s) you play in your professional life reflected your core values and beliefs? According to Cooper and Cottrell (2010), â€Å"Clearly articulating one’s professional purpose and professional values can clarify career direction as well as provide inspiration and ongoing career motivation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (13). This means that in my choice of career, I have carefully balanced which are the most important values in my life and then made a career decision patterned after these values. As a professional, often times, I encounter co-workers that seek help at the workplace but after evaluating my role and their own roles, I learn that there are workloads that I should accomplish, and there are also loads that they need to accomplish. By being fair to myself and to them, I did my best to accomplish all tasks expected of me. Where tasks under their responsibility were delegated to me, I reminded them that the details of the task specifically states that it was their responsibility and that it is expected that they deliver the tasks. In addition, by doing what are expected of me, I am being fair to my employers and my fellow employees. I exercise respect towards all my colleagues and supervisors by avoiding rude speech and unacceptable actions such as letting them finish their message before bowing down to

Libertarianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Libertarianism - Essay Example If the state interferes the people would have to face problems at the hands of the state. Injustice and inequality would prevail in the society if the state intervenes. Individualism and self owner ship are some other concepts of libertarianism. Both these concepts relate to the ownership of private resources and independence of the people. They put forward that the state should not intervene in the matters of private ownership as it would disrupt the peace and integrity of the society. Minarchism is another form which puts forward that the states should only come into play when there are protection issues. Equality is also one form which is promoted by this concept so that the people do not share natural resources unequally. This equality can only be promoted if a stateless society exists where the state does not intervene much into the matters of public. There can be many advantages for libertarianism if seen from a rational perspective. As the state will not intervene in the matters of the private properties people can live easily and without problems. Cooperation is at the core of the philosophy and it can help people in all ways to get over the problems that they may face. As individual liberty is promoted in this political philosophy it is possible that the people would live in peace and harmony without any interference from the state. Injustice would not be done at the hands of the state this philosophy prevails. Moreover equality can also be promoted through this political philosophy. On the other hands the political philosophy has other problems which many people cite when referring to it. Individual liberty can be beneficial to the state till one point but after that it can harm the integrity and peace of the whole society. Individual ownership and less interference from the states can create a gap between different groups. The states necessarily have to show

A Correction in Management and Leadership Style Research Paper

A Correction in Management and Leadership Style - Research Paper Example   The overriding external pressure is economic. The company is affected by a local, regional, and the national downturn in the economy. Additionally, winter weather in the northeastern United States paralyzes supply and finished product shipments. Discontinuity along the supply chain may disrupt production. For example, if suppliers fail to deliver, production is delayed.   Discontinuity along the supply chain may disrupt production. For example, if suppliers fail to deliver, production is delayed. If the suppliers produce substandard materials, customers will reject the finished product and the organization's reputation will suffer. The predominant internal factor contributing to recent financial losses is widespread mismanagement of human resources from the administrative level on to line supervision. Employee surveys have indicated that there is a general dissatisfaction with leadership at all three plants. In light of this information, the outlook for the future is good. Various motivation factors need to be considered in the implementation plan. Need theories (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Alderfer's ERG Theory, Herzberg's DualStructure Theory, and David McClelland's Need Theory) assume that need deficiencies cause behavior. Need theories to suggest that to motivate learning, trainers should identify trainees' needs and communicate how training program content relates to fulfilling those needs (Noe, 1999; Moorhead and Griffin, 1995). (Wentland) Technical Supervision: Hire and train the highest quality employees and then trust them to meet high standards.

About Someone's Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

About Someone's Life - Essay Example 17. How has your nationality influenced your life? Response: It has made me realize importance of peaceful coexistence. 18. Which community do you belong to? Response: Sunnite. 19. How did your community influence your life? Response: Has encouraged me to uphold my religious faith and teachings of Prophet Mohammed. Cultural and social interest. 20. Which cultural activities or social events did you ever take part in? Response: Idul-fitri, 21. When were these events held? Response: Annually. 22. Why were the events organized? Response: To celebrate the month of Ramadhan. 23. What were the rules or regulations regarding the participation in these events? Response: Fasting, praying, giving the needy and washing of feet, hands and head. Only Muslims were involved. 24. What are the cultural believes in your community? Response: Women place is in the kitchen and a man can marry up to four wives at a time 25. How do you feel about these cultural believes? Response: They demean women. 26. Wh at changes have occurred in the recent past regarding your culture? Response: Women are gaining freedom to work. Values. 27. Which values do you posses? Response: Respect for human life, obedience, honesty and trustful 28. Were these values inherited or learnt during your various stages of life? Response: I learnt them as I grew up. 29. How have these values propelled you towards success in life? Response: They help me to interact with others. Religious Influence. 30. Which religion do you belong to? Response: Muslim. 31. What does your religion teach regarding women and work? Response: Women should not do men’s work 32. What does your religion teach on marriage and relationships? Response: Women to be faithful to their husband. 33. How does your religion affect your work and...Mrs. Shakina Suleiman learnt how to be compassionate, loving, social and outspoken as she grew up in a Muslim community and her career as a journalist. My rationale for choosing to discuss her was moti vated by her composure, eloquence and cheerfulness. We had met at a United Nations conference on career talk held in a neighboring school sometimes back in which Mrs. Suleiman was one of the guest speakers. Later after the meeting, I approached her warmly and requested her to share her life occurrences with me. I conducted the interview at Said khan Hotel in Saudi Arabia on 25th of October 2012. The exercise took sixty seven minutes during which the respondent answered all the questions clearly. I cross-examined the interview guide to ensure all important details were provided. TI was able to complete the exercise successfully without interruptions. I also thanked my candidate and wished her the very best in all her endeavors in life. Then I organized the data systematically and explored its substance. I used to derive an inference of how a human background can influence his or her lifestyle.

MUSIC (Freewrite) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MUSIC (Freewrite) - Essay Example r contemporary artists carpenters’ greatest sounds Michael Jackson erytha franklin local talents pure inate skills banjo guitar piano groovy nights night out dancing socializing midnight blues spontaneous personal expression sentimental no bounds lyrics crying Christmas medly remembering good days bad days people loved smile faces philharmonic harmony melody noise banging fireworks nostaligic calming spring water warm peaceful merican idol beatles riding radio on google upload swigning breathtaking sopranto alto crescendo mother singing baby lullaby association to music was inferred from one’s family members and the experiences shared with them. As such, music was more of a personal and family experience as memories seemed to have formed through established bonds with loved ones. As evident, the correlation to music was expressed through words that were descriptive of sounds of music: soft, mellow, loud, fast, crescendo, alto, among others. Then, there were adjectives that focused on associating music with particular events or days: Sunday afternoon, father and mother singing, baby’s lullaby, Christmas, fireworks and even watching American Idol. Concurrently, music was clearly related to artists such as Josh Groban, the Carpenters, Michael Jackson, and Aretha Franklin; in conjunction with remembering terms that are specifically related to musical elements and genres: rhythm, harmony, melody, pop, jazz, and rhythm and blues. The fun part was that the freewrite exercise provided one with the opportunity to burst for th with whatever came to one’s mind regardless of order, pattern, grammatical rules, or whimsical sense. Food was evidently part of the musical experience with pizza, potato chips and chocolates topping the list. However, remarkably, since the topic on music was initially provided, the free flow of words, ideas, and associated terms all reverberated to anything that has some special relation to music: people, events, sounds, artists, and even the

The relationship between marijuana and juvenile delinquency Essay

The relationship between marijuana and juvenile delinquency - Essay Example Based on transactional analysis theory, in the case at hand, it can be deduced from the physical and circumstantial evidence that my son’s friend has committed the following criminal violations: trespass to dwelling, theft, and illegal possession of picklocks. Trespass to dwelling is committed by a person who shall enter the house or dwelling of another without the latter’s prior consent. In the case at bar, the mere presence of my son’s friend inside the house (which is presumed to have been closed and temporarily inhabited as not even a single occupant was found thereon at that time) raises the presumption that he is guilty thereof. At that time, no one could have given him the permission to come inside the house as there was no legitimate occupant was there at that time. His being my son’s friend doesn’t in any way legitimize his intrusion into the house without invitation or prior permission. My son’s friend is also presumed guilty of illegal possession of picklocks. I must consider first the fact that I am very sure, non one in the house has ever had a picklock nor uses the same. The fact that my son’s friend was able to enter the house without the assistance of anybody, or any occupant from within, should be considered in relation to the presence of picklock found on the counter very near to the place where I found him. Common sense would indicate that the picklock could have been used to open the house door in order for him to gain entry thereon. It is not necessary though to actually see him in the act of using it as mere possession is sufficient to incriminate him. Theft could also be considered against him in relation to my jewelries which I found lying in the counter next to him. Of course, I should be careful with the fact that neither I nor anybody from my family in the house had put the jewelries there. Besides, jewelries are not commonly placed in or near the kitchen but inside the bedroom. For example, if I usually keep my jewelries inside my bedroom cabinet, the mere fact that they were taken outside the cabinet (where they should be), already consummates the crime of theft. The jewelries need not be successfully taken outside the house because the thief has already exercised control over the subject jewelries when he took them outside the bedroom cabinet where they are kept. There is no other logical presumption that could be made on the information of the presence of my jewelries in the kitchen beside the culprit whose presence in the house is under question. On the other hand, the fact that he smells of marijuana is not sufficient to indict him for violation of the law on prohibited or regulated drugs. On this aspect, the intervention of a professional is necessary in order to properly determine his condition. If it is positive, then he is guilty thereof. If it is negative, then he is not. I cannot rely entirely on my intuition as I may not be considered an expert in determining the smell of marijuana. Based on the facts given and discussion above, I will do the following: First, I will call the police right away. This is for the

Health Care Policy Making in the Federal System Essay Example for Free

Health Care Policy Making in the Federal System Essay Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act Open policymaking in the United States is molded on a basic level by American federalism. Federalism in the United States is defined as â€Å"a governmental system whereby power and authority are shared by national and state governments, with ultimate authority derived from the people†Ã‚  (Levin-Waldman, 2012). The interaction between the levels makes a muddled approach process. Government policymakers and bureaucrats at diverse levels of the elected framework – national, state and local – regularly have truly distinctive interests and points of view on how specific policies ought to be developed and implemented. In regards to health care policy, the national government has accepted essential obligation, with states playing a significant but auxiliary role. For national and state policymakers, there are three key objectives in healthcare policy: control services expenses of health care, improve the quality of health care, and allow for all citizens to have access to health care. The challenge is to beat the long-standing status of the U.S. as a nation with high medical costs paired with deficient coverage for a number of its citizens. On March 23, 2010, after a multitude of debates and votes, Congress approved and President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (obamacarefacts.com). This is the most comprehensive health care law passed at the national level, and possibly the most controversial too. This enactment is giving a real test of American federalism. Each state is required to create an exchange in which people can look for a competitive plan. This online exchange will offer individual people, families, and small businesses a venue in which to review suitable and affordable plans. In the event that a state does not make an exchange, the national government will do so. There are many debates surrounding this new law as many feel it will do more harm than good. Under the law, tens of millions of uninsured will get access to competitive, quality, health insurance. In order to help cover the many millions who require monetary assistance, there are new taxes, generally felt by the upper income levels. These taxes are in the form of mandates; either as an individual mandate or an employer mandate. These mandates require individuals to obtain coverage, get an exemption, or pay a fee. However, it is estimated that over half of those uninsured prior to this new law, will be able to obtain free or low cost coverage thru their State’s exchange. Similarly, employers with an equivalent of 50 full time employees must provide health insurance coverage to their employees or they will have to pay a fine. This has prompted some businesses to cut employee hours to avoid meeting the criteria, although small businesses can qualify for up to 50% of their employees premium costs. (healthcarereform.procon.org) While the law allows young adults to remain on their parents plans until the age of 26, there is concern that the premiums these young adults could be paying on their own would help offset the rise in premiums due to the sick. In order for the premiums to remain low, there needs to be a significantly large healthy pool of insured. Their premiums will offset the expenses the insurance company will have to pay for the claims of those that are sick. If healthy young adults remain on their parent’s plans longer, it decreases the cushion the insurance company has to cover such claims. Since you cannot be dropped from your plan when you become sick, insurance companies must cover the sick and this causes premiums to rise. (healthcarereformprocon.org) Many question whether or not the government can enforce such a law. The U.S. Constitution makes no reference to health care policy or services as rights. To play a role in such, the national government must turn to less particular parts of the Constitution, for example, the  obligation to promote the general welfare, provide equal protection under the laws, or regulate commerce among the states. State constitutions by and large make no particular reference to health awareness as a commitment of state government or right of residents. Likewise with the national government, state power around there rests principally on more general protected provisions to promote the benefit of everyone. The law was presented to the Supreme Court and upheld by a vote of 5 to 4. â€Å"The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that certain individuals pay a financial  penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax,† Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. â€Å"Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness.† (nytimes.com). Conclusion Policymaking in our federal system is laden with challenges. In health care, policymakers and other government authorities at all three levels of government assume vital and interconnected parts. Policymaking in our federal system has served the United States well for a long time, yet it remains a real test. It is uncommon that one level of government can bring an approach through to its fulfillment. Rather, most arrangements incorporate an imperative intergovernmental element. The unpredictability of intergovernmental policymaking and the numerous purposes of potential restriction in an elected framework put a premium on practicing successful initiative and making intergovernmental connections. To push ahead in the 21st Century, national, state and local policymakers will require a full set of administration and interpersonal abilities to unite all parties in the federalism process of policy making. References Levin-Waldman, O. M. (2012). American government. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Liptak, A. (2012, June 28). Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law, 5-4, in Victory for Obama. The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com Is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Good for America? (2010, September). Retrieved from http://healthcarereform.procon.org The Pros and Cons of Obamacare. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://obamacarefacts.com

Nestle Analysis SWOT, Five Forces and Core Competencies

Nestle Analysis SWOT, Five Forces and Core Competencies Milkpak will position Nestlà © product as a high quality product consumer focused. Messages like They knows your taste better than us, Nestle Milkpak now at your door step; Add additional flavours to your life will help to portray Nestlà © picture clearly and distinctly. Milkpak will position Nestlà © product against the competitors and gain competitive advantage through the efficient promotional methods, using innovations, and by reaching closer to the target market through the arrangement of events like Basant, Valentine day and etc. In short consumers will view Nestlà © as a product providing highly quality, in terms of taste, customer focused and, at the same time reasonably priced as compared to others. 3.0 Core Competency of Nestlà © To pose Nestlà © product against the competitors, the company will be using differentiation strategy which will not only differentiate their own from others but also give an edge over others. Nestlà © core products will be very beneficial especially in terms of quality, health, and hygiene and most important consumer satisfaction. Nestlà © augmented products will include consumer satisfaction, warranty to retailers in terms of expire, delivery and after sales services. The companies all over the world get some competitive edge based on some features which other companies dont have. For example, as the Dell has the competitive edge over other computer manufacturer companies, because they use built-to-order Strategy while no other company in computer industry use this strategy. Similarly in Pakistan nestle has their competitive edge based on the strategies like product differentiation and customer oriented. Nestlà © is using the product differentiation strategy by providing the superior quality products. Their main focus is to keep the customers loyal. They bought shelve space in different departmental stores to attract the customers. They tried to reach each group of people in which they have succeeded. Besides, customer satisfaction is the focal point for the company. They provide hygienic products to their customers. Products are also verified by health and safety measures and international quality standards. Porter Five Forces 3.1.1 Threat of New Entrants: There is big number of food companies in the world; meanwhile the competitive between food companies are happened. Some companies have carved out role in which they support to dairy supply. These food companies are fearful of being squeezed out by the big players. Another threat for many food companies is other food services companies entering the market.15 Competing in a new industry requires resources to invest. Production of packed products requires huge investment of financial, human, technical, and marketing resources. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The suppliers of food might not pose a big threat, because of the number of suppliers. Raw milk is standard commodity and is available in the open market from a large number of milkmen. If anyone refuses to sell its product then company can buy it from others who are already willing to sell to company. On the other hand, the importance of volume to supplier also considered as a threat. Suppliers also have less leverage to bargain over price because the company is purchasing the large volume of their milk and suppliers dont have much option to sell milk to others. Bargaining Power of Buyers The buyers will not post much of a threat to the food industry. Large clients have their own bargaining power with food companies. Large corporate clients like airlines and retailers pay millions of dollars a year. There are large numbers of distributors, who are buying and distributing the product, so their bargaining power is low and company have leverage to dictate implement its terms and conditions to distributors. Availability of Substitute There are few of substitutes in the food industry. Most of the food companies have similar suites of services. Companies focusing on their role usually have a competitive advantage, but this advantage depends on whether there are any barriers that preventing other firms from entering.15 Competitive Rivalry The food industry is highly competitive in nowadays. As a result, food industry has become more like a commodity, an area in which the food company with the low cost structure, greater efficiency and better customer service will beat out competitors. In long run, larger companies prefer to take over or merge with other companies rather than spend the money to market and advertise to people.15 Source of Cost Efficiency 3.2.1 Economy of scale Economy of scale determines cost efficiency based on time, and processing of the operations and labour cost. Nestlà © used new high-technology system machines to process all the products, like high-speed bottling system, packaging machine for increasing the output of the products so, it could save time of the operation in process, and save labour cost. The company do not need to hire more labour to operate the process, which is one of the key to save cost. 3.2.2 Experience Nestlà © has been serving Pakistani consumers since 1988, when parent company, the Switzerland-based Nestlà © SA, first acquired a share in Milkpak Ltd. Today Nestlà © is fully integrated in Pakistani life, and is recognized as the producer of safe, nutritious and tasty food, and leaders in developing and uplifting the communities in which they operate. Nestlà © Pakistan ensures that their products are made available to consumers wherever in the country they might be. Convenience is at the heart of the Nestlà © philosophy, and there aim is to bring products to peoples doorsteps. Resources 3.3.1 Tangible resources Nestlà © Milkpak produces in over 81 countries and achieves 98% of its turnover outside Europe. Nestlà © Milkpak is the worlds largest milk company, which does 98% of its business. It has an annual turnover of 70 billion Swiss francs, 522 new factories in 81 countries, 200 operating companies, 1 basic research outer and 20 technological development groups, has more than 231,000 employees and more than 8000 products around the globe. There are three companies co-ordinate the activities of some 200 operating companies around the globe. Intangible resources There are three different functions, Nestlà © Milkpak, holds the financial shares in the allied companies. It also checks the profitability of these companies and to ensure the profitability of the group as whole. Second, Nestlà © Milkpak, has two areas of activities that are research and technological development, and technical assistance. Beside this, it provides know-how in engineering, marketing, production, organization, management and personnel training on a continuous basis. The third company is Nestlà © World Trade Corporation that oversees the import and export of merchandise worldwide. 3.4 BCG Matrix Relative Market Growth Low High STAR (Growth) QUESTION MARKS (Introduction) CASH COWS (Maturity) DOGS (Decline) 3.4.1 Stars The stars are the high relative market share and high market growth. Nestlà © beverages are the stars in their business, because with the high quality and new designs which comes every now and then makes them more popular among the customers, because customer with upper class wants the quality and nestle offers the best quality food items. Besides, Nestlà © major products such as Nestlà © milk pack and Nestlà © water will lies in the category of star products, due to the needs of human in their life. 3.4.2 Question Marks The product which have high anticipated growth rate but low market share would be considered as question marks. The product which the company launch first time in Pakistan is Nestlà © Ice-cream would come under the question marks due to the unknown result whether successful or failed in the growth of business in future. 3.4.3 Cash Cows The cash cows are Nestlà © cereal and other baby food products. There is less competitive brand on these specific of products and Nestle was considered as a branded and reliable brand, so most of the consumers prefer to buy from Nestle. 3.4.4 Dogs The pharmaceutical products are Nestlà © Dog; because it has low-share business with low growth market especially when talk about Pakistani market. The company has to think on what it can do by improving the low share and growth market. 3.5 Product Life Cycle The product life cycle has been used to analyse the products development refer by the BCG matrix. Product life cycle has 4 stages consist of introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Nestlà © Ice-cream has been stated on the introduction stage because it is launched the first time in Pakistan. Next, the growth stage would be the food items like milk pack, water and etc, due to human need as Nestlà © has provided. On the other hand, Nestlà © cereal and baby food were stated in the maturity stage, due to less competitors. Lastly, Nestlà © pharmaceutical product is on the decline stage, because of the low share in business and low demand. In the product life cycle, it shows that Nestlà © Milkpak industry is now on the maturity stage, the company has been recognized by consumers. 3.6 SWOT Analysis (TOW Matrix) Strengths Worldwide fame of Nestlà ©. Efficient milk collection system. Keeping high quality standards. Integrated distribution and warehousing facilities. Large market share of innovative. Having Good reputation in the market by strong brand name i.e. Nestlà ©. Strong RD. Weaknesses Unable to compete in price sensitive segment of UHT milk market. Under-utilization of the capacity. Unable to fulfil the demand of local powder milk market. Opportunities Improving Economy. Population growth rate. High urbanization rate. High literacy rate. Flexible government policies for food industry. Have significant growth opportunities. May merge with other global businesses to eliminate competitors. Having Capable of expanding into other markets of the world. SO Increase production of quality milk to cater the unsatisfied demand. They should go in the product line of powdered milk. They should increase their exports. They should cater the wide range of unsatisfied demand by improving their distribution networks. WO As per the increase demand of the milk they should fulfill the demand as Nestlà © have the ability to expand. They should make a strong distribution system to cater to avail the full benefit of the growing market. They should adopt affective marketing strategies for the promotion of their product. Threats High inflation rate. Low purchasing power. Decrease in GDP growth rate. Increasing interest rates. Recessionary period in business cycle. Competition with the new entrants. ST Invest more on the dairy product line as there is still a large chunk of the market which require modernization. Introduce new technology for quality assurance and better productivity. WT The co-ordination between different departments should be improved it will lessen the bureaucratic cost and increase the efficiency of the company.

Artificial Intelligence Essay

Artificial Intelligence Essay This paper is the introduction to Artificial intelligence (AI). Artificial intelligence is exhibited by artificial entity, a system is generally assumed to be a computer. AI systems are now in routine use in economics, medicine, engineering and the military, as well as being built into many common home computer software applications, traditional strategy games like computer chess and other video games. We tried to explain the brief ideas of AI and its application to various fields. It cleared the concept of computational and conventional categories. It includes various advanced systems such as Neural Network, Fuzzy Systems and Evolutionary computation. AI is used in typical problems such as Pattern recognition, Natural language processing and more. This system is working throughout the world as an artificial brain. Intelligence involves mechanisms, and AI research has discovered how to make computers carry out some of them and not others. If doing a task requires only mechanisms that are well understood today, computer programs can give very impressive performances on these tasks. Such programs should be considered somewhat intelligent. It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence. We can learn something about how to make machines solve problems by observing other people or just by observing our own methods. On the other hand, most work in AI involves studying the problems the world presents to intelligence rather than studying people or animals. AI researchers are free to use methods that are not observed in people or that involve much more computing than people can do. We discussed conditions for considering a machine to be intelligent. We argued that if the machine could successfully pretend to be human to a knowledgeable observer then you certainly should consider it intelligent. INTRODUCTION :- Artificial intelligence (AI) :- Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as intelligence exhibited by an artificial entity. Such a system is generally assumed to be a computer. Although AI has a strong science fiction connotation, it forms a vital branch of computer science, dealing with intelligent behaviour, learning and adaptation in machines. Research in AI is concerned with producing machines to automate tasks requiring intelligent behavior. Examples include control, planning and scheduling, the ability to answer diagnostic and consumer questions, handwriting, speech, and facial recognition. As such, it has become a scientific discipline, focused on providing solutions to real life problems. AI systems are now in routine use in economics, medicine, engineering and the military, as well as being built into many common home computer software applications, traditional strategy games like computer chess and other video games. History :- The intellectual roots of AI, and the concept of intelligent machines, may be found in Greek mythology. Intelligent artifacts appear in literature since then, with real mechanical devices actually demonstrating behaviour with some degree of intelligence. After modern computers became available following World War-II, it has become possible to create programs that perform difficult intellectual tasks. 1950 1960:- The first working AI programs were written in 1951 to run on the Ferranti Mark I machine of the University of Manchester (UK): a draughts-playing program written by Christopher Strachey and a chess-playing program written by Dietrich Prinz. 1960 1970 :- During the 1960s and 1970s Marvin Minsky and Seymour Papert publish Perceptrons, demonstrating limits of simple neural nets and Alain Colmerauer developed the Prolog computer language. Ted Shortliffe demonstrated the power of rule-based systems for knowledge representation and inference in medical diagnosis and therapy in what is sometimes called the first expert system. Hans Moravec developed the first computer-controlled vehicle to autonomously negotiate cluttered obstacle courses. 1980s ONWARDS :- In the 1980s, neural networks became widely used with the back propagation algorithm, first described by Paul John Werbos in 1974. The 1990s marked major achievements in many areas of AI and demonstrations of various applications. Most notably Deep Blue, a chess-playing computer, beat Garry Kasparov in a famous six-game match in 1997. Categories of AI :- AI divides roughly into two schools of thought: Conventional AI. Computational Intelligence (CI). Conventional AI :- Conventional AI mostly involves methods now classified as machine learning, characterized by formalism and statistical analysis. This is also known as symbolic AI, logical AI, neat AI and Good Old Fashioned Artificial Intelligence (GOFAI). Methods include: Expert systems: apply reasoning capabilities to reach a conclusion. An expert system can process large amounts of known information and provide conclusions based on them. Case based reasoning Bayesian networks Behavior based AI: a modular method of building AI systems by hand. Computational Intelligence (CI) :- Computational Intelligence involves iterative development or learning (e.g. parameter tuning e.g. in connectionist systems). Learning is based on empirical data and is associated with non-symbolic AI, scruffy AI and soft computing. Methods include: Neural networks: systems with very strong pattern recognition capabilities. Fuzzy systems: techniques for reasoning under uncertainty, has been widely used in modern industrial and consumer product control systems. Evolutionary computation: applies biologically inspired concepts such as populations, mutation and survival of the fittest to generate increasingly better solutions to the problem. These methods most notably divide into evolutionary algorithms (e.g. genetic algorithms) and swarm intelligence (e.g. ant algorithms). Typical problems to which AI methods are applied :- Pattern recognition Optical character recognition Handwriting recognition Speech recognition Face recognition Natural language processing, Translation and Chatter bots Non-linear control and Robotics Computer vision, Virtual reality and Image processing Game theory and Strategic planning Other fields in which AI methods are implemented :- Automation. Cybernetics. Hybrid intelligent system. Intelligent agent. Intelligent control. Automated reasoning. Data mining. Behavior-based robotics. Cognitive robotics. Developmental robotics. Evolutionary robotics. Chatbot. Knowledge Representation. American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) :- Founded in 1979, the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) is a nonprofit scientific society devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behaviour and their embodiment in machines. AAAI also aims to increase public understanding of artificial intelligence, improve the teaching and training of AI practitioners, and provide guidance for research planners and funders concerning the importance and potential of current AI developments and future directions. APPLICATIONS OF AI :- Game Playing :- You can buy machines that can play master level chess for a few hundred dollars. There is some AI in them, but they play well against people mainly through brute force computationlooking at hundreds of thousands of positions. Speech Recognition :- In the 1990s, computer speech recognition reached a practical level for limited purposes. Thus United Airlines has replaced its keyboard tree for flight information by a system using speech recognition of flight numbers and city names. It is quite convenient. On the other hand, while it is possible to instruct some computers using speech, most users have gone back to the keyboard and the mouse as still more convenient. Understanding Natural Language :- Just getting a sequence of words into a computer is not enough. Parsing sentences is not enough either. The computer has to be provided with an understanding of the domain the text is about, and this is presently possible only for very limited domains. Computer Vision :- The world is composed of three-dimensional objects, but the inputs to the human eye and computers TV cameras are two dimensional. Some useful programs can work solely in two dimensions, but full computer vision requires partial three-dimensional information that is not just a set of two-dimensional views. At present there are only limited ways of representing three-dimensional information directly, and they are not as good as what humans evidently use. Expert Systems :- A knowledge engineer interviews experts in a certain domain and tries to embody their knowledge in a computer program for carrying out some task. How well this works depends on whether the intellectual mechanisms required for the task are within the present state of AI. One of the first expert systems was MYCIN in 1974, which diagnosed bacterial infections of the blood and suggested treatments. It did better than medical students or practicing doctors, provided its limitations were observed. Heuristic Classification :- One of the most feasible kinds of expert system given the present knowledge of AI is to put some information in one of a fixed set of categories using several sources of information. An example is advising whether to accept a proposed credit card purchase. Information is available about the owner of the credit card, his record of payment and also about the item he is buying and about the establishment from which he is buying it (e.g., about whether there have been previous credit card frauds at this establishment). Conclusion :- We conclude that if the machine could successfully pretend to be human to a knowledgeable observer then you certainly should consider it intelligent. AI systems are now in routine use in various field such as economics, medicine, engineering and the military, as well as being built into many common home computer software applications, traditional strategy games etc. AI is an exciting and rewarding discipline. AI is branch of computer science that is concerned with the automation of intelligent behavior. The revised definition of AI is AI is the study of mechanisms underlying intelligent behavior through the construction and evaluation of artifacts that attempt to enact those mechanisms. So it is concluded that it work as an artificial human brain which have an unbelievable artificial thinking power. Programs with Common Sense :- John McCarthy, In Mechanization of Thought Processes, Proceedings of the Symposium of the National Physics Laboratory, 1959. Artificial Intelligence, Logic and Formalizing Common Sense :- Richmond Thomason, editor, Philosophical Logic and Artificial Intelligence. Klà ¼ver Academic, 1989. Concepts of Logical AI :- Tom Mitchell. Machine Learning. McGraw-Hill, 1997. Logic and artificial intelligence :- Richmond Thomason. In Edward  N. Zalta, editor, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Fall 2003. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2003/entries/logic-ai/. LINKS :- http://www.aaai.org/ http://www-formal.stanford.edu/ http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/emergingtech/ http://www.genetic-programming.com/

Pie Charts Essay examples -- essays research papers

Pie Charts An important part of decision making is having a clear understanding of the information used to base decisions from. Charts can be valuable when a need to represent numerical data would benefit communicating information visually. Some of the most important aspects of a good chart are to select the right type of chart (or graph) that can best characterize the data, also, to keep the design simple in order for an audience to easily understand the information. One of the most popular types of charts is the pie chart. The pie chart is used to visually represent the proportional value of individual parts to the whole. As the name describes, this is done by representing the numerical equivalence of each part as a piece of the whole pie, which in total equates to 100%. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (2001) says that pie charts are a good choice when a relatively small amount of parts, perhaps 3 to 7, need to be represented. With any more it becomes difficult to notice the differences in magnitude; thus, the pie chart loses its simplicity and impact. They can only be used when a total amount is known, one such example would be an election where the total of votes received by all candidates equals 100% of the votes. Or a budget where the total amount spending is divided in to categories such as labor, facilities costs, advertising, etc†¦ which always are a part of the total. However, according to McBride (2003), the pie chart could n ot be used to show a change in spending through out a period. A pie chart shows data at one instance, like a snapshot and cannot be used to show change in data over time (para. 4). With the advent of computers, 3D graphs have become somewhat popular, unfortunately a negative aspect is that they add complexity to the image and can distort visual proportional value. It is recommended to stick with flat â€Å"2D† charts (para. 6). Pie charts these days are typically generated by computer software, as a result people forget that there is actually a little math involved. To create a pie chart Concordia University (2000) explains that you have to find the total value for the entire category being studied and calculate the percentage for each segment or part. Convert the percentage values for each segment into degrees relative to the 360 degrees in the circle. (For example, 12% X 360 degrees = 43 degrees). Then, Draw a circle and d... ...chart should look like with the exception of one rule, the pieces were not arranged from largest to smallest in a clockwise manner. The sizes are mixed, making less clear the relative proportions of the pieces. Pie charts can be an excellent tool for presenting information in a simple, visual and comprehensible manner. If used in the right situation and best practices are followed, the pie chart may be the tool that most influences a decision. References Pennsylvania Department of Health. (2001). Pie charts and pictographs. Retrieved January 24, 2005 from, http://www.health.state.pa.us/hpa/stats/ techassist/piechart.htm Concordia University. (2000). Pie chart. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http://web2.concordia.ca/Quality/tools/21piechart.pdf Sykes, A., & Smith, B. (1999). Getting started – A simple pie chart. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http://www.causeway.co.uk/tutorial/rainpro/apl99/dyalog/start.htm Hodges, M. (2004). Grandfather economic report series. Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http://mwhodges.home.att.net/fed_budget.htm Perlman, H. (2003). Where is earth’s water located? Retrieved January 31, 2005 from, http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html

Essay --

Democratic societies are those who allow individuals to participate in the decision making process, in addition to recognizing and practicing the human rights. The majority of the democratic societies recognize the right to vote as a fundamental human right in accordance with the European Union on Human rights act 1998 protocol 1, part 2, article 3, which acknowledges the right of each individual to vote and without excluding any particular person. Despite this, many countries including the United Kingdom, embargo prisoners from practicing this right and believe in their disenfranchisement. Currently, there is an on going debate concerning the United Kingdom’s breach of the Humans right act in light of the case of Hirst v United Kingdom (74025/01) which has forced the UK to reconsider its position. Banning prisoners from voting contradicts democracy and violations the human rights act. This paper will focus on analyzing a number of different arguments concerning this matter. The United Kingdom’s stance on the disenfranchisement of prisoners was clearly expressed in the Representati...

Coca Cola Marketing Mix Essay

Soft Drink demand market is very strong all over the world. Now there are 2 major Company of Soft Drinks †¢ Coca Cola †¢ Pepsi Co they are competitors to each other. The world’s largest beverage’s company Coca Cola began more than a century ago. The Coca Cola company world headquarter is at Atlanta Georgia, USA. Formation of Coca Cola company was in a simple way, but today it is spread worldwide. It has a Wonderful history and an exciting future. From sometime before 1970-s Coca Cola had started doing business in India. But due to changes in the policy of Indian Government, Coca Cola had to wind up its business from India in 1977. After 16 years, in 1993 it again started doing business in India through one of its subsidiary company Coca Cola India Private Limited. It gradually went in for merger by acquisition the various well known products to stop the direct competition from the local market. Coca cola is the brand with the highest brand equity. No doubt it has gone through the ups and downs of business to reach that position. The marketing mix of Coca cola has been changing over time with more and more products being added such that today it has 3300 products. So what is the marketing mix of Coca cola? Product The company has the widest portfolio in beverage industry comprising of 3300 products. Beverages are divided into diet category, 100% fruit juices, fruit drinks, water, energy drinks, tea and coffee etc. As per Nielson’s data, Coca cola is the No.1 brand in sparkling beverages, juice, and retail packaged water in 2010. Coca cola has its market presence around 200 countries. Coca cola brands in India are Fanta, Maaza, Limca, sprite, Thums up, Minute Maid, Nimbu fresh, Nested iced tea etc. Coca-Cola made its return to India COCA – COLA in 1993 and made significant investments to ensure that the beverage is available to more and more people, even in the remote and inaccessible parts of the nation. Sprite has not only established itself as a brand which successfully boasts it’s ‘cutthru’ perspective with an authentic, edgy, irreverent, urban and straight forward style, but has also achieved status of an undisputed youth ‘badge‘ brand. Fanta entered in the year 1993. Perceived as a fun youth brand, Fanta stands for its vibrant color, tempting Taste and tingling bubbles that not just uplifts feelings but also helps free spirit thus encouraging one to indulge in the moment. Limca has remained unchallenged as the No.1 Sparkling Drink in the Cloudy lemon Segment. The success formula is the sharp fizz and lemoni bite combined with the Single minded proposition of the brand as the provider of â€Å"Freshness†. Maaza has today come to symbolize the very spirit of mangoes. Universally loved for its taste, color, thickness and wholesome properties, Maaza is the mango lover’s first choice Price Due to the availability of wide range products the pricing is done according  to the market and geographic segment. Each sub-brand of coca cola has different pricing strategy. Their pricing strategy is based on the competitors pricing, Pepsi is the direct competitor to coke. Beverage market is said to be a oligopoly market (few sellers and large buyers), hence they form into cartel contract to ensure a mutual balance in pricing between the sellers. Price strategies are important to Coca Cola because the price determines the amount of sales and profit per unit sold. Businesses have to set a price that is attractive to their customers and provides the business with a good level of profit. Long before a sale was ever made Coca Cola had developed a forecast of consumer demand at different prices which inevitably determined whether or not the product came on the market, as well as the allocation of adequate money and resources to produce, promote and distribute the product. Place Coca cola is the world’s most favourite brand and is available all over the world. The distribution system of coca cola follows the FMCG distribution pattern. The effective distribution network of coke has almost eroded the small and middle level players in the market. In India they have captured even the rural market by extensive distribution and have eroded the market share of Bo onto, Kalmar etc. Promotion Coca cola adopts various advertising and promotional strategies to create an increased demand in the market by associating with life style and behaviour and mainly targeting value based advertising. You are more likely to see a coke ad individualised for a particular festival or in with a general positive message. Coca cola uses CSR as its marketing tool to gain emotional benefits in consumers mind. The current promotions through CSR include â€Å"Support my school† campaign with NDTV. It has many brand ambassadors like Shahrukh khan, Hrithik Roshan, South Indian Actor Vijay and Trisha , Ghambir, Aamir khan etc and has signed contract recently with Imran khan. It allows price discounts and allowances to distributors and retailers in order to push more products into the market. It employs both push  strategy through promotions and pull strategy through advertisements and campaigns. Company introduces different themes and concepts to sell their product and advertises mainly in electronic media and out of home advertising. These advertisements build brand image and create awareness. ïÆ'ËœBig names of Indian film industry mainly become the brand ambassadors of the Company. ïÆ'ËœThroughout the years, the slogans of the Coca-Cola have been memorable. For E.g. Thanda Matlab Cola-Cola Jo chaho ho jae Cola-Cola enjoy Coca-Cola-Piyo sir utha ke Brrrrrrr!!! Coca Cola on a regular basis Advertise through Billboards, Hoardings. They occupy the prime locations of the Urban and Semi Urban areas to advertise their products †¢ Bill Boards are used on Highways, main City roads, Across big buildings, Shops etc. †¢Also in India the Coca-cola can be seen painted on walls, bus stands, dhabas etc focusing in rural areas if India Coca-Cola uses direct marketing in many ways. First, the company partners with various restaurants, movie theatres, etc. to carry its product. This way, when a customer orders a drink, the only brand they are offered is Coca-Cola, which forces them to buy a drink from that brand. By doing this, Coke forces out other competition, and keeps the restaurants, or other businesses, purchasing their product over and over again. E.g. Mc Donald’s. According to mobilemarketingmagazine.com, Coke uses mobile graphics and texts to appeal to markets on a more personal level. Coca Cola also sponsors various sporting events in India and around the world in major sport events like Cricket, Football, Hockey, Olympic and Motor Racing etc. Coca-Cola uses the internet to promote its products. The company has its own website, which is quite simple to navigate through. The website allows customers to become interactive through various games, contests, shopping, and through a special section of the website that enables consumers to find out how they can help their community. ïÆ'ËœAlso in the modern era of communication and networking, the company uses various social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter to connect with the consumers. The  internet marketing thus helps to reach to those consumers who can’t afford to spend time on T.V and are always online