Techniques for Building Strong Customer Relationships

Your first strategy to building a strong customer relationship could be to make every customer interaction count. Don’t take a single customer for granted. Each and every interaction with a customer is a gift and should be valued. You can achieve that by setting up a focus group made up of loyal customers. A focus group can be a vital tool to getting into the mind of your customers and knowing their needs. Another strategy is to really listen to customers. Even complaints can be a gift if handled properly and quickly. Be available and accessible when customers have questions, concerns, or comments. Humans always look for someone to talk to or share their problems with, and if you can listen more to your customers, you will end up knotting the bond between the customer and your business. I think one of the strongest strategies that are important would be to build a strong brand identity. Make it easy for your customers to identify your business or products in the midst of the crowd. Create a winning slogan, tagged with a catchy logo and a unique theme. Most importantly, make a specific promise and deliver on that promise. One of my favorites is to reward loyal customers as a strategy. This is a point that can never be over emphasized, because most businesses go after new customers while forgetting that the existing customers need to be taken care of. Introducing a loyalty program is a very effective relationship marketing strategy. Creating long lasting relationships helps to ensure long-lasting customers and repeat sales. Nothing strengthens a bond more than appreciation, and thanking customers for sticking to your brand will go a long way to make them know they are important. A simple thank you package might be all your business needs to connect personally with your existing customers. Customers want to know that they are valued and appreciated as an individual. Showing existing customers that value and appreciation encourages them to refer their colleagues, friends, and others to your business.

Icarus Literary Essay

The modern world has certainly evolved from the time of ancient Greece. In the poem Icarus, by Edward Field, a Greek mythological character is placed in the bustling, ironic reality of the modern world. The once fearless and ambitious Icarus, takes his risk taking too far and finds himself miserable and trapped. His only failure turns out to be his worst failure of all and Icarus cannot get up after this final fall. Field uses euphemism, imagery, dictation, and irony to tell the story of a young adventeurer who is unable to overcome his tragic defeat.Icarus provides a strong message to readers about reaching for the stars, but being able to pick yourself up after you fall. Field uses euphemism to describe Icarsus’ â€Å"hero[ic] fall† (l. 20), not to his tragic death, but rather â€Å"to the middling stature of the merely talented† (l. 21). Icarus is portrayed as a hero in Greek mythology, so when he is transformed into the vastly different, mediocre world, it is his ultimate fall. His life changes from â€Å"compel[ing] the sun† (l. 14), to â€Å"rid[ing] commuter trains† (l. 29).The transition to mediocrity is worse than death to Icarus, and Edward Field emphasises this through the use of euphemism. Icarus’ fall to mediocrity is also emphasised through Field’s strong use of imagery. The reader is able to easily understand and visualize the transition from the first stanza, which describes Icarus’ tragic death and implies the differences between his traditional home and his new home, to the third stanza, where imagery deprecates his life in the new world. Right away imagery illustrates Icarus’ hard fall into the contemporary world when he goes from a hero to a â€Å"report filed and forgotten† (l.6).This use of imagery shows how Icarus is quickly forgotten and his peers have a carelessness towards his new persona as â€Å"Mr. Hicks† (l. 10). The imagery enforced here helps the reader to understand the harsh reality of Icarus’ fall to mediocrity. Field’s use of irony and dictation are the final pieces that illustrate Icarus’ fall to the modern world. In the opening stanza of the poem the ironic culture of the new world is brought to light when the witnesses of Icarus’ fall run off to a â€Å"gang war† (l. 5). Right away this establishes the cruel stature of urban life and the ironic revision of roles for Icarus.When Icarus’ report is â€Å"filed and forgotten† (l. 6), it has an ironic spin on Greek mythology, because in ancient Greece tales resembling this would never be forgotten. Icarus’ new home in the real world is ironic because his new facade as â€Å"Mr. Hicks† (l. 10) is portrayed as a nice, friendly neighbour, which is very farfetched from Icarus’ foolish and disobedient personality in his traditional home. Fields use of dictation throughout the poem is a constant reminder of the new s etting in the contemporary world Icarus is now living in.Words like â€Å"commuter trains† (l.29) and â€Å"committees† (l. 30), constantly clarify and emphasis the mediocre setting. Field strongly employs techniques of euphemism, imagery, irony, and dictation. In doing so, he conveys both poetically personal reflections and an effective change of Icarus’ setting, shaping this work as an even more tragic story for the protagonist than his death would have been. Icarus provokes the reader to self reflect on their attempts to reach the heavens and their abrupt fallings. It is a reminder to us that no matter how hard you fall, nothing will beat the pain of giving up.

The impact of the Singaporean Culture on starting a new business ( Research Paper

The impact of the Singaporean Culture on starting a new business ( this is my part of a bigger project) - Research Paper Example Two socio-cultural factors that have an impact on their desirability are the value of innovativeness and the entrepreneurs’ social status, which indicates that the socio-cultural environment of Singapore favors entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs setting businesses in Singapore have flexibility in various matters. Although the entrepreneurs that deal in the export of such things as sand, rubber, timber, and granite are required to procure special license, yet they have the flexibility of paying the money in the any currency they like since Singapore has no regulation of foreign exchange that normally exist in a vast majority of the countries all over the world. Entrepreneurs in Singapore, both novice and experienced need to closely monitor the modifying trends in the Singapore market and adapt the business to the changing trends in order to optimize the productivity and profitability of the business. â€Å"If you keep your eyes and ears open to new trends while doing business in Singapore, nothing can prevent you from being successful† (Moveandstay.com, 2012). Many options of business venture are available to the entrepreneurs in Singapore that can be profitable for them. ... There is a Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP) that ensures that high standards of ethics are maintained in advertising. â€Å"The basic premise of SCAP is that all advertisements should be legal, decent, honest and truthful. SCAP was formulated against the background of national law, international law and practice, including the International Code of Advertising Practice published by the International Chamber of Commerce† (CASE, 2008). The main factors that sell in Singapore are quality, price, and service. Prospective exporters need to realize that there is strong competition and the buyers look forward to getting a good after-sales service. The techniques of selling vary from one product to another, though they are comparable to the selling techniques prevailing in a sophisticated market in any country (export.gov, 2012). The extent of willingness of the members of a certain culture to accept and handle the risky and ambiguous situations is known as uncertainty av oidance. Cultures that are high in the level of uncertainty avoidance like to have predictable and structured circumstances that lead to the development and implementation of strict laws and explicit behavioral rules. Such cultures are risk averse towards engagement in the new business activities and unusual approaches of entrepreneurship. Singaporean society has low uncertainty avoidance which means that the people of Singapore have an acceptance towards ambiguity and unstructured situations. The Singaporean people like taking risks like establishing a new business and are open to new ideas. Concluding, Singapore is a land of great opportunities for the investors. The Singaporean society welcomes new ideas in business, and this openness is a great driver of innovation and creativity

Ted Bundy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ted Bundy - Case Study Example In his tender age, he understood that his biological mother was his sister. That is when they were staying in Philadelphia. With his mother whom he never knew as a mother but a sister, they later moved to Talcom, Washington with their relatives. Their last family name was later changed to Nelson. He was afterward adopted by Jonny Bundy. In high school and in college, he knew about himself as a bad boy and moved on to use this character as his stronghold. His bad characters were influenced by pictures that only reflected sex and violence. These pictures were mainly from the celebrities that were very well known to him. According to trusted sources, he had already committed several crimes before he finished high school. The crimes committed by then were like shoplifting and other petty crimes. It, therefore, underlines the foundation of his criminal activities. After he had graduated from the Woodrow Wilson high school, he proceeded to the University of Washington. During his stay at the university, he volunteered at Seattle’s Suicide hotline. He, therefore, learnt a lot and got a high experience on suicide and death. He later had a relationship with Stephen Brooks, who was strange and acted in an unfamiliar character. On learning about her, Ted was not well pleased. He was greatly affected when their relationship eventually ended. Ted Bundy lived a life that saw other people die in his hand. He was prevalent and gorgeous. His talk was very nice, and he could cheat people especially women and fall to his trap. He used to move in his car in popular women places and say a word to them. He could then ask them to escort him to his car. On the way, he could remove an iron tool and crash them in secret. Then he used to rape those women in cold blood. To get attracted to this women he used to pretend that his hand had an injury or he was a disabled man. These women could be

Objectives against Marxism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Objectives against Marxism - Essay Example Marxism is an economic worldview that is based on the assumption that a few people control all the means of production and that they reap all the benefits at the expense of those who work for them. According to Marxists, the workers, or the proletariat, will at one time in the future come to overthrow the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production. The majority of those who claim to believe in this philosophy have yet to prove that it can actually work. The Marxist philosophy has come to be applied in many fields including politics, and in the latter, it has been manifested through communism and socialism. For several decades in the twentieth century, Marxism was a powerful force on the world scene but because of its unsustainable nature, it has come to be relegated to the background in the recent years. While there are powerful arguments for the Marxist philosophy, there are also more potent arguments against it and most of the latter arguments are because it is unsustainable. Mar xism became a powerful force in the early twentieth century because its philosophy came to attract those people who had long been oppressed by their rulers. The early Marxists were men who had been raised in poverty and when they found this new philosophy, they felt that they could use it to improve their lot in life (Evans 762). What these people failed to realize is that Marxism is an utopian, which cannot be realistically implemented. This can be seen through the utter failure of the political systems based on Marxism that have so far failed to survive. Marxist governments, for example, have made the life of their people far worse than they were previously. A current case to note is the ongoing one in North Korea where despite the fact that the government still officially declares itself to be communist; the behavior of its ruling elite is a far cry from the Marxist philosophy upon which it was founded. While the people of this country continue to suffer, the elite live a life of luxury that the former can only dream of. In fact, it can be said that the North Korean elite has turned its back on the ordinary people, many of whom not only live in poverty, but are also suffer from malnutrition. This is an absolute failure of Marxism in the modern world and perhaps this country and its people would do much better if it had a government that had a free market philosophy as well as being democratic. An obvious example is South Korea, which took an opposite direction compared to its northern neighbor and is now one of the most respected economies in the world. The failure of Marxism as a political philosophy can be said to have been revealed during the Cold War when the Soviet Union had to work far harder than the United States in order to be able to compete with the latter. The communist system of government practiced in the Soviet Union was based on Marxist philosophy, where the state controlled every aspect of its economy (Skousen 500). The people who worked in the Soviet economy were given very little incentive to be more productive. Everybody was given a quota to meet and once that was done, then no more was required of them. Workers were treated more like machinery than as people who were essential for the development of the economy. There were certain instances where people did not even bother to work because they had no incentive to do so. They were not given any opportunity to be innovative in their work places, and even though they worked extraordinarily hard, under extreme conditions, they were given very little pay. The soviet economy therefore, did not have enough opportunity to ensure that it was diversified enough to stay competitive on the global scene.

Nursing in a Day Surgery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nursing in a Day Surgery - Essay Example In order to do this the discussion will first of define pain, because it not objective as many nurses and health practioners may believe. In fact it is a very subjective term. The discussion will end by considering the problems in the UK when dealing with patient's whose wishes are hard to discern and whether we should be administering pain relief methods without proper consent. It is this balance between whether nurses, as myself, should be acting on the wishes of the doctors and the establishment or the patient's wishes and concerns. This is because speed and cost efficiency should not be a determining factor in a patient's health, rather if a person who has varicose vein surgery is more suited for overnight care this should be considered. Pain was found to be the major concern for patients undergoing surgery and they wanted access to information both verbally and through written communication (Taylor. H. 2001). Patients have evinced interest in knowing the details of their recovery and realistic accounts of discomfort that they can expect. Addressing the cognitive component of pain is easily done through patient education (Carr C.J. Ellois. 2001). An audit at the Warwick Hospital found that although patient education booklets were available, the APS refrained from giving out this information. Besides, patients were not consulted in the development of the services Patients usually felt better and less ... Many used past experiences as reference for their expectations. Some studies found that patients had lower expectations of post-surgical pain. Patients also had a number of misconception related to the use of analgesia. This led to under usage of drugs and poor pain management. Understanding these factors can help nurses develop educational manuals for patients and help in better pain management (Taylor). H. 2001). The NIH has given Guidelines for the preparation of patient education and state the all communication must be, "clear, cost-effective, straightforward, modern, accessible, honest and respectful."(DoH, 2001) The Royal College and the Anaesthetic Association reported that 44% of hospitals had some form acute care services and 79% used modern analgesic techniques to manage pain (Carr C.J. Ellois. 2001.) A study of hospital services declares pain prevention to be one of the 10 most important indicators of care quality. (Susan M, 2003) While the need for management is acknowledged, the resources allocated for the function were found to be inadequate. In a significant finding, the Clinical Standards Advisory Group found that although 81% of the functions involve nursing care and 7% of these were headed by nurses there was lack of specialized nursing care in the chronic pain department. The situation was further made worse by inadequate funding. (Pain Society, 2001) Health professionals currently are found to have deficits in knowledge and skills for proper pain management. Nursing care is often found to be influenced by attitude of patients, their culture and value systems. (Redorbit.com, 2006) . The Services for Patients with Pain, in

Landscape regeneration project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Landscape regeneration project - Essay Example The broader objective of the urban regeneration project was to change people's attitudes towards the environment by increasing their awareness of environmental problems and ways to overcome them. Physical improvements and environmental protection measures were designed to complement and facilitate leisure, training, and social activities on the grounds of the Park. The Park's development was based on a well-integrated Master Plan. The Urban Pilot Project focused on the first stage, which developed an area of about 0.7 km. The Project was implemented from January 1991 to June 1995. The planned cost amounted to 7.68 MECU, 75% of which comprised co-financing from the European Regional Development. The aim of the project was to address the poor quality of the environment and the economic and social blight. This project combines a scheme which would have an immediate impact on the quality of life of the local inhabitants, but which would also be of a broader benefit in terms of increasing the environmental awareness of the general public. The objectives of the Queen's Tower Park project were: to improve the quality of the environment in West Athens : a.) to develop leisure and sports facilities; b.) to increase the public's environmental awareness; c.) to spread the benefits of economic growth to local communities; d.) to unite members of immigrant minorities into the community's; e.) to push local authorities to develop a more integrated approach to their problems; f.) to foster trade activities to support the Park; g.) to preserve historic buildings within the Park's boundaries. DISCUSSION OF THE QUOTATION AND THE EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE CONVENTION The Athens Urban Regeneration Program mirrors the key themes of the Olwig quotation, "Architects who think only in terms of the power of scenic space, ignoring the exigencies of community and place, run the risk of producing landscapes of social inequality like those of the great eighteenth-century British estates It is also possible, however, for architects to shape environments that foster the desire to maintain the continuities that maintain a collective sense of commonwealth, rooted in custom but open to change." (Olwig, 2002).This quotation is applicable to the Athens Project since the architectural developments in that area focused on fostering close interaction among communities and uplifting their socio-economic welfare through well-paved roads, telecommunication facilities and other infrastructure upgrading system.The Athens Urban Pilot Project aimed to tackle environmental and social problems in West Athens. Prior to this development, this city district has been affected b y rapid urbanization which, coupled with a lack of planned urban development, has led to a series of social and environmental problems. The district had no social amenities, inadequate social, educational, leisure and welfare facilities, and the absence of accessible green open space. Moreover, economic conditions became difficult. The decline in manufacturing employment in Western Athens led to high unemployment to the region, with a large proportion of the population on a low income. The area is filled with immigrants who transferred in the 1950s and 1960s.Graham et.al., (2000) argued that heritage exists simultaneously as an economic commodity. The economic functions of heritage have generally been presented as secondary and barely tolerated uses of monuments, sites and places, which have

Client Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Client Studies - Essay Example Or, it may be that sex itself, or lack of sex, is having a negative impact on ones relationships or general health. In addition, the organisation offers help with relationships where one or both partners are unhappy or are being hurt. In addition, help can be provided where a relationship has ended badly. Above all, the organisation offers help to anyone with worries about their sexuality.  Ã‚   The placement, which is situated in Wondsworth Borough in London, tends to provide services specific to the local community. The local population comprises many different ethnic groups, most notably Afro-Caribbean, Somali and Polish. Other counselling services share the Victorian terrace house, where the Albany Trust is located; this provides a dynamic and stimulating setting. The practice contains a waiting room with sitting facilities where clients wait to be met by an appointed therapist. Access to the practice is via an entry phone that is placed and accessed by the therapist in the waiting room. The consulting rooms are spacious and provide natural light, resulting in an environment that made me feel very comfortable. However, I realised that the only via starts access prevents us from seeing clients with disabilities or any other kinds of impediments. The client, Stephen, was self-referred and allocated to me after an assessment was made and a team, which included the practice manager, assessor and my supervisor, discussed my suitability for the case. Having discussed the case with my supervisor before meeting the client gave me the chance to explore my feelings and reactions towards the case. However, looking back on it now I possibly would have preferred not knowing as much about the clients case because in a way it prevented me from having a more open approach to the process with him, especially at the beginning of our therapeutic alliance. Stephen was offered open ending therapy, as he was seeking social benefits, and a low income fee of

What are dynamic capabilities and how do they differ from static Essay

What are dynamic capabilities and how do they differ from static capabilities - Essay Example It is basically hands on situation where a problem arise you solve it without having any planned solution in mind. This means that although knowledge may exist in people it can only be expressed within the organisation. As Winter said 'firms are organisations that know how to do things' (Winter, 1988, p.175). Winter is emphasizing the importance of being a part of an organization that is you are most likely to tackle a problem depending on the situation. Tacit knowledge is tough to replicate or imitate. If possible, it can only be transferred through teaching by example, and then this is only the case with knowledge which is observable. Thus this makes an organisational capability into a source of maintaining competitive advantage. Dynamic capabilities, as known today, are a set of specific and identifiable processes such as product development or strategic decision making with expected outcomes. They are detailed, analytic and stable processes for globalized manufacturing companies to continuously improve their performance and gain competitive advantage through establishing new plants and shutting down non-performing units. Thus dynamic capability is "a learned and stable pattern of collective activity through which the organization systematically generates and modifies its operating routines in pursuit of improved effectiveness" (Zollo and Winter, 2002). This proves that dynamic capabilities are procedures and understandings that help organizations to develop more competent practices and search for more efficient technologies, new or improved products and manufacturing process. According to Teece, Pisano and Shuen, many strategy scholars remain doubtful about the value of the concept of "dynamic... Dynamic capabilities, as known today, are a set of specific and identifiable processes such as product development or strategic decision making with expected outcomes. They are detailed, analytic and stable processes for globalized manufacturing companies to continuously improve their performance and gain competitive advantage through establishing new plants and shutting down non-performing units. Thus dynamic capability is â€Å"a learned and stable pattern of collective activity through which the organization systematically generates and modifies its operating routines in pursuit of improved effectiveness†. This proves that dynamic capabilities are procedures and understandings that help organizations to develop more competent practices and search for more efficient technologies, new or improved products, and manufacturing process. According to Teece, Pisano, and Shuen, many strategy scholars remain doubtful about the value of the concept of â€Å"dynamic capabilities.† Though it is seen as a key to competitive advantage, critics rather believe that they are born and not made meaning they are skeptical about them being the intentional genuine option for managers instead. However one can only accept this proposal productive only if it is widely adopted.

Does organic pollution affect E.Coli growth Essay

Does organic pollution affect E.Coli growth - Essay Example The paper tells that biological analysis of water to detect and quantify water pollution is a non-sensitive process. Microbes such as E.coli, which is a fecal contaminant, are able to survive the effects of water pollution through genetic adaptation. The changes in cellular metabolism that take place during this adaptation can be detected at a sensitive level, such as the quantity of E.coli in the water, or the amount of stress proteins being synthesized by the bacteria. Therefore, E.coli can act as a bio-indicator of water pollution. My research question and experiments were designed to study what effects take place on the growth and protein synthesis of E.coli when the bacteria is exposed to environmental stress. The growth of E.coli from lakewater was also compared with that of genetically engineered E.coli DH-5, to determine whether plasmid-mediated mutations assist in the survival of lakewater E.coli under environmental stress. My results showed that DH-5 was inhibited by the po llutant benzene and by high and low pH and temperatures. E.coli from lakewater survived in a greater quantity under these stressors compared t the genetically engineered strain DH-5. Also, the growth of E.coli from lakewater was inhibited to a small extent by the stress of temperature and pH change until a limit. Beyond these limits in the conditions, E.coli could not grow at all. Thus, the adaptation of E.coli to pollution is a characteristic with limitations. In conclusion, the changes in the growth and protein synthesis of E.coli under stress makes it suitable as a bio-indicator of water pollution. Further studies are needed to examine the usefulness of detecting synthesis of specific stress proteins by E.coli as sensitive bio-markers of water pollution. Table of Contents Interest in Topic 5 Introduction 6 Methods 8 Results 12 Discussion, Conclusions and Limitations 13, 14 Images 15 Bibliography 21 Interest in Topic My selection of my research topic is based on my interest in con ducting biological research, my concerns regarding environmental pollution, and my ambition to reduce the consequences of pollution through the results of my research work. I have been highly concerned regarding the many severely polluted water sources in my environment that I have observed. Various unchecked and unregulated commercial and industrial activities near rivers and lakes have released harmful substances into the water, destroying the ecology of these areas. I learned that to prevent and correct these changes, monitoring of the water quality and changes taking place in the aquatic environment are necessary. I have always been fascinated by the science of how some microorganisms work to solve the problem of pollution by producing signals and changes. I was also interested in learning how biological studies are used to derive information and understanding of the many mechanisms happening in our surroundings. After background reading, I developed an interest towards solving the problem of effective biological water analysis, which would

Current Events in Business Research Essay Example for Free

Current Events in Business Research Essay INTRODUCTION There are six basic stages to the research process. Stage 1 is clarifying the research question. This would be the process in identifying the problem that is prompting the research. Stage 2 is proposing research, which would be the act of identifying the resources necessary to do the research. The third stage is designing the research project, or deciding which method to use to gather the information. Stage 4 involves data collection and preparation, which is gathering the data and making it ready to be evaluated. Stage 5 would be the data analysis and interpretation stage. Stage 5 is defining what the data is saying about the problem. The final stage, stage 6 is reporting the results. This is breaking down the interpretation into a presentation that shows the meaning of the data collected. (Cooper Schindler, 2014) This is the process used by Paramount Pictures recently when it was in contract negotiations with the DVD rental company, Redbox. THE DILEMMA As the major Hollywood studios took sides for and against Redbox, Paramount Pictures was staying neutral. The studio had signed a first-of-its-kind trial deal guaranteeing that its titles will be available from the fast-growing $1-a-night DVD rental company through the end of the year. During that time, Paramount would study the effect of Redbox rentals on its total home-entertainment revenue, examining whether there is any decrease in the sales of its DVDs at stores that house Redbox kiosks. Under the terms of the agreement, Paramount would have the option at the end of the year to trigger a five-year deal with Redbox similar to ones recently struck with  competitors Sony Pictures and Lionsgate. The estimated value of the agreement was $575 million. Redbox President Mitch Lowe agreed because Paramount movies performed better at the box office that year. A Paramount agreement would give the studio a share of rental revenue, meaning it could earn more than $575 million if its movies prove popular. Sony and Lionsgate are selling their discs wholesale to Redbox. Though it doesnt have a formal deal with the company, Walt Disney Studios allows its wholesalers to sell discs to Redbox as well. (Fritz, 2009) There has been a lot of debate in the industry about the impact Redbox is having and will have, and we felt the best way to make a decision is by getting the information, said Paramount Vice Chairman Rob Moore. Then we can make an informed decision based on what we will have learned over the next four months. Guaranteed access to Paramount’s movies was important for Redbox. The studio released two of that summers biggest movies, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Star Trek.(Fritz, 2009) A movie that plays well in the theaters tends to do well when it is available to rent. Rental revenue could also provide a much-needed boost to the bottom line of Paramount. Lowe said he was confident that providing detailed data to Paramount would help resolve the heated disputes in Hollywood about his companys effect on the entertainment business. Lowe has previously said his companys research found that DVD sales dropped less than 1% in stores that installed a Redbox kiosk. Many studios do their own analysis that we know is not as reliable and is aimed at coming to the answer they want to hear, he said. We find that when we can form a relationship with a studio and share real data, it results in a positive step forward. Moore said he hadnt reached any definitive conclusions as to what steps he would take if the data showed that Redbox rentals do in fact reduce overall revenue. So, the dilemma that Paramount has is whether or not partnering with Redbox will reduce its sales income more than it will increase its rental revenue. THE PROCESS Paramount and Redbox did the research to determine whether or not rentals available the same day to buy decreased the sales revenue any more or less than those studios who decided to wait 28 days to make them available. Despite some content executives recently having touted the benefits of a  28-day window for DVD titles, Coinstar Inc.’s CEO Paul Davis said the companys own research showed Redbox Automated Retail LLC kiosks have a minimal impact on DVD sales. We did a major study, a little over a year ago, with a major studio and a major retailer and we found that the impact on new product sales as a result of our $1-a-night being out there, day and date, was less than 1%, Redbox worked closely with Paramount, and they did a lot of testing as well, and the fact that they decided to go with day and date (of release) I think speaks volumes.(James, 2010) CONCLUSION After reviewing the data collected by themselves and Redbox in 2009, Paramount Pictures made their decision. In June, 2010, Paramount exercised its option to extend its revenue-sharing license agreement with Redbox, which gives Redbox access to Paramount’s newly released DVDs and Blu-ray titles on the same day they are released in the sell-through market. Paramount’s extended agreement with Redbox runs until the end of 2014, though the studio will had the option to terminate the agreement early at the end of 2011. (James, 2010) As a result of the research, Davis thought that studios that have the 28-day window might opt to tweak their Redbox agreements to get certain DVD titles out for rental sooner. Especially as more and more data gets out there and as the studios that have opted for the 28-day window, as they have a year or so to look at the data, see how its impacted their new product sales it could move that we get some titles earlier, he said.(James, 2010) The process that Paramount and Redbox used, and the data they collected, could prove to be useful data to the other studios as to whether or not they should wait the 28 days. Reference Cooper, D. R., Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business Research Methods (12th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. Fritz, B. (2009, Aug 26). COMPANY TOWN; paramount to give redbox a spin. Los Angeles Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/422289074?accountid=458 James, S. B. (2010). Impact of day-and-date redbox rentals on DVD sales less than 1%. SNL Kagan Media Communications Report, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/869743836?accountid=458

Function Of Network Topology Communications Essay

Function Of Network Topology Communications Essay A network topology describes the arrangement of computer network. It defines how the workstation, or nodes, within the network are arranged and connected to each other. It is the physical interconnections of the links or nodes of a computer network. It has five ordinary topologies. There will be reliable for the in-house network (LAN). There are: Bus topology Star topology Ring topology Tree topology Mesh topology There are also three main categories of topologies: physical topologies signal topologies logical topologies The signal topologies and the logical topologies are often used interchangeable. The physical topology of network is the actual geometric arrangement of workstations. It is the design of wiring, cables, the locations of nodes, and the interconnections between the nodes and the cabling or wiring system. Bus Topology In the bus topology, each node is connected to a central bus that runs along the whole network. Each node is directly connected to the rest of the node in the network. All information transmitted across the bus, so can be received by any nodes in the network. Star Topology In the star topology, one central node or server workstation to which each of the other nodes on a network are directly connected. All information transmitted across the central nodes. Ring Topology In the ring topology, each node is directly connected to other two nodes on a network and other pair of nodes is indirectly also connected. It can be imaged as a circular arrangement. The data are passing through one or more intermediate nodes. Tree Topology In the tree topology, one node of star topology network is directly connected to node of another network. The tree topology is also combination of the bus topology and the star topology. Unlike the star topology in the tree, some nodes may indirectly connect to the central node. Mesh Topology The mesh topology has two designs called full mesh and partial mesh. In the full mesh topology, each node directly connected to rest nodes in a network. In the partial mesh, some nodes directly connected to rest nodes in a network and some nodes directly connected to some nodes in a network. Network Media Physical network medium is the type of cabling, that is used in a network. There are many types of cables used in networks today. Copper wire, Radio transmission lines and fibre optic cable are three main mediums of computer network communication. Wireless LAN has two types of architecture; there are Ad-Hoc Network and Infra Mode Network. Ad-Hoc Network is used in network which has a few nodes and there must be closely located. It architecture require only one wireless NIC for each nodes. Infra Mode Network is also called infrastructure mode. That network architecture is used in large wireless LAN. It may include at last one wireless router and many nodes. Wireless connection has many advantages; it used a smaller amount of space, no cabling needed between nodes, easy to expend, nodes can be mobile and not fix in one location on a network, wide bandwidth and multichannel transmissions. The length of wireless connectivity area is larger than wire connection. Wireless LAN devices are expensive. And so many kind of interrupt wave may disrupt to wireless connection than other media networks when the data transmission. Its easy to accept and big weakness point is less security. But it can be backup way to connect with a few devices when fail the main connection. Fibre optic cable is popular for high speed network. It can support many channels at tremendous speed. But it is very expensive and almost never used in LAN. Copper wire involves many type of wire. But twisted pair and coaxial cable are popular. Coaxial cable, also know as coax is designed with two conductors; thick coax and thin coax. Thick coax is stiff and heavy cable that is used as a network backbone for the bus network. Thick coax is difficult to work with and it is quit expensive. Thin coax is common type of Coaxial. Thin coax is quite flexible and has low impedance. It is capable of faster transmission than twisted-pair cable. It is supporting several networks on the same cable. But it supports only a single channel. It is high attenuation rate makes it expensive when long distance. Now a day these two coax cables are not useful, because of these tow coax cables are more reliable with Bus topology. The common and standard type of network media is twisted pair cable. It consists of two insulated wires twisted around each other and may include one pair to 4200 pair in a cable. In unshielded twisted pair (UTP), each wire is insulated with plastic wrap, but the pair is encased in an outer covering. Category 5 UTP cable is standard type of most Networks. Category 5 cable includes 4 pair and jack is RJ-45. Every electronic device has little or more weakness. So, twisted pair has little weakness points; exist a little crosstalk, susceptibility to interference and noise, attenuation problem is repeaters, routers needed every 2km or 3km, relatively low bandwidth (3000Hz), capable of slower transmission than coaxial, require direct peer to peer connections. (p2p connection require cross cable of UTP) But it has so many advantages. It is a thin, flexible and light weight cable that is easy to string between walls. Easy to work with and install. It does not quickly fill up wiring ducts, costs less per meter/foot than any other type of LAN cable. It is inexpensive but readily available. Maximum data rate is 1000Mbps in 1000BaseTX cable. If cable length is 100m (328 ft), we will get high transmission rate and high security in a network. Recommendation for Topology and Media The topology of highly recommend for the Townsville police department is the Star topology. The topology offers simplicity of operation. It also achieves an isolation of each device in the network. Many benefits will get using the star topology. Easy to replace, install or remove nodes or other devices. Each device needs only one link and one ports to connect it to any number of nodes; one device per connection. The star topology is no difficulty to make configurations, ease of service. It has a number of concentration points. These provide easy access for service or reconfiguration of the network. Good performance and reliable. Robust as failure of one link does not affect the whole system. The remaining of system will be active. It has simple access protocols. Any given connection in a star network involves only the central node. Thus in a star network, access protocols are very simple. Recommend for network media is Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable. Because of it is common standard of computer networking and reliable to install. It is really cheap and really easy to work with. So highly recommend network media for large and secure network is UTP cable.

Marketing Strategies Used By Nokia

Marketing Strategies Used By Nokia In order to execute the project on hand I have select Nokia. Nokia was founded by Fredrik Idestamin in 1865 as public limited company. Nokia is leading the cellular phone industry with around 38% of the market share, while Motorola, which is American based is having 12% of total market share. Nokia used be a diversified conglomerate up till 1980 with business includes pulp, rubber tire production, paper, telecommunication equipment, cable manufacturing, and consumer electronics. The geographic target market of Nokia was mainly limited to Scandinavia (70% market share) and US (33% market share) (123helpme, 2010). It should be noted that Nokia had never enjoy monopoly in any market including Finland and the company share is due to its competitive marketing strategy, state of the art product designing and manufacturing, pricing strategies and creative marketing campaigns. The company has constant record of launching new product that either low costs or cutting-edge technology, and flair have not yet been stopped. These two characteristics of the firm are giving it competitive advantage and the company is still the most profitable company of the mobile-phone manufacturing industry (Kumar, Banthia, Sharma, 2010). Nokia headquarter in situated in Espoo, Finland. The Research and Development wings of the company are situated in 10 countries around the globe. The device manufacturing factories of the company are located in nine countries while the company transacts its business in more than 150 countries of the world. In this paper we going to investigate that how does a Finnish organization become a world leader in the highly sophisticated cutting-edge industry from the marketing viewpoint? Importance and the use of Information in their Marketing Strategies of Nokia: In the decade 1990s the telecommunication industry around the globe experience three significant positive changes that sets the foundation for future growth. These three trends were increase in the use of internet, deregulations of the market that led to easy access for new competitor and the advent and popularization of wireless services. Nokia then adapted the three strategies in its marketing program. This was a mega turn in the history of Nokia. In order to get the exploit the opportunities provided by the environmental factors and decrease the potential demerits of changes that might have impact on the business, Nokia initiated an information system project. It has decided to install an information system that will facilitate decision maker across the organization in its various functional departments. For this sake Nokia takes advantage of Management Information System (MIS), Decision Support System (DSS), Executive Information System, Transaction Processing System (TPS) etc. Through the use of these systems the organization not only was able to manage the organization effectively and efficiently but was also able to coordinate its different RD departments (that are situated in 10 countries), its manufacturing facilities (that are situated in 9 different countries) and its distribution networks that situated in 150 countries. Organizational Marketing Strategy Used by Nokia: Organizational Strategy: Nokia historical logo was three arrows that were created in 1966, the company then devise its presently used organizational slogan connecting people. This slogan was design by Ove Strandberg. The company is the world 6th most loved and fastest growing brand of the world. All this was possible due to Nokia consistent organization wide supportive culture, shared values and vision. The vision statement of Nokia is our vision is a world where everyone is connected, and its promise is Our promise is to help people feel close to what is important to them. The approach the company used for to achieve this objective is Trusted consumer relationships, Best mobile devices everywhere, and Context enriched services (Nokia, 2010). Marketing Strategy: In order to achieve its organizational objectives, the marketing wing of the Nokia is doing remarkable job. In the following we explored different aspects of the marketing strategy used by Nokia. Market Segmentation: Geographic: Both Rural and Urban areas Demographic: Male and Female Age: 22-50 (almost 80% of the sales comes from this segment Consumer Segments: All the three types of users including high-users, medium users and light-users. (Kumar, Banthia, Sharma, 2010) Product Strategy: The focus of the marketing efforts of Nokia is mostly on handset manufacturing only. The company is constantly enhancing its product portfolio by inventing constantly new models. The mobile phones that are manufactured by Nokia have two diverse focuses: either low costs or cutting-edge technology. The products of the company are adopted as per the specific markets situation. For example handsets distributed in Middle East have an Arabic language function, while in France the language is tailored as French. Branding Strategy: Nokia use two types of branding strategies. It is due to the fact that its target market consumer consists of two types of customers: Upscale buyers and Economy seeker. For upscale buyer the company built its brand with high-end multimedia handsets, while for economy seeker in emerging markets its branding strategy focuses on providing economical handsets (123helpme, 2010). Pricing Strategies: The pricing strategies used by Nokia vary from situation to situation and from product to product. For cutting-edge technological products that are newly designed by the company RD, the company use first the skimming marketing strategy, and then decrease the price. While for cost-effective products that focus on economy, the company use penetrating pricing strategy. Promotion Strategy: The company success can be traced to the excellent promotion activities carried out by the organization. The company use integrated marketing communication to promote its various products in different region of the world. The promotion activities are directed toward replacement Place Strategy: The company distribution network is situated in 150 countries, and the company is still using its aggressive marketing strategy to boost its network, and market development strategy to target new markets from around the world. Nokia has come up with new place strategy by opening of the retail outlets known as Nokia Priority. Nokia: in the Global Context: Nokia has successfully used its marketing strategy to target diverse customers from around the world. Its products are equally used by rural as well as people belong to the urban areas. The company is using the right blend of standardization and adaptation. By studying the global market strategy of Nokia one can argue that Nokia standardized its products when possible and customize its products when needed. For example Nokia introduced its dust-resistant mobile phone with anti-slip grip and flash light in less developed markets including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc. the product was customized according to the needs and wants of the rural market of the people living in these countries. Such sort of commitment to the needs and wants satisfaction of the target market by Nokia shows Nokia genuine commitment towards the local customers needs. The competition in the global market for Nokia is increasing with the passage of time. As the market for cellular phone is passing through the growth stage of product life cycle, constant entrance of new cellular phone manufacture is continued. The competition for Nokia includes: Motorola, Sony Ericson, Samsung, Siemens, Panasonic, NEG, Toplux and Sagem and many more. In order to keep its share in the international market Nokia must continue to exploit its competitive advantage to get ahead of competitors. It needs to have more focused marketing strategy. Nokia late arrival of can-bar phone and missed design trends like clamshell phones are some of the factors that has led to decrease in the market share of the company (Kiley, 2007). Nokia market share was 66% in 1999, which now stood at 38% (2009), it means that although in terms of sales its revenue is increasing with the passage of time, but in terms of market share, competitors are capturing niche from Nokia. Nokia is using aggressive marketing strategy in the global market. Since 1997, the company has acquired 37 companies around the world. The acquisition includes, Cellity a mobile software company, OZ Communications of Canada, Navteq which is a U.S. base supplier for a price of $8.1 billion, and Enpocket supplier of mobile advertising technology and many more (Kumar, Banthia, Sharma, 2010). These acquisitions have strengthened the market standing of Nokia, and help the company to boost its competitive advantage. The global sales of Nokia are increasing and the organization is constantly using four types of strategies to increase its sales in the global market. Nokia is increasing its sales in its existing market of already available products through increase strong positioning strategy, promotion activities, and competitive pricing strategies, and thus company is able to increase the sales for its products. The company has constant record of launching new product that is either low costs (that target low-income group) or cutting-edge technology (that target upper-upper and upper-middle class of the market), and flair have not yet been stopped. New market offer exciting opportunities to Nokia and the company is continuing to explore new market in the world. Currently the distribution network of the company has been established in 150 countries in all the continents of the world. The company now developed multifunctional cell phones, and continued to put up its business in significant on the rise markets such as India, China, Middle East and Indonesia where the target market are still looking for reliable hardware. The strategy is working for Nokia and over the year it has been able to launch series of new version in the global market. And Nokia is now looking to target 200 million middle class population of China for whom the company has developed customized products that costs under 63$ (Kiley, 2007). On the other hand, the situation in US is quite different. Thats why the company is using different strategy to target that market. In US market growth is tough because the market is driven by cell-service provider. For example Verizon Communication sell phone to customer at subsidized rate to its target market. Nokias relations in US with cell phone operator are not as strong as those of competitors that are why the company is suffering in this front. To tackle this trend, Nokia have reportedly spends $5.4 million in 2007 and $2 million in 2008 on lobbying in the U.S. market to hold its market share. The strategy was very successful for the firm, as it resulted in favorable political environment for the company. Had the company adopted the same strategy in before the results for the company must have been quite different and it must have not lost its market share in the US market? On the other hand the condition is quite change as compared to condition in US and the consumers can buy the cell-phone of ones own choice, and then shop for their service. In order to take advantage of favorable market conditions Nokia has joined hands with Siemens Networks and formed a joint venture in 2006. Nokia Siemens Networks services are available in 150 countries around the world. Both the companies have merged their fixed line and mobile phone network equipment business to create the worlds biggest network. This has resulted in 1.5 billion Euros for Nokia in year 2009. Nokia e-Business Strategy: For Nokia e-business is not just limited to web presence to make easy buying selling. Nokia is exploiting the collective power of the internet and IT to vitally convert its strategic business strategies and business processes. Nokia is one of the successful ventures of the world that is using the e-commerce and e-business solution in its flair to build successful relation with its target market. Nokia e-business is known as Nokia Payment Solution that was initiated in 2001 (Nokia, 2010). The Nokia Payment Solution is unique program that enables payment service providers to mediate payments between three parties including financial institutions, distributor and consumers. This platform allow Nokia to collect, manage and clear payment initiated from mobile phone and other web-enabled terminals all the way through different payments methods including debit cards, credit cards, operators prepaid and postpaid system. Nokia provides Nokia Signet Server that serves the purpose of verification and payment transaction of non-repudiation through digital signatures. The verification and digital signature connecting the client and server are satisfied using the wireless Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology. On the other hand Nokia is using its e-Business strategy to successfully integrate its various divisions across the world. Nokia factories are situated in 10 countries, and its RD wings are situated in 9 countries. E-business provides an opportunity to Nokia to cut its costs dramatically through e-procurement, which is as a way for Nokia to better track and manage their purchasing. Nokia also provides various blogs in an effort to know its target market. This e-chat provides Nokia a form of technical and customer support is an excellent example of its customer focused e-business strategy. This e-business strategy that supplement Nokia traditional phone support is a system that saves precious time for Nokia while providing opportunities to know its customer more deeply. Nokia e-business strategy has helped the marketing strategist to better plan their product offerings, keeping in view the latest trends of the market. The products are designed and manufactured keeping in view the needs and wants of its target market. Through the use of e-business the marketing department is able to develop and retain its valued customers. Nokia website provides online support to its valued customer in the form of free download (music, video, themes, etc), software solution, and integration of different task related to products. . This had helped the company not only in creation long-lasting, and satisfied customer creation but also helped the company to prolong the product life cycle of its various products. On the other hand Nokia has formed strategic partnership with Facebook. Facebook is a social network website that connects people and work as link between them. This had provided remarkable opportunity to Nokia, because the Facebook application for Nokia is available for download in more than 150 countries. Nokia is the only mobile company of the world whose handsets can be connected to Facebook. This has created a world of opportunities for both Nokia and Facebook. (Nokia, 2010) Conclusion: Over the last two decades the mobile-phone market has gone through tremendous changes, with unbelievable products and rapid growth in the market. The growth of the market is still continued. Nokia is using its creative marketing strategies to hold its market share through strong positioning and competitive strategy in order to beat the competition. The company sales performance has been increase dramatically in the past few years, although it has lost a portion of its market share to new rivals in the market. If the company continue to tailor its marketing strategies according to the needs and wants of the target market, its chances for success in the market will increase even more.

The Hong Kong Chinese Community :: essays research papers

The Hong Kong Chinese Community The Hong Kong Chinese community is an affluent, educated, and swelling population in the Greater Toronto Area. The enigma is why they have only made marginal inroads into the political arena. Olivia Chow, a Metro councilor representing the Downtown ward says "this community has potential to be very powerful...it's nowhere near its potential." Chow is the highest-profile Hong Kong expatriate to win elected office in the GTA. Others include Tam Goosen, Soo Wong, Carrie Cheng, and Peter Lam. Many are convinced that the reason is because Hong Kong "is a colonial place where they had no say in government whatsoever." "In Hong Kong, there's never been any democratic procedure until a few years ago." "Chinese culture through thousands of years has never had an elected-representative type of Western democracy system. So it's not a surprise...(Hong Kong) is not a place where people exercise their democratic rights." There is a very common belief that you should not offend or challenge authority. People have lost a lot of confidence in politicians because of poor examples provided by ongoing tensions between Communist China and nationalist Taiwan. "We have to educate them and tell them politics in North America and Canada is very different from what they saw of politics in Hong Kong and China." Dr. Joseph Wong, whose community activism has earned him the Order of Canada, thinks that despite changes in Chinese attitudes, fear is still an obstacle towards political evolution. People are not afraid to demand for equal rights but the so-called mainstream politics and elected office is still baffling to the Chinese. The Chinese community's history in Canada also plays a major role in its reluctance to venture into politics. Following the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the federal government imposed a heavy head tax on new Chinese immigrants. Only from the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Trudeau government liberalization of immigration that Chinese people came to Canada from Hong Kong. In 1979 , he organized a demonstration to urge the federal government to admit more "boat people" - community members were appalled. "Don't rock the boat" was exactly what they said. They said that Canada had given them a shelter and they should not demand any rights. Later that year, W5 - a CTV public affairs program - aired a segment called Campus Giveaway, which was about Chinese students taking over Canadian universities and leaving Canadian students out in the cold. Within 2 to 3 months, there were 16 anti-W5 committees. The protest eventually forced W5 to offer an unqualified apology. Those 16 groups went on to form the Chinese

prime minister :: essays research papers

"I would anticipate that the major combat engagements are over," Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. He said U.S. forces are moving into a phase of "smaller, albeit sharper fights." McChrystal said the number of daily air missions had dropped to 700 or 800 in recent days, down from about 1,000 or more a day. And Monday, he said, marked the last day that aircraft from all five aircraft carriers would fly missions over Iraq. Plans were announced to scale back the American naval presence in the Persian Gulf by bringing home two carrier groups in the coming days. The USS Kitty Hawk and USS Constellation could leave the Persian Gulf in the next several days, officials said. That would leave the USS Nimitz, which recently replaced the USS Abraham Lincoln, as the only remaining carrier group in the gulf. Officials also said one of the two groups in the Red Sea, the USS Harry S. Truman or the USS Theodore Roosevelt, could depart soon. Coalition fighting Monday against Iraqi targets in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, was not as fierce as some expected. McChrystal said the Iraqi forces there lacked a "coherent defense." Still, he cautioned against any suggestion that danger had passed for coalition forces. Meanwhile, U.S. troops believe they have found 11 mobile chemical and biological laboratories buried south of Baghdad outside Karbala, a U.S. general said Monday. (Full story) No chemical or biological weapons were found along with the labs, but soldiers recovered "about 1,000 pounds" of documents inside them, said Brig. Gen. Benjamin Freakley of the Army's 101st Airborne Division. U.N. weapons inspectors in February "found nothing untoward" at an ammunition filling plant close to where the United States says troops have found the labs, a U.N. inspection team spokesman said Monday. In February, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the U.N. Security Council that Iraq had mobile biological weapons labs on at least 18 flatbed trucks. Disarming Iraq of its alleged weapons of mass destruction had been among the coalition's foremost goals entering the war, officials said. To date, there have been no confirmed discoveries of any such weaponry. The "only significant combat action" Monday took place in Tikrit, the lone major Iraqi holdout, said Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks of U.S. Central Command. After heavy airstrikes and sporadic battles Sunday, coalition forces from the south, west and north moved early Monday into the center of the north-central Iraqi city, the hometown of the deposed Iraqi president.

Constantine the Great :: History

Constantine was born in Naissus on 27 February in AD 285. He was the son of Helena, an inn keeper's daughter, and Constantius Chlorus. Constantine became a member of the court of Diocletian when his father, Constantius Chlorus was elevated to the rank of Caesar. He proved an officer of much promise serving under Diocletian's Caesar Galerius against the Persians. Later on, He was leading a battle against Maxentius, and on his way to rome, he saw a flaming cross in the sky that said â€Å"By this sign, thou shall conquer.† The next day his army was victorious against the more numerous army. Constantine saw this victory as directly related to the vision he had had the night before. Henceforth Constantine saw himself as an 'emperor of the Christian people'. With his victory over Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine became the dominant figure in the empire. The senate warmly welcomed him to Rome and the two remaining emperors, Licinius and Maximinus II Daia could do little else but agree to his demand that he henceforth should be the senior Augustus In this position, he ordered Maximinus to cease his repression of the Christians. Despite this turn toward Christianity, Constantine remained for some years still very tolerant of the old pagan religions. As time went on Constantine should become ever more involved with the Christian church. He appeared at first to have very little hold of the basic beliefs governing Christian faith. But, gradually he became more acquainted with them, So much so that he sought to resolve theological disputes among the church itself. This willingness to resolve matters through peaceful debate showed one side of Constantine, and his brutal enforcement of the decisions reached at meetings showed the other.

Coach of the Army Crew

Army Crew Case Analysis Coach of the Army Crew; Coach P. selected the top eight rowers for the Varsity boat after a long series of objective tests measuring each member’s speed, strength and coordination. The Varsity team had a clear advantage over the Junior Varsity team. So, how could Junior Varsity team beat the Varsity team in two-thirds of the time in practice races? There are obvious reasons behind the bad performance of the Varsity team. Coach P. lacking a leadership couldn’t see the signs of Varsity team having serious problems as a team.The problem with Coach P. ’s coaching mistake started with the team selection process of Varsity team members. He managed to measure individual performances successfully by using ergometer and weight records. However, as important as individual skills were, it was crucial for the eight individual members to be a team and synchronize their rowing. His performance and team building criteria lacked personality factors. Howev er, rowing needs a perfect teamwork and mental strength of the crew members. U. S.Olympic Committee’s research project showed that the master coaches those who were most experienced and successful tended to focus on psychological variables as the most important criteria for a successful crew team whereas novice coaches tended to focus on technique just like Coach P. did. Selecting a team solely dependent on individual technical performance resulted in very serious problems among team members. Coach P. lacking leadership skills had no vision about the team having serious trust and coordination problems.Just before National championships races, he –for the first time- included personality dimensions to analyze the team. It revealed that the Varsity team had no team leaders and had team disrupters instead. He brought in an external party to improve their confidence, concentration and motivation of the Varsity team which the Varsity team labeled it as â€Å"touch-feelyâ⠂¬ . Other than bringing in an external party, he should have acted as a leader and make the best decision for the group by using Rational Decision Making Model steps: first by identifying the problem, generating solutions, selecting the best solution and implementing it.He should have showed a transformation leadership which would increase acceptance and support from the Varsity Team. Each set of the transformational leadership behavior was very crucial for the disrupted team: * Inspirational motivation (establishing a vision using emotion): It is very obvious that the Varsity team had superior performance individually and they can perform much better if they believe in their team. However, they are demotivated and lost their beliefs in the team. Coach P. encouraged competition between JV and V groups which affected Varsity team negatively.Other than creating a tension between teams, he should have motivated each team separately and should have built close relationships with membe rs and provided an open and direct communication with them. * Idealized influence (sacrificing for the greater good): Team disrupters decreased the motivation of the team and the team had no leaders. Coach P. relied on third parties such as Center of Enhanced Performance (CEP) and asked the group â€Å"What is your solution? † other than trying to make the best decision himself and then take the right step.For the greater good of the team, he should have demoted the team disrupters. For the rest of the team she should have worked with each member individually to set their goals and increase their motivation. * Individualized consideration (providing support): The Varsity team’s most important problem is motivation and lacking a team spirit. To overcome this problem, Coach P. should have showed his support and provide open communication with the team. Instead, he tried to find the â€Å"right combination† by switching members of the teams and causing a tension am ong Varsity and JV boats.He should have realized from the very beginning that the problem is not about physical but it was psychological. By trying different combinations, he made the team’s psychology even worse. * Intellectual stimulation (encouraging employees to question the status quo): Coach P. should have let them negotiate and come to an agreement about the situation but it was very late for him to hold a group meeting just before National championships. Coach P. should have realized the trust and coordination problems of the team and should resolve the problems much earlier.As a good leader, he should have built the team depending on both physical and personality factors in the first place. He should have demoted team disrupters for better teamwork and motivation among the rest of the team members. To resolve the conflict between Varsity team, he should have provided a better communication among them. That way, they would have come to an agreement without any support from an external party like CEP. To create a team spirit, he should have done team building games and activities and make them socialize with each other. Both the team members and the coach don’t know and trust each other.Just like basketball coach, Coach K. ’s leadership style he should have been a loved leader who creates personal interaction and drives performance through respect. He should have built trust and respect among teammates and himself. After achieving these goals, it is very important to motivate the team to achieve a better performance. For Varsity team, following Locke’s Goal Setting Theory, creating SMART (goals that are specific in their orientation, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based) and right level of goals would increase the motivation and effort.Returning to case, Coach P. should not switch Varsity and Junior Varsity boats even though Varsity will perform badly in the Championships. That way, he will show his support and tru st to Varsity team. If he chooses JV team to compete, he might lose the Varsity team forever. He shouldn’t switch team members other than the team disrupters. Varsity boat has a clear advantage over Junior Varsity team but they lacked a teamwork and synergy. As a coach he should make them feel like a team again and perform their best in the Championships.

Assess the Role of Faith in Supporting Religious Belief Essay

In 1877, William Kingdon Clifford propositioned in his book â€Å"Ethics and Belief† that belief in something without sufficient evidence is irrational. Whilst he accepted that in many beliefs there is often an epistemic gap between the evidence and the conclusion (inductive reasoning) he did also claim that â€Å"It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.† Furthermore he claimed that that tolerating credulity (a tendency to believe readily) and superstition will damage ultimately society. He concurred with David Hume (1711-76) when he said â€Å"All wise men proportion their belief to the evidence.† This stance – that belief without sufficient evidence is irrational – is called evidentialism, and is adopted by many atheists (including Clifford and Hume) in their view of theology. However, natural theology instead attempts to meet evidentialism on its own terms by trying to show that belief in God is actually rational. It draws collectively upon all of the a posteriori arguments for God’s existence including the teleological, cosmological, moral and experiential arguments. However, it is rare that an atheist will be convinced by the evidence of these arguments anywhere beyond the point of agnosticism. It is generally accepted that belief in God requires some element of seemingly irrational faith. Indeed, the stance of fideism states that reason plays no part in belief. â€Å"Whoever attempts to demonstrate the existence of God†¦is an excellent subject for a comedy of higher lunacy.† – Soren Kierkegaard. Moderate fideists suggest that reason can actually be destructive to one’s faith. They claim that reason leads to arrogance by encouraging the idea that human reason alone will suffice and that God unnecessary for moral or spiritual direction. Whilst moderate theists view reason as a barrier to true faith however, (thus disregarding natural theology as irrelevant) extreme theists go so far as to agree with Tertullian when he said (AD 155-222) â€Å"Credo quia absurdum est.† or â€Å"I believe because it is absurd.† Aquinas (1225-74) claimed that there were two ways in which to know God. The first is through natural theology, including his five a posteriori proofs constructed by human reason. The second is through â€Å"revealed theology† which cannot be found by human reason alone, but must involve divine intervention or revelation. The acceptance of these revealed truths requires faith, and this is fundamental to the Christian religion. For example, only faith can reveal the truth behind the statement â€Å"God is the father, the son and the Holy Ghost† or that â€Å"the bread of communion is the body of Christ†. Thus revelation provides us with a body of truths, which must be taken on faith alone. Aquinas claims that faith is a combination of reason and opinion. It involves reason since it is propositional i.e. claims certain beliefs to be true and therefore similar to scientific knowledge. On the other hand these truths cannot be proved, and so involve an epistemic gap. It is this epistemic gap that makes faith a matter of opinion and so allows humanity free will over their belief. The stance that it is our choice whether or not to take a leap of faith was also held by Soren Kierkegaard (1812-1855). Alvin Plantinga (1932-) proposed that the classical foundationalism upon which evidentialism is based is flawed. Foundationalist beliefs are described by Plantinga as â€Å"the starting points for thought† and he summarises their definition as: â€Å"I am entitled to believe X without any evidence if and only if it is self-evident, incorrigible or certain to me in some way†. He argues that this is flawed, since this statement is itself neither self-evident, incorrigible nor is it certain in some way. It appears therefore that foundationalism defines itself as irrational. He also states that there are many beliefs that can be held rationally, but that do not fall under the foundationalist criteria or that can be justified contingently. For example, the trust we have in our memory, or the belief that other people have minds of their own. Plantinga argues that we must ultimately reject classical foundationalism on the grounds that it is incoherent, and also because it rejects many beliefs that common sense tells us to be properly basic. He propositions that his reformed epistemology should take the place of classical foundationalism, and because of this: â€Å"It is entirely right, rational, reasonable and proper to believe in God without any evidence at all.† A theist might claim that it just appears obvious to them that God exists, and for Plantinga this is good enough. However, surely this would mean that anything we like can be a properly basic belief? Could a child’s belief in Santa Clause not be defined as properly basic? Plantinga would respond by saying that it is the beliefs directly connected to God’s existence that are properly basic, rather than the belief in God’s existence itself. For example, the guilt felt after committing a bad deed or the sense that something must have cre ated and designed the universe. Blaisà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Pascal (1623-1662) deemed that it was reasonable to have faith in God by a sheer act of will, so certain was he that he put forward a wager: â€Å"Let us weigh the gain and loss in wagering that God is (exists)†¦If you gain, you gain all, if you lose, you lose nothing.† By this, he meant that the theist stands the chance of gaining entrance to heaven at the risk of nothing, whilst the atheist however risks damnation to hell. However, surely this basis of self-gain is at odds with the teachings of the Christian church? W.K.Clifford suggested that God would deny heaven to those who followed Pascal’s wager on the basis that faith should be founded upon trust and morality, not self gain. Pascal might have responded that true belief would arise from the habit of religion i.e. baptism, mass, prayer etc. However, this is contradicted somewhat by his opinion that one’s relationship with God should be somewhat deeper. â€Å"It is the heart which pe rceives God and not reason.† Furthermore, Pascal’s definition of faith appears to ignore the recognition of God’s immanence and His affect on our everyday lives. William James (1842-1910) found Pascal’s proposition that we can change our beliefs by an act of will entirely ridiculous. He claimed solidly that our beliefs are contingent i.e. each new belief is connected to the previous one. He does agree however that it is rational to sustain a belief even without sufficient evidence given certain circumstances. The first circumstance is where the evidence is indeterminate between two beliefs i.e. favours neither option. The second circumstance is if we are faced with a genuine option i.e. one that is living, forced and momentous. By living James means one that is a reality, as opposed to a dead option, that whilst theoretically possible, isn’t actually going to happen e.g. a devout Catholic supporting the gay pride movement. A forced option is one that cannot be avoided, e.g. choosing whether to go to school or to have a lie in when your alarm goes off at 7:30. A momentous option is one that is unique and irreversible e.g. joining the army – as opposed to a trivial option which is reversible and one that happens regularly throughout life. James states that it is therefore sometimes rational to believe in God without sufficient evidence if the choice is a genuine option. He disputes Pascal’s wager as necessarily being a genuine option as it is not necessarily forced (one could deny the possibility of going to hell) nor is it necessarily living (one might be a devout follower of a different religion). However, he does accept that for a person who perceives the evidence as indeterminate and is already open to belief in God, Pascal’s wager might succeed in tipping the scales and getting them to make that leap of faith. James does believe however that faith can in some instances be a genuine option, and a decision that involves seizing the opportunity and taking a risk. He states that when faced with a genuine option and without sufficient evidence, making a decision will then reveal the evidence to us. For example, one cannot be sure of a stranger’s kindness until they have decided to trust the stranger and give them a chance. Similarly, by making a leap of faith in God, the definitive truth will be later revealed by eschatological verification. However, natural theologians such as Aquinas would certainly dispute James’ claim that the evidence is indeterminate, for the cosmological, teleological, moral and experiential arguments – whilst inconclusive – can be extremely persuasive. Furthermore, like Pascal, he seems to ignore faith as an acceptation of God’s immanence and active presence in our lives. The version of faith held by Aquinas, Plantinga, Pascal and James is propositional in that they all claim that faith about believes in God’s objective existence. However, faith can also be seen existentially as an attitude incorporating God subjectively into the believer’s life. For instance, when I say â€Å"I believe that murder is wrong† or â€Å"I believe in free speech† I am not stating anything about existence, but rather about my commitment towards certain values. H.H.Price (1899-1985) claimed that the statement â€Å"I believe in God† is similar to this in that it is a way of perceiving the world using certain values. â€Å"to see oneself as a created, dependent creature, receiving life and well being from a higher source†¦the only appropriate attitude is one of grateful worship and obedience.† – John Hick. To conclude; each of the arguments examined above vary in their relationship with reason, but what they all have in common is that faith is central to the believer and must work independently of reason to some degree. Some of the arguments incorporate reason, some reject it entirely, but the transcendent nature of God can never be proved, can never be indubitable, for faith is an integral part of religion. Perhaps then natural theology is not trying to prove God’s existence to the point where faith is cast out and certainty resides in its place, but rather it is merely trying to explore God’s nature. â€Å"I do not seek to understand so that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand† – St. Anselm (1033-1109) Proslogian 1. Natural theology could therefore be seen as an expression of faith, rather than a foundation for it. The majority of theists argue that faith is necessary, for if God proved himself to us, we would no longer have free will over our belief and so would be robots without dignity. On the other hand, surely God in His omnipotence could find some way of maintaining our freedom whilst simultaneously providing us certainty of his love? Why not give certainty to the millions of His helpless and suffering children who have lost faith; for where is their dignity?

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† by Dylan Thomas BY Lolo-H poem â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† by Dylan Thomas Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, And you, my father, there on that sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Dylan Thomas was a Welsh poet who died tragically young but left a powerful legacy of work. This poem, written to Thomas's dying father, has a strict structure, but an unconventional message. Thoma s encourages his father to rebel and struggle against death, what he calls the â€Å"dying of the light. † Although written for his father, Dylan Thomas himself ironically died the year after his father.Poetry-poem 12. 1 2010: This lesson plan is the property of the Mensa Education ; Research Foundation, www. mensafoundation. org. It is provided as a complimentary service to the public. Reproduction and distribution without modification are allowed. Images, links and linked content referenced herein are the property of the originating entities. Taking it apart Thomas sees lite as a day – death is the closing ot that day, and the dying of the light is the sunset and coming night. Notice the pairing of lines 1 ; 3. Gentle matches rage; good with dying; and night with light.This is a mythological allusion to the gods who could throw lightning bolts and have the skies tremble at the sound of their voice. In this stanza, Thomas says that even though men accept that they are mortal and should die (â€Å"Death is right†), he still encourages a rebellion against it. Stanza 2 talks about how wise men approach death. This stanza is about how â€Å"good† men do. They see the things they did in life reflect like light off of a bay. Rather than being useless, it is the old, near dead, â€Å"grave† men who can really see. â€Å"Gay' here means â€Å"happy' or â€Å"carefree. â€Å"Notice the oxymorons here: â€Å"blinding sight† and â€Å"blind eyes. † There is also a simile comparing eyes that â€Å"blaze like meteors. † Curse, bless, me now witn your tierce tears, I pray. From the general men discussed in the previous stanzas, Thomas narrows to his father in this stanza, pleading with him to fight against death, pleading with him to still be â€Å"fierce. † The lines that have been separated throughout the poem come together in the last couplet to reinforce the theme of the poem. Poetry-poem 12. 2 Memorizi ng it The form of this poem is called a villanelle. It has only two end rhyme sounds.The irst and third lines of the stanzas rhyme, and the second line rhymes with all other second lines. A villanelle ends with a rhyming couplet, and has nineteen lines – divided into five tercets and one quatrain at the end. The strict villanelle structure and rhyme scheme make this poem particularly easy to memorize, particularly since the last line of the tercets are repetitive: you get five lines memorized for the price of two! You actually get more than that because the line â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night† appears in the poem four times. Using a highlighter or colored pencil, underline the lines that are repeated.

Determinants Of Health Essay

Social determinants of health are the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics.Social determinants of health are factors in the social environment that contribute to or detract from the health of individuals and communities. These factors include, but are not limited to the following: Socioeconomic status,Transportation,Housing,Access to services,Discrimination by social grouping (e.g., race, gender, or class),Social or environmental stressors.Certain factors that contribute to the development of illness are: Poverty,Unemployment,High School Education, Health Insurance. Communicable diseases spread from one person to another or from an animal to a person. The spread often happens via airborne viruses or bacteria, but also through blood or other bodily fluid. The terms infectious and contagious are also used to describe a communicable disease. A communicable disease chain is the chain of infection,which includes: INFECTIOUS DISEASE:Any microorganism that can cause a disease such as a bacterium, virus, parasite, or fungus. RESERVOIR: The place where the microorganism resides, thrives, and reproduces, i.e., food, water, toilet seat, elevator buttons, human feces, respiratory secretions. PORTAL OF EXIT : The place where the organism leaves the reservoir, such as the respiratory tract (nose, mouth), intestinal tract (rectum), urinary tract, or blood and other body fluids. MODE OF TRANSMISSION :The means by which an organism transfers from one carrier to another by either direct transmission (direct contact between infectious host and susceptible host) or indirect transmission (which involves an intermediate carrier like an environmental surface or piece of medical equipment). PORTAL OF ENTRY : The opening where an infectious disease enters the host’s body such as mucus membranes, open wounds, or tubes inserted in body cavities like urinary catheters or feeding tubes. SUSCEPTIBLE HOST :The person who is at risk for developing an infection from the disease.

The Z Notation Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The Z Notation - Math Problem Example COUNTER The precondition increments the value of count by one every time a value is added. The precondition indicates that the limit does not change. The precondition indicates that the number of items added cannot exceed 256, which is the limit. If the item to be added in the sequence already exists, the item should not be added to the list. The schema ALREADYADDED helps to control this. ALREADY ADDED The precondition tests if the item to be added already exists in the given sequence. If the value exists , then the system returns a value (ALREADY_ADDED) If the value is already in the sequence the resulting sequence does not change, this precondition is given by The function INFORM: is given by: Combining the three schemas gives the general expression for pushing the item onto the stack. PUSH_ITEM The item (i) becomes a subset of the ITEM The resulting count + 1 must be less than the limit value The limit value does not change The sign depicts change of state If the sequence has the item identical to one being input then, the system displays 'ALREADY_ADDED' (2)POPPING THE ITEM FROM THE STACK The schema for displaying an item isDISPLAY_ITEM For the item to be displayed it must be contained in the sequence The function takes the name of the requested item and finds it and displays all information about the given ITEM. There is no change in state of the system, this is illustrated by the symbol To prevent displaying an item not in the sequence, the system should return a NOT_FOUND result, the expression is given by; NOT_...Each piece can then be described informally with a commentary. The Z schemes describe the dynamic and static aspects of a system. The static aspect of a system includes the states the system can occupy and the relationship maintained when the system transits from state to state. The dynamic aspects include the operation that are possible, the changes that occur and the input - output relationship. (1) The list of persons name and corresponding salaries (can be used by a company to store data of the employees working in that company and also store the salaries of these people.) the reasons for using this type of data are Several people using one name may earn the same salary, the system can be coded to display number of people earning the same salary, this means that the tests data type can be subjected to various operations. To test for rotation a number (i) and the square of the number (i2) can be used. The test data comprise of different numbers and their squares, these numbers form a sequence. The elements can be arranged so that the top most elements are the first members of the given sequence and the last element is greatest number in that list. On rotating left the greatest number and its square becomes the first element of the set.

Organizational behavior case study Research Proposal

Organizational behavior case study - Research Proposal Example This paper analyses the occupational stresses, work values and job satisfaction. It also analyses ‘male’ and ‘female model’ differences which was a concern for Stewart thinking the differences between these models. Isabel Stewart, a highly experienced corporate tax lawyer at Austin and March Law firm in Philadelphia, is concerned about a junior male lawyer who is able to secure some extents of better works and to take over ‘big deal’ cases. It is not the compensation paid that she becomes dissatisfied with, but feeling of competition with a very junior person in the next office makes her think negatively and sense of complex to work with a ‘male’ guy turns her more mentally stressed. Stewart is quite different in the ways she thinks. While dealing with matters, instead of intellectual appeal, she gives importance to works in career terms. Being aware of her managerial and decision making skills, Stewart always looks forward for opportunities to improve her skills further yet. Accepting the projects or works as opportunity can be regarded to be more right way than taking it as ‘favor doing’. Stewart realizes that as a lawyer, she could have satisfied the client saying ‘I would really like to do that project’. Moreover, those who succeed in their work are not just sitting for the work in the last minutes but take it as a challenge and they are neither irresponsible nor absent minded even in the cleanliness of their desks. Stewart realizes that successful people are very energetic in doing the projects. She feels that ‘male model’ is some sort of ‘challenge’ characteristic by which one seems to be attacking the work and then making it wonderful. According to her finding out, male model is frenetic style, by which they put much efforts and energy in way more quickly moving fast and jumping around. ‘To be specific’ in dealing with clients is as imperative as quality of the work. Stewarts finds that those guys

Football or Tennis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Football or Tennis - Essay Example Tennis, on the other hand, has its own magical aura and unique charm, but in my opinion, when compared to football, it almost fails to bag the first position when it comes to the popularity of sports. This might be due to the fact that because of involvement of many players, naturally huge interest develops compared to the simplicity related to only two players involved in tennis. The comparison between the two games can be discussed in terms of the state of mind. Decisions have to be made in tennis that does not spare much time for the players. No one can disagree that all those trickiest decisions have to be made in a fraction of second and all this strategy involved in this highly fiddly game require the extraordinary presence of mind. An acute decision at the correct moments is what professional tennis is all about. The point is, all the crucial decisions have to be made single-handedly, that is in huge contrast to football, where teamwork is included and prostrating pressure doe s not have to be faced by only one person. Furthermore, tennis is primarily a one-man show whereas football requires teamwork. Also, the former is played with hands while the latter is played with feet. Summing up, hopefully, this much becomes clear from the above discussion that both games have their huge share in the entertainment world, but it would be unfair to underestimate any one of them. Deficiencies are always there but what matters is how long any game stays in vogue and both games have more or less managed to achieve this position.

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assignment - Essay Example The country is vulnerable to various natural calamities that upset the people’s lives in the nation following calamities like floods, cyclone and landslides that affect the entire environment and human beings together with their livelihoods. The country’s location makes the nation vulnerable to natural calamities since three quarters of the nation and the Bay of Bengal make the nation the center of life-giving monsoon rains, making the nation prone to catastrophic destruction of natural disasters. The worst catastrophes in the globe tend to arise between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, a region which coincidentally contains the poor nations, which is the case with Bangladesh (Natural Disasters 94). Q.3 The fundamental reason is that the region contributes 3% of earth’s surface while it is population contributes to 47.9% of the world population moreover the region lacks deserts, permanent ice and other conservation landscapes; therefore the protection of enda ngered wildlife is less feasible in the region. The region also has high rate of deforestation compared to other regions of the world like sub-Saharan Africa and the heavy hunting in the region make it difficult to protect endangered wildlife. Moreover, the region faces the problematic issue of wildlife trade like the rest of the world; however certain factors make it especially problematic in region like the high economic growth and improvement of transport infrastructure that improve access to wildlife areas. Some of the endangered species include three species of Asian pangolins that include Malayan of Sunda pangolin, Indian pangolin and Palawan pangolin. Q.4 Between 40% and 60% of the population in South Asian cities do not have access to piped water moreover, nearly 60% of urban households lack sanitary facilities with 42.9% of urban population in the region living in slums. Slum dwellers in various countries in the region differ for instance in Bangladesh (69%), Nepal (69%) an d Pakistan (47%) reporting significant proportion of urban inhabitants living in slums. Q.5 Green revolution began in 1960’s and 70’s and involved the introduction of high yielding varieties of food products with the aim of increasing food production and promoting self-sufficiency. After the introduction of high yielding seeds for food crops there have been clear significant benefits like increased food production in developing nations. However, since the program began some farmers have recently begun disregarding the use of modified seeds and pesticides in favor of organic farming propelled by the rising cost of fertilizer and pesticides. Q.6 Various factors influence the decline of fertility in India like the government policy for reducing to 2.1 from the previous 5.1 in early 1970s. Other factors include rising levels of education and the rising levels of aspirations for well being in the society. Even though India has had family planning programs for a long period of time; however, the average fertility has declined slowly. The relative slow decline of fertility has led a built up of large population in India that will enter reproductive age in the near future thus, the country’ population growth will continue in next few decade despite the decline of f

Jean Piaget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Jean Piaget - Essay Example noted that all children develop through all these stages with a childs understanding of the world changing as a child moves from one stage to another. In his study, Piaget was able to prove that choices that people make in life are dependent on the developmental stage that a person has reached (Pressley and McCormick, 2007). This is after the psychologist proved that because children and adults think differently, the choices that people make depend on whether an individual is still a child or an adult. Certainly, Piagets theory of human development has significantly influenced the choices I have made in life. I have particularly used Piagets child intelligence and thought process to guide for pursuance of education as the ultimate means of succeeding in life. For instance, I did not take education seriously during my childhood days. To me, everything was normal because I used to think mostly in an abstract manner. In fact, I used to find it difficult going to school since I did not view education as something important in life. Such thought process continued until middle adolescent when I began to learn of the importance of education in the present day society. Piagets findings can explain the sudden change in my thought process. In this case, Piaget demonstrated that, once an individual has reached the formal operational stage, the individuals moral decision-making process is refined (Van Blerkom, 2008). Similarly, I began to realize the importance of education upon reaching at adolescent stage. Nevertheless, as much as I was aware of the importance of education, the fact that I still had childhood thinking prevented me from studying hard. However, as soon as I approached 16 years old, I realized that, for me to succeed in life I have to study hard and obtain good grades. Otherwise, my life will be a misery. My understanding of the importance of studying hard to perform well in class can be explained by Piagets developmental stage theory. In this regard, Piaget