Book report help: October 2019

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Civil Liberties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Civil Liberties - Essay Example While civil liberties are protective in nature, it is still imperative for the police to make sure that all American citizens are entitled to these liberties. While on assignment with The New York Police, various cases relating to civil liberties were presented. On such occasions, the simulation training comes to mind. The police have to deliver correct judgments without contravening the constitution. While still on duty with the NYPD, striking students emerged rioting from their college. Controlling rioting students can be quite a challenge. They were protesting because one of their own had been run over by a hit and run motorist. They have right to assemble and speak their mind, but the manner of their protest was more likely to disrupt various activities and inconvenience other motorists (McReynolds 322). The situation presented below is sandwiched between upholding civil liberties for students, and a possible confrontation with the same liberties to the public and the motorists. The police simulation program comes in handy at such situations. ... Getting such students, with infuriating tempers, to calm down is a beg test for police simulation capacities. Explaining to them that they have to execute the constitutional rights in a manner that freedoms to other people are curtailed at their expense is necessary. Motorists are inconvenienced because the students are causing traffic build up. The freedom of movement of the motorists is curtailed at the expense of the freedom of speech being exercised by the students. Reaching an agreement with the students, without necessarily having to put them under control using force is the best solution. In the end, the students clearly understand that their rights have been respected as stated in the constitution while they too have to act in a way that will show their respect for other citizens. This decision warrants a promotion. The assignment brings with itself various benefits. First, the civil liberties create awareness that these are constitutional rights available to any citizen of t he Unite States of America. The police are a key factor in promoting the spirit of these liberties. It is in the authority of the police to ensure that all people have equal access to these constitutional rights. Civil liberties develop a unifying feeling between blacks and whites. The majority (white) and the minority (blacks) all have equal rights in the constitution. This helps to curb the superiority feeling of the white Americans while trying to reduce the inferiority feeling within the blacks. The government too has the power to uphold civil liberties. This can be reached effectively by dispensing justice equally to all citizens in courts without partiality or favor. The government also has to provide equal employment opportunities to all citizens, improve equal

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Politics and Administration Essay Example for Free

Politics and Administration Essay Introduction 186, 207, 221? Power Struggle between the pro-democratic and pro-conservatism One of the reasons that led to such a tragic end for Tiananmen Movement is the power struggle between the two camps of leaders, pro-democratic (Former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhao Ziyang) and pro-conservatism (Deng Xiao Ping). In 2009, a memoir was published based on audiotapes recorded by Zhao Ziyang, called Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang, he mentioned that he Ã¢â‚¬Å"didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t want to be a General Secretary who opens fire on the people. Ã¢â‚¬ From this, we could clearly tell by that time, Zhao differed in opinion from Deng and other conservative leaders, like Li Peng on how to handle the student movement, i.e. whether to pursue a peaceful or a military solution. http://blog.foolsmountain.com/2009/06/03/tiananmen-1989-a-need-for-dialogue-20-years-later/ One very crucial turning point that we know is that by that time, the CCP General Secretary made a scheduled official visit to North Korea, which turned out to be a bad decision at the time of turmoil; this was because on April 26th CCP Central issued an editorial on Peoples Daily in the absence of Zhao Ziyang, which was titled Uphold the flag to unambiguously oppose any turmoil, denouncing that the patriotic student movement as a turmoil ignited by an extremely small handful of opportunists. http://www.alliance.org.hk/64/6420/?page_id=521 According to Wu Jiaxiang, a former aide and a leading political scientist in Beijing, Zhao Ziyang, before leaving for North Korea on April 21st, had instructed that no politburo meeting should be held in his absence but other CCP leaders, likle Yang Shankun Li Peng immediately convened a CCP Expanded Poliburo Meeting, then reported to Deng Xiaoping with meeting opinions, and then borrowed Deng Xiaopings mouth in stating that CCP should not fear bloodshed. And in Zhao Zhiyangs self account, recorded by Yang Jisheng, he claimed that it was li Ximing Chen Xitong who contacted Wan Li on the night of April 21st in request of convening a commissar meeting; that Wan Li relayed the info to Li Peng. Later, according to ________, Li Peng convened the meeting on the night of 24th, reported it to Deng Xiaoping on 25th, and was authorized to relay Dengs opinions to communist cadres; and that Li Peng took advantage of the occasion to draft a newspaper commentary for publication on April 26th. By the time Zhao returned to China after the scheduled visit, he found it was just too late to remedy the situation as hostilities between the government and the people have been greatly aggravated. Other than the mis-communication over the Peoples Dailys editorial, we may gain further insights into the power struggle between the party leaders by taking a look at a previous document obtained by CNN and written by Bao Tong, a close aide to Zhao Ziyang, describing in detail the events leading up to the crackdown on student protests in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. September 25, 1989 Comrade Hu Yaobang died on April 15, soon after which the student demonstrations began. I was extremely worried. Comrade Xiaoping pointed out in his speech on April 25 that the overwhelming priority in China is stability I completely agreed with his point; I also wanted to maintain stability and prevent turmoil. Specifically, I wanted to make an effort to reduce tensions and to avoid precipitating the tension into clashes. The Peoples Daily April 26th editorial, in my view, was harsh in language and lacked analysis and persuasiveness; I had my reservations about it. On May 19 and 20, the Central Committee announced the decision to send the military into Beijing and declare martial law; in my heart, I believed we made a terribly wrong move; I was afraid that we would be trapped in a very difficult situation, riding a tiger, hard to get-off. The Central Standing Committee collectively criticized Comrade Zhao Ziyang; I felt it was unfair. 1.1 It was I who first informed Comrade Ziyang that the April 26th editorial had aggravated the confrontational mood of students and people who had previously taken a neutral position. Comrade Ziyang returned to Beijing from North Korea on April 30th. As soon as he returned, I reported to him as follows: Students have been demonstrating in the streets since April 27th. There were so many of them that it was impossible to blockade; there were also lots of onlookers following them. Some government officials sympathized with the demonstrations. There were signs that the incident was escalating and expanding; there were a great number of students and others who resented the April 26th editorial and believed that it was hostile towards them. I spoke about my opinion of the editorial: the positive side of the editorial was that it presented Comrade Xiaopings thoughts that China must maintain stability and must not fall into turmoil. However, the editorial was written in a very harsh tone, did not adequately present reasons and lacked analysis. It also did not take into consideration the acceptance of people who were previously neutral. Since there were so many people who believed that the editorial was hostile to them, it was obvious that the editorial did not express its ideas clearly. Comrade Ziyang did not express his own opinions at that time. After a few days, he said to me: It seems that there are flaws in the editorial. Comrade Ziyang certainly formulated his opinions in his own way, but it was I who first reported to him about the editorial with this point of view. http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/04/22/tiananmen.document.01/ Students Uncollective Actions As discussed above, power struggle among the party leaders is one of the factors in leading to the unwanted tragedy of the June 4th Movement, but as I argue down below, the chaotic and unsystematic internal management of various student movements are by nature underlying factors to the tragedy. After the April 27 demonstration, the government commenced to open up dialogues with students, and the government seemed to take the initiative to adopt a more positive approach towards the student movement. The governments willingness to concede and negotiate have lit up the hope for the majority of students that the entire student movement might come to a peaceful end(Source: Book) Yet, almost by the same time, the leadership and organization of the movement among the student leaders became problematic. Not only did the student movement organizations hold different points of views towards the movement strategies, some of the student leaders also paid no respect to organizational claims, and much often instead, they themselves acted on behalf of their organizations. One fine example would be the case of Zhou Yongjun, who was the president of Beijing Autonomous Federation. He helped organize another big demonstration on May 4. However, without any consent from his fellows and colleagues, he announced the end of class strike without a clear resolution within the leadership. http://www.standoffattiananmen.com/2009/04/people-of-1989-zhou-yongjun.html In order to better describe the dividing powers among the student leaders during the late stages of June 4th Movement, Zhao (2001) simply grouped the student demonstrators by that time into three groups, which are called respectively Dialogue Delegation Group, Beijing Students Autonomous Group and the so-called charismatic group http://site.ebrary.com.eproxy1.lib.hku.hk/lib/hkulibrary/docDetail.action?docID=10402626 As Zhao (2001) noted, the students that belonged to Dialogue Delegation Group were eager for the coming dialogue with the government. References Gonzales, Eduardo, L. and Gillespie, C.G. (1994). Presidentialism and Democratic Stability in Uruguay. In J. J. Linz and A. Valenzuela (Ed.), The Failure of Presidential Democracy, Comparative Perspective (pp. 151 Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 178). Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press Hanan, D. (2007). Presidentialism, parliamentarism and semi-presidentialism: Incentives and disincentives in achieving multiple democratic goals. Retrieved from http://djayadihanan.blogspot.com/2007/12/presidentialism-parliamentarism-and.html Linz, Juan J. (1994). The Failure of Presidential Democracy. The Case of Latin America. In J. J. Linz and A. Valenzuela (Ed.), Presidential or Parliamentary Democracy: Does it Make a Difference? (pp.7).Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press Maeda, K. Nishikawa M. (2006). Duration of Party Control in Parliamentary and Presidential Governments: A Study of Sixty-Five Democracies, 1950-1998. Retrieved from http://www.bsu.edu/web/mnishikawa/MaedaNishikawa2006CPS.pdf Mainwaring, S. (1993). Presidentialism, Multipartiism, and Democracy, The Difficult Combination. Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 26 No. 2 (pp. 198 Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 228) Mainwaring, S. Shugart, M. (1993). Juan Linz, presidentialism, and democracy: A critical appraisal. Retrieved from http://www.nd.edu/~kellogg/publications/workingpapers/WPS/200.pdf Power, Timothy and Mark J. Gasiorowski. (1997). Institutional Design and Democratic Consolidation in the Third World. Comparative Political Studies. Shugart, M. S., Carey, J. M. (1992). Presidents and assemblies: constitutional design and electoral dynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Valenzuela, A. (1994). Party Politics and the Crisis of Presidentialism in Chile: A Proposal for a Parliamentary Form of Government. In J. J. Linz and A. Valenzuela (Ed.), The Failure of Presidential Democracy The Case of Latin America (pp. 93). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Impact of IT on Interpersonal Communication

Impact of IT on Interpersonal Communication Advances in technology have changed the nature of interpersonal communication. Communication is an important aspect of our everyday lives, it is constantly occurring weather its verbal or nonverbal communication. Communication is a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed (James Carey 1989). Technology has had a huge effect on the world and Interpersonal communication, especially since new advances in technology have been established. It has contributed in shaping the way that people communicate with each other. It is a debatable topic on whether the advances in technology has changed interpersonal communication for the better or for the worse. It has made changes to the world which enables us to do things time efficiently and effectively. The more advanced technology has become it has allowed information to travel faster, this has a huge effect on todays generation, especially with the recent obsession that people have with social media. Social media allows people to connect with people they know, people they dont know and even others that they wont expect to interact with again. Before advances in technology were discovered, people were limited to interacting face to face because there was no other way to whereas now with the progression and the development of technology, it allows people to interact with people all over the world to a much larger audience. Social media has most affected the nature of interpersonal communication, this is due to the way it has changed the way that people interact, and has caused a loss for social skills. There are incapable of interacting face to face due to how dependent they are of social media. Social media has created a sense of social relief for people who are socially awkward, this is because its easier way for them to communicate with people via social media platforms behind an electronic device. Social media creates a fake world where you can perceive yourself to the world however you like while hiding behind a screen. This isnt always a good thing, with social media you to put out an image of yourself that isnt real, its fake. Before the advances in technology, people had to learn to accept you for the way you are, you had no choice in deciding how to perceive yourself to the world other than to be yourself. Nowadays this generation are obsessed with their phones, people are on it so much that it makes them completely unaware of their surroundings. Conversation has become forced, where as before, people would naturally convers and the conversation would flow. A lot of the time people think of what to say because they have become so used to interacting using the same basic questions on social media such as how are you?, how was your day, that when it comes to interacting with people face to face, they have to think about what to ask. These questions have been asked so much that its become a norm for people to ask how you are at the beginning of a conversation especially on social media. The question how are you has become more of a conversation starter rather than a genuine question. This is a problem because it has made the generation of today lazy. There are people who use communication technology to talk to someone in the same room as them which displays lazy behaviour and is a prime e xample of how this generation have lost social skills. Before advances in technology, people genuinely cared about the questions that they asked because this was valued conversation and they were limited to what they could talk about. This generation, there is the internet, television, radio, game consoles, mobile phones and more that allows us to have access to different worlds andÃƒâ€šÃ‚ interacting with people that we dont know from all over the place. Social media and technology allows people to interact and find people who have similar interests, for example people who have Twitter created a trending aspect that allows you to find people who have similar interests and it is called Hashtag. Hashtagging has a huge effect on communication on social media nower days. The hashtags have gone from a random symbol to being a global symbol that can bring communities and people together from all over the world with the use of a relevant word, that people use to make trends or discussions known to the world. Hashtags can also be a form of on line marketing which can be used by business to advertise their company as it is an effective way of getting a message or idea or information across to the world. This is called mass communication. Advances in communication technology such as Email, Texting, Chat rooms, Social media sites, allows you to interact with people from all over the world on one platform, before technology a small bit of information would take a long time to reach the place it needed to go by writing letters and through word of mouth, meanwhile a small bit of information could be delivered within a matter of minutes from one end of the world to the next via the internet. This can be beneficial in ways for example, companies that employ people from far sway destinations can communicate and do interviews over skype rather than have them travel a long way for an hour interview if that. This then leads to the next point, people who live abroad or far from their family depend on technology and social media to communicate with them. Skype and facetime and other apps like this enable people who live far from their families and close ones to see them via live video call, even the telephone allows us to hear their voice. Before technology people were limited to letters that would take ages to be delivered, and isnt the same because theres only so much you can express through written context. Texting isnt as efficient and effective as face to face communication because technology communication is a lot different because you can only see words, and it is difficult to establish the semiotics of the conversation for example, when you are talking via text, its hard to see what the social codes are of the other person, how do they react and behave in different situations? If you were to say something over text, you are unable to see their reaction to what you said unlike in face to face. So, with communicating via text, the person could lie about their reaction which loses the value of its conversation because then it becomes fake. Not only this but we would not be able to see bodily codes such as, head nods, facial; expressions, gestures, postures etc. This is all part of ritualised discourse. This is where the emojis are evolved. Emojis are used to represent reaction, mood or facial expression in text. The evolution of emojis has extended so much that you have an emoji for almost every emotion in order for it to become easier and more fun to communicate, although even with this invention, technology communication will never beat face to face communication. Tidwell and Walther documented computer mediated conversation and face to face communication couples engaging in their first meetings and they had discovered that computer mediated conversation partners displayed more self -disclosures and greater intensity leading to quicker relational development. (Tidwell and Walther, 2002, pg147-148) Technology communication doesnt allow you to see the nonverbal communication aspect of interaction, which is considered an important if not of the most important parts of communication. Nonverbal communication in face to face communication allows us to focus on the body language and the facial expressions which reinforces the message whereas communication technology doesnt. Przybylski and Weinstein (2012) carried out and study and showed results that mobile phone communication in public interferes with human relationships. Two experiments were carried out which showed that they have an effect on, closeness, connection and conversation quality especially when conversing about personal meaningful topics. A beneficial aspect of advances in communication is the accessibility. It has created different online communication tools which have helped the world become a more connected place. Although for the older generation who didnt grow up with this type of technology,Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ they dont find it as easy as others who were brought up around it , to understand the whole online and technology process which creates a digital divide because they dont have the same level as expertise with this type of technology as the others do. Advances in technology have had a huge effect in the style of conversation that is used today in comparison to the style of communication that was used before this technology had been established. When using mobile phone device to communicate it has caused people to use shorter words as the need for longer words isnt needed when you have symbols and emojis to express what you are trying to say, however this creates shortcuts and has caused an ignorance to traditional grammatical rules which one would have said before. This has made conversation become very short and brief and contributes to the loss of conversation value. This has changed the whole nature of communication, this is due to the advances in communication. One click can online just find huge amounts of information, whereas before if you wanted to find out information, people would have to research by asking different people, reading books, searching through pages and pages which in the meantime would increase their knowledge whilst they are trying to find out one bit of information they are finding more stuff out on the way. Whereas now, anything we type into a search bar its there at an instant which has created the laziness. Campbell and Kwak (2011) carried out a study and had examined weather mobile phone communication influences to an extent than when someone engages in face to face communication with new people in a public setting. The study found some evidence that mobile phone use in public facilitated talking with strangers, for those who rely a lot on mobile phones to exchange information about news. Social media isnt the only thing that has affected the nature of interpersonal communication, television has a huge impact as well. How many people in this generation would sit with their family in silence for hours with the TV on. The television is another major aspect that has caused laziness. Many people nower days would consider sitting all together silently spending time together. In the days before advances in technology people would sit in a room and converse with their family, and this was how their family nights would be spent. Overall I think that Advances in communication has had a huge impact on interpersonal communication today and has changed the nature of it, it has also proved that through the power of the evolution and expansion of new technology being discovered it will continue to affect the nature of interpersonal communication as we know it. Although it has had a huge effect it has also created a lot more means and topics of conversation with more things being discovered online and being able to converse and interact with people around the world, it has mad people because lazy in face to face but it has allowed people to meet people from over the world and discover new things that they couldnt have without advances in technology. Bibliography Communication is a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed Carey, J (1989). A Cultural Approach To Communication. Routledge, York, N.Y. Inc, B.H. (2010) How has technology changed communication? Available at: http://www.brighthubpm.com/methods-strategies/79052-exploring-how-technology-has-changed-communication/ (Accessed: 6 January 2017).In-line Citation:(Inc, 2010) Fenell, Z. (2016) Communication technology pros and cons. Available at: https://www.techwalla.com/articles/communication-technology-pros-cons (Accessed: 6 January 2017).In-line Citation:(Fenell, 2016) Drago, E. (2015) The effect of technology on face-to-face communication, Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 6(1).In-line Citation:(Drago, 2015) Nield, D. (2012) How technology has affected communication. Available at: http://techin.oureverydaylife.com/technology-affected-communication-1432.html (Accessed: 6 January 2017).In-line Citation:(Nield, 2012) Inc, B.H. (2010) How has technology changed communication? Available at: http://www.brighthubpm.com/methods-strategies/79052-exploring-how-technology-has-changed-communication/ (Accessed: 6 January 2017).In-line Citation:(Inc, 2010)

Friday, October 25, 2019

Origins of Petroleum Drilling :: physics drill oil drilling

The first step that creates sedimentary rocks is when tectonic forces push rock formations upward to produce mountains. Since this rock formation is know exposed to the surface conditions, it becomes eroded and weathered. These effects cause the rock to wear down. Due to deposition, sorting of various fragments occurs. Think of a stream that flows down a mountain. Within this stream there are many different materials that travel due to the velocity of the stream. Depending on how much distance is traveled by the river in a specific time defines its velocity. V=(change in distance)/(change in time) If the velocity is fast enough, it is able to budge big rocks as well as small rocks down the terrain. Eventually the slope becomes less and less steep, which causes the velocity of the stream to decrease. Since the velocity of the stream becomes slower as it arrives to a flat surface, it is not able to sustain a fast enough of a speed to make the heavier materials to continue with the journey. Usually at the bottom of this river, it will empty into a big body of water like the ocean. The different fragments are all submerged, yet divide into different groups. The reason for this is that there is still a river velocity that causes movement in the various fragments farther down the ocean floor. This might look years later once the river has dried out. Notice the big rocks are protruding from the water. This is either from corrosion to the rock formation next to the ocean or it is due to the rocks that came from a high velocity mountain stream. After all of these fragments arrange in their groups, lithification occurs. Lithification is the Ã¢â‚¬Å"conversion of unconsolidated sediments into sedimentary rock by compaction and cementationÃ¢â‚¬ (1). This compaction and cementation yields these sedimentary rocks: -Gravel turns into conglomerate -Sand turns into sandstone -Clay turns into shale -Shells turn into limestone [e]

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Facebook and Privacy Essay

Objective Summary: Ex-Apple Engineer, Peter Warden, has collected public fan page data from 215 million Facebook pages, revealing current trends, such as Ã¢â‚¬ËœGodÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ being the number one most popular fan page among Facebook users in the Southern U.S., whereas Ã¢â‚¬ËœBarack ObamaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ featured heavily for San Francisco users, and Ã¢â‚¬ËœStarbucksÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ was number one in Idaho. Warden plans to release this data to the academic community because he sees great potential in the data that can be extracted from these sites. This process is called data harvesting. The article suggests future academic work in this area is likely to occu impacting on peopleÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s privacy. (FACTS Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 100 words) Response: The ETHICAL issue central to this article is privacy and control. On one hand, Warden claims his intentions are altruistic (helpful to others) and that the data he is making visible here is a matter of public discourse. However, the FACTS are that individual users who are generating this data have neither been consulted about the data collection nor have they given permission for Warden to use it. Clearly Warden does not VALUE otherÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s peopleÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s privacy as much as he WANTS (emotion) to create the website. The argument could be made that once a user Ã¢â‚¬Ëœbecomes a fanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ of a page on Facebook or, indeed, publishes any content to the internet, that information becomes public. User who have deployed privacy settings to carefully maintain a strong sense of control over their profiles, however, might well feel very ANGRY about this use of their data. Facebook can harvest that data (and does, for targeted advertising purposes) because they have a commitment to those adve rtisers (emotion)and engineers like Warden can develop data-trawling engines to collect accessible information across a massive dataset. The LAW needs to be much clearer about the rights of consumers, companies and advertisers in these situations. As Facebook is presumably bound by its own set of critically considered ETHICAL guidelines, these are neverthess underpinned by commercial VALUES and a vested interest (emotion) in keeping the data of its users from competitors. Warden claims to be operating under his own set of ethics that privilege (value) the furthering of knowledge. The issue then shifts to the academic community. Warden contends that one of his central motivations for collecting this data was so that he could share it with the academic community. Although this claim may be true, most (if not, all) Universities have clear ETHICAL guidelines for research that explicitly VALUE and therefore require consent from participants. If none of the users gave consent for their data to be collected in this way, this in effect denies them a sense of AGENCY. Thus, academically, this data is tainted. While its implications are important the trends it makes visible are crucial to understanding the localised structures of social network sites like Facebook. Personally, I would believe people should be able to tick a box that gives consent for the use of their personal material. I do not believe, either, that it should be one of those boxes you are obliged to tick before being able to use a site: that removes my personal AGENCY and I VALUE this very much. It should be up to me to decide whether other people get my data. If this sort of system was in place, everyone would know the FACTS, everyone would understand what is going on and no one would feel (emotion) betrayed or exposed unfairly.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Tinnitus Management Therapy

Goebel, Gerhard; Rief, Winfried; Wise, Karen. 1998. Meeting the expectations of chronic tinnitus patients: Comparison of a structured group therapy program for tinnitus management with a problem solving group. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 44 (6). 681-685 A therapy called tinnitus management therapy or TMT was developed using ideas of cognitive-behavioral therapy for two different groups. One-hundred fourty-four patients suffering form tinnitus aged 19-74 years were treated with this TMT compared with a normal kind of problem solving group therapy. The patients self-rated themselves on how helpful each treatment was in dealing with life problems as well as how seriously they thought that were being treated and taken seriously. These self-ratings helped professionals find that the TMT therapy worked better for these patients in coping with all the aspects of tinnitus. Anderson, Gerhard. 1997. Prior treatments in a group of tinnitus sufferers seeking treatment. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 66 (2). 107-110. Four groups were obtained from sixty-nine tinnitus sufferers aged 22-76 years to try and describe the distress they go through based on if they have had treatment or not. The four groups were: not treatment (24 people), acupuncture (19 people), relaxation (13 people), other treatments. (13 people). These people were asked to rate helplessness, capacity for rest, acceptability of change, emotional effects, hearing and ability to ignore using the Tinnitus Effect Questionaire. The only major difference that was found was that the untreated group had more acceptability for change. Hegel, Mark T; Martin, John B. 1998. Behavioral treatment of pulsative tinnitus and headache following traumatic head injuries: Objective polygraphic assessment of change. Behavior Modification. 22 (4). Pg. 563-573 This study was done on a 37 year old male that had a traumatic head injury. He was evaluated and put through behavioral treatment that included a polygraphic assessment of vasomotor function among other things. Lifestyle modifications and behavioral modifications helped in both functioning and figuring out the underlying physiology that relates to tinnitus. Anderson, Gerhard; Larsen, Hans-Christian. 1997. Cognitive-behavioral treatment of tinnitus in otosclerosis : A case report. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. 25. 79-82 A male patient aged 52 years with an ear disease (otosclerosis) had symptoms that included tinnitus which caused him obvious physiological distress. The doctors found that the tinnitus that he had was stress-induced and had experienced attacks which seemed horribly unbearable. He was given ten sessions of a cognitive-behavioral therapy program and was tested before and after to find results. These results showed that the attacks became less frequent, easier to handle, and decreased annoyance, which in turn helped him cope better. Erlandsson, Soly I. 1998. Psychological counseling in a medical setting-some clinical examples given by patients with tinnitus and Meneire's disease. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling. 20 (4). 265-276. Counseling patients with Meniere's disease showed that a defensive response to tinnitus or Meniere's disease caused a state of dysfunction and that their psychological adaption was hindered. Some of the patients found it difficult to even talk about the first attack that they experienced of the tinnitus and Meniere's disease. The counselors concluded that the reason these people are trying to find help is because they are afraid of suffering a mental breakdown. They don't think it has much to do with the physical disease, so specialists need to come at it from a psychological perspective.

Andregernic blocking drugs Essay

Andregernic blocking drugs Essay Andregernic blocking drugs Essay Adrenergic blocking drugs General Principals (Class) Beta adrenergic blocking agents prevent stimulation of the beta adrenergic receptors at the nerve endings of the sympathetic nervous system and therefore decrease the activity of the heart. They block sympathetic stimulation of the heart and reduce systolic pressure, heart rate, cardiac contractility and output, so decrease myocardial oxygen demand and increase exercise tolerance (agents, 2013) Indications Adrenergic blocking agents are used to treat angina, control abnormal heart rhythms and to reduce high blood pressure (agents, 2013). They are also used to treat a variety of other conditions including benign prostatic hyperplasia and ReynaudÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s disease (Blockers, 2013). Cautions Adrenergic blocking drugs are typically not used on people with asthma because they may trigger severe asthma attacks. Also with people who have diabetes, adrenergic blocking drugs may block signs of low blood sugar, such as rapid heartbeat (Blockers, 2013). Mechanism of Action To interrupt the stimulation of the SNS at the alpha 1- adrenergic receptors. Alpha blockers work to bind and antagonize receptors by blocking norepinephrine making it non responsive called a competitive blockade. A covalent bond makes receptors less responsive but responsive in a small amount to norepinephrine called a noncompetitive blockade. Adverse Effects Sudden drop in blood pressure after the first dose called the first-dose phenomenon, causing the patient to pass out. Cardiovascular palpitations, tachycardia, edema and angina. Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, dry mouth and abdominal Toxic Effects In the case of an overdose, activated charcoal is the standard choice of med because after administered it binds to the drug and is removes it from the stomach and the circulation. Supportive measures include vitals, fluids, and anticonvulsants such as diazepam for the control of seizures. Route of Administration Alpha1 Blockers Mostly administered orally(PO) Except for phentolamine, administration routes are intravenous(IV), intramuscular(IM), and subcutaneously(subcut) Phentolamine can be used for extravasation of vasoconstricting drugs(e.g., norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine) subcutaneously(subcut) in a circular fashion around the extravasation site to increase blood flow to the ischemic tissue and thus prevent permanent damage. Beta Blockers Nonselective Mostly administered PO Labetalol(Normodyne, Trandate) and propranolol(Inderal) are administered PO and IV Timolol PO, IV, and ophthalmic for glaucoma (Skidmore-Roth, 2013) Cardioselective Mostly administered PO Metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL), PO and IV Esmolol (Brevbloc) IV only (Lilly Lane, Rainforth Collins, & Snyder, 2014) Common Drug Interactions Antacids (aluminum hydroxide type) Decrease absorption resulting in decreased beta blocker activity Antimuscarinics and Anticholinergics Antagonism resulting in reduction of beta blocker effects Digoxin Additive effect, enhancing bradycardic effects of digoxin Diuretics, cardiovascular drugs, alcohol Additive effect resulting with additive hypotensive effects Neuromuscular blocking drugs Additive effect by prolonging neuromuscular blockade Oral hypoglycemic drugs and Insulin Mask signs of hypoglycemia and delay recovery from hypoglycemia (Lilly Lane, Rainforth Collins, & Snyder, 2014) Nursing implications for patients taking Adrenergic Blocking Drugs include: Patient teaching (Lilly, Collins, Synder, 2014, Pg 319-322) Wear a medical alert bracelet or necklace Carrying around a list of medications and specific diagnosis around with them at all times Take medication exactly as prescribed and never to stop the medication abruptly Avoid caffeine and other CNS stimulants Avoid consuming any alcohol Contact your doctor immediately if and when you experience any of the following: Palpitations, chest pain, confusion, weight gain of 2

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Facebook and Social Networking essays

Facebook and Social Networking essays Social Networking was designed for the initial purpose of making communicating with long distance friends, relationships, family members, co- workers, etc. a whole lot easier. Although this statement still holds true, it's a wee bit harder to find it through all this "fluff". What is this "fluff" exactly? This "fluffy" unnecessary goodness which just like candy is fun, colorful, easy to get, and completely unnecessary for our rotting youth. In hopes of correlating my evaluation essay to my proposal essay, I'm hoping to achieve the proposal for a separation of Facebook. Still being controlled under one site; I would like to propose two forms of Facebook- a Facebook for businesses and the strictly commercial use of Facebook, which represents the Facebook we have today. As a look back to the many problems/issues that arrive with this popular website, here is a little review: just like any other product in the world, the need to constantly change and stay updated to keep things fresh and interesting is in order to stay, well up to date; but do these set of "rules" apply to popular networking sites such as Facebook? Facebook was originally designed by a Harvard student hoping to be able to connect with people on his campus via the Internet. As the years went on it was available to other colleges, which set Facebook apart from other sites such as MySpace, Xanga, and Friendster. Facebook could not be accessed by just anybody; it was strictly designed for high school and college students who were listed under the set list of schools that Facebook recognize (Yadav). When looking at how Facebook was designed back then, to what it is now, it's almost a complete turn around. Although the main purpose is still present, it's hard to uncover behind all these flooded applications. These applications vary from games, to picture editing software, to finding your "top stalkers." But with all of these a...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Tam o,Shanter by Robert Burns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tam o,Shanter by Robert Burns - Essay Example e language in Robert BurnsÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s, Tam OÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ Shanter, it seems to include an array of events, as formerly stated: Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ã¢â‚¬ ¦a comic vision of the world torn between the pleasures of drink, camaraderie, song, dance, and sex on the one hand and Calvinistic duty, respectability, and restraint on the otherÃ¢â‚¬ (Weston 337). From Robert BurnsÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s clever use of narration, intertwined with a variety of poetic devices, such as simile and personification, we find ourselves impeccably submerged in the ever changing characteristics found in Tam OÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ Shanter. Now, as for the examination of the poem, we will begin bearing in mind that the conflicting personalities in the narration of the poem are the heart of the tale, and therefore, to understand it we must focus on the tone of the poem. In the opening stanza the narrator emphasizes the notion of himself in juxtaposition with Tam and others Ã¢â‚¬Å"While we sit bousing at the nappy / AnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ getting fou and unco happy,Ã¢â‚¬ (5-6) as a means of presenting a cluster of men who seem to be conjuring up an unruly night. Moreover, their unruly event, which seems to be already known as unruly to the them is even further stressed in the last three lines of the stanza when it speaks of their significant others Ã¢â‚¬Å"where sits our sulky, sullen dame / Gathering her brows like gathering storm / Nursing her wrath to keep it warm (10-12). The wordsÃ¢â‚¬ Nursing her wrathÃ¢â‚¬ (12) indicates that when the men do finally decide to come home, their women will be waiting to confront them with an ger. Next we move into a vital point in the poem, as now the narration has changed its tone in focusing on Tam himself Ã¢â‚¬Å"O Tam! hadÃ¢â‚¬â„¢st thou but been sae wise,Ã¢â‚¬ (17). Here the nararator forces us to view Tam as a selfish vagabond, or rather mischievous man who listens to no know one, least of all his Ã¢â‚¬Å"wife KateÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s adviceÃ¢â‚¬ (18) and he becomes less wise and even more disorderly in his nature. Moreover, the final lines of this stanza illustrate a prediction on behalf

Friday, October 18, 2019

Most important events in the history of Los Angeles Essay

Most important events in the history of Los Angeles - Essay Example The main objective of the report is to be able to present certain events in the history of the city of Los Angeles to achieve the present condition of economy and social status that it has now. One of the important events in the history of Los Angeles is the discovery of oil credited to Edward L. Doheny in 1892. Although prior to the said event there are indications of the knowledge of the people and settlers regarding the said deposit, Doheny is responsible for making the deposit known. The said event initialized the economic growth of the city when a large number of oil companies decided to invest and settle in the city limits if Los Angeles (La Botz 41). The importance of the said even lies on the significance of oil in the economy of the city. From the onset of the oil industry in Los Angeles, a number of other industries started to develop and helped the state of economy of the city. Another even that can be considered important in the history of the city of Los Angeles is the establishment of the Pacific Electric Railway. Through the said mode of transportation, the economic transactions and works of people are accomplished in a shorter period of time. In addition, being one of the basic necessities for traveling, the said form of public transportation aid the socio-economic state to improve. The Pacific Electric Railway covers the Southern California area in the 1920Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s, connecting Los Angeles and Orange Counties (Henstell 13). Another event that can be considered to improve the economy of the city of Los Angeles is the establishment of the harbor in 1907-1909. The said even ushered the rise of related industries such as fishing, canneries, oil drilling and shipbuilding. These industries resulted in the improvement of commerce in the city specifically due to the fact that harbors are major sites of trading activities. The increasing number of related industries can also be considered in the increase in the

HAMLET PLAY VS HAMLET MOVIE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

HAMLET PLAY VS HAMLET MOVIE - Essay Example ZeffirelliÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s version of the play is shorter and has in it new episodes, making it different. Zefirelli produced the movie in 1990. Both pieces of work center on the drama that follows when Claudius poisons his brother the king and inherits the throne and the queen. Hamlet cannot come into terms with all the sudden evils and seeks to avenge the death of his father. It is worth noting that Zeffirelli has produced a shorter and easier version of the play that simplifies the Shakespeare style (Cook 20). Employing creativity, Zeffirelli manages to emphasize the level of decay in Denmark. Through his interpretation, Zeffirelli introduces the Hamlet movie with a new scene that does not exist in the original version of the play. Some of the lines plucked from a later scene include Ã¢â‚¬Å"think of us as of a fatherÃ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ (1.2.113-117) (Shakespeare and Edwards 114). In emphasizing the decay, which has engulfed the Denmark society, he places a funeral as the first scene of the movie. In the original version, the characters only mention the funeral. By placing a funeral at the start, he introduces the viewer to the villainy that lead to all the other drama (Mazek). The original play starts differently. ZefirelliÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s first scene acts as the first event in the chronology of events that follow. Zeffirelli creatively replaces the first scene of the original script of the play. Therefore, he omits the introduction to the main story that Shakespeare provided. It is clear that he seeks to divert the attention of the viewer to focus on a different element of the play. The first scene in ShakespeareÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s play introduces all the drama that will transpire in an instance. In this scene, he mentions that the Prince, Fortenbras, has intentions to attack Denmark. In this scene, the ghost appearance of King Hamlet happens for the first time. For purposes of widening the analysis of the play,

Comparative summaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparative summaries - Essay Example For developed economies, governments offer subsidies in the form of drugs and other equipments that aid in provision of medical services. Health care financial management Health care financial management entails the use of different financial strategies in managing the financial resources of a healthcare facility. According to Goldsmith, (2011), organizations choose financial management stratagems based on the mission and the objective of the organizations. For non-profit organization, careful management of financial resources is essential for accounting purposes. Hence, the reason healthcare institutions use flexible budget. In budgeting, financial management aids organization in forecasting on its mission. Profit organizations increase profitability when forecasting for healthcare service. Amerigroup is an American corporation that offers medical services to individuals who receive healthcare benefits as funded by the public. The entity is a profit organization that sources for its funding from benefits from Medicaid and children programs. According to Dunham-Taylor & Pinczuk (2004), the corporation engages in duties such as providing in-patient care services, disease management services, homes visits and consultation services. Additionally, the organization offers clients insurance covers. According to records from the US department of health, the corporation serves clients in different parts of the United States. In 2011, 2 million people in Louisiana benefited from the services of the company. During the campaigns, the company sensitized the public on the benefits of taking medical covers. Amerigroup operates by sourcing funds from sales of its services. Consequently, professionals based in United States manage the finances of the company. They plan, coordinate and mobilize resources with the objective of providing services to the public through healthcare schemes. Today, Amerigroup operates hospitals in the United States, with a majority of the institutio ns being private institutions. According to Goldsmith, (2011), Amerigroup is a profit organization owned by stockholders from different parts of the United States. The stockholders make decision on behalf of the company when it comes to planning and restructuring financial obligations at the company. When it comes to profits profit sharing, Amerigroup shares its earnings with stockholders who pay taxes at the facility. Policies unique to each financial environment Policies for organizations that aim at making profits usually differ from policies of non-profit organizations. Analysis of non-profit organizations indicates that the administration is exempted from taxations and other charges that increase cost of operations. On the contrary, profit-making organizations are taxed highly hence, the high cost of healthcare in profit making facilities. Furthermore, the financial structure of private organizations differs with structure of the government (Dunham-Taylor & Pinczuk, 2004). Heal thcare financial environment is characterized by the activities of profit, non-profit and governmental organizations. However, private organizations are the leaders when it comes to issuing insurance packages, planning and meeting the needs of clients. In a profit environment, the management uses policies that promote the interest of the company.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Literature Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Literature Review - Research Paper Example rce Management and Performance Sharpening Line of Sight," examines the existing correlation among an organizations management strategy, its human resources, and performance, as its end product; its emphasis was more on the side of the HR practitioners who are in charge of HR functions in a firm. More than their obligation to manage HR activities, according to Buller and McEvoy (2012), HR professionals contribute to how the entire organization performs. The authors have linked the efficiency of HR practitioners to the so-called "line of sight." This points to the level of influence that "an employee has on a performance measure (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2012, p. 407). Therefore, when employeesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ line of sight increases, their determination to work efficiently, in order to obtain rewards or incentives, will develop, resulting to an increased level of performance. Also stressed is the relevance of establishing an organizational architecture to enable the firms management to mee ting its goals. On the other hand, Ridder et al.s (2012) article entitled "The Whole is More Than the Sum of its Parts? How HRM is Configured in Nonprofit Organizations and Why it Matters" has explored the usefulness of HRM practices in the context of a non-profit organization (NPO). Similar to Buller and McEvoys (2012) article, Ridder et al. (2012) also mentioned the term architecture in their written piece, but this time it is specified with human resource. Ridder et al. (2012), have studied and provided a picture of how HR architecture is being done through using NPOs as its subject ("Human Resource," 2002). HR architecture shapes a firmÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s infrastructure, which takes into account the process of standard selection, response of a supervisor in dealing with problems, promotions as well as pay-change policies. Most of the time, the establishment of HR architecture is dependent on the size of a firm. Buller and McEvoy (2012) did not specify what type of organization is likely to develop

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

Utilization Management - Essay Example Concurrent utilization however has certain strengths as well as some weaknesses. The strengths of the concurrent utilization review pertain to the fact that the concurrent utilization review can highlight the differences and discrepancies that exit in the different business processes across an industry. Moreover the concurrent utilization theory can also highlight the responsibility and accountability factor in the different processes and how it is being handled by the different firms. (Schlesinger & Gray, 1997) The other advantage of the concurrent approach for utilization review is that multiple entities can be thoroughly and comprehensively reviewed in terms of their workflows and utilization strategies. The effect of the different firms and their strategies for operation and utilization can also be studies through the concurrent utilization review. As a result the professional autonomy of the system is clearly depicted in a comparative manner, enabling the reviewer to cross check and compare the results with the review of other similar firms in the same industry. Conclusively it can be depicted that three strengths of the concurrent utilization rev... The reasons that justify this selection of strengths of the concurrent review for utilization pertain to the fact that professional autonomy and effects of accountability are specially and clearly depicted by the concurrent utilization review. They are the most important element ion any business, specifically in the medical field as in the subject case study. The analysis of the work flow and business processes for utilization as per the utilization review helps the end user in linking responsibility and autonomy to the different actors and the functions in the business process. 2. Identify two weaknesses of concurrent utilization review which you believe to be a significant issue. Discuss how the weakness has been compensated for, if at all, and your opinion as to whether you believe it may just eventually compromise the benefits of concurrent utilization review. The main objective of the concurrent utilization review is to make sure that the peoples/ patients in the inpatients as well as the outpatients function or departments have to stay the minimum required and needed time in the facility. This is to ensure that the other patients waiting in line for service and attention can be providing the medical care facility in the hospital and medical centers without congestion and lack of service quality in the facility and aid provided to them. This basically means that the workflow for the incoming and the treatment of the patients has to be managed and utilized in order to ensure that all customers get a standardized form of treatment in the medical facility. As mentioned earlier this is one of the main strengths of the concurrent utilization review. The weakness of

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Comparative summaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

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

Health Problems as a Result of Environmental Crisis Essay Example for Free

Health Problems as a Result of Environmental Crisis Essay Given that I work in an Emergency Department, the usual encounters we have involves health problems. However, in the past months and last year, people that we encounter are those of with fever and flu. Some diseases were also frequent. Diseases that arouse were usually an effect of a downfall in bodyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s immune system. This has happened when the extreme changes in environmental climate took place. As a result of the fast growing effects of global warming, the weather has extreme changes within a day. The extreme cold and hot weather that occurs in twenty-four hours has a bad effect on body temperature. The tremendousÃ‚ Ã‚ changes weaken the body since the type of climate that occurs does not match the survival qualifications of human. In order to be involved in this issue, I suggest that the Emergency Department lead a program awareness to fight global warming, deal with its effects, and how to be healthy during the experience of its effects. On the other hand, I can be of help to if I encourage friends and families to practice activities or home choirs that will help lessen climate change. Like, use products with Energy Star seal, this is product lessen greenhouse effect and air pollution. Also, saving energy thru maintenance and cleaning of heating and cooling equipments used in our homes. I can also save energy by using green power, where the energy is from the sun and the wind. Frugality not just in money can help deal with climate change. For example, recycling materials we use at homeÃ‚ and buying new stuff as a product of recycling. Another way to conserve energy is by taking public transportation in routinely going to work or school. Or maintaining the efficiency of your car so it will not emit high amounts of greenhouse emissions. In offices, power management features should be discussed with the employees especially those workers who operate machineries. With this adjustments in our daily lives, we can help fight climate change and also save the world. Reference Climate Change Ã¢â‚¬â€œ What You Can Do. January 28, 2008 retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/office.html

Monday, October 14, 2019

Effects Of Consumerism In The 21st Century Marketing Essay

Effects Of Consumerism In The 21st Century Marketing Essay The term consumerism denotes an economic and a social order, whose objective is to encourage the purchase of goods and services, in a large amount. Consumerism is part of the media culture, and is associated with Thorstein Veblen, who criticizes extensive consumption. Veblen keenly observed the middle class of the twentieth century, and denotes that there level of consumption increases towards the end of the twentieth century. Their consumption behavior reflected materialism (Close, 24). On this note, consumerism during the 21st century has led to the rise of materialism, and this is most notable in the technology sector. Materialism in the technological sector is depicted by an increase in the sales of technological gadgets, such as mobile phones, personal computers, compact disk players and other electronic devices. Companies producing these gadgets are known to make millions of dollars in terms of profitability, and an example includes Apples, and Samsung electronic companies. These companies further accelerate the notion of materiality by improving the quality of their products, to carter for completion that emanates from the companies technological companies. There is an increase in companies producing these gadgets, because of a higher demand. This is only precipitated by the concept of materialism (Hoyer, 41). In the American consumer culture, there is a shift from the moral values of spirituality, communalism, and integrity while consuming the products of a company, or an organization. People now focus on competition and disconnection. On this note, our consumer behaviors depict us as materialistic individuals. In relation to competition, an individual will look at what another person has, and strife to buy the same gadget, or a different gadget. People compete with each other, not because they need the product, but to show their competitors that they can afford the same gadget. This is also an aspect of materialism, and it does not support the moral values on consumption. In the 21st century, business organizations initiate policies that will make their products attractive to famous personalities, because they greatly influence the reception of their products at the market. For instance, business organization will pay millions of dollars to sports leading sports personalities, and famous musicians, for purposes of marketing their products. Players like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and David Beckham have made millions of dollars, just endorsing the products of various companies. As a result of their endorsements, the products of these companies, have managed to penetrate their target markets. On this note, consumers purchase these products, for purposes of having a feeling of instant gratification. This is called an aspect of emulation. People strive to emulate those of a higher status than them. The poor strive to live like the rich, and the rich strive to live and behave like the famous. The consumption behavior of man during the 21st century has shaped him into an individualistic person. Individualism is seen on the corporate sector, at the same time it is depicted on a person himself. For example, producing and consuming commodities result to the extraction, and use of the natural resources. Factories create products from natural resources, and during the process of production, they exert toxic wastes. Using the commodities produced, especially the technological commodities, they emit carbon, which is responsible for eroding the environment. These companies do not want to change their policies and they continue with their productions, with minimal or no measures to reduce the emissions of carbon (Kanner, 51). They do not care on the effects of their productions to the environment. On the side of consumers, they need to boycott the products of companies that do not put in place environmental policies that will ensure the protection of the environment. One argument is that consumers need the products; this argument is not convincing because there are many companies which may be producing the product, and at the same safeguarding the environment. The only reason that emanates from the consumers in regard to this is individualism. The consumers only care for themselves, and not the future generations who will benefit from the various environmental measures that consumers can help to initiate. Consumerism creates the tendencies of narcissism (Steckstor, 27). Narcissism refers to a tendency whereby a person feels he or she is better than the other person . A Narcissist does not care for anyone else, apart from himself, and he or she usually seeks attention. The rise of consumerism in the 21st century has accelerated this notion of Narcissism. This is because of the production of various luxuries, and unnecessary materialistic goods which trade at the markets. These products act as a social mechanism, which place people into classes. For instance, the type of a person might judge the social class of another person through the type of car the person drives. For instance, an individual driving a Mercedes Benz might look down upon an individual with a Toyota cab. On this note, some people develop relationship with products, with the belief that they are a substitute for a good human relationship. This creates a concept of cultural hegemony, whereby a person believes that, because he or she has a certain product, he or she is better than those who do not have such kind of products. The 21st century notion of consumerism has made men and women to possess a dominant nature in the society. According to research, mankind is consuming more than 30% of what the environment within their surroundings produces (Solomon, 37). According to this research, countries which consume more than what they can produce, look for ways and means of filling in the deficit, by depleting the resources of other states (Solomon, 23). ThatÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s why States like China, engage other countries in the globe, for purposes of looking for energy to satisfy their needs. United States of America also imports a majority of its oil from Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria. This is because it does not have sufficient energy to carter for the consumption needs of its citizens. Our Human goals have changed extensively dues to our consumer habits. For instance, in seeking a service, humans will be motivated for what they will get in turn, instead of how they will use the service to benefit the society. A good example, is in the education sector. A person will seek education, for self-gain, instead of seeking to serve the society. A person will acquire a job, basing on the expected salary, and not to serve the organization that employees him. This shift in our mentality has changed the goals of mankind in relation to consumption. The 21st century mankind is impressed by innovative ideas, and products. Man does not just buy a product, because it is on the market, he buys a product based on its technological capacity and ability to satisfy their needs (Kukathas, 18). This is because of the availability of money, made possible through the various opportunities that present themselves at the global economy. For instance, in the 1960s, companies did not care for people with little money to spend. This is because they believed these people did not have the ability to influence the market performance of their products. At the current century, business organizations are forced to seek the customerÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s opinions, ideas and thought concerning their products (Chin, 16). This is because the customer will only buy a product that satisfies his requirements and needs. The 21st century consumer has an ability to bring the downfall of a company, and this is because of the power of the internet and the social media. On this note, the human goal has changed from buying outdated products, to new and innovative products (Steksor, 31). This is proved by the constant innovations and improvements of Apples product, which are well received in the market, and has surpassed Nokia, and Samsung in the smartphones market. The performance of Apples in the market is largely attributed to its innovative tendencies, and this is what consumers look for in a product. The goal of mankind has changed to accumulating money, for buying luxurious products. This is as opposed to accumulate money for purposes of improving the society. Consumerism has made mankind to depend on factories and government institutions to carter for their basic needs, in exchange for money. Men and women, leave other people, such as business entities to carter for the production of these services. Man is so much focused on money, so that he may gain access to as many possessions as possible (Chevalier et al, 21). On this note, he is unable to carter for his basic needs, such as growing food for domestic consumption. Due to this change of human goals, mankind takes other jobs, to supplement his earning, which in turn he or she will use to buy unnecessary luxuries. On this note, men and women waste their times, on jobs that do not challenge their mental capability, just for purposes of buying luxuries. In conclusion, consumerism is an international phenomenon. Purchasing and consumption of goods and services in excess to an individualÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capability existed during the eras of the first civilization. This depicts the periods of ancient Rome, Babylon and Egypt. Industrial revolution accelerated the concepts of consumerism. During this period, States in Europe, such as Britain, Belgium, Germany and France sought colonies so that they could provide raw materials for their industries. These colonies were in Africa, and Asia. These countries focused on building their industrial infrastructure through mining, oil production, building of transport and communication networks, and creating effective financial regimes. During this period, these States were able to create enough foods for the people, and workers were exploited by working many hours a day, giving them little time to engage in consumer activities. In United States of America, the concept emerged during the 1920s, with the rise of cheaper goods. This notion is similar to that of Europe and in particular, Britain. In Britain, the rise of cheaper, and excessive good due to industrial revelation lead to the emergence of the consumerism culture. Before the periods of 1920s, Americans struggled to feed themselves, because of the scarcity of money, and limited productions (Gunter, 31). But in 1920s, there was the development of an assembly line that made it possible for production of goods in plenty, and thus led to cheaper production. Factory owners also advertised their products, and the results of this were an awareness of the products in question and their availability. The driving factor in this period was the cost effectiveness of the products in question. This is also the guiding factor in the consumer tendencies of the 21st century. Consumers are guided by the availability of money to spend, and the products to buy.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Essay example --

Brazil is the worldÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 5th largest country in population and geographical area. BrazilÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s economy is the 7th largest and the number one fastest growing economy in the world. But there is one force, one factor that dominates all of BrazilÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 200 million occupants. Is surpasses the corrupted government officials, the thousands that live below the poverty line, and even the more creative aspects of BrazilÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s culture like the festivals, dancing, and carnivals. The fact is Brazilians loves football and in Brazil, football is everywhere. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s on the streets, on the beaches, in schools, in the gyms, on hard courts and fields filled with dirt or grass. Football in Brazil is just everywhere. Although Brazil didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t invent the sport, football has been engraved into the Brazilian culture as way for them to express themselves and their outlook towards life, and ultimately making the FIFA World Cup the grand stage for Brazilians to unit and show the world that through the corruption, discrimination, and division, BrazilÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s brighter side, creativity, joy, and flair, live on. Football was introduced in Brazil by Scottish man named Thomas Donohue in the early 1800s and since then, Brazilians have never looked back, expanding the sport to every corner of the massive country. Football in Brazil has become so much more than a sport. When football was introduced to BrazilÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Sao Paulo, the country was still run by the influence of the colonial era and culture of slavery. The elites embraced the sport and brought it to the rich clubs and big cities. Yet, BrazilÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s poor still embraced and enjoyed the sport. It became a way for them to express themselves and their outlook towards life. So as a result, and till this day, football took over the streets of Brazil.... ...rld Cup on home soil and quickly approaching, Brazilians are expecting and dreaming of a sixth trophy. The 1950 World Cup loss still haunts Brazil and the 2014 World Cup is viewed as only real opportunity for the country to heal the wound. In conclusion, from the day foreigners introduced football to Brazil, Brazilians and football became inseparable. The low class of Brazil saw it as a way to express themselves and get them out of the dumps they called home. Today Brazil, with their swift movements, creativity, and rhythm taken from the Samba dances that has been integrated into their football, has created their own style of football. Now, in this country with the World Cup right around the corner, Brazilians have once again united through the corruption, perversion, and violence, as they do every 4 years for this tournament, with only one word on their lips, win.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Sisters in The Color Purple Essay -- Alice Walker

In The Color Purple, written by Alice Walker, Celie's life was falling apart. Due to her step-father's actions, she became pregnant and then quickly had her children whisked away from her. She was sent away to marry a man she didn't know, and experienced more hardships than many could even attempt to fathom. Thankfully, she had her dear sister, Nettie, to think of and lean on both mentally and emotionally even when she wasn't able to be with her physically. In the beginning, the girl's mother was very sick. Their step-father took charge of the household and he began abusing Celie. Celie, being the oldest, accepted the abuse as a duty and attempted to stand her ground. She wanted to remain strong in order to insure the safety of her younger sister, Nettie. For Celie, the strength she found in enduring the abuses of her step-father remained with her throughout her life. Celie silently held her emotions inside and didn?t speak up in opposition when horrible things were going on all around her. When her step-father wanted to marry her off to Mr. _____, all she could think about was Nettie?s safety, and she never said a single word against it, though she was greatly conflicted in her mind. After she had been married off to Mr. , his sisters came to visit. They liked Celie a lot saying, ?Good housekeeper, good with children, good cook. Brother couldn?t have done better if he tried.? They weren?t able to see all the activity going on inside Celie?s head, though. She absolutely abhorred living with Mr. _____ and his horrendous children, but she had the strength she acquired from protecting Nettie, and she utilized it to suppress her emotions and in doing so, protect her well-being. Nettie was able to teach Celie any thin... ... because they had adopted Celie?s children before they had met Nettie and suspected she might have been the mother. All of this, though, was unbeknownst to Nettie. These two sisters had such an impact on the paths their lives took through their relationship. They provided each other with the strength each required to trudge though the situations their lives laid before them. They taught each other many valuable life lessons and to show love to other people. Even though they were literally oceans apart, they provided each other with a support system of family and friends, and most importantly they gave each other hope. Hope for the present and hope for the future, a future together. If Celie and Nettie didn?t have the intimate relationship they did, they wouldn?t have been able to make it through the trials to finally reach the reward of a life together in the end.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Analysis of AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Mother by Terrence McNally Essay

The play, AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Mother, by Terrence McNally is a story about accepting death and is based in a story about a young man who died before telling his mother that he was gay; leaving the manÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s partner to break the news and to inform the mother about how much he missed seeing her and his fear of being rejected by her, in the time before his death. The theme of this story is to live life everyday with no regrets. Throughout the symbols and references you begin to understand the life of Andre. The white balloon represents letting go and leaving a young man in peace. The silence of his mother shows that she never accepted his sexual preference. While Hamlet references the struggles of his everyday life. The white balloon in the play AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Mother is a symbol of AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s soul. Cal speaks about the white balloons saying, Ã¢â‚¬Å"They represent the soul. When you let go, it means youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re letting his soul ascend to Heaven, that youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re willing to let go. Breaking the last earthly tiesÃ¢â‚¬ (McNally 737). Andre is saying that the white balloons are AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s soul and that when you release them, youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re willing to let go of all the wrong and let him rest in peace. Penny, CalÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s sister, and Arthur, CalÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s dad let go of the balloon without hesitation. After releasing their balloons Cal reluctantly admits, Ã¢â‚¬Å"IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not ready yetÃ¢â‚¬ (McNally 737). This is because Cal still couldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t let go and still had regrets. The balloon being white represents purity. Letting go of the white balloon meant that after all that was said, Andre was now clear and pure again. I believe that white balloon represented letting go of Andre and letting his soul rest in peace with no regrets and nothing left unsaid. AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s motherÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s silence throughout the play proved to us she did not accept her sonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s homosexuality. Cal tells AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mother how much Andre missed her and longed for her acceptance. He gets finished with his rant and still no response from AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mother. Cal gets mad and replies, Ã¢â‚¬Å"ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s bullshit. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s all bullshit. [Still No response]Ã¢â‚¬ Her silence shows that she is not accepting of AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s sexual preference. At the end of the play AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mom with her own conflicts releases the balloon. The play write quotes, Ã¢â‚¬Å"He goes, AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mother stands alone holding her white balloon. Her lips tremble. She looks on the verge of breaking down. She looks at it awhile before she gently kisses it and lets go of the balloonÃ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ I believe at that point that AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mother forgave her son and was willing to wipe the slate clean by releasing the white balloon and letting AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s soul rest in peace. AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s motherÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s silence throughout the play shows that she never accepted her sonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s sexuality. Even though she wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t accepting she let her son rest in peace and let his soul ascend to heaven. AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s love of theater and the play Hamlet gave us an insight to his life. At the beginning of the play Cal expresses AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s love of theatre. Cal expresses, Ã¢â‚¬Å"God, how much he wanted to play Hamlet again. He would have gone to Timbuktu to have another go at that part. The summer he did in Boston, he was so happy! Ã¢â‚¬ (McNally 736). This reference to Hamlet, I believe showcases the struggles Andre went through. Andre struggled with decision-making and avoiding things, as did Hamlet. Hamlet struggled whether to avenge his father and struggled with the decision that he had been avoiding. This is also apparent when Cal brings up AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s great performance saying, Ã¢â‚¬Å"You should have come up the summer he plated Hamlet. He was magnificentÃ¢â‚¬ (McNally 738). I believe the Hamlet reference was to showcase Andre and his internal struggles. McNally uses strong a strong sense of symbolism throughout the story. First by holding a white balloon, the characters were holing a representation of AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s life and the memories that they each had of him. By releasing the balloon, they were letting go of the sadness of his death and for some, the secret heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d been keeping from his family. This also represented the crossing over of Andre. In the story, Andre was afraid of being rejected by his mother, whose silence throughout the play proves that she was incapable of offering acceptance to his homosexuality. With AndreÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s love of the theater and specifically Hamlet, he is relating himself to one of the most recognized internal struggles of the theater world.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Alliance Bank Essay

1. Introduction Alliance Bank is one of the leading banks in Kazakhstan, and it is the tenth largest bank in terms of assets in Kazakhstan. Headquartered of the bank are located in Almaty. Bank is developing as a universal financial institution in all lines of business, with a primary focus on retail banking and lending to SMEs.JSC Alliance Bank, has been operating for over 15 years. Recently bank has been shadowed by number of scandals, which had a negative effect on its reputation. In February, 2009 the government appointed a new management team after its key shareholder, SAFC, rejected to support the bank in long-term. During the financial crisis Alliance Bank was the first bank to default. By 2010 its debts were restructured and government had to inject 24 billion KZT on its deposit account in order to save the bank. Since the restructuring, state-owned National Wellbeing fund Samruk-Kazyna is holding 67% of the bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s shares. In 2012 Alliance was judged to be stable with a Standard and P oorÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s rating of Ã¢â‚¬Å"B-Ã¢â‚¬ . Today AllianceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s long-term credit rating by Standard and PoorÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s is stated at Ã¢â‚¬Å"DÃ¢â‚¬ , together with short-term rating. In 2011 bank considered talks with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development regarding the potential sale of its shares. In February 2014 bank has suffered from technical default. Later in February, the bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s reputation suffered even more after SMS-attack on three banks about their default. Alliance BankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s mission is to be a reliable partner for eachÃ‚ customer and meet the best banking practice. The basis for this statement is bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s philosophy of meeting the needs of society as quality financial services. Main principles of bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s corporate culture include classical principles of fairness, trust and apolitical relation. These principles work as the basis for existence of commercial bank as a social institution, which aims to combine and unite interests of different groups of people Ã¢â‚¬â€œ shareholders, employees, customers and partners. The vision of the bank is Ã¢â‚¬Å"Look at things in a new way!Ã¢â‚¬ The BankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s primary business is related to commercial banking activities, granting of loans and guarantees, accepting deposits, exchanging foreign currencies, dealing with securities, transferring cash payments, as well as providing other banking services in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main goal of the bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s activity is to earn income through the provision of banking services, for legal and physical entities, residents and non-residents of Kazakhstan, establishment of direct contact with international institutions for the development of External Relations, improvement and strengthening of business cooperation with foreign organizations. 2. External analysis PESTLE analysis PESTLE analysis or PEST stands for auditing the Alliance BankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s current environment and assessing its potential changes by looking at the organization from different angles in order to be better placed than its competitors and make plans for future events in terms of responding to the rapid changes in the macro-environment. It contains the factors such as political-legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological. Considering and understanding all these factors that influence the business, the information about the risks associated with the situation in the market will be clarified. Moreover, using the PESTLE analysis, it is possible to maximize opportunities and minimize threats for the Alliance Bank. Political-legal forces provide information about the political situation in the country and current legislations that regulate the industry. Businesses can be affected by many aspects of government policy. In particular, all businesses must comply with the law. They must also consider the impact of any forthcoming legislation on their operations. This may require taking action before the legislation comes into effect. Today a political factor,Ã‚ which would affect Kazakhstani banks, and in particular Alliance Bank, is the Ukrainian political instabilities. Russia and Ukraine have bad political relations, and it leads to trade barriers as well. As Kazakhstan is a member of Custom Union, of course, any instability in Russia could influence Kazakhstani market as well. As an example, recent devaluation of Russian Ruble will bring very negative effects in both Kazakhstan and Belarus Republic. This instability might lead to declining on the foreign investments to Alliance Bank that they were recently asking from London creditors. Also on the 26th of December 2012 the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed the Law Ã¢â‚¬Å"About Modification and Additions in Some Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan concerning the TaxationÃ¢â‚¬ . One of the amendments to the law says that from the January 1st, 2014 the conscientious taxpayers may postpone paying the accrued tax liability for not more than 3 years w ithout having any collateral or fund for restricted cash. It will help the Alliance Bank to save the amount of money in the current period in order to invest it if needed in some other activities. Economic forces focus on the prevalent economic factors. Evaluating one of them which is the average monthly wage in Kazakhstan, the Agency of the Republic of KazakhstanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Statistics provides the following data: in March 2010 the average monthly wage is equal to 72 000 KZT, in March 2011 the amount is 87 000 KZT, in February 2012 it is presented as 92 000 KZT, and in February 2013 it has increased to 98 736 KZT. Such a picture of the wage growth is very positive and beneficial for the Alliance bank because the bigger amount of clients is willing deposit their money to bank accounts. Another not less important economic factor to consider is the inflation rates. According to the Agency of the Republic of KazakhstanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Statistics, in 2011 the inflation rate in Kazakhstan was 7.4%, in 2012 it was 6%, and in 2013 it decreased to 4.6%. Due to recent devaluation of Kazakh Tenge, the forecast of inflation in 2014 is going to increase. The increase of inflation rates will lead to increase in interest rates, which will decrease the number of clients of the bank. Another important economic factor is GDP per capita in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan government is putting a huge afford to improve the lifestyle and living conditions of its people. The government set two crucial strategies; Strategy2030 and Strategy2050. According to these strategies, Kazakhstan must be listed among the developed countries of theÃ‚ world. One of the requirements of these strategies is raising GDP per capita. According to Dosayev, the GDP per capita will reach to $14,600 and it is expected to rea ch to $24,000 in 2018. Accordingly, the products of the bank will become more popular among the population. Social forces are the next. In this case they may be presented as demographic trends. Population of Kazakhstan for the 1st of March 2013 has increased by 1.4%, according to the report of the Agency of the Republic of KazakhstanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Statistics. Nowadays it is more than 17 million people who are living in the territory of Kazakhstan. Actually, the new migration policy for oralmans (people whose historical place to live was Kazakhstan), and people who arrive to the cities from urban areas is a good advantage for the bank. The President of the Agency of the Republic of KazakhstanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Statistics Alikhan Smailov noted that the average life expectancy in 2014 will be at the age of 70. According to the data for 2012 it was less and the actual number of years was 69 per person. Technology is another very important role in bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s internal control mechanisms as well as services offered by them. Through the use of technology new products and services are introduced. It includes technological aspects such as R&D activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change. Some of the technological changes which brought radical changes in banking industry in Kazakhstan, and especial in Alliance Bank are described below: Automated Teller Machine (ATM) The latest developments in terms of technology in computer and telecommunication have encouraged the bank to change the concept of branch banking to anywhere banking. The use of ATM and Internet banking has allowed anytime, anywhere banking facilities. IT Services & Mobile Banking Today banks of Kazakhstan are also using SMS and Internet as a major tool of promotion and giving great utility to its customers. For example, SMS functions through simple text messages sent from your mobile phone. Technology advancement has changed the face of traditional banking systems, it is even offering 24/7 banking even faster and secured service. Alliance bank definitely should look after all technological changes in banking industry both within Kazakhstan and on International level, because it really matters, and differentiate service of the bank. PorterÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Five Forces The Kazakhstan banking system has experienced many difficulties in recent years, as well as huge growth. Last year was marked by the successful completion of the restructuring of debts of the three largest banks in the Republic of Kazakhstan: BTA Bank, Temirbank and Alliance Bank, which defaulted in 2009. Nevertheless, KazakhstanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s banks currently operate in a very challenging external and internal environment which of course could reflect their financial stability, way of development in future years and their ability to find new appropriate business models. KazakhstanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s banking system suffered due to a liquidity crisis less than its peers (e.g. Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan). Measures of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan to maintain stability of the banking system and the infusion of funds into the capitalÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s largest banks, had its effect Ã¢â‚¬â€œ not one bank in Kazakhstan has not been declared bankrupt, the investors could easily withdraw their funds, there we re no signs of the banking panic among the population. So, the main current advantage of KazakhstanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s banking system is the stability which is a very serious and necessary feature at the Commonwealth of Independent States. Threat of New Entrants: Banking industry deals with other peopleÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s money and financial information new banks find it difficult to start up. Due to the nature of the industry, people are more willing to place their trust in big name, well known, major banks who they consider to be trustworthy. The banking industry has undergone a consolidation in which major banks seek to serve all of customersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ financial needs under their roof. This consolidation furthers the role of trust as a barrier to entry for new banks looking to compete with major banks, as consumer are more likely to allow one bank to hold all their accounts and service their financial needs. Ultimately the barriers to entry are relatively low for the banking industry. While it is nearly impossible for new banks to enter the industry offering the trust and full range of services as a major bank, it is fairly easy to open up a smaller bank operating on the regional level. Large financial resources are needed in order to open own bank an d enter on the financial market. Authorized capitalÃ‚ must be 5 billion Tenge, except other expenses (advertising campaigns, open own office, purchasing equipment and software etc.) Power of Suppliers: Capital is the primary resource on any bank and there are four major suppliers (various other suppliers like fees contribute to a lesser degree) of capital in the industry. Customer deposits Mortgages and loans Mortgage-baked securities Loans from other financial institutions By utilizing these four major suppliers, Alliance bank can be sure that they have the necessary resources required to service their customersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ borrowing needs while maintaining enough capital to meet withdrawal expectations. The power of the suppliers is largely based on the market, their power is often considered to fluctuate between medium to high. Suppliers for Bank are depositors and shareholders. Alliance Bank is interested in attracting outstanding depositors and principal shareholder. The main purposes are: correct invest invested funds; to ensure payments under the deposits and the shares; to make up ownerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s operating expenses; to get a certain profit Power of Buyers: The individual doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t pose much of a threat to the banking industry, but one major factor affecting the power of buyers is relatively high switching costs. If a person has one bank that services their banking needs, mortgage, savings, checking, etc, it can be a huge hassle for that person to switch to another bank. Alliance Bank has 2 million customers who have a bargaining power and can switch to any other bank due to bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s current situation. Availability of Substitutes: Some of the banking industryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s largest threats of substitution are not from rival banks but from non-financial competitors. The industry does not suffer any real threat of substitutes as far as deposits or withdrawals, however insurances, mutual funds, and fixed income securities are some of the manyÃ‚ banking services that are also offered by non-banking companies. As Alliance bank primarily offers commercial banking services, it does not suffer any threat of substitutes. Competitive Rivalry: The banking industry is considered highly competitive. The financial services industry has been around for hundreds of years, and just about everyone who needs banking services already has them. Because of this, banks must attempt to lure clients away from competitor banks. They do this by offering lower financing, higher rates, investment services, and greater conveniences than their rivals. There are two giant banks in Kazakhstan, Kazkommertsbank and Halyk Bank, which hold 18% and 19% of total asset of Kazakhstani market, whereas Alliance bank holds only 4%. Therefore, the above mentioned banks are the competitive rivalry of the Alliance bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s services. 3. Internal analysis SWOT analysis The key factor in the bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s strategic planning is SWOT-analysis. SWOT-analysis methodology suggests: first, to identify the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company as well as the external opportunities and threats, and secondly, to establish connections between them. The SWOT-analysis of Alliance Bank is described below. Strengths Weaknesses Support of Samruk-Kazyna Years of experience Extensive branch network Extensive acquiring network (ATMs, cash-in ATMs, POS-terminals) Innovative technologies Professional bank management Brand name recognition (recent rumors about bank default) Low-speed service with a large flow of clients Low-level promotion of banking products Shrinking loan portfolio Opportunities Threats The tenth largest bank in terms of assets in Kazakhstan Development of technology (Online banking, fingerprints) Geographic expansion Long-term partnerships with major companies Cover new demands of current customers Expand the customer base Publicly traded on KASE Customer dissatisfaction with new banking products Increased competition Unstable economy of the country (possibility of a financial crisis, devaluation of the local currency, inflation) Changing legal and tax provisions The possibility of clients default Change in oil prices Increased regulation of capital requirements Strengths of Alliance bank are the characteristics of the business that give it an advantage over the competitors. These characteristics may include personnel, finance, and manufacturing capabilities and so on. Weaknesses are the attributes resources that work against a successful outcome. Strengths and weaknesses are internal attributes and the company can use its strengths to liquidate the weaknesses. For instance, Alliance Bank JSC has an extensive branch network including 19 branches and 106 cash offices in 51 cities and rural settlements of the Republic of Kazakhstan. They can use their extensive branch and acquiring network to increase the level of promotion of banking products in cities and rural areas. Another example is to use the innovative technology to deal with low-speed service when there is a large flow of clients. The bank could automatize its operations. Opportunities are the external factors the business can capitalize on or use to its advantage. Alliance bank has a n opportunity to expand geographically to new markets. For instance, Kazkommertsbank has branches in different countries of Central Asian region, which allows them to expand their customer base and increase their profits. Threats are the external factors that could jeopardize the business. External factors may includeÃ‚ macro-economic factors, technological changes, legislation and socio-cultural changes as well as changes in the market place or in competitive position. For example, due to the recent devaluation of KZT in February, 2014 Alliance Bank customers withdrew 55 billion KZT in two weeks from the moment of the announcement of the devaluation. As explained to the bankers, since the beginning of the National BankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s announcement of the devaluation in the period from 11 to 17 February, investors withdrew 25 billion KZT from their accounts. And after the SMS-attack, in the period from 18 to 21 February, another 30 billion were withdrawn from the bank. This amounted to one third of the deposit base. Conducted SWOT analysis helps to analyze how our Company proceeds and what kind of opportunities and strengths we have, additionally, it helps to identify what threats and weaknesses we have. One of the basic strength of our company is experience that we have in banking industry. Alliance Bank is supported by SamrukKazyna fund, which is trust-worthy fund. Another strength is extensive branch network, which allows bank to operate in 51 cities and rural areas of Kazakhstan. Due to recent financial problems, bank is trying its best to deal with these kinds of strengths in order to overcome financial distress and possibility of new technological default. Recapitalization of bank by the government resulted in injection of 24 billion KZT. SamrukKazyna owns today 67% of shares of the bank, and bank is looking for opportunities of finding capital investors in order to buy shares of the bank. VRIO analysis The VRIO Analysis is an analytical technique which for each type of resource considers the following questions (evaluation dimension) for an organization as well as for its competitors. In practice, the VRIO analysis is also used in combination with other analytical techniques to help organizational management evaluate business resources in a more detailed view. For financial resources, there are many detailed financial indicators that evaluate the financial condition or performance of the business from different perspectives. Likewise, humanresources, property or information are other detailed indicators of their performance, efficiency or quality. The advantage of a VRIO analysis is its simplicity and clarity. Value Chain Product Development Alliance Bank has two primary product offerings: personal banking and commercial banking. Commercial banking is the largest of these, comprising more than half of the bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s portfolio. Commercial blends are segmented by business size and feature a combination of accounts, credit cards, lines of credit, merchant services and cash/investment management services. Personal banking blends are segmented by customer age and include services such as checking and savings accounts and credit cards. Product Support Suppliers Alliance Bank leverages and backs up its products with hedging instruments in order to maintain a stable financial base. This involves in-house development of a diversified portfolio, market analysis of deposit versus lending activities as well as the purchase of risk-hedging tools to back itsÃ‚ lending products. However they have to increase the efficiency of their product development. Marketing Alliance Bank has differentiated itself within the crowded field of commercial banking through its marketing and brand-building efforts, steadfastly emphasizing customer service andalso reframing theirs as a retail organization. Alliance Bank has established a brand strongly. Over the past years, Alliance Bank has invested heavily in rebuilding a brand image which was negatively affected during the financial crisis on 2009. Alliance promotes itself as an Ã¢â‚¬Å"innovative, customer friendly retailer of financial products and servicesÃ¢â‚¬ whose aim is Ã¢â‚¬Å"to connect with the public on an individual levelÃ¢â‚¬ . They have pursued this strategy through more traditional (TV, radio, brochures, newspapers and billboard) campaigns. Sales and Service Service is a critical differentiator for a community bank because most financial products are homogeneous. It therefore makes sense that Alliance has made unsurpassed service a key strategy company-wide. Much like AllianceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s efforts at creating a community atmosphere, this strategy could be easily replicated by other banks. Here Allianceis afforded at least a competitive parity. Information Technology and Human Resources Human Resource Development and Information Technology are two underlying segments of AllianceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s value chain that support all their other lines of business. For its part, ITÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s strategic relevance is limited by the simple fact that most banking platforms are acquired from third-parties due to their huge development and support costs. These platforms tend to constrain service because they are geared more towards security and stabilityÃ¢â‚¬â€for obvious reasonsÃ¢â‚¬â€than flexibility. IT is therefore generally a threat to AllianceÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s quest to provide innovative banking solutions. HR, on the other hand, is a strategic asset that Alliance continually employs to support their unique service culture. HR has successfully managed the organizationÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s culture via a variety of methods: ongoing employee development/training programs, astute hiring practices, etc. 4. Recommendation (Corporate Strategy) Before making the recommendation concerning the Corporate Strategy, the profound analysis of the Company overview was made. Because of devaluation in Kazakhstan, the company is on the stage of technical default. Meantime, the financial sector in Kazakhstan is very vulnerable and some of the banksÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ situation is becoming even worse. Alliance Bank is looking for new opportunities to get out of this situation. According to Madina Abdina, the head of Almaty branch of Alliance Bank, the bank is looking for investors to do restructure. This activity will save the bank from the bankruptcy. According to Banking Report of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Alliance Bank holds only 4% of total asset of Kazakhstani market. It means that Alliance Bank is not as big as Ã¢â‚¬Å"Halyk BankÃ¢â‚¬ or Ã¢â‚¬Å"KazkommertsbankÃ¢â‚¬ . Nevertheless, the company managers and employees doing their best to save their bank. One of the most optimal recommendations during this period would be to restructure the bank. When the bank returns the previous position, then it could look at other opportunities, which we will offer. We will recommend the bank to apply growth strategies. First is, through concentration strategy. The company can launch new services within the business or expand its business through expanding its geographic locations. We will talk about this issue later in this part. The first recommendation is that Alliance Bank should sign a Strategic Alliance with marketÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s giants; Ã¢â‚¬Å"KazkommertsbankÃ¢â‚¬ or Ã¢â‚¬Å"Halyk BankÃ¢â‚¬ . According to Banking Report of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ã¢â‚¬Å"KazkommertsbankÃ¢â‚¬ and Ã¢â‚¬Å"Halyk BankÃ¢â‚¬ hold 18% and 19% respectively. This would be a good chance for Alliance bank to expand its business and to have new customers, but they should offer a good proposal to those banks. Another recommendation is offering new service as a product development. According to Forbes, Insurance is one of the most profitable businesses. Of course, there are many insurance companies in Kazakhstan, but according to the World Bank, life insurance still has not developed in Kazakhstan. Therefore, Alliance Bank can open an insurance company under the financial sector. The next recommendation relates to concentration strategy. The purpose of a concentration strategy is to provide a singular focus to the product line, and the market in which the company chooses to compete. The concentration strategy may be approached through market development or product development. In the case of Alliance bank, we recommend to concentrate onÃ‚ market development through geographic expansion. In todayÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s rapidly globalizing economy, a well-planned and properly managed geographic expansion can help a business reduce costs, gain access to new markets and fuel the companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s future growth. In his article Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Effects of Geographic Expansion on Bank EfficiencyÃ¢â‚¬ , Berger and DeYoung note that geographic expansion may allow scale or scope efficiencies that reduce costs or enhance revenues. Linking branches, ATMs, and back-office facilities over a larger geographic area may yield network economies. A more geographically broad institution may also be better able to serve business customers that have many locations, and may have a broader menu of potential new investment opportunities outside its home market. As we can see, there are numerous advantages of geographic expansion. In case of Alliance bank, it can open its branches in neighboring Central Asian countries, like Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Known to all, those countries are the least developed countries in the region and Alliance bank is able to introduce many new things to these markets. The products and services that are not highly accepted in Kazakhstan due to a big number of good banks in this region can have a greater success in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The main reason is that the banking system is not highly developed in those countries and there is a lack of good banks there. The example of a Kazakhstani bank that expanded geographically is Kazkommertsbank. It already has its successfully operating branches in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the Russian Federation. Alliance bank has the same potential to succeed by geographic expansion. In the long term, Alliance Bank can expand to other regions of the world, access new markets and grow in the future. 5. Recommendation (Business Strategy) Due to rapid development of technology, Alliance bank can use an opportunity of creating a more developed SMS-banking system. SMS-banking is type of mobile banking, which allows customers to operate selected banking services over their mobile phones using SMS-messaging. Alliance Bank already had implemented internet banking. Still, it is not widely used among its customers due to inconvenience of usage. Bank has to promote its online banking system and SMS-banking very actively so that customers get to know the services of bank. By developing the SMS-banking, Alliance Bank will have a chance to compete with its rivals, differentiate its services from otherÃ‚ banks, which do not have internet-banking and SMS-banking yet. SMS-banking is well developed in international banks, as well as in Kazakhstan. One of the banks that use this system is Kazkommertsbank. Thus, Alliance Bank can differentiate its services by using one more feature to its customers. SMS-banking is very trustful, safe application that allows doing following operations: Balance enquiry Statement request Fund transfer to account number Fund transfer to mobile number Current exchange rates information; deposit interest rates Bank could spread new offerings, i.e. do mobile marketing through the SMS-banking, which allows decreasing the amount of funds spent for marketing. Bank could also use one of the latest tools against cyber-fraud Ã¢â‚¬â€œ One-time password. OTPs are requested each time customer wants to perform transactions. Once password is used, it expires. Most of SMS-banking solutions are add-on products, which work on bankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s existing platform. Today, however, some companies develop independent applications that allow using SMS-banking. For instance, Alliance bank has access to Ã¢â‚¬Å"SMS bankingÃ¢â‚¬ application for Apple products. The problem with this application is that it is only available for Apple products and also it is not easy to use. Ratings of users remain very low. There is one more application available for android system, called Ã¢â‚¬Å"HandpayÃ¢â‚¬ . This application, however, is also not easy to use, requires high speed of internet. Payment is only withdrawn for SMS-requi ries sent to the bank. However, customers do not find it useful. Therefore, we suggest developing a new platform for the bank. Firstly, it will increase the safety of operations for customers. Secondly, it will allow bank to charge customers with monthly fee (200 KZT for example), which is additional source of income. Thirdly, it will allow bank to spread information about new products without spending money for advertisement (through pull messages). Another business strategy recommendation for Alliance Bank is to introduce a new service Ã¢â‚¬â€œ pension accounts. This is very convenient service for Alliance Bank subscribes because their long term clients will stay with their bank even during pension period. This service gives an opportunity for pensioners to get their pensions and make otherÃ‚ transactions with the same account. Alliance Bank should think about new activities which differentiate them from their competitors. One of such activities is launching pension cards for free. Another activity which our team recommends to Alliance Bank is that the bank should offer pensioners to buy or order Internet transactions with lowest possible rate. Pension accounts will give Alliance Bank and additional opportunity to expand its network. 6. Recommendation (Functional strategy) The functional strategy of the bank should be based on both recommendations on corporate and business strategies that our team offered. Different departments in the bank, such as Human Resource, R&D, Marketing and Accounting/Finance realize functional strategy. The main aim of functional strategy is to assure that corporate and business strategies implemented by the bank are successful. Alliance Bank should implement following activities for each of the above-mentioned departments: Corporate Strategy Business Strategy Strategy/ Department Strategic alliance Insurance Company Geographic expansion SMS Banking Pension account Marketing Think of appropriate way to deliver this message to customers Calculate efficiency of these alliance Use Push marketing Think of appropriate way to enter insurance market Use Pull marketing Contact local advertising agency to plan their marketing campaign for entering new market Use Pull marketing Think of appropriate way to deliver this message to customers Use Push marketing Think of appropriate way to deliver this message to existing clients Use Push marketing H&R Select new manager for executive position Hire new personnel for new company Select and send their specialist to the new market Hire new local people for different positions Train the local personnel Hire appropriate IT specialist Teach marketing team the usage of the technology Assign a team from existing staff R&D Make research before the implementation of alliance Monitoring the efficiency of alliance Technological leader Research about current market on insurance industry Technological follower Research on the situation of the banking industry in Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan Technological leader Research sms-banking application and find the most appropriate and easy to use Technological follower Technological follower Accounting/Finance Create pro-forma statement Find the most appropriate investors Find the ways to minimize the costs of opening the new business Calculate the future profits of the company Consider the opportunity of debt financing versus equity financing Find the ways to minimize the costs of opening the new business Calculate the future profits of the company Create pro-forma statement Create pro-forma statement 7. Implementation According to our recommendations, Alliance Bank should introduce; 1) Strategic alliance with Kazkomertsbank and Halyk Bank, 2) Introducing insurance company, 3) Geographic expansion under corporate strategy. Additionally, there were some more recommendations under the business strategy such as: SMS banking and pension account. Accordingly these new activities and businesses will change organizational structure of Alliance Bank and may introduce new management strategy. For signing Strategic Alliance, the bank itself will be responsible for all documentations. As for introducing insurance company, the company will have another division with responsible management. This would be the example of divisional type of organizational structure. In case of opening Alliance BankÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s branches in Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan, the company should have a new managerial position with all functional areas in both countries. Here, Alliance Bank showing the geographic type of organizational structure. General Manager of both country branches will rapport to CEO of company in Kazakhstan. As about introducing SMS banking, the Engineering Manager and R&D Manager will be responsible for launching this service. When this service starts operating, a new manager should coordinate this service. In case of pension account, a new manager under the CEO of Alliance Bank will be assigned. In last two activities Alliance Bank will have the combination of functional and matrix types of organizational structure. It shows that implementing our recommendations will change the organizational structure of Alliance Bank significantly. 8. Conclusion The current situation of Alliance Bank makes the managers to think about new strategic plans in order to survive further. The companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s external and internal analyses show that company can introduce new activities and businesses which would be profitable for Alliance Bank. Our recommendations are based on analyses of SWOT, VRIO, Value Chain and PESTLE. Alliance Bank should introduce corporate strategies as Strategic Alliance with Kazkommertsbank and Halyk Bank, establishing a new Insurance Company and expanding geographically. Implementation of Strategic Alliance would take 3-5 months; establishing an insurance company would take 3-4 years; and geographic expansion would take much longer Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 4-5 years. Alliance bank should introduce business strategies as SMS-banking and pension accounts.Ã‚ Development of the SMS-banking would take 1 year and the development of pension accounts would take 3-4 years. To successfully implement the corporate and business strategies, Allianc e bank should involve all the departments of its company. Therefore, Alliance bank should have a good functional strategy. This would include involvement of Marketing, Human Resource, Research and Development, and Finance and Accounting departments. Overall, by summing up all those strategies we developed recommendations for Alliance bank which includes usage of corporate and business strategies in different situations as this would help a company to recover from the technical default and improve its current financial situation. 9. References Berger, A. N. & DeYong, R. (n.d.). The Effects of Geographic Expansion on Bank Efficiency. Journal of Financial Services Research. Retrieved from http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2001/200103/200103pap.pdf Biery , M. E. (2013). The Most Profitable Businesses to Start. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/sageworks/2013/04/28/the-most-profitable-businesses-to-start/ Clardy, A. (2013). Strengths vs. Strong Position: Rethinking the Nature of SWOT Analysis. Modern Management Science & Engineering, 1(1). Kazakhstan commercial banking report. (2012). Business Monitor International. Kazakhstan Overview. The World Bank, (2014). Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kazakhstan/overview Tatum, M. (2014). What Is a Concentration Strategy? Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-concentration-strategy.htm Toktabayev, K. (2013). Internet Banking. Business Review. Retrieved from http://profit.kz/articles/2019/Internet-banking-2013-ili-Odin-v-banke-dnem-she st-let-spustya/ Vidyanova, A. (2014). Alliance Bank Faced Technical Default.Capital Finance. Retrieved from http://kapital.kz/finance/26763/v-alyans-banke-proizoshel-tehnicheskij-defolt.html Yertayev, Z. (2013). Position of Kazakhstani banking system today Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Review. Forbes journal. Retrieved from http://forbes.kz/life/opinion/v_kakoy_zone_nahoditsya_bankovskaya_sistema_kazahstana