Course, Cause and Treatment of Bi-Polar disorder Research Paper

Course, Cause and Treatment of Bi-Polar disorder - Research Paper Example Course, Cause and Treatment of Bi-Polar disorder The symptoms that characterize the manic episode include elevated mood, hyperactivity that involves high levels of energy, lack of self control, flight of thoughts and grandiosity. During this stage the individual may have an inflated self-esteem and the individual becomes over-involved in activities; particularly, over-indulgence in sexual activity and promiscuity that can be seriously detrimental for the individual’s personal health and well-being. The individual may also get involved in other kinds of reckless behavior such as binge eating, drug abuse, impaired hindsight or judgment and may even shop excessively. Due to lack of self-control, the individual exhibits an irritable mood and is prone to lash out at other people; in other words, they lose their temper quite often that causes them to behave in a manner that has heavy and often debilitating consequences. They experience inability to concentrate on their work, as a result are easily distracted and may even have little or no need for sleep at all. On the other hand, the depressive phase has symptoms that are exactly the opposite of the manic phase and the symptoms are similar to that experienced by the sufferers of Major depressive disorder. The symptoms experienced during the depressive stage are low mood, anhedonia; which is complete lack of interest in activities that were previously found pleasurable, difficulty concentrating, faces problems in remembering things and indecisiveness. The individual faces gross psychomotor retardation; as his movements slows down, he or she may feel tired all the time and loses his or her self-esteem. The phase is characterized by crying spells, persistent sadness, negative thoughts; which are usually about death and suicidal ideation. (Moore & Jefferson, 2004) The individual’s social life is hampered as well and begins avoiding social situation. The individual experiences increased and often displaced amount of guilt along with feelings of worthlessness and dejection. The individual may either lose weight due to lack of appetite; however, in some cases the individual may indulge in binge eating and may gain excessive amount of weight that may result in obesity if the depression is not treated in time. The individual has sleep disturbances and like the eating disorder, he or she may either experience insomnia or hypersomnia that is the individual either sleeps too little or excessively. Either way, individuals are likely to commit suicide during the depressive and during the manic phase, they can do serious damage to their health by abusing drugs and alcohol or indulging in unsafe sexual activity. (Moore & Jefferson, 2004) The individual may experience these symptoms simultaneously or even these can overlap each other resulting in a state that is often called the â€Å"mixed state†. Throughout the course of the disorder, the individual may also have a phase, which is normal and may experience normal level of mood. However, before making the diagnosis that an individual suffers from bi-polar disorder, clinicians must rule the following disorders.

Health Promotion Essay Example for Free

Health Promotion Essay This is an essay about a thirty year old woman called Molly who is a little bit anaemic, recently gave birth to her second born called Sebastian. Molly leaves with her husband called James and their three year old baby called Eric. The purpose and aim of this essay is to define health and health promotion, a brief discussion about Molly’s anaemic. The key concepts in this essay will be defined such as health and health promotion. A rational for my plan will also be discussed as well as the dimension of Molly’s health such as her biomedical model oh health, her psychological model of health, her social model of health and also her psychological factors which may affect her wellness such as cognitive factors, behavioural factors and environmental factors which can be use to enhance Molly and her family’s health. My rational for choosing to write about Molly is that, from research I did, I found out that anaemia is one of the most common pathological condition encountered in primary care. Its consequences, although mild in most cases, are potentially very sever. It was said in August 2009 that about 12,500 have anaemia, and in UK 1 in 7 children have mild iron deficiency anaemia. As this is due to the low red meat levels in our current diet, for similar reasons many women of menstruation age also iron deficient. First of all, health is the absence of illness, by Naidoo and Wills(2000), whilst Dines and Cridd (1993) argued that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO 1998) defined as the extent to which an individual is able to realize expectations and fulfil needs and to change or cope with the environment. Personally I think being healthy , is the absence of illness. Blaxter (1990) undertook two studies on how various people defined their own health; one of a large side view of the population and one from a low social class disadvantaged families. She discovered that a negative definition of illness was used, among people defining health as the absence of diseases. However, there were clear differences between the various age groups and between sexes. Younger males likely to highlight issues linked to strength and fitness, while older males stressed mental well-being. Younger women focus on vitality and the ability to cope in various circumstances, while older women talk about satisfaction, but also include wider issues such as social relationships. Howlett et al. (1992) used Blaxter’s data in a more comprehensive examination of ethnic differences in defining health. Their results recommended that there were differences among the various ethnic groups, with people of Asian origin defining health in a practical or functional way, while people from African-Caribbean origin were more likely to include fundamentals of health, although the research outcome for the definition of health was not clear however, health is not a simple idea; but quite multifaceted, among different groups defining it different ways, this means that, some ethnics think that being physically fit means you are healthy whiles other ethnic groups also think that when a person is fit and mentally sick means to them that the person is unhealthy. According to the WHO (1998), health is a process of enabling individual to increase control over and improve their health. However, Tannahill (1996) explained health promotion in greater detail and defined health promotion as health education, health promotion and the prevention of illness. Health promotion is the prevention of ill health and the reduction in number known risk factors for disease, as well as the increase in social capital and the empowerment of individuals and communities. Empowerment is difficult to define and has been used to mean different things. Rissell (1994) (cited by Naidoo and Wills 2001) describes empowerment as the holy grail of health promotion, defining it as process through which people become strong enough to participate, share in the control of and influence events and institutions affecting their lives’ Tones (1995) (cited by Naidoo and Wills) argues that, for individuals to be empowered, they may need to acquire information or decision-making skills and has consistently argued that health education is the mainstay of population health promotion, health promotion will empower Molly to be aware of the dangers of his health. Promoting health therefore means focusing not just on preventing disease but also on people’s social and mental health, therefore health promotion may include preventive activities, education, community-based social action, the creation of healthy environments and policies for example: The recent health strategy for England, Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation (DOH, 1999), (cited by Naidoo and Wills 2001)â€Å"suggests that the public, the community and government has a role to play in health improvement and these roles has been identified as (a)Government and national players assessing risks, communicating these risks clearly to the public and ensuring supportive environments for health. b) Communities working in partnership with other agencies to provide better Information and services†. (Naidoo and Wills 2001 p280) The 1846 Public Health Act included that local authorities are require to provide clean water supplies and sewage disposable system, the no smoking policy in public areas etc. Tannahill (1985) (cited by Naidoo and Wills 2001) provided some examples of recognized expressive models of health promotion as prevention, health education and health protection. First and foremost, I will talk about Molly’s biomedical health which is Anaemia. Biomedical model of health and can be defined mainly as the absence of disease. â€Å"Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells (RBCs) is reduced or there is a reduction in the level of haemoglobin in the blood†. Molly acquired her anaemia in her pregnancy since anaemia is associated with pregnancy in a serious health problem; it is also an important public health problem worldwide and the most vulnerable group are pregnant women like Molly. Molly being anaemic could be her iron deficiency which is probably the most common and important because, the physiological changes associated with pregnancy exert a demand of additional iron, which is needed for foetus. Molly’s health can promoted here through health education by the health practitioners about the consumption of food that are rich in vitamins, minerals and elements specifically identified as therapeutic for this condition. This education can gradually help Molly promote her health. Because health education plays an important role in health promotions as it covers all aspect of activities that help improve the health status of people and their surroundings. Ewles and Sinnet (2003) suggested that health promotion is the action of empowering individuals to enable them takes control over their lives, in order to improve their health and lifestyle. Naidoo and will (2000), further add that health promotion is frequently seen as prevention of disease, often through targeting groups with an increased like hood of developing specific disease. The leaflet can be displayed at health clinic like GP surgeries, well woman clinic and hospital reception and wards so that health professionals can use it to educate, council, teach and empower women and also, be well informed. It can also be displayed at social clubs, schools and super markets so that everyone can get one and not necessarily go to their GP surgeries or hospital before being able to get one. The leaflet has been designed in a way that every individual will be able to read and understand. I believe it is very important to be brief and straight forward when designing a health promotion leaflet Again, I will look at her psychological model of health. This is post natal depression. Psychological health is the effect of the mind and the relationship between physical activity and general aspect of psychological well-being for example smoking, alcohol, diet, exercise etc. Molly’s postnatal depression can be of a combination of many factors. (Physical, psychological and social). Molly can be depressed in so many ways; one can be due to the fact that her having another baby will be the biggest physical, emotional and social factor she will ever experience. Molly preparing adequately to meet her new born baby can be difficult and sometimes laced with unrealistic expectation. If Molly’s expectations are not are not met and also caring for her new baby proves to be difficult, she will tend to blame herself. However the postnatal depression can make Molly depress if her baby experiences severe baby blues, or having difficulties in her marriage with her husband and or la ck of practical and emotional support or being the perfect mother and being ill prepared for the reality of parenting. Moreover, Molly having a negative birth experience, experiencing unexpected complication, like baby born prematurely or unwell and lastly her new born demanding, having difficulties in feeding, experiencing colic and or being frequently unsettled. all these factors will contribute to make Molly depress. Mollys health can be improving her through many different types of therapy and some of these are cognitive behavior therapy. This is where by a person thinks negatively about themselves. E.g. like I am a failure and no one loves me. It could be Mollys thinks negatively about herself. Also interpersonal therapy, psychologist and psychiatrist. Lastly, I will talk about her Social model of health which is isolation. the social model of health watchfully considers how bigger determinants than the occurrence or absence of disease have an impact on people’s health for example: poor housing, air pollution, poor drinking water leading to sickness like cholera. Some of these bigger determinants are a person’s culture and belief method or levels of relative income, access to housing, education achievement and opportunities as well as the wider environmental. Molly feels isolated due to the fact that she has got a new baby and would not get the chance to meet her friends and family as she used to do before. Below is a care plan done for Molly on how she can promote her health? Needs/problem|Health promotion Approach/strategy|Activity| Anaemia (Biomedical Health)| ·Identify the typical haemoglobin levels that define anaemia in children/adolescents and post-pubertal men and women. | ·Eating iron rich foods and red meat. ·To take vitamin B complex supplement.| Post natal depression (Psychological factor)| ·Assess individual to see if they are under stress, depressed or also thinking about suicidal.| ·Routine screening using the EPDS which is offered to delivered others prior to discharge.| Isolation (social factor)| ·Check individual risk factors | ·Reassurance ·Encouragement ·Empathy ·Empowerment| This care plan has been done on how Molly’s health can be improved. The Code of Professional Conduct (NMC, 2004) talks about promoting patients interest, by helping them gain access to their health care by providing them with the necessary information and support to their relevant needs, impact knowledge in order to develop skills and make an informed choice about their health behaviour (tones and tilford, 1994). Health promotion brings awareness of obesity and its associated health risks that cause early mortality. Most individual see the challenges to their need to change but refuse to because they don’t see the need to , due to still perceived advantages, in this case people need to be motivated to give some thoughts to enable them do something about their behaviour, and if possible set up an action plan with a possible reward system put in place to maintain a successful change in behaviour and to avoid relapse, though there may be occasional relapse to earlier stage (Prochashka and Diclemente, 1984). In summary, irrespective of health promotion strategies and models adopted, health promotion is an effective mean of educating, helping people understand their behaviour and how it can affect their health. This care plan can be useful tool to all health care professional involved in health promotion and because care plan alone cannot have the greatest impact on people behaviour. It is therefore important to advise them on the health risk associated with being anaemic and encourage them make their own choice for a healthier lifestyle. REFERENCES Becker M. (1974) The health belief model and personal behaviour. Throfare New Jersey: Slack. Berkman LF, Glass T. Social integration, social networks, social support, and health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, eds. Social Epidemiology. New York: Oxford; 2000. Blaxter et al. (1996). How to research. Buckingham: Open University Press. Downie, R.S., Tannahill, C. Tannahill, A. (1996). Health promotion: models and values. (2nd ed). Oxford: Oxford Medical Publications. Ewles L, and Simnet I (2003) promoting Health ; A Practical Guide. 5th edition. Edinburgh: Bailliere Tindall. House JS. Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley; 1981. Kemm J, and Close A. (1995) Health Promotion: Theory and practice London: Macmillan press. Lincoln KS. Social Support, negative social interactions, and psychological well-being. Soc Serv Rev 2000;(June):231–552. Naidoo J, Wills J. (2000) Health Promotion Foundations for Practice. 2nd edition. London: Bailliere Tindall. Naidoo, J and Wills, J. (2001). Health promotion. Naidoo and Wills. Health studies An Introduction. London: PALGRAVE. P 275-290. Nurising and Midwifery Council (2004) Code of Professional Conduct. London: NMC Tones K, and Tilford S. (1994) Health Education: Effectiveness, Efficiency Chapman Hall. and Equity. 2nd edition. London: Chapman Hall. Umberson D. Family status and health behaviors: social control as a dimension of social integration. J Health Soc Behav1987;28: 306–19. World Health Organisation (1998) Education for Health, A Manul on Health Education in Primary Health Care. Geneva: WHO.

Private Schools vs. Public Schools Essay -- Private Schools vs. Public

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As time has gone by, Americans have increasingly paid more attention to the schooling process, trying harder all the time to get the best education possible for their children. As a result, more parents are turning from the public school systems to the private schools. This happens for several reasons. First, students that graduate from private schools tend to be better prepared for college. Second, private schools open up many opportunities to succeed in the business world. Last, the private schools allow the parents and the student to decide which school they feel will give the student the best education possible. Overall, private schools offer a better education for high school students than do public schools.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Students that graduate from a private school tend to succeed more in colleges than students that graduate from a public school. There are several reasons that this occurs. First, the study skills that are learned in a private school far exceed the skills that are learned in a public school. One of the most important skills is being able to manage ones time effectively. Time management can be one of college life’s hardest habits to learn. The difficulty-level of each course also plays a large role in the preparation for college. In private schools it is expected that the courses will be more difficult than at a public school. The second area of strength is the peer pressure. In public schools the pressure is very rarely pressure to work hard in school, ...

Bill Gates and I Have the Same Property Essay

The government does not have the freedom to interfere into the property of an owner and the owner’s right to exercise power on the property. This statement may be evaluated with the following example. An anti-trust action was passed against Microsoft Corporation by the Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department who challenged that the company cannot make it mandatory on customers to install the internet browser of Microsoft while installing the Microsoft 95 operating system. The Government also upheld the notion that it is not necessary for consumers to use one product of a company simultaneously when another product is installed. The court ordered the separation of Microsoft 95 and Internet explorer. In continuation to this verdict, the Assistant Attorney General further demanded the unusual freedom to scrutinise all future products of Microsoft Corporation to check their marketing strategy. Microsoft retaliated that if additional facilities in the computer indicate unfair trade practice, the manufacture of computer itself would be like posing threat to the manufacturers of products like calculator, typewriter and the like. Though the Assistant Attorney General justified that the anti trust motion is aimed to stimulate innovation and competition there were several obstacles to substantiate its stand to stop Microsoft from gaining market control (Labaton, 1997). According to Bill Gates, the separation of the operating system and the browser would mean producing products with lesser value and reducing the demand for the operating system in the market despite enhancing the quality (Thibodeau, 2008). In the Second Treatise of Government, John Locke justifies that man can have a right on property based on the amount of work he has done to transform the resources provided by God. The amount of work done by a person enables him to partition the common resources provided by God and own a part of it by himself. Thus private ownership of property is related to the amount of work done by man. The spoilage proviso limits the amount of resources a man can reserve when the resource is wasted and the sufficiency proviso limits the amount of resources to be owned and the balance to be left with the nature for others. And when there are no more resources available, people are required to work on the available resources for sustenance. According to Locke, when individuals own resources or land, they take better care of it rather than when the land is not owned by anyone. When land is owned the productivity is estimated a ten times its actual value and it will pave way for the betterment of life. Here labor is given more importance than on resources. When a person works on a resource it is automatically transformed into the workers property. It is the duty of the government to protect the right of a person towards a property (Meinhardt, 2007). James Madison has defined the ownership and rights to use a property. He has stated that when a person has a right to property, it is equal to having a property in his own rights. Hence the government’s interference into the affairs of a property or business owned by an individual when the business is meant for public use is not fair. Therefore the government should make it clear that the property owned by a person or corporate may be put into full use according to the wish of the owner if the use of the property adds values and the deletion of certain facilities reduce the value of the property. When certain use of a property is taken away by legal and governmental restrictions, the owner cannot exercise his fundamental freedom to exercise his right on the property (Pilon, 1995). In conclusion, governments do not have the authority to interfere into the rights of a property owner if the owner is a multi billionaire or a common person. Reference Labaton, S. December 22, 1997. Bill Gates, Meet Your Adversary, the Antitrust Chief. Available: http://query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html? res=9D04E7DF143EF931A15751C1A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1. Accessed on September 8, 2008 Meinhardt, E. F. May 22, 2007. Critical Analysis of John Locke’s theory on Property Rights. Available http://www. scribd. com/doc/93360/John-Locke-on-Property-Rights. Accessed on September 8, 2008. Pilon, R. February 10, 1995. Protecting Private Property Rights from Regulatory Takings. Breathe New Life Into the Takings Clause. Available: http://www. cato. org/testimony/ct-pi210. html. Accessed on September 8, 2008. Thibodeau, P. June 30, 2008. For Bill Gates, antitrust fight was a personal crucible. http://www. thestandard. com/news/2008/06/30/bill-gates-antitrust-fight-was-personal-crucible? page=0%2C1. Accessed on September 8, 2008.

Physiology Essay

Muscles are responsible for all conscious and unconscious movement. It is how we move and react to an environment. There are three types of muscles in the body include the skeletal muscle, smooth muscle, and the cardiac muscle. Whether you are running, walking, breathing, eating, sleeping, or typing it all involves some sort of muscle action. Muscle cells that shape, form, and outline the whole human skeleton is called a muscle fibers. There are two types of muscle fibers: Type I (slow-twitching fibers) and Type II ( fast-twitching fibers).â€Å"The slow muscles are more efficient at using oxygen to generate more fuel (known as ATP) for continuous, extended muscle contractions over a long time. They fire more slowly than fast twitch fibers and can go for a long time before they fatigue. † (Quiin, 2013) The slow-twitching fibers utilizes an oxidation energy system, or ability to require more oxygen in creating fuel for the muscles, that allows long distance runners to finish a marathon as long as they can. In contrast, Type I muscle fiber is built more for endurance.â€Å"Fast twitch fibers use anaerobic metabolism to create fuel, they are much better at generating short bursts of strength or speed than slow muscles. However, they fatigue more quickly. Fast twitch fibers generally produce the same amount of force per contraction as slow muscles, but they get their name because they are able to fire more rapidly. † (Quiin, 2013) Fast-twitching muscles generate energy from the anaerobic energy system, allowing ‘explosive’ movements for short amount of time before fatigue.Conclusively, Type II fibers are more for a sprinter or agility movements in periods of two or three minutes. To break it down more, there are two types of Type II muscle fibers: Type IIa and Type IIb. Type IIa have both characteristics Type I and Type II fiber that consume both anaerobic and aerobic energy systems. And type IIb is more like fast-twitching fibers with it s anaerobic energy requirements. When it comes to training certain muscles fiber types, everybody is more differently built with one muscle fiber than the other.Some are more of a 300-meter sprinter; others are able to run endlessly. Training for a marathon requires a lot of long distance running; training for a 400 meter shuttle sprint will require more short distance runs. No matter what the case is, the only way to improve performance is to keep working on that area; in return builds endurance for that muscle group. In relation to the previous paragraph, muscles require energy to perform. Depending on the muscle fiber type determines which energy system is used.Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is energy that make muscle contraction possible. The energy systems consist of the ATP-PCr system, glycolysis system, and the oxidative system. The ATP-PCr system utilizes stored ATP for quick, ‘explosive’ movements such as releasing a powerful swing with a baseball bat. The gly colysis system â€Å"provides energy for activities of slightly longer duration and lower intensity like strength training. † (Hefferman, 2012) And the oxidative system is used for physical activities that perform for a longer period of time, requiring more oxygen.The first two energy systems are anaerobic, while the third one is aerobic. What all of these systems have in common is they must consume glucose. Glucose is a form of fuel that comes from the foods we eat. Glucose store in the muscles and liver is called glycogen. When the body and muscles need energy, the glycogen goes through glycolysis; in which is broken down to, once again, glucose. Performing an exercise requires the fuel for the contracting muscles. How does the muscle contract? Reason to contract muscle can be with and without conscious.On a segment or bundle of muscles are controlled by a neuron in the nervous system. The neuron is made up a cell body (soma), axon, and dendrites. The neuron is referred to as an excitable tissue that transmits signals into nerve impulses. â€Å"A nerve impulse is an electrical signal that travels along an axon. There is an electrical difference between the inside of the axon and its surroundings, like a tiny battery. When the nerve is activated, there is a sudden change in the voltage across the wall of the axon, caused by the movement of ions in and out of the neuron.† (What are nerve impulses)From contracting muscles to maintaining normal cellular functions, the body requires fuel for energy. Fuel, or calories, is what our body does to metabolize energy. To obtain this fuel, we consume food. Foods we eat made up nutrients and fuel substrates consisting of fat, protein, carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, when broken down, create glucose that is for energy or stored, turns into glycogen, when not in immediate use. Fat is broken down to triglycerides to be used for metabolic energy, and stored as fat when not in immediate use.Protein breaks down into a form of amino acids when used for energy. Carbohydrates and fat are mainly used for all metabolic needs to generate ATP; protein, in a form of amino acids, goes through lipogenesis for cellular energy needs. In event where all fat and carbohydrates are depleted, protein is a last resort for ATP. If you ever noticed on a nutrition label printed on a bag or box of food, sometimes you can see the amount of calories per gram that each substrate has.Carbohydrates and protein stores about four calories per gram, whereas fat contains nine calories per gram; this is one advantage of consuming fat than carbohydrates. Another advantage is fat (triglycerides) can be stored as fat, while carbohydrates require water to form into glycogen for store; this results into water retention (water weight). Disadvantage of fat would be converting into energy (glucose), whereas carbohydrates (glucose) are already broken down and ready to be utilized. This is a reason why marathon runners ‘carb loa d’ days prior the event.Injunction to the first paragraph, the heart is made up of the cardiac muscle. One of the most essential parts of the cardiovascular system, the heart pumps the blood throughout the body transporting oxygen and nutrients to cells. The heart is a very complex organ that consists of â€Å"four cavities, or open spaces, inside the heart that fill with blood. Two of these cavities are called atria. The other two are called ventricles. The two atria form the curved top of the heart. The ventricles meet at the bottom of the heart to form a pointed base which points toward the left side of your chest.The left ventricle contracts most forcefully, so you can best feel your heart pumping on the left side of your chest. † (Unysis) So, the heart pushes the red, oxygen-rich blood from the lungs through the left side of the heart to the rest of the body. As the blood pumps, it delivers the oxygen and flows back to the heart and through the lungs to drop off c arbon dioxide and pick up oxygen. To prevent back flow, heart’s internal structures comprises of valves that open and close with every pump of blood. Another essential part of the cardiovascular is blood.Blood is a fluid containing red blood cells, plasma, antibodies, hormones, enzymes, and nutrients. The purpose of blood consist of transporting oxygen to cells of the body, carry out waste such as carbon dioxide, maintain normal body temperature, and regulate pH levels and hormones. Blood travels through series of vessels. These include arteries (rich-oxygen blood leaving the heart to cells), veins (poor-oxygen blood leaving from the cells through the heart and to the lungs), and capillaries (blood vessel that connects between the veins and arteries). Blood is the life source to sustain life and maintain cellular functions.

How to Write Dialogue 10 Simple Rules (Plus 5 Mistakes to Avoid!)

How to Write Dialogue 10 Simple Rules (Plus 5 Mistakes to Avoid!) How to Write Dialogue: 10 Simple Rules (Plus 5 Mistakes to Avoid!) No matter what your genre, learning how to write dialogue effectively is a vital part of any writer’s education. Poor dialogue can make readers put your book down in disgust - but great dialogue can transform your characters into truly believable people, and your readers into satisfied customers.Of course, the best kind of dialogue isn’t just believable. It also provides exposition, involves distinct language depending on who’s speaking, and - perhaps most crucially - moves the story along. Without dialogue, you’d just have pages and pages of description with barely any character dynamics or interpersonal drama. How boring would that be?Because dialogue is essential to a strong narrative, we want to help you get it exactly right. To that end, we’ve put together this list of rules, examples, and more that will have you writing sparkling conversation in no time! We’ll also cover in detail how to format and punctuate dialogue, for those who a ren’t sure exactly what goes where.If you’re especially curious about formatting, go ahead and skip to #10 using the table of contents on the left - otherwise, let’s jump right in with dialogue rule #1.1. Enter the conversation lateAlfred Hitchcock once said that â€Å"drama is life with all the boring bits cut out.† Comparably, we could say that good dialogue is like a real conversation without all the fluff. And one of the best ways to cut out that boring fluff is to enter the conversation as late as possible.Think about it: few "classic" scenes start with characters going, â€Å"Hey buddy! How are you doing? Wow, long time no see.† This is because people enjoy making inferences based on details in action and speech - and the last thing you want to do is insult their intelligence by spelling everything out for them.For a more tangible taste of this technique, here’s screenwriter Aaron Sorkin talking about the first scene of his Oscar-win ning screenplay for The Social Network:â€Å"We started at 100 miles an hour in the middle of a conversation, and that makes the audience have to run to catch up. The worst crime you can commit with an audience is telling them something they already know. We were always running ahead.†Sorkin's ability to give the audience just the right amount of detail is a huge strength, and something all writers should strive for. So don’t slow down to accommodate your readers - make them catch up to you. id=attachment_19354 style="width: 1047px" class="wp-caption aligncenter">Now that you know exactly what to do when it comes to writing dialogue, let’s talk about what not to do - with these five critical mistakes to avoid.5 dialogue mistakes to avoid1. Too many dialogue tagsAs you may have already gathered, one of the most egregious errors you can make when writing dialogue is using too many dialogue tags. Constantly repeating â€Å"he said,† â€Å"she said,† and so on is boring and repetitive for your readers, as you can see here:â€Å"Hey, how’s it going?† Billy said.â€Å"Not bad,† said Ann. â€Å"Just warming up for the day.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ah. Liquid courage,† said Billy.â€Å"Yeah, those customers aren’t going to yell at themselves,† Ann said.So keep in mind that you can often eschew dialogue tags if you’ve already established the speakers, like so:Billy approached Ann as she was pouring a cup of coffee.  "Hey, how’s it going?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Not bad.† She gestured to the cup. â€Å"Just warming up for the day.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ah. Liquid courage.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yeah, those customers aren’t going to yell at themselves.†One can tell from the action beats, as well as the fact that it’s a two-person back-and-forth conversation, which lines are Billy’s and which are Ann’s. Dialogue tags just distract from the conversation - although if you did want to use them, â€Å"said† would still be better than fancy tags like â€Å"announced† or â€Å"effused.†2. Lack of structural varietySimilar to the â€Å"too many tags† issue is the lack of structural variety that can sometimes arise in dialogue. Not sure what we’re talking about? Take a look at this:â€Å"This is going terribly. We need a new plan.† Sophie started erasing the blackboard.â€Å"Wait, stop! I have another idea.† Ethan grabbed her hand to stop her.â€Å"Oh yeah? When has that ever helped us before?† She glared at him, uncompromising.â€Å"I mean it this time. I think this could really work.† He grabbed the chalk from the table and began to write.Now, action beats are great, but here they’re used repeatedly in exactly the same way - first the dialogue, then the beat - which looks odd and unnatural on the page. Indeed, any recurrent structure like this (which also includes putting dialogue tags in the same place every time) should be vehemently avoided.Luckily, it’s easy to rework repetitive structure into something much more lively and organic, just by shifting around some of the action beats and tags:â€Å"This is going terribly. We need a new plan.† Sophie started erasing the blackboard.â€Å"Wait, stop!† Ethan shouted, grabbing her hand. â€Å"I have another idea.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh yeah? When has that ever helped us before?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I mean it this time. I think this could really work.†3. Restating the obviousAnother common dialogue mistake is restating the obvious - i.e. information that either the characters themselves or the reader already knows. For example, say you want to introduce two brothers, so you write the following exchange:â€Å"Say, Gary, how long have we been brothers?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Thirty-five years, Barry. Ever since Ma gave birth to two bouncing baby boys in ‘84.†This is clearly awkward and a bit ridiculous, as the characters obviously know how old they are. It also insults the reader’s intelligence - even if they didn’t already know that Barry and Gary were thirty-five-year-old brothers, they wouldn’t appreciate being spoon-fed like this.If you wanted to convey the same information in a subtler way, you might write it into a different conversation, like:â€Å"Hey, Gary - Raiders of the Lost of Ark came out in 1984, right? Wasn’t Ma was about to see it when she went into labor with u s?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"That was Temple of Doom, Barry. No wonder we keep losing at trivia night.†This makes the dialogue more about Indiana Jones than the brothers’ age, sneaking in the info so readers can figure it out for themselves.4. Unrealistic smooth-talking and clichà ©sThough you want your dialogue to flow, you don’t want it to flow so smoothly that it sounds fake. Unfortunately, there’s a fine line between enthralling, Sorkin-esque dialogue and unrealistic smooth-talking, so be careful!Saying your dialogue out loud, as we mentioned in rule #8, should help with this problem. It can also be helpful to record dialogue (with the participants’ permission, of course) and study it for natural speech patterns and phrases. Of course, we’re not saying you should include every â€Å"um† and â€Å"er† that people say in real life - only that authentic-sounding written dialogue reflects real life.In a similar vein, you want to watch out for clichà ©s in your dialogue as much as in the rest of your writing. While it’s certainly true that people sometimes speak in clichà ©s (though this is often tongue-in-cheek), if you find yourself writing the phrase â€Å"Are you thinking what I’m thinking?† or â€Å"Shut up and kiss me,† you may need a reality check.For a full roster of dialogue clichà ©s, check out this super-helpful list from Scott Myers.5. Disregarding dialogue entirelyFinally, the last mistake you can make when writing dialogue is†¦ well, not writing it! Circling back to one of the very first points we made in this article, dialogue is a super-important element in almost any story - it provides exposition, indicates personality and character relationships, and may even reveal a major plot twist during the climax. Suffice to say, if your story doesn’t have enough dialogue, it’s not going to have many readers either.We know that writing dialogue can be intimida ting, especially if you don’t have much experience with it. But that should never keep you from including it in your work! Just remember that the more you practice, the better you’ll get. And with the help of the tips and in this article, you should already be a little bit (if not a lot!) closer to writing dialogue that captivates your readers just as much as their real-life conversations. ðŸâ€" £We hope you enjoyed this post on how to write dialogue! If you’d like to learn even more, check out our course on Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character. How to Write Dialogue 10 Simple Rules (Plus 5 Mistakes to Avoid!) How to Write Dialogue: 10 Simple Rules (Plus 5 Mistakes to Avoid!) No matter what your genre, learning how to write dialogue effectively is a vital part of any writer’s education. Poor dialogue can make readers put your book down in disgust - but great dialogue can transform your characters into truly believable people, and your readers into satisfied customers.Of course, the best kind of dialogue isn’t just believable. It also provides exposition, involves distinct language depending on who’s speaking, and - perhaps most crucially - moves the story along. Without dialogue, you’d just have pages and pages of description with barely any character dynamics or interpersonal drama. How boring would that be?Because dialogue is essential to a strong narrative, we want to help you get it exactly right. To that end, we’ve put together this list of rules, examples, and more that will have you writing sparkling conversation in no time! We’ll also cover in detail how to format and punctuate dialogue, for those who a ren’t sure exactly what goes where.If you’re especially curious about formatting, go ahead and skip to #10 using the table of contents on the left - otherwise, let’s jump right in with dialogue rule #1.1. Enter the conversation lateAlfred Hitchcock once said that â€Å"drama is life with all the boring bits cut out.† Comparably, we could say that good dialogue is like a real conversation without all the fluff. And one of the best ways to cut out that boring fluff is to enter the conversation as late as possible.Think about it: few "classic" scenes start with characters going, â€Å"Hey buddy! How are you doing? Wow, long time no see.† This is because people enjoy making inferences based on details in action and speech - and the last thing you want to do is insult their intelligence by spelling everything out for them.For a more tangible taste of this technique, here’s screenwriter Aaron Sorkin talking about the first scene of his Oscar-win ning screenplay for The Social Network:â€Å"We started at 100 miles an hour in the middle of a conversation, and that makes the audience have to run to catch up. The worst crime you can commit with an audience is telling them something they already know. We were always running ahead.†Sorkin's ability to give the audience just the right amount of detail is a huge strength, and something all writers should strive for. So don’t slow down to accommodate your readers - make them catch up to you. id=attachment_19354 style="width: 1047px" class="wp-caption aligncenter">Now that you know exactly what to do when it comes to writing dialogue, let’s talk about what not to do - with these five critical mistakes to avoid.5 dialogue mistakes to avoid1. Too many dialogue tagsAs you may have already gathered, one of the most egregious errors you can make when writing dialogue is using too many dialogue tags. Constantly repeating â€Å"he said,† â€Å"she said,† and so on is boring and repetitive for your readers, as you can see here:â€Å"Hey, how’s it going?† Billy said.â€Å"Not bad,† said Ann. â€Å"Just warming up for the day.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ah. Liquid courage,† said Billy.â€Å"Yeah, those customers aren’t going to yell at themselves,† Ann said.So keep in mind that you can often eschew dialogue tags if you’ve already established the speakers, like so:Billy approached Ann as she was pouring a cup of coffee.  "Hey, how’s it going?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Not bad.† She gestured to the cup. â€Å"Just warming up for the day.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ah. Liquid courage.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yeah, those customers aren’t going to yell at themselves.†One can tell from the action beats, as well as the fact that it’s a two-person back-and-forth conversation, which lines are Billy’s and which are Ann’s. Dialogue tags just distract from the conversation - although if you did want to use them, â€Å"said† would still be better than fancy tags like â€Å"announced† or â€Å"effused.†2. Lack of structural varietySimilar to the â€Å"too many tags† issue is the lack of structural variety that can sometimes arise in dialogue. Not sure what we’re talking about? Take a look at this:â€Å"This is going terribly. We need a new plan.† Sophie started erasing the blackboard.â€Å"Wait, stop! I have another idea.† Ethan grabbed her hand to stop her.â€Å"Oh yeah? When has that ever helped us before?† She glared at him, uncompromising.â€Å"I mean it this time. I think this could really work.† He grabbed the chalk from the table and began to write.Now, action beats are great, but here they’re used repeatedly in exactly the same way - first the dialogue, then the beat - which looks odd and unnatural on the page. Indeed, any recurrent structure like this (which also includes putting dialogue tags in the same place every time) should be vehemently avoided.Luckily, it’s easy to rework repetitive structure into something much more lively and organic, just by shifting around some of the action beats and tags:â€Å"This is going terribly. We need a new plan.† Sophie started erasing the blackboard.â€Å"Wait, stop!† Ethan shouted, grabbing her hand. â€Å"I have another idea.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh yeah? When has that ever helped us before?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I mean it this time. I think this could really work.†3. Restating the obviousAnother common dialogue mistake is restating the obvious - i.e. information that either the characters themselves or the reader already knows. For example, say you want to introduce two brothers, so you write the following exchange:â€Å"Say, Gary, how long have we been brothers?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Thirty-five years, Barry. Ever since Ma gave birth to two bouncing baby boys in ‘84.†This is clearly awkward and a bit ridiculous, as the characters obviously know how old they are. It also insults the reader’s intelligence - even if they didn’t already know that Barry and Gary were thirty-five-year-old brothers, they wouldn’t appreciate being spoon-fed like this.If you wanted to convey the same information in a subtler way, you might write it into a different conversation, like:â€Å"Hey, Gary - Raiders of the Lost of Ark came out in 1984, right? Wasn’t Ma was about to see it when she went into labor with u s?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"That was Temple of Doom, Barry. No wonder we keep losing at trivia night.†This makes the dialogue more about Indiana Jones than the brothers’ age, sneaking in the info so readers can figure it out for themselves.4. Unrealistic smooth-talking and clichà ©sThough you want your dialogue to flow, you don’t want it to flow so smoothly that it sounds fake. Unfortunately, there’s a fine line between enthralling, Sorkin-esque dialogue and unrealistic smooth-talking, so be careful!Saying your dialogue out loud, as we mentioned in rule #8, should help with this problem. It can also be helpful to record dialogue (with the participants’ permission, of course) and study it for natural speech patterns and phrases. Of course, we’re not saying you should include every â€Å"um† and â€Å"er† that people say in real life - only that authentic-sounding written dialogue reflects real life.In a similar vein, you want to watch out for clichà ©s in your dialogue as much as in the rest of your writing. While it’s certainly true that people sometimes speak in clichà ©s (though this is often tongue-in-cheek), if you find yourself writing the phrase â€Å"Are you thinking what I’m thinking?† or â€Å"Shut up and kiss me,† you may need a reality check.For a full roster of dialogue clichà ©s, check out this super-helpful list from Scott Myers.5. Disregarding dialogue entirelyFinally, the last mistake you can make when writing dialogue is†¦ well, not writing it! Circling back to one of the very first points we made in this article, dialogue is a super-important element in almost any story - it provides exposition, indicates personality and character relationships, and may even reveal a major plot twist during the climax. Suffice to say, if your story doesn’t have enough dialogue, it’s not going to have many readers either.We know that writing dialogue can be intimida ting, especially if you don’t have much experience with it. But that should never keep you from including it in your work! Just remember that the more you practice, the better you’ll get. And with the help of the tips and in this article, you should already be a little bit (if not a lot!) closer to writing dialogue that captivates your readers just as much as their real-life conversations. ðŸâ€" £We hope you enjoyed this post on how to write dialogue! If you’d like to learn even more, check out our course on Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character.

How to Determine a Reliable Source on the Internet

How to Determine a Reliable Source on the Internet It can be frustrating to conduct online research because internet sources can be quite unreliable. If you find an online article that provides relevant information for your research topic, you should take care to investigate the source to make sure it is valid and reliable. This is an essential step in maintaining sound research ethics. It is your responsibility as a researcher to find and use trustworthy sources. Methods to Investigate Your Source Investigate the Author In most cases, you should stay away from internet information that doesnt provide the name of an author. While the information contained in the article may be true, it is more difficult to validate information if you dont know the credentials of the author. If the author is named,  find their website to: Verify educational creditsDiscover if the writer is published in a scholarly journalSee if the writer has published a book from a university pressVerify that the writer is employed by a research institution or university Observe the URL If the information is linked to an organization, try to determine the reliability of the sponsoring organization. One tip is the URL ending. If the site name ends with .edu, it is most likely an educational institution. Even so, you should be aware of political bias. If a site ends in .gov, it is most likely a reliable government website. Government sites are usually good sources for statistics and objective reports. Sites that end in .org are usually non-profit organizations. They can be very good sources or very poor sources, so youll have to take care to research their possible agendas or political biases if they exist. For instance, collegeboard.org is the organization that provides the SAT and other tests. You can find valuable information, statistics, and advice on that site. PBS.org is a non-profit organization that provides educational public broadcasts. It provides a wealth of quality articles on its site. Other sites with the .org ending are advocacy groups that are highly political. While it is entirely possible to find reliable information from a site like this,  be mindful of the political slant and acknowledge this in your work. Online Journals and Magazines A reputable journal or magazine should contain a bibliography for every article. The list of sources within that bibliography should be pretty extensive, and it should include scholarly non-Internet sources. Check for statistics and data within the article to back up the claims made by the author. Does the writer provide evidence to support his statements? Look for citations of recent studies, perhaps with footnotes and see if there are primary quotes from other relevant experts in the field. News Sources ï » ¿Every television and print news source has a website. To some extent, you can rely on the most trusted news sources such as CNN and the BBC, but you should not rely on them exclusively. After all, network and cable news stations are involved in entertainment. Think of them as a stepping stone to more reliable sources.

How to Punctuate Quotations

How to Punctuate Quotations How to Punctuate Quotations How to Punctuate Quotations By Mark Nichol Quotation marks are signposts indicating that spoken or written words are being expressed. They have other purposes, too, but this post confines itself to this role. Despite the ubiquity of quotation marks, some people still err in placement of the closing mark. Generally, a close quotation mark follows rather than precedes a sentence’s terminal punctuation, as in the sentence â€Å"You have nothing to worry about.† (Styles for quotation marks in British English differ from those for American English: Terminal punctuation follows the close quotation mark, and dialogue and quotations are enclosed in pairs of single, not double, quotation marks.) Notice, however, that I wrote â€Å"generally,† and not just because of the British English exception. (As you see here, a comma, like a period, is located inside quotation marks when it follows one or more words thus confined.) What are the exceptions? If the terminal punctuation mark is a question mark or an exclamation mark, and it appears outside the context of the quotation, it should be located outside the quotation mark as well. (In the examples below, which I enclose in double quotation marks because they are themselves excerpts of written documents, the sentences in question are bracketed by single quotation marks the correct style for a quote of a quote.) For example, notice the placement of the question mark in â€Å"Who said, ‘You have nothing to worry about’?† The framing sentence, not the quotation, is an interrogative sentence, so the question mark belongs outside the single quotation marks bracketing the quotation (but inside the double quotation marks, because it is part of my example.) By the same token, in the sentence â€Å"I can’t believe he had the nerve to say, ‘You have nothing to worry about’!† the indignation resides in the context of the framing sentence, not in the recitation of another person’s contentious comment. Notice also that, though a period would ordinarily be located within the quotation followed by the question mark and a comma would usually appear after â€Å"about† in the example with the exclamation point, quotation marks and exclamation points trump and replace periods and commas in such sentence constructions. Punctuation marks are never paired (except in the use of multiple question marks or exclamation points in informal writing, and in the case of a close parenthesis and a period, like the tag team you see right here). That’s not all there is to quotation marks, of course. For example, in a future post, I’ll discuss the subtleties of proper placement of attributions, those identifying phrases such as â€Å"he said† or â€Å"she added† so fundamental to both journalism and literature. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)Is There a Reason â€Å"the Reason Why† Is Considered Wrong?30 Words for Small Amounts

Income Tax (IAS12) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Income Tax (IAS12) - Essay Example Their main agenda was to look at critical issues of accounting for corporate income in an attempt to develop a discussion paper on the principles of IAS 12 and set out proposals. IAS 12 prohibits companies to give an account to deferred taxes by using the deferral method based on the income statement. It instead prefers the passive methodology based on the balance sheet. In addition to the above requirement, the standard requires corporations to acknowledge either a deferral tax liability. Thirdly, IAS 12 requires recognition of deferred tax assets when it is certain that a corporation possess revenues in future to realize deferred tax asset. For instance, given that a company has a history of losses it will recognize deferred tax assets to the extent that taxable temporary expenses in amounts are sufficient. â€Å"Fourthly, IAS 12 does not allow asset credit and delayed tax liabilities brought about by types of material goods and liabilities whose books vary in amounts at the momen t of acknowledgment† (IAS - 12). The other requirement is that IAS 12 prohibits recognition of deferred tax liabilities, and those liabilities encountered or arising from adjustments for conversion so long as it satisfies two conditions: The main investor is capable of controlling the timing of reversal’s temporary difference. ... It however prohibits recognition of deferred tax liabilities because of initial recognition of good will. During revaluation of assets, IAS 12 allows and requires a corporation to recognize deferred tax liabilities in case revaluation of asset takes place. Moreover, IAS 12 requires that valuation of assets and deferred tax liabilities based on tax consequences that may arise in a manner that a company expects to recover the amount. â€Å"The standard also prohibits the deduction of deferred tax assets and liabilities to account for its current value† (Kirk, 2005). The IAS 12 further prohibits companies from making distinctions between the current and non-current assets and liabilities in its financial reports. It also provides restrictive conditions on debit and credit balances that represent deferred tax assets that could be compensated. This requirement is based on the requirements as stipulated by the financial assets and liabilities IAS 32, financial instruments disclosure and presentation. It is worth noting that among the new information IAS 12 requires disclosure include: That for every class of impermanent disparity; The amounts of assets and tax liabilities recognized and the amount of expenses or income labeled in the income statement with respect to discontinued operations, the realization of deferred tax asset depends on future prospects over the profits coming from reversals of existing impermanent parities. There has been a rise in criticism on financial reporting for income taxes from users and preparers. The criticism is based on the implication of the current and future effects it will have on cash flows. In their arguments, the users cite accounting requirements as too complex to apply in working out income tax. â€Å"In

Building organisational capacity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Building organisational capacity - Essay Example This paper analyses the change management program that was implemented at DHADC. Change is inevitable in every organization and it has become one of the necessities for organizations to thrive amidst increasing challenges and varying market conditions. So, DADHC, being no exception, felt the increasing need to adopt a change strategy which would enable it to eliminate the pitfalls that it encounters in delivering superior services to customers and its varied clients (Tebbutt, 2004). Analyzing the overall long-term objectives underlined by the company, it has been found that the company focused on improving and bringing about significant changes in the area of organizational capacity building. Improving this aspect enabled the company to meet its long term objectives of providing better service to its clients, customers and others stake holders. This change strategy was adopted, as it would strengthen the formation of teams and thus help the organization to strive towards its goals in a concerted approach (Tebbutt, 2004). Therefore, the company decided to implement this change strategy in order to improve its present level of effectiveness with regards to the role played by organizational capacity building in enabling the company to achieve its long term objectives. This change strategy was adopted as it would enable the organization to achieve a performance-oriented culture with highly motivated work force and help the organization to render better client satisfaction. This also would lead to the formation of strong team and imbibe the sense of team spirit within the employees. This change strategy would help in building a culture that would increase the levels of services rendered to the customers and add to the good will of the organization (Tebbutt, 2004). As the organization is a service oriented one, therefore it was perceived that this change

Environmental Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Environmental - Essay Example trillion, Germany $3.383 trillion, Japan $5.88 trillion and United States $16.02 trillion are higher than that of the Arab World 2641.6819, constituting of twenty-two states (The World Factbook n.p). This is a clear indication that Arab world benefits less from the Middle East Oil. Additionally, comparison between the Palestine GDP (6.641) to Israel (254) shows that Israeli is on the lead. A countries GDP (official exchange rate) is determined by dividing the home-currency-denominated yearly GDP amount with the mutual standard of US $ exchange rate (The World Factbook n.p). This helps in determining the accurate value of output of a particular country. The Arab World’s GDP measure clearly shows that it enjoys less economic power from the Middle East Oil compared to other countries. The information obtained from the CIA World Factbook is credible in challenging stereotypes that many individuals and countries hold about the 22 Arab League members. The information clearly shows that the Arab World enjoys very little from the Middle East Oil while countries like United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States reaping more from the marketplace (The World Factbook n.p). This is because the Arab World enjoys less purchasing power at international marketplace and thus has little economic

Photography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Photography - Research Paper Example Part 3 Digital photography has changed the way we see the world around us. It has opened up the world of photography to anyone with the ability to peer through a viewfinder and push a button. It has made it possible for us to easily pull images into our computers and change the captured reality. For this reason, it has become a concern that digital photography has changed the face of photography forever. We can no longer look at an image and assume that it is depicting what really happened at the time the photograph was taken. Many people remain suspicious about digital photography because of the ease with which photos can be manipulated, but this aspect of photography hasn't really changed since its earliest days. Part 3 Digital photography has changed the way we see the world around us. It has opened up the world of photography to anyone with the ability to peer through a viewfinder and push a button. It has made it possible for us to easily pull images into our computers and chang e the captured reality. For this reason, it has become a concern that digital photography has changed the face of photography forever. We can no longer look at an image and assume that it is depicting what really happened at the time the photograph was taken. Many people remain suspicious about digital photography because of the ease with which photos can be manipulated, but this aspect of photography hasn't really changed since its earliest days. By looking at the history of photography and how it has been affected by digital technology, I plan to show that manipulation of photos is something that has been a part of photography for as long as cameras existed. To do this, I will show how the function of the digital camera is not really that different from the function of the traditional film camera and then show how each method is easily manipulated to create an impression of reality. The only true difference is our realization that this is possible. Digital Technology Has Not Chang ed Photography Student name Course name Instructor name Date Student name Instructor name Course name Date Digital Technology Has Not Changed Photography The world as we see it today is mostly shaped by what is captured in the form of digital photography. Film cameras are almost non-existent as more and more people have found the ease and cost-convenience of digital to far outweigh the hassles of film for most applications. Because of its widespread use, we are all now much more aware of just how easy it is to manipulate photographs to change what we think we see. While most of us embrace the ease of digital photography for ourselves, there is a group of individuals who are outraged at the idea that news photographers are also able to use digital technologies in reporting the news. These people feel that the only way we can get an accurate representation of what's happening in other parts of the world is through the use of film cameras, which produce images that are not as easy to m anipulate. My role in the following research is to investigate how film cameras and digital cameras operate to see if there are any differences in the actual capturing of an image and then to compare how images are processed, again with the purpose of comparing techniques and the level to which they can be manipulated. In conducting this research, I bring my own experience as a film and digital amateur photographer as well as someone interested in how the media works to shape our understanding of the world. I have studied how images are used in print ads, video

Built to Last written by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras Essay

Built to Last written by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras - Essay Example They had been in the business for a long time and had proved that they were solid and not some one-song wonder. The best thing about your book was the criteria that set some firms apart from others. It was good to see that these visionary firms had been selected on the basis of some important traits. I totally agree with the criteria. These firms had to premier institution in their industry, admired by well-known business people and left an impression on the world. All the firms you had chosen did meet that criteria, for example Motorola, Merck and GE had all been extremely successful firms. But things changed for some of them and reading your book now, I feel that some of them wouldn't make it to the list again. For example Motorola is no longer the premier institution, Merck had struggled with its position as well. But there are also the winners such as Procter and Gamble and GE that continue to outperform their competitors. But they might not meet all the standards set for a visionary company. For me today, a visionary company would include some relatively small firms that have earned the respect and awe of public and rivals alike. And my list wouldn't include the big names like Philip Morris or Wal-Mart because there has been severe criticism against their practices.

Photography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Photography - Research Paper Example Part 3 Digital photography has changed the way we see the world around us. It has opened up the world of photography to anyone with the ability to peer through a viewfinder and push a button. It has made it possible for us to easily pull images into our computers and change the captured reality. For this reason, it has become a concern that digital photography has changed the face of photography forever. We can no longer look at an image and assume that it is depicting what really happened at the time the photograph was taken. Many people remain suspicious about digital photography because of the ease with which photos can be manipulated, but this aspect of photography hasn't really changed since its earliest days. Part 3 Digital photography has changed the way we see the world around us. It has opened up the world of photography to anyone with the ability to peer through a viewfinder and push a button. It has made it possible for us to easily pull images into our computers and chang e the captured reality. For this reason, it has become a concern that digital photography has changed the face of photography forever. We can no longer look at an image and assume that it is depicting what really happened at the time the photograph was taken. Many people remain suspicious about digital photography because of the ease with which photos can be manipulated, but this aspect of photography hasn't really changed since its earliest days. By looking at the history of photography and how it has been affected by digital technology, I plan to show that manipulation of photos is something that has been a part of photography for as long as cameras existed. To do this, I will show how the function of the digital camera is not really that different from the function of the traditional film camera and then show how each method is easily manipulated to create an impression of reality. The only true difference is our realization that this is possible. Digital Technology Has Not Chang ed Photography Student name Course name Instructor name Date Student name Instructor name Course name Date Digital Technology Has Not Changed Photography The world as we see it today is mostly shaped by what is captured in the form of digital photography. Film cameras are almost non-existent as more and more people have found the ease and cost-convenience of digital to far outweigh the hassles of film for most applications. Because of its widespread use, we are all now much more aware of just how easy it is to manipulate photographs to change what we think we see. While most of us embrace the ease of digital photography for ourselves, there is a group of individuals who are outraged at the idea that news photographers are also able to use digital technologies in reporting the news. These people feel that the only way we can get an accurate representation of what's happening in other parts of the world is through the use of film cameras, which produce images that are not as easy to m anipulate. My role in the following research is to investigate how film cameras and digital cameras operate to see if there are any differences in the actual capturing of an image and then to compare how images are processed, again with the purpose of comparing techniques and the level to which they can be manipulated. In conducting this research, I bring my own experience as a film and digital amateur photographer as well as someone interested in how the media works to shape our understanding of the world. I have studied how images are used in print ads, video

ISHI in two worlds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ISHI in two worlds - Essay Example He faces a number of challenges trying to fit into the clearly segregated society. The people around him fail to understand him and are always trying to change him. Ishi does not require any help from all these â€Å"Americans† around him. He knows his way through the region he has lived here all his life. However, the people are always trying to offer him help since they believe that he is not civilized enough to live in the modern day American society. The tribulations faced by Ishi are similar to those faced by millions of people who migrate into the United States of America on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I am one of such victims of circumstance (Kroeber 76). Ishi eventually dies out of medical complications developed from the strange treatment he receives right within his mother land. I on the contrary refuse to die and assimilate to the ways of these who purport to be the actual Americans. The only problem associated with the assimilation lifestyle I adopted is that one gets to forget his own identity and acquires another. This is a difficult life, one in which your skin color and the persona deep within me keeps reminding me of the me who once lived in Africa but the life and the experiences necessary to survive in this strange life continually perfect my new personality. I in most cases end up torn between the two worlds. Civilization is relative; every age in the history of human development had its own civilization. This refers to the cultural practices, religious beliefs and the general way of life lived by people habiting a given region. It is therefore wrong to claim supremacy of a culture just because one lives in a developed country. Ishi was rom a tribe known as Yahi, these were the red Indians who coincidentally were the indigenous habitant of the region currently siting the United States of America. They had their own unique life style that enabled them to live the lives they led. they were hunters and gatherers and depended on rain fe d agriculture for crops. They had their own unique religion and believed in myths additionally, they had their own language. In brief, this was their civilization. The value of life in humanity is equal irrespective of how one lives his or hers. Had a group of Yahi youth tumbled upon a modern day American nineteen year old boy, in their own civilization I guess they could have referred to the boy as uncivilized. I came to the United States of America from a third world country. Back home we had our own civilization, it could not have been the best but we lived it and we were happy. I had my own religion and my way of eating and my language; these basic aspects define humanity. My skin color does not make me a lesser human being than any other of my white classmate. We interact at all the time and they even consult me in the study groups. This does not make me or them better humans. We are all relative in our capacities, it is therefore wise to acknowledge the uniqueness in the other but not capitalize on it as a weakness. Some of the people I first interacted with were insensitive and did not behave the superiority they claimed their race bestowed on them. Everyone has his or her own space, at the end of the day when it is all said and done I proceed to my place and spend the rest of my day there while another does the same. We thus are all in control of our little private spaces and this eventually makes us equal. Claiming superiority kills or suppresses the self-esteem of another, seven

Speech - Global warming Essay Example for Free

Speech Global warming Essay Specific purpose: To inform the audience about some effects of global warming so that they are able to discuss the problem surrounding the global warming after my speech. Introduction: Humanity is conducting an unintentional, unrestrained and globally perversive experiment whose ultimate consequences could be second only to nuclear war The human race is responsible for the biggest testing in history an experiment to see what will happen to our health and the health of the planet when we make dreadful changes in our climate. This is not a prescribed scientific inquiry. It is an enormous change in the Earths environment, and we are gambling our childrens future on the results. Our experiment is called global warming, and it is changing our atmosphere throwing out of balance a delicate system that almost took billions of years to develop. Global warming is a serious problem that cannot be ignored I. Preview: Explaining the meaning of global warming, process of global warming and the effect of the global warming . II. Main points: I. Meaning of global warming: Generally, the global warming means to warming the global either by human being or by the environment but the intricate meaning is the increasing temperature of earth. Some scientists like to mention the global warming as green house effect. Global warming has reached a level such that we can ascribe with a high degree of confidence a relationship between the green house effect and the observed warming. (1) II Cause of global warming: A. Global climate is changing because of the buildup in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide (N20), and the CFC (powerful  green house gases as well as destroyers of stratospheric ozone).(5) B. Another reason of the global warming is green house effect. About 30 gases produced by human activity have been identified as contributing to the green house effect. C. The US Government has acknowledged for the first time that man-made pollution is largely to blame for global warming (4). Emission of Co2 and other harmful gases from the man made factories and industries affects the ozone layer of the earth and contribute to the global warming. III. Effect of the global warming: Nobody would want to live to see the day when global warming directly effects our life. Not since the abrupt end of glacial climates a little over 10000 years ago have temperatures changed as much, or so rapidly. The next century may therefore see large impacts on the human economy, with the first signs already upon us (3). We can broadly divide the effects into three major categories as follows. A. Rise of sea levels: Rising global temperature are expected to raise sea levels. New calculations suggest that glacier melt alone would be responsible for a rise of 1 to 23 cm in sea level by 2100.(6) B. Effect on ecosystem: Global warming are effecting the natural ecosystem such a way that in future more and more plants and animals will have to permanently migrate to find a suitable habitat and some one will not be able to move fast enough. Scientists have predicted that species loss could be as high as 20% in sensitive ecosystems such as northern Canada and Southern Australia. C. Health threat: Since the global temperature is rising, more frequent and more intensive heat waves could result in more heat-related deaths. These conditions could also aggravate local air quality problems, already afflicting more than 80 million Americans. Global warming is expected to increase the potential geographic range and virulence of tropical diseases as well.(2) III Conclusion: I have mentioned the meaning of global warming, cause and effect of the global warming at length. A. I think everybody just can realize that there is no manner in which a complete and sudden stop could be put to global warming, but the rates at which it is taking place could be reduced. B. I hope there is a quick solution on hand.

A Case Study And Analysis On Apple Inc Marketing Essay

A Case Study And Analysis On Apple Inc Marketing Essay Apple Inc. (previously Apple Computer, Inc) is a multinational corporation that is established on April 1, 1976 in California and incorporated on January 3, 1977.  [i]  The company for 30 years was named as Apple Computer, Inc. but it changed its name to Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007 as it wanted to expand to the consumer electronics market and do not only stay in the computer market.  [ii]   Furthermore, the company for the year 2010 employs 46,600 full time employees and 2800 temporary employees and contractors.  [iii]   Apple designs, manufactures and markets a range of computer software, hardware products and personal computers. Some of its products are the following: Products Hardware Products Application Software Operation System Software Displays Peripheral Products Marketing Tools SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis is used inside a company in order to discover its strengths, its weaknesses, its opportunities and its threats. The SWOT analysis is a strategic marketing planning tool that is usually used to help each company understand and analyse its strengths and weaknesses, identify the threats of other businesses and the various opportunities in the market share. The SWOT analysis is divided in two sectors. The strengths and the weaknesses refer to the company and its products as internal factors, while the threats and the opportunities refer to the external factors of the company in which it has no control. In SWOT analysis it is usual to list the strengths, the weaknesses, the threats and the opportunities in the same page. This is done by dividing the page into four squares and entering strengths and weaknesses (internal factors) in the top two squares and opportunities and threats (external factors) in the button square. The SWOT analysis should be brief and interesting and should not exceed more than four or five pages. An example of a SWOT analysis is the following 4: (How to write a marketing plan [electronic resource] / John Westwood, Westwood, John, 1947, London ; Philadelphia : Kogan Page, 2006, 3rd ed), (Malcolm McDonald on marketing planning [electronic resource] : understanding marketing plans and strategy / Malcolm McDonald. Publication Info. London ; Philadelphia : Kogan Page, 2008.) STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS The number of individual SWOT analysis will defer from company to company. The most common levels that SWOT should be undertaken are the following: For the organisation as a whole For every major Competitor For every major product or service For every major market share The SWOT analysis is used for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, etc. This tool is very useful for each company to understand and make decisions in all kind of situations. (4, McDonald, Malcolm and Adrian Payne (1996), Marketing Planning for Services, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp 77-117) A good example of Apple to explore their strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats is to develop a Swot analysis for the company. The Swot analysis for company is showed below: STRENGHTS: Apple is producing innovative, quality and easy to use products. The innovation made Apple such a powerful company. This is obvious if we look its past: 1970-2001-Apple was making changes only to its computers (face-lift), end of 2001-Apple introduced iPod, June 2008- Apple introduced the cinema displays, March 2007- Apple developed Apple TV, June 2007- Apple entered the Mobile Market with iPhone, 2010- Apple introduced iPad. Every year Apple spent around $1.5 billion for the development of new products in order to keep the existing customers satisfied and recruit more new ones. [3] Apple has a very powerful brand loyalty. As it is one of the most profitable and healthy companies in the World, it managed to adopt a large amount of loyal customers. [1] This happened because Apple periodically, provides updates to all its application and operating systems not only for the Mac computers but for Iphone, Ipad etc. With this way Apple keep the customers satisfied and willing to buy its new products. [3] The key success for Apple is its dedicated personnel and more specifically the CEO team. This team includes all the executive team( Steve Jobs, Andrea Jung, Arthur D. Levinson, Millard S. Drexler) and the employees in technical, marketing and staff positions.[2] Steve Jobs, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Apple Inc. plays a vital role inside the company. During his absence (1985-1996) Apple experienced many financial problems. However, when Steve Jobs came back to the company in 1996, he focused on developing new ideas and in 2001 he introduced iPod which is making a lot of profit to the company. Therefore, Steve Jobs is definitely a strength for Apple.[2] Apple developed a partnership with Intel ® microprocessors in June 2005. This was very useful for Apple because it is addressed in a wider market. Furthermore, as Steve Jobs specified Intel is the strongest processor roadmap. Therefore from then until now, Apple computers is much stronger and more stable.[4] Apple has managed to adopt loyal customers through its stable and reliable products. Therefore, in order to make some profit in the introduction phase of its product, it announces a pre-order technique in order for the innovators to pre-order the product and pre-pay it. With this technique Apple gain a large amount of money and invest them in other areas. WEAKNESSES: Apples hardware and software products and services are very complex and high technology that most of the times contain defects such as bugs. For example, when iPhone 4G came to production, everyone was complaining about the signal when they make a call. Therefore, Apple introduced an update to fix the problem. However, there is no guarantee that Apple is able to detect and fix all the defects in its products and services.[3] This failure results in harming its reputation and sometimes losing customers because they are not satisfied.[3] In the US, Apple has made a contract with a specific carrier for selling and promoting iPhone. If this carrier cannot compete with others in the U.S. market concerning the quality, coverage and pricing or if he cannot promote iPhone correctly into the market so as for the customers to buy it, then this will have a negative impact on the sales and the profit for the company as it will not sell enough units.[3] Furthermore, as Apple decided to make a contract with one carrier, it will lose the loyal customers from other carriers Steve Jobs, is simultaneously a strength and a weakness. During the departure of Steve Jobs from the company, Apple was facing many financial problems because it did not have any innovative products. Therefore, if Steve Jobs leaves again from the company then it might face the same problems. Therefore Steve Jobs is both a strength and a weakness.[2] When Apple announced in June 2005 that is going to leave from IBM and to switch to Intel, some specialists commented that it might lose the loyal IBM customers because the swap would confuse them. Apple has very high prices in its products, so it addresses in a low market- share and not to all customers. OPPORTUNITIES Due to the high competitive market, Apple has to introduce new products, services and technologies and enhance existing products and services so as to simulate new and existing customers to buy the new and upgraded products and services.[3] With the success of iPod and iTunes, Apple entered to the Consumer Electronics market. By introducing iPhone, Apple has expanded to the Mobile Communications market. Therefore, now Apple has the opportunity to expand to further markets like home stereo, TV or even a gaming system like play station.[2] Apple made a contract with Intel to install their processors to Apple computers so as to prompt business to replace Pcs with iMacs. They did this in order for their business applications to become stable and reliable. The first example of replacing their computers with iMac is in Japan. Aozona Bank Ltd replaced their computers with iMacs. Therefore, Apple has to find a way to establish themselves as a major player in business applications.[2] Apple have to create a strategy that will expand its product line to other products that is going to be less expensive. THREATS The biggest threat that all the IT companies face is the high level of competition in the technology markets. The most common feature is the price competition. The competitors reduce their selling prices and sometimes adopt the features of Apple products in order to attract more customers. For example, Apple has only recently entered the Mobile Communications market, so many of its competitors have greater experience and more resources, so they could provide their products in a lower price with little or even no profit at all.for the company. Therefore if Apple stops investing a lot of money to research and development, it will lose its competitive position in the market. Furthermore, in these markets the product Life Cycle of all the products and services is extremely short e.g. for mobiles phone their lifecycle is around 6 months. Therefore, each company has to introduce new products and services. [1,3] In 2005 Apple won a legal case about a blog that pre-introduced new Apple products. With this trial, Apple force Bloggers to name the source of their information because the company suspected that the information had leaked from its employees. [1] Therefore, Apple is always vulnerable to leaks from various employees. This information may conclude to the competitors, so Apple will lose its competiveness.[1] As Apple is an IT company, it relies mostly in economic factors to make profit. Therefore, the economic crisis that exists worldwide is a major threat to all companies but mostly to technological companies. This happens as with the unemployment and the decrease of salaries; most customers consider the market of a technological product unnecessary e.g. an iPhone, so the sales of the company are going down. Customers will download music from another free online program without having to pay anything in iTunes. This will have an impact on iTunes and on the profit of Apple. Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/swot/apple-swot.html A strategic Analysis of Apple Corporation, Imothy Pivovamik, Jeff Shaver, Adam Silver, Richard Sterling, Dave Strubbe (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() Annual Report, United States Security and Exchange Commission, Washigton, D.C.20549 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1 http://www.apple.com/investor/ Ansoff Matrix Ansoff Matrix is a well known marketing tool which was first published in Harvard Business Review. Many companies nowadays use it in order to help them decide for the development of their product and the market share. [3,4] The matrix has 2 dimensions. The first one consists of existing and new products while the second consist of existing and new markets. Inside the matrix there are four main categories with suggested grown strategies for each one in order to help the company set the correct direction of their business strategy. The four categories are: Market Penetration in which the company enter into an existing market with existing products or services. Product Development in which the company introduce new products/services into existing customers. Market Development which the company tries to attract new customers with existing products or services Diversification occurs when the company tries to capture new customers with completely new products/services.[3,4] An example of the Ansoff matrix is the following: Ansoff Matrix w500.gif Apple could use each of these four categories in order to manage its existing products and develop new products/ services Market Penetration: In this strategy, Apple could aim on selling the existing products, e.g. Mac Computers to the existing markets. More specifically, Apple: Should try to increase the market share of the existing product. This could be achieved by using the appropriate marketing tools( lower prices, sales promotion, advertising) in order to attract new customers to buy its products.[3,4] For example, more advertisement or reduced prices on Mac Computers could persuade new customers that prefer Windows operations system to change to Macintosh. This is more highly to be achieved in the grown markets because in there the product is at its rising stage. In order to increase its sales and its profit, could persuade existing customers to buy more products. This can be done during an economic grown where customers are willing to spent more money in technological items. [4] For example, Apple could use more advertisement or sales promotion to persuade customers to buy an iPhone for all the members of their family. Or Apple could persuade existing iPod customers to buy also a Mac computer. Should try to ÃŽÂ ±Ãƒ Ã¢â€š ¬ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ºÃƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ®Ãƒ Ã†â€™ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹ the leadership role in the market by ÃŽÂ ´ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ Ã… ½Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ all the other competitors. This could be achieved by adopting an appropriate promotional campaign. For example, to drive out any competitors in order to have only its product in the whole market. It will succeed this by adopting a very aggressive promotional campaign. (1,3) Product Development In this strategic option, Apple could create new products for the existing customers. With them, Apple has already a strong relationship, so it knows their need and specifications for creating a new product. Therefore, the company is innovating its products in order to keep satisfied their customers, beat its competitors and keep its leadership role in the market. An example of this strategy is the iPod. The first iPod that Apple introduced was in October 2001. This was the first entertainment tool from Apple for people to use in order to hear all the time their favourite music. However it had a black-white screen and only 5 GB capacity for songs. Therefore, in 2003 Apple introduced an iPod with the maximum of 40 GB capacity. In 2004 it introduced an iPod with a colour screen and 60 GB capacity. Nowadays, Apple has created an iPod that has a 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display, Wifi and many other features. These changes belong to the product development as Apple innovate its products to attract the existing customers and replace their product with the new.[6] Another example is that Apple every year innovate the iPhone. The first iPhone was released in 2007. The next year Apple introduced iPhone 3G. In 2009 Apple announce the iPhone 3GS and in 2010 it announced the 4G. All these products are aiming to the same market share, the customers who have already bought the first iPhone and want to replace it with the new one.[6] Market Development In the Market Development, Apple could use different marketing strategies in order to sell existing products/services to new markets and increase its profit. It can achieve that, either by expanding to other geographical areas or by looking for users with that will use the product in a different way. A common example is by expanding to foreign markets or to expand from the private sector to the public.[4] Some examples of Apple are the following: Apple did not stayed on selling only to U.S but expanded on all over the world and in 2010 it is earning $24,298 from America sales and $30,929 from worldwide. [5] Another example is that when Apple introduces a new product to the market, it leaves the previous one for some time in the market in order for the customers with low income to buy it. With this technique Apple gain a new market and make a small profit. Another example is that Apple in the beginning was only selling only to customer market but a few years later, it expanded to the area of education. Diversification This strategic option is the risky of all as Apple has to think of new products and introduced them into totally new markets. This option has a very high failure rate as many products fail to come up with the expectations of the customers, so the company has a loss instead of a profit. [4] The most recent example of diversification to Apple is the introduction of iPad in 2010. With this product Apple was aiming in capturing the customers who use the Internet all the time and do not want to carry a notebook or a netbook with them. With iPad Apple did not enter to a completely different market because iPad is like an iPhone with a bigger screen. Therefore, Apple knew how to handle this type of product. Another example is the introduction of iPhone. In 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone, the first mobile phone from Apple. With the specific product, it entered immediately to the mobile market which was totally new to them and in which did not have any previous experience. Apple knew that it should have many competitors and it knew that the product will be either a failure or a success. Therefore, with appropriate marketing and management strategies, iPhone proved to be a success. A much older example is the introduction of iPod. Apple introduced the iPod in 2001. Like in the case of iPhone, Apple was entering here into a whole different area from the computer market. It was entering into the music market and was aiming for existing customers to buy an iPod and for new customers to try one and also try the services of Apple. Finally, Apple has already entered in the markets of Mobile Communications, Computers, TV and Music, therefore it could invest money on creating a gaming console, like Play Station 3, in order to enter to the market of gaming. If it enters this area, it will make a lot of profit because young people spent a lot of money on gaming Market Penetration Usage of appropriate Marketing Tools(advertising, lower prices, etc) Persuade existing customers to buy more products. Product Development Introduction of iPod, the first entertainment tool from Apple Innovation of iPhone each year Market Development Apple expended Worldwide Diversification Introduction of Ipad Introduction of iPhone Introduction of iPod Apple could create a gaming console Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3)Boston House | 214 High Street | Boston Spa | West Yorkshire | LS23 6AD | Tel +44 0844 800 0085 | Fax +44 01937 529236, http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm 4)Marketing in a nutshell, Mike Meldrum, Malcolm McDonald 5) Annual Report, United States Security and Exchange Commission, Washigton, D.C.20549 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1 6) http://www.apple.com6] Product Lifecycle(PLC) Another diagnostic tool that is very useful for the companys marketing is Product Life Cycle. With this tool, the company is able to determine different strategies for a product or service. More specifically, the product lifecycle has to do with the life of the product in the market, so it is similar to the humans lifecycle. Humans during their lives pass trough different stages e.g. birth, grown, maturity, decline and death. The same thing happens with product lifecycle. It passes trough introduction, grown, maturity, saturation and the final stage of decline cause of some natural limiting factors.[1] An example of a product lifecycle curve is shown the figure 1. Figure 1 [1] Each product lifecycle has 5 different stages: Introduction: In this stage the company plan and develop the product. In this stage the company does not make any profit because the product is new to the market and the customers are cautious of buying it. Some companies eg Apple, announce their product before it is introduced in order for the early adopters to preorder it and make some money. Generally, this stage is very difficult for each company and has to play with the marketing mix (price, promotion, product, distribution) in order to make some profit.[1] Grown: In this stage the sales are increasing as customers become aware of the product and start to buy it. If the product proves to be a success then more customers will buy it and the company will make more profit.[1] However, not all products reach this stage. This is because in this stage it starts the competition. Therefore, also in this stage the company should develop a smart marketing mix so as to attract more customers. [1,3] Maturity: This stage is the most profitable of all. Sales continue to increase but the cost for the company is decreasing as the advertisements expenditures decline because customers know the product.[3] However, competition is increasing and when the markets are full; the grown of the product begins to decline. [1] Therefore, during this stage, the company should make some radical changes concerning the marketing mix in order not to lose customers. Saturation: This is the stage that the market is full of companies competing for the same product and the sales are decreasing. Producers attempt to differentiate products and brands are the key to this. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation. Producers begin to leave the market due to poor margins. Promotion becomes more widespread and uses a greater variety of media. The rate of sales grown eventually levels out. Generally, there are too many firms competing for too little business at this stage. As a result, price wars may break out and there are casualties or tactical withdrawals among the competitive companies. [2,1] Decline: In the final stage, the product has come to its decline as there is a downturn in the market. This means that the market is full of more innovative products in more attractive prices.[2] The limitations of PLC are that this tool is not the same for all products e.g mobile phones have shorter lifecycle than automobiles. Its product has a unique lifecycle e.g some go from introduction to decline. Therefore is very difficult for the marketing managers to predict in which stage is the product. The most common is that when sales peak and then decline, the managers conclude that the product is in the decline stage. Furthermore, some products do not experience any decline like Coca Cola or Pepsi. These products are in maturity for many years, so the company has only profits from these.[2,3] To sum up the PLC is ideal as a descriptive model as it focuses on the future sales and understanding the dynamics of the market.[1] 1)McDonald, Malcolm and Adrian Payne (1996), Marketing Planning for Services, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp 77-117 2)Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3) http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/ After the developing new products and products portfolio, Apple should use a tool in order to manage these products. The Boston Consulting Group Box (BCG Box) The Boston Matrix is another useful tool for the marketing managers in order to plan the product portfolio of their company. The product portfolio is divided into the products that generate cash and the products that do not. Then the managers will use this model in order to see which one produce cash and make profit to the company and which are not. [2] Therefore, the company can evaluate if its products are healthy The BCG Box uses a form of a two- dimensional matrix. The two axes are the market share, which indicates the strength or limitations of the market and the market growth rate. In order for someone to use the matrix, he should divide it into 4 quadrants, stars(high share/ high market grown), cash cows(high market share/ low market grown), dogs(low market share/ low market grown), question marks(low market share/high market grown), like the matrix in Figure2. Furthermore, he should use circles for each product or product portfolio of the company. The size of the circle indicates the size of the sales or profit for the particular product, product line or business unit.[1,5] In order for Apple to apply the Boston Matrix and manage its products, it should divide its product portfolio into 4 categories deciding which of them are dogs, stars, cash cows and question marks. Figure 2 Stars: Stars are products that are in high growth market with high market share. As Tony Proctor said stars are tomorrows cash earners. This means that stars make a lot of profit for the company but in order for the company to keep these products to this stage, it must spend a high amount of money on them. Therefore, stars are neutral from the point of view of cash generation. [1,2] iPhone is an example of the star products that Apple has in its portfolio. iPhone in its grown it generates a lot of gross profit to the company but it needs also a lot of money in order to change it to cash cow. When it reaches the maturity stage and change to cash cow it has only profit to the company without any expenses for investment. Cash cows: In this stage are the mature products with low growth and high market share, so this area is the most profitable of all as they generate a lot of cash that can be used in improving other areas or in supplying research and development of new products. The company have to invest only a small amount of money to keep them where they are. [1,3] An example of cash cow is the iPod. Despite the fact that Apple does not make considerable changes to the specific product, customers prefer it and buy it. In 2010 Apple sell 8,274 units without making considerable changes. Another example is iTunes. Customers from iTunes can purchase many songs, videos and nowadays even books. Apple all these years made minor changes to iTunes but customers continue to buy from there. Therefore, iTunes is a very profitable programme for Apple without any cost for investment. A case in point is Apple Computers flagship product called the iPod, which occupies a dominant 73% share the portable music player market (Cantrell 2006). Analysts believe it is the impetus for Apples financial rebirth 40% of Apples sales is attributed to the iPod product line (Cantrell 2006) Dogs: These are products with low market share and low market growth. These products are completely profitless for the company and have no future. The best thing each company should do is sold off these products.[1] However, many companies that have dog products have to think carefully before divest them because they might be a portfolio of other products which might be stars. So if the customers that buy with the stars also the dogs, they will stop buying both of them and the company will lose money. Many companies like Apple do not have many dogs products because they are IT companies and they innovate their products very often in order not to lose their position on the market. One example is the iPhone 3Gs when Apple released iPhone 4G.This happens to all of the products of Apple. When it releases a new product, it leaves the previous one for some time in the market with a very low price. This is a dog product. Another example is the iPods shuffle that does not have any screen. These are products with little or no demand on the market because most of the customers buy the iPod with a screen. Therefore, these products make little profit for the company, so they are dogs. Question marks: These are products with low market share but high market grown. These are also unprofitable for the company as they are low market share and the company have to invest a lot of money to grow their market share. Therefore, marketing managers have to think very carefully which ones they should invest in. If they invest in a profitable product then it will become star and afterwards cash cow or else they will become dogs.[1,3] An example of question marks is the Mac Computers. Most people worldwide prefer to buy a computer with a Windows operation system instead of Macintosh, so Apple has to invest a lot of money, as they are very complex products with high technology in order to change them into stars. In General each company have to possess at least one cash cow in order to make profit and invest it to other areas, like stars so as to become a cash cow. If a company has many dog products then the best solution is to either convert them to stars or dispatched them. There is the possibility for a company to have question marks. If that happens, then either it should money to change them to stars and then cash cow or let them become dogs and dispose them. [1] However, despite for all the positive results that Apple could have with BSG matrix, it has many limitations. Firstly, the matrix assumes that every product is independent from the product portfolio of the company. This is not all the times true as many products depend from others and if the company consider a product dog and divest it, then it will create a problem to the other product. Furthermore, The limitations of BCG matrix are that the higher rates of profit do not always related to high rates of market share. Furthermore, it is usually applies to product lines instead of simply a product. Finally, the main problem with these tools is that they are not always accurate.[2] 1) Strategic marketing [electronic resource] : an introduction / Tony Proctor, Proctor, Tony, London ; New York : Routledge, 2000. 2) Our registered business address is PO Box 475, Chichester, PO18 8WX, United Kingdom, http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-ansoff.html 3)Boston House | 214 High Street | Boston Spa | West Yorkshire | LS23 6AD | Tel +44 0844 800 0085 | Fax +44 01937 529236,http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm 4)Marketing in a nutshell, Mike Meldrum, Malcolm McDonald 5) Marketing, David Mercer Swot analysis: Use SWOT analysis for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, marketing, business and product development and research reports. The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for understanding and decision-making for all sorts of situations in business and organizations. You can then attempt to exploit your strengths, overcome your weaknesses, grasp your opportunities and defend yourself against threats. This is one of the most impor