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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Strengths and Weakness of the Airborne Express

In a highly competitive industry the structure of a firm is very important to its success. Today firms are moving away from the centralized structure of the past, and adopting a more decentralized structure (Management Challenges in the 21st Century p 315). The air express industry is no exception. FedEx, the leader in the air express industry since the late eighties, is also leading U.P.S. in the race to become decentralized. Airborne Express is not even in the race. In order to compete in today†s changing environment, Airborne Express needs to move away from its old fashioned centralized structure and form a more decentralized structure. The old fashioned structure is not the only variable that makes Airborne the follower in the air express industry. The Internet and information systems are transforming the air express market into an electronic commerce market, and Airborne needs to transform it†s operations to meet this growing market. This report describes the strengths and weakness of the organizational structure of Airborne Express. Furthermore, it also gives recommendations for future changes in Airborne Express. The first section of this report addresses how the organization of the firm evolved, and what changes are taking place structurally in its industry. The second section discusses labor issues in the air express industry and how they affect Airborne Express. The third section addresses the growing electronic commerce market and how it†s affecting the industry and Airborne Express. During the eighties many air express companies were formed and many were destroyed. However, three companies came out of this highly competitive period on top. They were FedEx, U.P.S. and Airborne Express. Airborne survived this highly competitive period by adapting to the external forces affecting the industry. One of the external forces affecting Airborne was the size of the competition. U.P.S. and FedEx were just swallowing up competitors. So Airborne decided the best way to compete was to be the low-cost provider of air express service. Robert Cline, CEO of Airborne explains their strategy â€Å"When you are up against UPS and Federal Express, those guys are so big and so well capitalized that you have to have a tool to fight with them. It wasn†t going to be size; it wasn†t going to be how well-known we were. So, we decided to be the low-cost operator.†(Washington CEO P 33). However, to become the low cost operator Airborne had to make many structural changes. One of those structural changes was that Airborne centralized its organization as much as possible. After all, why pay middle management high salaries when upper management can make all the decisions. Furthermore, what CEO would trust middle management to make decisions during the unstable period of the company†s history? Another major change Airborne underwent in the eighties, was to differentiate its service. Unlike its two major competitors, FedEx and UPS, Airborne changed its strategy to concentrate on providing services for large corporations (Airborne Express†s 10-K form p5). This strategic change not only gave Airborne product differentiation and market specialization, but also benefited by taking away the need for advertising. Therefore, it could save the $35 to $40 million it was spending a year on advertising, and use it to help become the low-cost operator (Washington CEO p 36). Airborne made important structural and strategic changes in the eighties, which contributed to its success. However, in the nineties, Airborne is reluctant to change with the environment. As mentioned earlier, many firms are moving towards a more decentralized structure. Airborne seems to be using the same structure that got it through the eighties. Consequently, its decision making is still coming from top management, and no responsibility is being delegated to lower management. FedEx however, has experienced growing success by using a decentralized structure. â€Å"Delegation, as demonstrated by FedEx, can lead to a more empowered work force and resulting heightened productivity and quality, reduced costs, more innovation, improved customer service, and greater commitment from employees† (Management Challenges in the 21st Century p 285). Airborne†s centralized structure is also one the reasons its been experiencing labor problems. The last few years have plagued the air express industry with labor problems that have kept CEO†s of major companies like UPS, FedEx, and Airborne Express on their toes (The New York Times Nov 1998). Since the UPS strike of 1997, air express companies are fighting to keep good relations with their workers. The Teamsters† strike with UPS over part-time and full-time help taught small business not to rely on one express company. UPS is not the only company having labor problems. With the use of lengthy negotiations and hefty salary promises FedEx has settled a labor dispute with its pilots, and are entering the year 2000 without labor problems (Institute for Technology and Enterprise P 12). Airborne Express, however, is experiencing major labor disputes with its pilots. Although under contract, Airborne pilots are not happy with management. A representative for Airborne claims â€Å"Airborne management has failed to implement key provisions in the contract†. This failure plus the firing of an Airborne pilot has the pilots angry (Traffic World P 1). Since the pilots are under contract, they can not strike, but they can stop flying volunteer overtime, which makes up 15 percent of Airborne†s flights. In November of 1998 the pilots voted to stop flying overtime (Traffic World P 3). Airborne needs to smooth over relations with its pilots soon, because the contract expires May of 2001. Therefore, unless Airborne settles this dispute, it will be facing an imminent strike. Another labor issue affecting Airborne is the Teamsters Union. Airborne signed a five-year contract with the Teamsters Union in 1998. There are three major provisions in this contract (Associated Press online p 2). 1. Provides improved working conditions for Airborne employees. 2. A Bonus for employees the first year, followed by a yearly wage increase for the last four years of the contract. 3. At least 50 percent of the current part-time work force will be changed to full-time by 1999, with the remaining 50 percent offered full-time positions by 2000. The last provision is could have consequences for Airborne Express. Using part-time help is a way for express companies to cut expenses by not having to pay full-time benefits. How will Airborne be able to keep up its strategy of being the low-cost operator if they lose the efficiency of a part-time workforce? Airborne Express needs to operate as efficiently as possible if they want to have the capital to compete in the growing electronic commerce market. Today the air express industry is faced with a technology that will force express companies to change organizational structure and basic operations. This technology is electronic commerce, or better known as the Internet. Presently, Internet sales make up 15 percent of the retail market, and are expected to make up 55 percent of the market by 2005 (Institute for Technology and Enterprise p 1). In order to compete in this growing market, many retail companies are changing their operations and selling products over the Internet. Because of this, there is a need for air express companies that can cater to the needs of online retailers. Express companies need to supply services such as just-in-time inventory or virtual inventory. In order to best describe the importance of this new market to Airborne Express†s future, I†m going to address the way FedEx is changing their structure to compete in this new market. One way FedEx is dealing with this new market is by providing just-in-time inventory services for companies. FedEx provides this service by connecting to an online retailer†s web site, and when a sale is achieved over the Internet, the order is placed directly with FedEx. Once FedEx receives the order, it picks up the product from the supplier and delivers it to the customer. This all takes place without the online retailer touching the product (Institute for Technology and Enterprise p 4). FedEx supplies this service for a percentage of the online retailer†s sales. There are three air express companies competing for control of this electronic market and Airborne is not one of them. The three companies are FedEx, UPS, and DHL. If the express industry is affected as much as predicted, Airborne could lose its ranking as third in the express industry to DHL. Airborne Express might be gambling on the hope that there will be companies who will fight this move to electronic commerce, and will give Airborne enough old fashioned express business for them to succeed. This is a major gamble. â€Å"Concepts like just-in-time manufacturing and mass customization were no longer just theory; a number of firms had carved out distinct niches in the market place by focusing on developing these capabilities in manufacturing and production. Tight supply chain integration was no longer perceived as a competitive advantage. It was being seen as a competitive imperative† (The Economic Benefits of Air Transport, 1997 p 23). Airborne needs to connect to the electronic commerce market before it loses the opportunity. In conclusion, Airborne made some wise changes to its structure in the eighties. These changes differentiated Airborne from its competitors, and allowed it to be the low-cost operator. However, in the last few years with Airborne†s failure to change with the environment and with labor disputes in its near future, the future for Airborne Express looks bleak. Unless Airborne wants to go back to transporting flowers it needs to rethink its strategy.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Even Sigmund Freud participated Essay

Today the medical sphere may offer us good examples of how the existing diversification of approaches and methods towards the treatment of people is related to the fundamental shifts in our perception of the old problem of finding the connection between the human body and the mind. In fact, on one hand medicine as such is on the most fundamental level an inherently conservative filed of knowledge and practice because what is at stake for a doctor is often the very human life, the value of which overthrows any possible dubious methods of treatment that may lead to the lack of positive results, or even to negative ones. On the other hand, as we are constantly learning new things about such an intricate structure as the human body is, it becomes clear that phenomena that had been thought understandable in reality have a much more complicated nature, which requires elaboration of existing scientific approaches, or even demands refusal from some of the traditional medical postulates. To grasp challenges that arise from such shifts in our understanding of mind-body connection we may consider perhaps too extreme examples – numerous schools of the so-called New Age medicine which under the pretence of the break-through knowledge all too often advance simply untenable and absurd claims based on mere speculations (Reisser, Reisser, and Weldon, 1988, pp. 147-52), and the overly sceptical defenders of the traditional Western medicine who may tend to be too inflexible in their admission of the validity of alternative approaches to medical treatment of people. More specifically, the matter of the influence of human psychological processes on what has traditionally been considered purely physiological disorders is one of the most inflaming causes of disagreements between the mentioned approaches. This tension that in one form or another is ongoing between representatives of different medical camps to a large degree defines the modern discourse of approaches to the medical treatment (Miller, 2003, pp. 185-187). In this regard, it would be interesting to closely investigate the existing literature that represents the current state of affairs in the perception of the connection between the mind and the body. As a suitable object of our analysis may serve the book written by Doctor of Medicine John E. Sarno, a Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine, and attending physician at the Howard A. Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at the New York University Medical Center. His best-selling work â€Å"The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain† belongs to the list of the most popular books that highlight academic and practical achievements in the field of psychosomatic medicine, a school of medicine which is based on the principle of unity of the mind and the body, and which aims to examine the mechanisms of the interdependency between emotions and bodily functions and to promote psychological methods of medical care (Levenson, 2004, pp. 3-66). The combination of the academic approaches of the author to the support of his material and the popularity of the book among lay people to whom it is largely addressed suggests that on the example of this work we may judge the level of penetration of what could unanimously be perceived alternative medicine not long time ago into the modern medical discourse. With all this in mind, let us examine the volume of John E. Sarno in the context of its connection as of a textbook of applied psychosomatic medicine with the modern medical paradigms. For this purpose, we will briefly outline the history of psychosomatic medicine, then will try to link it with the book of Sarno, and in the main body of the paper will provide the book report with relevant comments on the book`s contents. Background on psychosomatic medicine The origins of the psychosomatic medicine can be found in the teachings of early Western philosophers and physicians who acknowledged that emotions played an important role for the human health (Cacioppo, 1989, p. 589). Still, the Western medicine has traditionally been more inclined towards the study of the significance of bodily functions (Loudon, 1997, p. 238). However, by the middle of the nineteenth century the level of attention to the involvement of emotions in diseases development grew as the observational evidence was accumulating that had suggested that some disorders were not always accompanied by organic affections (U. S. National Library of Medicine, 2005). For example, only since the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries such a neurosis as hysteria began to be linked with emotional factors and the nervous system in general. Even Sigmund Freud participated in the study of symptoms of hysteria, and one of his conclusions was that they are based on memories linked to mental traumas which under certain conditions may intrude in the processes of somatic innervation. In this way, a possible mechanism for the interaction between mind and body was offered that was reminiscent of mechanisms that Sarno would be describing in his book. The German psychoanalysts Georg Groddeck even went as far as claiming that psychological mechanisms engendering hysteria can be applied to all somatic diseases which from this point of view are the bodily manifestations of unconscious psychological processes. In the 1930s psychoanalyst Franz Alexander attempted to find a compromise between the Freudian theory, such views as those of Groddeck, and existing knowledge of physiology. He was against excessively psychological interpretations that ignored the automatic mechanisms in the body that to a large degree directed emotional expressions. The theoretical basis developed by Alexander contributed in the United States to the invigorated extensive research of psychosomatic mechanisms, and psychosomatic medicine as a separate field of study was formed in 1939 when the medical journal dedicated to this branch of medicine was published. After that time, psychosomatic medicine was only gaining momentum. For example, World War II spurred the interest to it due to numerous manifestations of psychosomatic symptoms in soldiers. Eventually, by the 1950s interest to psychosomatic medicine and its scientific background grew so much that its concepts entered the popular culture as media started to publish numerous articles and thus popularized psychosomatic theories (U. S. National Library of Medicine, 2005). Now, fast forward to today, and we can witness that many of the postulates of psychosomatic medicine are already among the undisputed popular opinions of many people, and for instance the maxim that in order to stay healthy a person should avoid excessive stresses and disturbing emotional states is among the most frequently heard ones in both media sources and in our everyday interaction. However, after the surge of academic interest to it half a century ago, psychosomatic medicine, in contrast to its successful penetration into the public perception, somewhat lost momentum within scientific circles in the second half of the twentieth century (Kennedy, 2004, p. 400). So, it is in such circumstances that the book of John E. Sarno â€Å"The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain† saw the light of the day. The book of John E. Sarno in the larger social and historical context â€Å"The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain† builds upon themes from Sarno’s previous book â€Å"Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection† that advanced the idea that the cause of back pain, headache, slipped discs, and other chronic forms of pain is actually rooted in our psychology (Sarno, 1991). In â€Å"The Mindbody Prescription† Sarno adds new knowledge about the psychology of emotionally stimulated physical manifestations, and elucidates how such emotions as anger, anxiety, guilt, and other negative mental states can cause mental stimulation of negative physical symptoms. Thus, in both of those books the author touches upon very urgent topics for the modern American society in which an increasing number of people are plagued by back, neck, or limb pain. In fact, this is a serious economic problem as well, as industries in which large percentage of people are working at computers bear significant health insurance burden due to a variety of similar disorders causing pain, like fibromyalgia or repetitive stress injury (Sarno, 2005). More generally, pain as such in its different forms is a crippling problem for many individuals in both their professional and private lives (Margoles, 1998, pp. 9-32). So, â€Å"The Mindbody Prescription† addresses precisely this disturbing epidemic as it analyses clinical data to find the main cause of the pain disorders, and elaborates methods to treat those disorders. Importantly, in doing so the author tries to fill the gap existing in the traditional methods of chronic pain treatment that are apparently unable to stop this pain epidemic. From the very beginning of the main body of the volume it becomes clear for a reader that the author adopts a holistic approach to his subject. More specifically, Sarno opens the first chapter of the book with construction of various typical and stressful scenarios that in one form or another take place in lives of many of us and contribute to chronic physical pain that people experience. What is untypical, though, is that Sarno from the very beginning of the book begins to draw our attention to what could be considered as a minor element of those scenarios, but what in reality, according to the author, underlies the different manifestation of the pain disorders. This significant element is the factor of unconscious anger or outright rage that Sarno envisions as inevitably accompanying all of the scenarios that he delves in, like our troubles with private life, or within family, or career-related frustration, and many other different â€Å"or† that Sarno repeats in succession to bring home to us his case of unconscious mechanisms that generate anger in so many people. Now, this initial attention to the emotional side of our life is in a good agreement with our above observations about the widely acknowledged role that our mind plays in our health, and the author as if resumes that the existence of the definite connection between our emotional experiences and our bodily health is factual. But, judging from the way he begins his work, what we can expect from Sarno is the elaboration on the exact mechanisms that keep the mind-body connection running, especially as the author immediately claims that the disorders that he is about to discuss â€Å". . . are neither illnesses nor diseases, but rather symptomatic states induced by the brain to serve a psychological purpose† (Sarno, 1998, p. 3). After all, while general public does not always bother to verify its views, practitioners of classical pathophysiology would surely expect solid support of any claim related to the emotional aspects of diseases and illnesses and to the connection between pain problems and stress. At the same time, having chosen the non-technical style of presentation Sarno procured the easiness of reading for common people whose pain-related problems are the actual target of the book. The structure and the contents of the book â€Å"The Mindbody Prescription† consists of three parts preceded by an extended preface and an introduction that deals with a historical perspective of the book`s theme. The preface and the introduction of the book summarize theories and experience of Sarno with treatment of back pain and other types of musculoskeletal disturbances. Naturally, already in the opening parts of the work the emotional foundation of the pain is emphasized. In the end of the book we can find a thorough appendix, which provides supportive citations for conclusions of Sarno, and a bibliography which refers to articles that cover physical and psychoanalytic issues related to chronic pain and its treatment. In the first part of the book Sarno reflects upon concepts underlying mind-body medicine, and exemplifies influences that physical stress and such psychological states as feeling of guilt, anxiety, depression, or personality disorders have on the range of symptoms manifested in patients. Sarno categorizes the range of painful symptoms that may arise due to psychological processes as belonging to what he terms Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), which is a painful condition that develops in the back, shoulders, neck, or buttocks, and may equally arise in other parts of the body, and which throughout the whole book would be the main object of study for the author. But before shifting to investigation of concrete instances of TMS-related maladies, in order to justify his principal claim that chronic pain symptoms are in reality a kind of a defense mechanism used by our brain to distract our attention from our unconscious emotions of anger, Sarno copiously refers to the prominent figures whom we have discussed – Sigmund Freud, Franz Alexander, and some other defenders of the theory of psychoanalysis like Stanley Coen and Heinz Kohut. I believe that this approach is beneficial as it helps readers appreciate the historical inheritance that underlies basic conceptions of the psychosomatic medicine, and thus provides a firmer footing for beliefs held by many people who have had successful experiences with psychosomatic approaches to treatment of illnesses. Aside from the references to important figures in the history of psychosomatic medicine, the first part of the book also elaborates a distinct and well-structured explanation of the concepts constituting the basic principles of mind-body interaction. In the process of such explanation the author mentions such fields of study and such medical and psychological notions as neurophysiology of psychogenic disturbances, problems of psychosomatic origin, and reactions of conversion (which is one of the types of interaction between the mind and the body when unconscious elements of human psyche intrude into somatic processes) (Sarno, 1998, pp. 173-174). Sarno also mentions the findings of Candace Pert, a neuroscientist who found opiate receptors in the human brain, and who greatly contributed to the growth of our knowledge of links between biochemical processes in the brain and physiological phenomena. In this way, Sarno anchors the theme of his book in the history of psychosomatic medicine, and, even though he is mentioning some radical concepts that may be critically perceived by adherents of traditional pathophysiology, the style of Sarongs presentation is lucid and definitely absorbing. All in all, the first part of the book serves as a bridge between the general discussion of the psychological mechanisms of emotional influence on physical disorders and more detailed investigation of psychoneurophysiology that underlies psychogenic processes. In the second part of the book Sarno closely examines his clinical experience with emotionally caused physical disorders, and is primarily concerned with various manifestations of TMS and with the possibility to extend his theory of the mechanisms of TMS emergence to other diseases and illnesses. In fact, many of the clinical problems that he examines have already been known to have a connection to stress, which either produces them, or aggravates their effects. However, what makes the work of Sarno special is his approach to explanation of these disease states from the point of view of unconscious working of repressed anger and rage. To prove his case, Sarno has combined physical medicine with psychoanalytic theory in order to give what he believes is a proper account for TMS, which, according to his practice, is the main cause of musculoskeletal and back pain. For Sarno, the origin of painful manifestations of TMS lies in repressed emotions. And the pain in various parts of body as such is theorized by the author as being caused by a diminution of blood flow to the corresponding tissues. This process of blood flow reduction is mediated via the autonomic system as a stressful reaction of brain to repressed emotions. We may chart the TMS pathophysiology in the following way: The formation of unconscious repressed emotions (anger/rage); ? Abnormal patterns of autonomic system`s activity; ? Decrease of the level of local blood circulation; ? Development of mild oxygen deprivation; ? The resulting pain in muscles and other possible symptoms (for example pain in tendons, tingling, numbness, weakness). Having established such a mechanism of the emergence of pain, Sarno surmises that this approach from the TMS formation theory can as well be applied not only for the fixed number of cases of muscle and back pain, but to a wider range of physical disturbances. In this light, Sarno earlier pointed out that in a 1975 survey it had been found that â€Å"88 per cent of patients with TMS had histories of up to five common mindbody disorders† (Sarno, 1998, p. 29). And, indeed, Sarno manages to extend his theory of the emergence of pain disorders to migraine, to such various conditions as carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, colitis, peptic ulcer, post-polio syndrome, infections, skin disorders, and even to more unusual instances like the chronic pain that accompanies Lyme disease, which is caused by bacteria transmitted through ticks. The author also mentions disorders in which emotions might be involved, among which are atherosclerosis, hypertension, one of the most common heart problems termed mitral valve prolapse, and even cancer. Of course, with such a broad scope of concern at hand Sarno has to offer an adequate methodology for unambiguous diagnosing of emotionally induced pain. For this purpose, his requirement is that the TMS diagnosis can be ascribed to a patient only if traditional physical exam failed to uncover existing abnormalities. However, according to the author, even in the presence of an abnormality TMS still can be working in a patient and exasperate the pain to the higher level than the found abnormality itself would be capable of. In the third part of the book Sarno discusses approaches that may effectively treat TMS and related physical disturbances. From what we have observed before it should already become clear that Sarno essentially assigns to the pain the function of a defense reaction that aims to divert our consciousness from the need to face repressed anger or other unbearable forms of emotional strain. On ground of this, as the only possible way of treatment of the real cause of TMS symptoms Sarno postulates the examination of the physical origins of repressed negative emotions as the way for the deliverance from pain. Generally speaking, a person has to find ways to single out those harmful emotions and roots of the unconscious anger that are undermining his or her psychological well-being. And what also makes the theory of Sarno special is that, according to him, the mere acknowledgement of certain emotional concerns, and not of any bodily abnormalities, as the ground of the deteriorated physical state is in many cases already a sufficient condition for healing. One may not even have to remove the psychological problem itself in order to procure a visible clinical improvement. This contrasts with some of the New Age schools of psychotherapy that also associate unconscious repressed emotions with various maladies, but which require that before the healing can take place such unconscious `problem spots` must be dissolved, like is proposed, for instance, by the so-called primal therapy, a school of psychotherapy elaborated by psychologist Arthur Janov (Janov, 1999). For Sarno, the identification of a problem is the main task for people suffering from emotionally induced physical disorders, and such identification can normally be implemented by means of an insightful self-examination, perhaps with the help of such techniques as meditation or self-affirmation (a method of compensation for the lowered self-esteem in one area by consideration of one`s proficiency in other areas (Sarno, 1998, p. 22; Nezu and Nezu, 2004, pp. 182-188). In this regard, from the point of view of Sarno it is also very important that a patient should have no doubts about the correctness of the TMS diagnosis, and that he or she fully realizes the exclusively psychosomatic origin of pain. To bolster this indispensable perception in patients, after the mentioned thorough physical examination needed for the elimination of possibility of the presence of real physical problems, Sarno accentuates the need to educate people and to assure them that the influence of repressed emotions is a sufficient condition for the reduction of the flow of blood to the affected areas of the body which leads to the pain and other troublesome symptoms, which nevertheless should not be viewed by people as those inflicting permanent damage to the body. Even if some structural abnormalities related to ordinary changes due to physical activity or aging are found, the patient should have a clear understanding of their nature. Basically, what is demanded from a patient is in no way the denial of the presence of the pain but rather the acceptance of its genuine origin. To help maintain such an attitude to chronic pain, Sarno recommends to patients who know that they have no physiological abnormalities to suspend physical therapy and to return to normal physical activity. In addition to that, patients should on the daily basis remind themselves the following points: I only have a mild oxygen deprivation and not structural abnormalities; my condition stems from repressed negative emotions and is not physically harmful; TMS exists to divert my attention from emotions; there is nothing to be afraid of for me; the physical pain is not dangerous; I will not allow pain to trouble and intimidated me; I will change the object of my concern from pain to emotional experiences; it is my conscious part that will have control, and not my subconscious mind; I have to think about psychological aspects of my life, and not so much about physical. When such a set of attitudes towards the role of one`s unconscious emotional experiences and towards one`s own body is obtained, Sarno believes that the brain that aims to contain the repressed emotions will no longer be able to fool us by drawing our attention to body. To illustrate how psychological relief may have a radica l influence on the chronic pain, the author offers examples of some practical cases. In one of such cases a patient knew about the most probable origin of her back pain but still did not have an improvement, and even had increased level of pain. According to Sarno, the worsening of the pain was brought about by the last efforts of the brain to keep hidden emotions unconscious, but when the feelings finally burst into the patient`s consciousness the pain, as if miraculously, went away. Sarno documents the account of this patient: â€Å". . . in an instant, I started to cry. . . Out of control tears, anger, rage, desperate tears. And I heard myself saying things like, Please take care of me, I don’t ever want to have to come out from under the covers, I’m so afraid, please take care of me, don’t hurt me, I want to cut my wrists, please let me die, I have to run away, I feel sick-and on and on, I couldn’t stop . . . And as I cried, and as I voiced these feelings, it was, literally, as if there was a channel, a pipeline, from my back and out through my eyes. I felt the pain almost pour out as I cried . . . I knew . . . that what I was feeling at that moment was what I felt as a child, when no one would or could take care of me . . . the feelings were there and they poured over me and out of me† (Sarno, 1998, p. 13). However, as in order to get rid of pain we have to use our insight to understand its foundation, one may wonder that if the real cause of the pain is the repressed anger, how helpful psychotherapy may be in the healing of TMS symptoms? The author says: â€Å"The therapists to whom I refer patients are trained to help them explore the unconscious and become aware of feelings that are buried there . . . When we become aware of these feelings . . . the physical symptoms . . . go away† (Sarno, 1998, p. 161). Still, according to Sarno, the need for psychotherapy should not arise too often. The author reports numerous cases when people did away with pain simply after having read the book and having followed suggestions contained there. In fact, Sarno claims that the percentage of those who report the improvement of their condition is as high as 90-95 percent, and that many of his patients had been living with physical disorders and pain for a large part of their lives and could not be treated by the traditional medical approaches. General critical observations Even though the belief that emotions and stressful circumstances are related to physical conditions of people is today generally accepted, the extent to which Sarno emphasizes the role of psychological factors will nevertheless surely seem too extreme for many clinicians. Indeed, formally speaking, the author of â€Å"The Mindbody Prescription† gives some reasons to relate him to those practitioners who denounce the traditional medical approaches as outdated ones, as he says that â€Å". . . poor medical advice . . . keep[s] your attention riveted on your body, which is your brain’s intention† (Sarno, 1998, p. 147), or that â€Å"Modern medical science studies the details of maladies but rejects unconscious emotional processes as the cause†¦ † (Sarno, 1998, p. 117). On the other hand, the effort of the author to extend the validity of his TMS theory to a range of disorders which in combination are shared by significant fractions of Western societies` populations may also seem to be too ambitious and at the same time not sufficiently verified according to strict scientific standards (Wilson, 1991). In this light, while Sarno rightfully remarks that â€Å". . . proper management [of TMS and related disorders] would alleviate much suffering and reduce the enormous cost of medical care that now burdens modern society† (Sarno, 1998, p. 126), he perhaps should also pay more attention to the fact that the majority of physicians still have doubts about the ability of psychological processes to cause chronic pain in the first place, and are more ready to agree that emotions may only aggravate physiological problems, but still in most cases should not be considered as their primary causes. In his turn, Sarno disputes that such processes as osteoarthritic changes and herniated vertebral discs are always the immediate sources of the pain and suggests that very often they may just be coincidentally present close to affected areas that due to emotional causes are deprived of oxygen. Such views further distantiate him from the conventional approaches to treatment of these disturbances. Moreover, Sarno insists that traditional medicine has no valid methods of TMS treatment because â€Å"If you thwart that purpose by taking away the symptoms without dealing with its cause, the brain will simply find a substitute symptom† (Sarno, 1998, p. 39). In any case, despite the unconventional elements of his methods of treatment, Sarno has numerous adherents who attest to the practical applicability and effectiveness of the theory of connection between psychological processes and manifestations of TMS. Therefore, I believe that even if Sarno is not able to provide a completely reliable from the academic point of view account of the mind-body connection, he may be practically exploring the mechanisms of the human body that the fundamental science is only beginning to test experimentally (Brush, 2005, p. 259). For example, consider the recent finding related to the famous placebo effect in which it was again confirmed that such a purely psychological factor as our expectations has not only psychological but as well physical effects on health. But in this particular research a new variety of the placebo effect was found, actually a kind of an anti-placebo effect, as it turned out that â€Å". . . once Alzheimer’s disease robs someone of the ability to expect that a proven painkiller will help them, it doesn’t work nearly as well. . . † (Neergaard, 2005). This fact testifies to the power of our psychology to intervene in the what might seem as purely physiological realm of our bodily functioning, and the data is being gathered to prove that at least such a psychological factor as the placebo effect â€Å". . . actually is physical, and that expecting benefit can trigger the same neurological pathways of healing as real medication does† (Neergaard, 2005). Now, this conclusion is in a perfect agreement with the principles underlying the theory of TMS origin advanced by Sarno. However, quite ironically, the specialists involved in the mentioned research were quick to point out that positive expectations â€Å"aren’t a substitute for real medicine† (Neergaard, 2005), which contradicts the reliance of Sarno on psychology as not only the cause of many physical disorders but at the same time as the only means of their healing. But I suppose that if Sarno produces an impression of being too confident in the self-sufficiency of his conclusions it could only mean that due to his extensive observational experience he may just be a little bit ahead of the vanguard of the mainstream medical science. And, after all, if we want to find what unites Sarno with the conservative part of the medical establishment it is his traditional recommendation for his patients to resume full activities of daily life, including physical exercises. Critical observations about Sarno`s view of migraine as an equivalent of TMS While Sarno devotes a large portion of his book to back pain, among other painful physical disturbances related to mechanisms that lead to TMS he mentions migraine, which is a very common condition that causes headaches, and physiological mechanisms of which are currently quite poorly understood (Cochran, 2004, p. 156). Sarno confesses his personal experience with migraine as he had had this condition for quite a long time before he was introduced to medical research which suggested that â€Å"migraine headache was the result of repressed anger† (Sarno, 1998, p. 111). As he was already amassing evidence in support of the significant influence of psychological factors on many widespread medical problems, he was inclined to test that idea. After trying to find out what anger that he could be repressing was causing his migraine, Sarno allegedly got rid of migraine headaches for the rest of his life. However, he himself acknowledged that some symptoms of migraine still continue to happen to him, which brings us to a question whether the method of the author of the book can be applied without reserve to all the types of chronic pains that seem to have no accompanying physical abnormalities. Indeed, it may be that our lack of understanding of the causes of migraine simply leaves us ignorant of possible physiological mechanisms that underlie it, and even though approaches borrowed from TMS treatment may often be effective for removal of painful symptoms, purely psychological vision of the migraine origins may hide from us its genuine cause. Besides, it may be somewhat alarming that the definition of migraine that Sarno advances is different from the one offered for example by the National Migraine Association. Sarno says that migraine is supposed to arise from â€Å". . . sudden constriction of a single blood vessel within the substance of the brain† (Sarno, 1999, p. 111), while on the website of the National Migraine Association it is stated that: â€Å"Migraine is disease, a headache is only a symptom. Migraine pain is caused by vasodilation in the cranial blood vessels (expansion of the blood vessels), while headache pain is caused by vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels). During a migraine, inflammation of the tissue surrounding the brain, i. e. , neurogenic inflammation, exacerbates the pain† (Coleman and Burchfield, 2006). Therefore, at least in the case of migraines it seems warranted to say that physiological mechanisms may be working to produce migraine independently from psychological processes, and that without knowing the exact causes and possible consequences of migraine-related tissue inflammation it is perhaps risky to adopt a strategy of assuring oneself that the pain is not physically harmful. The National Migraine Association again confirms this worry by pointing out that â€Å"The Migraine disease is a serious health and disability problem that affects approximately 11 to 18 million Americans .

Operating and Information System: Case Study on Airasia

WEEK 7 :Operating and Information System: Case Study on AirAsiaAirAsia creates values through the following vision is to be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connectivity and high fares. Beside that, the AirAsia also creates the mission is to be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family, create a globally recognized ASEAN brand, to attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia and the last is maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service levels. AirAsia makes the low fare model possible and create values through the implementation of the 6 key strategies. The first of the key strategies is Safety First, AirAsia wan to be partnering with the world’s most renowned maintenance providers and complying with the world airline operations. Beside that, the second key strategies is High Aircraft Utilization is mean implementing the regions fastest turnaround time at only 25 minutes, assuring lower costs and higher productivity. Low Fare and No Frills are also is AirAsia’s key strategies, Low Fare and No Frills is mean providing guests with the choice of customizing services without compromising on quality and services. Another key strategies is Streamline Operation, this key strategies is make sure that processes are as simple as possible. Beside that, Lean Distribution System is offering a wide and innovative range of distribution channels to make booking and traveling easier. The last of the AirAsia’s key strategies is Point to Point Network is to applying the point-to-point network keeps operation simple and lower costs. Business process and operation in the AirAsia is has fostered a dependency on Internet technology for its operational and strategic management, and provides an online ticket booking services to traveler online. In todays globalize economy, information technology has driven fundamental changes in the nature and application of technology in business. The implementation of information technology in its value chain provides powerful strategic and tactical tools for AirAsia, which if properly applied and used, could bring great advantages in promoting and strengthening the competitive advantages. Moreover, AirAsia has currently adopted information technologies strategically to integrate the operations and coordinate all the business and management functions. The followings are few system implementations that AirAsia has done in its marketing and sales activities as well as operation activity in the value chain. The lowest airlines like Air Asia attending low cost require high efficiency in every part of the business and maintaining simplicity. Therefore every system process must incorporate the best industry practices. The key components of the LCC business model are High aircraft utilization, No frills, Streamline Operations, Basic Amenities,Point to point network, Lean Distribution System. Aircraft is kept flying as much as possible, the first flight starts as early in the morning commercially possible and the final flight typically ends at midnight. A fast turnaround is critical to ensure time spent of the ground is minimal – an airline makes money when the aircraft is flying, not when the aircraft is parked. AirAsia’s turnaround time is 25 minutes; compare that against 1 hour for a FSC. On average, AirAsia’s utilization per aircraft is 12 block hours per day, a FSC might do about 8 block hours per day. No frills such as no free food and beverages, free seating, no refund and no loyalty programme. Making the process as simple as possible is the key of a successful LCC. Single type of aircraft, single class seating, Standard Operating Procedures. Secondary airports. Low cost carriers mostly fly to and from airports that are not necessarily the busiest, for example, London – Stanstead rather than London – Heathrow. These are often referred to as secondary airports. Operating from so called secondary airports is cheaper than from the bigger major airports and they are also a lot less congested and â€Å"turnaround times† for aircraft are a lot shorter. Point to point network. LCC shuns the hub-and-spoke system and embraces the simple point-to-point network. Almost all AirAsia flights are short-haul (3 hour flight or less). No arrangements have been made with other airline companies on connecting flights, on possibilities of flight transfers, nor on having the luggage labeled and assed through from one flight to another. Distribution costs are something that FSC most often ignore. Very often, FSC relies on travel agents and from their posh sales office. Furthermore, FSC always blows the budget by complicating their distribution channels by integrating their systems with multiple Global Distribution Systems. LCC will keep their distribution channel as simple as possible and will cover the w hole spectrum of the clientele profile. For example, AirAsia can cater to the most sophisticated European traveler via internet and credit card sales. And at the same time, AirAsia has an established system to sell our tickets to the most remote and technology deprived locations, such as in Myanmar. When talking about LCC, some quarters will react with cynical and sometimes preposterous views. If a passenger must stand in a flight due to lack of seats or there will be chickens in the flight. Such misconceptions are not surprising, given the fact that scheduled, low-fare flights are a relatively new phenomenon in the world. The reason for the success of the new low cost carriers is very simple – move the maximum number of passengers at the minimum of cost. The concept of LCC is based on the idea that people would fly a lot more often if it were more affordable. LCC airline’s main mission is to make air travel the most simple, convenient and inexpensive form of transportation in the world. The fare differential between the full service carriers (FSC) and LCC can be as high as 40%-60% cheaper. Air Asia SWOT such as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths analysis have low cost operations, fewer management level, effective, focused and aggressive management, simple proven business model that consistently delivers that lowest fares, multi-skilled staffs means efficient and incentive workforce, penetrate and stimulate to potential markets. Weaknesses analysis have limited human resources could not handle irregular situation, government interference and regulation on airport deals and passenger compensation, brand is vital for market position and developing it is always a challenge, and new entrants to provide the price-sensitive services. Oppurtunities analysis also have long haul flight is an trial to get undeveloped market share, differentiation from traditional LCC model by adding customer services or operation as full service airline with low fare, and ongoing industry consolidation has opened up prospects for new routes and airport deals. And the last one Threats analysis have full service airlines start cut costs to compete, high fuel price decreases yield, accident, terrorist attack, and disaster and affect customer confidence, increase in operation cost in producing value-added services, and system disruption due to heavily reliance on online sales. In AirAsia have Yield Management System (YMS) . This system is to anticipates and reacts to the behavior of customers to maximize the revenue. For some example, for the seat are available at various prices in different points of time. A reservation done at a later date will be charged more than the one done earlier for the same seat. For the Route is adjusting prices for routes or destinations that have a higher demand when compared to others. During off-peak times while raising prices only marginally for peak times. For the AirAsia’s Computer Reservation is an integrated web-enabled reservation and inventory system suite powered by Navitaire’s Open Skies technology that includes Internet, call center, and airport departure control functionality. Computer Reservation System is also satisfy the unique needs of AirAsia implementing a low-cost business model to transform the business process to efficiently streamline operations. Enterprise Resource Planning System(ERP) in AirAsia is an integrated solution powered by Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) on Microsoft technology platform which is implemented by Avanade consultants in 2005. With the robust ERP technology platform, AirAsia is able to successfully maintain process integrity, reduce financial month-end closing processing time, speeds up reporting and data retrieval process. Customer Relationship Program (CRM) the information management process, the multichannel integration process, the value creation process, the strategy development process and the performance assessment process. The fundamental to a successful CRM strategy requires seamless customer-centric processes, supported by integrated technology across the enterprise and its supply chain which provide the right information at the right time. To ensure that technology solutions support CRM, CRM tools must be making trade offs in flexibility, customizability, cost, convenience and speed of deployment; certainly it must match to the needs of the business. However, CRM tool is just a supplement to CRM strategy, appropriate strategy and excellent implementation is essential for a successful CRM.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Moravians Migration into the Lehigh Valley, Pennslyvannia Term Paper

Moravians Migration into the Lehigh Valley, Pennslyvannia - Term Paper Example The earliest history of Bethlehem is connected to Bishop David Nitschamann who builds a church, which began the Moravian settlement (Levering 24). He bought a land where the people were settled, and this was the fundamental for the development of the Bethlehem. It is here that he builds the cabin, which became the first structure in Bethlehem. Originally, they were thirteen settlers who first settled at Bethlehem. The book â€Å"A History of Bethlehem†, by Joseph Mortimer Bishop explains of the migration of the Moravian to Bethlehem. It explains the cause of migration, and the settlement of the people in the new land (Township News 7). The article â€Å"city of Bethlehem† in 2008, also explains the challenges the people faced in the migration, reasons for migration. It also speaks of the people settlement in their new land. Mortimer the author of the book â€Å"A History of Bethlehem,† sees Nitschmann as being fundamental in the migration of Moravian to Bethlehem . Nitschmann belonged to the ancient Brethrens church. He was born in Moravia at Zauchtenthal. It is said that he suffered persecution because of his faith, and he had to free his native land. He fled Moravia in1724, and on 1732, he was one of first missionaries in St. Thomas from Moravian (Levering 28). It is said that he spent the rest of his life-spreading gospel, he is said to have contributed to the development of many settlement across the world before his death in 1771. The rest of the missionaries had a different upbringing before they came together in their missionary works and were among the founders of Bethlehem. The article on the City of Bethlehem, also mentions the role played by the first missionaries in the settlement of people in Bethlehem and the consequent growth of the city. The article however, does not explain in details the cause of the migration, but focuses on the settlement of the people in the new land. It focuses on the integration of the Moravian in thei r new surroundings. Both articles explain the reasons behind the naming of the city. The city can be said to have grown as a religion center. The city was named as Bethlehem as a way of glorifying God. The aim of the city was to be the center of missionary operation in the region. It had the same goals as the gospel itself, reclaiming the wilderness. The foundation stone for the second building was laid by Bishop Nitschmann. This was key to the establishment of the town as the religious center. The growth of town immediately the people settled in the region is another factor that the article emphasizes. The building was a two-story house was vital in the establishment of the town. It remained the house for the clergymen for many years. The church expanded tremendously, and by 1743, the congregation comprised of peoples who were in the settlement in the region (Levering 52). The congregation also received the name â€Å"fishers†, in reference to the bible where Andrew and pete r were called the fishers of men. Bethlehem grew to be the center of the economy. The Moravian had successfully introduced the city in their first settlement, and the city followed their beliefs. Many of the white settlers and other and the native Americas joined the church. The article s also explains of how the people arrived in the Jerusalem. The earliest people arrived in this place as missionaries, but the subsequent groups came at Bethlehem because of their own individual reasons.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

BRAND LOYALTY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BRAND LOYALTY - Essay Example lty has five advantages; 1-profit, 2-reduction of new customer aquistion costs, 3-word of mouth helps marketing, 4-customer willingness to pay higher prices, and 5-higher Brand Loyalty results in higher market shares. The importance of Brand Loyalty are the same as the advantages. Brand Loyalty reduces price sensitivity for the consumer. If a consumer trusts a Brand, they are willing to pay more for a product. Loyal consumers will also recommend Brands to other people saving marketing costs. Brand Loyalty increases profits, while providing competitive advantages toward successful brands. Brand Loyalty inspires trust in consumers, raises market shares, and increases profits for the company marketing the Brand. Brand Loyalty does not have a set measureablity. A few vairables to measure Brand Loyalty are brand preference and attitude toward the brand. Different Brand manufacturers use different measurements. The measurement of Brand Loyalty is important because managers must cope with the disloyalty among customers and predict Brand Loyalty. There are six strategic Branding decisions corporations must make; 1-Brand context, 2-Brand construction, 3-Brand confirmation, 4-Brand consistency, 5-Brand continuity, and 6-Brand conditioning. After establishing these six strategic Branding decisions, Long Term strategic advantages for building Brand Loyalty are 1-improvement on return of all investment made in the brand, 2-maximising Brand growth potential, and 3-protecting the brand against consumer â€Å"disloyalty† triggers. There are four â€Å"disloyalty† triggers; 1-peer recommendations to try different Brands, 2-new products, 3- perceived shift in price-value relationship of the Brand/competitive Brand, 4-strong competition advertising. Long term strategic disadvantages include a lack of understanding of what the Brand stands for, inadequate funding/research, and private label threats. Short Term Branding challenges are 1-senior managements short-term focus

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Organizational Change and Innovation Research Paper

Organizational Change and Innovation - Research Paper Example It is an undisputed fact that organizations must innovate in order to benefit from new technologies and resources to stay ahead of their competitors. Innovation, therefore, is viewed as both an ends and a means of securing competitive advantage. Organizational innovation has, therefore, been defined as the process whereby organizations engage in new product development or new uses of products and services that already exist. Before attempting to analyze the challenges of innovation as a change management process, it is necessary to understand the various types of change. Radical innovation defines the introduction of a completely new product or technology that takes the place of an existing one (Griffin, 2013). Incremental innovation, on the other hand, is modifying an existing product/technology with a newer one (Griffin, 2013). Technical innovation deals with changes in the performance, appearance or other aspects of the product or of the processes through which it is passed (Griff in, 2013). Management innovation refers to changes in organizational structure or managerial processes (Griffin, 2013). Finally, product innovation deals with changes in the product as opposed to process innovation that deals with alterations in the distribution, manufacturing or creation of processes (Griffin, 2013). ... However, various companies have failed to innovate owing to various reasons. Like any other change, innovation too can be met with resistance from within the organization. Furthermore, the lack of a supporting culture and the lack of â€Å"fit† with the external environment often render innovation useless. It is worth noting the cases of companies that failed to innovate successfully because they were unable to adapt themselves to the external environment. Sony is one such company which failed with its â€Å"e-books† reader which lost its battle against Amazon (Viardot, 2011) . It was unable to find solutions to the challenges imposed by the economic and legal environment with respect to the publishers and authors. The company failed to offer a solution to managing and protecting digital rights and was unable to design an effective online store. This is contrary to the success that Amazon had in the succeeding years with its e-book service â€Å"Kindle† which par adoxically was bulkier, larger and had a smaller screen compared to Sony’s Reader. Furthermore, Kindle had limited capabilities in that it was able to source content only from Amazon. Despite these shortcomings, Kindle prospered because Amazon based its value proposition on alignment with the ecosystem. The company, instead of forcing publishers to succumb to the platform, gave them incentives to make them ‘want to’ become a part of a revolutionary milestone (Sadowski, 2013). Compared to Sony, Amazon focused on the bigger picture and even sacrificed its profits to generate volumes. Furthermore, the success of innovations by companies such as Apple have highlighted just how important it is to achieve flexibility with respect to the external environment. The company’s innovation iPod succeeded

Friday, July 26, 2019

Wk 5 Global and US Legislative response to Human Trafficking Essay

Wk 5 Global and US Legislative response to Human Trafficking - Essay Example From this, it is a can be assumed that nearly every country is affected by trafficking, either as a nation of origin, transfer or terminus for victims (George, 2005). This paper will seek to discuss the global and US legislative responses to human trafficking. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) being a custodian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its Protocols helps countries in their struggles to execute the Trafficking in Persons Protocol. UNODC does not only assist countries in drafting legislations and creating comprehensive countywide anti-trafficking policies; but also help with resources to execute them (George, 2005). The Trafficking in Persons Protocol is aimed at providing consensus and consistencies globally on the problem of trafficking of persons. Domestic legislations should be adopted in accord with domestic legal systems in order to give end product to the concepts in the Protocol. Therefore, apart from criminalizing trafficking; efforts to commit trafficking offense, directing others to commit trafficking or participating in trafficking are also considered as criminal acts. In conclusion, it is important to note that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 in the US has played a great role in fighting the vice of human trafficking. This is ascribed to the fact that it has three phases: prevention, protection, and prosecution (George, 2005). This implies that it prevents people from being trafficked, protect those found in transit, and prosecute trafficking

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Hip-hop and the link between industry, media, fans Essay

Hip-hop and the link between industry, media, fans - Essay Example Cultural theory is a branch of knowledge that applies experience based techniques, in a quest to develop theories that give an explanation of different elements of human expression. Human beings use communication techniques to express, emotions, feelings and different states of mind acquired in their daily activities in respect to the environmental set up they are in. The term expressions denote forms of communication that human beings use to pass certain information from one person to another. The existence of these forms of communication forms the base for cultural theory. The need to explain how human beings relate with their environment, adapt to it and communicate their experiences to successful generations’ forms the relevance of cultural theory.Human beings use different forms of expression to communicate formation from one person to another. These forms include language, signs, art, music and dance, and observation. Language is used to communicate information either or ally or through written work. Signs and dances, on the other hand, are used to transmit information through the use of visible sense, where ideas are encoded in gestures, body movements and other forms of physical signs. Art involves the use of carefully developed carvings and drawings to communicate ideas (Giddens 1997). Music is a complex form of communication that carries cultural information usually expressed in a coherent mix of the other forms of communication. Music involves combined use of language, dance, musical instruments, signs and art in a good proportion to communicate information from one person to another. All those music elements determine its variation. Music is a cultural phenomenon and can only be understood from a well organised study of cultural elements that build it. Music is also made of key components which include industry, genre formation, media, and fans. The interrelationship between the components can be understood through the cultural theory (Negus 1 996). The theory also analyzes the interrelationship that exists between different people to establish the ideologies that govern their interactions. Cultural theory has a number of elements that outlines several ideologies that govern the interrelationship of different parties in the music. Racism is one of the elements of cultural theory that analysis music with the aim of understanding how music industry, genre formation, media, and fans interrelate. Racism refers to prejudice and discrimination of people based on physical differences that exist between them. Members of a community can discriminate other people based on some physical variations such as the skin colour (Longhurst 2007). This discrimination is seen in the behaviour of a particular group toward another. For instance, in United State the white people may disqualify the black people from access public swimming pools for entertainments. For instance, as revealed by the photo below. Such swimming pools may be linked wit h a particular music genre where fans come to swim while enjoying the entertainment from that music genre. Since the black fans may be limited from participating in those entertainments, then it determines the kind of funs to get involved in the music genre. This kind of racism also influences genre formation, for instance, the black people may find that they are being discriminate by the white people, and decide to form music genre that fit their race. Racism creates an ideology that some people are superior to others based on physical differences. The instincts of superiority felt by a tribe create an environment where one tribe is abusive to the other. This result into one tribe exhibiting behaviours that directly disqualifies others in different areas of life. Mase says that racism is evident in music and society in three interdependent dimensions. The first one is the structural where there is social and economic discrimination against

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Written assignment museum visit Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Written museum visit - Assignment Example The artist has used acrylic on canvas. The painting depicts a deserted place that has survived the cruel winters, and the changing colors of skies and melting ice indicate the arrival of spring that shows reclamation. A vivid imagery has been used by Begay, with intense color scheme. Begay a graduate from the Institute of American Indian Art (IAIA) started his career as a professional painter in 1983. Unlike, most of the graduates from IAIA, his work denounces the Pop style, which is still dominant until today. Navajo history, socio-politics and autobiography are the major subjects that Begay emphasize on; however; his fondness for nature and people must not be underrated. Some critics refer his style to be similar to Social Realism. While comparing Begay’s work with pop artists, there are several dissimilarities within the two art forms. Pop culture began in the middle of twentieth century and flourished rapidly all over the globe. Begay’s contemporary Navajo artists follow pop art quiet strictly. While Begay is inclined towards historical and metaphysical themes, pop art embraces the modern culture. It does not put any questions on fate of material values rather it appreciates, what world has become. Pop artists use flat imagery like the ones in comic or newspapers. The color scheme usually comprises of bright colors. On the other hand looking at the portfolio of Shonto Begay, one can find clear reaction against the popular culture. Meanwhile, some of the art critics in the recent years have claimed that painting is dead, considering the expansion of information technology in relation with multimedia. Begay still holds to the traditional acrylic paints and brush to make his paintings. Instead of following the modern culture, Begay has his own way of demonstrating his thoughts. His work his high on emotional scale, and one can sense his belongingness to his American Indian origin. Therefore his love for nature is directly associated

Identifying complication of drinking cinnamon to induce labor Essay - 1

Identifying complication of drinking cinnamon to induce labor - Essay Example Being a secondary data collection method, it will involve access to articles with related literature and also establishing a strong understanding of the relationship between the use of the cinnamon sticks and the success rate of child birth. Therefore, the major source of the information will be secondary references which will have a strong focus on the development of the literature. Secondary information sources make reference to articles, books, hospital maternal reports and any other related source of information. Matan, et al (2006) argues that cinnamon sticks can be quite risky for pregnant women who use them to induce labor because they create a situation of toxicity from accumulation. This is especially the case when it is used for an extended period without attaining the intended results which might lead to the women developing some serious health problems. These problems might lead to the baby also being put at risk (Shields, P. & Rangarjan, 2013). The risk occurs when high toxicity levels in the mother as a result of high consumption of cinnamon reaches the baby. From the study design, information is collected through a collection of methods which are all secondary sources. In essence, information is collected from as many secondary sources as possible so that what different authors think about the situation is shared. This is a situation, which has to be avoided at all costs, and it requires that expectant mothers desist from using large amounts of cinnamon sticks in trying to induce labor. This study is useful because it shows that despite the common assumption that the use of cinnamon induces labor, there are instances where it does not. An increase in the amount consumed will not therefore help in any way. In fact, it might make the mother to put her baby at risk as acknowledged. When such cases occur, very little that can be done to save it. However, this study fails to show for how long a mother can take cinnamon sticks before it

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Red Cross's Crisis Communications Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Red Cross's Crisis Communications Plan - Essay Example Crisis Communication addresses the process of managing a crisis situation, by roping in measures to counter the ill-effects of the situation. Crisis communication helps in analyzing the detriments and then working on the strengths, while also accentuating the positives. It helps in limiting, restricting and then, countering the negatives achieved during the crisis. Hence, it is a very important function for any organization. This paper is an attempt to analyse the Crisis Communication Strategy for one of the leading stores in Britain---John Lewis. John Lewis the retail store that is one of the most popular ones, in Britain. The store has been functional since 1864 and hence, it carries a legacy, robust management and a favourable position amongst the masses. The retail stores are extremely popular, and has branches in almost every city in the country. John Lewis has an employee base of 60,000 employees and hence, is a huge organization. With the level of popularity and the size of the organization, the stakes are rather high for John Lewis when it comes to handling situations that could be detrimental to its image. Crises situations in the past have occurred. For instance, once there was an instance when fire broke out and the retail company had to handle the situation by developing a good communication plan, to balance and fill in the lacunae. The crisis situation we can take up, is that of a new product launch and its consequent withdrawal. A company invests a large amount of planning, efforts, finance and publicity in the launching of a new product. However, when it is required to be taken off the shelves, it is indeed a crisis situation for the company, since it entails the handling of the stakeholders' interests, besides the financial community and also, the general public who procure a bad image of the company. The situation in John Lewis is the same, and hence, a robust crisis communication plan needs to be chalked out. For this, one must first look at the aims and objectives of the plan: Firstly, the main objective is to reach out to the stake holders, to ensure them that their interests are not at stake and is in the process of betterment. Secondly, it involves reaching out to the masses and delivering the exact scenario, while dispelling myths or apprehensions and ensuring that the company will be back with a bang, with their support. Thirdly, it is to convey to the media, the exact problem, the manner in which it is being solved and how the company is concerned about returning back to the grind, in all positivity. For John Lewis, the policy statement for the addressing of the crisis would be, the revealing of the exact reason behind withdrawal of the product. The product here is a new kitchenware. The appliance is an electrical water heater that can also turn hard water into soft

Monday, July 22, 2019

Carl Jung and His Theories Essay Example for Free

Carl Jung and His Theories Essay Carl Jung’s theories are interesting. He studied the personality as something very important to a personit is embedded within us and is what emerges to the outside world so as to be seen by others. His three principles: opposition, equivalence and entropy is quite great and for me, really describe every humans’ way of interacting with their environment and the way they come to pursue and continue everyday life. I find it true enough that humans have this general life energy (libido) and uses it in everything they do. All of us are rational beings and we always have these drives to get on with things we often feel that need to be done. Through our consciousness and unconsciousness, we are able to get past every obstacle and track our â€Å"missions† in life. Carl Jung explained in his theories that humans do tend to become someone in order to be accepted by other people and to succeed in life. And for me, he is trying to convince all of us that every human, young or old, are born to have visions and views in life, different aspect within us, and a will to be free and be happy—yet all of these are not totally within our reach because of our differences. That’s why Jung, for me, was able to explain why and how people uses different mechanisms to live happily or even just be able to go on with life with his theories. I, as a person, can relate my personality to some of Jung’s theories. I can say that I am an: †¢Introverted feeling type because in this personality type, it is said that one is capable of deep emotions but avoid any outward expression of it. Yes, this describes me because I am the type of person that is strong on the outside yet fragile on the inside. I tend to really suppress all my emotions because I am afraid to be criticized and be rejected by the people around me especially that most of them are stereotypes. †¢Extraverted thinking type because an individual having this type represses one’s feelings and emotions, is objective in all aspects of life, rigid and cold, and scientist. As what I have said earlier, I hide my emotions to avoid criticism. Also, I always have plans in everything I do in order to achieve positive outcomes even in the simplest things I make, thus making me  rigid and cold since in line with achieving in life, I lean on focusing to myself and not with others. †¢Introverted thinking type because this personality type describes the person as intensely concerned with privacy and understanding to oneself rather than other people. I always prioritize privacy and I can’t live without it. I always keep secrets because I don’t trust the people around me that much and I can’t risk my privacy to them†¦ and due to this, I am more understanding to myself than others because my philosophy in life is to make the best out of myself first before others. Some may say that I am selfish and greedy but that’s what I am, I always give myself the most priority I could give. Every person is different and unique. You may find someone who is like you or like the person you know but lying deep within us is someone only us can discover—if we can. We must respect each other in every way because we are made equal and that everyone should be treated in the same way.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Tourism Theories And Practices Tourism Essay

Tourism Theories And Practices Tourism Essay Tourism Theories and Practices What do tourists do and why? Critically discuss Tourism industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing industry and largest employers in the modern world. This sheer vastness of the industry is understood from the fact that the numbers of tourists worldwide are anticipated to be doubled to one billion plus by the end of 2010.(Kamra, p 184) This essay will discuss in brief the different theories of tourism which define tourist behavior, their roles, activities and motivations which in turn influence the industry. Thesis statement: Tourists and their thought process, their behavior and motivations are centrifugal to the concept of tourism. Many scholars have tried to define the typology of the tourists, their classifications in order to understand the concept of tourism. The essay will outline some of the old theories and the modern day approach and why there is a need for more research based studies to exploit the potential of this industry. Meaning of tourism-What is tourism Michel Eyquem De Montaigne said, A man should ever be ready booted to take his journey. Man because of his gregarious nature is bound to travel from one place to another to fulfill his various needs be it social, emotional or physical. Traveling is thus characteristic to human society on the whole. Travel and tourism was traditionally considered as a luxury item. But with the turn of the century, definition of travel and tourism has evolved. Tourism no longer stands for simple traveling or temporary journeys and stays mainly for pleasure, leisure and or recreational purposes or a luxury element. Twentieth century ushered in the paradigm shift in the concept of tourism. In fact it will not be unjustified to say that there has been transition from the 19th and early 20th century concept of tourism as an exercise in leisure and pleasure domain to the concept of tourism as an exercise in business, economics. It is more of a consumer product; tourism industry is a vibrant market where tourism products can be sold now as any other consumer product, consumer here is the tourist. (Kamra, p 157) According to statistics brought out by the statistics of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) in 1994, tourism contributed 12 per cent of the worlds Gross National Product. (Kamra, 12) Tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industry employing hundreds of millions of people worldwide, which explains the reason why the study of the tourism and tourism research has become so important in not only the academic field but also for the economy on the whole. Modern day tourism is much more than simple traveling; it is pure economics, which is determined by theories of demand, and supply, which brings in the question of sustainability. Tourism is no more synonymous to traveling. Today tourism is just like a normal consumer product, which is driven by market dynamics, demand supply, sold through retail outlets. It no longer remains a luxury of the upper class but has become a mass product for the growing consumer market, in this case the growing tourist community. (Swarbrooke and Horner p 4) In fact there has been a combination of factors which have resulted in the proliferation of tourism industry. The prime being increased leisure, higher incomes of burgeoning middle class. One of the main drivers to growth in the coming era would be the growing middle class. The study of tourism theories and practices therefore would mainly revolve around the needs, motivations, role, experiences of the the tourists. What do tourists do and why? The most general classification of tourists is on the basis of the needs of the tourist. This would mainly classify the entire tourist community into two groups-the traveler and the tourist. While the former is mainly conceived as one who would basically travel to understand the place and thus would rather prefer longer trips and would plan it individually. The latter classified, as a tourist in laymans version would be characterized as one with superficial interest. One who would indulge in shorter trips and group tours or charters and would mainly depend on tour agents. But this classification is very vague. Motivations Most of the tourists travel for change of environment because of which new concepts of tourism like eco-tourism, rural tourism have come into existence. Cultural attractions, education, gaining knowledge about new cultures might be other important motivations. For example attraction towards Buddhist culture has made Myanmar and some parts of North East India a major hub for Buddhist tourists from all around the world. People from all around the world travel to these places to get experience the Buddhist spirit. There can be other motivations also like quest for new experience, personal visits etc. Some of the most prevalent theories of destination development and classification of tourists Some scholars have tried to classify the tourist on the basis of their needs, which explains the reason for their travel. For example a tourist can be classified as explorer, elite, offbeat, unusual, mass or charter on the basis of his/her demand. While an explorer tourist group will want discovery, adventure, exploration, a elite tourist might have a special personally customized tailored trip to any exotic places. Or for example an offbeat tourist might travel to get away from the crowds. The classification according to demand describes the main purpose of travel. There can be a pure mass group also under the demand-based classification where the tourist might prefer normal tour packages and holiday trips to conventional places. Thus classification on the basis of demand to a large extent determines the needs and the activities of the tourists. There can also be classification on the basis of the meaning and requirement, where tourists might travel for the sake of simple recreation, diversion, experiential, experimental reasons. There can be also motivational based classification. Understanding the motive behind traveling might help to predict consumer psyche. An American researcher named Plog (Mason 26) put forth his theory based on the psychology of tourists and these were published in 1973. Plogs theory was based on a case study conducted on New York residents and their attitudes to travel. Plogs discussed the tourist behavior and motivations based on the psychology of the tourists. Thus there are two types of tourists, the allo-centric and psycho-centric types of tourist. He argued that there are particular psychological types who do not like unfamiliar environments or cultures, so when they select a holiday they will seek the familiar regions than unfamiliar remote regions (these he termed psycho-centric). Plog further added that there are still some groups in society who will be prepared to risk a far more uncertain holiday destination. These tourists will search for strange or unfamiliar and these he termed allo-centric. While the psycho-centric would not travel far from the local environment the allo-centric would travel long distances to unfamiliar locations. He concluded that the majority of the tourists were neither fully psycho- centric nor fully allo-centric. Rather most of the tourists were located in the center point between the two extremes of psycho-centric and allo-centric.And that majority of the tourists would seek the familiar and prefer not to travel great distances to get there. An important point that emerged from the destination development of Plogs theory is that different tourists destinations are attractive to different types of tourists based on the kind of traveler they are, psycho or allo-centric and that majority of the tourists will prefer to travel for short distances than longer ones to go for holidays. Thus it suggests that the tourist destinations in most of the developed countries which are in close proximity to major population areas, busy areas, markets, residential areas are likely to be developed and grow more quickly than those in the distant remote areas. However, in actual practice, sometimes this theory may also prove wrong. On the contrary many of the remote areas are now getting faster developed than those near the major population areas. While Plogs theory was based more on the psychological part of tourists, Erik Cohens theory relate to the behavior of the tourists. Erik Cohen who developed a classification of tourists where there was a four chief classification. First was the organized mass tourists who travel in groups, who prefer packaged holiday (travel, accommodation, food etc.) usually arranged by a travel agent. The second type was the individual mass tourists who use the same facilities as the organized mass tourists, but the difference lies only in decision making. This group makes more individual based decisions about their activity and trip. There are also the explorers and the drifters. While explorers would most often arrange their own trips, meet and interact with the locals drifters avoid all contact with other tourists and leave with the locals. This classification of tourists lives longer than the other groups. If both the above mentioned tourist theories which basically delve into the characteristics of human behavioral aspects are combined then we would see that majority of Cohens mass tourist and independent mass tourists would converge with Plogs psycho-centric tourists. Later in the mid 1970s, Doxey proposed the Irritation Index or the Irridex. The Irridex was based on the relationship between the tourists and the locals. The fundamental idea as it is evident from the name of the index itself is that over a time period as the number of tourist increase in a particular area, a greater irritation and hatred would build up amongst the locals towards the tourists. So, over the time as the locals gets more irritant with the visitors and become hostile, the number of visitors might actually decline or might not continue to grow at the same rate as previously. But the problem with most of these theories was that most of them were not based on proper field research but on discussions. Butlers Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC) (Mason, 33) model on tourism which is still the most widely accepted and important theory deals with a particular destination, his theory explains how a destination emerge as a tourist destination after several stages. Butler suggested a model where a tourism destination develops over time as a result of several factors. Destination is a very important element in tourism. A destination is defined most widely as a product is marketed to its consumers. And like all other products, tourist destinations also have a life cycle. Butler proposed a model for tourism area life cycle in which he showed how a destination begins as a relatively unknown place and visitors first come in small fractions because of lack of access, facilities and local knowledge (Miller and Galluci, 2004) The key point in Butlers model was that planning and proper remedial action by the tourists can help arrest the decline in resorts and tourism infrastructure. One of the major challenges that the World Tourism Organization made in its Global Forecasts for the year 2000 and beyond is the issue of sustainability, which relates to the absorptive capacity of an economy with respect to tourism. This does not refer to the physical capacity alone but also to the capacity of a particular area to provide tourism infrastructure, pool in investments, manpower, and natural resources. While manpower would not be a constraint, other natural resources might be. The theory of sustainable tourism thus off late has emerged of greater relevance, which is necessary to promote environmental awareness and boost tourism industry on the whole. Sustainable tourism in a nutshell can be explained as a means by which tourist growth is achieved as well as environment and earths scarce resources are preserved. Apart from the environment issue another burning issue, which might emerge as an impediment is lack of trained skilled workforce to deliver value additions. In conclusion it can be said that although several tourism theories have been put forth by several scholars to determine the roles and activities, the characteristics of tourists to boost the industry. There is a general lack of awareness about these theories amidst the policy makers. Tourism industry is still one of those industries, which is regulated by government administration. There are wide varieties of conceptual and theoretical approaches to tourism, which have to be tested in reality. This apart there is a further need for more field studies and employment of professionals in conducting the research, which will help achieve greater theoretical orientation and practical application. The tourism industry has been growing at a phenomenal rate for the last fifty year especially, after the Second World War. The recession has had an effect on the industry, but the numbers of tourists worldwide are anticipated to be doubled to one billion plus by the end of 2010. Keeping in tune with the changing times consumer demands will also change, more classifications based on growing needs of tourists might emerge. What can be the cultural and social impact of tourism development Researchers have identified a whole gamut of positive impacts of tourism development on societies. For example the direct outcomes of tourism development would be the modification of the internal structure of the community, increasing employment opportunities of the local residents, social change, economic affluence, improvement of the quality of life through infrastructure development. Similarly the interaction between the host and tourist increases tolerance and communication skills etc. On the cultural side the arts, crafts and culture of the local area might be revived. Researchers have also identified several cons like deployment of natural resources, increased pressure on existing infrastructure, commodification of culture and its negative effects etc (Beeton 18) Thus it can be seen in the essay how tourist behavioral needs, motivations, actions directly and indirectly affect tourism development in a place. Only right kind of practices would be able to give the necessary boost to this industry, which alone will contribute the largest chunk in global trade. Understanding the needs and motivations of the tourists will help boost tourism industry manifolds. What is required is the right approach. Tourists behavior research in tourism has to be based on motivations, typologies, destination choices and the decision process. While this is good some scholars criticize it as stereotypical and generalized which might not be the same in reality. The gap between the theories and the reality can be bridged through research and constant study of tourist behavior. References K Kamra 1997, Tourism: Theory, Planning and Practice, Second Edition-2008 Peter Mason, Tourism Impacts, Planning and Management Online book version), Second edition- 2008,   Mason, P. Cheyne, J. (2000). Residents Attitudes to Proposed Tourism Development, Annals of Tourism Research. Peter Mason, Tourism Impacts, Planning and Management Second Edition Abraham Pizam, Yoel Mansfeld, Consumer behaviour in travel and tourism Softcover edition published 2000 John Swarbrooke, Susan Horner, 2007, Consumer behaviour in tourism, Edition: 2, p 4, 428 pages Sue Beeton 2006,   Community Development through Tourism., p 18.  

Creativity In The Early Years

Creativity In The Early Years Creativity in an early years setting is difficult to define, although definitions have been provided on the basis of the attempting to define the process of creativity, the product of a persons creativity or the personal attributes that contribute to creativity. Creativity has, for example, been defined as, a novel and appropriate response to an open-ended task (Amabile and Hennessey, 1992) or as very much a processà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦often with no clearly identifiable outcomes or productà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(allowing children the scope) to explore new possibilities and create new and exciting connections between people, places and thingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to discover meanings in their world (Department for Children, School and Families, 2007). I believe, from my personal point of view, that creativity is actually a mixture of all three of these perspectives: people who have certain attributes are more likely to be able to think, and respond, creatively to certain situations and tasks, via certain processes than people who lack these attributes. Creativity, however, is more than the possession of certain attributes and is certainly not linked to intelligence: it is a factor that individuals can bring to all aspects of their lives, in terms of solving problems in all aspects of their lives in terms of approaching tasks in a creative manner in order to find creative solutions to these tasks, be these artistic endeavors or tasks related to music, mathematics or science. As the Department for Children, School and Families (2007) explain, creativity can transform understanding by fostering critical thinking, allowing children to review, reinvent and make new meanings for themselves. Creativity thus understood defines all aspects of a childs school life, not only traditionally artistic endeavors but also all other disciplines such as mathematics and the sciences: creatively thinking about numbers, for example, can lead children to understand the beauty of mathematics and the fascinating world of physics, which can open their minds to new worlds and new possibilities. Teaching mathematics by rote, seeking only the right answers to set questions will only lead children to hate mathematics classes and to view mathematics as an abstracted idea that is not useful to them, practically, in their lives. Creativity, in this sense, then, can be fostered by encouraging children to explore their surroundings, allowing them to seek their own questions about their surroundings and helping them to arrive at interesting answers for their questions, where interesting answers can be understood as answers that will satisfy them and lead them to further questions. Guiding childrens learning in this manner can encourage creative thinking, giving power to childrens ideas and thoughts, allowing them to creatively solve problems. Allowing children to enjoy the process of thinking, of learning, of researching, can embody creativity in them, in terms of allowing them to develop their own creative responses to their learning experiences and their own creative ways of understanding the world around them. As Amabile and Hennessey (1992) argue, people will be most creative when they feel motivated primarily by the interest, enjoyment, satisfaction and challenges of the work itself rather than by external pressures with such self-directed motivation leading to higher incidences of creativity and self-determined competence. Self-determination, as Amabile and Hennessey (1992) argue, is central to the development of meaningful creativity, i.e., creative thinking that can have real meaning in the lives of children, allowing them to produce creative solutions to all problems they encounter. Creativity can only be fostered, and used in practice to develop meaningful ways of thinking, when three components are present: domain-relevant skills (such as knowledge, experience and talent in a particular domain); creativity-relevant skills (such as independent, flexible, risk-oriented thinking); and task motivation (with intrinsic, not extrinsic motivation being more likely to lead to creative thin king) (Amabile and Hennessey, 1992). As Duffy (2006) argues, the promotion of open-ended thinking, via the use of open-ended activities, can encourage creativity in young children, encouraging the development of creative solutions via experimentation, exploration, discovery and invention. This encouragement of open-ended thinking, argues Duffy (2006) makes learning more meaningful to young children, allowing them, as it does, the scope to develop their own thoughts about themselves, their environment and their relationships, allowing them to develop their own creative responses to the questions that arise for them, from this understanding. Creativity can, thus, argues Duffy (2006) be encouraged and can, through this encouragement, be learned, with its ramifications, as Craft (2002) argues, being lifewide, equipping young children with the tools they need to develop and maintain a positive, open-minded approach to learning. As Prentice (2000) argues, it can be difficult, within the structure of early years education, with its curriculum and its goals that have to be attained, to encourage such creative thinking, in terms of not having the space to foster the conditions most likely to promote creative thought and action. In my experience, classrooms are often not conducive to the fostering of creative thinking, rather being geared towards the attainment of curriculum goals, and right answer dominated thinking, i.e., teaching, and learning, aimed solely at getting the right answer, not at teaching, or, rather, engendering, creative thinking processes. My personal view of the topic is that creativity is a fundamentally important skill to teach to young children in an early years setting, in terms of equipping children with the tools they need to approach all of their subsequent learning and to move in to the world, in order to deal, not only with their academic work, but with all the situations that their life might present to them. Creative thinking, the creative invention of solutions to problems, can better help children to face not only their academic work but also their lives, allowing them to deal creatively with problems they might encounter, equipping them with the tools they need to move positively through their lives. Conclusion Creativity is fundamentally important in the early years setting, equipping children with a whole way of viewing, exploring and understanding their world, allowing them to explore new possibilities in the ways in which they learn. The importance of creativity in the early years setting cannot be underestimated and, in my personal view, more should be done to foster creativity in young children. Although the Early Years Foundation curriculum highlights that childrens creativity must be extended by the provision of support for their curiosity, exploration and playà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and (children) must be provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, creativity, ideas and feelings (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2009), recent research, as highlighted in this essay has shown that the forging lifelong, lifewide, creativity in children is a more intrinsic, more involved, more holistic process than simply providing children the opportunity to learn through pla y.