The Patient and Surgeon benefits of laparoscopic gastro-intestinal Research Proposal

The Patient and Surgeon benefits of laparoscopic gastro-intestinal surgery as compared to open surgery and it's implications to nurses - Research Proposal Example Current medicine and surgical practices have now leaned towards close laparoscopy-guided GIT surgeries. The benefits of this surgery for patients and surgeons have not been fully established. This paper is an attempt towards establishing evidence-based proof to support the best type of surgery for GIT procedures. Laparoscopic GIT surgeries are â€Å"minimally invasive procedures commonly used to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract† (Medicine.net, 2009). This type of surgery is usually carried out without the usual incision down the center of the stomach; instead, keyhole incisions are made in the abdomen through which the scope and small surgical instruments are inserted. This laparoscopic surgery is often used to treat conditions like Crohn’s disease, colorectal cancer, diverticulitis, familial polyposis, bowel incontinence, rectal prolapse, ulcerative colitis, and colon polyps (Medicine.net., 2009). Kumar and Bellamy (2007) discuss that this type of surgery slowly gained popularity since its inception in the 1980s. Modlin, Begos, and Ballantyne (1996) also document that early attempts on the use of this type of surgery were first seen through Hippocrates’s primitive anoscope which he used to examine hemorrhoids. Other attempts that followed basically used natu ral light source in order to illuminate their attempts at close surgeries. Illumination through reflected sunlight, candles , and paraffin lamps were used in the early 1800s by physicians in more early attempts at minimally-invasive surgery (Berci, as cited by Modlin, Begos, and Ballantyne, 1996). In 1901, Kelling used the cystoscope in order to look into the abdomen of a dog. Then, in 1910, Jacobeus used the first human laparoscopy in order to investigate ascites. Other attempts in the use of the laparoscopy followed but were hampered by limited technology. In the late 1920s, Kalk suggested the use of a second puncture site in order to establish a

Just introduction and conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Just introduction and conclusion - Essay Example The paper discusses in detail the different strategies that can be implemented in order to design the timer for the above mentioned company. The paper also seeks to answer the questions related to the components needed to design, implement, and a test a timer for a company. The main aim of the report was to come up with question list following the inquiry from the client. The report also aims at improving the interpretation of the needs of customers and taking the necessary actions. Additionally, the paper also helps to gain the relevant experience to come up a preliminary product specification(Chou and Hsiao, 2005). ABC Limited is one of the leading companies in manufacturing company. Based on the company’s inquiry, the report will provide some of the electronic timer quotations. The electronic timer will be used to control the chemical processes in the company. To perform this, the more information was gathered from the client and recorded directly to the logbook. When R1 was connected the Vb total was found to be 20mV while the Vb for the alternating current was found to be 40mV. The main function of R1 was to reduce the Direct Current, which was placed at the bottom of the transistor. When C1 was disconnected the Vb total came to 24mV while the Alternating current for Vb was recorded at 50mV. The main purpose of the C1 was to add the Direct Current component into the transistor’s bases. In situations when the C1 was absent, the 0.7 Vc threshold needed was subtracted so that the transistor could be turned on. Additionally, in the process of the experiment, R3 was increase to 5.1 kilo ohms  (Xie and Shi, 2010). The function of R3 on this case was to limit the current that went into the base, therefore, reducing the collecting current, which later increased voltage via the collector. One of the limitation that was experienced is that when

How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare: Analysis

How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare: Analysis When Joseph Beuys performed his piece, How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare (November 26, 1965 at Galerie Schmela in Dà ¼sseldorf, Germany), he presented a new way of thinking about the structure and meaning of art. Unlike traditional artists who practiced in painting, drawing, or sculpture, Beuys practiced a then new media of art called Performance Art. Like the name suggests, performance artists did not make objects to be displayed, instead they displayed themselves by creating live presentations.[1] In his performance, Beuys makes his way around a small room while whispering inaudibly to a hare carcass which he carries in his arms. Throughout the piece Beuys would have the hair burrow while holding its ears up with his teeth, he would lie down in the middle of the floor, and pose himself or the hare in different positions around the space. The audience viewed the three-hour long scene through a window of the gallery. Felt was attached to Beuyss left shoe, and steel to his right. The sound of the steel hitting the floor was the only break in the silence of the piece. Honey and gold leaf covered his head and face. Around the room, pictures hung on the walls and a dead fir tree laid on the ground. When the three hours passed, the audience was allowed into the gallery with Beuys sitting in a chair with the hare on his lap, his back facing them (see Figure 1). Every part of Beuyss performance held meaning, both his actions and the specific items he chose. The honey stood for life and the gold leaf stood for wealth. Together they also created a shaman aura for Beuys which connected him to the spiritual. The hare represented death and mortality. The felt personified spiritual warmth, and the steel stood for hard reason and a conductor for invisible energies. The materials themselves were unorthodox and were used to challenge the conventions of art. With How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, Joseph Beuys revolutionized conceptual art. Conceptual art markedly de-emphasized or entirely eliminated a perceptual encounter with unique objects in favor of an engagement with ideas.[2] Beuys had a need to replace conventional art with a more spiritual and natural form of communication.[3] He created art that was supposed to be felt or intuited by a viewer rather than understood intellectually.[4] The concept of spirituality is the foremost subject of How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare. Even though all the afore mentioned items have their own individual meanings, they all contribute to the central demonstration of spiritual importance. An article in Phaidon describes the ending of Beuyss performance as him protectively cradling the deceased hare in a manner  akin to the Madonna in a pietà  .[5] This is a profound comparison. The Madonna in a pietà   is one of the most produced images that we see in the history of art. Before the sixteenth century, the Madonna in a pietà   was seen more than an emoji is seen today. It was the epitome of religion and devotion. In turn, comparing How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare to the Madonna in a pietà   alludes to the notion that Beuyss performance is also the picture of religion and devotion. The hare is the most significant aspect of Beuyss piece. It is seen in many other artworks by Beuys. For Beuys the hare was an integral part of the spiritual message. According to him, [The hare] has a strong affinity to women, to birth and to menstruation, and generally to chemical transformation of blood. Thats what the hare demonstrates to us all when he hollows out his form: the movement of incarnation. The hare incarnates himself into the earth, which is what we human beings can only radically achieve with our thinking: he rubs, pushes, and digs himself into Materia (earth); finally penetrates (hare) its laws, and through this work his thinking is sharpened then transformed, and becomes revolutionary. Even a dead animal preserves more powers of intuition than some human beings with their stubborn rationality. Human thinking was capable of achieving so much, but it could also be intellectualized to a deadly degree, and remain dead and express its deadliness in the political and p edagogical fields.[6] This disdain for rational thinking is why Beuys remained silent in his piece. He wanted the audience to come to the conclusion that How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare is about the spiritual connection between death and humanity and the invisible energies that guide nature and our lives by themselves. Beuys wanted an unspoken connection between him and the audience, the same connection he alluded to in his performance. He did not want to lay the meaning out in a clear and rational form such as the artists of the high renaissance. This was not a piece that the viewer should ponder and try to decipher with their head, instead it was supposed to be felt with as much natural instinct as a hare would use when burrowing and creating a home. WORD COUNT: 835 Figure 1. Joseph Beuys in his final stance of his performance, How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare. He is seen here sitting in his chair with the dead hare cradled in his arms. (November 26, 1965 in Schmela Gallery, Dà ¼sseldorf, Germany) Beuys during his Action How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare (Wie man dem toten Hasen die Bilder erklà ¤rt), November 26, 1965. Schmela Gallery, Dà ¼sseldorf, Germany. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2014/march/03/why-joseph-beuys-and-his-dead-hare-live-on/. Garberich 6 Bibliography Beuys during his Action How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare (Wie man dem toten Hasen die Bilder erklà ¤rt), November 26, 1965. Schmela Gallery, Dà ¼sseldorf, Germany. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2014/march/03/why-joseph-beuys-and-his-dead-hare-live-on/. David Craven. Conceptual art, Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T018962. Davies, Penelope J.E., Walter B. Denny, Frima F. Hofritcher, Joseph F. Jacobs, Ann S. Roberts, and David L. Simon. Jansons History of Art. 8th ed. Vol. 2. Pearson, 2015. Roselee Goldberg and Margaret Barlow, Performance art, Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T066355. Why Joseph Beuys and his Dead Hare Live On, Phaidon. Accessed March 13, 2017. http://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2014/march/03/why-joseph-beuys-and-his-dead-hare-live-on/. [1] Roselee Goldberg and Margaret Barlow, Performance art, Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed March 13, 2017, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T066355. [2] David Craven. Conceptual art, Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed March 13, 2017, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T018962. [3] Davies, Penelope J.E., et al. Jansons History of Art. 8th ed. Vol. 2. Pearson, 2015. [4] Davies, Penelope J.E., et al. Jansons History of Art. 8th ed. Vol. 2. Pearson, 2015. [5] Why Joseph Beuys and his Dead Hare Live On, Phaidon. Accessed March 13, 2017, http://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2014/march/03/why-joseph-beuys-and-his-dead-hare-live-on/. [6] Why Joseph Beuys and his Dead Hare Live On, Phaidon. Accessed March 13, 2017, http://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2014/march/03/why-joseph-beuys-and-his-dead-hare-live-on/.

Edgar Allan Poes The Premature Burial :: essays research papers

The Mind vs. the Undead The Romantic Era was a time when writers wrote with passion in relation to elements of writing such as the fantastic or supernatural, the improbable, the sentimental, and the horrifying. Edgar Allan Poe was one of the many writers who used elements such as these in his writings. Poe was famous for reflecting the dark aspects of his mind in a story, creating detailed imagery intriguing the reader. The fantastic and supernatural elements are expressed in The Premature Burial as impossible and in a sense, horrifying. The idea of people walking after their believed death is very extreme thinking in a world that seems normal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The writing style of Edgar Allan Poe shows the writer to be of a dark nature. In this story, he focuses on his fascination of being buried alive. He quotes, â€Å"To be buried alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these [ghastly] extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality.† page 58 paragraph 3. The dark nature is reflected in this quote, showing the supernatural side of Poe which is reflected in his writing and is also a characteristic of Romanticism. Poe uses much detail, as shown in this passage, â€Å"The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lusterless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity.† page 59 paragraph 2. The descriptive nature of this writing paints a vivid picture that intrigues the reader to use their imagination and visualize the scene present ed in the text. This use of imagery ties with aspects of Romanticism because of the nature of the descriptions Poe uses. Describing the physical features of one who seems dead is a horrifying perspective as not many people thing about the aspects of death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mind is a very powerful tool when it is exploited to think about situations out of the ordinary. Describing in vivid detail the conditions of one after his, her, or its death associates the mind to a world that is filled with horrific elements of a dark nature.

Energy Drink and Alternative Beverages Essay

1. What are the strategically relevant components of the global and U. S. beverage industry macro-environment? How do the economic characteristics of the alternative beverage segment of the industry differ from that of other beverage categories? Explain. SEGMENTATION: The global market for alternative beverages was divided by product type (sports drinks, energy drinks, and vitamin-enhanced beverages) with different demands for each group. Sports drinks accounted for nearly 60% of alternative beverage sales in 2009, while vitamin-enhanced drinks and energy drinks got about 23% and 18% of 2009 alternative beverage sales, respectively, in the US. RIVALRY: The worldwide competition between three major producers (PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Red Bull) made the industry rivalry become global. In U. S. , Pepsico has engulfed almost half or 47. 8% of the market shares last 2009. The only region where Coca-Cola beats Pepsico is in Asia-Pacific. Coca-cola has 13. 7% of the market shares while Pepsico has 12. 4%. Worldwide, Pepsico is still leading among the three with 26. 5% of market shares while Coca-Cola and Red Bull had 11. 5% and 7%, respectively. MARKET SIZE: The global beverage industry’s dollar value for beverages in 2009 was $1,581. 7 billion (458. 4 billion liters); with 48. 2% of industry sales was from carbonated soft drinks, 29. 2% from bottle water, 4. 0% from sports drinks, 1. 6% flavored or enhanced water, and 1. 2% from energy drinks. The dollar value of global market for alternative beverages in the same year was $40. 2 billion (12. 7 billion liters), while the dollar value of the U. S. market for alternative beverages stood at $17 billion (4. 2 billion liters). Meanwhile, in Asia-Pacific region, the dollar value for alternative beverages in 2009 was $12. 7 billion (6. 2 billion liters) and it was $9. 1 billion (1. 6 billion liters) in the European market. MARKET GROWTH: The dollar value of the global beverage industry had grown approximately 2. 6% annually from 2005 to 2009 and was forecasted to grow approximately 2. 3% annually from 2010 to 2014. However, this indicator for the alternative beverage industry was much higher. For example, the dollar value of the global market for alternative beverages grew at a 9. 8% annually from 2005 to 2009, but was expected to slow down to 5. 7% annually from 2010 to 2014. Based on the geographic share of the alternative beverages market, U. S. largely covers 42. 3% of it; while Asia-Pacific, Europe and Americas (excluding U. S. ) only cover 31. 5%, 22. 2% and 4% respectively. US is the country that has strongest growth internationally in terms of alternative beverage sales with a 84. 78% growth between 2005 and 2009; while Europe and Asia-Pacific are 22. 97% and 24. 51%, respectively. However, poor economic conditions in the US in 2008 and 2009 led to a 12. 3% decline in sports drink sales and a 12. 5% decline in flavored and vitamin-enhanced waters sales. It was also the reason why energy drinks sales increased just a little of 0. 2% between those years. 2. What is competition like in the alternative beverage industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? In the beverage industry, competition can be extensive (large scale). There are many substitute beverages from tea,soft drinks,fruit juices, and bottled water. Provided that there is a wide range of substitute beverages, this weakens the competitive power of substitute beverages when there comes a change to consumer preference. Because there is a large purchase for wholesale clubs, grocery stores, and convenience stores ; consumers have significant influence in negotiations for pricing and slotting fees with the producers. Wholesale clubs and the likes find it difficult to represent new brands due to limited shelf space.when products become a household name such as coca cola, red bull, etc already offer the demands of consumers. Coca Cola and PepsiCo are the least vulnerable when it comes to substitute products since they offer a wide range of variety beverages. The strongest competitive force is competitive rivalry within the industry, competition grows stronger by the year. The primary focus on brand image is key to becoming a household name in the industry, Attractive packaging should be developed, New research and product development, Increase of distribution capabilities, Better taste and more variety. The Bargaining power and leverage of suppliers is the weakest competitive force, Consumers tend to buy more alternative products. The threat of new brands varies by market maturity of each alternative beverage category. Competition is strong and will continue on growing every year in the product line. Competition among all brands center mostly on brand image, attractive packaging, new product and research development, sales promotion, better access to shelf space, and strengthening distribution capabilities. Rivals expands their numbers and types of alternative beverages in their product line, the opportunity for low switch cost for consumers gets introduced and sales efforts to establish consumers brand loyalty. 3. How is the market for energy drinks, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced beverages changing? What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those forces individually or collectively make the industry more or less attractive? The market for energy drinks, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced beverages is now changing due to the change in the long-term industry growth rate. Because of the US recession on the entire beverage industry the demand for the alternative beverages was expected to grow worldwide as the purchasing power of the consumers increased. The volume of the alternative beverages offered higher profit margin than those of other beverages. Product innovation, in terms of flavors and formulation, was the most important competitive feature of the alternative beverages. They competed on the basis of differentiation from traditional drinks. This made the industry attractive because of the enhanced look and flavors that the company made. The modernization in marketing and distribution system changed the industry in the way that the beverages may be bought from convenience stores, restaurants, sporting events, delis, concerts, festivals, carnivals and vending machines. The industry was made more attractive because of the famous artists that the companies hire for advertisements. There was also an expansion of target markets, and an increase in new entrants, which made the industry seem appealing to others. The regulations and policies that the government implemented made the industry less attractive due to the products’ faults being exposed to the public. The growing concern of people about health associated with their consumption also made the industry less attractive. For example, caffeine in energy drinks, mixture of alcohol and energy drinks, melatonine hormone in relaxation drinks, and use of Kava and unapproved valerian roots as food additives. The drivers of change, however, will unlikely alter the attractiveness of the alternative beverages for the next years because large producers of this industry would rely on product innovations and acquisitions to increase sales and market shares. But individual and collective effect of industry drivers of change will likely affect the attractiveness of the industry. 4. What does your strategic group map of the energy drinks, sports drink, and vitamin-enhanced beverage industry look like? Which strategic groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions? PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Red Bull GmbH, and Hansen Natural Corporation are strategic groups that are in the best positions because they have already established a market position and they hold most of the market share in the alternative beverage industry. They also account for most of the sales in the industry and they have conquered not just US but also Europe and some parts of Asia and America. Living Essentials, Vacation in a Bottle, Dream Water or Drank are strategic groups that are in the worst positions. This is due to the small number of consumers that they have and policies implemented by the government hinder their expansion. Though Living Essentials lead the development of energy drinks, they did not expanded their market thus other companies took advantage of the opportunity. 5. What key factors determine the success of alternative beverage producers? The four key factors that determine the success of alternative beverage producers: (1) access to distribution, (2) innovating product skills, (3) image, and (4) sufficient sales volume. The first one is access to distribution, which is regarded as the most important industry success factor due to the fact that most brands of energy drinks/alternative beverages cannot achieve good sales volumes and market shares unless they are widely available in stores, and there are also far too many brands for all to be included on store shelves. Popular brands that enjoyed first mover advantages such as Red Bull and 5-Hour Energy and brands offered by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo were assured of consistent access to distribution. The second factor is innovating product skills. By definition, alternative beverages were different from traditional beverages based upon product innovation. Moreover, continuing product innovations were essential to developing additional volume gains from line extensions and the entry into new categories like energy shots. The third one is image, which was also a critical factor in choosing a brand of customers. The image presented by the product’s name and emphasized in advertisements, endorsements, and promotions created demand for one brand over another. Brand image was also a result of labels and packaging that alternative beverage consumer found appealing. Small producers with poor image building capabilities found it difficult to compete in the industry unless the product enjoyed a first-mover advantage similar to that achieved by 5-Hour Energy. Finally, sufficient sales volume to achieve scale economies in marketing expenditures is also an important driver. Successful alternative beverage producers were required to have sufficient sales volumes to keep marketing expenses at an acceptable cost per unit basis. 6. What recommendations would you make to Coca-Cola to improve its competitiveness in the global alternative beverage industry? to PepsiCo? to Red Bull GmbH? Coca Cola * Increase alternative beverage drink brand awareness in Europe and capture its market * Grow infrastructure in Africa. * Continue to budget and implement their â€Å"2020 vision† corporate strategy * Enhance product line and innovation PepsiCo * Focus on current energy drink line * Continue to promote their tea and juice-energy lines * Offer different sized cans for current energy drink lines of No fear and Amp * Proceed to distribute Rockstar energy drinks and strengthen their alliance with them RedBull * Expand product line while focusing on market penetration in South America * Branch out with additional lines of alternative beverages * Continue to promote brand.

A Good Supervisor

What makes a good supervisor? Do the roles they play have something to do with it? Is it the responsibilities they play that make them that way? Or is it really their own values that make them be?As these questions came across to my mind, I stop for awhile and ponder, trying to figure out things. I strongly believe that there are many traits to be considered in order to make the leader a good supervisor but then, I will only give three desirable and most significant traits that I consider that make a leader a good supervisor.The heart of this study is to provide three reasons or traits of a good supervisor and explain each trait.A good supervisor must be†¦CoachI do believe that a good supervisor must be a good coach. This trait must be possessed in every supervisor. A good supervisor sees the importance on coaching his/her employees. Good coaching includes working with your employees in order to set up and create appropriate action plans, time lines and objectives.A good supervi sor must know how to delegate and at the same time gives continuing and constant support and guidance to his employees as they finished their action plans. He is occasionally challenged by drawing a fine line as supervisor and a confidant of the employees to avoid over familiarity.Positive ThinkerA good leader always noted as a positive thinker. He ponders of how things must be done or why not things cannot be done. A good leader must be open minded to new ideas and ideologies, training opportunities and changes, optimistic and always face the future with confidence, and his confidence can influence his employees.A good supervisor is passionate towards his work and the role he plays. If a supervisor wants to lead his employees, he must begin to practice the art of positive thinking now.Advocate for EmployeeA good supervisor is frequently accountable and in authority to stand for the requests of the employees and to management, together with standing for the case of the employees for deserving a reward. An example for this is, if a certain worker or an employee is worthy to be promoted, the supervisor frequently must support and defend the case for promotion to the manager of the supervisor, too. It is not uncommon for workers to occasionally seeing the supervisor as part of the management and at the same time considering the supervisor as a confidant.ConclusionA good supervisor is typically having specific and positive traits. The traits mentioned above can really help the supervisor becomes closer to his employees and be their confidant. As a whole, dealing with the employees with love and concern makes a leader a good supervisor. It is not all about being a superior to your subordinates but a good friend as well to your employees.

What to Do if Your Laptop is Stolen in College

What to Do if Your Laptop is Stolen in College College is difficult enough without having to worry about things like computer theft. But if the unthinkable happens and someone does walk off with your computer, an already-busy college life can suddenly get a lot more difficult. So just what are your options? Find an Immediate, Short-term Solution Its not like a computer theft ever really happens at a good time, and yet a stolen laptop does seem to occur during the worst parts of the semester. Consequently, dont make things even more challenging for yourself by not setting up some kind of alternative solution as soon as possible. Ask if you can borrow your friends laptop for a little while; see where the nearest computer lab is (as well as what hours its open); check with campus offices, like the IT department, to see if they have any loaner laptops for students whove lost their computers or had them stolen. Let Your Professors and TAs Know If you have a major assignment, midterm, or exam coming up, zip a quick email to your professor (or, better yet, talk to them in person). Keep the drama to a minimum; youre just letting them know, not using the opportunity to present excuses. It takes less than a minute to send an email saying I just wanted to let you know my laptop was stolen yesterday. While Im working to find another solution, I did want to let you know that Im doing my best to stay on schedule with assignments and other computer-based work. Even if you dont end up needing an extension, its smart to be proactive in a situation where you might need a little help. Talk to the Campus or City Police If someone ran off with your laptop, they obviously took something of high value. Even if you think you have a 0% chance of getting your computer back, its still important to file some kind of report. You might need to show something to your professor, for example, to demonstrate that you really did lose all of your work 2 days before your final paper was due. If you or your parents file an insurance claim, you might also need proof of the theft; a police report can help substantiate your loss. Additionally, if your laptop is eventually found, having something official on file can help you get it back. Let the Staff Know If your laptop disappeared in a place like your residence hall, the campus coffee shop, or the library, let the staff know. You might feel like a dummy for leaving your computer unattended while you went to the bathroom or raided the vending machine, but you still should alert the staff. If your laptop was stolen off campus, let the staff of the store or facility know as well. Look Into Replacement Options True, youll probably need a new laptop of some sort. But before rushing out to buy one, see if the theft is covered under any kind of insurance policy. Did you purchase renters insurance, for example, when you moved into your off-campus apartment? Or does your parents homeowners policy cover theft in your residence hall? A few quick phone calls can possibly save you a lot of cash, so make the effort to investigate any insurance coverage you might have but didnt think about until now. Figure Out What Data Went Missing You might be so focused on losing things for your classes like your midterm papers and research that you forget about everything else on your machine. Identity theft, however, may be a major threat for you now. Did you have any banking information saved? What about automatic logins for things like email accounts, social networks, and online stores? If theres even the slightest hint that someone might have access to your personal data, call your bank(s) right away and place a fraud alert on your credit report. Find Another Long-term Solution Unfortunately, getting another laptop right away might not be a realistic option for you, logistically or financially. If youre now stuck without your own computer, spend some time trying to find a reasonable long-term solution. (Note: Always planning on borrowing your roommates computer will get really tricky really quickly.) Check out the computer labs on your campus; make sure you know their hours and plan in advance. See if and how you can reserve a computer in the library. Check with your campus IT department to see if they offer loaner machines or if, by chance, they have an old machine you can rent or borrow for the rest of the semester. Although theres nothing like having your old laptop back, with a little creative work you can find a solution that can carry you through.

Free Essays on The Culture Of Different Times

The Culture of Different Times The legendary story of â€Å"Beowulf† is a classic example of a heroic warrior class figure in an Old English/Anglo Saxon society. He is tough and brutal, noble and heroic. Reading â€Å"Beowulf,† we get a sense of a less human society where fighting for ones honor is what matters the most. On the flip side of that, we see a sort of revolution, a progression towards the â€Å"is† world, in literature. One example of this is â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† by Geoffrey Chaucer. The culture presented in the â€Å"Canterbury Tales† differs from that presented in â€Å"Beowulf† because society has become more humanistic. These people don’t want to start a war, the want to stay alive, start families and raise children. In Chaucer’s time men took pilgrimages, in the time of Beowulf, they fought war. Anglo Saxon culture was a culture of honor, brutality and war. For example, Beowulf was a man who fought because he had to weather it is for his own survival, the survival of his tribe or the strength of his country. Although he knew he was mortal, he fought and fought as if he were sub human. Men with that type of mentality did not speak of their feelings of love or even the feeling of emotional pain unless it was pain caused in a battle, and only that pain was worth mention. This type of behavior was typical of Anglo Saxon times in that men fought till the bitter end and lived in a shame filled culture unlike the guilt culture that became of the Medieval Ages. Medieval culture was quite different compared to Anglo Saxon culture. People in Medieval times seemed more human, and more willing to share their feelings. From reading literature from that time we gain insight into the lives of characters, which in turn allow us to gain insight into the culture of the middle ages. For example, the characters in Chaucer’s â€Å"Canterbury Tales† call to our attention the fact that something has changed. Fighting was not t... Free Essays on The Culture Of Different Times Free Essays on The Culture Of Different Times The Culture of Different Times The legendary story of â€Å"Beowulf† is a classic example of a heroic warrior class figure in an Old English/Anglo Saxon society. He is tough and brutal, noble and heroic. Reading â€Å"Beowulf,† we get a sense of a less human society where fighting for ones honor is what matters the most. On the flip side of that, we see a sort of revolution, a progression towards the â€Å"is† world, in literature. One example of this is â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† by Geoffrey Chaucer. The culture presented in the â€Å"Canterbury Tales† differs from that presented in â€Å"Beowulf† because society has become more humanistic. These people don’t want to start a war, the want to stay alive, start families and raise children. In Chaucer’s time men took pilgrimages, in the time of Beowulf, they fought war. Anglo Saxon culture was a culture of honor, brutality and war. For example, Beowulf was a man who fought because he had to weather it is for his own survival, the survival of his tribe or the strength of his country. Although he knew he was mortal, he fought and fought as if he were sub human. Men with that type of mentality did not speak of their feelings of love or even the feeling of emotional pain unless it was pain caused in a battle, and only that pain was worth mention. This type of behavior was typical of Anglo Saxon times in that men fought till the bitter end and lived in a shame filled culture unlike the guilt culture that became of the Medieval Ages. Medieval culture was quite different compared to Anglo Saxon culture. People in Medieval times seemed more human, and more willing to share their feelings. From reading literature from that time we gain insight into the lives of characters, which in turn allow us to gain insight into the culture of the middle ages. For example, the characters in Chaucer’s â€Å"Canterbury Tales† call to our attention the fact that something has changed. Fighting was not t...

Blacks Of The Bible Essay Research Paper

Blacks Of The Bible Essay, Research Paper Blacks of the Bible Any effort to set up a universally recognized statement as to the presence of inkinesss in the Old Testament would be futile for several grounds. First, current definitions of a black or Negro individual may differ greatly dependent on the context of their use, and hence any survey aimed to demo the presence of inkinesss in the Bible would be limited to the definition used by either the writer or the reader of such a survey. Besides, the construct of race defined on a footing of skin colour entirely has been the comparatively immature creative activity of the Euro-centric western universe, station seventeenth century. Due to this fact, it is sometimes hard to find clearly the race of assorted peoples or individuals in the Bible ; the people of scriptural times do non portion the same construct of race that we carry today. In fact the Hebrew peoples themselves seem non to be of a pure racial strain of any colour, but instead the family tree of the Hebrew people, as will be shown subsequently, seems to be scattered with interracial matrimonies and people of most all races including the Negro race. Therefore, it is non my effort with this essay to show an thorough or important history of all the black peoples and individuals in the Old Testament. Rather it was my hope to get down to research the significance people of the Negro race clasp in these ancient texts, to happen out the function that these people held in the rise and autumn of the Hebrew state, and the portion that was played by Negroes in the working out of God? s will for his people. The history that I will supply is based most mostly on similar surveies presented by Afro-american scriptural bookmans Cain Hope Felder and Charles B. Copher. However, I have non taken the words of these work forces without a grain of salt, and I was certain to read their survey with their book in one manus and the Bible in the other. What I found was that people of dark tegument played an of import function in merely about every coevals dating about back to God? s creative activity of adult male. I had expected to happen a few scattered mentions to African peoples or a few random histories of persons who had traveled from the African continent, but my survey revealed that people of dark tegument, who really good may be considered black by today? s racial criterions, were found scattered about the states of the ancient universe. Beginnings of the Negro Race One of the first or most obvious inquiries that may be asked when get downing to look for the presence of inkinesss in the Old Testament is with respect to the beginning of dark skinned races. A logical topographic point to get down this hunt may be in the tabular array of states presented in Genesis 10:1-14 and once more listed in 1 Histories 1:8-16. This list begins with Noah and histories for the dispersing of his boies to get down repopulating the Earth after the great inundation history in Genesis. In this tabular array of states we find that two of the named boies of Ham are known dark skinned races. These being the posterities of Cush and the posterities of Canaan. The most normally accepted ground for the sudden visual aspect dark tegument within the family tree is related to the expletive Noah set upon Ham in Genesis 9:25-27. Although non explicitly stated in the text, it is by and large accepted that Ham? s tegument was turned dark as a consequence of this expletive, and hi s posterities were so destined to transport the same grade. There are, nevertheless, other hypotheses for the beginning of the black races. The first of these theories, expressed in antediluvian Babylonian myth, suggests that Ham defiled himself in a sexual act with the Canis familiaris while on the Ark. For this act of befoulment, expletives were placed on both the Canis familiaris and Ham. Ham? s expletive was that he and his posterities would be black-skinned. The following theory suggests that the Negro race really began back with Adam and Eve? s foremost boy Cain, who was turned black by the ashes of his inappropriate offering to God. The theory that Cain was in fact the male parent of the Negro race was a slightly prevailing idea among Europeans back every bit far as the twelfth century, and perchance farther as Cain? s posterities are depicted as black skinned in the narrative of Beowulf. However, this theory has merely been made philosophy in the Mormon church. This theory is closely tied to the narrative of Ham, by proposing that Ham took a descendent of Cain as his married woman, thereby bring forthing dark skinned offspring in Cush and Canaan. Still others theorize that the tabular array of states shown in Genesis and 1 Corinthians is a list of states that is merely inclusive of the states within the range of cognition of the writer, and in fact all of the races listed there are Caucasoid races. Among those excluded from this list would be the Indians, Chinese, Mongolians, Malaysians, and the Negroes. The theory suggests that there were other races of independent line of descent that were unknown to the writer at the clip of the Hagiographas. It seems that this would be strongly discredited by the established ideal that the great inundation was intended to pass over all people from the Earth, salvage Noah? s household. It would thereby be assumed that all races of the Earth are descendent of Noah. Whatever the account for the beginning of dark skinned races, Negro people clearly have been descendent of Noah? s boy Ham, and it is told in Genesis that Ham? s offspring were those who settled and built such great ancient metropoliss as Babylon, Nineveh, Sodom, and Gomorrah. In the Patriarchal Period Harmonizing to Genesis 11:31 Abraham, so Abram, was born and raised in the metropolis of Ur of the Chaldeans, whose dwellers included many dark skinned people descendant most likely from Babylonian colonists. Included among these people were the Sumarian people who referred to themselves as the # 8220 ; black headed 1s, # 8221 ; indicative of tegument colour non merely black hair. Abram took his married woman Sarai while still populating in Ur. Granted there is no expressed indicant that either Abraham or his married woman was born into a household with Negro heritage, but the great black presence in the part of his household? s beginning surely means that one must at least entertain that possibility. So it would be sensible to believe that the great patriarch himself, the male parent of the Hebrew people, may hold had some black blood in him. Regardless of the presence of Negro blood in Abraham? s line of descent it is surely clear that he had much contact with dark skinned people in the clip that he and Sarah spent in Egypt and Canaan. Both of these countries were settled by the posterities of Ham, and were inhabited most mostly by dark skinned people. Abraham and Sarah took an Egyptian housemaid named Hagar when they headed to Canaan, out of Egypt. It was subsequently through the Egyptian, Hagar, that Abraham bore his first boy Ishmael. Because Ishmael was born outside God? s compact with Abraham, he and his female parent were finally sent off, but they settled in the part merely E of Egypt and it is by and large believed that he took an Egyptian married woman and fathered the Arab race. In Egypt and the Exodus Egypt was a land of people of all colourss, but it has become more and more evident in recent scholarship that the great state of Egypt has been more a derived function of the African states descendant of Cush than of any in-between eastern peoples. In add-on to this, although most Egyptians were non as dark skinned as their Ethiopian neighbours to the South, the huge bulk of Egyptians had adequate black blood in them that they would surely hold been considered Negroes by most any definition used today. This fact is merely reinforced by the observation that the Psalms repeatedly poetically refer to Egypt as # 8220 ; the land of Ham # 8221 ; ( Ps. 78:51, 105:23, 106:22 ) . It must be remembered besides that the Hebrew people lived in bondage in Egypt for over four hundred old ages. Coevals after coevals of Hebrew was born, lived, died and was buried in the land of the Egyptian. During this extended clip period there is indi cation of at least a smattering of Hebrew adult females being taken by Egyptian work forces for a married woman, and one of Pharaoh? s girls, Bithiah, married a Hebrew adult male, and their kids are included among the kins of Judah after the expatriate, in 1 Histories 4:17-18. Through all the coevalss that came and passed while in the land of Egypt it is certain that some of these people came out of the land with a assorted heritage. A perfect illustration of this assorted heritage is in the blood line of Moses. Many of the members of Moses? household bear distinctively Egyptian names, most notably: Aaron, Hophni, Merari, Miriam, Putiel, Phinehas, and even the name of Moses himself. While most of these names may perchance hold been picked by opportunity and non to propose Egyptian, or Negro blood, the name Phinehas stands out as a possible index of the black blood that ran in Moses household. Eleazar, Moses nephew through his brother Aaron, named his first born Phinehas ( Ex. 6:25 ) which literally means # 8220 ; the Nubian # 8221 ; or # 8220 ; the Negro. # 8221 ; In add-on to the possibility of black blood running in Moses? lineage it without a uncertainty ran through his posterities, through his Midian married woman Zipporah. At one point after the flight from Egypt, Aaron and Miriam really spoke unfavourably of Moses and his # 8220 ; Cu*censored*e # 8221 ; married woman, Zipporah ( Num. 12:1 ) . In Israel and Judah Through the clip of the Judges we continue to see the outgrowth of Egyptian heritage in the blood lines of Moses and Aaron. The history of Eli and his two boies, from Aaron? s line, in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2, shows another illustration of Hebrew leaders with distinctively Egyptian names. In fact, Eli? s boies are named Hophni and, interestingly plenty, Phinehas, once more proposing a unequivocal black visual aspect. During the period of the incorporate Israel, there are several mentions to African or Cu*censored*e adult females that occur during Solomon? s reign. First is the history of Solomon? s favourite married woman, and Egyptian adult female. Offered to Solomon as confidence of an confederation with Egypt ( 1 Kgs. 3:1 ) , this nameless married woman was really Pharaoh? s girl. Many suggest that this is the same maiden that is written of in Solomon? s Song of Songs. Although the true individuality of this married woman unknown, other theories associate her with Moses? Cu*censored*e married woman, or suggest that it may hold been Abishag the Shunammite virgin that was brought to King David to soothe him in his old age and who was so inherited by Solomon upon David? s decease. No affair what the existent name of the inaugural written of in Song of Songs, this adult female was most surely dark skinned ( SS 1:5-6 ) . The following history that we find sing a black person during the clip of the incorporate Israel is that history of the Queen of Sheba, given in both 1 Kings 10:1-13 and 1 Chronicles 9:1-12. This queen over a part most likely found in southwest Arabia or Africa was most decidedly of African descent and had heard of Solomon? s great wisdom spoken of in her land. She came to Israel with rather a noteworthy train, genuinely demoing her wealth and power. She spent some clip with King Solomon inquiring him all of the inquiries that had been on her head. There was nil that he could non explicate to her, and she left rather impressed with the male monarch. The visual aspect of this queen is surely important as it relates to the black presence in the bible, as this is the first black adult female shown in a noteworthy place of power, and she is portrayed in a most positive and respectable mode. Through the clip of the Prophetss during the split lands of Judah and Israel, the lone mention to people of a Negro blood outside of the assorted Hebrew race is limited to occupying ground forcess and prognostications sing the autumn of the great African lands of Egypt and Ethiopia. These invasions and prognostications continued after the autumn of Israel, during the staying being of Judah, but there are a few noteworthy references. In the book of Amos the people of Israel are compared to the Cu*censored*es of the Ethiopian imperium. Traditional Euro-centric scholarship has interpreted verse 9:7 to propose that the Lord is looking instead unfavourably upon Israel, comparing them to a distant and detested people. However, it does non take much excavation to recognize that the Ethiopian land was at its prime at the clip when Amos was vaticinating. In the context of the transition, where God is reflecting on all the times that he has blessed Israel and picked her out of the quag, it see ms more appropriate that the mention to the Cu*censored*es is made to connote that God has non left the people and in fact he seems to assure that he bless them in the same mode that he has blessed the Ethiopian imperium of that peculiar dynasty. The book of Zephaniah provides a alone expression at the black presence in the Old Testament, through the suggestion that the writer himself may be dark skinned. The family tree that is given in Zephaniah 1:1 hints his blood line back four coevalss to Hezekiah, most likely the Judean male monarch. The most interesting portion of the family tree is non, nevertheless, the possible relation of the prophesier to Hezekiah, but instead his male parent? s name, Cushi. As is the instance with any scriptural inquiry where there is no expressed mention to the adult male? s race, there are multiple theories that attempt to explicate the name, or the mention, or the inclusion of the family tree in a mode as to wipe out the presence of black blood in one of the writers of the Bible. However, it seems that we have already shown that the Hebrew race was a assorted race, and with the full cognition of the scriptural tradition of names keeping important significance, it seems no stretch of the imagin ativeness to propose that Cushi was in fact a native Judean, but more than that, he was a most likely a Judean who besides happened to be a black adult male. Knowing that Zephaniah was born to Cushi, it seems merely logical that he excessively would be a native black Judean adult male, who the Lord spoke through as one of the minor Prophetss. After the autumn of Judah, there seem to be no more outstanding figures spoken of who had a definite black heritage, but through the expatriate the prognostications abound refering Egypt and Ethiopia? s autumn and ulterior reemergence. However, it may be worthy to observe that this period of expatriate took topographic point in Babylonia, whose native people were straight descendant of Cush. What Does it Mean?# 8220 ; It appears in literature from many periods of Old Testament history: in historical histories and prophetic prophets ; in Psalms and in the literature of love, the Song of Songs. From slaves to swayers, from tribunal functionaries to writers who wrote parts of the Old Testament itself, from lawmakers to Prophetss, black peoples and their lands and single black individuals appear legion times. In the venas of the Hebrew-Isrealite-Judahite-Jewish people flowed black blood. # 8221 ; This quotation mark Charles B. Copher used to shut his survey on the presence of the black/Negro in the Old Testament, and it seems the most appropriate manner to shut this essay every bit good. The black adult male and the black adult female played a critical function in the narrative of God? s people. The Negro was a portion of the narrative non merely as a friend at times or enemies at others, break ones back one coevals and maestro the following, but the black races besides fre quently played the portion of brother and sister, male parent and female parent, boy and girl. The narrative of the Hebrew is non the narrative of a purely Caucasic race that lived contemning his distant Negro neighbours. Rather the narrative of the Hebrew is the narrative of a assorted race of people, non concerned with a colour defined race, but unified under a common God through good times and bad, whether slave or free. Bibliography Felder, Cain Hope. Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, MN. 1991 The Holy Bible: New International Version. Broadman A ; Holman Publishers: Nashville, TN. 1986 New Bible Dictionary: Third Edition. Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester, England. 1996 32d

Economic growth in eygpt Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic growth in eygpt - Assignment Example Egypt’s economic growth still faces numerous risks with high political, economic, and security risks. The country also registers a significant tax and oppression risk and medium legal risks. However, the country seems to be on a positive trend despite the evident risks. The forecast summary presented in the report highlights that the country’s economic outlook is better due to the political stability resulting from the May 2014 elections. The country is also experiencing an unexpected rate cut by the central bank of Egypt, a factor that defines Egypt’s highly dynamic economic environment. Worth noting is the fact that the exchange rate risks in Egypt have also soared immensely (Country Reports: Egypt, 2015). The IHS report predicts that Egypt’s economic growth is likely to register acceleration in the medium term outlook. However, the long-term economic growth may be adversely affected by the risks mentioned above. The Country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has also surged in the first quarter and is likely to improve because of the political stability witnessed after 2014 elections. The country also receives financial aids from the Gulf countries. According to the report, the consumer demand is likely to face challenges because there is still an ongoing crisis. In case of capital investment, the country will register reduced inflows of foreign direct investment because of the political and security risks. However, more direct investment from foreign countries may be registered in the future when the country’s economic landscape stabilizes. Although the government is making efforts to promote foreign investments, political uncertainties are serving as a backlash (p. 10). Egypt’s labor market reveals that the conditions will be poor in the short-term until there is economic stability. Egypt’s inflation rates are likely to reduce because commodity prices have decreased remarkably. As mentioned above,

U.S. Constitution In 1787 and Today Research Paper

U.S. Constitution In 1787 and Today - Research Paper Example In the United States, the senate voted for the change of rules that enabled the republican to prevent the president Barack Obama nominees for the top administrative posts (Abegg, 2013 p. 219). The senators approved the partisan measures that were to ban the filibuster so as to prevent the nominated personnel from being confirmed (Ford, 2013, p. 214). Harry Reid in his speech about supporting the measure, he accused the Republicans of preventing the nominees in the pursuit of unrelated legislative expectations or goal. Reid argued that the republicans used the filibuster laws weapon for preventing president Obama from choosing and appointing an executive representative and also, appointing the judges. The blocking of the filibuster law does seem constitutionally because, on the other hand, the filibuster acted as the weapon barrier to prevent the president from passing many bills, but they had a right to their opinion (Steffen, p. 202). After the law was blocked, the senator’s power was deducted from the senate to the president. The president was enacted with so much power than before the bill was changed in 2013. This law was mostly used by the republicans more tha n three times in November to block president Obama from confirming votes on the judges nominated to fill the vacancies on the United States for the Washington DC (The Guardian). Reid also argued that the Republicans objected the bills not because they do not have the qualifications, but just because they wanted just to undermine the government, they were elected to work for (Kenneth, 2013, p. 129). Senator Dan Coates reacted by saying he change of the rule was an idea of weakening the founding fathers of the democracy, and he said it was yet another power grabbing from the republicans. Senator Kelly Ayotte reacted to the rule by saying that the grab of the power is so much disappointing to all the republicans in the United State government, she said

Discuss two segments of the economy in a critical stage of collapse Assignment

Discuss two segments of the economy in a critical stage of collapse when Roosevelt assumed office and his administration's attempts to strengthen them - Assignment Example This act decreed that banks could only be opened under the supervision of the treasury. Federal loans would also be available if needed. In a month, following the enactment of the act, hoarded gold and currency flowed back into the country; hence, the banking sector stabilized (Heinemann, 1983). The government also eliminated the gold standard, thus, use of gold as a legal tender ended. Everyone was required to exchange all their gold pieces for the US dollars. According to Roosevelt, prosperity of the country was heavily dependent on prosperity in the agriculture sector. Therefore, several acts were enacted to ensure that this sector was able to compete favorably. The Agriculture Adjustment Act was enacted to ensure that commodity prices would be raised through artificial scarcity (Heinemann, 1983). The team responsible for enforcing this act employed a technique whereby the total output for each commodity was set. Land owners were paid subsidies to leave some of their land idle; this was in an effort to ensure that farm prices went up. In essence, less was to be produced so that the wholesale price would increase. Many Americans opposed this act since the prices of commodities increased as the farmer’s income increased significantly (Heinemann,

Utopian community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Utopian community - Essay Example Utopian Communities came into existence mainly in the early 19th Century. Most of the utopian communities were the outcome of the disruption caused in the society because of the development in commercialism and capitalism. The main idea behind forming these communities was to form an ideal and perfect society, which would act as a role model for the world.These utopians were condemned as heretics and were looked down upon by the other members of society. Yet these people were not discouraged and strove hard to run it.Utopian communities disintegrated after few years as their lifestyle was strongly opposed by the other members of society. One such example is of Brook Farm, a utopian community, which was formed by a group of transcendentalists who were great scholars and personalities of high demeanor. They too wanted to set an example of a perfect society by experimenting to form a community.Although, the Brook farmers did not leave their traces behind, we learn about their lives at B rook Farm, from the memoirs written by the members of Brook Farm. The members like Margaret Fuller, Elizabeth Peabody, Mr. Dwight, Mr. Emerson and Mr. John Van had written biographies or articles in journals that became the primary sources of knowledge about Brook Farm. It is because of these great literary people or scholars that we readers have got the benefit of knowing about the Utopian Community. The articles written by these members gives detailed accounts of how the community was formed, what were the reasons that prompted the head of the community to take such an extreme step of separating from the society and forming a different world. According to these sources, Brook Farm was founded by George Ripley, a transcendentalist from Boston. The community was formed as a joint stock company. In the book written by Rose, Anne titled 'Transcendentalism as a Social Movement,' we find a detailed account of the social reform movement initiated by the transcendentalists and also about how the Brook Farm Community was formed. Before the community was formed George Ripley was a Minister of 'The Purchase Street' in Boston. He was against the views of Andrew Norton, a biblical scholar, of separating the pastor of the church from the sympathies of the people and confining him to a sphere of thought far off from his interests and reducing his services to being a mere educationist (Gordon). Norton too was against the idea of Ripley forming a new Church of his own. He considered this act of Ripley as injurious to the religious belief of the people. But Emerson supported Ripley's decision of forming a new church because he thought that Ripley's church would be "something more than mere Sunday gathering place" (Gordon). He decided to resign from the ministry. In his letter to the Congregational Church in Purchase Street, George Ripley clarifies his aim of breaking free from the hypocritical American Society, which has lot of vices like discriminations and inequalities, false pride, lack of concern for common man, unhealthy competition, lack of desire for the redemption of the masses and tendency of fulfilling selfish motives in the name of God. Thus Brook Farm was established by a group of seventeen members including George Ripley and his wife Sophia Ripley. In his letter to Emerson, he has stated his goal of establishing Brook Farm. In this letter he has very clearly stated that the transcendentalists in this community had dreamt of living a life, which would be devoid of prejudices, and there would be no discrimination as such. All the members, no matter to which fraternity they belonged to, be it writer or poet had to labor in the field. They will get the much-desired mental freedom and will be given an opportunity to

I Believe by Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Tour 2002 Essay

I Believe by Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Tour 2002 - Essay Example The song was performed during his famous â€Å"Strange Beautiful Tour† (Satriani.Com 1) in the year 2002. Here in this performance he is seen in slightly different mood and amidst a different set up as compared to his other concerts. He is seated with his guitar with a microphone set in front of him. Joe Satriani sings and simultaneously plays the guitar with as much equal ease as he would play breathtakingly soulful and extremely complicated guitar portions. He uses a slightly different guitar tone in this song compared to the original recording. This tone as it sounded has less dominance of the chorus effect and the clean tone. It is a more natural sounding tone with which he begins the piece, playing the signature line of the song. The song has other artists backing it up with drums, bass-guitar, keyboard and backing-guitar. The refreshing sound of a dominant bass guitar adds to the magic of the overall performance. The bass guitar is played in a different style with more d rag and delay in its tone, relaxing the temperament of the song and giving it a laidback and peaceful sound. The experience of having Joe Satriani perform one of his most popular songs and that to this particular composition: â€Å"I Believe† was indeed a rare and memorable experience. ... Acclaimed for his innovative â€Å"picking† through the plectrum strokes and delicate yet clean fret-board finger movements, he shows his impeccable timing and variation in his playing style based on the mood of the song. After the completion two bars (as in the recording) Joe accompanies his guitar with his voice as well. Indeed playing a complex riff whose notations and track timings do not synchronise with the metronome strokes of a four-by-four beat, and singing simultaneous requires mastery over both art forms. Joe good at both makes it look effortless as he proceeds to the short 1-bar interlude where he plays produces the octave effect by stroking the 1st and 5th string of the guitar simultaneously and gliding his fingers over the fret board. He manages the vocal part and the guitar riffs in a very clean and effortless style, switching back and forth from playing to singing and guitar accompaniment and vice versa. The chords that he plays in the main portion of the song: â€Å"I believe, there’s a reason for everything; I believe we can change† reveal the basic chord progression of the piece and sound unique and innovative. Joe makes the performance even more interesting by playing an impromptu guitar solo in between that had slight similarities with the original interlude guitar solo. The drums only enter after the first eight lines, i.e. at the end of â€Å"There’s just no other place†. The combined sound of Joe’s guitar (with delay and chorus effects), the low whining base guitar and the drums was wonderful. Joe’s deep sense of music, his aesthetic thinking and creativity are yet again reflected through his unique solo. He deviates from the original composition for the interlude, but weaves a well rounded,

Discuss two segments of the economy in a critical stage of collapse Assignment

Discuss two segments of the economy in a critical stage of collapse when Roosevelt assumed office and his administration's attempts to strengthen them - Assignment Example This act decreed that banks could only be opened under the supervision of the treasury. Federal loans would also be available if needed. In a month, following the enactment of the act, hoarded gold and currency flowed back into the country; hence, the banking sector stabilized (Heinemann, 1983). The government also eliminated the gold standard, thus, use of gold as a legal tender ended. Everyone was required to exchange all their gold pieces for the US dollars. According to Roosevelt, prosperity of the country was heavily dependent on prosperity in the agriculture sector. Therefore, several acts were enacted to ensure that this sector was able to compete favorably. The Agriculture Adjustment Act was enacted to ensure that commodity prices would be raised through artificial scarcity (Heinemann, 1983). The team responsible for enforcing this act employed a technique whereby the total output for each commodity was set. Land owners were paid subsidies to leave some of their land idle; this was in an effort to ensure that farm prices went up. In essence, less was to be produced so that the wholesale price would increase. Many Americans opposed this act since the prices of commodities increased as the farmer’s income increased significantly (Heinemann,

I Believe by Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Tour 2002 Essay

I Believe by Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Tour 2002 - Essay Example The song was performed during his famous â€Å"Strange Beautiful Tour† (Satriani.Com 1) in the year 2002. Here in this performance he is seen in slightly different mood and amidst a different set up as compared to his other concerts. He is seated with his guitar with a microphone set in front of him. Joe Satriani sings and simultaneously plays the guitar with as much equal ease as he would play breathtakingly soulful and extremely complicated guitar portions. He uses a slightly different guitar tone in this song compared to the original recording. This tone as it sounded has less dominance of the chorus effect and the clean tone. It is a more natural sounding tone with which he begins the piece, playing the signature line of the song. The song has other artists backing it up with drums, bass-guitar, keyboard and backing-guitar. The refreshing sound of a dominant bass guitar adds to the magic of the overall performance. The bass guitar is played in a different style with more d rag and delay in its tone, relaxing the temperament of the song and giving it a laidback and peaceful sound. The experience of having Joe Satriani perform one of his most popular songs and that to this particular composition: â€Å"I Believe† was indeed a rare and memorable experience. ... Acclaimed for his innovative â€Å"picking† through the plectrum strokes and delicate yet clean fret-board finger movements, he shows his impeccable timing and variation in his playing style based on the mood of the song. After the completion two bars (as in the recording) Joe accompanies his guitar with his voice as well. Indeed playing a complex riff whose notations and track timings do not synchronise with the metronome strokes of a four-by-four beat, and singing simultaneous requires mastery over both art forms. Joe good at both makes it look effortless as he proceeds to the short 1-bar interlude where he plays produces the octave effect by stroking the 1st and 5th string of the guitar simultaneously and gliding his fingers over the fret board. He manages the vocal part and the guitar riffs in a very clean and effortless style, switching back and forth from playing to singing and guitar accompaniment and vice versa. The chords that he plays in the main portion of the song: â€Å"I believe, there’s a reason for everything; I believe we can change† reveal the basic chord progression of the piece and sound unique and innovative. Joe makes the performance even more interesting by playing an impromptu guitar solo in between that had slight similarities with the original interlude guitar solo. The drums only enter after the first eight lines, i.e. at the end of â€Å"There’s just no other place†. The combined sound of Joe’s guitar (with delay and chorus effects), the low whining base guitar and the drums was wonderful. Joe’s deep sense of music, his aesthetic thinking and creativity are yet again reflected through his unique solo. He deviates from the original composition for the interlude, but weaves a well rounded,

John Berger Essay Essay Example for Free

John Berger Essay Essay While in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I traveled through the different galleries and their various cultures; discovering all sorts of arts from Contemporary art, to American art, Japanese art, and even the Egyptian art where I could appreciate the complexity of mummies. Throughout all these diverse cultures of art, I was questioning myself and started to wonder how I could understand art beyond others’ opinion about them. Moreover, I realized that it was a question John Berger, critic of art and author of the Ways of Seeing, raised in his essay, and it is a question that will always be raised while demanding how to understand a certain art. Walking through a room where various French artists had their paintings exposed, I fell in front of the artwork (see above) painted by Paul Gauguin. I did not choose a French artist to make me remember the French culture that I am missing here in Boston, nor to pretend that the French are advanced in art, but a way to analyze and understand, with the experience of a famous art critic, an artwork from an artist who astonished me in my previous art classes. Dou venons-nous, Qui sommes-nous, Ou allons-nous? By Paul Gauguin I chose a painting that had a warm expression, and complex story emanating from it. As the title of my essay indicates, the title of the painting translated in English is â€Å"Where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going? So many questions in the title and the painting, but there were as much coming through my mind while studying this image. This artwork is very ambiguous because I do not know how to start looking at it. I can observe people appearing half naked in the foreground, but we cannot really tell why they appear there. The statue in the back makes the questioning more obscure. It seems like an Ora cle that gives people their destiny, and that is maybe why they all look so sad. Truly, I felt that this image was a representation of my origin country, West Indies, by the color Gauguin used. He used the blue to symbolize the ocean surrounding the island, and the mixed race of the habitants by the warm and beige color or the characters. I felt as if I was in the center of the painting, more precisely in the position of the child being observed in the right corner, and waiting to be reassured. I also felt like the person in the middle of the painting, standing up and waiting for answers while traveling through this painting. Gauguin’s artworks are extremely complicated to decipher, so are they to analyze. Gauguin is an artist I studied back in France in my art classes. Consequently, I had seen many of his works, and even the painting I chose; However, I had never asked myself how knowing about his life could help me study his paintings. I was taught in my art classes how to analyze art in a more technical way than in an analytical way like Berger supported. Indeed, when we were looking at the entire structure of the painting with my art class method, we were focusing on the brush strokes, the color, the tone, lines and forms, and the composition of the painting. If I had to describe the work of art I chose based on technical features, I would examine the painting saying that the brush strokes could express many emotions at the same time, and describe the painter style and art movement. Gauguin was also part of the post-impressionist painters with artists such as Paul Cezanne or Van Gogh. Post impressionist art was more focused on color, lines, outlines and perspective. Concerning Gauguin, the complexity of shapes is very important in his paintings due to their abstract significations. In fact, the lines were not straight; they were round and suggesting bodies that we did not see in art before. Moreover, the color had its importance. Post impressionist artists like Gauguin used color and color combination in order to create ‘vulgar’, ‘calm’ or ‘bold’ impressions (Robert Hughes). The analysis of the painting I just did was very technical and structural, but in no sense relevant for understanding the thought process as Berger explained. I was subject to mystification as John Berger explained in his essay as â€Å"the process of explaining away what might otherwise be evident† (103). Indeed, mystification appeared while I was looking at the painting. I could sense a certain limit of my understanding due to the previous art classes I had. In other terms, it meant for me that words were coming before seeing whereas seeing should come before words as Berger deciphered in his essay. My mind was already set for a certain critic about the painting based on the knowledge I had; Consequently, I could not have another point of view vis-a-vis the painting I was staring at. Although I learned a lot from my art classes, especially how to describe an artwork contextually, the observations and point of view of Berger about art gave me enough elements o have a complete analysis of an image, both contextually and historically. Using Berger as a guide for art description helped me to learn more about the painting historically, and much more about the painter himself to have a complete understanding of the artwork. Prior to this assignment, it had never occurred to me to use the biography and the background of the painter in order to facilitate my understanding of the painting. When Berger quoted â€Å"When we see a landscape, we situate ourselves in the it. If we saw the art of the past, we would situate ourselves in history. † (100) in the essay led me to start the analysis of Gauguin’s painting in a very different way. Actually, when I focused more on the painter’s life, and follow Berger’s analysis, I learned that Gauguin wanted to commit suicide after he painted this image. Plus, even though there was a caption under the image saying that it was his last painting, I would not have noticed that it was his last painting, which refers to what Berger described when he talked about Van Gogh’s last painting. Berger cited â€Å"The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe† (97). Clearly, it means that the details you know about a certain painting will prevent you from analyzing it innocently. Based on the art experience I acquired in class, I would have said that the image implies sadness because of the choice of colors, which were darker than his previous works. However, I think that the title gives us more details about his thoughts while he was painting. Through reading of artistic reviews or even my art book, named Shock of the New by Robert Hughes, I discovered that this work of art should be read from right to left, with the three main groups of people illustrating the questions that are asked in the title. The first group with the three women looking at the child represents the beginning of Gauguin’s life, making a reference to his parents, then there is the group in the middle which symbolizes all the experiences he went through while being a young adult. The last group shows an old lady close to death because of the darker color he used, moreover, there is an odd white bird at her feet, which could represent the guide to heaven. In the background of the painting, there is a blue statute, which represents what Gauguin described as the hereafter. This painting seems like a flash back of his life, and these three questions lead us to comprehend him better. Gauguin left a lot of non-answered questions about this painting, considered as a testimony to his life by many critics of art. Indeed, this painting is very complex. I learned by reading my previous art book, that Gauguin wrote a letter to his friend stipulating the reasons of the painting. In this letter, Gauguin said that he had decided to commit suicide in December; therefore, he wanted to paint on a huge canvas all the things he had on his mind for so long. Things he absolutely wanted to paint before his death. In this letter, Gauguin also confessed that the value of this painting is so much ahead of his precedents, and that it was a one of a kind that he could not nor would not try to produce a better painting. This sentence clearly explains that he reached the height of his life, and that now he drew this painting, there was nothing else he could do better or similar except terminate his life. Gauguin was wondering a lot about the existence of the world, and this perpetual questioning led him to the entitlement of this painting. As I said earlier in my essay, each group of people appearing in this painting is applied to a specific question of the title. Those questions made me think about my own life. Indeed, the questions he used are somehow important to everyone to really understand the meaning of their lives. Berger said â€Å"The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe† (97). While looking at this painting, I could recognize some events of my life, for instance, I could recall where I am from and what are my origins, as well as how I did to accomplish such academic success and arrive in the United States. Furthermore, due to my art background, I could understand better the expression and feelings Gauguin was trying to deliver in this painting with his powerful colors and thick traits. Approaching art is not easy at first glance, thus approaching it with different methods makes it more difficult to understand. Throughout my life, I have been able to view art in many different context, either artistically speaking when I was in art classes in France, or analytically this year when I had to analyze art with the support of an art critic opinions. For me, both ways were complementary to each other and drastically improved my understanding of art. Complementary in the sense that I could rely on my technical knowledge of art to understand the structure of a painting, and also analyze the story of the painting as Berger mentioned to fully understand the underlying message of an artwork.

Medical Tourism In India: A Proposal

Medical Tourism In India: A Proposal Medical tourism- the concept of traveling far and wide for better medical treatment is not a novel idea, only the term. The globalization of the health care sector and the massive demand for low cost-high quality treatment in recent times has caught the attention of many developing countries that have the adequate resources and potential to meet these demands. The profitability and the lucrative nature of the medical tourism business has now put this trade, high on the agenda of both the Indian government and the private health care providers. Today, medical tourism has become a commonplace practice with a large number of people around the world since usual constraints like language, finance, difficulties in global travel and fear of the unknown are no longer acting as barriers to the tourists who seek medical treatment in foreign countries. Countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia etc have developed strategies specifically with the aim of tackling such issues and rendering themselves as the ideal medical tourism destinations. Although India is emerging as the hot-spot medical tourism destinations within the Asia-Pacific and other regions of the world, it seems to be facing tough competition from other big players of this industry who have projected an equally good reputation for themselves and are reaping the benefits of this business. Therefore, it is imperative for India to continuously rethink and reform its marketing strategies to gain competitive advantage and increase its market share in the health care sector. It is an undisputed fact that medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry and creating inroads into the Indian economy. There are a large number of stake holders in this industry in South East Asia including countries like Singapore and Malaysia. There are various marketing strategies being used for propagating this industry. My endeavor would be to seek the gaps that exist and suggest remedial action. Being from the medical fraternity and having had the opportunity to treat a number of overseas patients, the concept of medical tourism has generated a great deal of interest in me. I believe that there are some deficiencies in the marketing strategies for health tourism in India that need to be looked into and improvised. The aim of my research would be to propose marketing strategies that would boost the Indian Medical Tourism for the future. 3. Preliminary review of literature There are three sections of the literature review:- i) Historical aspects- inception and evolution ii) Medical tourism in India- the present scenario iii) Probable concerns and pitfalls of the Indian medical tourism industry. i) Historical aspects- inception and evolution The concept of constructing health complexes around hot springs goes back to as old as the Sumerian civilization (circa 4000BC) where health care facilities comprised of grand elevated buildings with flowing pools. The hill tribes of Switzerland of the area presently know as St. Moritz, during the Bronze Age (circa 2000 BC) recognized the benefits of bathing and drinking in iron-rich mineral springs. The discovery of bronze drinking cups used by them in thermal springs in Germany and France possibly signifies health pilgrimages within these cultures. As per written historical accounts, bathing and healing complexes were erected around therapeutic springs in Mesopotamia, India, Greece and China. The concept of medical tourism emanated as trips to sacred baths and hot springs. However, it is the Greeks who have to be given the credit for laying the foundations for medical tourism networks. Greek medical tourism. Asclepius was considered to be the god of medicine according to Greek mythology. In his honor, Asclepian healing temples had been constructed throughout Greece by the 4th Century BC. These temples were established near the mineral springs which were considered to be the prime Healthful Locations. The system of medical tourism during this period was as follows:- Patients and their attendants came to Asclepia temples seeking treatment for various ailments. At Epidaurus, the port temple, treatment included gymnasia, palaestra (exercise area), bathing springs and a dream temple. There was a retinue of priests, caretakers and stretcher carriers who attended to the patients before they were granted final appointment with the mighty priest. Patients made sacrificial offerings according to their status- the poor left shoes; Alexander the Great left his breastplate. Roman Medical Tourism. The hallmark of ancient Roman medical tourism centered around hot water baths called Thermae. These centers of medical treatment were posh establishments. Some of these centers comprised of art galleries conference halls, theatres and sometimes sport stadia. Because of the active trade with Asia, the Roman baths augmented medical tourism activities like Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic massage and various aspects of Buddhist spiritual healing at some Roman Thermae. Japanese Medical Tourism-Onsen. ONSEN means hot mineral springs in Japanese. Medical tourism in Japan centered around these hot mineral springs which were enriched by surrounding volcanic soil. It attracted a variety of people including hunters, fishermen, farmers and warriors. It was believed that these mineral springs were effective in alleviating pain, healing wounds and recuperation. A thousand years later, this form of medical tourism in Japan is still an ongoing phenomenon. Indian Medical Tourism. India has been the home ground of alternative system of medicine for the past 5000 years. Aspects of medical tourism include yoga, eastern cultural, spiritual and medicinal compilation with meditation thrown in. India has been a Mecca for alternative medicine practitioners. A new boost was given to health tourism in the 1960s with the New Age movement in the US. This New Age movement seeks Universal Truth and the attainment of the highest individual human potential and is characterized by an individual approach to spiritual practices and philosophies and the rejection of religious doctrine and dogma. With this movement, India had once again become the most sought after destination for thousands of western pilgrims. Indias deep commitment to health care infrastructure and technology furthered the mass influx of medical tourists. India is now one of the worlds oldest medical tourism destinations and has gained popularity over the years over other destinations. European Medical Tourism. European medical tourism came into existence with the rediscovery of the Roman baths in the 16th century. With the rediscovery of the Roman baths, Baden Baden , Aachen and most notably Bath, became spa towns. By the 1720s the spa towns came to be frequented by Aristocrats and gentlemen of leisure from other parts of Europe and even royal patronage. Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, French royal inventor of the essay was the most noteworthy medical tourist of this time. He traversed the continent for 9 years for the cure of his gall bladder problem. He is widely believed to be the father of luxury travel and has helped to write one of the earliest documented spa guides for European tourists. Health Tourism-New world. English and Dutch colonists in the 1600s, constructed log cabins near mineral springs in the newly discovered Americas. By 19th century the American reformists made it a habit to travel to remote Western springs that were rich in medicinal properties. Today, there are no physical, economical and cultural barriers that separate nations from one another. Coupled with the flattening global economy, ease of international travel and lenient trade policies has opened the vistas of medical tourism destinations around the globe. This has made affordable health care availability to patients who find it difficult or impossible to access such health care facilities in their own countries. Inflated health care costs are driving the patients to medical tourism destinations like Thailand and India for sophisticated procedures at a fraction of the price. Long waiting periods for medical treatment is another factor that is making patients seek treatment abroad. Also, lack of comprehensive medical insurance has attracted thousands of patients to seek treatment abroad. Medical tourism today has become a global phenomenon with many countries expanding their offerings, including unique tourism opportunities for example South Africa is promoting medical safari in a big way. ii.) MEDICAL TOURISM IN INDIA-the present scenario Medical Tourism India or Health Tourism India is a developing concept that has gained tremendous popularity and is attracting people from all over the world for their medical and relaxation needs. The treatments most commonly include knee transplant, cosmetic treatment, dental treatment and cardiac surgery. India is now a favorable medical tourism destination as its infrastructure and technology are at par with USA, UK and Europe, enabling it to provide treatment centers and hospitals that are best in the world with world class facilities. These factors coupled with visits to some of the most alluring and awe-inspiring places of the world have brought about the merging of tourism with medication giving rise to the concept of Medical Tourism. India is promoting health tourism through depicting the high-tech healing of its private healthcare sector. The Indian government is marketing the concept of traveling to India for cheaper and world-class medical facilities to foreigners, with the intention of encouraging the growing Indian medical tourism industry. The policy of the Indian government to merge medical expertise and tourism was announced during the 2003-04 budgets when the finance minister Jaswant Singh propounded India to become a Global Health Destination. According to a study conducted by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the field is so lucrative that it has the potential to become a $2.3 billion business by 2012. Around 150,000 foreigners visited India for treatment during 2004 and since then, this number has increased by 15% every year. In recent times, India has emerged as the Global Health Destination due to the following advantages: 1. Medical services are provided at almost 30% lower cost than the Western countries and are the cheapest in South-east Asia. 2. India has a large population of doctors and paramedical staff who have good knowledge of spoken English. Therefore language is a major comfort factor that attracts so many foreign tourists to visit for the purpose of medical and health tourism making it easier for overseas patients to relate well to Indian doctors. 3. Indian doctors expertise in various surgical procedures including cardiac surgeries, liver transplants, orthopedic surgeries and other medical treatments. 4. Indian hospitals offer a wide array of high quality treatment procedures comprising of joint replacements, cardiothoracic surgery, dental care, cosmetic treatments and more. iii) Probable concerns and pitfalls of Indian medical tourism industry Review of literature suggests the following concerns that need attention if one has to augment and boost the medical tourism sector. Concerns of the consumers Some of the consumers feel that India is unhygienic, polluted and bureaucratic. There is no appropriate accreditation system for the hospitals. Concerns about medical insurance which is underdeveloped, inadequate and has few global players. overseas companies refuse reimbursements. There are also concerns about terrorism, communal unrest and bad connectivity between cities and towns. While some of these concerns are genuine, most of them are mere perceptions. Concerns of the promoters From the promoters point of view, the concerns that have emerged revolve around lack of regulations concerning ethics and systemic support, lack of infrastructure deficiencies like electricity, power supply and water, inadequate land reforms, taxation anomalies, funding constraints, implementation lacunae and bureaucratic bottlenecks. 4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES. India seems to be an emerging medical tourism destination offering great opportunities in terms of creating new jobs and generating sources of revenue for the Indian economy. It is therefore imperative that the impetus gained so far should not be jeopardized and measures should be adopted to improve the present situation by developing and implementing new strategies. Research questions 1. What is the present state of Indian medical tourism? indicating assessment of the present situation. 2. What are the drawbacks or felt impediments of the medical tourism trade sector? indicating an analytical structuring of the data. 3. What are the ways to improve medical tourism in India through better marketing strategies? an assessment of the lacunae in the existing marketing strategies. 4. Is the government doing enough to support the medical tourism industry? an assessment of the governmental leaning towards the industry. Research objectives 1. To develop pragmatic marketing strategies for health care institutions involved in medical tourism in India. 2. To assess the impact of the government action on the present marketing strategies for foreign patients. 3. To make a marketing plan model for the Health tourism industry in India 5. RESEARCH PLAN Research perspective My research approach is based upon the words of the renowned anthropologist Clifford Geertz man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun. I take culture to be these webs, and the analysis of it is not to be an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one inn search of meaning (Jewell,S.2010). It therefore forms an interpretivist approach. Since the medical tourism industry is a business and management perspective, any research into this field would fall into the gamut of positivist and interpretivist approaches. My research is essentially a qualitative one since my data collection is mainly secondary in nature. Furthermore, my research is theory forming where in I shall be using the inductive approach to analyze the data. My research also involves the assessment of factors of concern that are related to the health tourism industry of India. It would be my effort to sift out the relevant factors and analyze them from the point of view of deve loping marketing strategies. Research design The approach that best answers my research questions fits into the modified cross sectional design. Here, the research design revolves around the collection of data that is occurring naturally over a designated period. My research design also involves mainly quantitative data and some qualitative data too. My research is based upon observation and document analysis. The cross sectional design also gives information on aspects of who, what, how many, where, and the how and why. Data collection methods I shall be collecting my data through analysis of secondary data. I also intend to submit questionnaires to the stakeholders and the major players of the medical tourism in India with the aim of seeking relevant data that would help me in answering my research questions and fulfill my research objectives. Secondary data: the secondary data would be collected through the following; Written materials- various websites, websites of homepages of key players, magazines and journals, books and publications. I would also be looking for government publications, laws and acts related to this subject. Non-written materials- media, television etc. Most of the data from outside the individual organization will yield information about the medical tourism industry. While, data that is collected from the organizational websites would give information on how things are done within the organization and their modus operandi. ii. Questionnaires: I will be sending the questionnaires to all the major players in the Indian medical tourism industry. The questionnaires will be used to obtain data for quantitative analysis in order to assess the functioning of various medical tourism facilities in India. The idea of using questionnaires is that a large quantity of data can be made available covering a wide range of database for quantitative analysis. A good amount of objectivity can be incorporated and the results would be of valid and reliable nature. Analysis of data Having collected all the qualitative and quantitative data, I would subject it to appropriate analysis and apply relevant statistical tests of significance to ensure that the results are valid, reliable and give a reasonable level of generalisabilty. I aim to deduce the relevant marketing strategies being used and to assess their impact on the industry. I shall be presenting the analyzed data in the form pie diagrams, bar charts and other forms of statistical presentations. LIMITATIONS Validity and reliability Since my data is mainly secondary in nature it is presumed that global players in the me dical tourism industry would not putting false data to propagate their business ventures. From this point of view my data would be valid as well as reliable. As my data is being collected from internet, websites of various stake holders, magazines etc. I am confident that stake holders at this level of global competitiveness would not be putting up false data or information for promotional activities that could jeopardize their reputation. However, the limitations of validity and reliability I foresee to come across would be from the questionnaires I would be sending to the stake holders. The disadvantage I feel I would face using the questionnaires is that some people may not respond, may take a long time for returning back and the response rate cannot be predicted. However despite these limitations, I expect to be able to generate valid information and data for quantitative analysis. I shall be sending these questionnaires to the concerned stakeholders through their homepages and their websites and try and elicit as much response as possible from them. Generalisabilty My research design is based upon the study of an industry and does not impinge upon a case study research. All factors being studied can be considered as offshoots of a single industry. For e.g. the legislation aspects would be covering the entire industry and not a single institution or a hospital. Secondly, my aim is to give broad based generalized guide lines on the recommendations for improving medical tourism in India. My attempt therefore would be to collect and analyze data from where generalisabilty can be achieved. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS I will abide by the Coventry University BES ethical guidelines. I will conduct my research honestly and present all the data accurately. I will get the low risk approval form signed by my supervisor to get his approval before I begin my research. I shall take all precaution to ensure and respect the rights and integrity of subjects if any. I shall treat all the data confidentially and would ensure that it would not be used for any other purpose other than that intended. Since my data collection is mainly secondary in nature, my research work is considered to be a low risk from the ethical point of view. I shall keep all the raw information on ethics and the data collected for audit purposes. PLAGIARISM I will paraphrase; reference and cite the sources used by me, to acknowledge the work of others and avoid any sort of plagiarism. Michael Porter: Impact of Strategic Management Theory Michael Porter: Impact of Strategic Management Theory The field of strategic management is complex and multi-faceted. Strategic management has been defined in many different ways. The basic tenet of the Positioning School is that strategies are generic positions in a competitive marketplace and are based on analysis by a consulting firm. Michael Porter, indisputably one of the most influential thinkers on management and competitiveness in the world laid the groundwork for strategic positioning in 1980 with his book Competitive Strategy in which he presented his Five Forces model. His 1985, work, Competitive Advantage, described his activity-based view and introduced his Value Chain model. Since the publication of these influential works, their popularity has continued due to their general applicability and ease of use. Keywords: Michael Porter, strategic management, Five Forces Model, Value Chain Model, Porter, Positioning School. The Influence of Michael Porter The field of strategic management is complex and multi-faceted. Numerous definitions have been proposed in an attempt to prescribe the essential elements of management strategy and to discover a methodology to satisfy once and for all the needs of managers seeking to maximize their organizations potential in the dog-eat-dog business world. Strategic management has been defined in many different ways based on the organizations mission, policies, sector, structure, objectives, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, key success factors or decisions, capabilities, planning, implementation, and sustainable competitive advantage (Sadler, 2003). Generally, strategic management is the means by which organizational managers seek to bolster the success of their businesses via a series of competitive maneuvers. Such maneuvers may be taken with regard to the external environment in which the firm is currently operating or in relation to the organizations internal capabilities (or inabilities) (Sadler, 2003). Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (as cited in Sadler, 2003, p. 15) developed a method of organizing these numerous schools of thought into three major groups labeled the Prescriptive, Descriptive, and Configurational Schools. The Descriptive group consists of those schools which seek to describe strategic management in terms of how it is formed in practice. The Configurational group encompasses one single school of thought which has two facets, the first seeking to describe the organizations state and context, and the second endeavoring to depict the strategy-making process. The Prescriptive Group is composed of those schools which venture to define strategic management in terms of how it should be formulated, as opposed to how it is formed in practice (see Descriptive Schools above). Within the Prescriptive group reside the design, planning, and positioning schools. The design school seeks to define strategic management as a conceptual process, and the most recent manifestation of this approach is the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) Analysis, developed by Ken Andrews in the early 70s. SWOT analysis aims to analyze the firm in terms of internal factors strengths and weaknesses, and external environmental factors opportunities and threats, in order to gain a competitive advantage. The planning school, on the other hand, focuses primarily on the future and has as its principal goal the formulation of decisions and actions that will guide the organizations actions and define its purpose. Michael Porters seminal and best-known work, Competitive Strategy, laid the foundation of the positioning school. The basic tenet of this school is that strategies are generic positions in a competitive marketplace and are based on analysis by a consulting firm. A renowned business management theorist and commonly recognized as the father of modern management theory, Porter is a respected professor holding the prestigious Bishop William Lawrence University Professorship at Harvard Business School. He is a prolific author; since 1976, he has written some 18 books and more than 125 articles on competition and strategy. Porter has advised management in numerous U.S. and international companies and governments worldwide and has won many honors and awards for his work in economics and strategic management theory. Michael Porter is indisputably one of the most influential thinkers on management and competitiveness in the world. Michael Porters Theories Porter is best known for the prescient theories illuminated in his 1980 work Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. The hallmark of Porters works, Competitive Strategy presented Porters five forces model, five elements that affect an industrys profitability, and his generic strategies which are intended to counter those forces. In his follow-up piece, The Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, published in 1985, Porter developed his Value Chain Model, a framework for activity-based competitive analysis of a firm. Porters Five Forces Model Porters five forces are classified as industry-level (vice organizational-level) determinants of long-term profitability in an industry. These economic and technical characteristics are said to be foundational, key factors to industry success and affect such critical industry elements as prices, the degree of investment necessary for competitiveness, market share, potential profits, and profit margins, and industry volume (Childress Kirkwood, 2006). The five forces are industry competitors, pressure from substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, and potential entrants. These five forces acting in unison comprise the competitive environment in which the firm must operate. The nature of competition within the industry is affected by factors such as the size of competitors the number of competitors, changes in demand for products, asset specificity, the strength of exit barriers and competitor variety and is generally considered to be the most powerful force. Competitive tactics employed by one firm may affect the entire industry (Mayo, Grigoroudis and Zopoundis, 2006). Pressure from substitute products affects the industry by imposing an artificial price ceiling. Decreases in customer switching costs and increases in the price of substitute products are causes of competitive pressure. The threat of substitutes varies inversely to the price of substitute products and consumers switching costs (Mayo, Grigoroudis and Zopoundis, 2006). The bargaining power of suppliers affects competition particularly when there are many, limited substitutes for raw materials exist, or when switching costs increase. When suppliers raise prices, or reduce prices or services or the quality of goods or services, competition intensifies. When suppliers reduce quality or services or increase prices, competition increases (Mayo, Grigoroudis and Zopoundis, 2006). Buyers affect competition when they are able to negotiate lower prices, distribution and quality. The number and concentration of consumers and product differentiation are influences. Switching costs and the power of buyers to backwards integrate are factors as well (Mayo, Grigoroudis and Zopoundis, 2006). High entry (and exit) barriers are a deterrent to companies seeking to enter new industries. New entrants alter the competitive climate by increasing capacity and competition for market share and by adding new resources. Entry barriers may take the form of capital requirements, economies of scale, product differentiation, switching costs, access to distribution channels, cost of promotion and advertising, and so on (Mayo, Grigoroudis and Zopoundis, 2006, p. 835). Porters model is versatile, popular and widely used. From banking to brewing, numerous examples of studies conducted using Porters model to analyze the competitive climate of a variety of industries can be found easily. Several of these are summarized below. Finnish publishing In a study investigating the effect of the internet on the consumer Finnish magazine publishing industry using Porters five forces model (Ellonen, Kuivalainen et al., 2008) conducted semi-structured interviews of eight industry experts. The researchers identified specific examples of some of the forces shaping competition within that industry. They chose Porters model as the vehicle for their analysis because it is a useful tool for examining the industry structure and assists in the analysis of industry competitiveness. They noted that the internet had intensified rivalries among competitors by making proprietary information and that competitors habitually benchmarked each others websites. Financing and support functions were recognized as barriers to entry. As for the treat of substitute products and services, the most significant threat was identified as the internet itself because it offers readers alternative ways to spend their leisure time and their money. Notably, however, neither the bargaining power of buyers (both consumers and advertisers) nor the bargaining power of suppliers was considered a significant hazard. Online banking Smith (2006) studied the online banking industry and, like the authors in the study of the Finnish publishing industry, used Porters five forces model to identify the strategic forces affecting the industry. Smith chose Porters model because it provides clarity, ease of understanding, and is insightful when examining a complicated and complex issue like strategic management. Smith noted that economies of scale and product differentiation, capital requirements, limited distribution channels, and government regulation were substantial barriers to entry in online banking. Conversely, the bargaining power of suppliers is relatively weak as is the bargaining power of buyers, chiefly due to the low-cost or free nature of online banking services. Pressure from substitute products is considerable. Traditional banking offers customers a personal touch and some do feel online services are secure enough. Other substitute products are credit unions, ATMs and other financial institutions and credit card companies. Not surprisingly, Smith found that competition is intense in the online banking industry. This is largely due to the increasing popularity of computers the internet with each successive generation and the cost savings gained from using online services. European beer Niederhut-Bollmann and Theuvsen (2008), in yet another example of the versatility of Porters model, analyzed the dynamic competitive environment of the European (German and Croatian) brewing industry. Niederhut-Bollmann and Theuvsen chose Porters model, they say, because it is powerful, thorough, and provides a flexible framework for this type of analysis. The authors of this study provided a detailed look at the competitive forces affecting both the German and Croatian brewing industries. Moreover, they offered an extensive analysis of the generic strategies which various breweries had adapted in order to position themselves in the face of the industrys competitive pressures. Porters Generic Strategies Porter postulated three generic or broad alternative strategies which may be pursued as a response to the competitive pressures. They are termed generic strategies because they are broadly applicable to any industry or business. They are differentiation, cost leadership, and focus. A focus strategy may be further defined as cost focus, differentiation focus, or cost and differentiation focus (Ormanidhi Stringa, 2009). A differentiation strategy may be based on actual unique product features or the perception thereof, conveyed through the use of advertising and marketing tactics, in the eyes customers. Obviously, the product or service feature must be one the customer needs or desires. Moreover, such enhanced features and designs or advertising and marketing will increase costs, and customers must be price-insensitive willing to pay for the differentiated product or service. This willingness to pay for the differentiated product of service is what provides the company relief from competitive pressure, cost pressure specifically. Firms pursuing a cost leadership strategy must make lower production and distribution costs their priority (Thomas, J., 2006). By keeping their cost lowers than those of their competitors, firms using cost leadership can still price their products up to the level of their competitors and still maintain higher gross profit margins. Alternatively, these firms can price their products lower than those of their competitors in the hope of achieving greater market share and sales volume at the expense of gross profit margins (Thomas, J., 2006). A focus strategy is based on a particular market, customer, product, or geographic. A Focus strategy is a concentrated, narrowly focused niche strategy (Mayo, D., Grigoroudis, E. Zopoundis, C., 2006). It will normally be employed by smaller companies or small target markets. Products and services may be customized to the extent that customers are allowed input throughout all stages of production. European brewing In the case of European breweries mentioned above, Niederhut-Bollmann and Theuvsen (2008) noted that one German brewer used a cost leadership strategy to undercut larger competitors prices by as much as 50 percent. Another brewer used national brands to increase customer loyalty in a differentiation strategy. Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle, founded in 1589, uses traditional brewing techniques for a small local market, a focus strategy. The authors note that although Porter, in his original work, warned that a firm should choose one specific strategy, he later (2001) accepted that a hybrid strategy (lower operating costs and premium prices) may be appropriate. Japanese industry Allen, Helms, Takeda, White, (2007) studied the use of Porters generic strategies in Japanese firms. According to the authors, the traditional style of Japanese management in which all employees of a company share risks and gains of the operation; layoffs are a last resort, even during economic crises; and lifetime employment with a single company is expected, is often cited as a primary cause of the ongoing Japanese recession (p. 70). Recently the Japanese government implemented the Porter Prize in an attempt to spur improvement in the competitiveness of Japanese industry. Several small and medium-sized forms have received the prize presumably due to their strategy of operating in niche markets, a focus strategy. Larger corporations, those who operate under the keiretsu, or lineage system have not substantially participated in the program arguably due to the characteristic inability to react to change and over-reliance on a group decision-making style inherent in the keiretsu system. The authors believe that encouraging Japanese firms to vie for the Porter Prize will enable those firms to become accustomed to employing competitive strategies and become more profitable. Michael Porters Five Forces Model is still popular today due to its broad applicability and because it is easy to use. Competitive Strategy laid the foundation for the Positioning School of strategic management philosophy. Porters Five Forces Model and his generic strategies have substantially influenced strategic management thought for the last thirty years and will undoubtedly continue to do so. The Value Chain Model In 1985, Porter followed up and built upon his Competitive Strategy with Competitive Advantage. In Competitive Advantage, Porter developed the concept of a sustainable advantage and introduced his Value Chain Model. Porter referred to his own model as an activity-based view because used the activities of the firm to analyze the organizations competitive advantage. Value, Porter said, was defined as the sum total that a buyer is willing to pay for what the firm produces or delivers and is measured as total revenue or price times the number of units sold. Economically speaking, the firms value must exceed its costs, or it is not considered profitable. Competitive analyses, therefore, must be focused on those value-generating activities which influence the companys costs and provide a means for strategic differentiation (Patnaik and Sahoo, 2009). The value chain, according to Porter, is part of the larger value system comprised of the individual value chains of industry suppliers, constituent firms, distributers and buyers (Patnaik and Sahoo, 2009). Interestingly, the term value system has been as widely accepted as value chain has; the term industry value chain is more popular (Dommisse and Oosthuizen, 2004). The purpose of the value chain model, according to Porter, was to systematically examine all the activities a firm performs and how they interact (as cited in McPhee Wheeler, 2006). Sheehan and Foss (2009) undertook to examine the intellectual underpinnings of the theory Porter laid out in Competitive Advantage. They note Porters proposal that the true value of the firm was not its products or services, but the aggregate value of the chain of individual activities that went into the production process and the only way to identify a means of identifying potential sources of competitive advantage was to examine the firm in terms of these activities. They summarized the key characteristics of Porters activity-based model. The unit of analysis was the activities the firm performed. The value chain focuses on the business or industry level. Activity drivers cost and value drivers play a key role. Activity drivers are the factors that are the firm can influence in order to position the firm as either low cost or differentiator compared to ones competitors. Activities were categorized as either primary or supporting activities. Primary activities were defined as those which directly create customer value. Primary activities are related to production and sales of the product, delivery of the product, and after-market sales (Value Chain, 2005). Structure Primary activities Inbound logistics comprises those activities involved in receiving, storing, handling, and distributing materials to the manufacturing or operations department. Manufacturing activities include those activities involved in converting the inputs received into the final product. Outbound logistics activities are those activities which are involved in the shipping, storage, and final distribution of the end product. Marketing and sales activities are those which are aimed at persuading the customer to buy and pay for the product, e.g., advertising, promotion and pricing. Finally, service activities include all activities concerned with maintaining or enhancing the value of the delivered product such as installation and repair services (Value Chain, 2005). Supporting activities Support activities serve to enhance the value (create added value) already created by the primary activities. Support activities include corporate structure, human resources, technology development, and purchasing. Corporate structure includes those activities related to management including planning, financial and accounting, legal, public relations, and quality management. Human resources activities include recruitment and hiring, training, and pay and benefits. Technology development involves R D functions such as new product development and design. Purchasing encompasses activities relate to the procurement of supplies and raw materials. The models popularity Porters model is indisputably popular. Ormanidhi and Stringa (2009) examined Porters model in comparison to several other strategies: Structure-Conduct-Performance, the New Industrial Organization and Game Theory, the Resource-Based Perspective, and Market Process Economics. The authors cite as proof a study that found Porters Competitive Strategy referenced in nearly half of the articles published in the Strategic Management Journal from 1986 to 1990. They believe Porters model is a most apt methodology for competitive analysis for several reasons. Porters model is most suitable because of its well-defined structure; it provides an analytical framework of definite criteria. Porters value chain model is practically suited for empirical analysis because it facilitates the comparison of firms and analysis of their competitive performance. Another reason Ormanidhi and Stringa mention for their preference of Porters model is its conceptual clarity; its terminology is consistent and easily understandable. Furthermore Also, Porters model complements other strategies such as game theory and the resource-based model. The last reason is inherent in Porters definition, that is, it is a generic strategy that is sufficiently general that it is applicable to various types of industries such as service and manufacturing firms. Manufacturing White and Pearson (2001) proposed in a study of the manufacturing value chain using the JIT concept and technological advances related to systems integration, the establishment of customer service levels on par with overall management objectives in order to improve organizational performance. They used Porters value chain model to demonstrate how the application of JIT systems throughout the manufacturing process enables the organization to integrate its activities in a continuous improvement process. In each stage of the Porter model, primary activities and support activities, the authors illustrate how the application of JIT techniques can optimize the manufacturing process. Retail Dommisse and Oosthuizen (2004), utilized Porters model in a study of the U.K. retail life insurance industry and introduced an evolutionary a concept referred to as value chain deconstruction which, they say, is gaining acceptance. Based on Porters model, value chain deconstruction theory is largely a result of the proliferation of new technologies and regulatory measures. Analysts, they declare, have observed components of the traditional value chain fragmenting to form new or merge with other industries. This relatively new, conceptual models main advantage, according to the authors, is that it clearly highlights the areas in the value chain where the traditional strategies of differentiation, cost leadership and focus can be applied (p. 18). Thus, Porters model persists as the foundation of new and emerging concepts of strategic management. The field of strategic management is complex and various definitions have been proposed based on the different aspects of organizational infrastructure. One means of organizing the numerous schools of thought was proposed by Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (as cited in Sadler, 2003, p. 15) who described three major groups labeled the Prescriptive, Descriptive, and Configurational Schools. Michael Porter, renowned scholar, author, advisor, and recipient of a myriad of rewards for his work, laid the foundation of the Positioning School, which falls into the Prescriptive Group. Porters is best known for the theories illuminated in his 1980 work Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors in which he presented his Fve Forces Model five elements that affect an industrys profitability, and his generic strategies which are intended to counter those forces. In The Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, published in 1985, Porter developed his Value Chain Model, a framework for activity-based competitive analysis of a firm. These two monumental works have influenced academia and management since their inception. Widely popular and broadly used, these prescient theories have influenced strategic management philosophy the world over. Across the spectrum of industry types, from Japan to Europe, the impact of Porters works is indisputable. Undoubtedly, Michael Porters influence will continue to be felt in the halls of business for years to come.