Placebos Essays (1376 words) - Clinical Research, Medical Ethics

Placebos Why we need placebos English/ History By Jj wallis A placebo is defined as an inactive substance resembling a medication, given for psychological effect or as a control in evaluating a medicine believed to be active. However the placebo only fits this description under the restraints it has been given by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which refers to the placebo as an investigational new drug. In actuality, up until the present much of medicine was built on placebos. Not very long ago, the rituals and symbols of healing constituted the bulk of the physicians armamentarium. In the early decades of the 20th century, most of the medication that doctors carried in their little black bags and kept in their office cabinets had little or no pharmacological value against the maladies for which they were prescribed. Nevertheless, their use in the appropriate clinical context was no doubt frequently beneficial.(Brown, 6) Even though placebos have been proven effective medicine time and time again the FDA remains reluctant to approve them for anything more than clinical research. The FDA stands on their disapproval of placebos as medicine on the basis that patients are to be given the best treatment available. Who is to say that a placebo is not as, if not more effective than the accepted remedy? There are an endless variety of cases that have proven placebos inconclusively effective. Among the most famous of these cases is the story of Mr. Wright, who was found to have cancer and in 1957 was given only days to live. Hospitalized in Long Beach, California, with tumors the size of oranges, he heard that scientists had discovered a horse serum, Krebiozen, that appeared to be effective against cancer. After Wright begged to receive the serum, his physician, Dr. Philip West, finally agreed and gave wright the injection on a Friday afternoon, not telling Wright that injection consisted only of water. The following Monday the doctor was astonished to find that the patient's tumors were gone. Dr. West later wrote the tumors, had melted like snowballs on a hot stove. At Tulane University, Dr. Eileen Palace has been using a placebo to restore sexual arousal in women who say they are nonorgasmic. The women are hooked up to a biofeedback machine that they are told measures their vaginal blood flow, an index of arousal. Then they are shown sexual stimuli that would arouse most women. The experiment then tricks the women by sending a false feedback signal, within 30 seconds, that their vaginal blood flow has increased. Almost immediately after they become genuinely aroused. In another case a study was carried out in Japan on 13 people that were extremely allergic to poison ivy. Each individual was rubbed on one arm with a harmless leaf and told that it was poison ivy and then rubbed on the opposite arm with poison ivy and told that it was harmless. All thirteen broke out in a rash where the harmless leaf had contacted their arm. Only two reacted to the poison ivy leaves. (Blakeslee, 2) In yet another example, patients with angina pectoris, chest pain, associated with heart disease, have been shown to improve substantially following an operation that involved nothing more than a simple skin incision. Angina also improved following a type of artery surgery once thought to be effective but later found to be ineffective. (Turner, 1) These are just a few of a great number of cases that prove the effectiveness of placebos. How do placebos work? There are many theories on how placebos work but really no definite answers. Many believe that the response to placebos is one of conditioning. That is that the site of a doctor, his white coat, the sterile smell, and a prescribed medication is equated with being cured, and because we think that we will get better we do. Some think that a placebo might reduce stress, allowing the body to regain some natural optimum level of health. Others believe that special molecules in the brain help carry out the placebo effect. A recent study found that stressed animals could produce a valium like substance in their brain if they have some control over the source of the stress. People must certainly share

William Quantrill and Jesse James

William Quantrill and Jesse James It wasn’t always possible to determine on which side certain individuals fought for during the U.S. Civil War, especially when Confederate guerrillas were involved in the State of Missouri. Although Missouri was a border state that stayed neutral during the Civil War, the state provided more than 150,000 troops who fought during this conflict- 40,000 on the Confederate side and 110,000 for the Union.   In 1860, Missouri held a Constitutional Convention where the main topic was secession and the vote was to stay in the Union but to remain neutral. In the 1860 Presidential election, Missouri was one of only two states that the Democratic candidate, Stephen A. Douglas, carried (New Jersey being the other) over Republican Abraham Lincoln. The two candidates had met in a series of debates where they discussed their individual beliefs. Douglas had run on a platform that wanted to maintain the status quo, while Lincoln believed that slavery was an issue that needed to be dealt with by the Union as a whole. The Rise of William Quantrill After the onset of the Civil War, Missouri continued its’ attempt to remain neutral but ended up with two different governments that supported opposite sides. This caused many instances where neighbors were fighting neighbors. It also led to famed guerrilla leaders like William Quantrill, who built his own army that fought for the Confederacy. William Quantrill was born in Ohio but eventually settled in Missouri. When the Civil War started Quantrill was in Texas where he befriended Joel B. Mayes who would later be elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1887. It was during this association with Mayes that he had learned the art of guerrilla warfare from Native Americans.   Quantrill returned to Missouri and in August 1861, he fought with General Sterling Price at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek near Springfield. Shortly after this battle, Quantrill left the Confederate Army in order to form his own so-called army of irregulars that infamously became known at Quantrill’s Raiders. At first, Quantrill’s Raiders consisted of just over a dozen men and they patrolled the Kansas-Missouri border where they ambushed both Union soldiers and Union sympathizers. Their main opposition were  the Jayhawkers- guerillas from Kansas whose loyalty was pro-Union. The violence got so bad that the area became known as Bleeding Kansas.   By 1862, Quantrill had approximately 200 men under his command and focused their attacks around the town Kansas City and Independence. Since Missouri was divided between Union and Confederate loyalists, Quantrill was easily able to recruit Southern men who resented what they perceived to be the harsh Union rule. James Brothers and Quantrills Raiders In 1863, Quantrill’s force had grown to over 450 men, one of whom was Frank James, older brother of Jesse James. In August 1863, Quantrill and his men committed what became known as the Lawrence Massacre. They torched the town of Lawrence, Kansas and killed more than 175 men and boys, many of them in front of their families. Although Quantrill targeted Lawrence because it was a center for Jayhawkers, it is believed that the terror that was imposed on the cities’ residents stemmed from the Union imprisoning family members of Quantrill supporters and allies, including the sisters of William T. Anderson – who was a key member of Quantrill’s Raiders.  A number of these women died, including one of Anderson’s sisters while imprisoned by the Union.  Anderson who was nicknamed Bloody Bill. Quantrill would later have a falling out that caused Anderson to become the leader of most of Quantrill’s group of guerrillas which would include sixteen-year -old Jesse James. Quantrill, on the other hand now had a force that only a few dozen. The Centralia Massacre In September 1864, Anderson had an army that totaled approximately 400 guerrillas and they were preparing to assist the Confederate Army in a campaign to invade Missouri. Anderson took about 80 of his guerrillas to Centralia, Missouri to gather information. Just outside the town, Anderson stopped a train. On board were 22 Union soldiers who were on leave and they were unarmed.  After ordering these men to remove their uniforms, Anderson’s men then executed all 22 of them. Anderson would later use these Union uniforms as disguises. A nearby Union force of approximately 125 soldiers began to pursue Anderson, who by this time had rejoined his entire. Anderson set a trap using a small number of his force as bait which the Union soldiers fell for. Anderson and his men then surrounded the Union force and killed every soldier, mutilating and scalping bodies. Frank and Jesse James, as well as a future member of their gang Cole Younger,  all rode with Anderson that day. The Centralia Massacre was one of the worst atrocities that occurred during the Civil War. The Union Army made it a top priority to kill Anderson and only one month after Centralia they accomplished this goal.  In early 1865, Quantrill and his guerrillas had moved on to Western Kentucky and in May, after Robert E. Lee had surrendered, Quantrill and his men were ambushed. During this skirmish, Quantrill was shot in the back causing him to be paralyzed from the chest down. Quantrill died the following as a result of his injuries.

Dusicyon (Warrah) - Facts and Figures

Dusicyon (Warrah) - Facts and Figures Name: Dusicyon (Greek for foolish dog); pronounced DOO-sih-SIGH-on; also known as the Warrah Habitat: Falkland Islands Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (2 million-100 years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet long and 25 pounds Diet: Birds, insects and shellfish Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; strange diet About Dusicyon (Warrah) Dusicyon, also known as the Warrah, is one of the most fascinating (and most obscure) animals to have gone extinct in modern times, certainly not anywhere as well-known as the Dodo Bird. Not only was Dusicyon the only prehistoric dog to live on the Falkland Islands (a few hundred miles off the coast of Argentina), but it was the only mammal, periodmeaning it preyed not on cats, rats or pigs, but birds, insects, and possibly even shellfish that washed up along the shore. Exactly how Dusicyon wound up on the Falklands is a bit of a mystery; the most likely scenario is that it hitched a ride with early human visitors from South America thousands of years ago. Dusicyon earned its amusing nameGreek for foolish dogbecause, like many animals restricted to island habitats, it didnt know enough to be afraid of the second wave of human settlers to the Falklands during the 17th century. The problem was, these settlers arrived with the intention of herding sheep, and thus felt compelled to hunt Dusicyon to extinction (the usual method: luring it near with a tasty piece of meat, and then clubbing it to death when it took the bait). The last Dusicyon individuals expired in 1876, only a few years after Charles Darwin had the opportunity to learn aboutand be puzzled bytheir existence.

CRITICALLY REVIEWING A JOURNAL ARTICLE Assignment

CRITICALLY REVIEWING A JOURNAL ARTICLE - Assignment Example Researchers have outlined several practises of strategic human resources management and HR management policies and impacts of such policies on performance of various firms of China. Ngo, Lau, and Foley, has contrasted SHRM and HR policies in terms of ownership structure (Ngo et al., 2008). Integration of SHRM and HR practices in the ownership or management structure will increase operational efficiency, financial performance, and employee management. Researchers have outlined feasible strategies for organisational performance. In addition, researchers have developed investigation on various SHRM practises on the expansion, acquisition, and employee motivation strategies. In the page 74 of research paper, strategic HRM is recognised as the key HR strategy in terms of increasing organisational efficiency (Armstrong and Armstrong, 2000). Activities of HR managers are modified to increase competence of employees. HR managers must adapt performance appraisal policies to motivate efficient and performing employees. However, compensation of employees and improvement programs are essential to maintain employee relationship and motivation. Managing employee behaviours is one of the major strategies that will be followed by the HR managers. Globalised firms are increasing use of long-term strategies so that they are able to achieve objectives, growth and sustainability in the competitive firms. Ngo, Lau, and Foley, reported that strategic human resource will align different functions of the employees in order to competitiveness of the firms. However, growth and sustainability strategies of the firms are depending on employee’s performance as per predetermined goals (Armstrong and Armstrong, 2011). Researchers have investigated on the HR practices adopted in the developing countries. Effective HR policies will increase the competitive advantage of the firms in global and

Business environment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Business environment - Coursework Example A language barrier presents a cultural issue among the large passenger population. The main issues include different preference on the meals, on board entertainment and overall flight communication problems between the crew and passengers. Virgin Atlantic airline overcomes legal challenges of handling arising misunderstandings during the cargo business. Different commitments within American and the United Kingdom players translate to varying results. Virgin Atlantic invests on the cargo business to ensure consistency and service reliability. As such, the airline is an award winning company over the last years. The airline uses â€Å"VEX† as an express courier, â€Å"MUST RIDE† to ensure urgency and the â€Å"PETS† to fly the pets. The airline also uses different sized cargo equipment such as p6p, ALF and AKE to ensure goods safety. The involved agreement policy honor terms of business delivery irrespective of the destination. Virgin Atlantic airlines also incorporates advanced information technology to deliver quality services. The airline combines advanced technology with available top-notch skilled power to change passenger experiences. A change of the communication channels in the airline entails the use of mobile technologies for the restaurant services. Services to passenger entails sending direct complimentary food vouchers top passengers’ mobile device. The flexibility in technology enables Virgin Atlantic to lead the airline industry. Virgin Atlantic airlines operate under a digitalized environment. The company’s expenditures revolve around employing the wide use of the internet to offer services, advertise company offers and to enhance customer transactions. As such, the airline manages to increase about 2% of the total number of passengers

The Importance of Teachers in Fostering Students’ Creativity Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Teachers in Fostering Students’ Creativity Essay The Importance of Teachers in Fostering Students’ Creativity Teacher attitudes, beliefs and classroom practices are deemed to be of crucial influence in the development of students’ creativity; however the importance of promoting creativity in schools is a controversial topic. There’s no doubt about it. Creativity is as natural and necessary for children as fresh air! By exposing our young learners to creative experiences, we give them the gift of a rich and memorable school experience while laying the foundation for a lifetime of creative expression and important learning skills that are essential at the individual, social, and global levels of society. Creativity is found in the obvious subjects such as art and music, but can also be found in science and play. We automatically associate creative thinking with art, music, dance, and drama. However, we must recognize that creative thinking can be found in all aspects of a child? life and can be learned and used daily. Creativity is important at so many levels of our society, including both the individual and the social levels. For example, at the individual level creativity is relevant to solving real life problems. At the social level, creative individuals pioneer progress in science and technology and the beauty in arts. Furthermore, creativity is important at the global level. Creative accomplishments help to build a more interactive world that fortifies human civilization. In fact, Starko argues that humans would have no advancement in art, literature, science or invention if human creativity did not exist. Ironically educators frequently teach students about creative and eminent people, but ignore teaching methods that foster students’ creative thinking in the classroom. The importance of the school’s role in the development of students’ creativity has been highlighted in many studies regarding creativity. The classroom is construed to open new pathways in children’s creativity (Cropley, 1994; Sternbeg, 1999; Starko, 1995). Therefore, teachers must play important roles to enhance the components of student’s creativity. Unfortunately, often times we are faced with a significant problem: What happens if this teacher is not a real leader? In education, as in so many other areas of society, new kinds of organizations and models of leadership are needed. Organization and leadership are symbiotic; meaning one cannot thrive without the other. The work of new leaders is precisely to help create such new organizational models through new models of leadership. But what constitutes leadership in education? The word education comes from the Latin word educare meaning, â€Å"To lead out of†. Therefore, we could argue that to study education is to study leadership and educators must be leaders by definition. There are many reasons as to why teachers have not assumed the appropriate leadership roles necessary in schools and education. First of all, there has been confusion between the meaning of leadership and that of management supervision and administration. Historically, â€Å"professional† teachers were not only expected to obey their superiors and restrain from questioning authority, but also were expected to view their calling as a vocation – not primarily a career. A â€Å"good† teacher was expected to stay in the classroom and teach the students, motivate them, and encourage their creativity no less than a â€Å"good woman† was expected to stay at home and take care of the children. Teachers themselves need to become agents of change in order to fulfill the necessary role of leader in the classroom. For example, engaging in collaborative activities and personal reflection could help them be a good leader. The behavior of the teacher and whether or not they have assumed the role of leader has a significant influence on students’ creative thinking in the classroom. It is incredibly important that a teacher is aware of one’s own behavior and the environment they create in the classroom. For example, the teacher must act as a positive role model, since the behaviors that the teacher displays shape the behaviors students develop. Also, the teacher must build a classroom atmosphere that allows for creativity to flourish. This could be an atmosphere that is constructively responsive to unusual ideas. Finally, the teacher must put forward an effort to reward and foster students’ creativity through instructional activities. These three aspects of the teacher’s role in the classroom reflect personality (e. g. openness), intellectual (e. g. creativity), and knowledge prerequisites (e. g. instructional knowledge) that a teacher needs to foster creativity in their students. Unfortunately, many teachers are not prepared to foster creativity or simply do not value creativity in the classroom, which leads to problems among creative children. Some behavioral and personality traits that are common among creative children include, impulsiveness, nonconformist, disorganized, adventurous and imaginative. In general, teachers have a negative view of the characteristics associated with creativity, and therefore could be the root of teachers’ unwillingness to foster creativity in the classroom. If a teacher is a real leader and has sufficient knowledge about â€Å"creativity†, one can modify his/her relationship with these students. There are many ways to modify content, process, learning environment, and products that are challenging for creative students; nonetheless, teachers are slow to integrate modifications into their teaching learning practices because of administration problems. Regarding content and process modifications, if we consider all learning activities valuable for fostering the creativity of children; we can perceive the importance of independent learning and collaboration for creativity. Starko states that a classroom environment that supports universal ideas provides freedom of thought and freedom of choice and is conclusive to creative achievement. In conclusion, we can see that teachers who respect children’s ideas succeed in helping them learn to think and solve problems for themselves. Children who feel free to make mistakes, explore, and experiment, will also feel free to invent, create, and find new ways to do things. The side benefit is that fostering creativity in our classroom makes teaching more rewarding and fun and gives children a zest for imagining and learning that could last a lifetime.

Christina Rossettis Poetry: Controlled and Passionate Essay -- Cousin

Christina Rossetti's Poetry: Controlled and Passionate Rossetti's poetry has been described as both controlled and passionate. Making clear what you understand by the terms discuss which of these two views you have more sympathy with and why. Refer closely to at least three of the set poems. Christina Rossetti poetry uses concise structures but through these she expresses immense emotion; in this respect her poetry can accurately described as "both controlled and passionate" yet the two words are almost a paradox as passion is frequently seen to be at odds with controlled tight structures. Other poets have also followed in Rossetti's footsteps by combining tight structured poetic forms with emotion e.g. Dylan Thomas. L.E.L is a prime example of Rossetti's technique; it combines a complex structure with a very emotive outcry. The structure is very precise with each verse not only rhyming within itself, in an A, B, A, B, C, C, C pattern, but also within pairs of stanzas containing a pattern between them on the 5th to 8th lines. The 2nd and fourth lines provide visually rhyming lines throughout the poem connecting each verse although when the poem is read aloud the lines do not rhyme verbally. Rossetti also plays with structures in the poem, beginning with an elegiac stanza form ("a Quatrain of four iambic pentameters rhyming A, B, A, B" - Pears Cyclopaedia) before diversifying into her own version ending with C, C, C. The elegiac stanza form helps contribute to the passion by setting the tone for the poem while at the same time Rossetti alters the form to suit her needs showing creativity within her "control". The latter section of each stanza is in a different tone relating and contrasting the emot... ... with more flair in her earlier poetry, with later works settling into more conventional forms. Thus it is difficult to decide which argument to have more sympathy with as both control and passion are constantly intertwined and also changed as Rossetti grew older. Work Cited Rossetti, Christina. The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti. With Memoir and Notes &c. Ed. William Michael Rossetti. London; New York: Macmillan, 1904. Works Consulted Armstrong, Isobel. 'A Music of Thine Own': Women's Poetry. in: Joseph Bristow, Victorian Women Poets. Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan Press Limited, 1995, 32-63. Harrison, Antony H. Christina Rossetti in Context. Brighton: The Harvester Press, 1988. Marsh, Jan. Christina Rossetti. A Literary Biography. London and Sydney: Pimlico, 1995.

British Airways Marketing Report Essay

Current share price is 225 with a range of between 224 and 289. Marketing is ‘the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. ’ BA used to operate in an oligopoly market however throughout the last century this has changed. Previously it was only large national companies that had enough money to provide flights however nowadays the market operates in perfect competition with high barriers to entry. BA can use marketing to promote their product, drive market share, anticipate customer requirements, satisfy customer needs and ultimately make a profit. The Marketing Mix The marketing mix is a combination of 4 P’s (product, price, place and promotion) that should be used in conjunction with each other to ensure a competitive edge over other companies. ‘The marketing mix is designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market’. Product BA’s product in essence relates to the flights offered. However, the product can be drilled down into specific areas ranging from the airport lounges around the world, the ‘extras’ that you can buy on board such as model BA aeroplanes or even package holidays. Each of these has been specifically tailored to meet customer expectations (which are highlighted in the section of the report titled ‘target market’). This part of the marketing mix focuses on how BA’s products are managed and in the Guardian case study article titled ‘BA, Iberia and American Airlines tie-up heralds new era of transatlantic travel’ dated 06/10/2010 it shows how BA have made an executive decision to link their websites with other companies to have the possibility to offer a higher number of routes (products) to their potential customers. Price Price is simply ‘the amount of money customers must pay to obtain a product’. BA’s price is generally higher than their competitors although this is because they believe they are offering higher quality. However, in recent times BA appear to be losing the price war against low cost budget competitors such as Ryanair and Easyjet. Following this, BA have undergone marketing strategies to reduce their price and carry out ‘sale discounted’ periods. BA demand immediate payment for their products, do not give credit terms or allowances. Promotion In the early days when BA was a nationalised company and the market was an oligopoly, they didn’t have to promote as much, as competition was minimal. However, with the growth of new players in the market BA have resulted to advertising in the following areas: tube stations (especially the Jubilee Line going towards Canary Wharf to target higher earners), newspapers (such as the Financial Times and Sunday broadsheets), airports (mainly in Heathrow and Gatwick – their primary hubs) and adverts between TV programmes, starting from September 2009 – such as the News, Politics programmes and factual documentaries. BA also use personal advertising techniques with their advert: ‘Come together it’s Christmas’. This uses emotional targeting to encourage people to buy their product to visit loved ones during this period. See Appendix 2. Place Currently BA do not operate from London Stanstead however a marketing decision could be taken to include this to their portfolio. This would give them a higher percentage of UK airport utilisation however a cost benefit analysis could prove this move to be not so advantageous. BA have recently ‘taken on’ Easyjet and are now offering a Gatwick-Marrakech route at discount prices. This gives customers higher choice and allows BA to remain competitive and attempt at satisfying the needs of those who want to pay less. Once BA have exhausted the 4 P’s, a S. W. O. T. Analysis will be completed to determine and examine internal strengths and weaknesses and, external opportunities and threats. S. W. O. T. Analysis Strengths The case study website article on ‘This is Money’ dated 24/01/2011 undoubtedly highlights one of the major strengths carrying BA at present. The merger between BA and Iberia has strengthened its financial position and is a step closer to ‘creating a multinational multi-brand airlines group’. BA take pride in their strong brand, high quality service and offer prestigious first class airport lounges to ensure that their customers are taken care of to the standard they expect for the prices they are paying. This is what has allowed BA to charge higher fares and gives them the image that higher class passengers are willing to pay for. By linking themselves to fellow competitors (American Airlines) and strengthening their position by joining the One World syndicate, BA have encouraged higher revenues from this tactical decision. Following the strong decline throughout the global recession, BA’s strength is ‘bouncing back’ according to the BBC News Article ‘British Airways in first profit for two years’. Although the rise in incomes and ultimately rise in profits was linked to higher cargo fares, BA were able to successfully cut costs and meet their carbon emissions targets also. Weaknesses Despite the above, BA has been renowned for strong continual losses as highlighted in the other BBC News Article ‘British Airways reports ? 164m loss’. The losses were mainly caused by the volcanic ash cloud and staff strikes both resulting in the cancellation of thousands of flights. It’s reported that just ’15 days strikes†¦ had cost the airline ? 142m’. The strikes had also had a negative impact on their declining reputation making some people not wanting to fly with them anymore. BA’s reputation was also hit when they were sued ? 10K by competitor Virgin for accessing their private files and consequently trying to poach business. If this wasn’t bad enough, in 2009 BA were fined a massive ? 110m for price fixing – known as a ‘cartel’ and this is illegal. Although passengers accept that flight travel can be dangerous, BA adds to its weakness with its own incidents. These range from a mid-air collisi on in 1976, a pilot being sucked out of the aircraft when a windscreen exploded and in 2008 a BA plane at Heathrow missed the runway and crash-landed. More recently, BA has been investigating prices of flights to some destinations that were being charged at 10 times the normal price owing to a ‘system error’ online. This is going to make people think twice when booking with the company. Opportunities While the above 2 sections focus internally, opportunities and threats highlight those factors that can influence BA externally. The lifting of the recession in recent months has allowed passengers to review their spending habits and hopefully create higher disposable income in households and allow the ‘loosening of the belt’ for those corporate company credit cards. BA need to carefully position their marketing strategies at the right time in order to capture these people with that bit of extra money to spend and the report will focus on this issue in the following few pages. BA sold its Gatwick hub airport for ? 1. 5bn, although this was reportedly at a loss (as BA originally paid ? 10. 1bn for it 3 years prior), it gave BA the opportunity to invest its interests elsewhere and concentrate on a smaller number of airports. BA also sold its interest in the London Eye – now sponsored by EDF, to focus on other projects. Threats BA has been hit by threats in recent years ranging from terrorism, bad weather, volcanoes and more recently the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the civil unrest in Libya. Numerous flights have been cancelled to the Libyan capital Tripoli costing BA millions of pounds. Following this, BA has been forced to cancel their entire summer 2011 season of flight programmes. The events in Japan have also affected BA’s programmes with flights to Tokyo disrupted. The case studies provided highlight how BA ‘went into meltdown’ following the heavy snow suffered in the UK during December 2010. The conditions caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled for both cargo and passengers and the title of the article ‘British Airways says bad weather could cost it ? 50m’ sums up the situation perfectly. The terrorist events in the USA in 2001 still continue to make passengers nervous of flying, especially Trans-Atlantic and this is always going to be a sensitive subject that BA would find hard to market against. By doing so, they would not want to seem like they are publicising terrorism but at the same time have concentrated their marketing strategies on the highest standard of comfort and ‘relaxability’. A final threat is shown in an article by the Telegraph where BA is ‘attacked’ by a social media Facebook campaign where Gatwick workers have criticised BA’s Terminal 5 at Heathrow calling it ‘shambolic’ and the page was even designed with videos showing the CEO of BA wrestling with baggage and trolleys. This damages BA’s reputation and makes a mockery of their brand. All of the factors mentioned above in the marketing mix and S. W. O. T. Analysis are important for BA to consider however if the company does not have a target market to aim their products at, the company would not be able to survive. British Airways Target Market and Positioning Strategy In order to ensure BA’s products are directed at the correct audience to maximise revenues and profits, careful market research needs to be invested in to find a target market. ‘The basis of target marketing is market segmentation’; which splits the market into groups of potential customers that have the same characteristics. From the 3 marketing strategies, it’s believed that BA use a ‘differentiated strategy’ as they focus on several specific areas of the market to target. The characteristics below offer ome possibilities that link all of BA’s customers together. Watch the News on television Celebrities Speak a 2nd language Middle/Upper Class Holiday in non-European destinations Read non-fiction In full time employment or retired Have higher disposable incomes By segmenting the customer base to determine a ‘target market’ BA split the market depending on the following variables: * Demographic – age, gender * Geographic – where the target is based * Geo-demographic – size of households, number of cars etc.. depending on location * Psychographic – lifestyle, attitudes Behavioural – the relationship between the target market and the product As the points show in the circle above, BA focus their marketing strategies on those that have higher income and appear in the middle/upper classes of the population, this is evident from the prices of their products and the quality of the service offered. Both genders are targeted equally with the age range (generally) being between 35 to 65. The BA advertising strategies are positioned to target those situations that their customers can relate to and dream about – i. . luxury holidays, comfortable flights and a reliable service. This concentrates on the behavioural variable. Geographically, as BA is a British company, the target market is centralised in the UK however following partnerships with fellow companies such as American Airlines for example, a wider global base is reached. BA have positioned their product away from their low cost budget competitors acknowledging that they offer a more luxurious alternative to cheap travel. Their positioning strategy can lso be seen in the ‘product class membership’ which again, separates BA’s service away from the Easyjets and Ryanairs. By doing this, BA have created their own competitive advantage and have taken an alternative route to satisfy other customers needs that are not centered around saving money. Marketing Recommendations In order for BA to evaluate how successful their target market strategies and their positioning tactics are, the report recommends that the company should see how many levels of ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ are being satisfied from a purchase of a BA flight. This can be seen in Appendix 3. Psychological needs: SATISIFIED: shelter from the cold, provision of food and oxygen * Safety needs: SATISIFIED: provision of a safe environment and reassuring customers * Belongingness and love needs: N/A * Esteem needs: N/A * Self-actualization needs: Possibly relevant to those who are over-coming their fear of flying. Secondly, BA could conduct marketing research to determine ‘why’ customers buy their products in the first place. This could be conducted as a quick questionnaire either in-flight when the customers are all in one place at the same time or as a mandatory set of questions when booking flights. This will help BA to see what criteria are satisfied during the stage of the ‘buyer decision process’. There are 3 possibilities however the report recommends that BA would come across the most popular varible below: * Routine Response Behaviour: Customers who are frequent flyers, possibly members of the Executive Club, they are aware of the low cost competition however have a loyalty towards BA and favour their service. Appendix 4 shows where the report deems BA’s product to currently be in the market. By carrying out the market research above and with the new strong group behind the company, the brand could move backwards in the graph and back and return to the growth stage. This can also be said of Appendix 5, by moving BA from a question mark in the Boston Matrix and positioning it in the ‘star’ category. The report recommends BA to further extend their marketing strategy to concentrate on ‘holidays’ and not just flights. This links closely with an interview carried out by ‘Marketing Week’ and BA’s Head of Marketing, Richard Tams. ‘We are devoting more and more of our reativity in any given campaign to talking about holidays’. BA should extend this further and working with tourist boards of exotic countries to promote cheaper package holidays with the support of the Government in those ‘further to reach’ luxurious locations. Tams states ‘we are looking to move BA. com to much more into the space of a t ravel website rather than a flights website’. The report strongly agrees with this marketing strategy and would fully support BA’s proposals. This widens their product mix and allows a larger more diverse target market to be captured. Conclusion The report has analysed the company British Airways firstly concentrating on the product mix and a S. W. O. T analysis. The report has described the company’s target audience and commented on the current positioning strategy of British Airways. The report has concluded with marketing recommendations that could be put in place to ensure the long time success of the company. Future events that British Airways will have to be aware of include the UK Government adjusting passenger air tax and carbon emission regulations. 2,682 words. Bibliography All referenced throughout. Books Jobber, D. 2001 4th edition ‘Principals and Practices of Marketing’, McGraw Hill International, P 810 * Kotler, P. 2010 9th edition ‘Principals of Marketing’, Pearson * Lamb, C. 2009 6th edition ‘Essentials of Marketing’, Neil Marquardt * The Chartered Institute of Marketing, LSBU lecture notes Websites All accessed between 24/03/2011 and 30/04/2011 * www. bbc. co. uk /news * www. dailymail. co. uk/travel/article-1369100/Libya-action-hits-British-Airways-flights. html * www. guardian. co. uk * www. google. co. uk/finance? q=PINK%3ABAIRY * www. iagshares. com www. letsstartthinking. org/quickreference/maslow-need-hierarchy. asp * www. marketingweek. co. uk/sectors/travel-and-leisure/airlines/qa-with-ba-marketing-head-richard-tams/3019560. article * www. news. airwise. com/story/view/1300492770. html * www. news. cheapflights. co. uk/†¦ /ba-takes-on-easyjet-on-gatwick-marrakech-route * http://phx. corporate-ir. net/External. File? item=UGFyZW50SUQ9ODMyOTJ8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=&t=1 * www. telegraph. co. uk/travel/3366187/British-Airways-staff-attack-passengers-on-Facebook. html * www. thisislondon. co. k/standard/article-23431527-london-eye-looks-for-new-sponsor-as-ba-pulls-out. do * www. thisismoney. co. uk * http://uk. reuters. com/article/2009/10/21/uk-baa-idUKTRE59K1D820091021 * www. utalkmarketing. com/UTMImages/2/BA_terminal5_2. jp g Appendices 1. ) Group structure of IAG 2. ) BA advert 3. ) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 4. ) Product Life Cycle 5. ) Boston Matrix ——————————————– [ 1 ]. www. iagshares. com [ 2 ]. http://www. google. co. uk/finance? q=PINK%3ABAIRY [ 3 ]. Lamb, C, 2009 ‘Essentials of Marketing’ 6th edition. Neil Marquardt,

Daphne Scholinski the Last Time I Wore a Dress

Daphne Scholinski’s memoir The Last Time I Wore A Dress is a touching narrative of a girl who was misunderstood. Throughout her childhood and young adulthood, Daphne struggled with identifying with her feelings. Daphne was constantly searching for an answer to why she felt different. Daphne wanted to â€Å"fit in† but she knew she was unconventional. The different labels she was given through out her psychiatric stay stuck with her and left a scar of how she was once perceived. Daphne had very low self esteem through out her childhood. This is because her parents ignored her and gave her little affection. She didn’t even notice when I walked out of her apartment, ran down the stairs,† (Scholinski 4). Her self esteem was worse at her dads house than her moms, however, her relationship with Frank made her very uncomfortable when she would travel into Chicago because she didn’t want to see him. Daphne wanted to be tough; when she hung out on the streets with her gang she needed everyone around her to see her toughness. Her gang saw that she was strong in side and out; this made them respect her. The respect shown by the gang is why Daphne tries to act tough at every new place she goes. Daphne wants to gain respect from them. Daphne knows she looks like a boy but the tough persona given off by this makes Daphne accept it. The people around Daphne treat her like a boy. â€Å"I landed a punch on Louis’ shoulder and he was dead serious looking at me, trying to figure out how to come back at me, but I had him blocked and he decided I passed and Joey agreed,† (Scholinski 71). The Disciples gives her positive feed back abut her boyish look and behavior, this is why she enjoys those memories. However her Dad and Mom are confused by it and they don’t know what to do with her. Her fellow patient’s have their own problems so Daphne’s gender issue doesn’t bother them, although the Doctor’s are highly concerned. At every psychiatric facilities that she is a patient at the Dr. ’s try to break ground with the issue with Daphne. As soon as this happens Daphne losses trust in them and she starts to pull away. She know that this is the root of her problem and she try’s to avoid it at all costs. She is afraid of their perception of her and if she will have to change. Daphne goes through a metamorphosis through her memoir. As a child she acts the way she feels so she is only doing what is natural to her. Because there s violence in her house she acts violent and because she feels like a boy she dresses like a boy. She viewed her as tough and that doesn’t change. However her thoughts of being an under achiever change after her self esteem is restored, which doesn’t fully happen until her stay at the Wilson Cente r. The Wilson Center is where she has the best perceptions of herself; she feels independent, smart, fun, and friendly. Daphne had a very hard time understanding her thoughts and feelings until the Wilson Center. The patients are who gave Daphne strength, the positive environment let Daphne explore who she was and relax and have fun. The Wilson center represents the adolescence that she should have had. The Dr. ’s still make her feel uncomfortable when the gender issue arrises but Daphne can cop with it better because she likes where she is. Meeting Valerie led her to discover her homosexual feelings. It wasn’t the initial meeting of Valerie but later in Daphne’s life she released her true feelings towards women which is the biggest change of all. The reason why Daphne was originally admitted into the Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center is due to the fact that her parents couldn’t and didn’t want to handle her anymore. Her violent outbursts and rude behavior was in response to the way her Dad treated her but also her own frustrations dealing with her identity crises on her own. The Dr. ’s viewed her gender non-conformity as a bad habit and wanted Daphne to change her appearance. Daphne new that if she changed her appearance the Doctors wouldn’t bother her about it anymore. However Daphne couldn’t do this because its not how she felt. The Doctor’s viewed Daphne as choosing to act this way not Daphne needing to act this way. Each culture establishes gender ideals and the people within that culture follow them. The non-conformist in some cases, like Daphne, are prosecuted for not complying. I feel that this is wrong, To make everyone fit into a type is not necessary because not everyone likes those choices. Daphne was only doing what felt best for her and their is nothing wrong with wanting to feel comfortable. Making Daphne wear makeup for points didn’t do anything in the long run because Daphne didn’t change her ways. Rules like these are the essentialist beliefs that ruled all of the institutions. The essentialist beliefs in the institutions was boys should act and dress like â€Å"boys† and girls needed to act and dress like â€Å"girl†. Michael Reese facility wanted Daphne to wear tighter fitting clothes, nicer shirts, and act girly. Daphne conformed and like the extra attention from boys but I feel like this confused her and led to why she didn’t like being there. During her entire stay at Michael Reese she wasn’t fully being herself creating another identity so she wouldn’t have to face herself. Another essentialist belief of the institutions is if you do what we, the staff, says you will get better. At Forest Hospital Daphne was even farther away from herself at first. Daphne lied about drug addiction and they wouldn’t believe her when she said she lied. They wanted her to tell the truth but she was and this caused a major conflict for Daphne. Daphne viewed institutions such as family and school with little to no trust. This is because she felt that they failed her. â€Å"How come no one ever says school is failing me? † (Scholinski 15). Instead she received a you failed them attitude from everyone. Her lack of trust towards her family is because they were not affectionate towards her and instead gave her the violent tendencies she struggles with. Violence is a theme that dictated a lot of Daphne’s problems. Her Dad was verbally and physically abusive and this environment didn’t give Daphne and her sister the love they needed. Her Mom was not violent towards Daphne, however, where her mom lived allowed Daphne to find other outlets for her budding violent behavior, such as the Disciples. These violent actions she took part in allowed Daphne to act out her frustration with in herself, although he parents eventually couldn’t hand her anymore and turned her over to Michael Reese. Through out her psychiatric stay Daphne used violence to gain respect because this is the only way she knew how to gain it. As Daphne changed and began to understand herself her violent actions diminished. The Trials and the Triumphs of the Transgendered explains the anxiety and depression that can come as baggage to a gender crisis. Daphne dealt with this her entire life because she nor anyone else knew how to categorize her. This research article also explains the questions that one has to manage on a daily basis because of their gender disassociation. Along with the standards of care for Gender Identity Disorders, â€Å"because dysphoria is currently listed as a psychological disorder, transgendered people are assumed to be mentally ill,† (Moffic 3). Moffic gives tips at the end to help Doctor’s with patients that have gender Identity disorders. Daphne’s doctor’s would have benefited from confronting staff about prejudicial behaviors, empower their patients to the discussions, and keep transgender possibility in mind. Daphne’s doctor’s were fixated on changing Daphne to an average girl. When in instead they should have been guiding Daphne to have her be able to understand why she is this way and that there’s nothing wrong with it. Daphne’s struggles was an insightful look at how you can’t change what feels right for you. Through out Daphne’s life she was drawn to being a boy. Instead of changing how she felt she learned that this is good for her. This is how people should view gender identity disorders but people are afraid of the unknown. Daphne’s strength is paving the way to new thinking and understanding of this disorder. The LGBT has come a long way and everyday their efforts to inform us on how they want to be treated equally is allowing them to gain more acceptance. Our society is slowly changing for the better and hopefully one day LGBT won’t have any labels.

Moses, Jesus and Muhammad Essays

Moses, Jesus and Muhammad Essays Moses, Jesus and Muhammad Essay Moses, Jesus and Muhammad Essay Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad are today considered as three of the greatest prophets in the world. They portrayed themselves as religious figures as well as the messengers of god. There teachings are believed by many people and they have many followers. While Moses and Muhammad are projected as the prophets, Jesus is considered to be the son of god. They established a monotheistic belief and believed that they were the only god and there is only one god to follow. It was thought that both Jesus and Muhammad were the messengers from god carrying the same message. However, people believed in the experience and the influence of each, which led to the formation of two different religions. While Moses was called the founder of the religion of Israel. Moses became the leader of the Israelites after leading them out of slavery from Egypt. He was believed as the â€Å"servant of god† by his followers. While leading them out of Egypt on the way to Mount Sinai, Moses was given a set of rules by god, called The Ten Commandments to give to his people. The Ten Commandments stated the 10 rules that would guide people to be good. The rules included something like one most not steal, lie, commit adultery or do anything that would harm others. The meaning of the Ten Commandments was to spread love among people and lead them to live their life in a correct way. Moses was appointed as a prophet by god. There were three incidents that are mentioned in Torah that led god appoint Moses as a prophet. As a young kid, Moses sees an Egyptian man beating up a Jewish slave, who led him to kill the Egyptian and the next day he is trying to make peace between the two Hebrews. These were the three qualifications in god’s eye which made him appoint him as a prophet. Jesus was believed as a son of the god by many people. His teachings showed people how to be a good person in their life; he showed people how they should love each other and should have no hatred among them; how they should respect and treat others. He showed people the meaning of love and thought them how to love and care. He started to have many followers and his followers became to be known as Christians and they believed that this Jesus was the son of God. They believed he was the son of the god because of his three basic miracles and they were: healing the sick; multiplies the food and raises the dead. His disciples were told to go and preach in different towns and cure the people by miracles to prove them that there is a god and they are their disciples. Jesus too believed in The Ten Commandments and these Ten Commandments have shaped up as laws of today’s society because they are very precisely defined by Jesus. People visit to churches where his teachings are preached which lets people believe that the god existed. The Ten Commandments has helped people realize how good of a person they are and have made them realize their crimes. The followers of these commandments will get salvation. The idea that Jesus serves today is that he wants all his followers to love him more than he does his parents or daughter and son. He wants people to praise him and spend time for him. Another thing Jesus wants people to believe is the life after death. Jesus describes that when a spirit of a man who is unclean will wander around looking for a place to live which he never finds it and ends up in a place with several other spirits which are worse than him. Muhammad was the founder of the Islamic religion and was believed as the last prophet of god. The word Islam comes from an Arabic word meaning peace, giving in, and respect. Mohammed’s teachings and his experiences influenced people to follow him, and his followers became known as Muslims. Mohammed was not a creator of the Islam religion; he was just a restorer of the monotheistic faith. He is believed as the last and the greatest prophets. Today Muslims in the world follow his ways, traditions, and custom. He started to preach at the age or 40 in the month of Ramadan when he first received a message from god. He then revealed the messaged and stared preaching it publicly. His preaching’s are still playing a major role today where people have surrendered their lives to god and are following the five Pillars. Just like there are Ten Commandments in the Christianity there are Five Pillars in Islam. The Five pillars are the five basic rules in Islam that everyone must follow. His followers are to follow the 5 pillars all the time in their life. They have pray 5 times a day, they all have faith, give alms, fast during the month of Ramadan and have to visit Hadj once in their life. The women in Islamic religion have to follow and obey more rules than men. Islamic women should not show their face in public, they are only allowed to show their face to their husband only. They cover their face also for a religious purpose. Even in Hinduism when a woman visits to temple their head must be covered in order to give respect to their God. In Muslim countries there are specific times that are set for people to leave their work and pray five times in a day. In my opinion I think it is a great rule that is set because it than ecomes mandatory for everyone to pray and increases faith in people. A Muslim is the one who believes in god and does his best to live a life like Muhammad and lives according to the principles of Muhammad. To live a life of Muhammad is like living a perfect life. These were the three great prophets in the world and their teachings are being thought in many different places. Their teachings and their experiences are being thought throughout the world which is influencing more and more people. Each religion has different way of teaching but they all serve the same meaning of living a perfect life.

The Primary Framework for Literacy and Mathematics Essay

The Primary Framework for Literacy and Mathematics - Essay Example These variations are built upon evaluation and research carried out since the late 1990s. The changes include: 1. Extending it to the beginning of funded education, to create greater coherence and continuity within and between stages of care and education 2. Creating a clearer set of learning objectives to support teachers and practitioners in planning for progression in literacy and mathematics, to help raise the attainment of all children, personalise learning and secure intervention for those children who need it 3. Bringing an increased sense of drive and momentum to literacy and mathematics through the primary phase, involving some scaling up of expectations and a greater focus upon planning for progression through a teaching sequence over an extended unit of work covering two or three weeks 4. Supporting schools and settings in implementing the recommendations of the Rose report through the provision of high-quality teaching of phonics and early reading 5. Supporting improved l eadership and management of literacy and mathematics to stimulate and improve standards further 6. Reducing workload and foster professional dialogue on how to use the Framework flexibly to meet the needs of the children. 7. Introducing a new, electronic format which allows for customised planning, teaching and assessment, with the ability to link quickly to a wide range of teaching and learning resources available through the Primary National Strategy. (DfES, 2006) The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics differs from the 1998 Framework in that it involves an electronic version with simplified learning objectives. The electronic Framework provides a resource that will be added to and expanded, as well as providing additional materials and support and as the Framework project develops. This may include any necessary revisions to the Early Years elements, and the simplified learning objectives that give a broader overview of the literacy curriculum in the primary phase. The learning objectives of the framework are aligned to 12 strands that demonstrate progression in each of the strands. The 12 strands also create a direct link to the Early Learning Goals and aspects of English inside the National Curriculum. If the learning objectives are covered, this will enable the pupils to reach the desired Communication, Language and Literacy goals, and ensure that the appropriate National Curriculum levels are accomplished for the Key Stages. The strands of this framework include Speak and listening for a wide range of purposes in different contexts, Reading and writing for a range of purposes on paper and on screen Word recognition, Understanding and interpreting texts, creating and shaping texts, organisation and structuring of text, Engaging and responding to text, Sentence structure and punctuation, Word Structure, spelling and Presentation. (DfES, 2006) This framework also involves the Literacy Hour within which Pupils have daily literacy lessons where th ey are taught the knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the National Curriculum for English. The guidance in the renewed Framework still places emphasis on properly directed, carefully planned, purposeful learning and teaching. Initially, the context of the literacy framework required adequate attention to be given to how the lessons are organised and structured. The real challenge

Transformers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Transformers - Essay Example Transformers surfaced a number of years ago with its first movie debut in 2007. The movie was able to capture imaginations across the globe with its sophisticated graphics and depiction of cars turning into robots and back to cars again. In addition, the thrilling tale that bound the first Transformer movie kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting for more Transformer action and drama. Needless to say, the sequel to the first Transformer movie was bigger, better and more breath taking. The second part of Transformers has captured my attention since its inception since 2009, even though there have been other sequels as well. The second movie built upon the concepts delineated in the first movie and refined the conception of transforming robots and their mission further. Improved graphics, a stunning cast and a thrilling action story coupled to a strong plot made for an unforgettable movie. Living a routine life, I could not help appreciate the capricious nature of events depicted that assumed larger than life dimensions as two species of robots battled for control of their fates. The very label of the second movie, â€Å"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen† speaks volumes of the intent behind this movie. Although there have been other sequels of the Transformer movie series, but the groundwork laid in this particular sequel is unmatched. Primarily, when Transformers’ second movie is compared to contemporary cinema, it becomes clear that the concept existed at the margins and this movie brought this concept to the limelight in an unmatched fashion. A number of different science fiction movies dotted cinemas and imaginations across the globe but none of them depicted entire herds of robots, each with its own distinct character and flavour. The very idea of two divergent robot herds battling each other for control of certain resources on planet Earth to dominate the other seemed out of the mundane and ordinary