Research study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Research study - Essay Example This characteristic is a necessary component of teacher education programs. The problem that is being investigated is the subject of reflection of the professional vocational careers of educators in a tertiary educational institute environment. The dilemmas and issues which are discussed in the literature are the benefits and characteristics of reflection. Dewey (1933) said that teachers must reflect in order to properly deliver and implement the subject taught in their classes. Reflection is an answer to a previous event which entails learning, remembering, circumspection and introspection. The sample population was at a Liberal arts college in the Midwest. An autobiographical academic report was collected along with statistical information about the respondents. The statistical method which was applied was comparative analysis. The bias is the self perception of the respondents. The areas where future research could be conducted are upon the elements of self satisfaction within the psychological domain and the selections of the three respondents who did not fit into the status

Mumbai Slums Essay Example for Free

Mumbai Slums Essay An earthquake occurs when there is a sudden release of energy in the Earths crust that causes seismic waves. Earthquakes are typically caused by opening of geological faults. They are however also caused by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear experiments. The effects of earthquakes are many and far reaching. Earthquakes cause shaking and ground ruptures which result in less or sometimes more severe damage to buildings or other rigid structures. Earthquakes also results in landslides and avalanches, which sometimes causes damage in hilly and mountain areas. After an earthquake, the place can catch fire by breaking of the electrical power or gas lines. Because of the shaking, sometimes the soil liquefies, the loose saturated cohesion less soil loses its strength and temporarily transforms from a solid to a liquid state. Soil liquefaction causes firm structures like buildings and bridges to slant or sink into a liquefied state. Earthquakes result in loss of life, damage to property, fatal diseases, lack of basic necessities and it affects the financial and economical structure of the country. Some safety measures are used so that the government, individual and businesses can prepare themselves against this calamity. To reduce the damage, retrofitting techniques and modern earthquake resistant designs of new buildings and lifeline structures like bridges, hospitals and power plants are used in earthquake prone areas. The emergency services under the local and state government ensure that the public is safe by dealing with the crisis. Individuals and businesses are encouraged by governments to have an earthquake kit and supplies for three days at hand. As a result of an increase of the number of seismic stations today, the earthquakes are reported more than in the past, which help in the preparation process. Slums in Mumbai Slums always existed in Mumbai. In 19th century, slums grew around mills and other places of employment. Now they grow where ever there is empty space. Slum dwellers today cover 60% of Mumbai’s population. The government tried to rectify the problem in 1985 by passing the Slum Upgradation Project. Regrettable the project targeted only 10-12% of the slum population, those who were able to of upgrade their homes. It ignored inhabitants in slums, those who did not have homes at all. In spite of all the attempts to cure the problem of slums in Mumbai, slums are still growing. The growth rate of slums is actually greater than the growth rate of general urban. It is estimated that everyday 100 to 300 new families come to Mumbai. Most of them end up in a slum colony or just put up a shanty on the on the footpath. Due to migration, the city’s population is increasing and with it the slums. These facts show that migration has to stop to cure the problem of slums. According to Professor RN Sharma, (the head of the Urban Studies Unit in Tata Institute of Social Sciences), Mumbai, the city is unquestionably disintegrating into slums. A Jockin of SPARC, (the NGO that works for slums) said that the rehabilitation process is the only solution to the problem of slums in Mumbai. He said: â€Å"This talk about Mumbai having predominantly slums is rubbish. Already 67 per cent of slums on railway land have been re-settled. The airport project and the rehabilitation near Mithi River is also happening at a good pace. These figures of slum population rising is not true†. Former housing minister Nawab Mallik also agreed that rehabilitation is a best way to get rid of slums. References: Earthquake. (2007, November 4). Retrieved November 5, 2007 from World Wide Web: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Earthquake Juneja, Saakshi. (2006, January 9). Mumbai Slums. Retrieved November 5, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://mumbai. metblogs. com/archives/2006/01/mumbai_slums. phtml Slums. Retrieved November 5, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www. macalester. edu/courses/GEOG61/espencer/slums. html Slums: The Magnitude of the Problem. Retrieved November 5, 2007 from World Wide Web: http://theory. tifr. res. in/bombay/amenities/housing/slum-stats. html

Effects of the Expansion of Starbucks

Effects of the Expansion of Starbucks 1. Background information Starbucks has expanded rapidly since 1995. Yet, as a result of the economic crisis causing a decline in sales, Starbucks was forced to take measures that enable it to cope with this economic crisis. (Jannarone, J. June 14 2010) 2. Effect of Starbucks expanding 2.1 Effect on the PPF(Production Possibilities Frontier) curve Starbucks has expanded at a very fast rate, adding stores in the US at an annual rate of 27% from 1995 to 2005.( Jannarone, J. June 14 2010)This would cause the PPF(Production Possibilities Frontier) curve for the goods of Starbucks to shift outwards as shown in the diagram below due to the increase in the quantity of resources being put into the production of goods since stores are categorize under capital resources. (Assume that Starbucks produce only two goods, coffee and cake) 2.2 Effect on the market demand and supply curve The expansion also caused the supply curve of the goods of Starbucks to shift to the right due to the increase in the number of suppliers (shops). This has resulted in an increase in supply of the goods of Starbucks. The equilibrium market price would fall while the equilibrium quantity would increase as shown in the diagram below. The blue thin lines indicate the equilibrium price and quantity. Q-quantity, P-price, E-equilibrium point, S-supply 3. Market structure of Starbucks The market structure that Starbucks is operating in is oligopoly. The following are the reasons which lead to the conclusion. 3.1 Number of sellers in the market Starbucks is a large firm operating in a many different countries. It supplies most of the speciality coffee in the world. There are also very few competitors such as MacDonald and Coffee Bean which are competing with Starbucks for its customers whom are mainly well-off working professionals. 3.2 Substantial barriers to entry for new firms It is very difficult for a newcomer to set up a speciality coffee chain in the world as cost is very high. For example, advertising the new coffee product would take a huge amount of money. Researching and coming up with a new coffee product may take years and cost about a few million to a billion dollars. Moreover it is very hard for newcomers to compete for customers with established firms like Starbucks as these firms already have an established brand name. As such customers would rather drink the coffee at these firms instead of others as they trust the quality of the coffee there. 3.3 Mutual interdependence Some of the actions taken by Starbucks competitors depend on the actions taken by Starbucks. It means that firms in an oligopoly weigh the effects of its own behaviour on the other firms behaviour. For example as a result of Starbucks having espresso-based drinks, McDonald decided to launch espresso-based drinks too. (Jannarone, J. June 14 2010) 3.4 Type of oligopoly Starbucks is a differentiated oligopolist due to the fact that evidence in the newspaper articles seems to suggest this. For example McDonald has launched espresso-based drinks but this has hardly affected Starbucks sales. (Jannarone, J. June 14 2010). This is due to the fact that Starbucks espresso-based drinks may have different physical qualities such as a better taste compared to the ones offered by McDonald. Therefore Starbucks is likely to be less sensitive to any price changes of its competitors products as the products it offers are different compared to its competitors products. 4. Behaviour of Starbucks Starbucks practices non-price competition which means that it designs itself to increase its share of the market without changing the price of its products. This can be seen from the fact that when McDonald launched espresso-based drinks, Starbucks sales at stores swung positive in the past several months even though it did not decrease the price of its products. (Jannarone, J. June 14 2010) Here are some of the possible ways Starbucks practice non-price competition through product differentiation. 4.1 Physical differences Starbucks products are of better quality compared to its competitors. An example could be that Starbucks espresso-based drinks have a better taste compared to McDonald coffee. This can be seen from the fact that even though McDonald launched espresso-based drinks in 2009, Starbucks sales at stores swung positive in the past several months. (Jannarone, J. June 14 2010).This shows that generally Starbucks products are of better quality compared to its competitors products. 4.2 Location Starbucks outlets are normally located at areas where the competitors outlets are not located. This can be seen from the fact just 23% of US Starbucks locations have a McDonalds outlets within a quarter-mile radius. (Jannarone, J. June 14 2010)This makes it difficult for their regular customers and even future customers to switch to other alternatives. 4.3 Product image Starbucks has also fostered in people mind that it provides coffee that is of the highest quality. This is done through advertising. 4.4 Reasons for Starbucks behaviour Starbucks is doing this as it does not want to have a price competition with its competitors. This is because if a price war occurs, Starbucks would be forced to lower the prices of its products, causing the price to be lower than the marginal cost of producing each of its products. This would cause it to lose a lot of revenues and the total revenue earned may be much lower compared to the total cost incurred. As such Starbucks would be operating at a loss and might even close down. 5. Effect of economic recession on Starbucks 5.1 Income elasticity of customers of Starbucks Starbucks customers demand for the goods of Starbucks is income elastic. This is because during the economic recession where many of Starbucks customers suffer a decrease in their incomes, sales of Starbucks goods began to weaken, resulting in a 9% decrease. (Cain Miller, C. January 28, 2009)It came to the point where Starbucks was forced to retrench. (Jannarone, J. June 14 2010) As such in conclusion, the absolute value of the income elasticity of demand of customers of Starbucks for the goods of Starbucks is above 1.This shows that customers of Starbucks are very responsive to any change in their income in their demand for Starbucks goods. As a result, the demand curve for Starbucks goods would shift to the left by a lot. 5.2 Starbucks closing down stores Starbucks has closed down 300 stores, causing about 700 of its employees to lose their jobs in 2009. (Cain Miller, C. January 28, 2009)This is because in the short-run, at the point of output where the marginal revenue is equal to the marginal cost, the price per output of Starbucks is below the average variable cost. As such Starbucks is not able to cover part of its variable costs and its total fixed cost. Therefore Starbucks loss would be part of its variable costs that it is not able to cover and its total fixed cost if it decides to continue on production. However if Starbucks shut down its stores, its loss would be just the total fixed cost. Therefore to minimize loss, Starbucks has decided to close down some of its stores. Starbucks PPF(production possibilities frontier)curve would shift inward as the quantity of resources being put into the production of its goods is decreased since retrenching will reduce the amount of labour being employed and closing down stores would reduce the amount of capital being put into the production of Starbucks goods. This can be seen from the diagram. (Assume Starbucks produce only two goods, coffee and cake) 5.3 Effect of recession on demand for Starbucks goods In the first quarter of 2008, Starbucks revenue has decreased from $2.77 billion to about $2.6 billion and sales at Starbucks stores decreased by about 9% (Cain Miller. January 28, 2009). This is due to the fact of expectations of its customers. Starbucks customers expect their money income to decrease as a result of the economic recession. As a result, they would buy less of Starbucks goods as a result of their anticipation of a decrease to their money income. This would cause the demand curve for Starbucks goods to shift to the left, resulting in a decrease in the equilibrium price and quantity. 5.4 Starbucks cutting down on cost Starbucks also has tried to cut down on cost. This include cutting down on variable costs such as reducing the salaries of employees such as Mr.Schultz , cutting down on fixed costs by renegotiating prices with landlords and suppliers. (Cain Miller, C. January 28, 2009). This would cause the supply curve of Starbucks to shift to the right as a result of the decrease in resource price such as labour, as a result of this, market equilibrium price would decrease and the equilibrium quantity would increase due to decrease in the cost of production. Starbucks is doing this so as to reduce its total cost by about $400 million to $500 million. (Cain Miller, C. January 28, 2009). This also has enabled Starbucks to increase its operating profit margins from 0.6% to about 4.5 % (Cain Miller, C. January 28, 2009). Such measures has enabled Starbucks to increase its (total revenues-total cost) difference. As such gap between total revenues curve and total cost curve would be larger due to the decrease in cost. 6. Conclusion 6.1 Economic profits Starbucks is an oligopolist; it would in the long-run have an economic profit due to substantial barriers to entry such as a high start up costs and the presence of established brand names. As a result, lesser firms would enter the market that Starbucks is operating in. Lesser number of Starbucks customers would get snatched away, therefore demand for Starbucks goods would not reduced by a lot, as such Starbucks would still earn an economic profit 6.2 Allocative efficiency Starbucks cannot attain allocative efficiency as the price of its goods are larger compared to the marginal cost associated with producing that good. This show that consumers are paying an amount that is larger compared to the additional cost of producing a unit of Starbucks good. Therefore consumers would be better off if Starbucks produce more of its goods. 6.3 Challenges faced by Starbucks Starbucks faced a declining demand for its goods as consumers now prefer healthier drinks. However Starbucks emphasizes on milky, sugary drinks, hurting its image as an authentic coffee house. (January 28, 2009) This would result in Starbucks demand curve shifting to the left due to the taste and preferences of consumers, resulting in the decrease of equilibrium price and quantity. Starbucks has also expanded by a lot; this has resulted in it experiencing diseconomies of scale as more layers of management are needed to coordinate the Starbucks operations. This would result in a higher cost for Starbucks as a larger amount of resources is required to coordinate and manage resources such as labour. Starbucks may have also experienced the law of diminishing returns which is as more and more variable inputs are added into the fixed resource of Starbucks such as its stores, marginal product of the additional variable input would ultimately decline due to congestion and crowding. This is shown when the marginal physical product curve is decreasing from its maximum point. This would also result in it experiencing increasing marginal costs as shown in the diagram. This is shown by the marginal cost curve increasing from its minimum point. 6.4 Starbucks strategies Starbucks has shown that it is capable of adapting to situations. For example, during the economic recession, it cut down on cost. It also attempted to attract more customers and retain existing ones by giving special offers such as giving loyalty cards that provide discounts and coming up with breakfast combination meals. (Cain Miller, C. January 28, 2009). Starbucks has also attempted to widen its market reach by opening new stores in new markets such as China. Many of those stores have matured and operating profits could soon be earned from them. (Jannarone, J. June 14 2010) To cut down on cost as well as diseconomies of scale, it also has shut down 300 stores. (Cain Miller, C. January 28, 2009) 6.5 Future of Starbucks Starbucks has proven itself to be capable of adapting to situation while attempting to take the initiative in taking advantage of new opportunities. This shows that despite challenges such as declining demand for its products, Starbucks is still capable of remaining competitive.

Communications Essay -- essays research papers fc

Freedom of speech is a right of individuals as they possess their own free will. Because of their free will, individuals have expressed their thoughts, desires, and aspirations through the mass media. Communicating freely with other affirms the dignity and worth of each and every member of society. Communication remains God's great gift to humanity without which we cannot be truly human, reflecting God's image. Freedom of expression is essential in the attainment and advancement of knowledge. Communication brings forth various ideas and information. People today are better informed and more enlightened thanks to thriving press freedom and expanding mass media here and in many parts of the world. All points of view are represented in the "marketplace of ideas" and society benefits from debate about their worth. "Monkey see, monkey do" has become a well-known saying in today's society. In addition, this is how media influences society as it leaves a large impact on the individuals. Media has been considered by Ciony C. Gonzales as the most dominant art form, as it has an innate power to engage and affect the total person. It leaves a compelling and lasting impact on both the conscious and subconscious. Though media informs and educates, it also corrupts and exploits, leading it to contribute to the moral degradation of society. The moral fabric of our society has been coming apart for some time. Sex and violence have been big sellers through media outlets but at the expense of our children as well as the society they live in. children are very impressionable and they emulate what they hear on the radio and see on both television and movies. We must safeguard and change what our children are exposed to. Media's role in society is to inform, educate, and entertain. It tells the truth and provides positive stimulation that can build up images and reputations the right way. It can also be a tribunal of justice. Therefore, media has contributed greatly in ways that both enlighten and enrich society, but in other ways have deteriorated and perplexed it. It is not a surprise to learn, then, that media is the most powerful source of information, and nothing else in today's world influences public perception as heavily. Media in the Philippines is simply a reflection, an outgrowth, a mirror of society as a whole. After all, media has been perceive... ...are dissatisfied at what our children are exposed to. The owners, producers, directors, gatekeepers, commentators and actors, must be held accountable. If we don’t buy, they wont survive, so we must write our politicians, radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and magazines and every other media outlet in order to let them know our concerns. We have the power, so let’s exercise it. After all, our society and the children that it breed are at stake. BIBLIOGRAPHY Caà ±aberal, Bernard. "Radio, Pop, Music & Comics: Impact on Filipino Youth." Media Watch, January 1993, pp. 44-45. Deocareza, Franco. "A Positive Media Culture for Children." Life Today, September, pp. 19, 23. Gonzales, Ciony C. "Film Culture." Life Today, January 1984, pp. 10-11. Gonzales, Ciony C. "Taking Films Seriously." Life Today, January 1984, pp. 9. "Pornography serious threat, studies show." The Christian Science Monitor, 23 September, 1999, Sec. A, p. 11. "Profanity use is too commonplace." The Oklahoma Daily, 21 Oktober, 1997, Sec. A, n.p.. Reuter, Fr. James. "Media and Values." Life Today, June 1992, pp. 40.

Research Proposal on Consumer Decision Analysis Essay

Primary research objective To determine the factors influencing the consumer decision while buying fruit drinks in the age group 17-30 in the city of Pune. Secondary research objective †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ To determine the product attributes influencing purchase decision of fruit drink brands. To determine the reasons for consuming various fruit drink brands. To determine the most preferred SKU(quantity) in fruit drink category. To determine the most preferred channel in the fruit drink category. Data which research plans to generate Factors influencing the choice of fruit drinks over other beverages. Factors influencing choice of a particular fruit drink brand. Factors influencing the choice of a particular channel in fruit drink category. Value of Information to Management This report aims to generate information on various factors influencing consumer decision while purchasing a fruit drink. Companies can utilise this information for identifying the awareness levels of their respective brands in the fruit drink category. Also companies can evaluate their positioning and promotion strategies based on the factors influencing the choice of a particular fruit drink brand. Companies can also utilise the factors influencing the choice of SKU for managing their portfolio of different SKUs in the fruit drink category. The information on factors influencing the choice of a channel can be used to focus on the growing channels and also in managing existing channels. This report also contains broad based trends on consumer profile, awareness levels, usage patterns and fruit drink category as a whole which can be utilised to make inferences about the future. Research Approach Data collection methods. a) Secondary Research External secondary data has been generated to obtain volume of sales regarding beverage markets, fruit drinks, each of the brands and the positioning of each of the brands. b) Survey Research †¢ †¢ †¢ Data was collected from candidates using questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed in colleges and people on the street. I distributed the questionnaires outside the shops to gather data from people who had come to visit there. I made an online questionnaire and circulated on the internet and gathered results from those. Measurement Instruments: †¢ The measurement instrument in the questionnaire was a five point Likert scale. †¢ †¢ †¢ Apart from details regarding their choice of drink for refreshment, their frequency of visits and the channels they choose, their spending patterns will also be mapped. The data was extracted and put in MS Excel. All the further analysis was then carried out using SPSS. The measurement was designed to get a fair idea about the various attributes and conducted factorial analysis of the important attributes. Samples The aim was to collect 100 samples for the analysis. The samples should be such that they are consumers of fruit drinks. I also tried to get an adequate ratio of men and women in the samples. The main demographics targeted were the younger age group as they are more health conscious and aware of such health drinks. Also I tried to focus more on the college going crowd and young professionals as they would be more interested in trying out new products and were more conscious. Buyers who have been consuming fruit drinks were better able to answer the questions regarding the influencing factors and the reasons for their consumption and purchase. The samples collected from internet have also been very valuable in the research. Analysis Techniques †¢ †¢ †¢ The analysis techniques used have been on SPSS and the tests were performed to ascertain the factors influencing the consumer decision while buying fruit drinks. Factor analysis was conducted to discern out of the 13 factors mainly which factors influence the buying habits of the consumers. Ultimately I identified 5 factors which mainly have an influence. I also conducted correlation tests to find out the various reasons for purchasing any particular brand of fruit drink. The main limitation is the sampling conducted. It was done in a random manner and no particular technique followed. In the first survey a greater number of college students have been surveyed. The data might not be representative of the entire population. Limitations: †¢ †¢ †¢ Various statistical techniques as learned have been implemented and conclusions as best possible have been drawn making few assumptions as and when required. Since no data was on interval or ratio scale it was not feasible to conduct Regression and ANOVA. Factor Analysis The Perceptual mapping for various factor recognized: Rotated Component Matrix(a) Component health and media convenience product features package design hygiene influence range_flavours 0. 112 -0. 069 0. 847 -0. 056 0. 033 availability 0. 011 0. 001 0. 82 0. 009 0. 042 brandambassador 0. 633 -0. 072 -0. 253 -0. 118 0. 3 visual_packg 0. 084 0. 072 0. 062 -0. 023 0. 872 price -0. 14 0. 003 0. 088 0. 691 0. 438 quantityavailable 0. 108 0. 643 0. 041 -0. 181 0. 06 promotionschemes -0. 08 0. 856 -0. 039 0. 172 -0. 032 packetcleanliness 0. 926 0. 004 0. 152 -0. 013 -0. 014 brandvalue -0. 116 0. 794 -0. 159 0. 125 -0. 028 nutritionvalue 0. 778 -0. 074 -0. 043 0. 067 -0. 088 flavour 0. 147 0. 118 -0. 113 0. 779 -0. 261 adfreq -0. 065 0. 8 0. 052 0. 046 0. 066 expirydate 0. 805 -0. 009 0. 244 0. 04 0. 043 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a. Rotation converged in 6 iterations. The factors recognized after the factor analysis are as under: Factor 1: Health and Hygiene 1. Packet cleanliness 2. Nutrition Value 3. Expiry Date Factor 2: Media Influence 1. Promotion Schemes 2. Brand Value 3. AD Frequency Factor 3: Convenience 1. Range of flavors 2. Availability Factor 4: Product Features 1. Price 2. Flavor Factor 5: Package Design 1. Visual Packaging Attributes those were not important: 1. Brand Ambassador 2. Quantity Available †¢ The perceptual maps show the mapping of different factors in the minds of the customers and the association between them. The data was reduced from many attributes to 5 factors that have similar attributes. The various factors mapped according to the rotated results of factor analysis. The factors were given names based on the attributes in them. These factors were used to form the factor analysis where two factors were mapped on X and Y axis to know the relation between them. †¢ †¢ The factors help the company to know how the product is currently mapped in the customer’s mind. If a target consumer is focused upon then the factors can be changed and a different map can be formed. The attribute brand ambassador and package sizes available are not a major attribute in any of the factors. This justifies the fact that almost all the major fruit drinks are not endorsed by any of the big brand ambassador barring a few such as minute maid pulpy orange (Nikhil Chinappa ) . Also the variety of the package sizes available is not affecting the consumer decision while making a purchase for fruit drinks. †¢ CrossTabs 1. PURCHASE FREQUENCY VS SKU PREFERRED. Crosstab Count SKU 200 ml purchasefrequency 1-3 times 4-6 times more than 6 times rarely Total 25 15 7 11 58 300 ml 2 6 1 1 10 500 ml 5 6 4 5 20 1 litre 2 0 4 6 12 Total 34 27 16 23 100 Chi-Square Tests Asymp. Sig. (2Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases a. 19. 117a 20. 380 8. 109 100 df 9 9 1 sided) . 024 . 016 . 004 10 cells (62. 5%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1. 60. Since p value is less than alpha i. e. .05 (95% confidence level), therefore h0 is rejected. This shows that there is high association between purchase frequency and SKU or quantity packs. This is an indication of the fact that people preferring smaller SKUs usually purchase more as compared to others. Thus high association between purchase frequency and SKU (pack sizes ) is established . 2. PURCHASE FREQUENCY VS GENDER purchasefrequency * gender Crosstabulation Count gender male purchasefrequency 1-3 times 4-6 times more than 6 times rarely Total 19 18 12 17 66 female 15 9 4 6 34 Total 34 27 16 23 100 Chi-Square Tests Asymp. Sig. (2Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 2. 776a 2. 776 2. 387 100 df 3 3 1 sided) . 428 . 427 . 122 a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 5. 44. Since p value is greater than alpha i. e. o. 05 (95% confidence level), therefore there is no association between purchase frequency and gender. 3. CHOICE OF CHANNEL VS FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF CHANNEL channel * reasonforchannel Crosstabulation Count reasonforchannel Pricing channel Retail store Supermarket Cineplex Restaurants Travel Pan shops Others Total 4 4 1 1 1 0 1 12 Ambience 8 6 0 3 2 2 0 21 Nearness 23 6 0 1 1 0 0 31 Service 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Display 13 6 2 3 1 0 0 25 Reputation 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 Occasion 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 Total 54 23 5 9 5 2 2 100. Chi-Square Tests Asymp. Sig. (2Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 68. 211a 50. 165 1. 108 100 df 36 36 1 sided) . 001 . 059 . 293 a. 43 cells (87. 8%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is . 02. Here p value is less than alpha i. e. 0. 05 (95% confidence level) therefore Ho is rejected. This shows that there is high association between choice of channel and factors affecting the choice of channel. This gives an indication such that those people who consider availability and nearness as their factor affecting the choice of channel might prefer buying fruit drink from retail stores or grocery stores. Thus a high association is established. CROSSTABS OF PURCHASE FREQUENCY VS REASONS FOR HAVING FRUIT DRINKS I conducted crosstabs of purchase frequency with the scores /ranking given by various respondents to the various reasons for drinking fruit drinks such as socialisation, refreshment, enjoyment, mental lift, attitude, basic thirst, taste etc. out of all these crosstabs association was found between two cases. The two cases have been given below: 1. PURCHASE FREQUENCY VS REFRESHMENT purchasefrequency * refreshment Crosstabulation Count refreshment neither agree nor strongly disagree purchasefrequency 1-3 times 4-6 times more than 6 times rarely Total 20 18 9 8 55 disagree 7 6 7 12 32 disagree 5 0 0 2 7 agree 2 1 0 1 4 strongly agree 0 2 0 0 2 Total 34 27 16 23 100 Chi-Square Tests Asymp. Sig. (2Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 20. 628a 23. 332 . 108 100 df 12 12 1 sided) . 056 . 025 . 742 a. 12 cells (60. 0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is . 32. Since p value is less than alpha (95% confidence level) thus there is high association between refreshment purpose and purchase frequency. This might be an indication of the fact that people drinking fruit drinks for refreshment purpose generally buy more as compared to others. PURCHASE FREQUENCY VS BASIC THIRST purchasefrequency * basicthirst Crosstabulation Count basicthirst neither agree nor strongly disagree purchasefrequency 1-3 times 4-6 times more than 6 times rarely Total 6 11 3 11 31 disagree 15 6 9 9 39 disagree 7 6 0 2 15 agree 5 4 4 0 13 strongly agree 1 0 0 1 2 Total 34 27 16 23 100. Chi-Square Tests Asymp. Sig. (2Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 20. 262a 26. 177 4. 223 100 df 12 12 1 sided) . 062 . 010 . 040 a. 12 cells (60. 0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is . 32. Since p value is less than alpha (95%) therefore there is high association between purchase frequency and basic thirst /filling purpose. This might be an indication of the fact that people drinking fruit drinks for basic thirst / filling purpose generally buy more as compared to others. Correlation Correlation of the various brands (i. e. Appy, Real, Tropicana etc) was done with various reasons for drinking such as refreshment, enjoyment, vitality, mental lift etc. I tried to identify the various reasons that are correlated with various brands . This activity basically helped us in identifying the perception and connotations of people towards various fruit drink brands. Following are some of the inferences that I established after conducting the correlation analysis. 1. There was a significant correlation between brand Real and the following reasons for drinking : †¢ Health †¢ Enjoyment †¢ Attitude 2. There was a significant correlation between brand Tropicana and the following reasons for drinking : †¢ Health †¢ Enjoyment 3. There was a significant correlation between brand Maaza and the following reasons for drinking : †¢ Attitude 4. There was a no correlation between brand Slice and the various reasons for drinking. 5. There was a significant correlation between brand Appy and the following reasons for drinking : †¢ Socialising 6. There was a significant correlation between brand Frooti and the following reasons for drinking: †¢ Taste †¢ Mental lift 7. There was a significant correlation between brand Mangola and the following reasons for drinking : †¢ Taste †¢ Mental lift 8. There was a significant correlation between brand Pulpy Orange and the following reasons for drinking : †¢ Attitude 9. There was a significant correlation between brand Twister and the following reasons for drinking: †¢ Taste †¢ Mental lift 10. There was a significant correlation between brand Others (ex. Lehberry etc.) and the following reasons for drinking : †¢ Attitude †¢ Basic thirst Conclusion On the basis of the data collected and the tests conducted I have arrived at the following conclusions: With the help of correlation I was able to identify the attributes that consumers associate with the various fruit drinks and which in turn drive their purchase decision for the same. For example Tropicana is associated with health and enjoyment whereas Appy is associated with socialising. These reflect the perceptions of the various fruit drinks in the mind of the consumers. The crosstab between purchase frequency and SKU showed that those purchasing smaller SKU’s purchase more frequently as compared to those who purchased a 500ml or 1litre. On the other hand there is no impact of gender on purchasing frequency for fruit drinks. There is a high association between the channels preferred and the factors affecting these channels. The most important factor came out to be location or nearness of the channel. There is also a high association between purchase frequency and reasons for consuming fruit drinks such as refreshment and fulfilling basic thirst. In factor analysis I found out 5 factors which mainly have an impact on the purchase of a fruit drink. There were two factors which did not have any significant impact. Also, I found out that the most preferred channel for purchase in retail stores. The most preferred SKU is 200ml packs which could be due to convenience. The most preferred drink is Frooti followed by Tropicana and Real. Annexure Perceptual Maps: 1. Health & Hygiene Vs Media Influence 0. 778 health and hygiene -0. 08 0. 926 -0. 116 0. 778 -0. 065 0. 805 media/external influence 0. 856 0. 004 0. 794 -0. 074 0. 8 -0. 009.promotionschemes packetcleanliness brandvalue nutritionvalue adfreq expirydate 2. Health & Hygiene Vs Convenience health and hygiene range_flavours availability packetcleanlines s nutritionvalue expirydate 0. 112 0. 011 0. 926 0. 778 0. 805 convenience 0. 847 0. 82 0. 152 -0. 043 0. 244 3. Health & Hygiene Vs Product Features health and hygiene price packetcleanlines s nutritionvalue flavour expirydate -0. 14 0. 926 0. 778 0. 147 0. 805 product features 0. 691 -0. 013 0. 067 0. 779 0. 04 4. Media Influence Vs Convenience media influence range_flavours availability -0. 069 0. 001 convenience 0. 847 0. 82.promotionschemes brandvalue adfreq 0. 856 0. 794 0. 8 -0. 039 -0. 159 0. 052 5. Media Influence Vs Product Features media influence price promotionscheme s brandvalue flavour adfreq 0. 003 0. 856 0. 794 0. 118 0. 8 product features 0. 691 0. 172 0. 125 0. 779 0. 046 6. Convenience Vs Product Feature convenience range_flavours availability price flavour 0. 847 0. 82 0. 088 -0. 113 product features -0. 056 0. 009 0. 691 0. 779 7. Health & Hygiene Vs Package Design visual_packg packetcleanline ss nutritionvalue expirydate health and package hygiene design 0. 084 0. 872 0. 926 -0. 014 0. 778 0. 805 -0. 088 0. 043 8. Media Influence Vs Package Design media/external package influence design visual_packg 0. 072 0. 872 promotionscheme 0. 856 -0. 032 s brandvalue 0. 794 -0. 028 adfreq 0. 8 0. 066 9. Convenience Vs Package Design range_flavou rs convenience package design 0. 847 0. 033 availability visual_packg 0. 82 0. 062 0. 042 0. 872 10. Product features Vs Package design product features visual_pack g price flavour -0. 023 0. 691 0. 779 package design 0. 872 0. 438 -0. 261 Questionnaire: QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Whom do you buy fruit drinks for? (Tick one) a) Myself b) Family c) Children d) Institutional purposes / social occasions 2. a) b) c) d) 3. a) b) c) d) How often do you have a fruit drink? 1-3 times a week 4-6 times a week More than 6 times a week Rarely (fortnightly ) What quantity do you usually prefer to buy? 200-250 ml (Tetrapak) 300 ml 500 ml bottle 1 litre 4. Through which medium did you come to know about your preferred fruit drink brand? a) Hoardings and banners b) Newspaper and magazines c) TV/radio d) Word of mouth e) Others †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5. Do the following reasons influence your consumption of fruit drinks? Strongly Disagree Neither Agree disagree agree nor REASONS disagree For social occasions / entertainment It acts as a refreshment. Strongly Agree It provides enjoyment It tastes very good It satisfies my basic thirst and is filling I feel a sense of well being after consuming it It gives me vitality and energy It relaxes me mentally It reflects my attitude 6. Rank the following fruit drinks from 1 to 5, with 1 being least preferred and 5 being most preferred: a) Real †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ b) Tropicana †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ c) Maaza †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ d) Slice †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ e) Appy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ f) Frooti †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ g) Mangola †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ h) Pulpy orange †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ i) Twister †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ j) Others †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7. How important are the following factors for purchasing a fruit drink? FACTORS Very less Less No important important Influenc e Important Very Important Flavor No. of flavors Availability and Convenience Price Cleanliness of packet/ not damaged Manufacturing date /expiry date Frequency of advertisement Brand ambassador Nutritional value/ calorie content Brand value /brand name SKUs available Promotion schemes/discounts Visual appeal of packaging 8. Which is your most preferred channel for purchasing a fruit drink? a) Retail store/grocery store b) Supermarket/hypermarket c) Cineplex d) Pan shop/kiosks e) Restaurants f) Travel g) Others†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) Which is the most important characteristic for choosing the channel? Pricing Ambience Location/ nearness Service Display /merchandising Reputation Occasion Others Personal Details 1. Age a) b) c) d) 17-20 21-24 25-28 29 and above 2. Gender: a) Male b) Female 3. Education a) b) c) d) e) High school Undergraduate Graduate Postgraduate Others.

Macbeth Appeal: Rough Draft Essay

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s best known tragedies. It is set in Scotland where a Scottish lord, Macbeth, is told a prophecy by three witches that he will become the king of Scotland. He then chooses the evil path, and with the help of his ruthlessly ambitious wife, commits regicide to become king. He furthers his moral decent with a reign of murderous terror to stay in power. In the end, he loses everything that gives purpose to his life, along with losing his life itself. Although it is such a fierce tragedy, it is also extremely appealing. It is a play that is full of action, mystical power and tension, which always keeps the readers and watchers interested. The action is apparent the entire way through the play right from the very beginning when we hear Duncan talking of Macbeth in battle, when he â€Å"unseam’d† a man â€Å"from the nave to the chaps†. At this point in the play, Macbeth is still loyal to his king, Duncan, and his country. It is clear that he is a brave soldier who wouldn’t hesitate to kill for his king. Throughout the play there are bursts of violent action, such as the murder of Banquo and of Macduff’s wife and children, but the greatest moments of action are during Act 5 when the battle to overcome Macbeth’s tyrannous reign over Scotland commences. Although it had been prophesized that â€Å"no man of woman born shall harm Macbeth†, Macbeth knows that he is going to die during this battle, but he is determined to bring with him as many as he can – I will fight ‘till from my bones my flesh be hack’d. In the end it is Macduff who kills Macbeth as he wasn’t of woman born, he was â€Å"from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d†, and returns with Macbeth’s head on a spike, describing Macbeth and his wife as â€Å"this dead butcher and his fiend like queen. † Although murder is a terrible and gruesome tragedy, it very much draws people in and keeps them watching because violence seems to be something that we are all interested in by nature, and action and violence are some of this plays traits which really do appeal to people. Another aspect of this play which people really find appealing is the insinuation of all the dark magic. It makes the play seem very mystical and scary. The witches are the main contribution to the mystical aspect of the play. The witches appear in the most well known and most magical scene of the play, the cauldron scene. The three witches are pictured standing around a cauldron making a potion of evil and disgusting ingredients like â€Å"finger of birth strangled babe† and â€Å"fillet of a fenny snake† whilst chanting â€Å"Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble†. Here they conjure up the three apparitions – the armed head, the bloody child and the crowned child with a tree in his hand. These apparitions tell Macbeth the prophecies which lead him to believe that he is invincible. One could also argue that Lady Macbeth can relate in some way to the witches when she calls upon the evil spirits and commands them to â€Å"Unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty† so that she can partake in the murder of Duncan without feeling any remorse or guilt, which at the end of the play we can see didn’t work as she went mad with guilt in the sleepwalking scene when she was continuously trying to clean Duncan’s blood from her hands. The addition of magic to the play is something that really appeals to the audience as it gives off a very mystical and chilling air. Magic makes the play so much more exciting, and the fact that the witches are supposed to be so gruesome and evil makes the play a little bit scary, which is always enjoyable when watching as it really gets people going and keeps them alert. Finally, what is also so appealing about Macbeth is the continuous tension the whole way through the play. The tension starts at the very beginning when the witches prophesize that Macbeth will become king, as we see that Macbeth has immediately thought of killing Duncan and doesn’t want anyone to know his evil thoughts – Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires. Before Macbeth goes to kill Duncan, it is almost as though we can feel the terror and angst that he feels, and afterwards, when he is covered in blood and Lady Macbeth tells him to â€Å"go get some water, and wash this filthy witness from your hand†, the audience can almost feel both their paranoia. From this point until Macduff kills Macbeth, there is an air of tension in the play, as we know that Macbeth’s reign over Scotland will destroy the country. His tense paranoia is also obvious from this point onwards as he feels the need to murder absolutely anyone who he thinks may go against him. His paranoia is also very evident in the banquet scene when his guilt of having his friend Banquo killed overthrows his conscience and he begins to see Banquo’s ghost, covered in blood. It is as this point in the play where Macbeth’s intense paranoia is at its peak, as after this he has Macduff’s family murdered just to be spiteful. It is also now in the play that we notice Lady Macbeth has become tired and we don’t see her again until the sleepwalking scene when her own guilt is quite evident. An air of tension is always something people enjoy as it keeps them on their toes and anxious to know what is going to happen next. The tension also ties in with the witches as it is undetectable as to when they are going to come up in the play. Overall, I find Macbeth a very appealing play. It has many aspects, such as the magic, action and tension, which really make it very enjoyable both to read and to watch, as it keeps us interested in what is going to happen next. Because the play is short, it is as though Shakespeare was trying to fit everything into a short span of time. So every moment of the play was actually of significance, meaning that there wasn’t a single boring moment in the play.

Reasons to Be Pretty, a Play by Neil LaBute

Reasons to Be Pretty, a Play by Neil LaBute Reasons to Be Pretty is a hard-edged comedy written by Neil LaBute. It is the third and final installment of a trilogy (The Shape of Things, Fat Pig, and Reasons to Be Pretty). The trio of plays are connected not by characters or plot but by the recurring theme of body image within American society. Reasons to Be Pretty premiered on Broadway in 2008. It was nominated for three Tony Awards (Best Play, Best Leading Actress, and Best Leading Actor). Meet the Characters Steph is the central argument of the play. Throughout the story, she is furious. She feels emotionally wounded by her boyfriend- who believes that her face is regular (which she views as a way of saying that she is not beautiful). Greg, the protagonist, spends most of his life trying to explain his misunderstood intentions to others. Like other leading men in Neil LaBute plays, he is far more affable than the male supporting characters (who are always foul-mouthed jerks). In spite of his low-key, eager-to-remain-calm personality, Greg somehow evokes anger from the rest of the characters. Kent is the obnoxious jerk character we were just talking about. He is crude, down-to-earth, and believes that his life is better than perfect. He not only has a good-looking wife, but hes also tangled in a work-related affair. Carly is the wife of Kent and the best friend of Stephanie. She sets the conflict in motion, spreading gossip about Gregs supposedly true feelings. Reasons to Be Pretty Plot Summary of Act One Scene One In Scene One, Steph is very angry because her boyfriend Greg supposedly said something derogatory about her physical appearance. After a heated argument, Greg explains he and his friend Kent had a conversation in Kents garage. Kent had mentioned that the newly hired woman at their workplace was hot. According to Greg, he replied: Maybe Steph hasnt got a face like that girls. Maybe Stephs face is just regular. But I wouldnt trade her for a million bucks. After his admission, Steph storms out of the room. Scene Two Greg hangs out with Kent, recounting his fight with Stephanie. During their conversation, Kent chastises him about eating an energy bar directly after a meal, claiming that Greg will get fat. Kent goes into the bathroom. Kents wife Carly arrives. Carly is in law enforcement. She is the one who gossiped to Steph about Gregs conversation, regarding her regular face. Carly harshly criticizes Greg, detailing how upset Steph has become, reacting to his insensitive words. Greg argues that he was trying to say something complimentary about Steph. Carly states that his communication skills suck. When Kent finally returns from the bathroom, he defuses the argument, kisses Carly, and advises Greg to treat women nicely to keep the relationship happy. Ironically, whenever Carly is not around, Kent is far more demeaning and derogatory than Greg. Scene Three Steph meets Greg in neutral territory: a restaurant at lunchtime. He has brought her flowers, but she remains intent on moving out and ending their four-year relationship. She wants to be with someone who sees her as beautiful. After unleashing more of her anger and rebuking Gregs attempts at reconciliation, Steph demands the keys so she can remove all of her items from their home. Greg finally fights back (verbally) and says that he doesnt want to see her stupid face anymore. That makes Stephanie snap! Steph makes him sit back down at the table. She then pulls out a letter from her purse. She has written down everything about Greg that she dislikes. Her letter is a vicious (yet amusing) tirade, detailing all of his physical and sexual flaws, from head to toe. After reading the hateful letter, she admits that she wrote all of those things to hurt him. However, she says that his comment about her face represents his true beliefs, and can therefore never be forgotten or taken back. Scene Four Kent and Carly sit together, complaining about work and money. Carly criticizes her husbands lack of maturity. Just as they start to makeup, Greg arrives to hang out and read a book. Carly leaves, annoyed because she blames Greg for making Steph move away. Kent reluctantly confides in Greg, admitting that he is having an affair with the hot girl at work. He goes through a long list of positive details about her physique. (In many ways it is the opposite of Stephs angry letter monologue.) At the end of the scene, Kent makes Greg promise not to reveal the affair to anyone (especially Steph or Carly). Kent claims that men must stick together because they are like buffalo. Act One of Reasons to Be Pretty concludes with Gregs realization that his relationship is not the only one that has fallen apart.

Concepts of Alzheimers disease

Concepts of Alzheimers disease Women and Alzheimers disease Introduction Alzheimer’s disease, popularly known as AD, is an irremediable, progressive ailment of the brain that destroys brain cells responsible for executing brain roles such as memory and thinking. Alzheimer disease destroys some brain faculties making the person unable to perform even the simplest tasks. To begin with, the disease affects regions of the brain, which manage language, memory and thought.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Concepts of Alzheimer’s disease specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, women suffering from Alzheimer disease find it hard to memorize things that have occurred lately and in most cases, they cannot even remember the names of people conversant to them. As time goes by, the symptoms become ubiquitous and worse. The disease also affects men but not vicious as compared to women. Source: https://farm1.static.flickr.com/95/225036858_d88c73896e .jpg For instance, women like men suffering from Alzheimer disease cannot recognize family members, experience some speaking difficulties and they loose their ability to read and write. Additionally, they forget to do even simple things like combing hair and brushing their teeth. With time, they become very nervous and belligerent, wandering far away from home never to return back as they cannot remember the way back home. The symptoms of Alzheimer disease become prevalent the age of 60. This means that as one gets older, the risks becomes high. Notably, research shows that the disease leads to dementia- a disease common among older people- men and women. Dementia is a brain disease characterized by the loss of cognitive functioning.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, persons suffering from dementia have remembering, thinking and reasoning intricacies, whic h end up affecting their daily activities. So far, statistics reveal that there are over 5.1 million people suffering from Alzheimer disease in United States alone and the disease affects more women than men (U.S National Institute of Health, 2010, p.1). Brain Changes with Alzheimer’s disease So far, medics are yet to identify the real cause of Alzheimer disease. Additionally, medics are busy doing research to identify how the process starts and whether brain damage occurs 10 to 20 years prior to the appearance of first symptoms. The brain changes are the same in both men and women suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Nevertheless, some medical practitioners believe that it all starts with the development of tangles in the brain especially in the entorhinal cortex and affects more women than men. Other regions of the brain may also develop plaques. Further development of the plaques and tangles within the brain regions hampers the normal functioning of the healthy neuro ns. Eventually, the neurons become less efficient and cannot communicate effectively with each other; consequently, they die leaving the person in big problems. The tangles and the plaques continue to damage the entorhinal cortex and eventually spread into a nearby region, hippocampus. The hippocampus is the region of the brain responsible for memory. There is also a significant increase in the death of the neurons leading to the shrinking of the affected regions. Source: https://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com/ Signs and Symptoms The society has mixed perceptions on the signs and symptoms of the disease. In most cases, they associate them with disability. Alzheimer’s disease develops slowly making it hard for medics to establish the whole process.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Concepts of Alzheimer’s disease specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Several neuropsychological testing reveals the dominan ce of mild cognitive intricacies eight years before the real diagnosis. Some of the common early symptoms include memory loss, which affects the person’s ability to remember or even get new information. In the early stage, persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease experience memory loss, language difficulties, changed perceptions (agnosia), and difficulties in moving from one place to another, apraxia. At this stage, the disease does not impair all memory capacities. Even if it affects these memory capacities, the extent of damage is not uniform across all memories. For example, research shows that the episodic memory responsible for remembering past happenings, the semantic memory responsible for recognizing learned facts, and the implicit memory of how the body works has lesser damages as compared to other memory capacities. This problem is more prevalent in men than in women. Additionally, both men and women experience language problems like hesitancy of words and dwindling vocabulary hence, the penury of spoken and written language. Nevertheless, the person can still perform fine motor tasks for example, walking, eating, writing, and drawing (Forstl, H. Kurz, 1999, pp. 288-290). The second stage of symptoms is the moderate. Here, the early signs and symptoms starts to deteriorate and eventually hinders the independence of a person. In most cases, this effect is dominant in men. On the other hand, women also experience speech difficulties and become prevalent-paraphasias. With time, they loose the ability to read and write. The memory loss problem also worsens and the person cannot even recognize family members. This stage exhibits behavioral and neuropsychiatric changes such as tetchiness, labile effect, outbursts, itinerancy, sundowning and aggression. In the advanced stage, the both men and women cannot perform any task individually. There is complete loss of speech characterized by single words and phrases. Nevertheless, although such pe rsons cannot communicate effectively, they understand and can answer using emotional gestures.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At this stage, they experience acute apathy, aggressiveness and exhaustion and they cannot perform any task including the simple ones minus assistance. Other symptoms include the deterioration of mobility and muscle mass to a stage where they confine to bed, unable to feed themselves. The table below shows the number of incidences affected after the age of 65 (Frank, 1994, pp. 417-423). Age Number of Men and Women Affected per One Thousand 65-69 3 70-74 6 75-79 9 80-84 23 85-89 40 Above 90 69 Causes To date, scientist have not identified the real cause of Alzheimer’s disease, although it is clear that the disease starts with some complications and a chain of events occurring in the brain for a lengthy period of time. Genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors are some of the possible causes of Alzheimer’s disease. Nevertheless, scientists have put across several hypotheses, which tend to explain the cause of AD. For example, the cholinergic hypot hesis depicts the reduced synthesis of neurotransmitter acetylcholine as the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Nonetheless, many scientists do not agree with this hypothesis and always find faults in it. Another hypothesis, amyloid hypothesis, developed in 1991 explains that amyloid beta (AÃŽ ²) causes Alzheimer’s disease. The hypothesis continues further to explain position of the gene in the amyloid beta precursor protein (APP) occurring in chromosome 21, a characteristic experienced by older persons. Since then, scientists have made numerous advances to the hypothesis explaining how amyloid plaques cause impairs the normal functioning of the neurons. Another hypothesis, explains how the breakdown of myelin within the brain causes Alzheimer’s disease. Such breakdowns cause distractions in axonal transport hence, trouncing of neurons. The hypothesis also explains that the iron unconfined during the go kaput of myelin can cause brain damages (Polvikoski, Sulkava, Ha ltia, 1995, pp. 1242-1247). Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease The definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is not an easy task. This is because it involves the assessment of the brain tissue and pathology examination in an autopsy. Nevertheless, due to the development of science and technology, medics are now in a position to determine whether persons suffering from memory problems have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. In order to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, medical practitioners have to perform the following. Firstly, they examine the medical history of the person affected, which includes the ability to carry out different tasks, earlier medical quandaries, and alterations in personality and behavior. Secondly, doctors will then proceed to perform memory tests such as attention and problem solving. They will also test the person’s ability to count and communicate effectively (language). Thirdly, they will then carry out medical tests from samp les of urine, blood and the spinal fluid. The last test involves brain scanning. Using computerized tomography (CT) or another technique called magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); doctors can determine the extent of brain damage over time. Perhaps this is the main reason why doctors prefer early diagnosis as they can be in a position to prescribe drugs, which control further development of the symptoms. Early diagnosis will also make many families prepare for the future in advance and develop support networks (Shiel Marks, 2010, p. 1). Society and AD Depending on one’s background, the view on women with Alzheimer can vary greatly. Nevertheless, women are important people in society. Although many women are more likely to be affected, the mortality rate is higher in men than in women. In fact, severe dementia and delirium causes mortality in men. On the other hand, women suffering from dementia are having low insulin as compared to men meaning, the probability of women sufferin g from diabetes is higher than that of men. Women and Alzheimer’s Disease Research shows that women are at high risk of attack of Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, women contribute 66 percent of persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. United States government is going to spend over US$20 billion for over 78 million baby boomers, many of them suffering from this disease. Women suffer most because of their gender, not longevity. Once women reach menopause, they experience estrogen deficiency. Medical research indicates that estrogen is imperative in protecting the mental functioning of the brain. It also controls the production of amyloid, which forms amyloid plaques dangerous to the brain. Thus, as the level of estrogen plummet, the intrinsic fortification of women ceases; nonetheless, as for men, they change testosterone into estrogen even at old ages hence, ensuring them protection against the disease. In women, the brain’s vascular system is dependent on estrogen. Thus, once the production of estrogen stalls, there is no further preservation of the woman’s vascular system (Liesi, Scherr, McCann, Beckett, Evans, 1999, pp. 132-136). Various medical researches indicate that after menopause, the body of women fails to normalize its blood vessels just like in the past due to the absence of estrogen. This can cause further deterioration resulting from such abnormalities. However, with time, the body adapts to the new body condition and sets new modalities of maintaining the vascular system. Blood vessels are like highways that ship oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. As women start their menopause period, certain vascular quandaries develop. Within vessels, some tiny vessels develop causing miscommunication. Doctors cannot use synthetic hormones to correct the situation as it can interfere with the normal functioning of the body. Consequently, abnormal changes occur in the brain; nerves responsible for memory and capacit y to learn damage, and brain cells die. This changes a person’s personality and behavior and in some occasions, the body can loose its ability to perform normal functions like walking, writing, and drawing (Lerner, 1999, pp. 1830-1834). Treating the Psychiatric Symptoms So far, there is no established cure for Alzheimer’s disease.Scientists have developed drugs that treat symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease. For example, in treating agitation, doctors recommend beta-blockers, anxiolytics, trazodone and antipsychotics. However, there is still pharmacological controversy on these drugs regarding their side effects such as stroke and sudden death. For example, some drugs treat men effectively from depression but fails in women. Additionally, women suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, experiencing apathy, and concentrating problems should desist from using antidepressants as they may cause more harm. Research shows that sedating atypical antidepressan ts, trazodone, is effective in controlling the dominant symptoms like agitation, hallucination and insomnia. Other modes of treatment include non-pharmacologic measures such as not taking fluids at night to reduce urination, pain treatment, exposure to sunlight and other activities that induce sleep. Conclusion It is true the disease affects both men and women. However, research shows that women constitute the highest percentage of those affected. Both men and women suffering from Alzheimer’s disease need maximum care, as they cannot perform normal activities due to brain damage. Sometimes, families can have stress in caring for these patients, as they need total attention. Nevertheless, persons suspecting to have the disease should see the doctor for diagnosis and further treatment. Reference List Forstl, H. Kurz, A. (1999). Clinical features of Alzheimers disease. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 249(6), 288–290. Frank, E. (1994). Effect of Alzheimers disease on communication function. Journal of Science and Medical Association, 90 (9), 417–423. Lerner, A. (1999). Women and Alzheimer’s Disease. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism, 84(6), 1830-1834. Liesi, E., Scherr, P., McCann, J., Beckett, L. Evans, D. (1999). Is the Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s Disease Greater for Women than Men? American Journal of Epidemiology, 153(2), 132-136. Polvikoski, T., Sulkava, R. Haltia, M. (1995). Apolipoprotein E, dementia, and cortical deposition of beta-amyloid protein. New England Journal of Medicine, 333(19), 1242–1247. Shiel, W. Marks, J. (2010). Alzheimer’s Disease. Retrieved from https://www.medicinenet.com/alzheimers_disease_causes_stages_and_symptoms/article.htm U.S National Institute of Health. (2010). Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet.

Studying Abroad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Studying Abroad - Essay Example The website of American University in Dubai stated that studying abroad provides an opportunity to develop important competencies and traits in one's character, for example, confidence, personal growth etc. An individual can experience different factors in life and analyze about how people think from other cultures. The respective website also presented the argument that employment prospects can be enhanced to an international level. Experience in foreign organizations can teach valuable lessons of professionalism.Kutcher writes that the summers till September should be spent in taking various tests, for example, GMAT, GRE. Then, the college choices should be narrowed down by September and October. Later, work on the technicalities and documentations of the admission process and finally apply in November or December, depending on the due dates of every program.2.2 Negative Aspects of Staying AbroadJust as many arguments support getting the education from foreign countries, there even exist reasons for staying within the country and acquire education locally. The citizens of UAE should remain in their country and support its economy. There exist a common term known as ‘brain drain’. Smith defined it as the immigration of the brightest and best citizens to another country that causes harm to the economy of their homeland, thereby providing benefits to the other countries. Fleeing to other countries to get education weakens the economy of the country since most of the talent settle abroad.

Nokia Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Nokia - Case Study Example Based in Espoo, Finland near the city of Helsinki, Nokia is the largest Finnish company with about half of the market capitalization of the Helsinki Stock Exchange or OMX Helsinki playing a major role in the economy of Finland. Nokia have been rated best Finnish brand and employer many times (Wikipedia, 2007). Nokia has research and development, manufacturing and sales representation in many continents with the Nokia Research Center sites in Athens, Helsinki, Tampere Oulu, Tokyo, Beijing, Budapest, Ulm, Bochum, Palo Alto, California, Bangalore, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its major production factories are located in Salo, Finland, Dongguan, China, Chennai, India, Komarom, Hungary and Ruhr, Germany. The Nokia Design Departure is at Salo, Finland (Nokia, 2006). Nokia is comprised of four business groups: the Mobile Phones, Multimedia, Enterprise Solutions and Networks. Its Mobile Phones provide expanding mobile voice and data capabilities across a wide range of mobile devices. Multimedia brings mobile experiences to consumers in advanced mobile devices and applications giving people access and use of multimedia through a range of radio technologies. Enterprise Solutions offer businesses and institutions a broad range of product solutions, including enterprise-grade mobile devices, security infrastructure, software and services and collaborating with companies to provide fixed IP network security, mobilize corporate email and extend corporate telephone systems to Nokia's mobile devices (Nokia, 2006). 2 Current situation In its Annual Information Report, 2006 gained net sales of 41,121 million as compared to 2005's 34,191 million. The operating profit increased from 4,639 million in 2005 to 5,488 million while its operating margin declined from 13.6 to 13.3%. The Earnings per share (diluted) is 1.05 from 0.83 (Nokia, 2006). By the end of 2006, Nokia already has 14 manufacturing facilities in nine countries around the world and research and development in 11 countries employing 68,483 persons. In January 25, 2006, Nokia reported a net sales growth of 11,701 million from its 2005 fourth quarter 10,333 million. Its operating profit grew to 1,519 million from 2005 fourth quarter's 1,368 million. Earnings per diluted share grew to 0.32 from 2005 fourth quarter's .025. The Quarterly and Annual Information reported the following: Net Sales by Business Group Q4 2006 EURm % Mobile Phones 7 076 60 Multimedia 2 136 18 Enterprise Solutions 305 3 Networks 2 184 19 Nokia Group 11 701 100 Source: Nokia, 2006 3 Human Resources Nokia reported to had a year-end employment of 68,483 in its global operations Source: Nokia, 2006 While Nokia provided people friendly devices through their mobile phones and its features, Nokia have constantly earned the trust, respect and confidence of the Finnish as the most sought-after employer (Wikipedia, 2007). The HRMID (2004) also reported that Nokia used its human resources policy in continuing its success. The report noted that Nokia's people policies have played a major role in keeping the company reach its 40% share on the

The role of Innovation and Convergence in Complicating ICT Regulation Essay

The role of Innovation and Convergence in Complicating ICT Regulation - Essay Example The paper tells that the concept of regulation entails a number of aspects including; a specific set of commands; a deliberate influence by the state; and socio-economic influences, all of which influence social or economic behaviour. The authors further argue that although regulation mainly elicits the perception of restricting behaviour and preventive of certain activities, it can also be viewed as facilitative/enabling. For instance, regulation permits and controls the use of airwaves, allowing for broadcasting which would otherwise be chaotic. Borras properly captures the relationship between regulation and ICT through a discussion on standards and innovation. Standards determine the interchangeability and interconnectivity of products and thus the overall technological evolution of the industry. However, the ICT environment is heavily revolutionary in terms of technology and regulator standards find it difficult to always keep up. The regulation of ICT presents with a number of challenges arising several different perspectives and contested issues about how the regulators should go about it. Whereas issues of IPR dominate the cyberspace, other areas in the ICT industry provide an opportunity to limit regulation and promote competition. For instance, elements in network industry value chains involve retailing to end-users where competition is feasible and thus limit the need for regulation. However, the limits to competition among the players in the telecommunications industry are uncertain due the impact of technology. (Baldwin, Cave and Lodge 2010, p. 501). Here, innovation and convergence play an important role in complicating regulation of the ICT sector, calling for equally inventive and capable strategies to ensure proper and healthy regulation. Role of Innovation in Complicating ICT Regulation Innovation in the ICT industry occurs at a much faster pace and from many different angles than in most other sectors. As the Regulation Reform Unit (2010, p. 5-6) argues, regulatory activities and agencies have the challenge of reflecting technological changes and market developments in the ICT environment. Regulation of the ICT sector impinges on many different aspects including competition, interconnection, management of spectrum, authorisation and price controls among other aspects (ICT Regulation Toolkit 2012). Innovation impacts all of these aspects of ICT regulation in different ways but all centering on the rate at which innovation occurs. In terms of competition and price controls, the horizontal and vertical innovations witnessed everyday in the ICT sector challenge the traditional paradigm of regulation which embeds in the economic sense. Technological developments have implications on existing market structures at the overall economic level. A stable format of regulation seeking to stabilise the ICT sector would not hold in some sections as innovations render what is today valuable absolutely unimportant tomorrow. To keep up, the regulatory mechanisms have to evolve and develop new ways of regulating the newly formed ICT market structure. This may

The Interrogation Process, Techniques, and Approches Essay

The Interrogation Process, Techniques, and Approches - Essay Example (Williamson p.125). However, although the theory that innocence claims precedence over guilt in criminal law, it is necessary to enforce robust techniques to bring criminals into the process of law, and arrest future repetitions of similar crimes by the same person, especially against women . Thus interrogations are not only necessary to convict the guilty but also to absolve the innocent through right application of the interrogation processes and methods. Since interrogations are guilt-based processes, it is mainly intended to extract a confessional statement from the alleged suspect, who may be held responsible for the commission, or involvement in some crime, or tort. Since interrogations are meant for extracting confessional statements from suspects, normally, this process is not applied on innocent people, or those whose role or involvement in the commission or abetment of crime is not sustainable. Interrogations are primarily meant to disintegrate a suspect’s defenses and make him vulnerable to the process of law by signing a confessional statement acknowledging his role in carrying out, or abetting the crime. The most widely modern means of interrogation is called the Reid Technique of investigative questioning. â€Å"The courts in the United States have recognized The Reid Technique ® as the leading interview and interrogation approach used today in both the law enforcement and business communities. In 1994 the United States Supreme Court referenced our textbook, Criminal Interrogation and Confessions, in making their decision in the case Stansbury v. California.† (Company Information: Court Recognition). Interrogation techniques are methods employed by interrogators and law enforcement agencies to arrive at the truth of alleged roles of suspects in criminal activities. It is common knowledge that alleged offenders would not, on their own volition, confess to crimes

Economics for Business and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Economics for Business and Management - Essay Example A situation in which marginal cost is higher than marginal costs implies that further improvements can be for society and, thus, it is inefficient for society to prolong its situation at that level. On the other hand, when marginal costs are higher than marginal revenue, it means that there are wastages and society would do better if lowers output such that marginal costs are reduced to be just equal to marginal revenues. This is the market equilibrium and market equilibrium is interpreted as â€Å"efficient† because marginal costs are just equal to marginal returns. Usually, the people who hold on to the view are economists, businesspersons, and pragmatic policy makers. However, economists who take this position qualify that for market to fulfil its role as efficient allocator of resources, certain conditions apply. For example, some of the conditions necessary conditions are believed to be as follow: 1. The good or service which the market will allocate are private goods or service. Private goods are goods in which consumption is rival and excludable in consumption. Rival means consuming the good or service will deprive others of the same good. Excludable means it will not be feasible, costly, nor impractical from depriving others of the good. 2. There are no externalities involved in consuming or using the good or service. Externalities are third party effects on the good. For example, goods that pollute are assumed to have negative externalities. In contrast, health services are believe to have positive externalities because improvements in health benefits not only those who have purchased the good that enhances health but also third parties. In a typical demand-supply curve, the demand curve represents society’s valuation for the good in terms of marginal utilities while the supply curve represents that part of the marginal cost-curve above the

Architecture and Avant-garde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Architecture and Avant-garde - Essay Example As acknowledged within the abstract section, Avant Garde is the French version for vanguard culture. In the context of art, vanguard culture refers to non-conformational and experimental approach of developing objects of art like music, structures and paintings. Dorita (2013) says that Avant Garde is distinct from traditional art of 19th Century because it employs substantial innovation and advanced skills in developing iconic pieces of art. This form of culture became dominant during the first four decades of 20th Century, especially in Europe and America. In operation, vanguard culture opposed mainstream norms. It labeled mainstream values as resulting from mass production effects of industrial revolution during the 19th Century. Early founders of Avant Garde criticized the manner in which traditional art and architecture incorporated superficial styling of objects in the name of innovation. In this regard, it sought to distance itself from mainstream habits and foster individual c reativity. It involved seeking autonomous excellence in artistic merit rather than following rigid conventions. Having gained an insight about Avant Garde, it is appropriate to extrapolate on the two concepts of modernism and postmodernism. Sharp (2002) says that most essayists including Max Horkheimer and Adorno assert that vanguard culture serves as an icon for modernism. According to Sharp (2002), autonomy in stylish creativity and innovation creates a distinction and draws boundaries between modernism and the post form. of modernism. In this context, modernism covers the artistic period of early 20th Century, especially the first four decades of this century. According to Heynen (2000), it was a period marked by employment of human intellect in enhancing aesthetical values of art. Innovations and autonomous creativity of modernism led to significant improvement in science and technology. In addition, vanguard ideologies motivated experimentation on almost all spheres of life as seen in architecture. It adopted a hierarchical and procedural approach of acquiring and applying knowledge in improving state of art. According to Heynen (2000), modernism is closely associated with the use of rational thinking models and logic in gaining and utilizing knowledge. Supposedly, modernism ended after 1945, thus giving way to postmodernism. Postmodernism Goldhagen (2005) says that as opposed to modernistic principles of logic and rational thinking, postmodernism adopts unscientific and irrational approach towards art. In the first four decades of 20th Century, architectural designs were taken as representing unique and genuine creativity of artists. However, postmodernism does not regard the work of architecture as the originating from authentic skills of an individual. According to Scoffham and Machedon (1999), postmodern era is marked by subjective and hyper-realistic models of thought as opposed to rigid and logical

The Interrogation Process, Techniques, and Approches Essay

The Interrogation Process, Techniques, and Approches - Essay Example (Williamson p.125). However, although the theory that innocence claims precedence over guilt in criminal law, it is necessary to enforce robust techniques to bring criminals into the process of law, and arrest future repetitions of similar crimes by the same person, especially against women . Thus interrogations are not only necessary to convict the guilty but also to absolve the innocent through right application of the interrogation processes and methods. Since interrogations are guilt-based processes, it is mainly intended to extract a confessional statement from the alleged suspect, who may be held responsible for the commission, or involvement in some crime, or tort. Since interrogations are meant for extracting confessional statements from suspects, normally, this process is not applied on innocent people, or those whose role or involvement in the commission or abetment of crime is not sustainable. Interrogations are primarily meant to disintegrate a suspect’s defenses and make him vulnerable to the process of law by signing a confessional statement acknowledging his role in carrying out, or abetting the crime. The most widely modern means of interrogation is called the Reid Technique of investigative questioning. â€Å"The courts in the United States have recognized The Reid Technique ® as the leading interview and interrogation approach used today in both the law enforcement and business communities. In 1994 the United States Supreme Court referenced our textbook, Criminal Interrogation and Confessions, in making their decision in the case Stansbury v. California.† (Company Information: Court Recognition). Interrogation techniques are methods employed by interrogators and law enforcement agencies to arrive at the truth of alleged roles of suspects in criminal activities. It is common knowledge that alleged offenders would not, on their own volition, confess to crimes

Architecture and Avant-garde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Architecture and Avant-garde - Essay Example As acknowledged within the abstract section, Avant Garde is the French version for vanguard culture. In the context of art, vanguard culture refers to non-conformational and experimental approach of developing objects of art like music, structures and paintings. Dorita (2013) says that Avant Garde is distinct from traditional art of 19th Century because it employs substantial innovation and advanced skills in developing iconic pieces of art. This form of culture became dominant during the first four decades of 20th Century, especially in Europe and America. In operation, vanguard culture opposed mainstream norms. It labeled mainstream values as resulting from mass production effects of industrial revolution during the 19th Century. Early founders of Avant Garde criticized the manner in which traditional art and architecture incorporated superficial styling of objects in the name of innovation. In this regard, it sought to distance itself from mainstream habits and foster individual c reativity. It involved seeking autonomous excellence in artistic merit rather than following rigid conventions. Having gained an insight about Avant Garde, it is appropriate to extrapolate on the two concepts of modernism and postmodernism. Sharp (2002) says that most essayists including Max Horkheimer and Adorno assert that vanguard culture serves as an icon for modernism. According to Sharp (2002), autonomy in stylish creativity and innovation creates a distinction and draws boundaries between modernism and the post form. of modernism. In this context, modernism covers the artistic period of early 20th Century, especially the first four decades of this century. According to Heynen (2000), it was a period marked by employment of human intellect in enhancing aesthetical values of art. Innovations and autonomous creativity of modernism led to significant improvement in science and technology. In addition, vanguard ideologies motivated experimentation on almost all spheres of life as seen in architecture. It adopted a hierarchical and procedural approach of acquiring and applying knowledge in improving state of art. According to Heynen (2000), modernism is closely associated with the use of rational thinking models and logic in gaining and utilizing knowledge. Supposedly, modernism ended after 1945, thus giving way to postmodernism. Postmodernism Goldhagen (2005) says that as opposed to modernistic principles of logic and rational thinking, postmodernism adopts unscientific and irrational approach towards art. In the first four decades of 20th Century, architectural designs were taken as representing unique and genuine creativity of artists. However, postmodernism does not regard the work of architecture as the originating from authentic skills of an individual. According to Scoffham and Machedon (1999), postmodern era is marked by subjective and hyper-realistic models of thought as opposed to rigid and logical

Why Am I an Atheist Essay Example for Free

Why Am I an Atheist Essay It is a matter of debate whether my lack of belief in the existence of an Omnipresent, Omniscient God is due to my arrogant pride and vanity. It never occurred to me that sometime in the future I would be involved in polemics of this kind. As a result of some discussions with my friends, (if my claim to friendship is not uncalled for) I have realised that after having known me for a little time only, some of them have reached a kind of hasty conclusion about me that my atheism is my foolishness and that it is the outcome of my vanity. Even then it is a serious problem. I do not boast of being above these human follies. I am, after all, a human being and nothing more. And no one can claim to be more than that. I have a weakness in my personality, for pride is one of the human traits that I do possess. I am known as a dictator among my friends. Sometimes I am called a boaster. Some have always been complaining that I am bossy and I force others to accept my opinion. Yes, it is true to some extent. I do not deny this charge. We can use the word ‘vainglory’ for it. As far as the contemptible, obsolete, rotten values of our society are concerned, I am an extreme sceptic. But this question does not concern my person alone. It is being proud of my ideas, my thoughts. It cannot be called empty pride. Pride, or you may use the word, vanity, both mean an exaggerated assessment of one’s personality. Is my atheism because of unnecessary pride, or have I ceased believing in God after thinking long and deep on the matter? I wish to put my ideas before you. First of all, let us differentiate between pride and vanity as these are two different things. I have never been able to understand how unfounded, baseless pride or empty vanity can hinder a person from believing in God. I may refuse to acknowledge the greatness of a really great person only when I have got fame without doing any serious efforts or when I lack the superior mental powers necessary to become great. It is easy to understand but how is it possible that a believer can turn into a non-believer because of his vanity? Only two things are possible: either a man deems himself to be in possession of Godly qualities, or he goes a step further and declares himself to be a god. In both these states of mind he cannot be an atheist in the true sense of the word. In the first case, it is not an outright rejection of God’s existence; in the other, he is affirming the existence of some kind of supernatural power responsible for the working of universe. It does not harm our argument whether he claims to be a god or considers God to be a reality in existence above his own b eing. The real point, however, is that in both cases he is a theist, a believer. He is not an atheist. I want to bring home this point to you. I am not one of these two creeds. I totally reject the existence of an Omnipresent, all powerful, all knowing God. Why so? I will discuss it later in the essay. Here I wish to emphasise that I am not an atheist for the reason that I am arrogant or proud or vain; nor am I a demi-god, nor a prophet; no, nor am I God myself. At least one thing is true that I have not evolved this thought because of vanity or pride. In order to answer this question I relate the truth. My friends say that after Delhi bombing and Lahore Conspiracy Case, I rocketed to fame and that this fact has turned my head. Let us discuss why this allegation is incorrect. I did not give up my belief in God after these incidents. I was an atheist even when I was an unknown figure. At least a college student cannot cherish any sort of exaggerated notion of himself that may lead him to at heism. It is true that I was a favourite with some college teachers, but others did not like me. I was never a hardworking or studious boy. I never got an opportunity to be proud. I was very careful in my behaviour and somewhat pessimistic about my future career. I was not completely atheistic in my beliefs. I was brought up under the care and protection of my father. He was a staunch Arya Samaji. An Arya Samaji can be anything but never an atheist. After my elementary education, I was sent to D. A. V College, Lahore. I lived in the boarding house for one year. Besides prayers early in the morning and at dusk time, I sat for hours and chanted religious Mantras. At that time, I was a staunch believer. Then I lived with my father. He was a tolerant man in his religious views. It is due to his teachings that I devoted my life for the cause of liberating my country. But he was not an atheist. His God was an all-pervading Entity. He advised me to offer my prayers every day. In this way I was brought up. In the Non-cooperation days, I got admission to the National College. During my stay in this college, I began thinking over all the religious polemics such that I grew sceptical about the existence of God. In spite of this fact I can say that my belief in God was firm and strong. I grew a beard and ‘Kais’ (long head of hair as a Sikh religious custom). In spite of this I could not convince myself of the efficacy of Sikh religion or any religion at all, for that matter. But I had an unswerving, unwavering belief in God. Then I joined the Revolutionary Party. The first leader I met had not the courage to openly declare himself an atheist. He was unable to reach any conclusion on this point. Whenever I asked him about the existence of God, he gave me this reply: â€Å"You may believe in him when you feel like it.† The second leader with whom I came in contact was a firm believer. I should mention his name. It was our respected Comrade Sachindara Nath Sanyal. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with Karachi conspiracy case. Right from the first page of his only book, ‘Bandi Jivan’ (Incarnated Life) he sings praises to the Glory of God. See the last page of the second part of this book and you find praises showered upon God in the way of a mystic. It is a clear reflection of his thoughts. According to the prosecution, the ‘Revolutionary Leaflet’ which was distributed throughout India was the outcome of Sachindara Nath Sanyal’s intellectual labour. So often it happens that in revolutionary activities a leader expresses his own ideas which may be very dear to him, but in spite of having differences, the other workers have to acquiesce in them. In that leaflet, one full paragraph was devoted to the praises of God and His doings which we, human beings, cannot understand. This is sheer mysticism. What I want to point out is that the idea of denying the existence of God did not even occur to the Revolutionary Party. The famous Kakory martyrs, all four of them, passed their last day in prayers. Ram Parshad Bismal was a staunch Arya Samaji. In spite of his vast studies in Socialism and Communism, Rajan Lahiri could not suppress his desire to recite hymns from Upanishads and Gita. There was but only one person among them who did not indulge in such activities. He used to say, â€Å"Religion is the outcome of human weakness or the limitation of human knowledge.† He is also in prison for life. But he also never dared to deny the existence of God. Till that time I was only a romantic revolutionary, just a follower of our leaders. Then came the time to shoulder the whole responsibility. For some time, a strong opposition put the very existence of the party into danger. Many leaders as well as many enthusiastic comrades began to uphold the party to ridicule. They jeered at us. I had an apprehension that some day I will also consider it a futile and hopeless task. It was a turning point in my revolutionary career. An incessant desire to study filled my heart. ‘Study more and more’, said I to myself so that I might be able to face the arguments of my opponents. ‘Study’ to support your point of view with convincing arguments. And I began to study in a serious manner. My previous beliefs and convictions underwent a radical change. The romance of militancy dominated our predecessors; now serious ideas ousted this way of thinking. No more mysticism! No more blind faith! Now realism was our mode of thinking. A t times of terrible necessity, we can resort to extreme methods, but violence produces opposite results in mass movements. I have talked much about our methods. The most important thing was a clear conception of our ideology for which we were waging a long struggle. As there was no election activity going on, I got ample opportunity to study various ideas propounded by various writers. I studied Bakunin, the anarchist leader. I read a few books of Marx, the father of Communism. I also read Lenin and Trotsky and many other writers who successfully carried out revolutions in their countries. All of them were atheists. The ideas contained in Bakunin’s ‘God and State’ seem inconclusive, but it is an interesting book. After that I came across a book ‘Common Sense’ by Nirlamba Swami. His point of view was a sort of mystical atheism. I developed more interest in this subject. By the end of 1926, I was convinced that the belief in an Almighty, Supreme Being who created, guided and controlled the universe had no sound foundations. I began discussions on this subject with my friends. I had openly declared myself an atheist. What it meant will be discussed in the following lines. In May 1927, I was arrested in Lahore. This arrest came as a big surprise for me. I had not the least idea that I was wanted by the police. I was passing through a garden and all of a sudden the police surrounded me. To my own surprise, I was very calm at that time. I was in full control of myself. I was taken into police custody. The next day I was taken to the Railway Police lockup where I spent a whole month. After many days’ conversation with police personnel, I guessed that they had some information about my connection with the Kakori Party. I felt they had some intelligence of my other activities in the revolutionary movement. They told me that I was in Lucknow during the Kakori Party Trial so that I might devise a scheme to rescue the culprits. They also said that after the plan had been approved, we procured some bombs and by way of test, one of those bombs was thrown into a crowd on the occasion of Dussehra in 1926. They offered to release me on condition that I gave a statement on the activities of the Revolutionary Party. In this way I would be set free and even rewarded and I would not be produced as an approver in the court. I could not help laughing at their proposals. It was all humbug. People who have ideas like ours do not throw bombs at their own innocent people. One day, Mr. Newman, the then senior Superintendent of CID, came to me. After a long talk which was full of sympathetic words, he imparted to me what he considered to be sad news, that if I did not give any statement as demanded by them, they would be forced to send me up for trial for conspiracy to wage war in connection with Kakori Case and also for brutal killings in Dussehra gathering. After that he said that he had sufficient evidence to get me convicted and hanged. I was completely innocent, but I believed that the police had sufficient power to do it if they desired it to be so. The same day some police officers persuaded me to offer my prayers to God two times regularly. I was an atheist. I thought that I would settle it to myself whether I could brag only in days of peace and happiness that I was an atheist, or in those hard times I could be steadfast in my convictions. After a long debate with myself, I reached the conclusion that I could not even pretend to be a believer nor could I offer my prayers to God. No, I never did it. It was time of trial and I would come out of it successful. These were my thoughts. Never for a moment did I desire to save my life. So I was a true atheist then and I am an atheist now. It was not an easy task to face that ordeal. Beliefs make it easier to go through hardships, even make them pleasant. Man can find a strong support in God and an encouraging consolation in His Name. If you have no belief in Him, then there is no alternative but to depend upon yourself. It is not child’s play to stand firm on your feet amid storms and strong winds. In difficult times, vanity, if it remains, evaporates and man cannot find the courage to defy beliefs held in common esteem by the people. If he really revolts against such beliefs, we must conclude that it is not sheer vanity; he has some kind of extraordinary strength. This is exactly the situation now. First of all we all know what the judgement will be. It is to be pronounced in a week or so. I am going to sacrifice my life for a cause. What more consolation can there be! A God-believing Hindu may expect to be reborn a king; a Muslim or a Christian might dream of the luxuries he hopes to enjoy in paradise as a reward for his sufferings and sacrifices. What hope should I entertain? I know that will be the end when the rope is tightened round my neck and the rafters move from under my feet. To use more precise religious terminology, that will be the moment of utter annihilation. My soul will come to nothing. If I take the courage to take the matter in the light of ‘Reward’, I see that a short life of struggle with no such magnificent end shall itself be my ‘Reward.’ That is all. Without any selfish motive of getting any reward here or in the hereafter, quite disinterestedly have I devoted my life to the cause of freedom. I could not act otherwise. The day shall usher in a new era of liberty when a large number of men and women, taking courage from the idea of serving humanity and liberating them from sufferings and distress, decide that there is no alternative before them except devoting their lives for this cause. They will wage a war against their oppressors, tyrants or exploiters, not to become kings, or to gain any reward here or in the next birth or after death in paradise; but to cast off the yoke of slavery, to establish liberty and peace they will tread this perilous, but glorious path. Can the pride they take in their noble cause be called vanity? Who is there rash enough to call it so? To him I say either he is foolish or wicked. Leave such a fellow alone for he cannot realise the depth, the emotions, the sentiment and the noble feelings that surge in that heart. His heart is dead, a mere lump of flesh, devoid of feelings. His convictions are infirm, his emotions feeble. His selfish interests have made him incapable of seeing the truth. The epithet ‘vanity’ is always hurled at the strength we get from our convictions. You go against popular feelings; you criticise a hero, a great man who is generally believed to be above criticism. What happens? No one will answer your arguments in a rational way; rather you will be considered vainglorious. Its reason is mental insipidity. Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking. As Mahatmaji is great, he is above criticism; as he has risen above, all that he says in the field of politics, religion, Ethics is right. You agree or not, it is binding upon you to take it as truth. This is not constructive thinking. We do not take a leap forward; we go many steps back. Our forefathers evolved faith in some kind of Supreme Being, therefore, one who ventures to challenge the validity of that faith or denies the existence of God, shall be called a Kafir (infidel), or a renegade. Even if his arguments are so strong that it is impossible to refute them, if his spirit is so strong that he cannot be bowed down by the threats of misfortune that may befall him through the wrath of the Almighty, he shall be decried as vainglorious. Then why should we waste our time in such discussions? This question has come before the people for the first time, hence the necessity and usefulness of such long discussions. As far as the first question is concerned, I think I have made it clear that I did not turn atheist because of vanity. Only my readers, not I, can decide whether my arguments carry weight. If I were a believer, I know in the present circumstances my life would have been easier; the burden lighter. My disbelief in God has turned all the circumstances too harsh and this situation can deteriorate further. Being a little mystical can give the circumstances a poetic turn. But I need no opiate to meet my end. I am a realistic man. I want to overpower this tendency in me with the help of Reason. I am not always successful in such attempts. But it is man’s duty to try and make efforts. Success depends on chance and circumstances. Now we come to the second question: if it is not vanity, there ought to be some sound reason for rejection of age-old belief in God. Yes, I come to this question. I think that any man who has some reasoning power always tries to understand the life and people around him with the help of this faculty. Where concrete proofs are lacking, [mystical] philosophy creeps in. As I have indicated, one of my revolutionary friends used to say that â€Å"philosophy is the outcome of human weakness.† Our ancestors had the leisure to solve the mysteries of the world, its past, its present and its future, its whys and its wherefores, but having been terribly short of direct proofs, every one of them tried to solve the problem in his own way. Hence we find wide differences in the fundamentals of various religious creeds. Sometimes they take very antagonistic and conflicting forms. We find differences in Oriental and Occidental philosophies. There are differences even amongst various schools of thoughts in each hemisphere. In Asian religions, the Muslim religion is completely incompatible with the Hindu faith. In India itself, Buddhism and Jainism are sometimes quite separate from Brahmanism. Then in Brahmanism itself, we find two conflicting sects: Aarya Samaj and Snatan Dheram. Charwak is yet another independent thinker of the past ages. He challenged the Authority of God. All these faiths differ on many fundamental questions, but each of them claims to be the only true religion. This is the root of the evil. Instead of developing the ideas and experiments of ancient thinkers, thus providing ourselves with the ideological weapon for the future struggle, – lethargic, idle, fanatical as we are – we cling to orthodox religion and in this way reduce human awakening to a stagnant pool. It is necessary for every person who stands for progress to criticise every tenet of old beliefs. Item by item he has to challenge the efficacy of old faith. He has to analyse and understand all the details. If after rigorous reasoning, one is led to believe in any theory of philosophy, his faith is appreciated. His reasoning may be mistaken and even fallacious. But there is chance that he will be corrected because Reason is the guiding principle of his life. But belief, I should say blind belief is disastrous. It deprives a man of his understanding power and makes him reactionary. Any person who claims to be a realist has to challenge the truth of old beliefs. If faith cannot withstand the onslaught of reason, it collapses. After that his task should be to do the groundwork for new philosophy. This is the negative side. After that comes in the positive work in which some material of the olden times can be used to construct the pillars of new philosophy. As far as I am concerned, I admit that I lack sufficient study in this field. I had a great desire to study the Oriental Philosophy, but I could get ample opportunity or sufficient time to do so. But so far as I reject the old time beliefs, it is not a matter of countering belief with belief, rather I can challenge the efficacy of old beliefs with sound arguments. We believe in nature and that human progress depends on the domination of man over nature. There is no conscious power behind it. This is our philosophy. Being atheist, I ask a few questions from theists: 1. If, as you believe there is an Almighty, Omnipresent, Omniscient God, who created the earth or universe, please let me know, first of all, as to why he created this world. This world which is full of woe and grief, and countless miseries, where not even one person lives in peace. 2. Pray, don’t say it is His law. If He is bound by any law, He is not Omnipotent. Don’t say it is His pleasure. Nero burnt one Rome. He killed a very limited number of people. He caused only a few tragedies, all for his morbid enjoyment. But what is his place in history? By what names do we remember him? All the disparaging epithets are hurled at him. Pages are blackened with invective diatribes condemning Nero: the tyrant, the heartless, the wicked. One Genghis Khan killed a few thousand people to seek pleasure in it and we hate the very name. Now, how will you justify your all powerful, eternal Nero, who every day, every moment continues his pastime of killing people? How can you support his doings which surpass those of Genghis Khan in cruelty and in misery inflicted upon people? I ask why the Almighty created this world which is nothing but a living hell, a place of constant and bitter unrest. Why did he create man when he had the power not to do so? Have you any answer to these questions? You will say that it is to reward the sufferer and punish the evildoer in the hereafter. Well, well, how far will you justify a man who first of all inflicts injuries on your body and then applies soft and soothing ointment on them? How far the supporters and organizers of Gladiator bouts were justified in throwing men before half starved lions, later to be cared for and looked after well if they escaped this horrible death. That is why I ask: Was the creation of man intended to derive this kind of pleasure? Open your eyes and see millions of people dying of hunger in slums and huts dirtier than the grim dungeons of prisons; just see the labourers patiently or say apathetically while the rich vampires suck their blood; bring to mind the wastage of human energy that will make a man with a little common sense shiver in horror. Just observe rich nations throwing their surplus produce into the sea instead of distributing it among the needy and deprived. There are palaces of kings built upon the foundations laid with human bones. Let them see all this and say â€Å"All is well in God’s Kingdom.† Why so? This is my question. You are silent. All right. I proceed to my next point. You, the Hindus, would say: Whosoever undergoes sufferings in this life, must have been a sinner in his previous birth. It is tantamount to saying that those who are oppressors now were Godly people then, in their previous births. For this reason alone they hold power in their hands. Let me say it plainly that your ancestors were shrewd people. They were always in search of petty hoaxes to play upon people and snatch from them the power of Reason. Let us analyse how much this argument carries weight! Those who are well versed in the philosophy of Jurisprudence relate three of four justifications for the punishment that is to be inflicted upon a wrong-doer. These are: revenge, reform, and deterrence. The Retribution Theory is now condemned by all the thinkers. Deterrent theory is on the anvil for its flaws. Reformative theory is now widely accepted and considered to be necessary for human progress. It aims at reforming the culprit and converting him into a peace-loving citizen. But what in essence is God’s Punishment even if it is inflicted on a person who has really done some harm? For the sake of argument we agree for a moment that a person committed some crime in his previous birth and God punished him by changing his shape into a cow, cat, tree, or any other animal. You may enumerate the number of these variations in Godly Punishment to be at least eighty-four lack. Tell me, has this tomfoolery, perpetrated in the name of punishment, any reformative effect on human man? How many of them have you met who were donkeys in their previous births for having committed any sin? Absolutely no one of this sort! The so called theory of ‘Puranas’ (transmigration) is nothing but a fairy-tale. I do not have any intention to bring this unutterable trash under discussion. Do you really know the most cursed sin in this world is to be poor? Yes, poverty is a sin; it is a punishment! Cursed be the theoretician, jurist or legislator who proposes such measures as push man into the quagmire of more heinous sins. Did it not occur to your All Knowing God or he could learn the truth only after millions had undergone untold sufferings and hardships? What, according to your theory, is the fate of a person who, by no sin of his own, has been born into a family of low caste people? He is poor so he cannot go to a school. It is his fate to be shunned and hated by those who are born into a high caste. His ignorance, his poverty, and the contempt he receives from others will harden his heart towards society. Supposing that he commits a sin, who shall bear the consequences? God, or he, or the learned people of that society? What is your view about those punishments inflicted on the people who were deliberately kept ignorant by selfish and proud Brahmans? If by chance these poor creatures heard a few words of your sacred books, Vedas, these Brahmans poured melted lead into their ears. If they committed any sin, who was to be held responsible? Who was to bear the brunt? My dear friends, these theories have been coined by the privileged classes. They try to justify the power they have usurped and the riches they have robbed with the help of such theories. Perhaps it was the writer Upton Sinclair who wrote (Bhagat Singh is referring to Sinclair’s pamphlet ‘Profits of Religion’ – MIA transcriber) somewhere â€Å"only make a man firm believer in the immortality of soul, then rob him of all that he possesses. He will willingly help you in the process.† The dirty alliance between religious preachers and possessors of power brought the boon of prisons, gallows, knouts and above all such theories for the mankind. I ask why your Omnipotent God does not hold a man back when he is about to commit a sin or offence. It is child’s play for God. Why did He not kill war lords? Why did He not obliterate the fury of war from their minds? In this way He could have saved humanity of many a great calamity and horror. Why does He not infuse humanistic sentiments into the minds of the Britishers so that they may willingly leave India? I ask why He does not fill the hearts of all capitalist classes with altruistic humanism that prompts them to give up personal possession of the means of production and this will free the whole labouring humanity from the shackles of money. You want to argue the practicability of Socialist theory, I leave it to your Almighty God to enforce it. Common people understand the merits of Socialist theory as far as general welfare is concerned but they oppose it under the pretext that it cannot be implemented. Let the Almighty step in and arrange things in a proper way. No more logic chopping! I tell you that the British rule is not there because God willed it but for the reason that we lack the will and courage to oppose it. Not that they are keeping us under subjugation with the consent of God, but it is with the force of guns and rifles, bombs and bullets, police and militia, and above all because of our apathy that they are successfully committing the most deplorable sin, that is, the exploitation of one nation by another. Where is God? What is He doing? Is He getting a diseased pleasure out of it? A Nero! A Genghis Khan! Down with Him! Now another piece of manufactured logic! You ask me how I will explain the origin of this world and origin of man. Charles Darwin has tried to throw some light on this subject. Study his book. Also, have a look at Sohan Swami’s â€Å"Commonsense.† You will get a satisfactory answer. This topic is concerned with Biology and Natural History. This is a phenomenon of nature. The accidental mixture of different substances in the form of Nebulae gave birth to this earth. When? Study history to know this. The same process caused the evolution of animals and in the long run that of man. Read Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species.’ All the later progress is due to man’s constant conflict with nature and his efforts to utilise nature for his own benefit. This is the briefest sketch of this phenomenon. Your next question will be why a child is born blind or lame even if he was not a sinner in his previous birth. This problem has been explained in a satisfactory manner by biologists as a mere biological phenomenon. According to them the whole burden rests upon the shoulders of parents whose conscious or unconscious deeds caused mutilation of the child prior to his birth. You may thrust yet another question at me, though it is merely childish. The question is: If God does not really exist, why do people come to believe in Him? Brief and concise my answer will be. As they come to believe in ghosts, and evil spirits, so they also evolve a kind of belief in God: the only difference being that God is almost a universal phenomenon and well developed theological philosophy. However, I do disagree with radical philosophy. It attributes His origin to the ingenuity of exploiters who wanted to keep the people under their subjugation by preaching the existence of a Supreme Being; thus claimed an authority and sanction from Him for their privileged position. I do not differ on the essential point that all religions, faiths, theological philosophies, and religious creeds and all other such institutions in the long run become supporters of the tyrannical and exploiting institutions, men and classes. Rebellion against any king has always been a sin in every religion . As regard the origin of God, my thought is that man created God in his imagination when he realized his weaknesses, limitations and shortcomings. In this way he got the courage to face all the trying circumstances and to meet all dangers that might occur in his life and also to restrain his outbursts in prosperity and affluence. God, with his whimsical laws and parental generosity was painted with variegated colours of imagination. He was used as a deterrent factor when his fury and his laws were repeatedly propagated so that man might not become a danger to society. He was the cry of the distressed soul for he was believed to stand as father and mother, sister and brother, brother and friend when in time of distress a man was left alone and helpless. He was Almighty and could do anything. The idea of God is helpful to a man in distress. Society must fight against this belief in God as it fought against idol worship and other narrow conceptions of religion. In this way man will try to stand on his feet. Being realistic, he will have to throw his faith aside and face all adversaries with courage and valour. That is exactly my state of mind. My friends, it is not my vanity; it is my mode of thinking that has made me an atheist. I don’t think that by strengthening my belief in God and by offering prayers to Him every day, (this I consider to be the most degraded act on the part of man) I can bring improvement in my situation, nor can I further deteriorate it. I have read of many atheists facing all troubles boldly, so I am trying to stand like a man with the head high and erect to the last; even on the gallows. Let us see how steadfast I am. One of my friends asked me to pray. When informed of my atheism, he said, â€Å"When your last days come, you will begin to believe.† I said, â€Å"No, dear sir, Never shall it happen. I consider it to be an act of degradation and demoralisation. For such petty selfish motives, I shall never pray.† Reader and friends, is it vanity? If it is, I stand for it.