Castlebridge

December 01, 2010 Case Study Analysis # 70 Castlebridge, a maker of high-quality outerwear, located in London is at a cross roads. Although its headquarters operates from London, most of its manufacturing has moved offshore. With the last domestic factory slated to close, the firm's executives struggle to preserve the â€Å"Britishness† of the brand. On the other hand, the company has to reduce costs to remain profitable. It seems that moving production offshore is inevitable. The executives believe that Castlebridge should come clean about it.In a world where stakeholders matter more than ever, the firm can't just outperform competitors. It has to go above and beyond to satisfy their constituents. Therefore, the CEO Mary Crane asserts that the plant closure is a logical step. Reputational risk is a concern as well as brand image. The majority of the customers who purchase Castlebridge items are wealthy. They pride themselves in wearing high class British fashions. The company fears that Asian manufacturing tags will diminish consumer confidence in quality and authenticity. The CEO wants to take the logical approach where the objective of any firm is to maximize profits.By not doing so, the firm will lose out to the competitors and will continue to face rising production costs in keeping up with consumer preferences. She holds Fergus Harold accountable for being overly nationalistic and even rather ignorant to the status of British clothing made in Malaysia and its effect on a Japanese consumer. Her unabashed perception indicates that backlash would be from local purchasers whose confidence may be undermined by the outsourcing of a classy British brand to a third world country. Furthermore, it is well pointed out that the CEO does not feel threatened by British media.Supposedly she sees that production line workers are of the lower working class whereas buyers of Castlebridge's products of are of the wealthier class. Castlebridge simply cannot survive in their high cost market by maintaining its production lines within the UK. Labor cost is just too expensive. Trade unions have become cleverer with their protests and could potentially be a thorn in their side. The company needs to make a decision soon. The British public has been down this road before, as have foreign consumers of British products. I agree with the CEO that cost cutting measures need to be implemented.There is no need to maintain high production costs and place burden upon the shareholders of the company. If the British public has been down this path before then there should be no problem. If the firm shines light on its native roots and its international production, it could establish a winning reputation as a truly modern, global brand. However, the customers’ sentiment is very important. The brand image is highly regarded and maintaining the class, quality and authenticity is just as important as running the risk of a complete closure and a shutdown of bu siness.Could Castlebridge hire foreign employees to work in the U. K? Could wages be scaled down to keep in line with profit margins? Maybe these alternatives should be considered. Otherwise, the real risk to the brand could be the potential loss of its high-class distinction and not its national identity. Before making a firm decision, all alternatives should be considered. As a member of the Board of Directors, Ferguson should have the conscientiousness to advise the company to rediscover and recommit to the core values that have made them so successful.Should the CEO go through with moving its production facilities offshore, he could recommend a trust-building people strategy, modeled by the CEO, which emphasizes forthright communication from management to the employees as well as the opinions of its customers. In doing so, the company will be compliant with its corporate culture and stakeholders. The last thing Castlebridge needs is to have its employees and customers reject the principles of this outerwear line. With that being said, the company can continue to enjoy the success it has had.

“I’m Still Here” by Veronica Ross Essay

Courageous and full of determination, Jake Garson in one of the short stories I’m Still Here, written by Veronica Ross, shows the set of characteristics that many Canadians regard as expressing their unique place and role in the world. He tried to fight and stand up for his own rights against the government through his act of bravery. By doing this, he had influenced many people in his hometown that faced the same situation as Jake; however, they did not show the same kind of courage that Jake showed. Readers who like to reevaluate and rethink what they are reading are recommended to read short stories such as I’m Still Here. It is one of the stories that teach us the moral lessons of standing up for yourself without anger or violence and to have a positive attitude at all times. This is one of the effects it had made to the short story. Some other effects also include a slow beginning introduction with an unpredictable ending. The author also does an excellent job of capturing the reader’s interest through plots twists, characters, theme, symbolism and much more, which made an effective short story. Although the use of vulgar language had made an unattractive impression, it showed the characteristics and emotions of the character inside the story, which made it more alive for the readers to read. Kezia, the main character from the short story The Wedding Gift, written by Thomas Raddall had a similar situation like Jake. Both of the short stories teaches us the moral lessons of standing up for yourself. Courage and bravery was something Jake had successfully shown in the short story. â€Å"Glad to see you’re standing up for your rights. We had the same thing happen to us, but we didn’t have your courage. Good luck† (Ross 201). In the story, the government wanted to take away his land with fair compensation being paid. However, Jake was not caring about the money; he was determined to stay because he was born on that land and it had been in the family a hundred and eighty years. His roots are there so losing it would be like losing a part of him. Although it looked like a foolish act to do, it had influenced many people in his hometown. All the children came and said the same thing, â€Å"that Jacob Garson was a hero, a man brave enough to stand up for his freedom. And that they were behind him† (Ross 201). However, not all people supported him. They were others who thought he was being selfish and tried to threaten him. â€Å"We’ll burn your house down, you  fool† (Ross 199). â€Å"Your land could be enjoyed by all, you selfish son of a bitch† (Ross 202). Nevertheless, those people did not make a successful interference toward him. With this bravery attitude and act of determination, it had made an effective short story that teaches readers a great moral lesson.

Business Intelligence Analyze the Case of SunPower Ltd †Free Samples

In this case study we will analyze the case of SunPower ltd, the pany is the highest producer of the world’s most efficient solar cells. These solar cells are known as photovoltaics. However with the advent of the technology it can be seen that the present position of the SunPower pany is in a lot of danger, as panies are ing up with better and advanced ways of making use of the new technology to bring new improvements in the field of solar power and solar cells (Guragai, et al., 2017). The panies are trying to improve the overall efficiency of these solar cells with the use of these technological changes and that might affect the overall position of the SunPower pany. Thus the CEO of the pany is looking for ways by which they can keep their present position safe and can retain their present market share (Werner, 2017). For this, the pany needs to make an effective use of the present business intelligence techniques by which they can solve their present issues and improve thei r overall operations. This will help in generation of more profit and will also help in improving the efficiency of the photovoltaic blubs that the pany is producing (Bromwich & Scapens, 2016). Business intelligence can be defined as technology that helps in effective analysis of large volume of data and makes it easy for the panies to deal with it. There are various BI tools that are there in the market and the panies can choose as per their own needs. It helps the managers to make informed decisions and also helps the employees to improve their overall efficiency (Trieu, 2017). The different types of BI tools are AD-hoc reporting and analysis, data visualization and data discovery and online analytical processing. These tools will help in effective management of the data that is churned by the pany and the panies will be helped by it. The other uses of the business intelligence tools are that it helps in effective management of the logistics, it helps in reducing the errors that might occur due to manual intervention (Kew & Stredwick, 2017). It also helps in the overall management of the various departments of the pany. It can be seen that the panies will be benefited a l ot this as a lot of time will be saved with the help of it. There are variety of software available in the market that can be customized as per the needs of the pany, and there are a variety of vendors who sell these software. It is thus important for the panies to do the proper research before selecting the best software for the pany (Alexander, 2016). Applying the use of it in case of the SunPower pany we can analyze how it will help in solving the problems that the pany might be facing (Visinescu, et al., 2017). There are few issues that the pany is facing and that are affecting its overall growth and development. Now making an analysis of the overall case study we can say that the pany can make use of the tools of BI for improving their overall performance. Knowledge-Based Systems- The pany can make use of the various knowledge-based system tools that can help the pany in getting better knowledge about the various aspects of production and will be helpful to the managers of the pany. The managers will get a clear idea of the changes that they might need in improving the system. The pany can get knowledge about the various alternatives to the materials that are used in the cells like the silicon chips, ignors-wafers, cells, and modules etc. The BI tools will help the pany in getting knowledge about these products and they can make effective use of the same (Charlton, et al., 2017). We see that there is a situation where the pany wanted to mercialize the solar concentrator21 technology, but they needed to get proper information and consider various aspects before taking proper decisions.   It was found that the PV alternative was lower and this new technology might not be suited for small distributed remote applications, hence the pany needed for proper knowledge before taking their decisions and that can be solved with the help of the BI tools that might help in getting the required information. Knowledge sharing will help in generating better knowledge processes and knowledge practices. It will help in creating new knowledge among the different departments of the pany and help in the flow of information. Internal BI Tools – The pany can use various internal BI tools that can help them in data mining, data analytics, and management. These applications can be brought from any vendors in the market easily and can be customized as per the needs of the pany. It will help SunPower in the management of their large amount of data. The pany is one of the best in the business and it has a large amount of data to be taken care of, there are many problems that the management of the pany faces in their day to day activity. That can be solved with the help of using the business intelligence tools. The panies can provide training to their employees to make effective use of the electricity and it can be very helpful in the future . Thus these tools will be helpful in the long run. Decision Support System – It can be seen that when the panies are able to take the right decision at the right time then they are able to avoid a lot of situations that might lead to huge losses. In the given case we see that if the managers of the pany are able to take an effective decision as and when needed they will be able to solve a lot of issues. For example- we saw that NASA asked the pany to create certain cells that are specially customized for them, the pany was able to successfully deliver the same but NASA asked for a reduction of the cost. But for that, it was required that the pany must upscale its production and in that case, we see that it was important for the managers of the pany to have detailed analysis and take an effective decision (Arnott, et al., 2017). Another example we see that when Honda approached the pany to make such cells that might support their solar-powered cars, the managers wasted a lot of time in taking effective decisions whether they ne eded two shifts or one shift and they eventually found that they had no proper information to decide it. Hence with the help of the BI tools, this decision-making problem of the pany will be solved. The managers will take effective decisions that will help them in saving a lot of costs and generating more revenues (Belton, 2017). After the entire analysis, it can be said that if the panies are using this technique of business intelligence and using the tools accordingly then that will be very helpful in the long run. It will help in solving a lot of issues that the pany is facing. The pany will be able to manage a large amount of data in the future it will not face that much problem, the issues will be resolved. The pany chooses the best tool that is suited to their needs and then can take the decision accordingly (Auken, 2016). Overall if the panies make use of these business intelligence tools they will gain. However there is the other side to it that choosing the best software that might be able to satisfy the needs of the pany won’t be so easy, a lot of research and analysis needs to be done. The panies might need to provide training to the employees to make them aware of the ways they can use these tools. So these are the few pros and cons of using these software tools by the SunPower pany. The SunPower pany should try to implement these tools in their operations, they must take cues from their petitors and make proper analysis before choosing the best software that might be needed for the pany. They must get the software customised as per their needs and then choose the best of the lot. In the long run, the pany will be benefited . Alexander, F., 2016. The Changing Face of Accountability. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(4), pp. 411-431. Arnott, D., Lizama, F. & Song, Y., 2017. Patterns of business intelligence systems use in organizations. Decision Support Systems, Volume 97, pp. 58-68. Auken, S., 2016. Assessing the role of business faculty values and background in the recognition of an ethical dilemma. Journal of Education for Business, 91(4), pp. 211-218. Belton, P., 2017. petitive Strategy: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. London: Macat International ltd. Bromwich, M. & Scapens, R., 2016. Management Accounting Research: 25 years on. Management Accounting Research, Volume 31, pp. 1-9. Charlton, P., Ilott, D., Borgeaud, R. & Drew, M., 2017. Risky business: An example of what training load data can add to shared decision making in determining ‘acceptable risk’. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(6), pp. 526-527. Guragai, B., Hunt, N., Neri, M. & Taylor, E., 2017. Accounting Information Systems and Ethics Research: Review, Synthesis, and the Future. Journal of Information Systems: Summer 2017, 31(2), pp. 65-81. Hall, J. & Rapanotti, L., 2017. A design theory for software engineering. Information and Software Technology, Volume 87, pp. 46-61. Kew, J. & Stredwick, J., 2017. Business Environment: Managing in a Strategic Context. second ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Trieu, V., 2017. Getting value from Business Intelligence systems: A review and research agenda. Decision Support Systems, Volume 93, pp. 111-124. Venezia, I., 2017. Behavioral Finance: 'Where Do Investors'' Biases e From?'. Singapore: WORLD SCIENTIFIC. Visinescu, L., Jones, M. & Sidorova, A., 2017. Improving Decision Quality: The Role of Business Intelligence. Journal of puter Information Systems, 57(1), pp. 58-66. Werner, M., 2017. Financial process mining - Accounting data structure dependent control flow inference. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Volume 25, pp. 57-80

Sony..read the requirement carefully Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sony..read the requirement carefully - Essay Example It is also among the top a hundred effectively managed companies across the business world (Koontz & Weihrich 2006, p. 104). This was because of its renowned heritage of creativeness and innovativeness. On the other hand, marketing concept is a marketing philosophy in which a company’s goals revolve around the identification and achieving the needs and wants of the customers (Singh 2004, p. 11). Many company’s have adopted this concept over the recent years and Sony company is one of the firms that have made use of this philosophy in order to achieve its consumer oriented goals. With this, this essay will delve into the relevance of the marketing concept to Sony Corporation by expounding on the ways in which the company has applied it successfully to encompass its global operations. The history of marketing concept In prior years, companies used the sales concept and the production concept to foster their operations, but they proved ineffective in achieving the consumer satisfaction. In essence, the production concept was in existence in the 1920s and its rise attributed to the industrial revolution witnessed across the globe (Faarup 2010, p. 23). The concept was effective because most of the goods produced at this time met the basic needs hence creating a higher demand for the same. At this time, the sale of the manufactured products was easy as sales teams were able to execute sales transactions through a price that was subject to the cost of production. The sales concept followed the production concept in the 1930s because of increased competition that was able to meet the unfulfilled demands. The idea behind this concept was that companies had to influence consumers to buy their products through promotional strategies because of the competition experienced in the market. The sales concept failed because its focus was mainly on the sale of the products without factoring in whether the consumers actually needed the product that they were selling . The implication of this was that this did not attain customer satisfaction as marketing came after the development and production of the products for sale. However, many equate marketing to sales, but these two entities are quite different in terms of approach and influencing customer satisfaction. Marketing concept gained momentum after the Second World War because of the increased consumer spending because people could now afford to buy selected products (Faarup 2010, p. 24). With this, companies began to focus more on the needs of the consumers by developing products after ascertaining what the market wanted. The advantage that this presented was that companies could now achieve profits by satisfying the consumer needs for their overall benefit. In essence, marketing concept relies on research of the market to determine the market size, needs, and the segments that exist within the market. In order to satisfy the needs of the consumers, the marketing team decides on the ways of controlling the parameters of the marketing mix. Sony Corporation and the marketing mix Marketing mix is a business-marketing tool, which encompasses the four Ps in the influencing of consumers towards accessing a company’s products and services for the attainment of its goals and objectives (Lamb et al 2008, p. 148). The four P’s are price, place, promotion, and product that when mixed reflect the nature of different

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 10

Education - Essay Example nd distracted; such classroom behaviour4 was not an encouraging response, so I discarded the initial lecture I had planned and started showing them pictures of Degas’ paintings, to stimulate their interest in the world of Degas’ art and human figures.5 After listening to the tape, I feel that my soft voice and formal approach at the beginning of the lesson was not helpful in gaining the attention of the students, because they could not connect with me. I should have started off trying to engage their interest and stimulate their curiosity since children learn best within a positive environment where they are actively engaged.6 What I was doing was lecturing instead, talking down to them - so they were switching off rather than engaging. I had to adapt my instruction, because what I was using was not working, so I decided that it would be better to adopt a more informal and interactive approach, since children love to ask questions. I was tense and holding myself too stiffly, perhaps the children sensed it too. So I relaxed and held out my hands to invite them to draw closer to me to look at Degas’ pictures and start painting them. I was pleased to note that my ability to realize when one method was not working, in order to switch to another was one of my strong points in the lesson, because my inviting tone and gesture worked very well; the restless children who felt bound by their desks were able to loosen up and I also relaxed when I didn’t feel like I was on the spot, standing up in front of the class, as the teacher. I didn’t have to shout so loud either. I invited their participation by asking them questions like, â€Å"Do you think this painting is good?† and â€Å"What do you like about it?† I wanted to see what the first impressions of the children would be – what would they notice, what would they wonder about? I was delighted to find that they were astute enough to notice that the painting was a set of lots of dots, because they were viewing

PAUL AND ELDER CRTICAL THINKING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PAUL AND ELDER CRTICAL THINKING - Essay Example A critical thinkers decision should be understandable, in that it can be elaborated and explained. It should be free from errors, mistakes and lies and should be detailed to a level. It should be logical , the ideas in ones reasoning should make sense, coherent and not contradict each other. It is through the seasoned practicing of these standards does one gain intellectual traits. Intellectual traits are virtues that are necessary for right action. These are values adopted by open minded thinkers who seek more than one opinion to arrive at the truth. Valuable intellectual traits include intellectual humility which is the ability for an individual to embrace the limits of his knowledge as opposed to claiming what he does not know or understand. I often say things which I have no knowledge for and it will suit me if I listen more and talk less in conversations on topics I have no knowledge of. A critical thinker is one who has the courage to face and discuss topics that are avoided by most people due to either its sensitivities or its correctness rationally and fairly. Some issues and topics are considered incorrect in our society and for that reason most people refrain from discussing such topics. I am no different as I shy away from topics that are deemed sensitive but it is important if I find out this issues for myself and what is wrong with such an issue thus giving me the courage to discus those issues rationally. The ability to put myself in others shoes in order to better understand other individuals point of view is a trait that I have lacked.Listening to other points of view more often and trying to understand where this views are coming from will take a step closer to attaining intellectual

Creation and Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Creation and Evolution - Essay Example Evolution, though scientific theory, is a much stronger argument when measured against creationism when viewed from a scientific point of view. Evolution is not rooted merely in theory but in great part by scientific fact which is observable and shown consistently to be true. It is not merely an idea but a proven fact that this occurs and has occurred through gene mutations, DNA science and other examples such as the increased height of Europeans in the preceding centuries (Moran). Biological evolution refers to changes that are easily definable and provable in populations over time. DNA analysis shows that though we have much more in common with primates we still have over 200 of the same DNA as bacteria, a single celled organism, which is the premise that life began with evolution. Natural selection and species adaptation have been shown proven within our lifetimes through thousands of studies. Evolution can often also include the suggestion that all beings evolved from one original ancestor, which in itself is difficult to fathom as we are (Evolution) though entirely plausible. Genes carry the DNA code responsible for how a species is created and many studies, such as plant hybridization, show that it is very possible for genes to mutate, reshuffle, and produce genetic variations which are the premise behind evolution. Evolution theory through gene mutation is well documented within every species known to man. The scientific community likely finds it difficult to fathom that as intelligent as they are they are unable to create new life forms thus it would be unlikely that another being could do so while creationist lend more credence towards an ultimate being based on their desire for there to be an ultimate being greater than what we are able to know or comprehend. The argument between evolution and creationism lies in the ultimate beginning of life, which

Corporate Governance Master Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Corporate Governance Master - Assignment Example The Financial Services Authority has evolved a refurbished code on corporate governance replacing the1998 intending that the new Code will apply for reporting years beginning on or after 1 November 2003. This Code supersedes the earlier Combined Code issued by the Hampel Committee on Corporate Governance in June 1998.The highlight feature of the new code is the leveraging on the work of Derek Higgs on the role and effectiveness of non-executive directors and a review of the structure and functions of audit committees by a group led by Sir Robert Smith. The Code has substantial prescriptions on the Board, Chairman and chief executive, Board balance and independence etc (Combined, 2003). "At The Body Shape the Board meets formally six times a year and is responsible amongst other things for strategy, allocation of financial resources, annual and interim results, acquisitions and disposals and risk management. For each formal meeting, the Board reviews how the Company has performed agai nst its Values." Its share holders' surveys reveal that the Board needs to take leadership initiatives in resolving following important values' based corporate governance issues which seem to be affecting company's social and corporate image and competitive edge.(The Body Shop,2005) The Body Shop is in the business of selling personal care products. It has a rich retailing experience spanning well over 30 years. It also has a world wide market with operations in 54 countries. It shares stakeholders' relationship with its shareholders, customers, suppliers and retailers, employees and other non governmental organizations. In fact Body Shop is a unique organization that has pointedly sought to be a socially conscious organization that survives commercially. This is revealed by the following company profile in respect of company's beliefs," The Body Shop has been a leader in the trend towards greater corporate transparency, and has been a force for positive social and environmental change through its lobbying and campaigning programmes around five core principles: Support Community Trade, Defend Human Rights, Against Animal Testing, Activate Self-Esteem, and Protect Our Planet."(The Body Shop, 2006). While this is laudable belief menu; however stakeholder feedback distinctly shows that The Body Shop has taken its social accountability aspect a bit over the board. In fact some stakeholders even made comments such as," The Body Shop is not UN" and that "Campaigns should not be run on company funds" and "Do not over-stress ethical values and neglect the financial interests of your shareholder." etc. (The Body, 1999).In fact the values are laudable however here has been a strategic error of highlighting such incidental activities to the main business more than required. Such activities are

The smoking bans on university and college campuses Research Paper

The smoking bans on university and college campuses - Research Paper Example While these smoking bans are beneficial to smokers, the bans are primarily being undergone to protect the rights and ensure the health of those exposed to secondhand smoke. Many smokers fight for their rights to smoke in public with the argument that â€Å"smokers and nonsmokers alike have to learn to share their space† (Smith, 2012). However, this stance is riddled with holes, the largest being that, by being forced to share space, people who choose not to smoke are still being subjected to the toxins that smokers insist on. Nonsmokers are not given the opportunity to be in public smoke-free environments because the smoke does not stay in one place but wafts in all directions, leaving nonsmokers with very little choice in the way of clean air. As such, these smoking bans on university campuses, and in other public locations, seek to protect the rights, and the health, of nonsmokers (Fortin, 2007). They are being put in harm’s way when someone else decides to light up a cigarette, a choice that nonsmokers seldom have a say in. These bans will give nonsmokers the protection that their health requires. Similarly, â€Å"comprehensive smoking bans can reduce secondhand smoke exposure among nonsmokers† (CDC, 2007). Secondhand smoke has proven to be more dangerous than the smoke inhaled through a cigarette. This is due to the fact that filters in cigarettes remove the most deadly toxins as smokers inhale, thereby allowing them to not inhale all of the toxins. Those exposed to secondhand smoke do not get the benefit of the filters, and are left to to wade through the harsh smoke, toxins and all. These proposed and active smoking bans protect employees and students from exposure to secondhand smoke on college campuses (ANR, 2012). While smokers are inhaling dangerous toxins themselves, they are leaving behind something much deadlier for those who have made an active decision not to smoke. Essentially, nonsmokers are being punished for the choices made by smokers,

Marketing research and market evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing research and market evaluation - Essay Example An online focus group is one type of research method, particularly falling under focus groups which makes use of the internet, thus people do not meet physically but are able to exchange ideas and converse through conferencing software (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). In particular, this is how it is done: "A moderator invites prescreened, qualified respondents who represent the target of interest to log on to conferencing software at a pre-arranged time and to take part in an online focus group. Some researchers will offer incentives for participatingbut this raises a number of ethical questions. Discussions generally last one hour to 90 minutes. The moderator guides the discussion using a combination of predetermined questions and unscripted probes. In the best discussions, as with face to face groups, respondents interact with each other as well as the moderator in real time to generate deeper insights about the topic" (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). Some consider online focus group as a breakthrough in conducting market research and is found to be an effective way to lead the select groups to a more in-depth discussion about the topic on hand (BioInformatics, LLC ). This is so as both clients and respondent participants can comfortably participate from their own office or home. This then allows for a greater number of participants and extends the geographic scope of possible participants world wide (Insights Online). Online focus group is a relatively new way of conducting market research. It is one of the innovations brought by an increase in the use of technology. The online focus group is seen to be an alternative to the traditional face-to-face focus group done for the same purpose of market research. "Online focus groups are appropriate for consumer research, business to business research and political research. Interacting over the web avoids a significant amount of travel expense. It allows respondents from all over the world to gather, electronically for a more representative sample. Often respondents open up more online than they would in person, which is valuable for sensitive subjects. Like in-person focus groups, online groups are usually limited to 8-10 participants" (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). Basically the methodology observed is this: clients are able to observe the focus group while it is in session. They can also communicate with the moderator; therefore can influence the direction to which the discussion leads without necessarily interrupting the session. Since participants type their own responses, there is no room transcription errors are completely avoided. (Insights Online). Online Focus Groups are conducted in the following step-by-step process: 1. Develop screener and discussion guide. 2. Program screener into HTML/CGI format. (if neccessary) 3. Screen/recruit participants for desired qualifications. (if neccessary) 4. Moderate the Online Focus Group session with client observers. 5. Provide transcript. (normally within 24 hours after group session) 6. Provide topline report. (normally within one week after closing survey) 7. Compile final written or oral presentation. Source: Insights Online Some view online focus group as advantageous compared to the more traditional market research methods. In summary, online focus group has the following advantages: Responses are more objective. Respondents participating in online focus

Executive summary Essay Example for Free

Executive summary Essay Donald, you provided a thorough discussion of what an executive summary really is. Your method of presentation of examples that are equivalent to an executive summary such as a business report or a one-verse summary from the Bible serves as a superb way for the reader to totally appreciate what you are talking about (Marydee, 2004). You also provide the technical features of an executive summary, such as the general length and the scope of such documents (Penrose et al. , 2004). However, I would also want to comment on the tone of your discussion. In your fourth and sixth paragraphs, I noticed that there were a couple of sentences that project a negative attitude among the readers of executive summaries. You mentioned in the fourth paragraph that â€Å"†¦executive summaries are designed for audiences that lack time or motivation to read the full report (Bovee et al. , 2003). † I suggest that you modify this sentence because this connotation of this phrase is not very pleasant for the reader. In the sixth paragraph, you stated, â€Å"†¦most executives habitually make quick decisions, well written executive summaries are arguably the most important information in the business report. † This phrase of yours provides an impression that executives either are not interested in reading the full report, making these individuals not as energetic as they are perceived, or that executives are very gullible because their major decisions are all based on the executive summary. The problem here with your description is that if there is a substandard executive summary that has been generated by a fresh writer, any decisions that will be made by the executive will be significantly influenced by the work produced by this immature writer. I suggest that you incorporate my comments and suggestions so that you will have an improved version of your discussion.

Bargaining Power of Buyers Essay Example for Free

Bargaining Power of Buyers Essay The correlation between the console, developer and consumer is best explained by the paradigm of supplier power. The differentiation of inputs is the key available to the consumer to influence the video game industry as a whole. The developer also has similar power and the consoles are thus dependent on these two key inputs for generating creativity and therefore increasing the sales of the console per se as well as the $ 10 royalty that is being charged from each publisher for publishing the game on the particular console. Volumes are the key input as far as the suppliers are concerned. These also impact the console as there is a need to ensure that more number of games are compatible with each console which will help drive sales. The main strategy for negotiating with the supplier by the console is that of backward integration which is followed in a diffused manner, in that there is open ended competition generated amongst the developers to obtain the most creative inputs. Substitutes In as much as consoles are concerned there is limited threat of substitutes within the oligopoly established. However there is a constant need for up gradation between the three rivals, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft which is driving the video game console industry. The substitutes also act in the form of providing alternatives to the games on respective consoles creating a different level of threats. The threat of piracy is a grave problem with the total size being at $ 3 billion, the industry will most certainly be affected by piracy which may increase with greater dependence on online gaming and the internet. The bargaining power of consoles has been considerably weakened over the years due to price and product sensitivity; thereby the developers are able to manipulate the rivalry between the three principal players to their own advantage. This is causing only intermediate points of advantage to the console when a new advanced version is introduced, they can bargain with the developers for placing their games on the new console, Another important facet is that of royalty that is being charged from publishers for each console, the buyer has the leverage to increase the same or even have a variable pricing depending on the spread of the product. Thus on initial introduction a higher charge could be made and as more consoles are inducted in the system, the volumes could provide scope for reducing the royalty. The backward integration with the developer and the consumer remains the key strategy of all buyers and towards which they are continuously working. The integration with the buyer through programs such as Nintendo’s forums and magazine feed back ensures that the companies obtain buyer information on a continuous basis. In fact the video games industry is doing so at no cost to itself which acts as a positive growth factor for the same. Buyer volumes are likely to increase each day with a healthy growth of 30 % envisaged for the industry over the next few years. Case Studies Establishing Linkages Console, Developer and Consumer Sony Sony Computer Entertainment Inc is a company which has been established in November 1993. It is based in Tokyo and has a capitalization of 1. 933 billion Yen and a sales and operating revenue of 737. 0 billion Yen for year ending 31 March 2005. This places its net income at 35. 5 billion Yen. It is presently leading in the field of console gaming. Its principal area of business is the research, development, production and sales of both the hardware and software for the video game systems Play Station 2 and Play Station Portable. The number of employees of the company as on 1 April 2006 is said to be 1200. (www. sony. com). It would thus be evident that Sony is managing the large scale of its operation on out sourced processes some of which will be covered separately herein. The company is extensively dependent on the developers for developing games. A call has been made to developers for games for its new console, Playstation 3. (Sharma, 2005). This has been an opportunity provided to the developers to build up game scenarios and develop the schematics for new games for the PS 3. Sony is calling this program as Game Yaroze! 2006. This has been standard practice for the company as per industry watchers as a similar program was launched by the company when it developed Play Station 1. An entire range of games were developed for the console with inputs from developers. The company expects contribution from amateurs as well as professional developers. Gamers are also reported to have contributed significantly to the development of games on Sony’s Play Station (Sharma, 2005). The symbiotic relationship between gamers and developers as well as console producers can be explained by the recent threat by gamers of the Call of Duty 2 game threatening to go on strike as the developers did not respond to certain queries by them and threatened to shut down the gaming servers. With console gaming there is no such problem and it is relatively safe from hacking and other forms of information disruption practiced on the internet.

Full Strategic Analysis Of Caribou Coffee Company Inc Marketing Essay

Full Strategic Analysis Of Caribou Coffee Company Inc Marketing Essay Caribou coffee Incl commonly known as CBOU.O is a company specializing in retail of teas, coffee bakery goods and other related products. Since it inception in 1992, the firm operates in various reportable divisions which include: commercial, retail and franchise businesses. Retail segment comprise of about 400 of the total coffee establishment and focuses on the local market. These key stores are based in Minnesota and over 20 other store in major states where CBOU.O operates. Commercial segment focuses on mass merchandisers while the franchise business which comprises of about 19% of the total coffee houses targets the international market. Caribou Incl operates in international and local markets as well with a bout 510 coffeehouses (Perry 2003, p. 46). Additionally, the firm supplies its products to diverse clientele groups such as grocery stores, hotels, airlines, mass merchandisers, entertainment venues, offices and colleges among other clients. Caribou management main goal is d irected towards providing high quality coffee blends and other related products to its clients. Key to their attractive strategy, CBOU.O has well designed outlets which resemble ski lodges and even Alaskan cabins, which offer the firms a range of coffee blends, or even specialty teas, coffee drinks and baked goods. In order to expand on its distribution chain CBOU.O sells both brewing supplies and whole bean coffee (Hall 2005, p. 76). In addition the firm has over 100 franchised outlets which are mostly founded in the greater Middle East part as well as South Korea. As per 2008 fiscal report, 60% of the Caribou Coffee firm is owned by Arcapita, a Bahrain-based investment faction. CBOU.O has recorded positive growth in history of gourmet coffee industry amid competition from Kraft Foods Inc., Starbucks Corporation, Proctor Gamble and Nestle Inc. 1.10 Company Analysis CBOU.O is not immune to industry macro as well as micro factors influencing business performance levels. The wider business environment has created both opportunity and challenges to CBOU.Os performance in coffee industry. The volume of coffeehouse chains has increased in the recent past with the new entrants in the renowned specialty product category. For instance, the external environment in the industry has been hit by high competition with greater impacts felt the period between fiscal 1998 and 2003 (Hoskisson Hitt 2008, p. 96). The industry has also presented a new wave of demographics shift where young adults easily indentify with coffee products. With greater cultural influence in the foreign markets, decaffeinated coffee has easily being marketed in defined global market niche. Similarly, in coffee industry market trends have also forced leading firms to leverage their brand names into various categories in an attempt to grow greater sales. 1.11 PESTEL Analysis Social factors Social trends has impacted CBOU.Os marketing, RD activities, rebranding procedure, market entry strategies, employees motivation and the firms business units performances. CBOU.O has been influenced by various factors including changing demographics, family changes, consumer expectations and various cultural changes (Perry 2003, p. 89). The firm has witnessed a shift in consumer habits in various markets where brand switching has been popularized by the existence of a variety of specialty products offered by similar players in the market. Due to the perceived change in consumer expectations CBOU.O has been constantly extending their product-line to include various coffee versions in the market. For instance, decaffeinated coffee has been an entrant in various market niches as a deliberate effort to avert brand switch to other alternative beverages. This has been mainly instigated by cultural preferences. Similarly, the changing demographics in both global as well as local market have influenced CBOU.O business activities. For example, between fiscal 2003 and 2006, adults aged between 18 and 24 who took coffee daily doubled in percentage and crossed over 30 % mark as per the NCAs (i.e. National Coffee Association) data (Perry 2003, p. 193). The young adult drinking behavior/habits has and will continue influencing Caribou Coffee consumption since this age bracket constitute the long-life coffee drinkers as they enter early adulthood. The youngsters demographics are vital to CBOU.O since they are likely to favor coffee to other familiar soft drinks in future. Political forces Government policy in terms of degree of economic intervention has greatly influenced CBOU.O in the greater Minnesota region. Various stakeholders such as regulators and politicians impacts any industry in terms of workforce safety issues, firms subsidies, quality infrastructure and business supports. For example, Caribou has been continually influenced by various policies linked to NCA. Like other firms, Caribou has enjoyed government intervention during various difficulty economic seasons as well as on labor issue intervention. Trade barriers, among other government policies has influenced entry procedures across the 20 states stores. For instance, favorable trade policies have assisted the firm to expand and perhaps source for quality coffee (Grant 2005, p. 94). Economic factors Inflation, economic growth issues, interest rates and taxation changes has affected Caribou Coffee Company in terms of product performance, business profitability, production costs and firms overheads. For instance, in fiscal 2007/2008 the firm reported increase in production costs brought about by increase in related costs such as higher wage demands due to economic difficulties experienced globally. More positive in the trend in economic growth witnessed in early 2000 that saw CBOU.O report increase in demand for various coffee products. In addition, in fiscal 2006 Lower interest made more viable for investors such as Arcapita to invest in about 60% CBOU.O since the costs associated with borrowing was too low. Finally, economic difficulties witnessed in late 2000 saw CBOU.O resulting into franchise arrangement for synergy reasons. Technological factors Technology has helped CBOU.O to remain ahead in business communication, production and innovation. For example, technology has boosted the firms move in online marketing and related business activities in CBOU.Os official website. Computer aided systems has assisted the firm in quality control and production regulations as a deliberate move in reducing related production costs. Online marketing as well as trading information supported by the firms website has put CBOU.O ahead of competition. Legal Forces CBOU.O has been influenced by the various consumer laws protecting clients against unfair pricing practices and any misleading beverage description. Under the Caribou management practices, employment laws have affected the business approach in areas such as redundancy, minimum wage, working hours and dismissal issues. Environmental factors Factors such as national weather and the perceived global climate change influence consumer patterns (Porter 1998, p.72). Changes in temperature, especially during winters increase the likelihood of coffee consumption and high profitability during this spell. CBOU.O has in the past recorded greater sales during winters than the case with summer performance. Currently, the global environmental issues as well as the growing desire on corporate responsibility on the nature have influenced business opportunities in the new markets. Such environmental trends have influenced Caribous demand patterns and the global opportunities (Perry 2003, p. 103). 1.12 Porters Five Forces Rivalry Rivalry intensity has been greatly increased by low switching costs where consumers can easily switch from particular specialty coffee product, thus making it hard to capture greater market proportion. The ever growing number of specialty coffee products has intensified rivalry. Recent development in terms of consumer habits in coffee industry has resulted into struggle for available market share. Similarly, industry shakeout influences rivalry witnessed in various industries (Porter 1998, p. 43). High level of products differentiation has resulted into greater rivalry forcing CBOU.O to extend its product-line. The firm currently offers whole bean coffee and specialty teas, as a differentiated approach in competing in the market. Threats of substitutes Coffee products offered by other players such as Proctor Gamble or even Starbucks Corporation at a competing price offer a threat to CBOU.O specialty coffee products, thus making it hard for the firm to raise prices for profitability reasons. Health concerns have influenced the consumption levels of specialty coffee as a substitute to other highly priced soft beverages. For example, Starbucks Power Frappuccino has been a big threat to Caribous due to its price espresso-based beverages. Buyer Power The firms buyers have contributed to the Caribous performance by determining the firms profitability levels. The buyers have the ability to influence the business performance by affecting the business ability in offering quality specialty coffee. Similarly, the buyers power has influenced Caribous business strategy where the management has been concentrating in offering all-time coffee products to the consumers in anticipation. Supplier power Coffee suppliers has been very influential on Caribous production ability where shortfall in coffee supplies to the coffeehouses is closely associated with declined ability of the firm to acquire the supplies as per the price offered. The suppliers are potentially able to exert influence on the firm since much of the raw materials as well as related supplies are sourced at a price which directly affects the resulting business profitability (Porter 1998, p. 116). Barriers to entry The possibility that the number of new entrants in the industry may increase poses a threat to Caribous competitiveness .Caribous has been constantly employing strategies such as franchise arrangement as a key measure to avert possible entry in the market. In possible situations Caribous has been employing entry-deterring pricing as a key strategy in preventing possible entrants in the industry. As a strategy to remain more competitive, Caribou enjoys the benefits associated with their production capacity (i.e. proprietary knowledge) in manufacture of various specialty coffee products (Daniel Lamb 2008, p. 125). Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) CBOU.O considers LCA in order to indentify areas area for vital improvements in environment, marketing as well as in support of how the coffeehouses products are environmental friendly. All coffee products have some noticeable impacts on our environmental and therefore CBOU.O uses LCA to manage issues such as pollution, in order to reduce environmental harm. In CBOU.O the LCA starts with raw material sourcing where quality coffee as the prime raw materials are bought from indentified suppliers. In the Manufacturing phase, CBOU.O ensures clear procedures are used in order to minimize unnecessary pollution from. The packaging phase in the LCA is highly considered in order to reflect the marketing philosophy of Caribou firm by including the business logo or even the company brand name. The firm marketing is extensively done and thus places Caribou ahead of other players in product communication in all the three business units. In the use, maintenance and reuse phase, Caribou considers c lear policies on Coffee mugs or related packaging are used in order to reduce unnecessary costs associated with environmental impacts. Finally, in the recycle phase, Caribou uses clear policies that ensure that various packages are reused for intended purposes (Grant 2005, p. 278). SWOT: Opportunities and Threats Some of the opportunities in the Caribou operations that give the firm segment a competitive advantage includes venture into international market and developing business arrangement such as franchise. The franchise arrangement has helped most Caribou to maintain a competitive edge despite the unfavorable market forces brought about by hard-economic environment (Grimm 2006, p 233). Developing of Decaffeinated coffee has been one of the strongest opportunities well utilized by CBOU.O in the recent past. Similarly, CBOU.O faces greater threat from stiff competition witnessed from major competitors. Similarly, upcoming considerations by governments to tax the coffee industry poses as a key threat for most firms. Phase II Generic strategies Caribou firm has developed various generic strategies in order counteract the analyzed Porters forces at business unit level, corporate level as well as functional level. For competitive advantage reasons, Caribou has indentified various products namely; focus, differentiated product and the cost leadership coffee products at business unit level. The firms business units which entails the retail chains, commercial segment and the franchise segment has placed products such as whole bean coffee and the specialty tea on the costs leadership level. Additionally, Caribou has been constantly included differentiated products such as espresso-based beverages in order to counteract the rivalry evidenced in early 2000s. Caribou has used the commercial segment as the sole focus in selling various products to hotels, entertainment venues, grocery stores, airlines or even to the offices in the major regional chains (Perry 2003, p. 136). Market segmentation Initially, adults were associated with Coffee drinking until the recent witnessed shifts in the consumer behaviors brought about by the Generation X and Y. The changes associated with this generations has forced to Caribou to redesign its product line in order to attract the growing number of young adults who have indicated interest in the firms coffee products. For example, Caribou resulted in single-serving system in mid 2000 in order to ensure that target consumer are able to access superior coffee at designated pods in hotels, entertainment venues or even in major stores in Minnesota (Perry 2003, p. 113). Baby boomers who normally switch to healthier coffee products forced Caribou to introduce decaffeinated coffee in the stores. This transition was enabled by the firms aided technological processes which usually improves decaffeinated coffee flavors to suit the various generations considerations. Core competencies and Generic Value Chain Core competencies help Caribou in retaining its competitive nature by ensuring that the bond between various units is strengthened thus offering coherent portfolio. Caribou core competency level is premised on the provision to access variety of product in either retail markets or even at franchise level (Hoskisson Hitt 2008, p. 97). Caribou has been using procedures as well as practices in manufacturing which are basically hard to imitate in production of products such as specialty teas or even other branded merchandise. The firm has also exhibited strong capacity in RD where deliberate efforts has been made in strengthening the firms ability to understand and cater for upping interest in Coffee industry markets. As a core competency strategy, CBOU.O has ensured shared costs in business units in order to remain ever profitable. For instance, the firm increases the franchised business units under shared costs between the retail stores and the commercial business segment. CBOU.O value chain entails inbound logistics, outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales processes, and the operations activities. For example, CBOU.O ensures that inbound activities such as Coffee sourcing, warehousing and division logistics are clearly conducted. Caribou operation activities are normally aligned to the defined production formulas and processes during product preparation. The marketing and sales undertaking in the firm has been enhanced by greater innovations in meeting the ever changing demographic needs. Finally, the outbound activities has bee made possibly by the wider distribution scope done under retail stores, franchise segment or commercial units. Ansolffs Matrix and Porters Diamond Caribou market penetration procedures are used in securing market dominance, in restructuring markets, increase Coffee usage among consumers and in raising market share of core products in various chains. Caribou has enhanced its market development procedures by ensuring that the business able to effectively locate new geographical location for new stores, or new distribution channels or pricing strategies in order to enhance market growth on products such as baked goods. Product diversification has been used to modify various branded merchandise offered by the firm (Grant 2005, p. 423). Caribou has been diversifying its products in various segments by use of rebranding procedures. Porters diamond model has been employed by CBUO.O to enhance competitiveness by strengthening firms strategy, structure and effectively handling rivalry issues. The firms culture, lean structure and operation motivation boosts the firms competitive advantage. When handling demand conditions, Caribous RD ensures that local demand needs/capacity is satisfied by quality specialty coffee products prior to meeting other states demand. This gives local stores competitive advantage. Caribou create its factor conditions by having skilled workforce and improved technology in order to remain competitive. Similarly, factor combination during manufacturing has boosted Caribous performance as well. Under supporting and related industry considerations, Caribou operates in global chains under commercial and retail stores in order to support the franchise unit. Caribou uses the business units to organize and supplement innovation in the structure value. Financial Analysis Current ratio for CBOU.O eagle Incl is noted to be decreasing from a figure of 0.88in fiscal 2007 to lows of 0.72in 2008.This trend is alarming as it indicates decrease in ability of CBOU.O to cover its short-term debts using the available current assets. Gross-profit is increasing from lows of 47.0% in 2007 to 51.36 in 2008. The trend is positive as it indicates CBUO.O move in earnings increase. Return-on-assets ratio shows Caribous earnings in relation to all the economic resources owned by the company (Peterson Fabozzi, p. 146). Return-on equity is decreasing from fiscal 2007 ratio calculations. The trend is negative. The trend on Return-on-equity portrayed from 2007 to fiscal 2008 is negative indicating a decrease in returns for the ordinary and /or common stock-holders. Phase III: Recommendations CBOU.O should consider seeking global opportunities in order to counteract stiff competition and perhaps increase in profitability. In situations where Franchise fails in foreign market, CBOU.O should result into Mergers or acquisitions in order to enjoy currency benefits associated with global market thus averting economic effects on performance. To avert rivalry, CBOU.O ought to continuously improve on existing product chains and enhance brand extension procedures. CBOU.O ought to increase their investment in current assets to boost the companys financial position. A company should cover its short-term obligations at least twice from their investment in current assets. CBOU.O should increase the efficiency in the use of economic resources at their disposal to enhance the firm long-term profitability. Similarly, CBOU.O should also increase efficiency in the use of assets. Finally, more investment should be carried out in total assets to effectively cover the firms debts. Appendices A: Caribou Coffee Company Important Trend Analysis Ratios Ratio type 2008 2007 Current Ratio=(Current assets/current liabilities 28,450,000/32,260,000 = 0.88 26,620,000/36,820,000= 0.72 Gross-profit ratio=(Gross -profit/sale)*100 (119,460,000/253,900,000)* 100= 47.0% (131,910,000/256,830,000)* 100=51.36% Return-on- assets=(net-profit before interest/total assets)*100 (15,460,000/89,570,000)* 100= (17.26)% (30,400,000/111,840,000)*100= (27.18)% Return-on-equity=(Net income/equity)*100 (16,280,000/43,940,000)= (37.0)% (30,500,00/59,290,000)* 100=(51.44)%

Music Therapy :: essays research papers

rynjulf Stige is the first Coordinator of the music therapy education program at Sogn og Fjordane University in Sandane, Norway, where he is an associate professor. With diverse experiences as a music therapist using a community based approach, Stige has written numerous articles and books on music therapy and music education. He is editor-in-chief of the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, and co-editor (with Carolyn Kenny) of Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. He is one of the most insightful thinkers working within the music therapy profession. He believes that humans cannot escape culture. Through culture, we are provided the tools we need to deal with challenges of everyday life. Stige believes that culture has not been focused on enough and in his book, Culture-Centered Music Therapy, he brought the culture to the music therapy world. His book is divided into four main parts excluding the introduction, preface, etc. Part One of the book, outlines premises for the argument, examining basic concepts such as culture, humankind, meaning, "musicking," and the nature-nurture debate. Part Two highlights how culture-centered music therapy may be practiced. The scope varies from community music therapy (aimed in part on cultural change in the community), to ecological music therapy (focusing on communication at micro- and mesosystem levels), to individual music psychotherapy (considering the individual in cultural context). In Part Three, implications for describing and understanding music therapy are discussed, including a chapter on how to define music therapy as a practice, discipline, and profession. A culture-inclusive model of the music therapy process is also proposed. Part Four suggests approaches to music therapy research within a culture-centered context. A call for increased reflexivity, the ability to reflect upon one's social and cultural position, is at the heart of the discussion, along with a continuing theme of this book: the relations and tensions between local and more general perspectives on music therapy. Focusing more on Part I, the first three chapters that make up that section educate the reader on key premises that arise throughout the rest of the text.. The first chapter explores an integration of themes from biology, history and culture. It opens with a concise and scholarly history of the concept of culture, discussing etymological roots and noting different uses and misuses throughout history. Reference is made to the disciplines of anthropology and ethnography, the latter playing a significant part throughout the text.

Essay --

In today’s socio-political currency, often there is cheapened ‘Hero Inflation’ devoid of serious moral reflection in indiscriminate glory of dubious value. Within that promiscuous praise that greases the path for bottom of the barrel hyperbole debased hero-worshipping, and if you throw partisan vituperation of political complexities in the mix, it becomes absurd ventilation of the small soul’s lowest common denominator. You get all kinds of cluttered mind, suffocating echo chamber, denialism barking on style over substance. In their politically charged hyper reality, truth is variable, partial and filtered through narrow partisan optics. Soullessness of the chattering class are so vein that even old chestnuts falling from their favorite leaders’ mouth are treated like jewels. You may call it a mix of Rolling Stone and Mad magazines, with a dash of National Lampoon tossed in. Now with these elements getting into street politics outlier, ideologies get calcified, cocooned and extremism galvanized; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, figures, & evidence; and always dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition. Leaders for whom they root for, are many a times are truly incompetent, can’t even recognize their own incompetence and that reigns supreme. They thrive in sloganeering & narrow echo chambers, where they listen to themselves and their supporting cast, and that keeps them going, forgetting that the rest of the country think they're empty-head, crazy. Because of these framed-up political game, national interest suffers, and whole nation eventually pays dearly for that. Looking at current politicking & electioneering in Dhaka, you can’t take politics out of these political elements. They are into polit... ...has also a partisan biasness in favor of Prime Minister Hasina’s Awami League. Their repeated, open interference in Bangladesh politics raises eye-brows in many quarters, more so because India is delaying in implementation of agreed India-Bangladesh Land Boundary protocol, water-sharing accord from common river of Padma & Teesta. Some even believe, India care less to be an honest broker, rather they are part of this turmoil instigator. Today Bangladesh is at the political cross-road. Controversy withstanding, diplomatic club is the last resort to bring some common-ground in this politically charged environment. Will they succeed? If they don’t, current political impasse would turn into a train-wreck waiting to happen. So I would urge upon all my fellow Bangladeshi compatriots to exert maximum pressure for finding a common ground & compromise. God bless Bangladesh.

Rotation of the letter R :: Essays Papers

Rotation of the letter "R" Psychologists have been interested in the processes that go on in the mind for centuries. However, a new method for assessing the various processes emerged in the 1970's. Several researchers predicted that mental imagery was treated by the brain similarly to actions performed on physical objects. Thus, performance in tasks involving inspection, rotation, and comparison of mental images according to size should be similar to results obtained using actual objects. Kosslyn, Ball, and Reiser (1978) asked participants to scan a mental map after studying a map of an island with several landmarks. They predicted that the further the distance between the landmarks, the longer it would take participants to scan from one to the next, whether using the actual map or a mental image created by intensive study. Their hypothesis was supported by their results. The closer positions took less time to locate on the participant' mental maps than the more distant places. In 1973, Cooper and Shepard asked participants to perform a mental rotation task. They gave the participants an image, and asked them to rotate it mentally by a certain angle, and then match the rotated image with one of several choices. Their prediction was that the greater the angle of rotation, the longer the task would take. This was because it would take longer to physically rotate a figure more degrees than fewer degrees. The evidence supported this hypothesis: The closer the angle is to 180 degrees, the longer the reaction time. Angles greater than 180 degrees do not take longer because the subject will rotate it in the other direction. So the angle distance from 180 degrees, called the angle of disparity, is directly related to the reaction time. The experiment done by the class involves looking at the letter "R" on a computer screen, and determining whether it is forward or reverse. The "R" is rotated at varying degrees, and participants must mentally rotate the "R" in order to determine whether it is forward or reversed. A forward "R" is the letter "R" in its usual orientation. The reversed "R" is backwards from its usual position. There were several predictions made by the class before the experiment was run. The highest reaction time was predicted to be at the 180 degrees condition, with the lowest reaction time at 0 degrees, increasing in both directions toward 180 degrees. Also, the average reversed-figure reaction time was expected to be higher than the average normal time.

Mobile Phone Radiation Essay

Introduction Mobile phones had dominated the entire world. Aside from computers, billions of people in every nation around the world also use mobile phones. But why do we enjoy ourselves with that device? What does it have that other things don’t have? Is it bad for us or does it bring advantage to us? For your information, cell phones or mobile phones are devices that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while running around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone number. The first hand-held mobile phone was demonstrated by John F. Mitchell and Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973, using a handset weighing around 2.2 pounds (1kg). In 1983, the DynaTAC 8000x was the first to be commercially available. From 1990 to 2011, worldwide mobile phone subscriptions grow from 12.4 million to over 6 billion, penetrating about 81% of the global population and reaching the bottom of the economic pyramid. Almost all of the people in the world use this kind of device. But why is that so? What does it bring to people to end up using it by many?  Modern mobile phones also support a wide variety of other services. Those billions of subscribers enjoys the device’s text messaging, MMS, email, internet access, short-range wireless communication (infrared, Bluetooth), business application, gaming, media and photography. So that is why mobile phones are very interesting and enjoyable. Everyone becomes glad everytime we hold our cell phones. But is there a time that we think about how it affects our lives? Did we ever think about its good and bad effects on us? Cell phones are made to communicate to other people easier and faster. It is a big help to the western people during the mid 60’s to 80’s. And as time passes by, more features are being developed. These features bring excitement to people especially teens and adolescents. As a result, cell phone addiction occurs to us people. Cell phone addiction is a very big problem especially to the teens and the youth. People under 17 years of age more likely to do texting than reading their textbooks. It badly affects their grades and some are dropped out of their schools because of their addictiveness. (New York Times, 2007). Addiction also leads to broken families. Some people doesn’t want to be disturbed when they are so busy using their cell phones. They don’t have enough time to talk and socialize with their families. This is not only for families but also for their friends at the same time. Mobile phones also bring bad effects to our health. As said to a report in the New York Times and Philippine Star, mobile phones and computers emit a very strong radiation in a wide range of area and can affect all living things in the said area. (P.S, 2009, pp. 1-2) As study says, these radiations can result in changes to the natural environment. It can also damage living organisms’ DNA which can lead to either a gain of ability or loss of life especially in humans. (Science Daily, 2007) When the first cell phones were made in 1984, there were many health risks. Cell phones emit radiation that could be harmful. No testing had been done prior to releasing these phones to the public. The radiation could possibly lead to brain cancer with long-term use. –Dr. Martin Cooper Cellular phones give off an electromagnetic energy which is a type of non-ionizing radiation. This is similar to the radiation naturally found in thunderstorms. The RF electromagnetic energy that cellular phones create can penetrate through a body. The main factors for the depth of penetration and how much is absorbed come from how close the phone is held and how strong its signal is. It is possible that cell phones can cause serious health issues such as cancer, epileptic seizures or sleep disorders, changes in brain activity, and reaction time, but nothing has been definitely proven. According to BBC, Cell phone users can easily be affected by brain tumors due to the radiations emitted by cell phones. Interestingly, the risk is highest for ipsilateral exposure, meaning tumor on the same side of the brain where phone mostly held. A laboratory study has shown that radio waves from mobile phones do harm body cells and damage DNA.  Studies show that use of cell phones for more than 10 years increase the risk of Glioma. A glioma is a type of tumor that starts in the brain or spine. It is called a glioma because it arises from glial cells. The most common site of gliomas is the brain. Also, Nickel has been found in quite a few mobile sets. About 30% of UK population is allergic to nickel. Rash breaks out where the skin comes in contact with the cell phone.  The effect of mobile phone radiation on human health is the subject of recent interest and study, as a result of the enormous increase in mobile phone usage throughout the world (as of November 2011, there were more than 5.981 billion subscriptions worldwide). Mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range. Other digital wireless systems, such as data communication networks, produce similar radiation. The WHO has classified mobile phone radiation on the IARC scale into Group 2B – possibly carcinogenic. That means that there â€Å"could be some risk† of carcinogenicity, so additional research into the long-term, heavy use of mobile phones needs to be conducted. Some national radiation advisory authorities have recommended measures to minimize exposure to their citizens as a precautionary approach. Many scientific studies have investigated possible health symptoms of mobile phone radiation. These studies are occasionally reviewed by some scientific committees to assess overall risks. A recent assessment was published in 2007 by the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). It concludes that the three lines of evidence, viz. animal, in vitro, and epidemiological studies, indicate that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"exposure to RF fields is unlikely to lead to an increase in cancer in humans†. Parts of the radio waves emitted by a mobile telephone handset are absorbed by the human head. The radio waves emitted by a GSM handset can have a peak power of 2 watts, and a US analogue phone had a maximum transmit power of 3.6 watts. Other digital mobile technologies, such as CDMA2000 and D-AMPS, use lower output power, typically below 1 watt. The maximum power output from a mobile phone is regulated by the mobile phone standard and by the regulatory agencies in each country. In most systems the cell phone and the base station check reception quality and signal strength and the power level is increased or decreased automatically, within a certain span, to accommodate different situations, such as inside or outside of buildings and vehicles. The rate at which energy is absorbed by the human body is measured by the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), and its maximum levels for modern handsets have been set by governmental regulating agencies in many countries. In the USA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set a SAR limit of 1.6 W/kg, averaged over a volume of 1 gram of tissue, for the head. In Europe, the limit is 2 W/kg, averaged over a volume of 10 grams of tissue. SAR values are heavily dependent on the size of the averaging volume. Without information about the averaging volume used, comparisons between different measurements cannot be made. Thus, the European 10-gram ratings should be compared among themselves, and the American 1-gram ratings should only be compared among themselves. SAR data for specific mobile phones, along with other useful information, can be found directly on manufacturers’ websites, as well as on third party web sites. It is worth noting that thermal radiation is not comparable to ionizing radiation in that it only increases the temperature in normal matter, it does not break molecular bonds or release electrons from their atoms. One well-understood effect of microwave radiation is dielectric heating, in which any dielectric material (such as living tissue) is heated by rotations of polar molecules induced by the electromagnetic field. In the case of a person using a cell phone, most of the heating effect will occur at the surface of the head, causing its temperature to increase by a fraction of a  degree. In this case, the level of temperature increase is an order of magnitude less than that obtained during the exposure of the head to direct sunlight. The brain’s blood circulation is capable of disposing of excess heat by increasing local blood flow. However, the cornea of the eye does not have this temperature regulation mechanism and exposure of 2–3 hours duration has been reported to produce cataracts in rabbits’ eyes at SAR values from 100-140W/kg, which produced lenticular temperatures of 41 °C. There were no cataracts detected in the eyes of monkeys exposed under similar conditions. Premature cataracts have not been linked with cell phone use, possibly because of the lower power output of mobile phones. Swedish researchers from Lund University (Salford, Brun, Persson, Eberhardt, and Malmgren) have studied the effects of microwave radiation on the rat brain. They found a leakage of albumin into the brain via a permeated blood–brain barrier. This confirms earlier work on the blood–brain barrier by Allan Frey, Oscar and Hawkins, and Albert and Kerns. Other groups have not confirmed these findings in vitro cell studies or whole animal studies. In 2006 a large Danish study about the connection between mobile phone use and cancer incidence was published. It followed over 420,000 Danish citizens for 20 years and showed no increased risk of cancer. The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fà ¼r Strahlenschutz) considers this report inconclusive. The following studies of long time exposure have been published: †¢ The 13 nation INTERPHONE project – the largest study of its kind ever undertaken – has now been published and did not find a solid link between mobile phones and brain tumors. The International Journal of Epidemiology published a combined data analysis from a multinational population-based case-control study of glioma and meningioma, the most common types of brain tumor. The authors reported the following conclusion: Overall, no increase in risk of glioma or meningioma was observed with use of mobile phones. There were suggestions of an increased risk of glioma at the highest exposure levels, but biases and error prevent a causal interpretation. The possible effects of long-term heavy use of mobile phones require further investigation. In the press release accompanying the release  of the paper, Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said: An increased risk of brain cancer is not established from the data from Interphone. However, observations at the highest level of cumulative call time and the changing patterns of mobile phone use since the period studied by Interphone, particularly in young people, mean that further investigation of mobile phone use and brain cancer risk is merited. A number of independent health and government authorities have commented on this important study including The Australian Centre for Radiofrequency Bioeffects Research (ACRBR) which said in a statement that: Until now there have been concerns that mobile phones were causing increases in brain tumors. Interphone is both large and rigorous enough to address this claim, and it has not provided any convincing scientific evidence of an association between mobile phone use and the development of glioma or meningioma. While the study demonstrates some weak evidence of an association with the highest tenth of cumulative call time (but only in those who started mobile phone use most recently), the authors conclude that biases and errors limit the strength of any conclusions in this group. It now seems clear that if there was an effect of mobile phone use on brain tumor risks in adults, this is likely to be too small to be detectable by even a large multinational study of the size of Interphone. The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) which said in a statement that: On the basis of current understanding of the relationship between brain cancer and use of mobile phones, including the recently published data from the INTERPHONE study, ARPANSA: *concludes that currently available data do not warrant any general recommendation to limit use of mobile phones in the adult population, *continues to inform those concerned about potential health effects that they may limit their exposure by reducing call time, by making calls where reception is good, by using hands-free devices or speaker options, or by texting; and *recommends that, due to the lack of any data relating to children and long term use of mobile phones, parents encourage their childr en to limit their exposure by reducing call time, by making calls where reception is good, by using hands-free devices or speaker options, or by texting. The Cancer Council Australia said in a statement that it cautiously welcomed the results of the largest international study to date into mobile phone use, which has found no  evidence that normal use of mobile phones, for a period up to 12 years, can cause brain cancer. Chief Executive Officer, Professor Ian Olver, said findings from the Interphone study, conducted across 13 countries including Australia, were consistent with other research that had failed to find a link between mobile phones and cancer. This supports previous research showing mobile phones don’t damage cell DNA, meaning they can’t cause the type of genetic mutations that develop into cancer,† Professor Olver said. However, it has been suggested that electromagnetic fields associated with mobile phones may play a role in speeding up the development of an existing cancer. The Interphone study found no evidence to support this theory. †¢ A Danish study (2004) that took place over 10 years fou nd no evidence to support a link. However, this study has been criticized for collecting data from subscriptions and not necessarily from actual users. It is known that some subscribers do not use the phones themselves but provide them for family members to use. That this happens is supported by the observation that only 61% of a small sample of the subscribers reported use of mobile phones when responding to a questionnaire. †¢ A Swedish study (2005) that draws the conclusion that â€Å"the data do not support the hypothesis that mobile phone use is related to an increased risk of glioma or meningioma.† †¢ A British study (2005) that draws the conclusion that â€Å"The study suggests that there is no substantial risk of acoustic neuroma in the first decade after starting mobile phone use. However, an increase in risk after longer term use or after a longer lag period could not be ruled out.† †¢ A German study (2006) that states â€Å"In conclusion, no overall increased risk of glioma or meningioma was observed among these cellular phone users; however, for long-term cellular phone users, results need to be confirmed before firm conclusions can be drawn.† †¢A joint study conducted in northern Europe that draws the conclusion that â€Å"Although our results overall do not indicate an increased risk of glioma in relation to mobile phone use, the possible risk in the most heavily exposed part of the brain with long-term use needs to be explored further before firm conclusions can be drawn.† Other studies on cancer and mobile phones are: †¢ A Swedish scientific team at the Karolinska Institute conducted an epidemiological study (2004) that suggested that regular use of a mobile  phone over a decade or more was associated with an increased risk of acoustic neuroma, a type of benign brain tumor. The increase was not noted in those who had used phones for fewer than 10 years. †¢ The INTERPHONE study group from Japan published the results of a study of brain tumor risk and mobile phone use. They used a new approach: determining the SAR inside a tumor by calculating the radio frequency field absorption in the exact tumor location. Cases examined included glioma, meningioma, and pituitary adenoma. They reported that the overall odds ratio (OR) was not increased and that there was no significant trend towards an increasing OR in relation to exposure, as measured by SAR. In 2007, Dr. Lennart Hardell, from Ãâ€"rebro University in Sweden, reviewed published epidemiological papers (2 cohort studies and 16 case-cont rol studies) and found that: †¢ Cell phone users had an increased risk of malignant gliomas. †¢ Link between cell phone use and a higher rate of acoustic neuromas. †¢ Tumors are more likely to occur on the side of the head that the cell handset is used. †¢ One hour of cell phone use per day significantly increases tumor risk after ten years or more. In a February 2008 update on the status of the INTERPHONE study IARC stated that the long term findings ‘†¦could either be causal or artifactual, related to differential recall between cases and controls. †¢ A self-published and non-peer reviewed meta-study by Dr. Vini Khurana, an Australian neurosurgeon, presented what it termed â€Å"increasing body of evidence †¦ for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumors† and that it â€Å"is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking†.This was criticized as ‘†¦ an unbalanced analysis of the literature, which is also selective in support of the authorâ€℠¢s claims. A publication titled â€Å"Public health implications of wireless technologies† cites that Lennart Hardell found age is a significant factor. The report repeated the finding that the use of cell phones before age 20 increased the risk of brain tumors by 5.2, compared to 1.4 for all ages. A review by Hardell et al. concluded that current mobile phones are not safe for long-term exposure. In a time trends study in Europe, conducted by the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, no significant increase in brain tumors among cell phone users was found between the years of 1998 and 2003. â€Å"The lack of a trend change in incidence from 1998 to 2003 suggests that the induction period relating mobile phone use to brain tumors exceeds  5–10 years, the increased risk in this population is too small to be observed, the increased risk is restricted to subgroups of brain tumors or mobile phone users, or there is no increased risk.† On 31 May 2011 the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). The IARC assessed and evaluated available literature and studies about the carcinogenicity of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), and found the evidence to be â€Å"limited for carcinogenicity of RF-EMF, based on positive associations between glioma and acoustic neuroma and exposure†. The conclusion of the IARC was mainly based on the INTERPHONE study, which found an increased risk for glioma in the highest category of heavy users (30 minutes per day over a 10†year period), although no increased risk was found at lower exposure and other studies could not back up the findings. The evidence for other types of cancer was found to be â€Å"inadequate†. Some members of the Working Group opposed the conclusions and considered the current evidence in humans still as â€Å"inadequate†, citing inc onsistencies between the assessed studies. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute found that while cell phone use increased substantially over the period 1992 to 2008 (from nearly zero to almost 100 percent of the population), the U.S. trends in glioma incidence did not mirror that increase. A 2009 study examined the effects of exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitted by standard GSM cell phones on the cognitive functions of humans. The study confirmed longer (slower) response times to a spatial working memory task when exposed to RFR from a standard GSM cellular phone placed next to the head of male subjects, and showed that longer duration of exposure to RFR may increase the effects on performance. Right-handed subjects exposed to RFR on the left side of their head on average had significantly longer response times when compared to exposure to the right side and sham-exposure. Some users of mobile handsets have reported feeling several unspecific symptoms during and after its use; ranging from burning and tingling sensations in the skin of the head and extremities,fatigue, sleep disturbances, dizziness, loss of mental attention, reaction times and memory retentiveness, headaches, malaise, tachycardia (heart palpitations), to disturbances of the digestive system. Reports have noted that all of these symptoms can also be attributed to stress and that current research cannot  separate the symptoms from nocebo effects. A meta-analysis (2008) of 63 in vitro and in vivo studies from the years 1990–2005 concluded that RF radiation was genotoxic only in some conditions and that the studies reporting positive effects evidenced publication bias. A meta-study (2009) of 101 publications on genotoxicity of RF electromagnetic fields showed that 49 reported a genotoxic effect and 42 not. The authors found â€Å"ample evidence that RF-EMF can alter the genetic material of exposed cells in vivo and in vitro and in more than one way.† In 1995, in the journal Bioelectromagnetics, Henry Lai and Narenda P. Singh reported damaged DNA after two hours of microwave radiation at levels deemed safe according to U.S. government standards. In December 2004, a pan-European study named REFLEX (Risk Evaluation of Potential Environmental Hazards from Low Energy Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposure Using Sensitive in vitro Methods), involving 12 collaborating laboratories in several countries showed some compelling evidence of DNA damage of cells in in-vitro cultures, when exposed between 0.3 to 2 watts/kg, whole-sample average. There were indications, but not rigorous evidence of other cell changes, including damage to chromosomes, alterations in the activity of certain genes and a boosted rate of cell division. Research published in 2004 by a team at the University of Athens had a reduction in reproductive capacity in fruit flies exposed to 6 minutes of 900 MHz pulsed radiation for five days. Subsequent research, again conducted on fruit flies, was published in 2007, with the same exposure pattern but conducted at both 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, and had similar changes in reproductive capacity with no significant difference between the two frequencies. Following additional tests published in a third article, the authors stated they thought their research suggested the changes were â€Å"†¦due to degeneration of large numbers of egg chambers after DNA fragmentation of their constituent cells †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Australian research conducted in 2009 by subjecting in vitro samples of human spermatozoa to radio-frequency radiation at 1.8 GHz and specific absorption rates (SAR) of 0.4 to 27.5 W/kg showed a correlation between increasing SAR and decreased motility and vitality in sperm, increased oxidative stress and 8-Oxo-2†²-deoxyguanosine markers, stimulating DNA base adduct formation and increased DNA fragmentation. Not only in our health cell phones affects us but also in our work and studies. Along with their books and school  supplies, many students make their daily trip to school with their trusty mobile phone. These pocket-sized tools can do anything from make a standard phone call to surf the web. The presence of cell phones presents a host of options and challenges for today’s students. Mobile phones can be a helpful academic tool, or a hurtful academic disruption depending upon the attitude and use pattern of the student owner. As we have read an article from the Manila Standards Today, mobile phones are undeniably convenient. Because of mobile phones, students never have to look for a pay phone or wonder about the location of a friend. These ubiquitous communication tools allow students to reach their peers and their parents instantly. Everything from ordering a pizza to calling to check movie times is easier with a cell phone, as the communication device you need is right at your finger tips. Picture-taking and Internet surfing are readily available on most cell phones. This aids students in gathering the information that they need for school or accessing their email or school website. Students benefit from this technology availability as it allows them to create more polished academic products with less effort than before the ready availability of cell phones. Many parents argue that cell phones keep students safe. A parent is never more than a phone call away when a student is carrying their cell phone. The presence of a cell phone also ensures that students can call parents or emergency personnel in the case of an unforeseen emergency. While most students will never have to use their cell phone as a safety device, the knowledge that it could be used as such puts parents at ease and keeps them paying the monthly cell phone bill. The biggest lament of teachers in regards to cell phones is that they lead to student distraction and off task behavior. Texting a friend is a tempting diversion that many students select over listening to a lecture or completing a class assignment. If not silenced, cell phones can ring during class, drawing everyone’s attention away from the lesson and disrupting the flow of learning. Many teachers worry that this added distraction negatively impacts students’ school performance as it stops them from dedicating their full attention to their studies. While useful, many of the features of cell phones can also be used to engage in inappropriate behaviors. Taking inappropriate pictures and then â€Å"sexting† them to a boyfriend or girlfriend is a growing problem. These pictures often end up in the wrong hands, which leads to others gaining  access to the private photos. Teens often fail to recognize the long-term implications of inappropriate behavior and engage in the behavior without considering the consequences. The consequences for inappropriate behavior are real and long-lasting. Once distributed, sexted photos are almost impossible to contain. The presence of these racy photos can limit the teens options in the future and severely mar their reputations. Society has come to a point where the idea of living without cell phones seems ludicrous. Students desire cell phones in order to sustain contact with friends. The parents of students want their children to have them for security purposes. Cell phones carry multiple benefits, but with this technology lies a dualism that teeters precariously between the benefits and negative effects of cell phone usage — especially with students. –Heath Wright Gaby Badre, M.D., Ph.D., of S ahlgren’s Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden conducted research on the affects of cell phone usage on sleep patterns in teens. The research focused on two groups: a control group of three men and seven women, juxtaposed by a variable group of three men and eight women. When the control group is compared against the variable group, Badre found that teens with excessive cell phone habits exhibit chronic restlessness, a reliance on stimulating drinks, difficulty falling asleep at night, disrupted sleep and an inclination toward fatigue and stress. Children, teens and even young adults are prone to distraction with cell phones. In the classroom and out of school, cell phones provide students an instant network of communication and entertainment. Inside the classroom, students are distracted from the lessons to text, play games and, if they are very daring, call other people. Cell phone ringers, alarms and ring tones disrupt the flow of lessons and the attention of every student in the room and the teacher. According to the National School Safety and Security Services, text messaging can be an aid for cheating st udents. Also, the camera in a cell phone can be used to photograph exams. The camera also can be used to photograph other students in a way that is a violation of privacy. In the case of school emergencies, cell phones can prove more of a hindrance than a help. Cell phones have been used to call in bomb threats. In many districts, tracking a cell phone is not easily done. Also, students’ use of cell phones in a school emergency can possibly trigger a real bomb if an explosive device is on the school’s property. Cell phone usage by students during a school emergency can  obstruct public safety personnel from controlling the event. Parents can be alerted to the emergency before public safety personnel have a chance to contain the situation. Parents can inadvertently increase the chaos by showing up at an imprudent time. Cell phone systems are prone to overload during a real crisis. This has been proven during disasters like the World Trade Center attacks and the Columbine shootings. Several students using cell phones all at once can add to the overload and paralyze a system that may be needed by crisis teams, public safety personnel and school administrators. This may in turn magnify the crisis and increase the chance of tragedy. Cell phones can also affect our daily lives. Mobile phones are also known as lifesavers as they can help people in emergencies. If you get stuck in the middle of the road and find no one for help, you can just use a mobile phone and call for help. Mobile phones are comfortable way of communication over a long distance. Along with the obvious convenience and quick access to help in emergencies big and small, mobile phones can be both economical and essential for travelers trying to stay connected. In Japan, mobile phone companies provide immediate notification of earthquakes and other natural disasters to their customers free of charge. In the event of an emergency, disaster response crews can locate trapped or injured people using the signals from their mobile phones or the small detonator of flare in the battery of every cell phone; an interactive menu accessible through the phone’s Internet browser notifies the company if the user is safe or in distress. We have also been downloading Java games and video clips to our mobile phones. Several online mobile phone shops have come up to cater to this increasing demand for the best mobile phone handsets and the most reliable and cost-effective services in the use of the same. Along with all these advantages there are many disadvantages for mobile phone usage. Mobile-phone use while driving is common. It is generally agreed that using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is a distraction that brings risk of road traffic accidents. So we need to use hands free sets to avoid such hazards. â€Å"The digital age is upon us. And who would have thought it would happen so fast? It seems like only a few years ago when owning a cell phone was a status symbol. Now the device has been marketed as a necessity that we all need to get through the day. In the early days of cell phones I remember that people used to treat them in the same manner that they treated credit  cards, only for an emergency. Cell phones used to be very large and were kept in people’s automobiles. Nobody ever seemed to discuss wireless plans, or the capabilities of their phones. The only question people asked were, why did you bring your cordless phone to work? That seemed to be the only other time anybody really saw a phone with that appearance. It wasn’t until later models that folded for convenience that it caught on. Marketing is a powerful tool along with innovation. Marketing helps get the word out on the new products. I look at it as the worm on the fishing hook, a few people nibble but after many studies they seem to always get us to bite. We eventually do bite, but I am surprised at the quick innovation that seems to occur at a rapid pace every year. As soon as I received my new LG cell phone, it was soon replaced with a sleeker more attractive phone with more technological features. It seems almost too hard to keep up with. All the companies are trying harder and harder for our hard earned dollars. But it is not as if they are holding out as long as they can anymore. Now that the market is in a heated competition between such companies as Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint/Nextel, At&T/Cingular. Many of the companies have combined resources to make forward progress. When the public thought that phones with color and text capabilities was the best thing since sliced bread, out came phones with internet and navigation on the go. There are live updates for sports, news and other services. You can check movie times prices for a new car or ask how your mother is doing all with one amazing device. The only issue that I seem to have with technology is privacy. There is no more privacy it seems. Every conversation is an open forum or at least it seems that way. It may not be direct but people hear what you talk about, then transfer that conversation and place it into their own which can be a fun debate or a nice way to break the ice. However the rules for doing so are unwritten. You do not simply eves drop and then walk up and approach the person biased on their conversation. The difficult part also is that you can no longer say that you didn’t receive their text or call. Many companies give the user features or indicators to tell you if the message was successful or not. Short of saying your phone was off there is literally no excuse for not answering a phone The difficult part about the digital age is that there are no rules. We all have our own personal expectations of how people should act in a public setting but that is the most frustrating part.  We all want the latest technology, but I do not think that we are ready to accept what we lose because of it. Yes we do gain so many abilities on the go. We are able to do so much now that we never thought was possible in the past. We are all now a part of this technological revolution. What we forget in all the hustle and bustle is all those things that we lose. In our attempt to have the hottest technology such as the Iphone with the ability to go on to the Internet, watch YouTube at will whenever and wherever we desire. What we lose is the peace and quiet of the past. No longer can you enter a coffee shop people watch, and engage in conversation and listen to some soothing jazz. Those days are long gone, nowadays we have to ask people as a courtesy to turn their phones of, and many people still do not adhere to these requests. No more can you sit in a cozy place such as a cafà © or coffee shop as mentioned above. There is now cell phones buzzing, ringing and the attention is taken away from the environment but into the power we hold in our hands. The technological age is upon us. And we are able to mold what our society will turn into. I never thought that I made a difference or that I would be a part of a unique generation. If you look around though we are all a part of this new age. We can shape and mold it as we wish. This is only one small aspect of a larger topic. This is how cell phones have made a small step, yet a large impact as a result on how we all life and interact with the world around us. We now look as if we are talking to ourselves, and its funny yet practical. We complain when others interrupt our dinner, yet at times we are victims of the same crimes we accost others for. Phones have gone from a burden due to size, to a burden due to its functionality and various abilities to do so much. Perhaps Uncle Ben (Spiderman’s uncle) had it right when he said â€Å"with great power, comes great responsibility.† I think this is something we should all take the time to think about. How far something you use has come from when you were younger to now and the impact it has made on your life or the lives of others.† (RaMediaNJ, 08/08/2007, Newsweek) Bibliography †¢ http://www.wikipedia.com/ wiki/Mobile_phone_radiation_and_health †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Hands-free Cellphones are Safer† Manila Standards Today, Manila, Philippines (Aug. 2000): pp. 1-2 †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Hands-free kits cut cellphone radiation† Malaya (Aug. 2000): p. 13 †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Texting than Reading† Philippine Star (Feb. 2003): p. B5 †¢ http://thinkquest.org/pls/html/think.library †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"MMS vs. Cheaters† Philippine Star, Manila, Philippines (Feb. 2003) †¢New York Times, NY, USA (Mar. 2007) †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Owners of Older Cell Phones risk Brain Tumor† USA Today, National Cancer Institute †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Pinoys as Romantic† Philippine Star (Aug. 2010) pp. 3-4 †¢Horst, Heather . Miller, Daniela. The Cellphone: An Anthropology of Communication, Berg (Oct. 2006) †¢Agar, J. (2003). Constant Touch: A Global History of the Mobile Phone. Cambridge, Icon Books.