Aging and Disability Worksheet Essay

Part I Identify 2 or 3 issues faced by the aging population. 1.Employment discrimination 2. Poverty 3. Inadequate care Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. †¢What is ageism? How does ageism influence the presence of diversity in society? According to Schaefer (2012), ageism is a term which refers to prejudice and discrimination against the elderly. â€Å"Ageism reflects a deep uneasiness among young and middle-aged people about growing old† (Schaefer, 2012, p. 395). Our society looks to youthfulness as successfulness; therefore, the elderly threaten those who want to be young and successful; thus influencing diversity in society. The elderly are seen as unessential, unneeded, and a constant reminder we one day will be old as well. So we shy away from associating with the elderly; so we do not have a constant reminder of our own ageing and immortality. Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. †¢What is the Age Discriminitation in Employment Act (ADEA)? How does the ADEA address issues for the aging population? â€Å"The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) which went into effect in 1968, was passed to protect workers 40 years of age or older from being fired because of their age and replaced with younger workers who  presumably would receive lower salaries† (Schaefer, 2012, p. 396). The ADEA provides a resource when there are suspicions of age discrimination in the workplace when it comes to hiring or not promoting or training ageing workers. Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. †¢What is being done to address the issues you identified? Many companies have been taken to court and charged with violating the ADEA. â€Å"According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, between 1999 and 2004, complaints of age discrimination rose more than 41 percent† (Schaefer, 2012, p. 396). Some studies suggest older workers are more of an asset to their employers, are absent less often and are more effective salespeople than their younger co-workers; therefore, diminishing the stereotype of the older employee is a less valuable employee. Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. †¢Is the number of aging population expected to rise in numbers or decrease? The aging population is expected to increase significantly will into the twenty-first century. With the decline in mortality rates and the baby boomer generation aging the â€Å"proportion over age 65 increases from less than on in 10 in 1960 to almost one in four by 2050† (Schaefer, 2012, p. 395) Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. †¢What types of legislation may or may not be affected by the aging population? The ADEA is one type of legislation which has affected the aging population;  ensuring they have recourse if discriminated against in the workplace. Today the Affordable Care Act will affect the aging population; however, to what extent is still uncertain at this time. Legislation which concerns pension provisions is another area which will directly affect the ageing population. Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. †¢How does poverty affect the aging population? â€Å"The aged who are most likely to experience poverty are the same people more likely to be poor earlier in their lives; female-headed households and racial and ethnic minorities. Although overall the aged are doing well economical, poverty remains a particularly difficult problem for the thousands of older adults who are impoverished annually by paying for long-term medical care† (Schaefer, 2012, p. 397). Will the Affordable Care Act ease the burden faced by the elderly who are impoverished by debilitating long-term diseases? Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Part II Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. †¢What does the ADA provide for people with disabilities? The ADA â€Å"prohibits bias in employment, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications against people with disabilities† (Schaefer, 2012, p. 401). The ADA is considered the most sweeping antidiscrimination legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964; thus, ensuring people with disabilities are no longer discriminated against. Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall †¢How have people with disabilities been treated in the past? People with disabilities have been discriminated against in the past, unable to easily use public transportation, unable to easily enter public buildings, and basically treated as second class citizens. The Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted to level the playing field so to speak. Making the once inaccessible areas or participating life activities easier for them to maneuver. Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall †¢How has the attitude toward people with disabilities changed over time? Attitudes towards people with disabilities have changes significantly over time. Those who were once shipped off to intuitions are now productive members of society. Many groups across the United States sprang up utilizing this demographic in meaningful employment positions. In my community we have a group who work with the disabled from collecting sensitive materials for shredding, managing thrift shops, to years ago sewing the scarfs Elvis Presley used while preforming. Today the opportunities for those with disabilities have come a long way; however, the fight is not over, there is still more work to be done to ensure equality for all. Reference: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall †¢What are some unique circumstances or issues encountered by people with disabilities? There are numerous circumstances or issues encountered by people with disabilities daily. The sheer task of accomplishing anything seems  insurmountable. Those with physical disabilities must depend on the help of others to simply exist let alone pursue a meaningful life. Public transportation can be difficult; sidewalks were not always wheelchair friendly, handicapped parking was non-existent which makes it extremely difficult to live. What about the being looked at as abnormal, those with disabilities must endure tremendous amounts of awkward moments daily from those who are not disabled. †¢What is being done to address those issues? The ADA has brought awareness to the plight of those with both mental and physical disabilities by ensuring there is no discrimination against this group. However I believe awareness is another step to address the prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities. We must be able to look past a person’s disabilities to see the true person they are, and not label them for their disability. †¢What types of legislation have been introduced to address issues faced by people with disabilities? The American’s with Disabilities Act is the most notable legislation address issues faced by people with disabilities. What type of legislation will the future hold? I believe the ADA has address all the concerns for this demographic; however, in the future there may be some revisions to the interpretation of the legislation ensuring everyone with disabilities is serviced fully.

Community Policing Corruption Essay

In today’s society, the amount of crime that occurs can be quite difficult to deal with and responsibility ends up falling on police to curtail it. Unfortunately, the infectious nature of crime often drags these assigned â€Å"stoppers† into the same mud that they are trying to prevent others from falling into. When officers abuse their legally sanctioned position of authority, it is known as police corruption. It is a persistent problem that is more significant in a criminal sense than the average person committing a crime because it is happening by a representative/protector of the law. Since police are not judiciaries, they do not determine who is guilty and thus undermine the law system when they do these crimes. Also, it is important to note that police corruption is not the same as an ordinary instance of crime. To elaborate, â€Å"Police corruption is an illegal use of organizational power for personal gain. The personal nature of the gain distinguishes corruption from brutality, perjury, illegal search, or any other law violations committed in the pursuit of such legitimate organizational goals as fighting crime. The organizational nature of the power used illegally excludes many crimes committed by policemen, such as burglary committed by a city police officer in his suburban town of residence in which he has no contact with the local police. That particular burglary would be merely a crime. A burglary committed by a police officer in his own police jurisdiction, under the protection of his colleagues or aided by his organizational knowledge of his colleagues’ practices, would be both a crime and an act of police corruption.† (Sherman, 31). As one can see, police corruption is a serious problem as it is almost always involves an associated act of crime. There is no room for this behaviour in fair environments and it cannot occur if society wishes to advance. Ultimately, police corruption cannot coexist with the concept of community policing because it is unethical and morally wrong, it is contrary to Robert Peel’s nine principles of policing and undermines effectiveness, and it offers no sense of accountability to the government and to the public. There is no logical way to justify corrupt actions by the police. Any time it occurs, it involves the â€Å"abuse of a legally sanctioned position of authority—in other words, the status of the police officer makes the crime possible. It is this abuse of a ‘sanctioned and sacred’ social position that makes police corruption so dangerous. It is the ultimate social inversion—the cops become criminals. (Police Corruption)† Instead of helping to fight crime, they end up contributing to the problem through means that are only available to them because of their sworn duties as protectors of the community. When corruption is revealed to the public, the police lose the confidence and trust that allows them to function and be legitimate. Corrupt acts are completely immoral as they are motivated by personal gain which demonstrates selfishness and a disregard of the well-being of society. The detrimental aspects of police misconduct cannot be overstated as they immediately threaten the possibility of effective police-community relationships. â€Å"In terms of public trust for law enforcement, recent polls show that only 56 percent of people rated the police as having a high or very high ethical standard as compared with 84 percent for nurses. Over the past few decades, great strides have occurred in the law enforcement profession. To begin with, many police agencies have avoided hiring candidates who have low ethical standards and have identified those onboard employees early in their careers who might compromise the department’s integrity. In addition, research has discovered new methods of testing candidates for their psychological propensity to act ethically. However, unethical conduct by the nation’s police officers continues to occur in departments large and small. (Martin). Clearly, society has made some strides toward ensuring ethical and rational behaviour in the police force but it is impossible to root it out all the way to the individual level. For community policing to be effective, a high percentage of officers must be able to see the difference between right and wrong and take appropriate action. Recent studies offer some understanding of the phenomenon in the hope of rooting out this behavior that serves to undermine the overall legitimacy of law enforcement. Theories on the role of society in law enforcement, the negative influence of an officer’s department, and a person’s own natural tendency to engage in unethical behavior have been offered as potential explanations. While some may argue that the â€Å"rotten apple† theory is the best explanation for this problem, the vast amount of evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. Deviance rarely persists in an isolated environment but it thrives when it is adopted by an entity such as a department. To explain, â€Å"If we scan these activities then it must be plain that we are no longer dealing with individuals seeking solely personal gain but with group behaviour rooted in established arrangements. Police officers have to be initiated into these practises, rationalisations have to be produced to accept them, supervisors have to collude or turn a blind eye, justifications have to be sought to continue them, and organizations have either in some way to condone or encourage these activities — or else fail to tackle them. This is social behaviour, conducted in groups within organizations, that is powerful enough to override the officer’s oath of office, personal conscience, departmental regulations and criminal laws (European Committee, 68).† For all of these events to occur, it is evident that a multitude of people inside the organization must collaborate and therefore it is rarely an isolated case of corruption. Corruption is highly contagious and this is illustrated well through theories such as the â€Å"slippery slope† and â€Å"grass vs meat eaters† This also explains why corruption is usually concentrated in certain precincts or areas instead of being dispersed. Sir Robert Peel was credited with the concept that the police depend on citizen cooperation in providing services in a democratic society. â€Å"Peel envisioned a strong connection between the police and the community (Police Corruption)†. Unfortunately, the existence of police corruption is contrary to all nine of his principles. The police’s basic mission is to prevent crime and disorder, which they only contribute to if they are corrupt. They rely on the public approval of their actions, which cannot happen in a just society (â€Å"community tolerance, or even support, for police corruption can facilitate a department’s becoming corrupt [Sherman, 32]). Corrupt police officers do not cooperate with the public; they avoid contact as they do not want to reveal their illicit nature. Since corrupt officers are aware of their actions, they might have improper judgement and use physical force. They fail to demonstrate absolutely impartial service by attempting to manipulate public opinion, do not become â€Å"one† with the public, they usurp the power of the judiciary, and sacrifice efficiency for personal gain by not devoting all of their effort to reducing crime and disorder. These corrupt officers also undermine effectiveness as they do not use their time as well as they should be, show only self-concern and indifference to the morality of the situation, and abuse resources. â€Å"The legal authority of police departments and the nature of law violations in their jurisdiction provide organizational resources that can be exploited for personal gain. The nature of these resources varies greatly among and within police departments according to the nature of police tasks performed and the social characteristics of the police task environment. A police department that is a corrupt organization can exploit the resources for internal profit. In all cases, exploitation of these resources for personal gain is an inversion of the formal goals of the organization. (Sherman, 38). Depending on exactly what type of resources the organization deals with, they may or may not be suitable for exploitation. Federal drug enforcement entities constantly deal with opportunities to make a lot of illicit profit whereas Secret Services almost never has chances to make illicit gains at all. In many situations, police may lose some or all of their accountability to the public or government if they do not act with the appropriate intentions. Accountability is a vital element of not just community policing but policing in general. If the police are to achieve their goal which should be lawfulness and legitimacy, they require effective accountability procedures. â€Å"Lawfulness and legitimacy, in turn, are essential if the police are to achieve their goals of reducing crime and disorder, enhancing the quality of neighborhood life, and serving community needs. A lack of legitimacy inhibits the development of working partnerships that are an essential ingredient in community policing and problem oriented policing. Contrary to the popular view that effective crime control and respect for constitutional principles are competing values in policing, experts today increasingly recognize that lawful conduct and accountability are essential for crime-fighting. (Walker, 1). While it is apparent that lawfulness and legitimacy must be upheld in order to serve the community, a fundamental principal of a democratic society that the police should be held accountable for their actions. This includes choosing what actions they take and how they perform. This is especially true in post-conflict environments where police forces are viewed as brutal, corrupt, and unfair. In order to maintain a healthy relationship, a â€Å"liberal society must be maintained, complaints about the police must be addressed, and police themselves must be protected by disgruntled acts by the community† (Accountability and Police). At the same time, police must keep a healthy distance to avoid excessive personal interaction which leads to preferential treatment, discretion, and favouritism. Furthermore, it is important to note that, â€Å"The accountability of police to the public is undermined when charges are often dropped while officers under investigation are usually suspended with pay. In other words, there is no real certainty of punishment and this de-legitimizes any notion of public accountability and respect for the law (Police Corruption). In the eyes of the public, it is already bad enough that the officer are taking advantage of their position of authority but to have them face virtually no consequences is beyond demoralizing. In order for community policing to exist, the public must be confident in the fact that the police are not taking advantage of their position and are accountable in and out of service. In conclusion, because police corruption is unethical and morally wrong, violates all of Robert Peel’s principles, and shows a complete disregard of the notion of accountability, it is impossible to coincide with effective community policing. Police corruption is the illegal use of organizational power for personal gain and unfortunately a still a common occurrence in modern society. It is crucial for the police, as protectors of society, to not allow themselves to stoop so low. The community has to be able to know that no matter what police might have to deal with, they will remain pure and free of corruption in order to begin forming positive relationships. Methods of containing corruption include abolishing existing precedures that encourage corruption, letting go of any member that demonstrates corrupt tendencies, requiring a certain level of accountability, and many other steps. Organizations such as the Special Investigations Unit have made strides in reducing corruption however it is not nearly enough. If corruption is controlled to a point where it no longer has a detrimental impact to society, community policing can have enough room to develop. â€Å"Preventing corruption completely is a tall order. However, steps can be taken to reduce it significantly. There are a few fundamental ideas that can be implemented that can, by their very nature, curb corruption. The three areas that need attention are the officer training, personal characters, and the incentives program. The first step is to hire police officers of good character. Stricter screening methods need to be implemented to decrease the chance that a potential hire will become corrupt. Once an officer is hired, the department should do all it can to promote ethics on the job. The department must understand that the citizens trust the police to be ethical, and a breach of that trust is unjust. Further, it is not practical to act unethically. People eye the police and their behavior constantly. Corruption in the force makes it easier for a citizen to rationalize acting unlawfully, which just creates more work for the police. If a police officer, who is allegedly the pillar of the law, can defy it, why cannot the citizens who pay for the police services? (White) A corrupt police officer cannot very well express effectively why citizens should obey the law, for he has no consistency and thus no credibility. Works Cited Sherman, Lawrence W. Scandal and Reform: Controlling Police Corruption. N.p.: University of California, 1978. Print. Police Powers and Accountability in a Democratic Society. N.p.: 2000. Google Books. Web. . Walker, Samuel. â€Å"Police Accountability: Current Issues and Research Needs.† National Institute of Justice Police Planning (2006): 1-35. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. . White, Stuart A. â€Å"Controlling Police Corruption.† Stanford University. N.p., 4 June 1994. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. . Martin, Rich M.S. â€Å"Police Corruption: An Analytical Look Into Police Ethics.† FBI. N.p., May 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. .

Homeless o Harvard

Homeless to Harvard This movie is about a little girl,Liz Murray who transformed her life. She became homeless by the times she was 1 5. Her parents were both drug-addicted,and her mother was also an alcoholic. But she became the top of her school and finally got in to Harvard,one of the greatest universities in the world. As for me,my family is a typical middle-class family I have every reason to fight ,to be someone great,but yet I have every reason to not to I can still live comfortable anyway .But everyday I aka up in the morning and I feel like I am struggling in a way that not everybody can see. I feel like I have so many visions for my future and I want to accomplish them so badly,but there's always a noise in my head that keeps telling me that the things I need to do can wait till later. Everyone knows that we can't keep telling ourselves later,but we Just kept doing it. I had many great experiences,l know what it feels like being far beyond excellent ,and being top of the cl ass.I know how It feels of trying my aridest,but in the same time I know how it feels being like a loser,l know how it feels like,when everyone In the room is Judging you. With all the experiences I had,there are far more than Just two sides of me what are fighting. I can't divide myself Into simply two sides,the good side of me and the bad side of me. The choices I make are not always Just alternative. After seeing this movie I know that I can't keep talking to myself about past and spend all my days regretting. I have myself and I have to look forward. ‘ can't keep pushing away taking, stepping Into my life In the biggest sense.People say that look Into your failure so that the next time you won't do the same,but we can't always look for blames and keep asking ourselves why didn't It work out. We should step forward and move on,tell ourselves that nothing happened In the past counts. We should ask ourselves what next and be up for It,we are only responsible for what will hap pen and what Is happening. I realized that I don't have to be stuck In this situation I'm In. I am going to figure out what's holding me back,and unblock let. That's what this movie taught me, my life Isn't later. It Is now.

Public Health Preparedness and Safety Assignment

Public Health Preparedness and Safety - Assignment Example From the reading, the healthcare and the public agency that is involved in the simulation is the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction or simply the ISDR. In this case, the strategy generally involves various organizations, institutions and universities which mostly comes together to reduce the number of the injured and the dead by disasters which are triggered by some of the natural hazards. Generally, the agency has been engaging in various concepts and measures that protect the community’s health and safety aspects. One of the main concepts for protecting the safety and health aspects of the involved communities is by upgrading building constructions in the community. There is the believe that in most cases, earthquakes never kill people, but instead, the houses do kill people when they collapse. Therefore, the agency prefers building resilient houses especially in communities and areas, which are prone to earthquakes. Building resilient houses in earthquake prone areas gives the communities a chance to survive especially when the hazard strike. Another concept that helps in protecting the involved communities is through legislations. In a situation where construction of hotels is not allowed to at least 200 meters from the water body, then it means that most tourists visiting the area will be safe from hurricane and floods. Alternatively, education remains one of the major concepts and measures in the reduction of negative natural hazard impacts. In this case, the ISDR plays a significant role in convincing the government in making the world a safer place (Playerthree and UN/ISDR, 2007). One of the best decisions made in the simulations is the construction of resilient houses especially in areas that are prone to earthquakes through a plan known as Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. Building resilient houses in earthquake prone areas gives the communities a

Operations management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operations management - Essay Example However, in some situations, intangible factors may lead to the specialization of the company in a certain area. Some of the companies may not be aware of the intangible specialization and are therefore faced with serious problems in their attempt to shift from a certain market segment. Intangible specialization can be simply defined as specialization of a company in a certain area due to some intangible factors mainly brought about by the routinized activities of the company in performing its different operations relating to the production of the main product the company produces. The intangible factors include routinized and path-dependent decision-making routines that help in the regulation of the process and product design and renewal of the product (Maielli, 2005, p. 250). In addition, intangible specialization is mainly concerned with the internal routines and the accumulation of intangible capital in the designing and manufacturing of certain products, making the company effic ient in the production of such products, as well as other products. Intangible specialization may restrict the company in a certain field and hinder its attempt to change the area of its operation. It reduces the output mix flexibility of the company even if the company has technical flexibility in its production technology (Maielli, 2005, p. ... The company should therefore device means of reaping maximum income from the area of specialization, as attempts to shift into other areas will be difficult in most cases. Knowledge of the intangible specialization also helps the company in formulation and application of strategies that will aid the shift to other areas in the supply chain. Intangible specialization is categorized into the evolution theory of economic change. The theory emphasizes the importance and effects of routinized and path-dependent decision-making and output-mix decision-making (Maielli, 2005, p. 250). In addition, intangible specialization usually affects the way a company reproduces the technical skills that aid in the manufacture of certain types of products (Maielli, 2007, p. 285). It usually comes up involuntarily as a response to the domestic market in the area of operation of the company. Intangible specialization may be advantageous or a limitation to the company. This is mainly dependent on the strat egies that the company formulates while factoring in the strengths and weaknesses due to its intangible specialization in a certain area of operation. One of the main benefits of intangible specialization is that it may help a company overcome different financial difficulties if efficient strategies are put in place to enable it to have output-mix optimization in the area where it has intangible specialization. 2. How did Intangible Specialization affect Fiat’s strategy and output-mix optimization in the 1970s? Fiat is an Italian company mainly involved in the manufacture of cars. The company has a strong reputation in the manufacture of city cars, though it also manufactures other types of vehicles. Intangible specialization has made the

Media influence on human papilloma virus (HPV) and vaccines Research Paper

Media influence on human papilloma virus (HPV) and vaccines - Research Paper Example It can lead to cancer infection if the patient has stayed with the virus for a long time (Clifford, Rana, Franceschi, Smith, Gough & Pimenta, 2005). Active men and women can be infected with this virus in their lifetime. Media influence on human papilloma virus (HPV) and vaccines Bennett et al (2012) conducted a study on 143 college age women concerning their intentions to obtain the HPV vaccine. Participants were given a questionnaire, and the predictors showed positive attitudes towards the vaccine. The results indicated that personal beliefs were on the vaccine varied and that people who networked through social media increased their chances of getting vaccinated. This shows that women were able to share on vaccination through their social media networking which had an influence on the intentions on vaccination. Through the media, people are able to get informed and enlightened. They acquire information which may be relevant to their day to day life (Bennett et al 2012). Newspaper s, television, and the Internet have enabled human beings to connect to each other. The world has become a small village since people can connect and share ideas and concerns. It is on this point, which the study revealed that college age women relate with each other through the social media. Human beings have the ability to share and open up to their loved ones. This may be relatives or friends. Such discussions had a significant influence on the aspect of having intentions for HPV vaccination. Women are associated with beauty of their skin and cannot be comfortable with slumps on their bodies (Jamison, Kaplan, Hamman, Eagar, Beach & Douglas, 1995). This shows that such college women, who may be at the prime of their beauty, will develop positive intentions towards this vaccination. Betsch et al (2012) has contributed on this subject of media influence. They indicate that a significant number of people access the Internet. Such people use the Internet to acquire information regardi ng their health. The health information may include vaccines. People interact and share information that may promote vaccination intentions. They use the Internet to communicate theories of effective vaccination. It indicates that media has become a source of information in regard to vaccination. The study reflected that some people become skeptical on the efficiency of vaccine preventable diseases such as HPV. People become worried as a result of the side effects that may come with this activity. Individuals need to be healthy so as to propagate the economy. According to Betsch et al (2012), situations where one is not well informed, the personality may keep off from vaccination. However, the study suggests that such individuals can get their solutions from the Internet. This information may influence their perspective on vaccination from negative to positive. The Internet has some anti-vaccination information which may affect users negatively (Jenkins & Wold, 2012). Therefore, the public health communicators should provide effective information, which would facilitate customized communication. This can help users to access the public health communication websites in an easier way. Useful information enables one to make a rightful decision in regard to vaccination (Palefsky, Gillison & Strickler, 2006). This illustrates that lack of information can have an influence on the choices that

The evaluation of Coca Cola Company Corporate Sustainability Report Essay

The evaluation of Coca Cola Company Corporate Sustainability Report 2012-13 against the Global Reporting Initiative 3.1 Guidelines - Essay Example The consumers and employees are very much concerned about social and environmental issues. So the company gets involved in performing all these activities to satisfy its customers and employees. CSR plays an important role in the growth and success of the company. Strategies of corporate sustainability focus on green product and services. Coca Cola’s strategies of corporate sustainability have changed over time as per its business needs and requirements. The concept of corporate sustainability is based on two vital principles. One principle focuses on increasing the resource of the company by benefiting society or environment. Another principle of corporate sustainability focuses on reducing risk of the company by increasing its business opportunities. This essay focuses on value creation process of the company by performing various sustainable approaches. According to GRI guidelines CR reporting must serve the needs of company’s stakeholders. It helps them to gain credibility. In the present time the stakeholders are using multiple channels to reach maximum number of people. The companies merge information of CR in their annual report. GRI guideline is gaining its popularity in recent years. To increase CR reporting programs GRI is putting a huge effort to promote its guidelines throughout the world. For example US and China are presently focusing more on connecting traditional standard setter with GRI program like SEC, IIFAC etc. GRI is launching a new guideline to make improvement in its standards. CR reporting will be benefited by improving global standard and performance of CR activities. Presently 80% of G 250 companies and 69% of N100 companies are following GRI guidelines and standards in developing their CR Report. Earlier these percentages were very low. According to GRI guidelines CSR reporting is an

The Cost of Illegal Immigrants in Texas Research Paper - 1

The Cost of Illegal Immigrants in Texas - Research Paper Example This quote is an extract from the Dallas Morning News, which examined the financial effects of the illegal immigrants in Texas. This calculation was done on behalf of the millions of taxpayers who were paying heavily in tax dollars for the presence of illegal immigrants residing in the state. The reason why this problem is especially prominent in Texas as opposed to the other forty-nine states of America is that this state is situated at the very south of the country. Due to its location, it is very near to Mexico, and thus Mexicans illegally emigrating from their own land often settle down or take refuge in this state. Thus, there are thousands of such unregistered immigrants residing in the state of Texas, the costs of which are paid for by the taxpayers and legal inhabitants of Texas, as well as the government responsible. The reason why the presence of these illegal immigrants proves to be such a financial challenge for the legal citizens of this state is that they consume the public goods, which the government provides to the residents of this country. The US, being a developed country, provides several such goods to its citizens, such as health, education, and defense. These are all public goods, which it provides to every citizen of the country. These costs are especially prominent concerning health care costs, which these illegal immigrants incur. As research shows, â€Å"The  Texas  Hospital Association has estimated the annual  cost  of uncompensated care to illegal immigrants  at nearly $400 million a year† (A Lone Star Report, 2006). In addition, as mentioned in the news extract above, these costs included the cost of 66,000 births in one year, which makes up a large proportion of these costs. These services however are not completely free of cost for these citizens. The government finances them using the tax dollars that these citizens themselves pay out of their own incomes, in the form of both direct and

HR Planning at Qantas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

HR Planning at Qantas - Essay Example In this situation organizations have been increasingly trying to find out what employees think and want from them1. The question of trade union has an important role to play in this context. They are meant to ensure that employees desires are satisfied and that they get a proper working environment and culture for conducting their jobs conveniently and comfortably too. It is also crucial that the strategies that the management undertakes are willingly accepted by employees and unions in order to ensure to make them effective and successful. Employee’s acceptance of the organizational strategies accounts for a key factor for their effective implementation. The project seeks to present the present situation at Qantas Airways which Australia’s flag carrier and regarded as one of the most well known airlines in the world. The company’s maintenance and repair costs account for one of the most expensive in the world; however, they are the least efficient at the same ti me. The most important and prominent contingency faced by the company was to implement any plan as the staff were not willing to accept in change initiated by the management. As presented by Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, (2006), any change management strategy must strive to bring about a complete cultural change in the organization in order to be successful and the most important component in this change process is effective communication and transparency and must be led under proper and competent leadership .... Strategic contingencies affecting the strategic choices that Qantas has from theoretical and practical perspective and effect of the choices on human resource planning The most important and prominent contingency faced by the company was to implement any plan as the staff were not willing to accept in change initiated by the management. As presented by Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, (2006), any change management strategy must strive to bring about a complete cultural change in the organization in order to be successful and the most important component in this change process is effective communication and transparency and must be led under proper and competent leadership2. The various contingencies towards bringing out the changes can be discussed under the certain theories and models3. The primary change management principles are discussed as under. Figure 1: Primary Change Management Principle (Source: Hiatt & Creasey, 2003, P. 15) In this case the resistance towards change is primarily th e main focus of concern. The main aim was to reduce the maintenance costs for which new maintenance regulations were attempted to be implemented. The new maintenance regulations were issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to align the functioning of the airline in accordance to that followed by the European airlines. It also tries to make further advancement in its technologies and services. He realized that the numerous people were responsible for maximizing the profitability of the aircraft in terms of fuel efficiencies and introduction of new products and services. However, it was also realized that the maintenance costs and repair costs were extremely high and this required a complete

Developing a teaching plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Developing a teaching plan - Research Paper Example The nurse practitioner model creates enhanced patient-nurse relationships, which provide both self-care education and cancelling within the context of disease state management. The nurse teacher for a diabetic person needs to assess the patient’s needs, predict the expected outcomes from the teaching, and develop intervention plans based on a suitable nursing theory. Patient Assessment Albert Boyle is a 69-year-old man with five-year history of type 2 diabetes (Spollett, 2003). The doctors diagnosed Joseph’s condition in the year 1997. Two years prior to diabetes type 2 diagnoses, Albert Boyle had symptoms indicating hyperglycemia. Albert’s fasting blood glucose ranged between 118-127 mg/dl (Spollett, 2003). The doctors advised Albert to lose at least 10 lb of his weight, but he did not take any action. The family physician referred Albert Boyle the diabetes specialty clinic where he reported recent weight gain, foot pain, and suboptimal diabetes control. Albertà ¢â‚¬â„¢s attempts to lose weight through increased exercises were not successful. Albert takes 10 mg of atorvastatin daily for hypercholesterolemia (Spollett, 2003). He took gymnema sylvestre, pancrease elixir and chromium picolinate with an attempt to improve his diabetic condition; however, he stopped these supplements because he did not see any improvements (Spollett, 2003). Albert Boyle does not test the levels of his blood glucose at home because he does not belief that this condition would help him improve his diabetes control. Albert questions the benefits of knowing the numbers since after all the doctor is already aware that the sugar level is high. Albert Boyle does not have knowledge of diabetes self-care management, and expresses that he is worried about what causes his diabetic condition since he does not eat sugar. Albert has been physically active by playing golf once in a week and gardening; however, he has reduced more than 3 lb of weight (Spollett, 2003). Albert ha s neither consulted a dietician nor been instructed in self-monitoring of blood glucose. Defining Characteristics Albert Boyle has a misconception about the approaches to improve his health status. He does not believe that knowing his health status can help him manage his diabetes control. Albert argues that there is no need of him of knowing his blood-sugar level; he claims that the doctors already know that the level of sugar in his body is high. Another characteristic of Albert Boyle is that he does not demonstrate self-care skills concerning his diabetic controls. Albert is not aware of the critical skills that are required to control his blood sugar. Albert does not believe that he is diabetic. This is evidenced by the fact that he questions the source of the condition, and he does not eat sugar. Albert is ignorant that direct intake of sugar does not cause diabetes. Diabetes results from two factors: when the pancreas fails to produce insulin, and when the cells fail to respon d to the insulin that is produced (Boswell, 2007). This leads to accumulation of blood sugar in the body. Related Factors Patients with diabetic conditions have extremely comprehensive learning needs. The diabetic patients’ needs focus on informing them proper measures of managing their sugar levels and preventing their diabetic condition

Petrophysics Essay Example for Free

Petrophysics Essay Abstract The South Tapti gas field, located in the Arabian Sea off the western coast of India, has been on production for the last three years. Drill Stem Tests (DST) conducted in five zones in the first appraisal well showed high sand production in all the tests at drawdowns as low as 20 psi. Due to the unconsolidated nature of the reservoir sand, it was decided to gravel pack all future wells. Initially, the High Rate Water Pack (HRWP) technique was used on 13 completions including some stack and selective completions. Due to a change in the drilling fluid to an oil based mud (OBM) system and the higher damage associated with the it, it was later decided to switch the gravel packing technique to ‘Frac and Pack’. This involved creation of a small frac to bypass the near wellbore damage using a gel-based fluid, followed by gravel placement using the HRWP. The Frac Pack technique was tried on 10 completions. Extensive production and pressure data collected on the above completions show that the ‘Frac Pack’ technique has led to a decrease in the mechanical skin by almost 70 %. More importantly, it has also been responsible for decreasing the Rate Dependent Skin Coefficient, D, by 50 %, which has a greater impact on the well productivity since these wells are produced at average rates of 25 MMSCFD. This paper describes the gravel packing techniques used in the South Tapti gas field, their evolution and the results achieved. Inroduction The South Tapti field, located off the Western coast of India, is represented by a series of alternating sand and shale sequences. The upper reservoir intervals are dominated by tidal-bar and channel sands deposited in a deltaic environment while the lower sands represent incised valley deposits consisting largely of alluvial/fluvial channels, tidal bars and tidal creeks. The exploratory wells drilled in the field indicated strong sand production tendencies due to the unconsolidated nature of the reservoir rock. This was corroborated by extensive testing of the first development well when all the five zones tested produced sand even under extremely low pressure drawdown conditions. The completion policy for the field focused on preventing sand ingress while minimizing the near well-bore damage inherent in any sand control application. The early development wells were gravel packed using the high rate water pack (HRWP) technique. These initial completions were highly successful in preventing sand production but also induced significant damage in the process. The problem was accentuated when the drilling mud system was changed to an oil base system in an attempt to offset recurrent drilling problems arising out of unconsolidated sandstone and presence of reactive clays. This called for a change in completion philosophy in order to ensure that the wells retain high productivity with effective sand control. Geologic and Reservoir Characterization The South Tapti field is localized by a broad SW-NE trending, doubly plunging anticline. The field has up to 13 different Oligo-Miocene gas bearing sands, separated by shales. The reservoir sands were deposited in both incised valley and deltaic settings. Reservoir sands within incised valleys consist of alluvial/fluvial channels, tide-influenced channels and tidal bars. The channel sands typically are the cleaner sands with excellent porosity permeability and up to 20 m thick, whereas the tide-influenced channels and tidal bars are shalier, with more modest porosity and permeability. CLAY MINERALS 1. Abstract: Tapti Basin in Surat Depression, Bombay Offshore is characterized by entirely siliciclastic succession. The cores and cutting samples, and wireline logs provide important information about the stratigraphy, basin fill, mineralogy, source and reservoir rock characteristics. Well under study is located in South Tapti sub-basin and contains gas-bearing sandstone within Mahim Formation of Late Oligocene age. The cuttings and cores have been megascopically examined and with the aid of electrical log data, the litholog of the well is prepared. The study involves XRD and major element analysis of selected samples. The XRD and digital log data from Natural Gamma Sepctrometry (NGS) log indicate that montmorillonite is the major clay mineral present in the upper part of the succession, whereas kaolinite present in the lower part (1868 m MD to 2427 m MD). Kaolinite is apparently formed by early stages of burial diagenesis, whereas montmorillonite is a weathering product of the Deccan Basalt. Interpretative lithology from the well log response shows that reservoir sandstones have developed within the depth interval of 1865m TVD to 1945 m TVD within dominantly shale lithology. Reservoir sandstones are semiconsolidated, medium to coarse grained and moderately well sorted. Quartz is the dominant detrital component in all the sandstones. Pay sands are quartz arenite whereas non-pay sands are quartz wacke with varying amount of clay matrix. Kaolinite in the reservoir section reduces the permeability of quartz wacke, but enhancing porosity in microlevel. Carbonate, siderite and iron oxide are main cementing material. Major element data showing that clastic sediments were delivered to the basin possibly by the Proto Tapti river but they may be having dual source of origin. The discriminant functions of Meyer and Nederlof, 1984 has indicated that the studied formations do not have source rock potential. Key words: Tapti Basin, Bombay Offshore, hydrocarbons, provenance and clay minerals. quartz wacke, but enhancing porosity in microlevel. Carbonate, siderite and iron oxide are main cementing material. Major element data showing that clastic sediments were delivered to the basin possibly by the Proto Tapti river but they may be having dual source of origin. The discriminant functions of Meyer and Nederlof, 1984 has indicated that the studied formations do not have source rock potential.

A declaration of war justify behaviour Essay Example for Free

A declaration of war justify behaviour Essay Whether or not the declaration of Just War justifies behaviour that is morally or legally unacceptable in peacetime depends firstly on the sort of behaviour we are talking about. There are a number of behaviours that are legally permitted in peacetime that many people would and do reject as morally unacceptable. This includes abortion, euthanasia and animal rights. The legal acceptability of these issues depends on the government, and varies from state to state. In this country, during peacetime it is acceptable to kill in self defence for instance, if ones house is being robbed and the burglar threatens the owner, the owner would not be penalized for shooting and killing the burglar. Pacifists object to all kinds of killing in both war and peacetime, whereas just war supporters try to draw parallels between civil justice and international justice in the attempt to justify certain behaviour. There are also behaviors such as propaganda, espionage and deliberate infringement of human rights that are more doubtful and are usually seen as unacceptable in peacetime. Certain examples of violent behaviour in peacetime in hindsight appear unacceptable, yet at the time those guilty were not prosecuted. There have been a number of incidents when armed Police officers have shot dead suspects who were not carrying a weapon. None of the police officers who killed those people were convicted. This is because killing in defence of innocent life is acceptable in peacetime, and the boundaries and conditions can be bended to suit the individual. Pacifists believe that therefore no killing can be acceptable on deontological grounds. Some religious people argue for the absolute sanctity of human life; they would say that ideally no incidental killings would take place if all killing was prohibited. Thus, this position would assume that a declaration of war does not justify any kind of killing either. Christian absolutists believe they are following the example of Jesus Christ by refusing to resort to violence, even if they have been treated cruelly. Therefore a declaration of just war would not be able to justify any unacceptable behaviour such as murder and violence this would only further divide men, who are already divided by sin. Nevertheless, those who support the Just War theory believe that killing in the name of resisting an unjust oppressor is justifiable. The declaration of just war must be a proportionate response, and must discriminate between the guilty and the innocent. Oliver ODonovan suggests war is an act of armed judgment and must be carried out by an unbiased judge to ensure its fairness. This judge must have a clear perspective on the gains and losses this act would entail and the final aim must be to bring about peace. In theory, military aggression is not defined by killing and violence. For instance, British troops that entered Iraq do not kill unless attack. Therefore killing is still self defence and this is no different to peacetime. Walzer thinks killing in self defence is justifiable and supports the theory of legalist paradigm. This means interstate justice basically reinforces the civil legal system, but on a larger scale it is analogous. The right of a given state to defend itself must be accepted, just as an individual has the right to do the same. Walzer believed whichever side begins aggression to be automatically in the wrong. There is also the question of propaganda and whether it becomes appropriate to mislead people into thinking in a certain way in order for them to support the supposedly just war movement. In a healthy and functioning democracy during peacetime it is prohibited to lie to citizens or conceal the truth of political work. Some would argue that in wartime morale need to be boosted However, when a nation is at war, its citizens are often indoctrinated via mass media with the sort of messages that would disorientate their judgment and evoke hatred for the enemy. Propoganda can lead to disproportionate warfare and killings, therefore it cannot be justified. Human rights have always been an issue, for it is no certain whether it is morally right to deny someone the right to life in favour of another objective. From a utilitarian perspective, it would depend on whether the war was successful. If more people than soldiers killed are able to lead happy and fulfilled lives after the war ends, then it is acceptable to justify military confrontation in wartime. However, The High Court has recently decided that it soldiers human rights should not be overlooked either. This means the Ministry of Defence has to ensure the soldiers are not subjected to combat in intolerable heat or cold, and have functioning equipment. Certain equipment would be forbidden entirely, such as Nimrod planes. Of course, this would affect the damage potential of British troops, and possibly extend the war and subsequently take more lives. A utilitarian critic would ask whether in the long term this court order is going to cause more death and pain.

Analysis of Gaming Industry Consumers

Analysis of Gaming Industry Consumers Muhammad Zafar   Ã‚   Introduction Online games are played online unlike the traditional pc and consoles games where players play against each other (Hilton 2006). This had a huge impact on games DFC intelligence (2006) estimated that the total online games revenue have grown from $3.4 billion in 2005 to over $13 billion in 2011. There are new media elements for the consumers now use to represent their expressions and communications in the online games some examples are online avatars, accessories of the avatars, decorative stuffs like furniture, background music, skins and fancy weapons used in online games (V. Lehdonvirta 2009). Also people who cant buy expensive car and likes to modify cars and likes to drive modified cars in video games buy games like Gran Turismo, Sega GT, Metropolis Street Racer, or Need for Speed Underground, also people build a virtual dream life in games like The Sims, Habbo Hotel, or Second Life or they even want to enhance their digital lives by buying rare and expensive magical artefacts in games like Morrowind, Everquest, or World of Warcraft to get connected with other players or to show others their digital valuables (Lindstrom, 2001; Nelson, 2002). The combined result is that consumers now relate themselves to digitally simulated consumption experiences. However digital virtual consumption is just materialized substance. Its popularity therefore defies the premises of utility-based explanations of consumer behaviour like a virtual car cannot take you to work; a virtual home does not keep you warm and sheltered (Castronova, 2003). Digital Items Social media is the main source of advertising through Facebook and Twitter. These sites produce high revenue for the companies but to find alternate gaming companies have now started building revenues of selling digital items to their consumers (H.S. Kang, 2003). Consumers now use these new media elements known as digital items to represent, communicate and express themselves with other online members. There are two types of digital items, 2d/3d digital items and musical digital format like songs and music. In this article the focus is on self representation through digital items and aesthetic value. Some of the common examples of digital items are digital avatars, their accessories such as clothes, shoes and hats, decorative skins and items for virtual real life games like furniture, painting, wallpapers and background skins. Usually the prices of digital items are ranges between to a few pennies to a high ranged pound price depending on the item and its value, some limited items a re very high ranged. Consumers use digital items to represent their online users. They normally take an interest in a virtual world by controlling their avatar, a character that speaks to them in the virtual environment (V. Lehdonvirta, 2005). Avatars are usually two-dimensional or three-dimensional graphical figures that represent the consumers online self (S. Webb, 2001). Consumers have more hold over avatars based interactions and can customize their avatar in a wide range of physical features and they are also willing to buy avatar features (Jin, 2009). It also enhances users vivid experiences of participants when they have an active control on the virtual environment through their digital avatars which makes them feel that they are a part of the virtual world with other users (Lehdonvirta et al., 2009; Martin, 2008, Animesh et al., 2011). Social Identity The emotional value of an advanced digital item depends essentially on what it would seem that and the degree to which marketers identify with it and utilize it in their correspondence with the consumers (A.H. Huang, D.C. Yen, X. Zhang, 2008). The two factors which are identifying as emotional value are the aesthetics and the playfulness which connects the consumers to their digital avatar. Consumers buys digital products is depends in a manner that how they view themselves or wishes to be viewed by other members. Aside from their effective utility, items have typical or prominent utilization values. The sorts of computerized things one uses additionally help to characterize the adopters group of friends. For social esteem, it can be recognized into two elements: self-image expression and relationship support. All in all through their fantasies, consumers truly wish into reality the encounters that they therefore expend. The media Games and Culture all in all, including computerized virtual spaces, are themselves subject to showcase mechanisms (Kline, Dyer-Witheford, and de Peuter, 2003). The act of buying a car (in a material sense) is in reality genuine; that is, it is acknowledged and realized in an execution of an earlier stare off into space in the psyche of a consumer. The improvement of the computerized virtual (for instance, a computer game, like World of Warcraft), in any case, may welcome a person to purchase a virtual enchantment staff. Consumers who buy virtual and digitalized items such as a magic staff is indeed real for them when they imagine it, so here we have an instrument for the realization of unique customer fantasy further than what is likely, that is accessible in the material mercantile centre (Proulx and Latzko-Toth, 2000). One of the examples of a game which allows consumers to utilize their fantasies through online platform in a game is The Sims (Consalvo, 2003). In the Sims is a game in which the user simulates a virtual life. First they create a Sims likely known as digital avatar and then they choose types of clothing and lifestyle for it and later build a house and make family. Then there is Grand theft Auto in which users who are more towards violence and American criminal lifestyle in this game user first create a character in multiplayer mode and then progress through missions and other multiplayer jobs with your online friends it is an open world game which itself is a reflection of social drama. Self-representation desire may, thusly, be improved by individual control as a persons certainty about his or her capacity, i.e., self-adequacy, to show a favoured image (Dà ¶ring 2002). The impact of online introduction self-adequacy on the desire for online self-representation can be clarified by s ocial subjective hypothesis (Bandura, 2001). It places that human conduct is persistently and widely self-managed. Online Community An online group comprises of (1) individuals, who cooperate with each other in the group; (2) reason, to give motivation to clients to take part in groups; (3) approaches, to make guidelines, conventions, and laws to guide clients conduct; and (4) PC frameworks, to bolster and intercede social association and encourage a feeling of fellowship   (Preece, 2000). An online games community is characterized as a gathering of users who cooperate with each other by means of Internet, they create a fantasy role and build up an online relationship among users, share regular interests, and enjoy their requirement for excitement by assuming their own particular virtual parts (Hsu and Lu, 2007 and Teng, in press). Origin in Asia, for instance, is a hot web based amusement that permits users to accept a virtual part to join daring exercises on the internet. In the Lineage people group, users frequently create strong attachment and endeavour to accomplish shared objectives, including overco ming a foe nation. When a player and their team mates gets a powerful item or a high skill, the players then interact with the opponent team and the opponents responds with a counter attack or runs away, these kinds of interactions have been found to have a ample impact on the success of online games since an arrangement of a more than a few successions of collaboration is in actuality an account, which can be utilized to build a play interest (Choi Kim, 2004). From the consumer view of perspective through practical observations the psychological feeling of being there and benefit instruments, for example, reasonableness, security and motivating force are exceptionally critical concerns (Chen and Yen, 2004). Motivation If a user will be extremely submerged in a virtual diversion group (understanding stream) on the off chance that he or she have accomplished coordinating aptitudes (like propelled weapons) against high players. In particular, high character skill (low test) will shrink a players desire to additionally accomplish even progressed virtual things as his or her characters general capability will as of now be better than that of others, and the other way around. Furthermore, with the expansion in the general skill of the characters possessed by a player, he or she may like to challenge propelled PC controlled players for picking up an incredible feeling of accomplishment (Kim, Oh and Lee, 2005). By this behaviour consumers are more anticipated in buying more digital items to progress further more in the game and also its an achievement for them to show other users that how far the progressed. Players with inherent inspiration may see more fun under the high vulnerability condition that makes them to feel more excitement. Then again, outwardly persuaded players may see less exchange cost when exchanging the thing with high resource specificity. Ordinarily, individuals see more exchange cost when the high resource specificity condition is given in the exchange in light of the confinement of the advantage (O. E. Williamson, 1991). Digital games also motivate players to learn new stuff about the world and culture it helps them to grow more knowledge of skills (Dickey, 2006). It is also been discussed before that digital games helps a user to develop problem solving skills (Annetta, 2008). Furthermore, motivation starts to conduct and decides its course and power. Along these lines, the desire for online self-representation fills in as an inspiration that prompts to practices, for example, the buying of digital items that empower online self-representation (Van der Heijden 200 4). Motivation likewise decides asset designation for various practices. Based on their desire for online self-representation, individuals may allocate assets toward the buying of digital items for self-representation and expend exertion toward this objective (Latham and Pinder 2005). Negations While there are positive effects of online gaming and digital world there are also some negative effects also which are due to the genre of a game like if a game is genre is violence this can relate to an aggressive outcome for the user (Anderson Bushman, 2001). Although online games recreations frequently contain comparable demonstrations of violence, recent narrative confirmation has proposed another negative behavioural impact that these games may represent that of addiction (Jansz, 2005). In 2005 The Washington Post reports that 10 people died in Korea as a result of extreme game play, also a person who was found dead in an internet cafe after continuously playing 50 hours taking very few breaks (Khazan, 2006). An individuals identity is a moderately stable antecedent of conduct in a miniaturized scale level, as it shows a persisting style of ones way of thinking, feeling, and acting in various circumstances (Stevens, 2003). Ritualized media utilize was associated with impression of imminence to the medium and convenience, substantial media users will probably proceed with their media utilize paying little reverence to the content (Huh 2004). Online game addiction is known as process addiction which is a specific type of addiction defined as behaviour enslavement which is similar to obsessive gambling and shopping. Users who are addicted play online games to form social relationship as they do to progress through the ladder, virtual relationships is more desirable to them rather than face to face interactions thats why they have their own virtual world in which their fictional digital avatar or character is real for them and they represent that as themselves to other users (Yee, 2006). Conclusion So the conclusion is that how marketers make consumers relate to games avatars and buy digital items from their real money which are the in game avatars clothing and accessories   to make it look good and show it to other users. Some of the games like Counter Strike and other combat multiplayer games have skins for the guns and knives which are bought from the real money. People now live in a digital world where they want to show themselves to others which they cant do in real life and have less confidence to even talk and socialize with others. So the developers and the marketers of the games have brought them digitized virtual reality world where they can socialize with confidence. This is a consumer behaviour theory that marketers provide consumers a game in which they can do what they imagine to do in the real world but could not do it, this is also knows as aesthetic drama. But for the consumers this all real for them the imagination and fantasy is real thats what motivates them to buy digital items in games. Self motivation is the thing which the marketers target a person because in games if a user is winning a lot of games against stronger opponents and getting higher ranked achievements through games it self-motivates them to buy in game items like background music, wallpapers, skins, digital avatar accessories and other items related to the game. This whole essay is about self-representation through a consumers view of mind and their perspective that how a game can be real to them and connects mentally and emotionally to them and how marketers motivates their desires to play more and be involve more in buying in games items and materials which encourages them to progress further. From theories and research its been proved that online gaming is on a rise and now its more advance through mobile phone games and other portable consoles and there is a major increase in online gamers who are playing online games with other players and take it is a challenge. This is the kind of motivation marketers look forward for. References Yee, N. (2006). Motivations for play in online games. CyberPsychology behavior, 9(6), 772-775. Kim, H. W., Gupta, S., Koh, J. (2011). Investigating the intention to purchase digital items in social networking communities: A customer value perspective. Information Management, 48(6), 228-234. Molesworth, M., Denegri-Knott, J. (2007). Digital play and the actualization of the consumer imagination. Games and Culture, 2(2), 114-133. Huang, E. (2012). Online experiences and virtual goods purchase intention. Internet Research, 22(3), 252-274. Hsu, C. L., Lu, H. P. (2007). Consumer behavior in online game communities: A motivational factor perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(3), 1642-1659. Lee, M. C., Tsai, T. R. (2010). What drives people to continue to play online games? An extension of technology model and theory of planned behavior. Intl. journal of human-computer interaction, 26(6), 601-620. Wu, J. H., Wang, S. C., Tsai, H. H. (2010). Falling in love with online games: The uses and gratifications perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1862-1871. Guo, Y., Barnes, S. (2007). Why people buy virtual items in virtual worlds with real money. ACM Sigmis Database, 38(4), 69-76. Choi, B., Lee, I., Lee, K., Jung, S., Park, S., Kim, J. (2007, January). The effects of users motivation on their perception to trading systems of digital content accessories: Focusing on trading items in online games. In System Sciences, 2007. HICSS 2007. 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 161-161). IEEE. Yang, Y. T. C. (2012). Building virtual cities, inspiring intelligent citizens: Digital games for developing students problem solving and learning motivation. Computers Education, 59(2), 365-377. Kim, H. W., Chan, H. C., Kankanhalli, A. (2012). What motivates people to purchase digital items on virtual community websites? The desire for online self-presentation. Information systems research, 23(4), 1232-1245. Huh, S., Bowman, N. D. (2008). Perception and addiction of online games as a function of personality traits. Journal of Media Psychology, 13(2), 1-31.

Texas Holdem Excellence Essay -- Personal Narrative Card Games Essays

Texas Holdem Excellence How do we define odds to ourselves? Are they things that happen because they are suppose to or are they things that were written and statistics made them happen. Odds and statistics play major roles in almost every event in life. They affect everything from who we marry and how long it lasts right down to what shoes we wear. These odds and statistics are very noticeable to everyone especially in a game of Texas hold'em poker. The game has some skills involved but the odds still apply to the type of cards a player is dealt in order to use his skills. This poker game is new and is played by many but only mastered by a few. I happen to look at myself as some one who has mastered the game. On Friday brad came up to me in school and asked if I was coming to the tournament tonight at his house. I responded "its Friday night what do you think I will be doing." He then said" Be there around 7 with the usual twenty dollar buy in." Walking around all day with a big grin on my face because in my head I was thinking that I have this thing wrapped up. I know there were going to be fifty or more people at his house for the tournament which was winner take all. The grin on my face was from me remembering the last three weeks in which I won the tournaments very easily. Later on in the day we were sitting in our English class talking some trash to each other. I said to Dan" are you guys prepared to go down again tonight for the fourth strait week." Dan responded " there is no way you can win again the odds are against you, so you better be prepared to take a beating tonight." I snapped back" Yes, they might be running out but the odds also state that I have a one in two hundred and fifty chance of winning which I ... ... and seventy five dollars," said Brad with an expression less face. "Call" I boldly stated knowing I was going to win, as the whole room fell silent as they all gasped for air. The river card was an three which did nothing. This was the big moment as we both turned our cards over. "The winner of the money was Justin Slesser" stated Brian while brad shook my had and retreated up stairs. The tournament started at seven and ended just before eight in the morning. There were many up's and downs in the tournament, but all in all I was very happy and was just glad to spend the evening with my poker buddies just like every Friday night. All my hard work and risk taking I beat the odds that my buddy Dan set against me the day before. This goes to show that odds play big roles in every thing but don’t be afraid to take a risk because someone says the odds are against you.

How Empirical Psychology Illuminates Issues in Moral Ontology Essay

How Empirical Psychology Illuminates Issues in Moral Ontology ABSTRACT: Although scientific naturalistic philosophers have been concerned with the role of scientific psychology in illuminating problems in moral psychology, they have paid less attention to the contributions that it might make to issues of moral ontology. In this paper, I illustrate how findings in moral developmental psychology illuminate and advance the discussion of a long-standing issue in moral ontology, that of moral realism. To do this, I examine Gilbert Harman and Nicholas Sturgeon's discussion of that issue. I contend that their explorations leave the issue unresolved. To break the stalemate, I appeal to empirical psychological findings about moral internalization-the process by which children acquire the capacity to act in terms of moral norms. I contend that these findings illuminate the issue, suggest a way to advance it, and tend to support a moral realist position. Although scientifically and naturalistically inclined philosophers are concerned with the role of empirical psychology in illuminating problems in moral psychology, such as the capacities for moral agency, they have paid less attention to its potential contributions to issues of moral epistemology and ontology. In this paper, I illustrate how findings in moral developmental psychology illuminate and advance the discussion of the long-standing issue in moral ontology of moral realism. Moral realism is the view that moral realities are objective, and thus in some important sense(s) independent of either the subjective states of moral agents or intersubjective factors. Naturalistic moral realism makes these objective moral realities part of the material world. I examine some recent disc... ...man on moral explanations of natural facts. In N. Gillespie. (Ed) Spindel Conference, 1986: Moral Realism., The Southern Journal of Philosophy , XXIV, Supplement, 69-78. Sturgeon, N. L. (1986b). What difference does it make if moral realism is true? In N. Gillespie (Ed) Spindel Conference, 1986: Moral Realism.. The Southern Journal of Philosophy , XXIV, Supplement,. 115-41. Zahn-Waxler, C., Radke-Yarrow, M. and King, R. A. (1979). Child-rearing and children's prosocial initiations toward victims of distress. Child Development. 50, 319-330. Zahn-Waxler, C. and Radke-Yarrow, M. (1982). The development of altruism: alternative research strategies, In N. Eisenberg (Ed) The Development of Prosocial Behavior (pp. 109-137). New York: Academic Press. Zahn-Waxler, C. and Radke-Yarrow, M (1990). The origins of empathic concern. Motivation and Emotion, 14, 107-130.

Religious Concerns during Colonial Period Essay -- essays research pap

â€Å"Throughout the colonial period, economic concerns had more to do with the settling of British North America than did religious concerns.† According to this statement, both economic and religious reasons contributed to the founding of the thirteen colonies by the British in North America. The many people who settled in New England came there in search of religious freedom. Their hope was to escape the religious persecution they were facing in England, worship freely, and have the opportunity to choose which religion they wanted to take part in. The Southern colonies were developed for economic motives. They had goals for mercantilism and increasing the prosperity of England. Finally, the Middle colonies were founded upon diverse religions because their primary focus and purpose was to make money or to populate the country. Overall, every colony was colonized due to specific reasons or concerns. However, England’s religious conflicts had grown full-blown, resulting in the colonization of nearly all the American colonies. During the religious upheavals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, one group of radical Protestants was known as Puritans because they wanted to â€Å"purify† the established Church of England. Essentially, their program called for a more complete protestantization of the national church, particularly insofar as church responsibility for individual conduct was concerned. Their reformist ideas threatened to divide the people and to undermine royal authorit...

Technology and Its Impacts on Society

Introduction:Changes have been described as essential functions to human life in the society. Changes are inevitable as man and the society continue to exist. Technology and inventions are spearheaded by man and interact with the society to bring about the necessary social changes. Each year, various technological inventions that are embraced which leads to their steadily increasing impacts on the social aspects within the society.Technology advancement therefore has become essential in shaping the society as it has traversed virtually all aspects of human life. Technological innovations are responsible for the new social themes being experienced within the modern society. It is therefore important to note that new technologies will impact on the choices we make, how we lead our lives, and on how we interact with others. The internet and the mass media in particular have led to far reaching implications especially in matters to do with inter-personal communication and the general soc iological aspect within the society.This paper shall focus on how technological advances have impacted on the society and interpersonal communication.The Internet and Mass media:In the recent past, the use of the internet has drastically increased. Studies have shown that in the case of the United States, which is the world’s leading nation in internet use, the internet use had risen from 66% to 73% in 2006[1]. In the survey, it was revealed that about 70% of adult Americans were internet users. Though the United States is the world’s leader in internet use, other countries around the world are quickly adapting the trend and the internet use has gained considerably. It is no wonder that e-communications are being incorporated as crucial in effecting behavioural and social changes within the society[2].Internet has disregarded geographical distances and separations in this new world order, as borders no longer have great impact on limiting people’s activities. Pe ople are encouraged to participate and contribute on different aspects which have drawn different experiences and pooled resources together. Actions and reactions have become instantaneous in cyberspace and this has made internet to be more gratifying and attractive. The resultant effect is that internet has impacted our society in almost all areas of human endeavours.The problem is that the impact has been both positive and negative and as such, caution has been advocated as a means in which citizens should approach the internet[3]. In matters of communication, technological advancement has been experienced in immeasurable quantities. There have been tremendous developments in the mass media industry including TV, radio, newspapers, telephone and wireless gadgets that have facilitated the communication between individuals. Advance research has led to development of space technologies and satellites which are used for communication thereby adding to the sophistication of the industr y. The geographical distance between individuals is no longer an issue as the technology has come to fill the gap[4].The Impacts of the internet and mass media on the society:It is a matter of fact that easy access to the internet, which includes the availability of personal computers with rather cheap prices, introduction of reliable internet services and establishment of internet cafes has changed the nature of people’s connection to each other in their social field. Physical proximity is no longer an essential in communicating to one another face to face. Technology has made it easier for rapid connections across long distances and people are now in a position to write electronic mails that are transmitted virtually immediately throughout the globe[5].Eskicumali argues that there are various aspects of the lives of individuals, especially the young people which have been altered by the internet. The basic nature of their relationships with one another has been greatly infl uenced by the internet. This is due to the reason that there has been a global diffusion of information and communication technologies that has expanded the domain of ‘absent presence’ which in turn has resulted to an erosion of face to face community centred relationships[6]. The internet has created new type of social relations and virtual communities that has not been formed ever since.These virtual communities are social network of individuals who interact through specific media, and potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries, so as to pursue mutual goals and interests. The internet has also impacted the social system in form of communication[7]. There is diversity in the internet-mediated communication which is displayed in different sectors such as politics, art, family, and mass media among others. It has become the bearer of different kinds of communication. This is due to several features of internet’s technical and textual structure whic h has promised to have a crucial impact on communication[8].Technology is said to be providing a link between individuals located at different parts of the world but at the same time, it can be argued that the same technology is creating enclaves for these same individuals. The use of technology can lead to situations whereby individuals find themselves glued to the use of modern technology and having little or no time to spend with others. The internet in particular has led to the development of social network sites which alienates individuals from socializing with their close friends and relatives as they are glued to chat-rooms with ‘distant’ friends[9].Interpersonal Communication:Technology can be used to either enhance or inhibit any given aspect of human life. It is however the interpersonal communication that would feel the effects of technology first. Historically, the modes of communication have been changing over time in line with the evolution of the society. People dispersed in various parts of the world and verbal communication was altered to letter writing so as ensure that there was communication. Individuals came with inventions on how to carry out the conversation as well as written communication amongst two members that were geographically apart. The telephone came up and most individuals thought that now the other forms of communication would become obsolete[10].With family and friends relocating to different parts of the globe, the telephone technology came in as a blessing in ensuring that family and friends could still stay in touch irrespective of the geographical barriers. The advent of computers has simplified communication even further by bringing to the forefront the concept of instant messaging between individuals who are millions of miles apart[11].   It should be noted that any advancement of technology in communication does not replace the existing one as each is capable of surviving by its own rules providing vari ous options to the individuals.The impact of technology on the interpersonal communication has also come with its demerits. Individuals have tended to side with the use of technology in communicating hence loosing on the ‘personal touch’ which is very essential in the communication process. Technology has provided room for individuals to loose the art of effective communication which can only be realized through face to face communication. This is accomplished by body language, eye contact, and any other observable feature when communicating. Social cowards are able to hide behind technology to air their disagreements as the technology offers some sort of false sense of security and ambiguity[12].Conclusion:The advancement in technology is often meant to better the lives of human beings. Nevertheless, the impacts of technological advancement come in two folds — advantages and disadvantages. What is important though is to look at the differences between the advant ages and the disadvantages in order to evaluate the net effect of the technology on human society. The advancement that has been made in the communication sector is great and has had far reaching impacts on the society in general. The internet in particular has led to critical impacts in the sharing of information as well as reducing the world into a global village where communication becomes instantaneous irrespective of the geographical distance between the communicating parties.With advancement in technology, interpersonal communication has been greatly affected since individuals have turned to the ‘faceless’ technology to communicate. This has had its merits and demerits. Though technology has eased the communication, the effectiveness of the communication has greatly been hampered. Though technology has two sides just like any other issue that may come up in the society, its merits especially in the communication sector are greater than the associated disadvantages . Technology is here to stay and it is bound to influence virtually all aspects of our lives. The internet for instance is ubiquitous in everyday life and its impacts are far from over given that technology is usually cumulative.Bibliography:Bergschneider, Veronica. Technology's influence on interpersonal communication, (2010). Retrieved on 20th May 2010 from;http://www.helium.com/items/1567920-technology-for-communicatingEskicumali, Ahmet. The Effects of Internet Cafes on Social Change in Turkey: The Case of Hendek. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, (2010). vol.9, no. 2, pp. 1-9Friedenfels, Roxanne. Social Change: An Anthology. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 1882289595, 9781882289592, (1998).Kedem, Carmella. The Social Impact of the Internet on Our Society, (1999), Retrieved on 20th May 2010 from; http://www.math.umd.edu/~bnk/CAR/project.htmLin, Carolyn, A. & David J. Atkin. Communication technology and social change: theory and implications. Routledge. ISBN 0805856 137, 9780805856132, (2007).Schiavo, Renata. The rise of e-health: Current trends and topics on online health communications, Journal of Medical Marketing (2008). Vol 8, pp 9-18.Westwood, Douglass. Impact of Technology Change. (2010). Retrieved on 20th May 2010 from;http://www.sociologyguide.com/social-change/impact-of-technology-change.php. [1] Renata Schiavo. The rise of e-health: Current trends and topics on online health communications, Journal of Medical Marketing (2008). Vol 8, p 10 [2] Ibid p 11 [3] Carmella Kedem. The Social Impact of the Internet on Our Society, (1999), Retrieved on 20th May 2010 from; http://www.math.umd.edu/~bnk/CAR/project.htm para 1 [4] Douglass Westwood. Impact of Technology Change, (2010). Retrieved on 20th May 2010 from;http://www.sociologyguide.com/social-change/impact-of-technology-change.php. para 4[5] Ahmet Eskicumali. The Effects of Internet Cafes on Social Change in Turkey: The Case of Hendek. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, (2010). vol.9, no. 2, p 2 [6] Ibid p 6 [7] Carolyn A. Lin & David J. Atkin. Communication technology and social change: theory and implications. Routledge. ISBN 0805856137, 9780805856132, (2007) p 175. [8] Roxanne Friedenfels. Social Change: An Anthology. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 1882289595, 9781882289592, (1998) p 65 [9] Ahmet Eskicumali . The Effects of Internet Cafes on Social Change in Turkey: The Case of Hendek. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, (2010). vol.9, no. 2, p 7 [10] Carolyn A. Lin & David J. Atkin. Communication technology and social change: theory and implications. Routledge. ISBN 0805856137,   (2007) p 190. [11] Veronica Bergschneider. Technology's influence on interpersonal communication, (2010). Retrieved on 20th May 2010 from;http://www.helium.com/items/1567920-technology-for-communicating para 3 [12] Carolyn A. Lin & David J. Atkin. Communication technology and social change: theory and implications. Routledge. ISBN 0805856137, 9780805856132, (2007) p 236

Hamburger †Fast food Essay

Market and environmental analysis is an essential part of an organization’s External Analysis. The main objectives of a market analysis are; a)To determine how attractive a market is. b)To understand the dynamics of the market and amend strategies accordingly. Here we apply the dimensions of a Market Analysis to McDonalds corp. 1)Emerging submarkets; McDonalds failed to recognize the changing trend in customer’s preferences to better tasting, fresher food. This trend led to new sub markets emerging for tastier, fresher and fast food perceived as healthier. A few of the smaller/privately owned competitors (Cosi and Quizno’s) were able to operate in niche markets selling gourmet sandwiches and salads. The emergence of smaller restaurants offering easy access to exotic foods such as sushi and burritos created a more specialized niche market. 2)Size and Growth; With the emergence of these sub-markets and niche markets, McDonalds started losing market share. It now had to share its fast-food mass market with these newly created markets. Even though these restaurant chains were small in size, their growth opportunities presented a potential threat to McDonalds. They operated on service that was better than McDonalds at the same time providing better tasting food, which led to an increase in its sales. This sector was in the early stages of growth where as McDonalds was past the maturity stage. 3)Profitability; McDonalds profitability can be gauged by using Porters 5 factor model. a)Intensity of competition among existing customers was relatively high. Direct competitors like Wendy’s and Chik-Fil-A were able to out perform McDonalds based on service quality by providing quicker service. In comparison McDonalds had a large number of franchises, but will falling service time. b)Threat of new entrants: Other market niches like quizo’s, cosi and small restaurants offering exotic foods also provided a high degree of competition to McDonalds by offering food that appealed to changing customer preferences. The only barrier to entry that McDonalds used was to open a large number of franchises and offer an inexpensive menu; this is however changing as franchisees are leaving McDonalds, lowering the barriers to entry. c)Substitute products would include fast food options available in leading supermarkets, and cafe’s offering exotic foods like sushi. d)Bargaining power of customers. Customers are the main source of income for McDonalds. Customers were not happy with the menu offered at McDonalds and hence took their custom to other restaurants, leading to a drop in sales. e)Bargaining power of suppliers: McDonalds aimed to keep their menu prices low (source more details about suppliers) 4)Cost structure McDonalds strategic focus was on cost and service. In order to raise service quality new kitchens were installed. However, this installation was done for some franchises that did not need it and where the new additions did not help improve business. In order to keep the price of its burgers low, it asked the franchises to sell at a loss. Example: Promoting a $1 burger when the cost to make it was $1. 07. This lack in foresight resulted in rising costs to franchise owners who responded by leaving McDonalds and going over to competitors. This snowballed into falling investor confidence resulting in falling equity. Another cost issue was investing in too many takeovers which it couldn’t handle at the same time as improving service quality and revamping the menu. 5)Distribution Systems McDonalds distribution system was the large and growing number of franchises. However not many of the franchises were posting profits and as per Exhibit 1, more than 500 would have to be closed. One of McDonalds strengths is its distribution system, where in customers come in and have the same experience that they have at any other store. However, this can also be a weakness as providing a consistent experience soon becomes ordinary. 6)Market Trends The fast food casual market was quickly breaking up into fragments. With the rising immigrant population customers now had a choice of items. McDonalds realize this too late and try to counter this effect by introducing new burgers. However, the testing of the new menu does not gauge strongly enough the changing customer preferences and this poor planning led to its failure. Internally changing trends were also blindsided. Franchisees who were the closest to customers were not included in decision making and were thus disgruntled. Here was the need to change the management style from top-down to bottom-up. This would have solved some of the issues plaguing McDonalds, by providing data on what customers want and what products would have a greater chance of success. 7)Key success Factors McDonalds did have some strengths or key success factors; a)Large number of franchises that led to economies of scale. This however contrasted to the ‘small is beautiful’ concept of the niche markets. b)Complete training for franchisees to begin and run their own McDonalds proved to be a good team building exercise. c)Cost of food was low due to economies of scale and economies of size. Moreover, McDonalds was able to negotiate a reasonable price for high quality food products. McDonalds failed to realize the changing trends in the casual fast food markets, as a result of which, a large part of the market share was taken over by existing brands like Wendy’s and new players like Panera bread co. The company also failed to acknowledge competition from the niche markets serving gourmet and exotic foods. This lack in analysis led to lowering of entry barriers for new entrants, loss of market share to competitors (Wendy’s, Chick-Fil-A. ), disgruntled franchisees, and a drop in sales leading to a fall in equity value. Environmental Analysis 1)Political. 2)Economic: 3)Socio-Cultural: There are three cultural forces that influence marketers: a) persistence of cultural values, b) subcultures and c) shifts in secondary cultural values. Of the three, secondary cultural values carry the largest influence on the fast-food market. When the market is interested in convenience, they are more likely to buy fast food; if the market’s secondary values shift and become interested in fitness and health, they will be less likely to buy fast food. (Monash university, 2006) The case shows this shift to gourmet and healthier foods. 4)Technological: McDonalds had begun to notice the importance of technology. The organization was looking at new technological solutions like ERP to improve their supply chain (Newman, 2002) 5)Environmental: 6)Legal. References: Monash university, 2006, Briohny’s Report, Language and Learning Online, Retrieved on 06 May 2008. http://www. monash. edu. au/lls/llonline/writing/business-economics/marketing/3. 3. 2. xml Newman, K, 2002. McDonalds seeks closer electronic relations, iStart. com:Technology in business, www. istart. co. nz, retrieved on 06 May 2008. http://www. istart. co. nz/index/HM20/PC0/PVC197/EX245/AR22537.

Mercury Drug Macro Environment Essay

Demographics Mercury Drugstore’s Primary Target Market Demographics : Ages ranging from 18 to 65 years old who may be male or female that belong to any social class – B, C, D, and E Marital status – no specific status. The available market size using research data show that 6 out of 10 Filipinos are now opting for generic medicines over the more expensive branded counterparts. For a $2 Billion Pharmaceutical market in the Philippines $1.2 Billion (60%) – Generics Medicines $800 Million (40%) – Branded Medicines. Affordable generic medicine more available to a greater number of the population at the soonest possible time since generic medicines are 30% to 80% lower than the branded medicines Economic Data from researches show that out of every 10 Filipinos, 6 Filipinos are now opting to purchase generic medicines over the more expensive branded counterparts. For a $2 Billion Pharmaceutical market in the Philippines $1.2 Billion 60% for Generic Medicines $800 Million 40% for Branded Medicines. The rate of affordability of generic medicines is higher to the greater portion of the Filipino population. This is due to the price of generic medicines which are 30-80% lower than the branded ones. Natural Increase of cold months in the country caused increase of incidences of pneumonia. Pneumonia involves inflammation of the lungs and leads to hospitalization. Foreigners, especially those from non-tropical regions, are most susceptible to this in the Philippines because they have to adjust to the weather patterns. Diarrhea outbreaks have been consistently on the rise in Philippine soil, especially with the recent aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy in local name). Physical, emotional and social factors contribute to this prevalent problem of Filipinos. More underweight than overweight, Filipinos often have to consider societal gaps as a primary factor. The ill distribution of wealth in the country attributes to most Filipinos having less food to eat on their plates. Many Filipinos continue to fall victim to drug addiction. There are over 3.5 million habitual drug users in the country, and some of the national scandals in the past have been linked to illegal drug use. The ongoing struggle against illegal drug addiction is an uphill battle. A more recent DOH problem involved the hyper increase of cases of leptopspirosis in the Philippines, particularly in La Union and other flood-stricken areas. The onset of consecutive floods from the string of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng caused contaminated water to fill the urban and rural areas. Technological Improvements in the field of computers have made operations in the stores more efficient and less time consuming and as well as having a more organized system of recording purchases. Mercury drugstore now is on the verge of implementing an online purchasing system in which customers may order medicines through the internet and then picking up the goods at the store of purchase. This will help the store reduce the number of people in queue and as well as offer customers a better way to purchase their items. Technological advancements have now brought about better medicines and as well as a larger variety of medicines giving the company a chance to broaden their stocks as well as the number of their consumers. The 3g system of the current netphones are now able to give people an opportunity to get in contact with the store so that their concerns can be acknowledged as well as any order of goods. Political Mercury drugstore now implies the senior citizen discount which is mandatory according to the laws of the Philippines. Mercury drug has also been able to adopt a senior citizen lane in their stores nationwide. Cultural/Sociological The need to be healthy is highly needed in the Philippines especially with poverty on the side. Most Filipinos that belong to the lower class tend to over exert themselves and end up with exhaustion, which has a high probability of leading to sickness. So daily supplements are needed to be able to sustain a healthier body while facing harsh working conditions.