Tapsihan

KAHITSAN (Sizzling Tapsihan) By: Camille Hazel Diaz To: Ms. Girlie L. Fernandez A thesis submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Marketing Management ABE International Business College-Fairview March 20, 2013 INTRODUCTION Tapsilog† is an original dish of the Filipinos which became a favorite since it was first created. â€Å"Tap† means tapa, â€Å"Si† means sinangag or fried rice and â€Å"Log† for itlog or egg. This kind of food is popular for Filipinos due to its tenderness and tastiness with the combination of fried rice and egg.Kahitsan is small eatery concept offering high quality yet affordable traditional Filipino food. It was originated from the word â€Å"Kahit Saan†, the word we used to hear every time we ask someone where they want to eat. This concept was build to let the people know that Kahit Saan also exist as a small eatery providing wide varieties of filipin o dishes. Kahitsan is located at the eastern end of Claro M. Recto Avenue due to high density of colleges and universities found in the area.It serves a variety of mouth-watering Sizzling Silog Meals such as TapSiLog, ToSiLog, CornSiLog, SigSiLog, PorkSiLog, BurgerSiLog, HotSiLog, ChixSiLog, and LongSiLog with a combination of Bulalo Soup. The gravy made it even more delicious and serves it on a sizzling plate. We offered a delicious and affordable price that gives a satisfaction to our customer that they surely get what they paid off. THESIS STATEMENT Nowadays, people tend to eat outside due to busy days. Some students were not able to bring their own â€Å"baon† especially colleges. KahitSan provides services to valuable customers.Our main target market are students and other professionals who work near into our location. Kahitsan maintains product consistency to provide the customers the same high quality they received every time they go to our place. Our strategy is to bu ild more customers in order to increase revenue. Unlike other small eatery, kahitsan have separate take-out counter for those customers who prefer to eat at different place, this will also be an advantage because kahitsan will be able to receive additional income even the place were full of customers. We also provide loyalty cards for an effective way of increasing sales from a specific customer.This card will be showed when they order to us. Effectiveness of this card is due to the provided sense of and it additional value to customers gives the feeling of value. SALES TECHNIQUES Kahitsan’s strategy is based on delivering a strong customer value proposition in a niche market. Our location is full of colleges and professionals that do not have endless opportunities for dining out. Our competitive edge is to be the first eatery â€Å"tapsilogan† along Claro M. Recto Avenue, in a friendly, non-smoking, customer-oriented dine in experience and first to have its separate t akeout counter.To drive customers to Kahitsan, we will employ several techniques outlined below. * Coupon – coupon will be given to people who passed by our store to inform them about our menus. * Flyers will be used for the advertisements which bring in customers. * (Word of Mouth) Encourage customers to become regular customers, and to tell all their friends and acquaintances about the great experiences and time that they shared to us. * Facebook Fan Page is an essential tool to promote my business. * Barkada Meals good for 3 to 5 persons. SALES OPERATION/SERVICESKahitsan will be operating for 14 hours from 7am in the morning up to 9pm in the evening. We’ll be planning to open our store ahead from our competitors so early risers will tend to eat breakfast in our place. Our products will be served fast and ready to consume and will be an alternative to the usual fast-food options available in today's market. Kahitsan will not operate its business on Sundays to give ou r employees a rest. Checking of inventories on Sundays will be an advantage so we will know the food supplies we need to replenish for the whole 6 days operation. Take-out counter – Kahitsan will be providing a separate takeout counter for those customer who wants to buy our products and serves as â€Å" pasalubong† for their families, friends and colleague * 15 tables (good for 4 persons) – Kahitsan will be having 15 tables with a minimum of 4 chairs each table to suits those customers who came with their friends. It is better to provide a large no. of tables instead of a few which pushed the others to find another place instead of waiting others to finish eating. POS (Point of sale) system – All sales data will be logged on our POS system so we can track our sales automatically instead of just writing it on a paper. * Loyalty cards: After 10 meals purchased, the 11th will be less 50% discount. * Bulletin Kahitsan – kahitsan will be announcing som e promos to be posted in our bulletin. MENU: Tapsilog P40. 00 Chicksilog P45. 00 Hotsilog P40. 00 Sigsilog P45. 00 Barkada Meal P95 Silog MealsPriceDrinksPrice TosilogP40. 00 Coke 8ozP12. 00 Cornisilog P40. 00Coke 1L P30. 00 LongsilogP40. 00Mountain Dew P20. 00 Burgersilog P45. 0Mineral Water P12. 00 Porksilog P45. 00Water P0. 00 PROFIT SALES: per dayper month Tapsilog P40 x 30 = P1200 P32400 Longsilog P40 x 8 =P320 P8640 Hotsilog P40 x 7 =P280 P7560 Cornsilog P40 x 5 =P200 P5400 Tosilog P40 x 5 =P200 P5400 Chicksilog P45 x 20 =P900 P24300 Sigsilog P45 x 25 =P1125 P30275 Porksilog P45 x 10 =P450 P12150 Burgersilog P45 x 10 =P450 P12150 Barkada Meal P95 x 5 =P475 P12825 Extra Rice P8 x 80 =P640 P17280 Coke 8oz P12 x 10 =P120 P3240 Coke/Sprite 1L P30 x 5 =P150 P4050 Mountain Dew P20 x 3 =P60 P1620Mineral Water P12 X10 =P120 P3240 TOTAL GROSS SALES:P6690 P180630 EXPENSES: EquipmentsP25000 Rent ExpenseP12000 Salary ExpenseP25000 Food Supplies ExpenseP55000 Utilities ExpenseP4000 Miscell aneous ExpenseP10000 TOTAL:P121000 SALESP180630 Less:EXPENSESP121000 NET PROFIT:P59630 (monthly) CONCLUSION: KahitSan is strategically located at Claro M. Recto Avenue serving not only large no. of students but professionals as well. KahitSan will be providing a hassle free service to all our valued customer especially for those who finds place to eat and just relax for a little time.Our main goal is to gain more customers and retain those that patronize our service by giving them an excellent customer service. Responsible profit will fairly compensate and reward employees for their hard work, loyalty and commitment. Kahitsan will find different ways that will make our customers satisfied with our service. The market will definitely respond and grow quickly on the next 3 years and establish 2 store locations in different place. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www. bplans. com/healthy_restaurant_business_plan http://www. entrepreneur. com. ph/board/index. php? action=search2 http://en. wikipedia . org/wiki/University_Belt

Understanding of the Flynn Effect

The Flynn Effect, first observed by James Flynn in 1981, is the steady year on year increase in IQ scores on intelligence tests, noting a greater rise in fluid (non-verbal) intelligence than crystallised (verbal) intelligence. There are numerous studies providing evidence for this effect leading to the question; are generations getting more intelligent? There is no universal definition of intelligence, leading many researchers to try and discover common themes around the world.Yang & Sternberg (1997b) found similarities in ideas of intelligence between Western and Eastern cultures but ultimately, along with other researchers such as Baral & Das (2004), concluded that there are great differences between conceptions of intelligence around the world. Due to this, there have been many different methods used to measure intelligence over the years, from Binet & Simon’s (1911) intelligence test, to Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligence theory.One of the more accepted and univ ersally used methods designed to test intelligence is the intelligence quotient (IQ) test, developed by William Stern in 1912, an idea used by many other intelligence researchers. In 1981, when reviewing intelligence tests to test validity for new versions, James Flynn noticed that whenever participants were given an old test and a new test to complete, they always got higher scores on the newer test. He went on to look at a further 73 studies (Flynn, 1984) and discovered that between 1932 and 1978, white Americans had gained 14 IQ points, supporting his original discovery.In 1987 he published intelligence test data from 14 countries (Flynn, 1987), coming to the conclusion that IQ scores were rising not only in America, but across a number of different countries and cultures, further displaying evidence for his discovery. In attempt to make sense of Flynn’s discovery, it has been proposed that generations are getting more intelligent, an idea that Flynn himself rules out. He argued that if generations were getting more intelligent, we would expect to see an ever rising number of geniuses in the world which we don’t.So why are IQ scores getting higher? In 1998, Ulrich Neisser (Neisser, 1998a) edited a book suggesting some possible environmental explanations for the Flynn Effect. The book was contributed to by Flynn (1998), Greenfield (1998), Lynn (1998), Neisser (1998b), Schooler (1998) and Williams (1998). It covered 5 main areas: schooling, test-taking sophistication, parental rearing style, visual and technical environment and nutrition. However, Lynn (1990) originally broke these ideas down into two opposing hypotheses; the nutrition hypothesis and the cognitive stimulation hypothesis.The Nutrition hypothesis proposes that nutrition is a key factor in generations' increased intelligence, Lynn (1990; 1998). It sees nutrition as increasing intelligence as part of a nurturing environment, including longer life expectancies, improved health and lo wer infant disease. As food has become more readily available to most people, we are inevitably receiving more of the nutrition and food that our bodies and brains require, meaning our bodies and brains are more capable of performing to the best of their ability.Compared with generations ago, when food and water was scarce it is almost expected that we should achieve better results on intelligence tests when our brains are better nourished and equipped to deal with them. Average human height has also risen over the last century, which has been attributed to nutrition. Lynn (1990;1998) suggested that this could be significant, as brain size has been linked to nutrition and also to intelligence. Some researchers began looking at particular nutrients in relation to intelligence.Quian et al (2005) looked at the effects of iodine on intelligence. Findings showed that the children who had received iodine supplements before and after birth scored significantly higher on intelligence tests than children who hadn’t. Iodine is now well known as one of the most important minerals for good health. Benton & Roberts (1988) conducted a study involving 90 children divided into 3 groups of 30. Group 1 were given a supplement which contained a number of vitamins and minerals. Group 2 were given a placebo and Group 3 was not given anything.8 months later Benton & Roberts (1988) found that in Group 1 a significant increase in non-verbal (fluid) intelligence scores was observed, supporting the Flynn effect. However, there was no significant difference between verbal (crystallised) intelligence scores. Further research into understanding the Flynn effect saw Colom, Luis-Font & Andres-Pueyo (2005) test two large samples of Spanish boys with a 30 year gap in a measure of fluid intelligence. A significant rise in IQ scores was observed in the later sample, with findings interestingly noting intelligence gains mainly observed among the lower percentile of IQ scores.Teasdale & Ow en (1989) and Lynn & Hampson (1986) had previously found similar results. These findings, and many other replications, support the Nutrition hypothesis as evidence for the Flynn effect. In general these types of studies have provided plenty of evidence to conclude that IQ is affected by vitamin/mineral supplements on non-verbal measures of intelligence, however, it is becoming increasingly hard to test this as most people are well-nourished these days particularly in Western cultures.Future studies could continue to look at which particular nutrients affect which particular areas of intelligence, and concentrate on broadening the research to a wider variety of cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. Many of the previously mentioned studies use a sample consisting of only males, which makes results less representative to the entire population. The Cognitive Stimulation hypothesis, takes into account some of the other ideas mentioned in Neisser’s book (Neisser 1998a), suggestin g that higher intelligence is driven by improvements in cognitive stimulation.In particular, visual analysis and technical advances are seen as causing intelligence to increase. Visual analysis can range between many things, from photographs, messages on cereal boxes, puzzles in a newspaper, to television programmes. One of the biggest changes in the twentieth century was the arrival of visual media such as television and the internet. Nowadays almost every home has a television and many have computers and access to the internet.Children now have much wider access to educational toys, games, television programmes and computer programs, and adults now participate in many cognitively demanding activities such as reading, puzzles, video games and using devices such as television and computers. Johnson (2003) argues that popular television has become more cognitively demanding in recent years. One example is children’s television show Sesame Street, designed to increase childrenà ¢â‚¬â„¢s intelligence and awareness by providing mental stimulation at an early age.Sesame Street is now an award winning show and is recognised as helping to develop children’s understanding and abilities (Palmer, 2003). Even simple things such as adverts provide us with cognitive stimulation, sometimes requiring viewers to work out a hidden or abstract meaning, compared with much more straight forward adverts seen from years ago. Intelligence tests such as Raven’s matrices measure visual analysis, on which the largest gains in IQ have been found providing support for the cognitive stimulation hypothesis.Some of the other ideas mentioned in Neisser’s book include schooling, test-taking sophistication and parental rearing style. Nowadays, we attend school for many more years than our parents and grandparents did. Cahan & Cohen (1989) found that length of schooling influences intelligence, however their results suggested larger rises in verbal intelligence, thus not providing evidence for the Flynn effect. Test-taking sophistication is the idea that we are just generally more aware of intelligence tests than generations ago. IQ tests are something we learn about in school as teaching today is generally geared towards achievement tests.This could potentially explain better scores in intelligence tests by those who know why and what they are doing them for, but it is unknown whether this could explain the emphasis on non-verbal intelligence seen in the Flynn effect, as it is a very difficult concept to test. Parental rearing styles have also changed, with families getting smaller meaning each child is spending more time with his or her parents. Flynn (1998) and Williams (1998) also suggest that today’s parents are more interested in their children’s intellectual development than in previous generations.However, it could be argued that due to the Flynn effect, today’s parents are simply more intelligent than their own pare nts and grandparents, and therefore better able to guide and educate their own children. If the cognitive stimulation hypothesis can truly explain the Flynn effect, then we should see a rise of IQ scores across generations at all levels of IQ (Flynn, 2003; Lynn (1990) but if the nutritional hypothesis provides the explanation, intelligence gains would appear more so at the bottom end of IQ scores, where nutritional deprivation is at its worst (Flynn, 2003).Neither the nutritional hypothesis nor the cognitive stimulation hypothesis appears to be telling the whole story in relation to the Flynn effect, and there are still many other theories out there. Some suggest natural selection as a cause, such as Deary et al, 2004 who found significant correlation between low IQ score and risk of cardiovascular disease and death. However this could be down to environmental factors caused by lower IQ such as poverty and living conditions which could lead to death and illness Gottfredson 1997. Bra in size has also been proposed as a relevant factor.Tiedmann (1836) suggested a connection between brain size and mental energy, and medical advances allowing tests such as MRI scans have since led to further research in this area. Willerman et al (1991) and Raz et al (1993) went on to find correlations between brain size and general intelligence, supporting Tiedmann’s hypothesis. However, these correlations were found in particular samples, and did not clarify causation. Luria (1968, 1972) conducted two case studies and discovered that injuries to different parts of the brain affected intelligence in different ways.Flynn (1994, 1999) favoured environmental explanations himself, suggesting intelligence gains too rapid to be genetic. Many recent European studies have suggested that the Flynn effect is actually coming to an end, or could possibly be in reverse. Sundet et al (2004) composed intelligence tests from the 1950’s and found that in line with the Flynn effect, n on-verbal intelligence showed higher gains, that is until the 1990’s when IQ scores ceased to increase. Teasdale & Owen (2005) found similar results, with scores rising from 1959 and peaking in the late 1990’s.Teasdale & Owen (2005) noticed that after this peak, intelligence test performance has since declined to pre-1991 level. Many people view these studies as direct evidence for the end of the Flynn effect; however some view it an extension of the Flynn effect, one which can still be explained by the nutritional hypothesis. It is proposed that the rise in IQ scores was a result of the number of low scorers who were dragging the average IQ score down, getting smaller and smaller.Supporters of the nutritional hypothesis argue that this decreasing number of low scorers was due to the decreasing number of people suffering from poor nutrition, and now poor nutrition is not a problem the slow removal of low scorers has levelled out. Three big questions when looking at int elligence testing are the reliability of intelligence tests, the validity of intelligence tests and whether the usefulness of intelligence is overemphasised.One issue with reliability is that IQ scores fluctuate, and if you take the same test a few weeks later it is likely you will achieve a different score, although you are not supposed to retake the same IQ test as your first interaction with it will almost certainly influence your second performance. Researchers question whether we can ever truly know if the first score we get is truly a representation of our intelligence, or if it may be a fluctuation from our real intelligence, questioning the accuracy of such scores. This concern hasinspired plenty of research into IQ fluctuation, with many studies such as Jones & Bayley (1941) suggesting that although scores do fluctuate, they remain relatively stable. Furthermore, while there is plenty of evidence to suggest intelligence tests correlate well with other intelligence tests (Ne isser et al, 1996), these studies are based on the assumption that there is a globally agreed idea of general intelligence when this is in fact not true (Benson, 2003). As mentioned earlier, there are cultural variations of what is perceived as intelligence, calling into question the validity of intelligence testing.It wouldn’t be sensible to dismiss intelligence tests entirely as there is plenty of evidence to support their reliability, validity and usefulness. However, we should not ignore the shortcomings. Both the nutritional hypothesis and the cognitive stimulation hypothesis have contributed somewhat to our understanding of the Flynn effect, but neither appears to be telling the whole story. The nutritional hypothesis views nutrition as increasing intelligence as part of a nurturing environment with plenty of evidence providing support for this as an explanation of the Flynn effect, such as Quian et al (2005) and Benton & Roberts (1988).However it is becoming increasing ly difficult to continue to test this as most people are well nourished these days, particularly in Western culture. The cognitive stimulation hypothesis suggests that the visual revolution is responsible for the Flynn effect, suggesting higher intelligence results from improvements in cognitive stimulation. Again, there is plenty of evidence in support of this; however it does not provide an absolute explanation.Due to the rising number of studies suggesting the Flynn effect is coming to an end, it is possible that any current and future research into the Flynn effect is futile, although many of the evidence to suggest this is predominantly undertaken in Europe, pointing back to the cultural differences in intelligence. Perhaps less developed countries are seeing the Flynn effect? We could benefit from more research across various cultures. There are also the questions of intelligence test reliability, validity and usefulness to consider. Leading to my final question; if we canâ₠¬â„¢t define intelligence, how can we truly test it?

Corporate Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Corporate Culture - Essay Example The concept of corporate culture that became widespread in the 1980s was mentioned in the book of Tom Peters and Robert Waterman (1982), In Search of Excellence, in which it was also, mentioned the potential impacts the values and the mindsets of a company could have on its success. There are many factors which influence the shaping or developing of an organizational culture. Buchanan and Huczyenski (1991) came up with four main factors. They argued that for a corporate culture to develop, an organization is required to have a strong and sound set of values, which is usually set up by the organization's founder. Those values are expected to carry forward through the top managerial levels that strengthen the firm's standards and a social learning process is evolved as an outcome. Secondly, the environment of an organization, such as the mention of company's heroes, symbols and notices present will affect the style of how the organization is run and functions. The stories of past efficient employees of the business who contributed greatly to the performance and development of the organization that circulate around in an organization greatly affect the way the rest of the employees work and behave in the organization. ... The methods can be formal and informal, one-way or two-way and can be both. However, communication is a strong factor as it depicts the present culture of the organization and affects others. The training sessions and induction and orientation practices used for communication also develop the way things are handled in a business and thus the corporate culture gets affected. Moreover, what are interrelated with the communication factor are the cultural networks. This implies the set of common beliefs a group of people share within themselves. If a set of values and assumptions are shared by a large group of people that is bound to be the dominant corporate culture in the organization. However, if cultural networks are scattered in an organization, then the organizational culture tends to be weak as no one is following a fixed set of values. The leadership and management style also shapes up the culture around in a business as the managers are usually known as the culture carriers and convey it to the rest of people working in an organization. John Kotter and James Heskett (1992) came up with two types of organizational culture, adaptive culture and inert culture. Adaptive culture as the name implies, is a flexible way of doing things where external factors are taken into account and changers are made in the organization accordingly. Decision making is usually centralized as it facilities greater flexibility in decision making and risk taking. The inert culture is unresponsive to the external environment and has a set of rigid beliefs which it does not change. Decision making is often centralized and there is a

Analysis two readings about Race and Ethnicity in American Culture Essay

Analysis two readings about Race and Ethnicity in American Culture - Essay Example Why? The Klan was naturally concerned about Hill’s activities as this enabled Hill to mobilize African Americans and educate them as to their civil and social rights. By educating African Americans, Hill could help them meet the literacy requirement and make them eligible to vote. He could pass on the information in the Republican newspaper to all African Americans. 3. Why did the Klan use such brutal violence against Hill and his relatives? Hill and his relatives were singled out for brutal violence due to Hill’s position as President of the Union League and the Klan’s belief that, as a preacher, he was instrumental in mobilizing African Americans to exercise their franchise. Hill’s correspondence with A.S. Wallace could instigate Congressional investigations into Klan activities. The Klan did not randomly choose people to terrorize. Hill was specifically targeted for his activities. 4. What significance, if any, should be attributed to the Klan’s demand that Hill pray for them? No significance need be attributed to the Klan’s demand that Hill pray for them, as the Klan appears to be totally committed to violence and the intimidation of African Americans. Their demand may be seen in the light of sarcasm, as Hill was a preacher. Document 3: The Ku Klux Klan Defends Americanism. 1. What did Evans mean by â€Å"the American race?† How was such a â€Å"race† formed? By â€Å"the American race† Evans meant the Americans whose ancestors belonged to the â€Å"old pioneer stock† (Evans, 126). This race was formed by the descendants of the pioneers who founded the nation. These pioneers were largely of Northwestern European heritage. 2. Why was the â€Å"Nordic American today --- a stranger?† The influx, and growing political clout, of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, including Jews and Catholics, undermined the dominance of the Nordic American. Protestant morals declined: Jews cel ebrated Sabbath on Saturday and religious instruction was banned in public schools. World War I demonstrated immigrants’ loyalty to their country of origin. 3. Why was â€Å"hyphenism† important? In what sense was â€Å"the melting pot --- a ghastly failure?† â€Å"Hyphenism† was important as it demonstrated that immigrants retained a dual identity and did not consider themselves as just Americans. The ‘Melting-pot’ metaphor was a failure as the various immigrant groups retained their unique ethnic practices and did not assimilate completely into American society. An immigrant might argue that retaining the ethnic practices of one’s country of origin enriched American culture and made it more vibrant. 4. Why did Evans believe â€Å"Liberalism† amount to â€Å"national, racial and spiritual treason?† â€Å"Liberalism† unconditionally accepted and aided immigrants, and therefore betrayed the interests of the old Nord ic race of Americans. The ideals of secularism changed the nature of American society and religion. A ‘Liberal’ might argue that philanthropy was open to all Americans and immigrants contributed to the advancement of American society in several fields. 3. Had the goals of the Klan changed from the Reconstruction era to the 1920’s? The goals of the Klan had definitely changed from the Reconstruction era to the 1920’s. This is unequivocally demonstrated by the two documents. In the Reconstruction era, as represented by Elias Hill’s testimony, the goal of the Klan was to serve as a vigilante group targeting African Americans and ensuring that

Marketing Plan III Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Plan III - Research Paper Example Though obesity is not a disease in itself but it causes heart issues and diabetes and this fact is very well known to the non-Hispanic higher age population (Overweight and Obesity 2012). Zero calorie beer has been developed for a distinct class of people who are health conscious and do not want to add unwanted calorie in their body. In this perspective, Anheuser-Busch wants to position and canvass the newly developed zero calorie beer among this class of people highlighting salient features and attributes of this product (Anheuser-busch, 2012). MillerCoors is the most formidable of the competitor in the market and Anheuser-Busch has taken extra care to differentiate this new product from any of the MillerCoors’ products so that it can be distinguished clearly by the discerning class of consumers (MillerCoors 2012). None of the MillerCoors’ product offers so low a calorie as offered by this zero calorie beer product of Anheuser-Busch. The most important aspect is that the alcohol % by volume is still above 4 percent (to be precise 4.2%) and enough to give not only a bang of beer but in look, color and froth too it resembles pure beer so that there is no resistance in accepting the product. Very low Carbohydrate and protein contents at 3g and 0.5g per 12 oz. respectively highlight how the company is careful in product development to meet ultimate needs of the health-conscious

Social Security Act of 1935 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Security Act of 1935 - Essay Example The wages paid to the workers varied to a great margin, meaning that some of these workers were oppressed by the lack of a system to harmonize wages (Martin & Weaver, 2005). In particular, older workers suffered the most as they were subjected to very low wages, while their younger counterparts were receiving better payments. Apart from the glaring differences in wage payment, the workers were also faced with challenges such as probable loss of wages due to deaths, retirements, and disabilities (Martin & Weaver, 2005). All these factors combined, called for the establishment of a social system that would cushion the workers against loss of income. The strongest facilitator for the creation and enactment of the Act, however, was the great depression which occurred in 1929, a time during which a lot of families suffered economically, and in turn, socially (Martin & Weaver, 2005). The 1935 Social Security Act was enacted for the purpose of enabling the federal government, in collaboration with state governments to provide social welfare to needy groups. These groups included aged people, people with disabilities, expectant mothers and children, victims of industrial accidents, and the unemployed (Martin & Weaver, 2005). For these services to be actualized there was need for the creation of a social security board which would be tasked with making plans for the roll-out of these benefits, and managing funds involved in the process. Once established, the program provided monthly benefits to people aged 65 years and older who had were no longer engaged in regular employment (Martin & Weaver, 2005). The retirees were paid benefits according to the average wages they had been earning prior to retirement. Later on in 1939, Martin & Weaver (2005) write that the retirement program was extended to cover the retiree’s dependents, meaning the wife, who had to be at least 65 years old, and children. The program was not only concerned with the welfare of the aged

International Banking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Banking - Assignment Example Following the current financial crisis, different economies are working on instituting various banking regulations in the international perspective, in the form of different initiatives, all aimed towards the establishment of stable international banking relations (Gambacorta and Rixtel, 2013, 19). As such, legislation on the European Union’s banking structural reform is currently being determined, from which European Union banks are required to have a distinction between investment businesses from the retail businesses. However, in the case of United States banks, a different perspective is visible, especially on the separation aspect of investment business and the retail businesses. In the United States, the separation aspect is not a requirement for United States banks; however, for the other banks of non-American origin operating inU.S., would require that the banks have operations under a single U.S. holding company. For the achievement of such an aspect, a number of modi fications would be necessary, especially for the EU banks with affiliated US businesses. In order to achieve such a perspective, a number of aspects have appeared including the Volcker rule, Vickers proposal, Liikanen, as well as other recent European initiatives.The major reason for the development of the different initiatives is to establish an insulation of various financial aspects with substantive importance to the economy. Equally, the initiatives seek to offer protection to consumers from risky, though less important activities.

Writing a screenplay for a short Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Writing a screenplay for a short - Assignment Example He then addresses the priest. Law and order are simply what needs to be done. Failure to follow the law leads to punitive measures. That is why you are in this cell. You did not follow the law and so you have to face the consequences. Even†¦(The first inmate disrupts him) The first inmate seems upset and starts moving up and down the cell. He seems to be in deep thoughts. He goes and leans on the wall and starts shaking his head. The second inmate walks towards him and shouts to him. The officer takes a glance at the priest and moves towards him. He does not seem convinced with the explanation the priest gives him. He takes the notebook and peruses it. He seems not to get the meaning of the writings inside. He takes the priests Bible and checks the cover. It is torn, and so he smiles meekly The priest seems hurt but grabs the notebook and the Bible from the pastor. He then turns to the prisoners who are sited at the corner of the cell. The officer grabs his hands and pulls him towards the door. Please officer let me say my final word to these inmates. They need encouragement from people like me, for consolation of the hassles they go through in this cell. You are one of the people who should treat these brothers as your friends instead you mistreat them. The Bible requires us to show mercy and compassion to all our friends. God shows us His mercies, and we must reciprocate to our friends. I will leave you with a few words for encouragement and hope for tomorrow. Keep your trust and faith in the Lord because only He can get you out of this damn place. Never forget to pray and commit all your wishes to Him. Also†¦ The priest hesitates as some noise is heard from outside the cell. Loud bangs can be heard from other prison cells as the officers try to stop the prisoners from shouting. Everyone from the room seems shaken. The officer is confused and does not know if he should get out or stay in the cell. As

Marketing startegy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing startegy - Essay Example Their costs for customer service remained at the same value. They retained the same amount of cash reserve in the end of this period one as period zero. They also did not tamper with any pricing strategy and kept a markup of 49.48% for channel 1 and 2.They kept the same number of sales representatives. They used to have equal distribution for both channels but this year they increased quantities of channel 1 and the weight of the units sold were heavier than channel 2. It must be noted that all products ordered in period zero were sold and disposed leaving no ending inventory for the firm but this was not the case in period 1. No changes in strategies but the firm did not deliver the same results. For Firm 2, the distribution intensity is largely found in channel 2 with a higher markup relative to channel 1 and even to period zero's data. They doubled their production by 37.5% but was not able to sell all. It could be seen that they incurred expenses for R&D for product modifications. Product features were improved.Also they increased their advertising as seen in their increase of 16% in expense. It should be noted that Firms 1,2 and 2 did not invest in Marketing Research Reports. They only had very minimal expenses for such and they were not competitive in this manner because they were not able to connect with the consumers and they were not equipped with what the market needs and demands. They could have increased a feature in their product and still not entice the consumers. Additional promotions and commission expense was incurred. they concentrated in improving customer service and incurring an additional $27,500 outflow. Firm 2 and 3 applied the same strategies. Lastly, Firm 4, the considered most successful implemented various strategies and optimized the changes. Product development is the root of the major edge and advantage of this firm against the 3 others. The values of product features were all improved. The highest average retail price of $ 279.70 for both channels was riveted by this firm.Unlike the previous year, they augmented the production by 5,000 units and still exceeded by 3,710 units leaving no inventories to be transferred. They incurred a net contribution.They had no remaining reserve funds though like the other 3 but increased their budget for the next period by 49.85%. More distribution intensity of sales for channel 1 was realized and that made up 80.4% of the total units sold. Competitive strategy of theirs was to focus on product development and market research. Promotions strategy wise, they diminished advertising expense and affected the pioneering type. Sales promotion bore more bearing this year and results prov e its effectivity relative to distribution channel 1 which obviously they concentrated much on. The results of firm 4 was the positive reverse of firms 2 and 3 and definitely of firm1. The market segmentation is constant with their product positioning strategy . 2.) From the perspective of Firm 2, competition might unfold in this industry and there is potential primarily because this period is considered a trial and error allowance for the firms who is deviating from their norms to explore the market. With this, there are major points and the first would relate to launching a new product. As period ended, only Firm 4 incurred net contribution. They all had the option to adapt a new product at the beginning but no one opted for such. In the coming of second

Supreme Court Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Supreme Court Justice - Essay Example He joined his father's law practice before entering politics. John Marshall Harlan vigorously defended slavery and thought the government should not interfere, but at the same time, he believed that the Union must be preserved and even enlisted in the Union Army in 1861. His family background played a part in his racial attitudes. John Marshall Harlan was confirmed by the Senate in December, 1877, and was the 45th justice of the Supreme Court. 'John Marshall Harlan II' (May 20, 1899 - December 29, 1971) was an American jurist. He served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. He was the grandson of another Associate Justice, John Marshall Harlan, who served from 1877 to 1911. Harlan is often characterized as a member of the conservative wing of the Warren Court. He advocated a limited role for the judiciary, remarking that the Supreme Court should not be considered "a general haven for reform movements." In general, Harlan adhered more closely to precedent, and was more reluctant to overturn legislation, than many of his colleagues on the Court. He strongly disagreed with the doctrine of incorporation, which held that the guarantees of the federal Bill of Rights were applicable at the state level. At the same time, he advocated a broad interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, arguing that it protected a wide range of rights not expressly mentioned in the Constitution. Harlan is sometimes called the "great dissenter" of the Warren Court, and is often regarded as one of the most influential Supreme Court justices in the twentieth century.( Yarborough,1992) John Marshall Harlan II was born on May 20, 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the son of John Maynard Harlan (a Chicago lawyer and politician) and Elizabeth Flagg. Harlan's family had, historically, been a politically active one. His father, George Harlan, served as Governor of Delaware during the seventeenth century; his great-grandfather, James Harlan, was a congressman during the 1830s; and his grandfather, John Marshall Harlan, was a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In his younger years, Harlan attended The Latin School of Chicago. Harlan later attended two boarding high schools in Canada, Upper Canada College in Toronto, and Appleby College also near Toronto. Upon graduation from Appleby, Harlan returned to the U.S. and enrolled at Princeton University. There, he was a member of the Ivy Club, served as an editor of "The Daily Princetonian", (Yarborough ,1992) and was class president during his junior and senior years. After graduating from the university in 1920, he received a Rhodes Scholarship, which he used to attend Balliol College, Oxford.(Leitch,1978) He studied jurisprudence at Oxford for three years, returning from England in 1923. Upon his return to the United States, he began work with the law firm of Root, Clark, Buckner & Howland (now known as Dewey Ballantine), one of the leading law firms in the country, while studying law at New York Law School. He received his law degree in 1924 and earned admission to the bar in 1925. In 1928, he married Ethel Andrews, with whom he had one daughter, Eva Dillingham.(Ariens) Between 1925 and 1927, Harlan served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of

Fleet of Foot Essay Example for Free

Fleet of Foot Essay Up until now, Navado Carrillo’s present strategy was working just fine. Her idea of providing high-end running shoes made her a very good return on her investment in the first 10 years. Selling mainly Nike products was also a very good idea Navado had because Nike was well accepted and seen as top quality to her customers. Her current strategy of also adding other Nike shoes, including walking shoes, shoes for aerobic exercise, basketball shoes, tennis shoes, and cross trainers was a good idea for the business because it offered her loyal customers different options of shoes now that jogging is becoming too demanding. I think where Navado went wrong is adding in a line of sportswear and putting more emphasis on fashion. Her business is known for high quality running shoes and other shoes, not fashion. Other companies like to sell other brands and have a few line of sportswear fashion to separate themselves from well-known shoe stores like Navado’s. Now that she added this extra line and incorporated more fashion into her store, she is in direct competition to other stores, which results in her losing business and having her sales flatten out. To help her sudden fall in business, Navado tried an experiment that was great in my opinion, where â€Å"she took a line of high-performance athletic shoes that were made to order. The distinctive feature of these shoes was that the sole was molded to precisely fit the customer’s foot† (Perreault). This was a great idea because when someone came in looking for high-end running shoes, her sales clerks would tell them all about it and once the shoes came in two weeks later, they were delighted. Since those shoes were going for $170, only serious runners would buy them but seeing how they were happy with the product, they could spread the word about these shoes to other runners, which would increase Navado’s sales. However, the company that offered them ran into financial trouble and went out of business. The alternative strategies Navado is considering is going through another company that is offering a very similar custom shoe program. The only problem is that this new company requires many more requirements that the other company didn’t require. Having to spend more money on updating the website to promote this company, as well as travel, hotel, and food expenses for the two day training program for her salesclerks makes Navado uncertain in what to do. Personally, I think she should do this even though it would cost her several thousands of dollars to begin with. The other strategy she is considering is making fashion her main attraction because of the recent success of other women’s wear businesses. This would not be a good idea because she would just be competing with more powerful fashion retailers in which she would lose business and go astray from what she built her business upon. I believe Navados primary problem isn’t her emphasis on running shoes or emphasis on trying to hang on to her current customer, but instead, her indecision on who her target market should be. To fix this problem, I think Navado should solely focus on selling high-end running shoes as well as other Nike athletic shoes to gain customers who are just looking for a good pair of shoes. Also, seeing how she had success in the custom molding shoes before that company went out of business, I think she should go through this other company so that she can expand her running shoes into making custom ones for customers. Although it would cost several thousands of dollars to begin with and there are more promotional expenses that this company requires, the company in return provides exclusive sales territories that would separate Navado’s business from her competitors. Selling women’s apparel and adding a line of sportswear just results in more competition and a loss of business for Navado. Keeping her main focus on high end, custom running shoes and other athletic shoes would increase her sales, keep her loyal customers coming in and stay with what made her business flourish in past years.

Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Marketing Essay

Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Marketing Essay The driving forces behind the urgency to have quality marketing research and marketing information are hinged on the two factors. The continued decline in the unit cost of computer hardware and steady improvement in the flexibility and power of computer software, (Vitale, Ives, and Beath, 1989) and the quick pace in which environment changes, (Miles and Snow, 1987). The purpose of marketing research is to assist and improve marketing decision. Market research narrows the gap between producer and consumer, and increase the chance of successful decisions. In any field, the basis of decision making is having effective information available and using it. Processed, analysed and correctly used, market information can reduce risk, time and waste by providing the best basis for decision, (Tinniswood, 1986). Naturally, it seems, this leads to well defined marketing strategy. However, (Assad, 1990) posited marketing research must be conducted vigorously and systematically to fulfil its intended role, which is only vigorously when data collected are valid, reliable and representative. 2.0 The Quality of Marketing Research and Marketing Information What is Quality Marketing Research and Marketing Information? We will tackle this question by first collecting related framework, model and system and then discuss the issues of accuracy, reliability, amount of information required and data analysis complication that affect the quality of marketing research and marketing information. Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Dr. Malcolm Mcdonalds concept of marketing intelligence system is depicted in fig. 1. As explained by Mcdonald, marketing research and marketing information are inseparable and hence synergistically entwined to effect a good marketing strategy. From the above, data from the market through marketing research are processed and analysed to form relevant marketing information which forms intelligence (knowledge) to make quality decision focuses on key determinants for example, the significance of market share or correct service levels for profitable growth. In marketing, these can be realised with a shrewd marketing mix (i.e. the 7 Ps). Hattons Information Priority Framework Marketing research is just one source of information available to the business planner. Also, the collection of new data can be very expensive. It is therefore imperative for the marketer to go through the process of identifying the priority for information need as in fig 2. The easy and hard can be defined by either time or cost. Weicks Theory of Marketing Research Limits On the same vein, (Weick, 1984) felt similar concern espoused a model with three criteria , (fig 3) to keep within the research limits i.e. generality, accuracy and simplicity. He provokes the thought of tradeoff among the three components. In reality, he stress that no all can be met at the same time but rather at most, any theory can meet two of these criteria. General accurate theories are complex, general simple theories are inaccurate, and simple accurate theories have no generality. The strategic implication of McDonald, Hatton and Weicks theory is that marketing researcher and the marketing manager have to work hand in hand to define problem correctly in the first place, prioritising information required and subtract, simplify, distil, (The Sunday Times, 18th May 1997) marketing information. This could improve the quality of information at optinium time and cost. All these certainly give us an indication of the complexity of the real world and management judgement is required. Lunns Database Marketing (DBM) Technology can increases the ease of data collection and provides new form of data analysis (Stone and Shaw, 1987). (Lunn, 1986)s thorough and ingenious DBM is a cut across functional boundaries system which can be a benchmarking tool to to information system designer. It helps in the linking of data collection to alternative marketing scenario which could lead to quality marketing strategies as depicted in fig 4. This system embraces organisational and cognitive process reliant on a solid IT foundation. 2.1 Accuracy of Marketing Research Most market research information does not have to totally accurate. For example, if a firm wants to know its market share, it will not matter whether the figure is 26 per cent or 27 per cent, but it will be important to discover whether it is 26 per cent or 50 per cent. Suppose a firm wants to know what portion of 10,000 person in a specific target group used their brand. They discover this information by asking everyone in the group. This is both expensive and time consuming Alternatively, they could take a proportion of the sample which should reflect the group. However, it is possible that the sample is not true reflection of the group and representative enough. The key to quality information is to have just enough information. Weicks theory come handy in this process. 2.3 Is there a need for more information? Elaborating on the above, it is easy to forget that market research is not usually needed for it own sake. In fact marketing research is not providing a direct recommendation about the correct decision to be taken. It usually provides indirect information about the environment, customers behaviour and attitude and so forth. In short, it will provide information which has to be combined with a mass of other already existed information before a final decision can be made. This indirectness can represent a potential problem. A question will arise is the present data not good enough? It is much more difficult to judge whether the information is really worth the cost and delayed involved, (Barron, and Targett, 1985). Although, the value of information can be calculated by comparing the profit available with and without the marketing research and its processed marketing information, for example, decision tree technique, it is unfortunately complicated and not reliable as the value will var y from situation to situation. One further problem is the calculations involve issues of probability and uncertainty which many people find difficult. An illustration of a survey on the likelihood of different sales level with three columns : sales, original probability estimate %, and revised probability estimate % as show in table 1 and could not find any change in it principle in making decision. For example for both estimates, the high portion of sales still fall in the region of  £40m  £50m. The revised probabilities make the decision process easier (is this quality enhancement ?), but they did not change the principle. Thus the important question is whether the revised odds would result in final decision. If not, the forecast is worthless. Hattons priority framework can provides a good guide to this consideration. 2.4 Data Analysis Accurate marketing research data needs not necessarily and automatically provides quality marketing information. Data have to be analysed. Most market researchers have learnt the art of data collection but there is certain room for improvement in the science of data analysis. (Drucker, 1992) also strongly advocates executives have become computer literate but data illiterate. As such, market reseachers should be urged to co-ordinate with the marketing manager and master the skill of interpreting data and re-look at the use of basic inferential procedures as an extra area to marketing decision making. It should use multivariate methods based on matching the technique to problem rather than the problem to the technique. The key issue here is not only to focus excessively on forecast accuracy but instead decision usefulness. For example building a consumer profile enables the firm to make quality and informed decisions. Thus, reducing the risk of making wrong decision on how to distribu te, promote and price its products. Lunns DBM model should be considered for overcoming some the above problems. Cost Issues Once data is collected and processed, the information must be distributed to the decision-makers. Its availability at the right time, right cost and its delivery in a user-friendly format will be critical to its usefulness and value. 3.0 Marketing Strategy and the Innovative use of Marketing Information (Bonoma, 1985) defines marketing strategy as the analysis of alternatives opportunities and risks to the firms, informed by environmental (e.g. competitive, social) and internal (e.g. production or people abilities) information, which leads management to choose a particular set of market, product, and customer goal. This administrative approaches carry the underlying assumptions that strategic marketing decisions are well understood and widely agreed upon within organisation (Skivimgton and Daft, 1991). At this junction we accept this unconditionally although many marketing experts discover inherent inadequacies of this nostrum, (Hamrick 1983, Mintzberg and McHugh 1985). This view holds that strategy drives structure, a strategic direction require the development of new market structure, effort and administrative mechanisms. Fig. 5 shows the corporate management spells out the mission and goals in which marketing strategy and plan are formulated after carefully evaluates the external and internal factors. Relatively, the quality of marketing strategy is definitely dependent of the marketing audit, in this case we can take as marketing research/marketing information sandwiched between the corporate mission and marketing strategy. Sharing the same view, (McDonald, 1995)s marketing planning process depicts below: According to him, marketing strategy is about the manipulation of 4 Ps Product, Price, Promotion and Place based on marketing theory (Structure, framework, models, etc.). These could include market research, market segmentation studies, response elasticities and the budgeting of resource allocation decision which may includes the distribution of people and money need to put marketing strategy into effect. (Lunn, 1986)s approach to database marketing (DBM) which allows market research data to be blended with the system database (derived from previous internal and external market research data) to enhance marketing information for predictive decision marketing by combining marketing managers intuitive skills. This would allows marketer to test the effect of difference marketing mixes on specific segments. In another words, positioning by creating an USP for target market defined by research. His marketing modelling is useful for the presentation of marketing research/marketing information defining the marketing strategy. One of the many such example is the success of General Motors innovative rebate programme which became an eye opener for company like Ford, Apple Computer, who follow similar program. Synthesising the concept of relationship marketing and the segmentation technique, General Motor groups customer by their purchasing level. Loyal, heavy and creditworthy users are being rewarded with free gifts, upgrades and allows accumulating rebates toward the purchase of new vehicles by tracking the researched database. The quality of this type of marketing information was confirmed with the result of 12 millions cards, (Berry, 1994) being issued in the United States. The strategic implicati on to this is the accuracy of GMs targeting which enables quality marketing strategy. Such are not possible without a quality marketing research, database system and the innovative use of interpreted information. 4.0 Power, politics and the dissemination of information There are many literatures elaborating power, politics and the dissemination of information which is centred to the quality of marketing strategy. However, what seems to be obscuring is its specific co-relation relative to marketing strategy. Let digress slightly to discuss these issues. Knowledge, derived from organised information, which in turn is interpreted from raw data, is power, (Francis Bacon, 1957). Building on this ground, (Emerson, 1962) espoused the beholder of knowledge is a powerful figure within the organisation. Further, (Piercy, 1985) argued and introduced the information-structure-power theory of marketing emphasising on the political aspect of information in the marketing environment. Such a view is compatible with (Bonoma, 1985)s claim that it is naÃÆ' ¯ve to belief that data, especially numerical data, are science-associated and therefore somehow purer than intuitions or qualitative statements. Adding he reiterated that there is nothing so politicised in management as the collection and use of quantitative information. Data or information in management, as in science is politicised, tortured, bent, and occasionally broken in the service of vested interests in the marketing organisation. For example, in my corporation, sales expense reports are put on hold by manager until call report are turned in at the end of every month. This is to use as a punitive mean to red-line salesmans moonlighting rather than use as a base for customer research or marketing intelligence gathering. There are also numerous cases, where divisional managers are under pressure to increase market share. These sales executives came up with a manipulated pricing plan of 30% increment in vo lume, supported by dressed marketing research information. What went conveniently unreported, however, was that the current fleet of equipment would be obsolete in a few month time; much earlier, because of the forced increased in capacity. One can imagine the future repercussion of having to fund the purchase of the new equipment which the top management is unaware of. In consistent with this, (Piercy, 1984) co-relates power and politics of marketing with marketing information seamlessly. He focuses on the implications for the management of marketing in organisations, where a political analysis suggests that the management of marketing should concentrate not only on techniques of marketing research or of rational, scientific decision making but also on structure and process, i.e on power and political systems, to influence and control outcomes. His works provide the empirical support that structures and decision making processes are frequently political in nature. Piercy builds on (Velasques and Cavanagh, 1983)s defense that politics in organisations are in someway bad in themselves, but in reality power goes to the politically able rather than others with more legitimate claims. This is due to organisational situation of high ambiguity relative to structure and process, as in the case of information gathering in strategic problem formulation, (L yles and Mitroff, 1984). For example, in the allocation of fund to even within the marketing department, top management may favours the lower level executives request for his endeavour due to him being a politically competent manager as against the request of the most effective superior with better marketing information supporting him. This is in reality possible as the strategic decision are often unstructured and broad in nature, (Hayes, 1984). With the awareness of the above, quality of marketing strategy is not narrow down to only quality information. What seems to define quality marketing strategy is the interconnectedness of power, politics which are structure and process related. 5.0 Quality Marketing Strategy and Corporate Strategy We have discussed marketing strategy with some reservations in section 3 on this paper. To further demonstrate the true meaning of quality marketing strategy we continue to elaborate more. (Levitt, 1960)s Marketing Myopia adds favour to it by arguing that customers buy solution to their needs, not products. A domestic example is our home grown Creativity Technology, a PC sound card maker is introducing new kit by solving customers upgrading problem by providing the next generation DVD solution, (Strait Times, 30th July 1997). Having all said and done about marketing strategy, then precisely what is quality marketing strategy? Robet Pirsigs Zen in his art of Motorcycle Maintenance provokes some unusual thinking. He do not use the term productivity in connection with marketing activities but prefers to use phrase like peace of mind and feeling good about the marketing actions undertaken. Pirsig would say that we move from being uncomfortably involved with what is going on to more comfort with events, people, and things by our acts. As we do this, we move toward Quality. In this view Quality is bred of caring, not just technical skill, and is the brother of involvement. Another school of thought came from (Gilbert,1978), who related quality with worthy performance, which he suggested, is associated with doing the most difficult thing best with the least effort. This, he said is measurable against the behaviour aspect which is difficult to qualify. (Bonoma, 1985) merges both concepts by using coping behaviour skill as a measure of output that meets Gilberts performance yardstick. Marketing effectiveness is then about managements coping quality and can be defined by referring to a comparison of achieved output with intended goals. We call this comparison satisfaction which is similar to Pirsig peace of mind and feel good about. Putting all these together, quality marketing strategy is about the triple interface of company, customer and trade. It is only achieved with satisfaction created with the least effort using coping skill to realise the intended goal. This leads us to (Skinner, 1969)s missing link which he suggests a kind of top-down approach, starting with the company and its competitive strategy, and its goal is to define tactical task (i.e marketing strategy) in support of the corporate strategy. In short, if marketing strategy defers from corporate strategy, it is not quality marketing strategy as it is not the intended goal of the corporation. We have discussed intensely that quality marketing strategy is not only about quality information as the latter is one of the many components that assist marketing decision-maker to be more effective. 6.0 Shortcomings of Marketing Research/Marketing Information On balance, not all marketing research/marketing information can help to define quality marketing strategy. These can be illustrated in the real-life examples that follows: In the early 1990s, American Express, decided to launch their resolving credit card, the Optima to compete with Visa and Master Card. In theory, the modelling of consumer profiles and credit histories from marketing research and datebase confirmed opportunities for new product line. It was a total failure with bad debts and American Express had to abandon this endeavour after 2 years. A postmortem analysis reveals (a case of reliable information yet inappropriate) although from same individuals, the various data was taken from the American Express card for corporate business travel expenses which are reclaimed or paid directly; whereas the Optima Card was used for personal expenses. Timely information is important in the defining of marketing strategy. (Stalk and Hout, 1990), in their espoused time to market strategy argues the reduction of time to gain significant competitive advantage. Collecting data requires time and too much of it may be resulted in redundancy and misinformation system, (Ackoff, 1967). This may also renders the firm to miss their market opportunity. A case in point is Levers introduction of Signal mouthwash. Signal was in the test markets for so long that it gave Scope a chance to emphasis the same benefit in a national advertising campaign and launch the new product successfully ahead of the originator. The starting point of the marketing research is to define the problem that researcher can help to solve. If the problem is defined wrongly, the result of the marketing research not only define sub-optimal marketing strategy but also lose the firms brand image which may takes years to recover or not at all. A classic example is that of Coca-Cola who focuses the wrong problem as the sweetness of Pepsi-Cola instead of the quantity. The ideal research should instead focus on the positioning of size rather than taste. This case illustrates how experienced marketer can overlook vital consumer behaviour and that the perception is stronger than reality Original Coke is the real thing. How can anything taste better than the real thing? In cases where requirement is to be entrepreneurial in nature, innovation, gut feeling and decisiveness (Drucker, 1986) may also has competitive advantage, without the need for marketing research. An example of the victory which does not belong to the side that does a better job of marketing research is American Motors. The company ignores customer needs develops the Jeep, a product borrowed from the military. No focus group is likely to have conjunct up that idea, nor is the identifying of customer need is going to have any co-relation with it, but it is a winner. 7.0 Conclusion A quality marketing research/marketing information involves the accuracy, relevancy, reliability, its time delaying elements and its cost attached with it. As traditional costing is about economic cost, a new look into the future (Farlan, 1984), involves the concern of forward looking marketing opportunity rather the present. This assignment has demonstrated other means of innovative concept such as strategic management cost encompassing the value chain analysis, cost driver analysis and competitive analysis as a better alternative evaluation of marketing research/marketing information investment. Concerns of quality marketing information is in the area of data analysis, data interpretation and decision usefulness to provide solution rather than the research and information per see. There are also two missing links from the input of marketing research to the output of quality marketing strategy. On one hand, the problem of information dissemination involving the power structure organisation. On the other, the alignment and co-ordination of corporate strategy and operations strategy (Skinner, 1969), in which marketing strategy and information system strategy becomes more blurry, (Earl, 1989, Ward, 1996). To a certain extent, technology can improve data analysis and assist the clumsiness of co-ordinating organisation, inter-organisation and external differences, but it is the innovative use of information (Keen, 1993) that put forward the marketing edge. Examples and solution to the opportunities and concerns are discussed and illustrated. In sum, strategically, in the context of marketing management, the quality of market research/marketing information related to marketing strategy narrowed to the outcome of new opportunities derived from fulfilling the perceived unfilled needs or problems of the customer. This should be done by offering creative product based on the researched information to provide benefit and solution to the end-user, the so-called marketing myopia by (Levitt, 1960) in their relationship with the market place and the relative worthiness involves the cost- and profit myopia, (Piercy, N., 1982) of the investment in their goal setting and strategic decision marking; to achieve what is required, they must also be wary of the missing links and political myopia; in implementing marketing strategies with regard to alignments and co-ordinations of the corporate strategy and the timely disseminating of information.

Effect of Sleep Quality on IQ Experiment

Effect of Sleep Quality on IQ Experiment Project Report Title: Do sleeping qualities affect IQ? Abstract As sleep is so important that we cannot live without, there must be some reasons. Research has proven that it is associated with many other aspects of our lives such as IQ and mood. It is a process to maintain the wellbeing of our internal functioning and an activity that we necessitate, not an option. The present research examined the effects of the quality of sleep people have on IQ. 100 individuals participated in the research and were asked to complete a sleep scale made by the researchers and an IQ test. The results signify that there was a significant positive correlation between one’s quality of sleep and how intelligent they are. There was also a surprise finding of a significant difference between genders, where the results for females was significant but not for males. Introduction Why do we sleep? Every single creature on earth needs to spend time sleeping every day as a natural part of our lives; we spend on average a third of our lives sleeping. Many people decide however to spend less than the recommended time to accomplish certain tasks, there are many theories as to the exact reason why humans spend time sleeping although none of them ultimately conclusive. Investigation carried out by the National Science Foundation (1999-2004) showed that nearly 12% out of the 320 million American population suffer from different sleeping disorders. Moreover, 69% of children have reported having sleeping difficulties once or twice a week. In many cases when these symptoms occur, they are often being ignored and untreated (F. Dinges et al. 2005). In light of this we can see the ways in which sleep has an effect in many people’s lives, as well as the effects it can have on our external and internal environment. It is essential that we have good understanding of the importance of sleep, as factors such as having a higher IQ score is reflective variables such as better mood states, having the recommended hours of sleep and having a good sleeping quality. Recent research by Blackwell et al. (2014) has found that older men have developed an cognitive decline as they have an appalling quality of sleep. However, they have found no association between sleep duration and decline of the cognitive system. Even though it has no link between sleep duration and cognitive functioning, humans still need a certain amount of sleep everyday in order to have a good sleep quality. The following are some factors that will affect sleeping quality or being affected by the lack of sleep. 1. Using phones Using phone or any other electronic appliances before sleep might associate with bad sleeping quality as it can causes cognitive stimulation.(Adams et al. 2013) Just before you sleep, your brain’s electrical activity should start to decrease and neurons begin to slow down. However with the use of an electronic device, the opposite effect takes place; the light from electronic appliances such as your phone can prevent your body from resting. The light will essentially pass through the retina into the hypothalamus, making your body become tense thus causing a production of the stress hormone cortisol. As a result the body’s â€Å"fight or flight† response would occur. Thus delaying the secretion of the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin, ultimately leading to a bad sleeping quality. 2.Mood Throughout the day many of us experience events or situations that can ultimately affect our mood. However if someone is experiencing a bad or low mood it can be found there is an association between this variable and sleeping quality. Some researchers have found relationships between the mood of an individual and the quality of sleep they receive. (Zawadzki et al. 2013) They found that people who have certain emotion disorders such as depression or anxiety are at a higher risk of developing certain disorder such as insomnia, which ultimately decreases one’s sleeping quality. Research by Meltzer, L. J., Mindell, J. A. (2007) has also proved that people with sleeping disorders are likely to have mood disorders and stress related illnesses too; it is found that having difficulty in and lack of sleeping are normally the first symptoms and a great risk factor when a mood disorder first develops. 3. Hours of sleep The amount of sleep one receives ultimately varies among different age groups. There was a study in 2005 by Ursin et al. that showed how the amount of sleep people received varied across populations. There were 3531 males and 5329 females, a total of 8860 participants, age ranged from 40 to 45. Participants were from Bergen and other four communities. They found that people with different work shifts, place of living education and marital status have variations in sleep duration. It was genuinely suggested that an adult should have at least 7 to 8 hours sleep a day. If taken from a biological perspective, it was also proposed that there were certain traits to indentify within genes that provide a predictor of on average how much sleep one is likely to engage in. With regards to previous research the goal of our study was to investigate whether sleep quality has an effect on IQ. This was a correlation study using 100 participants and our predictive hypothesis would be that the quality of sleep people receive does in fact have an association with IQ levels. Method Participants For this research, a sample of 100 participants (57 Females and43 Males) aged 18 or above were selected(M=23.56,SD=6.08) and obtained through opportunity sampling which included Psychology Undergraduates from University of Warwick as well as their families and friends. Their participation in the study was voluntary and they were not paid for their participation. Design This was a correlation study. This was a within subject design under self-report condition. The independent variable for this research would be the sleeping quality (mood, hours of sleep and use of electronic devices) of the participants which was being measured through a sleep scale. The dependent variable was the participants’ IQ , that they would scored on in IQ test given after completing their sleeping scale. Material A Sleeping Quality Scale which was developed by the researchers, driven by the formed hypothesis and literature reviewed. The scale consisted of 7 questions and an IQ test of 30 questions which was found on (www.iqtest.com). Please refer to Figure 1 for the sleeping quality scale used. The questions in the IQ test were generated through the following aspects: General knowledge, solving problems through mathematics, logic and analogy. The Brief Mood Introspection Scale by John D. Mayer was also used in the research, using these symbols ‘ XX,X,V,VV’ to indicate their mood state. Procedure Firstly, participants were informed of the procedure, were given a consent form and asked to sign and write their require contact details. They were then given a short semi-structured questionnaire (the sleeping quality scale) which stated â€Å"Please put a tick in the box which suits you the most† at the beginning of the page. The questionnaire consisted of seven questions about their sleeping quality such as the amount of sleep they have every night and the amount of time they took to fall asleep. They were also asked about their use of electronic devices, the number of electronic devices they own, hours spent on electronic devices as well as the hours spent each week using one at their place of employment. A Brief Mood Introspection Scale was given afterwards, there were two groups of adjectives about mood which were in positive and negative aspects, XX, X, V, and VV were used to indicate their mood. If they definitely did not feel that particular mood at that mo ment they would select â€Å"XX† and select â€Å"X† if they do not feel in that mood. Similarly, if they feel that particular mood slightly, they would select â€Å"V† and they would select ‘VV’ if they were definitely in that specific mood. After completing both of the scales, they were given an IQ test which contained 30 questions. In each question there was a statement, the participants had to indicate whether it was true or false. They were asked to complete the scales and the IQ test in silence and were given as much time as they needed to complete both. The participant’s identity was left as anonymous. The Sleeping quality Scale was marked out of 142 (M=110.75,SD=13.75) and the IQ test was marked out of 150 (M=91.08,SD=12.64). If a participant was to score (142) on the sleep quality questionnaire, the sleep scale would determine that they have high sleep quality and therefore a score of 0 would determine a low sleep quality as 142 is t he maximum score that can be obtained. Correspondingly, if a participant was to score (150) in the IQ test would determine they are highly intelligent. The higher they got in the IQ test, the higher their level of intelligence. After the study was completed, participants were debriefed of the aims of the study and thanked for their time. Results Please refer to Table 1 for all the means and standard deviations of the sleeping scale and the IQ test. Our hypothesis was that the score of the sleeping quality scale participants would positively correlate with their IQ test score and was successfully proved by our results. There was nothing major went wrong in the conduct of the study. When examining the effects of sleeping quality on IQ, researchers created a sleep questionnaire and an IQ test found online. The dependent variable was the score participants gained in the IQ test. In the IQ test, participants will be awarded 5 marks for each question that they have answered correctly. There were 30 questions, so the highest they could get was 150. We used the scores they got from the IQ test to determine how intelligent they were. The Sleep Scale consisted of 7 questions and was marked out of 142. The higher they scored on the Sleep Scale, the better sleep quality they have. Referring to results Table 1, participants’ mean IQ score was above national average (M=110.75, SD=13.75) and their scores from the sleeping scale was rel atively high (M=91.08,SD=12.65). However, when looking at the genders separately from Table 3 Table 4, females (M=109.91, SD=13.61) was slightly less intelligent than males (M=111.86, SD=14.02) based on their performance on this IQ test; males also show slightly better quality of sleep (M=92.42,SD=11.67) than females (M=90.07,SD=13.35). Pearson Correlation test had surprisingly shown that females had a significant result r(57)=.306,p.05. This corresponded to sleep quality does have an effect on females’ IQ score while for male, the two factors do not associate with each other. Overall, it was found that sleep quality was positively correlated with IQ score gained, r(100)=.269, p Descriptive Statistics Table 1 Means and standard deviations of measures taken. Table 2 Zero-order correlations among measures taken. Note – N = 100. Correlations are controlling for other variable. Figure 1. The correlation between the scores participants gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Figure 2. The correlation between the scores females gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Table 3. Means and standard deviations of measures taken (female). Table 5. Zero-order correlation among measures taken (female). Figure 3. The correlation between the scores males gets in the sleeping scale and their IQ. Table 4. Means and standard deviations of measures taken (male). Table 6. Zero-order correlation among measures taken (male). Discussion Our hypothesis was that sleeping quality does have an association with IQ test performance. The predicted hypothesis was supported by the results obtained. However there is divergence exists in the gender. It has always been suggested that there is a link between sleep quality and cognitive functioning and IQ. Not only does the outside elements that might affect our quality of sleep but also the inside elements that we cannot ignore. The time participants took the test also has an impact on the score they gained, besides, it has been purposed that IQ does change over life span. Barter, E. A. (1997). Recent research from Gruber et al. (2013) has found out that sleep quality does have an effect on children’s IQ measures, however the underlying mechanism stay unidentified. They found that when the frequency of the sleep spindle was lower, it was associated with better performance on WISC-IV scales (a working memory scale) So, when considering the environment that affects our sleep quality, we should also consider the biological aspects (e.g. the sleep spindle). Gruber et al. (2013) conducted a research to investigate whether sleep quality does have an effect on children’s IQ performances. They hypothesised that sleep spindles frequencies, amplitude and duration would be associate with the performance on perceptual reasoning, verbal comprehension and working memory. However, after completing the study, they found that although there was an association between sleep spindle frequency and better performance on the perceptual reason and working memory but not with the per formance of the IQ test. Also, as sleep is such an essential part of our lives, government and companies should purpose more policies that encourage and ensure their citizens to have more sleep. Research from Kyle Stanyar (2012) has proved that high workload, lengthy shift work and work weeks has an association with poor sleep quality. Therefore, government should not just place emphasize on school children but also working adults. The research stresses the importance of the quality of sleep to IQ. Significance difference were indicated in the results, the quality of sleep does affect IQ in Females. This might be because of the biological difference in genders that researchers might consider when replicating this research. Reference Adams et al. adolescent Sleep and cellular Phone Use: recent trends and implications for research. Health Services Insights 2013:6 99–103 American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2014, March 31). Poor sleep quality linked to cognitive decline in older men. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 5, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140331170557.htm Barter, E. A. (1997). Stability and change in IQ scores: An eleven-year study in children ages 6-17. (Order No. 1384630, California State University, Fullerton). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 77-77 p. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/docview/304428718?accountid=14888. (304428718). Dewald, J. F., Meijer, A. M., Oort, F. J., Kerkhof, G. A., Bà ¶gels, S. M. (2010). The influence of sleep quality, sleep duration and sleepiness on school performance in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 14, 179-189. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2009.10.004 Epstein, L. J. (2008) Sleep and mood. Retrieved on 4/5/14 from http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/need-sleep/whats-in-it-for-you/mood. Gruber, R., Wise, M. S., Frenette, S., Knà ¤auper, B., Boom, A., Fontil, L., Carrier, J. (2013). The association between sleep spindles and IQ in healthy school-age children. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 89, 229-240. Gruber, R., Laviolette, R., Deluca, P., Monson, E., Cornish, K., Carrier, J. (2010). Short sleep duration is associated with poor performance on IQ measures in healthy school-age children. Sleep Medicine, 11, 289-294. Hatfield,H. (2008). Power down for better sleep. Retrieved on 4/5/14 from http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/power-down-better-sleep. Kong, F., Li, Q., Liu, S. (2011). Poor sleep quality predicts decreased cognitive function independently of chronic mountain sickness score in young soldiers with polycythemia stationed in tibet. High Altitude Medicine Biology, 12, 237-242. Meltzer, L. J., Mindell, J. A. (2007). Relationship between child sleep disturbances and maternal sleep, mood, and parenting stress: A pilot study. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 67-73. Ursin R; Bjorvatn B; Holsten F et al. Sleep duration, subjective sleep need, and sleep habits of 40- to 45-year-olds in the Hordaland health study. SLEEP 2005;28: 1260-1269. Zawadzki, M. J., Graham, J. E., Gerin, W. (2013). Rumination and anxiety mediate the effect of loneliness on depressed mood and sleep quality in college students. Health Psychology, 32, 212-222.

The Changing Mattress Business Essay -- Economy, Economic Downturn

Changes in the global environment, in conjunction with the deepest and most prolonged economic downturn since the Great Depression, have started a sea change in the domestic mattress industry. The end of conspicuous consumption for big-ticket items such as mattresses and foundations, is the result of declining new home sales, tightening of consumer credit, the consumer confidence index still well below pre-recessionary levels (Wang, 2010), and unemployment hovering near 10%. In order to remain viable in rapidly changing global and task environments, mattress manufacturers will need to lower material and manufacturing costs, develop products that differentiate them from their competitors, or develop new channels of distribution for their products. Domestic production of mattresses and foundations in 2010 was slightly below 6 billion dollars and almost 16% less than the peak mattress production of 2007 (International Sleep Products Association, 2010). Many consumers have lost confidence in the economic state of the country and therefore have begun to believe that, as Newt Gingrich said recently, "if you can’t afford to buy a house, don’t buy it" (Gingrich, 2010). The economic downturn has signaled the end of conspicuous consumption, defined as â€Å"the act or practice of spending money on expensive things that are not necessary in order to impress other people† (Merrian-Webster's Leaner's Dictionary, 2010). Identify functional and dysfunctional control systems within your own organization I am currently a Senior Vice-President of Sales for King Koil Licensing (â€Å"King Koil†). The company licenses mattress-manufacturing facilities, called licensees, both domestically and internationally, to produce the brands that King Koil owns. The l... ...ving the wherewithal to maintain our lifestyle will be difficult to achieve if this strategy fails. From a professional standpoint, I have had a certain level of success as a retail executive for the past 37 years, and have built a reputation that I do not want sullied through an association with a company that fails. The mattress industry in America has contracted as consumers have suffered through these difficult economic times and will continue to face more changes in the global environment and changes in the task environment. The enterprises that remain stuck in the middle, stick to the â€Å"old ways†, react to these changes too late will likely go the way of Two Guys, Kobackers, Woolworth’s, Montgomery Ward, Circuit City, Studebaker, and too many other businesses that failed to move their organizations through the economic mine fields that confronted them.

Women, Beauty and Self-Esteem Essay -- Body Image & Self Esteem

Ambrose Bierce (1958) once wrote, â€Å"To men a man is but a mind. Who cares what face he carries or what he wears? But woman’s body is the woman.† Despite the societal changes achieved since Bierce’s time, his statement remains true. Since the height of the feminist movement in the early 1970s, women have spent more money than ever before on products and treatments designed to make them beautiful. Cosmetic sales have increased annually to reach $18 billion in 1987 (â€Å"Ignoring the economy. . . ,† 1989), sales of women’s clothing averaged $103 billion per month in 1990 (personal communication, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 1992), dieting has become a $30-billion-per-year industry (Stoffel, 1989), and women spent $1.2 billion on cosmetic surgery in 1990 (personal communication, American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, 1992). The importance of beauty has apparently increased even as women are reaching for personal freedoms and economic rights undreamed of by our grandmothers. The emphasis on beauty may be a way to hold onto a feminine image while shedding feminine roles. Attractiveness is prerequisite for femininity but not for masculinity (Freedman, 1986). The word beauty always refers to the female body. Attractive male bodies are described as â€Å"handsome,† a word derived from â€Å"hand† that refers as much to action as appearance (Freedman, 1986). Qualities of achieve ­ment and strength accompany the term handsome, such attributes are rarely employed in the description of attractive women and certainly do not accom ­pany the term beauty, which refers only to a decorative quality. Men are instru ­mental, women are ornamental. Beauty is a most elusive commodity. Ideas of what is beautiful vary across cultures and change ... .... Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10, 129-38. Stoffel, Jennifer. (1989, November 26). What’s new in weight control: A market mushrooms as motivations change. New York Times, p. C17. Thompson, J. Kevin. (1986, April). Larger than life. Psychology Today, pp. 41-44. Walker, Alice. (1990). Beauty: When the other dancer is the self. In Evelyn C. White (Ed.), The black women’s health book: Speaking for ourselves (pp. 280-87). Seattle: Seal Press. Walster, Elaine, Aronson, Vera, Abrahams, Darcy, & Rottman, Leon. (1966). Importance of physical attractiveness in dating behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 508-16. Wernick, Mark, & Manaster, Guy J. (1984). Age and the perception of age and attractiveness. Gerontologist, 24, 408-14. Williams, Juanita H. (1985). Psychology of women: Behavior in a biosocial context. New York: Norton.

Machiavelli’s View of Human Nature Essay example -- Machiavelli The Pr

Niccolo Machiavelli was a political philosopher from Florence Italy. He lived during the Italian Renaissance from May 1469 to 1527. This period in time that Machiavelli lived was the "rebirth" of art in Italy and rediscovery of ancient philosophy, literature and science. Machiavelli’s philosophy about the nature of man is that man possesses both good and bad qualities, but will lean towards his own self-interests when all things are equal: thus man is a fickle creature. Machiavelli’s view of human nature influences his view of government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Machiavelli writes, â€Å"that man has qualities that will bring him either praise or blame† and because a prince is a man; therefore, he will also exhibit these qualities. A prince should put his good qualities on public display and be clever enough to hide his immoral failings from his subjects; but, if these vices are necessary to maintain his state, he should embrace them; because this appearance of a strong state by his subjects gives them a false sense of security.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He states in paragraph fourteen that â€Å"since they (men) are a sad lot, and keep no faith with you, you in turn are under no obligation to keep it with them†. Machiavelli believes that men will lie, cheat, or steal if it has some benefit to them, and while a prince shows the...

Life’s Unexpected Roller Coaster: A Study of Scoliosis Essay

Many people may wonder exactly what scoliosis is. Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that is greater than ten degrees. Mild scoliosis ranges from ten to twenty degrees. Intermediate scoliosis ranges from twenty to seventy degrees, and severe scoliosis is any curve greater than seventy degrees. Though cases of scoliosis are found equally among both male and females, females scoliosis tends to be more severe (Board). Scoliosis can be present at birth, congenital. There are a few different types of scoliosis; functional, structural, and idiopathic structural. In functional scoliosis the problem does not originate the spine. The curvature in functional scoliosis is flexible, and the curve is normally caused by uneven legs or muscle spasms caused by pain (Board). Functional scoliosis will go away when the underlying problem is corrected. For example in the case of uneven legs orthopedic shoes can be worn. In structural scoliosis the curvature is not flexible it is a fixed curvature in the spine. There could be an underlying problem with the brain or spinal cord. In structural scoliosis there could also be an underlying problem with nerves or muscles (Board). Most scoliosis patients have idiopathic structural scoliosis. Eighty percent of all scoliosis cases are idiopathic structural scoliosis. The cause of idiopathic structural scoliosis is unknown, but symptoms are present. Scoliosis can have several symptoms. It can cause uneven body parts such has the shoulders or waist. Scoliosis victims may lean to the side or become fatigued. Back pain and difficulty breathing are also some of the symptoms but normally are only seen in severe scoliosis cases (Board). Though there are some known causes, most causes for scoliosis are unknown. Congenital scoliosis is considered to be a birth defect. It may occur with other problems such as heart and kidney abnormalities. Spinal cord and brainstem abnormalities are also a possibility (Board). The way scoliosis is diagnosed is called the Cobb Method. The Cobb Method requires the most tilted vertebrae to be identified. A line is then drawn along the ends of these vertebrae to measure the curve. The patient is then asked to bend forward to check for bumps which may be a sign of scoliosis. Finally, an x-ray helps determine the type of scoliosis the patient has (Board). Scoliosis can come with some health risks. In severe scoliosis, the curvature is so great that it could cause the ribs to press against the heart or lungs. This in turn can cause breathing problems. If the curve is greater than one hundred degrees it could cause physical damage to the heart or lungs. Scoliosis can also cause chronic back pain or arthritis of the spine in adults (Board). There are several ways scoliosis can be treated. If the patient is a child that is still growing with a curve of twenty to thirty degrees a back brace can be used. There are two different types of back braces. The underarm or low profile brace is close fitting which makes it almost invisible under clothes. This brace fits under the arms, and around the ribcage, lower back and hips. The underarm brace is a custom made brace fit specially to the patient (Board). The Milwaukee brace is a full torso brace used for upper spine curves. It has a neck ring with rests for the chin and for the back of the head (Board). For curves greater than forty degrees, surgery may be needed. There are a few different types of scoliosis surgery. Spinal fusion is the most common type of scoliosis surgeries. This surgery works by releasing some ligaments and joints around the spinal cord and attaching a rod. A posterior or anterior approach is used to reach the spine. Hook or screws are inserted into the vertebrae to hold the rod in place, and the joints between vertebrae are removed. The rod is pulled tight and a bone graft is placed (Board). Another type of spinal fusion uses thoracoscopy. The procedure is viewed on a monitor while tiny tools are inserted through small incisions. These tools are used to help attach the metal rod to the spine. This method is usually used for curvatures in the chest region that are moderately large (Board). The growing spine system is used for young children who are still growing but are not helped by a back brace. The metal rod that is used to support the spine is adjustable. The procedure is similar to spinal fusion but the joints are not removed and the spine will not fuse. With this system surgery is needed about ever six months to change the length of the rod as the patient grows (Board). Clinical Trials â€Å"A Multicenter Prospective Study of Quality of Life in Adult Scoliosis,† is a trail that tests the effectiveness of non-operative and operative treatments of scoliosis. The trial is currently not open for recruitment. The primary goal of this trail is to compare the outcomes of surgery and non-operative treatments of scoliosis. The study will be done on patients aged forty to eighty with ASLS defined as a lumbar curve with a coronal Cobb measurement that is thirys degrees or greater. The secondary goal of this trial is to evaluate the impart of patient factors and co-morbidities (Multicenter). In order to be eligible for this study the patient must be between the ages of 40-80 years, have a double major or thoracolumbar/lumbar scoliosis measure thirty degrees or greater, and a SRS score of 4.0 or less in pain, activity and or appearance. The estimated enrollment is three hundred patients. This trial will be conducted by Washington University School of Medicine. It is sche duled to start in July 2009 and estimated to end in December 2015 (Multicenter). â€Å"Phase IV Comparing Rods of Yield Strengths to Correct Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis,† is a trail that tests titanium rods vs. ultra strength stainless steel rods for better correction of scoliosis. This trial is currently recruiting. The goal of this trial is to figure out whether titanium rods or ultra strength stainless steal rods are better for the correction of scoliosis. Surgeons have noticed that the screw construction has been increasing while the strength of the rod has not. The rod is now the weak part of the construction. This brings the need for newer, stronger rods (Phase). Patients must 10-20 years of age, have progressive lenke type 1A, N or idiopathic adolescent scoliosis measuring greater than forty-five degrees. The estimated enrollment for this trial is one hundred patients. This trial will be conducted by Queen’s University in Canada. The trial started September 2008 and is estimated to be complete by September 2011 (Phase). â€Å"Surgical Outcomes Using Variable Rod Diameters in the Treatment of Idiopathic Scoliosis,† is a trail to test the difference in a rod with a diameter of 5.5mm vs. one with a diameter of 6.35mm. This trial is currently r ecruiting. The primary goal of this trail is to discover which diameter of rod is more successful in correcting scoliosis in children. Surgeons use the specific rods based on their preference. There is no proof as to which diameter of rod works better. It is a question that needs to be put to the test (Surgical). Patients must be 11-18 years of age, have scoliosis, and be anticipating a spinal fusion surgery. The estimated enrollment is three hundred patients. This trail is being conducted by Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa. The starting date was May 2007 and it is estimated to end in May 2010 (Surgical). The purpose of â€Å"The Idiopathic Scoliosis and Its Treatment (Orthopedic and Surgery): Effect of the Severity, Orthosis and the Arthrodesis on the Gait (scoliosis),† trial is to test the effects of the treatment of scoliosis. This trial is currently recruiting. The primary goal is to compare locomotion parameters in treated scoliosis patients. The secondary goal is to evaluat e the effects of the frontal curve’s severity of the AIS (Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis). Another goal that is hoped to be achieved is comparing the effects of treatment on the gait parameters (Idiopathic). Patients must be 12-18 years of age and female to participate. Both healthy and patients diagnosed with scoliosis by x-ray are needed. The estimated enrollment for this trial is fifty patients. It will be conducted by Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc-Universite Catholique de Louvain in France. The start date for this trial was January 2009 and it is expected to be over by September 2009 (Idiopathic). â€Å"Influence of Leg Length Discrepancy on the Spinal Shape and Biomechanics in Functional and Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients,† is a trial that was created for motion analysis of scoliosis patients. The trial is not yet open for recruitment. The primary goal is to investigate the effects of correction of Leg Length Discrepancy (LLD). LLD is defined as a condition in which paired limbs are unequal in length (Influence) LLD may lead to lumbar scoliosis. It is thought that if LLD is taken care of it can cure the scoliosis. To be eligible for this trial the patient must have functional lumbar scoliosis combined with LLD or idiopathic lumbar scoliosis without LLD. The estimated enrollment for this trial is thirty patients. The trial will be conducted by National Taiwan University Hospital. There are no available dates for this trial (Influence). The trial â€Å"Comparing Two Instrumentation Systems for the Treatment of Adolescent Scoliosis† was created to test the Moss Miami Spine Instrumentation System and the Universal Spine Instrumentation System. This trial has been completed. The primary goal was to compare the quality of life, functional outcome, cosmetic result, and the correction of spinal deformity of the two instrumentation systems (Comparing). Patients had to be 8-18 years of age, have idiopathic scoliosis requiring posterior instrumentation and fusion, scoliosis and a finding of conus less then L1-2 disc level, scoli osis and a finding of a small syrinx (non-progressivie and does not require neurosurgical treatment), and non-progressive spondylolysis. This trial had an estimated enrollment of one hundred and twenty-six patients. It was conducted by The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada. The study was received January 4, 2006 (Comparing) The Moss Miami system and the Universal Spine systems provided similar quality of life and curve correction (Comparing). â€Å"Continuous Local Infusion of Anesthetic at the Incisional Site for Scoliosis Surgery,† is a trial for testing the drugs Bupivacaine and normal Saline. This trial is currently recruiting. The primary goal is to evaluate effects of continuous local anesthetic delivery on the immediate post-operation recover of patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery (Continuous). The eligibility for this trial is 8-18 years of age, clinical diagnosis of congenital scoliosis, clinical diagnosis of idiopathic scoliosis, and anticipated spinal fusion surgery. The estimated enrollment is sixty patients. The trial is being conducted by Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa. The trial started May 2007 and is estimated to end January 2010 (Continuous). The trial â€Å"Analgesic Effects of Gabapentin After Scoliosis Surgery in Children† was created to test the drugs Gabapentin and Placebo. This trial is currently recruiting patients. The primary goal is to determine whether the use of Gabapentin will improve postoperative analgesia and reduce opioid consumption and side effects in children undergoing corrective spinal surgery for idiopathic scoliosis (Analgesic). The secondary goal is to evaluate whether use of Gabapentin reduces pain scores, decreases postoperative nausea and vomiting, decreases persisting pain and improves patient satisfaction (Analgesic). Scoliosis surgery can cause sever pain after the surgery is over so a way to control this pain is needed. Patients must be 10-17 years of age, scheduled for elective surgical correction of scoliosis, and able to operate a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump. The estimated enrollment is thiry -six patients. This trial is being conducted by The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada. The start date for this trial was May 2008 (Analgesic). â€Å"Effect of Early Morphine Administration on the Development of Acute Opioid Tolerance During Pediatric Scoliosis Surgery† is a completed trial that tested the drugs Morphine and Saline. The primary goal was to examine if morphine administered by bolus before initiating Remifentanil by infusion decreases the incidence of acute postoperative opioid tolerance (Effect). To be eligible for this trial the patient had to be 11-18 years of age, unpremedicated, ASA physical status 1 or 2, and be scheduled for posterior instrumentation for correction of idiopathic scoliosis. This trial had an enrollment of thirty-seven patients. The groups were demographically similar. No differences were observed between groups in the initial 24-hr morphine consumption, NRS pain scores, sedation, nausea, or vomiting (Effect). â€Å"VEPTR Implantation to Treat Children With Early Onset Scoliosis Without Rib Abnormalities† is a recruiting trial that tests unilateral or bilateral VEPTR devices. The primary goal of this trial is to evaluate the use of unilateral or bilateral VEPTR devises for preventing further progression of the angle, allowing for spinal growth and improving pulmonary function in the treatment of children with scoliosis (VEPTR). To be eligible for this trial, patients must be 18 months-10 years of age, have progressive scoliosis, and have a curve beyond 45 degrees. The estimated enrollment is two hundred and fifty patients. This study is being conducted by Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa. The start date was January 2008 and it is estimated to be over by January 2016 (VEPTR). â€Å"Effectiveness of Bracing in Preventing Scoliosis in Children With Spinal Cord Injury† is an active trial that tests Thoraco-Lumbar-Sacral-Orthosis (TLSO)/Flex-Foam. The primary goal is to determine whether full-time high dose prophylactic bracing is more effective then low dose bracing (12 hours/day) in preventing or delaying spinal curve progression (Effectiveness) Patients must be 5-16 years of age, have C5 to L2 SCI, ASIA impairment levels A, B, or C, single structure curve smaller than forty degrees or double curve smaller than forty degrees where the largest curve is less than twenty-five degree bending film, risk for paralystic scoliosis, and the ability to follow simple instructions. The estimated enrollment is eighty-eight patients. This trial is being conducted by Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa. The trial started June 2005 and is estimated to be over by December 2010 (Effectiveness). â€Å"Shilla Growth Permitting Spinal Instrumentation System for Treatment of Scoliosis in the Immature Spine† is a active trial that tests the Shilla growth permitting spinal procedure. The Shilla growth permitting spinal procedure is very similar to the growing spine system but requires fewer surgeries. The primary goal is to retrospectively review patients who have undergone this technique looking at age of the patient, magnitude of the curve preoperatively, postoperatively and over time, diagnosis, pulmonary function, surgical procedures, complications, and spinal growth (Shilla). To be eligible for this study the patient must be 1-10 years of age, have sever, progressive scoliosis unresponsive to bracing, or have severe, progressive scoliosis but cannot tolerate bracing. The estimated enrollment for this trial was fifty patients. It is becing conducted by Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute. The start date for this trial was April 2005 and it is expecte d to be complete by April 2015 (Shilla). â€Å"Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Compared to Autologous Pre-Donation Prior to Scoliosis Surgery in Children† is a completed trial that tested recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo). This procedure was created to decrease the need for blood transfusions during surgery. The primary goal of this trial is to establish whether rHuEpo is as effective as PAD in increasing red bell mass prior to surgery (Recombinant). Patients had to be 12-18 years of age and require scoliosis repair to be eligible. The estimated enrollment for this trial was twenty patients. The trial was conducted by the University of British Columbia. The start date was October 2004 and the trial ended December 2007 (Recombinant). The use of rHuEPO preoperatively and the use of PAD are not cost-effective although both techniques remain clinically effective tools (VEPTR). â€Å"Effects of Lateral Trunk Support in Spinal Alignment in Spinal Cord Injured Persons† is a completed trial that tested lateral trunk support of wheelchair seating. Different types of seating is used to help with patients posture but it was unknown if it helped with the scoliosis curve. The primary goal is to examine the effects of lateral trunk supports in special seating on the spinal alignment of spinal cord injured subjects with scoliosis (Effects of). Patients had to be 18-60 years of age, have C4-T12 SCI, sit on the wheelchair more then four hours a day, have thoracic lumbar scoliosis, and flexible scoliosis. The estimated enrollment for this trial was twenty patients. The trial was conducted by the National Taiwan University Hospital. The trial started September 2002 and ended November 2004 (Effects of). The radiographic findings demonstrate improved scoliotic spinal alignment in the frontal plane and reduced lumbar angles in the sagittal plane in persons with SCI when seated in a special seat and using LTS (Effects of). â€Å"The Use of Intraoperative Intrathecal Morphine Versus Epidural Extended Release Morphine for Postoperative Pain Control in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion (IT Morphine)† is a recruiting trial that tests the drug DepoDur. The primary goal of this trial is to learn more about preventing pain in children who are having posterior spinal fusion surgery (Use). Patients must be 8-17 years of age and need a fusion of a minimum of five and maximum of thirteen levels, including at least L1 or lower. The estimated enrollment is eighty patients. The trial will be conducted by The Children’s Hospital in Denver. It started December 2008 and is estimated to end December 2010 (Use). Foundations and Grants The Scoliosis Care Foundation was founded by Gary Deutchman in 2001. The foundation helps with improving education, treatment and diagnosis of scoliosis. Gary Deautchman disliked the watch and wait approach to diagnosing scoliosis. He thought this approach was harming the future well-being of children. The Scoliosis Care Foundation has a program called the Scoliosis Awareness Program which is designed to catch early scoliosis so it does not progress (Scoliosis). The National Scoliosis Foundation is a patient-led nonprofit organization dedicated since 1976 to helping children, parents, adults, and health-care providers to understand the complexities of spinal deformities such as scoliosis (24). The National Scoliosis Foundation helps with all aspects of support. The main focus is promoting the awareness of scoliosis and providing information (National). The Small Exploratory Grant is designed for new investigators who have a preliminary concept they would like to develop into a research project (Research). The maximum grant rewarded for this category is $10,000. The maximum duration of research is one year (Research). The New Investigator Grant is designed for new investigators. Candidates who have received the Small Exploratory grant are eligible as long as they have not received any other previous funding from national granting organizations. The maximum award is $25,000, and the duration of the research can last up to two years (Research). The Standard Investigator Grant is awarded a maximum of $50,000 a year. The duration can last up to two years with the maximum total being $100,000. These grants are for any type of spinal deformity but there is additional money if it is going towards scoliosis (Research). The Continuation or Extension Grant is for on-going projects, which have previously been funded by the Scoliosis Research Society. In order to receive these grants a report of the progress is required (Research). Scoliosis is a fairly common disorder and it effects it’s victims in different ways. Scoliosis can do more then just cause the victim deformities. It can cause pain, breathing problems, and a number of other things. It could even get so bad that it could paralyze it’s victims. Scoliosis is nothing that should be left alone. Though in most cases the cause of scoliosis is unknown, it does not mean that it is not treatable. There are already several ways to treat scoliosis and more research is being done to develop more ways to treat this unexpected life roller coaster known as scoliosis. Works Cited 1. â€Å"Analgesic Effects of Gabapentin After Scoliosis Surgery in Children.† Clinical Trials. The Hospital for Sick Children, 22 May 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 2. Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. â€Å"Scoliosis.† Scoliosis. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Nov. 0000. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 3. â€Å"Comparing Two Instrumentation Systems for the Treatment of Adolescent Scoliosis.† Clinical Trials. The Hospital for Sick Children, 4 Jan. 2006. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 4. â€Å"Continuous Local Infusion of Anesthetic at the Incisional Site for Scoliosis Surgery.† Clinical Trials. Shriners Hospitals for Children, 25 July 2007. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 5. â€Å"Effect of Early Morphine Administration on the Development of Acute Opioid Tolerance During Pediatric Scoliosis Surgery.† Clinical Trials. The Hospital for Sick Children, 18 Aug. 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 6. â€Å"Effectiveness of Bracing in Preventing Scoliosis in Children With Spinal Cord Injury.† Clinical Trials. Shriners Hospitals for Children, 16 Nov. 2005. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 7. â€Å"Effects of Lateral Trunk Support on Spinal Alignment in Spinal Cord Injured Persons.† Clinical Trials. National Taiwan University Hospital, 9 Sept. 2005. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 8. â€Å"The Idiopathic Scoliosis and Its Treatment (Orthopaedic and Surgery): Effect of the Severity, the Orthosis and the Arthrodesis on the Gait (scoliosis).† Clinical Trials. Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc- Università © Catholique De Louvain, 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 9. â€Å"Influence of Leg Length Discrepancy on the Spinal Shape and B iomechanics in Functional and Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients.† Clinical Trials. National Taiwan University Hospital, 9 Sept. 05. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 10. â€Å"A Multicenter Prospective Study of Quality of Life in Adult Scoliosis (ASLS).† A Multicenter Prospective Study of Quality of Life in Adult Scoliosis. Washington University School of Medicine, 2 Mar. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 11. â€Å"National Scoliosis Foundation.† National Scoliosis Foundation. NSF, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 12. â€Å"Phase IV Comparing Rods of Yield Strengths to Correct Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.† Clinical Trials. Queen’s University, 7 Oct. 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 13. â€Å"Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Compared to Autologous Pre-Donation Prior to Scoliosis Surgery in Children.† Clinical Trials. University of British Columbia, 8 May 2006. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 14. â€Å"Research Areas.† National Science Foundation. National Science Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 15. â€Å"The Scoliosis Awareness Project.† Scoliosis Care Foundation. Scoliosis Care Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 16. â€Å"Shilla Growth Permitting Spinal Instrumentation System for Treatment of Scoliosis in the Immature Spine.† Clinical Trials. Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute, 18 Dec. 2007. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 17. â€Å"Surgical Outcomes Using Variable Rod Diameters in the Treatment of Idiopathic Scoliosis.† Clinical Trials. Shriners Hospitals for Children, 31 July 2007. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 18. â€Å"The Use of Intraoperative Intrathecal Morphine Versus Epidural Extended Release Morphine for Postoperative Pain Control in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion (IT Morphine).† Clinical Trials. Children’s Hospital Colorado, 10 Apr. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. . 19. â€Å"VEPTR Implantation to Treat Children With Early Onset Scoliosis Without Rib Abnormalities.† Clinical Trials. Shriners Hospitals for Children, 29 May 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. .