Organizational Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Organizational Communication - Essay Example Logically, communication plays a key role in conflict management. This is because the conflicting parties are required to talk about the basis of their conflict. Besides these, people can socialize and work towards the goal of the organization. Additionally, communication promotes innovation. Arguably, communication mainly promotes productivity, regulation and coordination of the organization (Baker, 2002 p10). This is because the organization is able to put across its goals and expectations of its employees. In summary, communication plays key roles in organization as it eventually leads to productivity. Andrew did not begin his winery mainly as a wide business idea, but as a family business. However, the turning point came when he made a report and was asked to head the winery. This organization depicts growth and development of an organization. This is evident when Andrew makes a presentation to the potential market and was placed the president. This shows professionalism and expertise. Additionally, he took time to learn about agriculture. The changes affect the organization. This is because Alice says that the organization grows at a faster rate. Therefore, Andrews Winery was growing from a small scale to a large-scale organization. However, the winery’s growth seems to affect the employees. This is because the organization does not maintain its original way of handling the investors. This, therefore, has a negative affect on the organization’s business and prosperity. Therefore, it would have been better if the growth was gradual. Additionally, they cannot talk to Bill, which indicates that this organization lacks adequate communication

Their negative influence on childrens Essay Example for Free

Their negative influence on childrens Essay As a video game and computer game lover, the thought that negative effects ever being present in these enjoyable past time devices never crossed my mind. Over this past summer I was able to spend countless hours improving my skills on different games. I of course made multiple visits to video game stores such as Game Stop and Game Crazy. As I entered one these stores to purchase a new game, I noticed two boys, probably about eight or nine years of age, were playing one of the latest war games on a new video game console known as the Xbox 360. As I walked over to the shelves to search for the game that I had gone there to buy I heard a loud, Thats right bitch, I got your ass! I slowly turned to notice that it was one of the boys who were playing the Xbox that had just said this. What I had just heard is not something uncommon to hear boys say while playing certain games, but it made me think: what compels such young boys to act and say things this way? My purpose in this paper is to persuade parents of young boys that the video game culture might be harmful to their psychological development. First of all, video games today are being made so that the involvement of the player is constantly being improved. The idea is that when you play the character on the screen they want you feel as if you really are the character. Game producers are always trying to one up each other by making new ways to make games feel realistic. Whats unfortunate about this is that the majority of these games are extremely violent, gory, and sexually graphic. For example, consider the gaming company Rockstar. They are known for creating extremely controversial games. They are the creators of two popular games known as Grand Theft Auto and Bully. In Grand Theft Auto you play as a gang member in a suburban city who has the freedom to commit almost any kind of crime and is able to get away with it by killing those who get in your way. In the game Bully you play a young boy attending a private high school who bullies not only other students but teachers as well. These kinds of games all revolve around one notion, and that is using physical force to get what you want. This is what Cassell and Jenkins (1998) call playing like a male. In their book, From Barbie to Mortal Combat (1998), it explains how nine out of ten games present a male as the main character. Not only do these games have a male as the leading character, but the male is also grotesquely illustrated as a hyper masculine violent being. These males show no regret, grief, or sorrow toward their actions and basically take the life other characters in the game without expressing any emotion. Game producers come up with particular strategies to keep the gamer involved. Their most effective strategy is the way that they reward the gamer. The more people you kill the more points you get. At the end of every level they show a tally of how many kills you achieved and keep track of your points. As the game progresses these points allow you unlock more things in the game. For example, more weapons are provided for the character. At the beginning of the game the character is given low level weapons, such as a pistol or knife, but as the game continues the character gains larger and higher tech weapons, such a flame thrower or grenade launcher. And attaining these weapons lets the character kill more opponents quicker and allows the gamer to see more violently graphic material, such as severed limbs or exploding heads. According to Norris (2004), this aggression demonstrates extreme male behavior that contributes to gender stereotyping. Not only do we see extreme male stereotypes in video games, we also see extreme female stereotyping. In a game where the male is the main character females usually portrayed as helpless and needy and in most cases always need to be rescued. They are considered the damsels in distress. People may argue to an extent that there are also games that have females as the main characters too, such as the game Lara Croft, but this and other games define femininity in a very different way. Females who play larger roles in video games are portrayed extremely sexual. Since most gaming companies are comprised of mostly or all men, they portray the female characters as they would in a males fantasy. For example, Lara Crofts body is considered grossly unnatural. She does not have the same body proportions that a woman has. Her breast and waist sizes just dont exist in real life. And this applies to practically all females in video games. The last kind of video game that I would like to inform parents about are known as first person shooter games. These kinds of games basically teach kids how to kill. In the video documentary, Game Over (2002), Sergeant Baker explains how the U. S Military made a 30 year research on how first person shooter games effectively teaches someone to kill another person. In the military they use a live video feed simulator known as F. A. T. S, which stands for Fire Arm Training Simulator. The only difference between a first person shooter game and the simulator is that if a soldier accidentally shoots the wrong person they could be demoted or even fired, but if a child shoots the wrong person all they have to do is restart the game. A soldier may go to war and not fire a weapon for months on end, but when a child picks up a gun at the arcade or plays a first person shooter game they are going to shoot something. According to Sergeant Baker, the reason why the military uses these games to teach people how to kill is because it does just that, teaches them how to kill. They teach the mind to shoot at your enemy, and it has worked effectively for over 30 years. In conclusion, there are quite a few video games today can be detrimental to a child psychological development. I am not trying to say that all video games influence negative effects on children. As a matter of fact there are games that help teach problem-solving, hand-eye coordination, and allow boys to be competitive with each other. It is not the technology that is to blame, it is the content that gaming companies use where the problem lies. This is where parental guidance becomes important. Every game has a rating and that rating is there to let the childs guardians know whether that certain game is suitable for the age of the child. Overall video games are a fascinating past-time that is a lot of fun to play. Parents just need to make sure that they observe what their child is playing and how long they play it for. References Cassell, J. , Jenkins, H. , (1998). From barbie to mortal kombat: Gender and computer games. Caecilia: Graphic Composition, Inc. Norris, K. (2004). Gender Stereotypes, Aggression, and Computer Games: An Online Survey of Women. Retrieved November 26, 2006, from Academic Search Premier Database. Dietz, T. (1998) Sex roles: An examination of violence and gender role portrayals in video games. Reviewed November 26, 2006, from Google. com. Web site: http://www. findarticles. com/p/particles/mi_m2294/is_n5-6_v38/ai_20749198. Huntemann, N. (2002). Game Over: Gender, Race, and Violence in Video Games. United States: Media Education Foundation.

Galactosemia Disorder: Causes, Forms and Treatments

Galactosemia Disorder: Causes, Forms and Treatments Abstract: Carbohydrates are vital for energy in all living organism and also in the biosynthesis of essential glycoconjugates. One of these carbohydrates is a monosaccharide called galactose which is broken-down in humans by the Leloir pathway of the galactose metabolism.[1] Within this pathway, there are three main enzymes that is responsible for modifying galactose in order to convert it into glycolysis for the production of energy – galactokinase (GALK1), galactose-1-phosohate uridyl transferase (GALT), and galactose-6-phosphate epimerase (GALE). A deficiency in any of these enzymes results in a disorder in the human called galactosemia. The second enzyme of this pathway, GALT which produces uridine diphosphogalactose (UPD-gal) from galactose-1-phosphate (gal-1P), a deficiency in this is the most severe of the three galactosemia disorders. GALK1 is rare and the symptoms are much milder than that of GALT with the rarest of the disorder being GALE. Galactosemia is established shortly a fter an infant starts feeding and even though a strict galactose-free diet is introduced promptly eliminating any acute symptoms, the long-term complications unfortunately has already taken place. While early detection can lead to relatively normal life, this inherited disorder is unable to break down simple sugar called galactose and with excessive buildup causes liver, brain, and eye damages. Introduction: All living organism make use of carbohydrates or sugars for the formation of cellular energy along with the synthesis of essential cellular glycoconjugates. In humans, we not only consume carbohydrates but we’re also able to synthesize altered carbohydrate monomers by means of reversible metabolic pathways. Galactose is typically in many of our dairy products that we consume as a carbohydrate monomer which is part of the disaccharide lactose. The human body is able to break down galactose using the Leloir pathway of galactose metabolism. This pathway consists of three enzymes, each structuring a different metabolic intermediate functioning together to accomplish one objective and that is to modify galactose into glucose in order to release it into glycolysis for the production of energy. The three enzymes are, Galactokinase (GALK1), galactose-1-phosohate uridyl transferase (GALT), and galactose-4-phosphate epimerase (GALE). An absence or mutations in any of these enzymes resul ts in a disorder in the human called galactosemia. The second enzyme of this pathway, GALT which produces uridine diphosphogalactose (UPD-gal) from galactose-1-phosphate (gal-1P), a deficiency in this enzyme is the most severe of the three galactosemia disorders. GALK1 is rare and the symptoms are much milder than that of GALT causing cataracts of the eye with the rarest of the disorder being GALE with acute symptoms as in GALT. UDP-gal in the Leloir’s pathway plays crucial role in synthesizing several essential glycoconjugates along with ultimately being used for energy production. GALT deficiency in humans’ results in a disorder called galactosemia, a potentially fatal disorder if left untreated immediately after birth. Galactose Metabolism (Leloir Pathway): Figure 1. Galactose Metabolism (Leloir Pathway) in the Liver. The galactose metabolic pathway, also known as Leloir pathway named after Luis Federico Leloir who revealed the principal mechanisms of galactose metabolism and defining the cause of galactosemia.[2] This is the only mechanism of galactose metabolism in humans which contains three enzymes, galactokinase (GALK1), galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase (GALT), and galactose-4-phosphate epimerase (GALE) which are responsible for their respective role in the Leloir pathway.[3] Upon entrance of the cell, galactose is first phosphorylated by GALK to yield galactose-1-phosphate, which is one of the two substrates of GALT. From here, GALT modifies it further to one uridine diphosphogalactose and one glucose-1-phosphate from one uridine diphosphoglucose and one galactose-1-phosphate. The expected product of GALT, UDP-gal, is the substance of GALE. As GALE epimerizes UDP-gal to produce UDP-glu, which is modified furthermore to enter glycolysis or be used as UDP-glu to synthesize necessary glycoconjugates in the cell.[4] [5] Further modification of UDP-glu consist of the loss of uridine monophosphate in order to produce glucose-1-phosphate. The mutase enzyme then yields glucose-6-phosphate, a glycolytic intermediate that moves into glycolysis to harvest energy in the form of ATP.[6] Since galactose is an essential component of many glycoconjugates, some UDP-gal is used for the synthesis of these sugar moieties which highlights the significance of GALT in the meta bolism and cellular consumption of galactose.[7] Galactosemia: Galactosemia is an autosomal recessive inborn error in the metabolism which affects how the body breakdown the sugar galactose with a rate of about 1 in 62,000 individuals.[8] As a result, those individuals with galactosemia has difficulty digesting this simple sugar that are often found in many foods which is primarily part of a larger sugar called lactose. Lactose produces one molecule each of the simple sugar glucose and galactose which is nearly found in all dairy products and baby formulas.[9] The disorder is typically diagnosed soon after birth, as infants are either breast-fed or formula-fed. However these newborn starts to express characteristic complications that tend to develop after the consumption of milk over a short period of time like nausea, vomiting, jaundice, and lethargy.[10] The accumulation of galactose is toxic to the body if not digested by the appropriate enzyme quickly causes serious health complications to the newborn. Treatments currently involves managemen t of galactose-free diet, although some drug tests in the disorder process have been proposed. Laboratory tests are available to confirm of the disease by measuring the enzyme activity of galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase or GALT which is the second step in the pathway of galactose metabolism.[11] There are 3 forms of this disorder: galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase (GALT), galactose kinase (GALK1), and galactose-4-phosphate epimerase (GALE) with each form having a relative differences in severity. Those individuals who expresses any of these disorders will have elevated levels of galactose in their blood along with high levels of galactose in the urine. For this reason, hospitals now carry out galactose tolerance tests which are now considered essential for the identification of the disease. Once confirmation of this disorder has been done, the newborn is treated using a dietary galactose restriction by replacing breast or milk base-formula with soy base-formula. Although most of the prominent features of this disease will improve such as nausea, diarrhea, cataracts, or enlarged liver and spleen will gradually regress once placed on the dietary restriction there is one chief symptom which does not show much improvement which is mental retardation due to the damage of the central nervous system.[12] It’s for this reason, that early diagnosis and prompt therapy are crucial. Cause of Disorder: Galactosemia means â€Å"galactose in the blood†, since these individuals are not able to break down galactose to produce energy, this sugar therefore builds up in their blood resulting in high levels of galactose-1-phosphate in the tissues. The pathway for galactose is more complex than most other simple sugars with three enzymes that are essential to convert a molecule of galactose into glucose-6-phosphate. Therefore, any type of genetic mutations in any part of the galactose pathway will cause severe life altering changes effecting organs and intellectual capacity if not treated right away. We can see from Fig. 1 that there are multiple steps in the breakdown of galactose into glucose-1-phosphate and be able to enter into glycolysis where it is broken down into glucose our main energy source. The GALK1 is the first enzyme in the galactose pathway and from this figure we can clearly see how by a mutation in GALK1 could cause so much chaos in the breakdown of galactose. The ability for our bodies to breakdown galactose into glucose plays a crucial for life. As a result, individuals with galactosemia, the GALT enzyme is either missing or not working properly and therefore unable to digest galactose into glucose causing large buildups in the blood. Overtime, this buildup if remain untreated will develop into fatality and although certain damages are able to regress a few of the many will not be irreversible. Forms of Disorder: There are several forms of galactosemia which are caused by mutations of a specific gene affecting different enzymes that are involved in the process of breaking down galactose. The classic galactosemia or galactose-1-phosphate uridyl transferase (GALT) is also known as galactosemia type I, is the most common and severe form of this disorder. Classical galactosemia affects 1 out of 60,000 newborns. In the classic galactosemia, infants are born without the GALT enzyme and are either fed breast-milk or milk-base formulas. In newborns nearly 90% of their carbohydrates comes from lactose, human breast milk comprises of nearly 6% to 8% lactose and most infant formulas comprises of 7% lactose.[13] Therefore all these milk-based products are immediately substituted with lactose free formulas such as soy-based formulas to lessen any further damage to the newborn. Fortunately, most cases of classic galactosemia are detected early enough by newborn screenings and a galactose-free diet is quickly put in place. Within galactosemia type I, there is a rare type of galactosemia called â€Å"Duarte variant†, it is often but not always detected during newborn screening since this is a milder form requiring less treatment or in most cases, no treatment but an erythrocyte GALT enzyme activity test may be performed to confirm this variant form of the disease. Galactokinase deficiency (GALK1) is also known as galactosemia type II which is rare genetic causing cataract damage due to a lack of galactokinase.[14] Galactosemia type II affects fewer than 1 out of 100,000 newborns. GALK1, is responsible for one step in the galactose metabolic pathway that converts galactose to galactose-1-phosphate which is then converted to glucose. A mutation in this gene results in galactose and an associated sugar called galactitol to buildup in the cells that constructs the lens of the eye.[15] With high level of these accumulations in the blood will damage the lens which will cause cataract and lead to blurred vision – a characteristic in galactosemia type II. Galactose-4-phosphate epimerase deficiency (GALE) is also known as galactosemia type III and the rarest of the three forms of galactosemia. Those who have this may have mild to severe symptoms which may include cataracts, delayed growth and development, along with liver disease, and liver problems. There has not been many reported with the GALE mutations as this is the fewest of the galactosemia disorders. GALE, is an enzyme that instructs the production of an enzyme called UPD-galactose-4-epimerase and responsible for converting UDP-galactose to UDP-glucose. Since GALE is the rarest of the disorder, those affected with galactosemia type III may or may not have any of the complications characteristically related to galactosemia and often do not require treatment. In general, those who have this disorder whose had high level of these enzymes in the blood will still lead to complications such as damaged tissues or organs, cataract, to intellectual disabilities and damages to the liver, kidneys and brain.[16] Newborn Screening: With the high rate of associated with untreated individuals, newborn screening for galactosemia and other inherited genetic disorders are available in all of the 50 states and provinces of the United States. To screen for galactosemia, infant blood and urine samples are screened for the presence of GALT and any galactose metabolites.[17] The samples are first tested for the concentration of galactose and GALT activity, and if galactose levels are high and/or GALT activity is low, then the samples are then assayed for galactose-1-phosphate and further tested of the more common DNA mutations associated with galactosemia.[18] . GALT enzyme presence of less than 32  µmol/L (normal 150-500  µmol/L) is usually indicative of GALT-deficient galactosemia.[19] Newborn screening is essential in early detection and treatment of galactosemia patients efficiently. It is vital to their physical and mental health to avoid as much damage to the individual as possible. Studies has shown that approximately 80% of children given newborn screening for galactosemia were diagnosed within 2 weeks of age, compared to approximately 35% of whom were not screened. From those whom were screened 20% were free of GALT deficiency symptoms at the time of diagnosis.[20] Although nutritional therapy is frequently used which gradually improves the symptoms in patients with galactosemia disorders by introducing these individuals to a galactose-free diet.[21] In most cases, as long as the disease has not advanced too much, most of all acute symptoms gradually regress and often times completely disappear with dietary restriction alone. Many newborns will show rapid weight gain along with no more nauseating or vomiting. The organs like the liver and spleen that would be enlarged due to excess galactose in the body also returns to normal size along with cataracts, if present, will start to regress and most of the time will disappear completely.[22] Unfortunately, there is one significant symptom that shows no signs of improvement – mental retardation or intellectual disability like speech defects and other neurological or physiological abnormalities.[23] Since newborn screening is not performed until at least 24 hours after an infant has begun feedi ng, galactosemia infants will consume galactose before being diagnosis. A more efficient and timely screening methods are necessary to decrease the cases of infants who are already exhibiting disease symptoms at the time of diagnosis. Diet: The most common and most effective form of treatment so far for galactosemia is dietary restriction of galactose consumption. By having galactosemia patient avoid lactose or ingesting food containing galactose they are able to minimize any further damage to their body. For infants, it’s particularly imperative as lactose is present in all milk-base products and studies has now shown that there are some free-galactose in some fruits and vegetables. A study by Gross and Acosta in 1991 indicated monomeric galactose contents in approximately 45 different fruits and vegetables. For example, artichoke, mushrooms, olives, and peanuts all contained less than 0.1 mg of free galactose per 100 mg of plant tissue. In persimmon and tomato contained approximately 34.5 mg of free galactose per 100 g of plant tissue. Fruits and vegetables like dates, papaya, bell pepper, and watermelon were found to have upwards of 10 mg of free galactose per 100 g of plant tissues.[24] Conclusion: Although uncommon due to the effective newborn screening, undiagnosed galactosemia can lead to liver cirrhosis, mental retardation, and even death. [25] Girls with galactosemia have been found in later years to have higher rates of ovarian failure even with dietary intake. It’s important to understand that with acute symptoms at birth can managed with diet but the long-term affect involving impaired sexual and mental function are still prevalent among galactosemia individuals. References: Antshel, K. M., Epstein, I. O., Waisbren, S. E. (2004). Cognitive strengths and weaknesses in children and adolescents homozygous for the galactosemia Q188R mutation: a descriptive study. Neuropsychology, 18(4), 658-664. Hardin, J., Bertoni, G., Kleinsmith, L.J., (2012) Becker’s World of the Cell, 8th Ed, International Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. Glenview. pp. 242 Isselbacher, K.J. (1957), Clinical and Biochemical Observations in Galactosemia. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 527-532. Grossiord, B. P., Luesink, E. J., Vaughan, E. E., Arnaud, A., de Vos, W. M. (2003). Characterization, Expression, and Mutation of the Lactococcus lactis galPMKTE Genes, Involved in Galactose Utilization via the Leloir Pathway. Journal of Bacteriology. Vol. 185, No. 3, pp. 870-878. Kalckar, H. M., Kurahashi, K., Jordan, E. (1959). â€Å"Hereditary Defects in Galactose Metabolism in Escherichia Coli Mutants, I. Determination of Enzyme Activities†. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 45, No. 12, pp. 1776-1786. Asada, M., Okano, Y., Imamura, T., Suyama, I., Hase, Y., Isshiki, G., (1999). Molecular characterization of galactokinase deficiency in Japanese patients. Journal of Human Genetics. Vol. 44: 377-382. Lai, K., Langley, S. D., Khwaja, F. W., Schmitt, E. W., Elsas, L. J. (2003). GALT Deficiency Causes UDP-Hexose Deficit in Human Galactosemic Cells. Glycobiology. Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 285-294. Berry, G.T., Classic Galactosemia and Clinical Variant Galactosemia. 2000 Feb 4 [Updated 2014 Apr 3]. GeneReviews ® [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2014.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1518/ Ai, Y., Zheng, Z., O’Brien-Jenkins, A., Bernard, D.J., Wynshaw-Boris, T., Ning, C., Reynolds, R., Segal, S., Huang, K., and Dwight Stambolian. (2000), A Mouse Model of Galactose-Induced Cataracts. Human Molecular Genetics. Vol. 9, No. 12, pp. 1821-1827. Fridovich-Keil, J.,Bean, L., He, M., andRichard Schroer., Epimerase Deficiency Galactosemia. 2011 Jan 25 [Updated 2013 Oct 24]. GeneReviews ® [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2014.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK51671/ Freer, D. E., Ficicioglu, C., Finegold, D. (2010). Newborn Screening for Galactosemia: A Review of 5 Years of Data and Audit of a Revised Reporting Approach. Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 437-444. Waggoner, D. D., Buist, N. R., Donnell, G. N. (1990). Long-term Prognosis in Galactosaemia: Results of a Survey of 350 Cases. Journal of Inherited Metabolism Disorder., Vol. 13, No. 6, pp.802-818. Gross, K. C., Acosta, P. B. (1991). Fruits and Vegetables are a Source of Galactose: Implications in Planning the Diets of Patients with Galactosemia. Journal of Inherited Metabolism Disorder, Vol. 14, No.2 253-258. ~ 1 ~ [1] Kurt J. Isselbacher, â€Å"Clinical and Biochemical Observations in Galactosemia.† The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 5 (September-October 1957): 527-532. [2] Benoit P. Groissard et al., â€Å"Characterization, Expression, and Mutation of the Lactococcus lactis galPMKTE Genes, Involved in Galactose Utilization via the Lenoir Pathway.† Journal of Bacteriology 185 (February 2003): 870-878. [3] Herman M. Kalckar et al., â€Å"Hereditary Defects in Galactose Metabolism in Escherichia Coli Mutants, I. Determination of Enzyme Activities.† Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. 45 (December 1959): 1776-1786. [4] Groissard, 870-878. [5] Kalckar, 1776-1786. [6] Groissard, 870-878 [7] K. Lai et al., â€Å"GALT Deficiency Causes UDP-hexose Deficit in Human Galactosemic Cells.† Glycobiology 13 (January 2003): 285-294. [8] Boris B.T. Wang et al., â€Å"Molecular and Biochemical Basis of Galactosemia.† Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 63 (1998): 263-269. [9] Jeff Hardin et al., Becker’s World of the Cell (Glenview: Pearson Education Inc., 2012), 242002E [10] Isselbacher, 527. [11] Wang, 263. [12] Isselbacher, 528. [13] Gerard T. Berry, MD., â€Å"Classic Galactosemia and Clinical Variant Galactosemia.† GeneReviews ® [Internet] – NCBI Bookshelf (1993-2014). [14] Minoru Asada et al., â€Å"Molecular Characterization of Galactokinase Deficiency in Japanese Patients.† Journal of Human Genetics 44 (1999): 377-382. [15] Yunjun Ai et al., â€Å"A Mouse Model of Galactose-Induced Cataracts.† Human Molecular Genetics 9 (2000): 1821-1827. [16] Judith Fridovich-Keil, PhD et al., â€Å"Epimerase Deficiency Galactosemia.† GeneReviews ® NCBI Bookshelf (2011-2013). [17] Dennis E. Freer, Can Ficicioglu, and David Finegold., â€Å"Newborn Screening for Galactosemia: A Review of 5 Years of Data and Audit of A Revised Reporting Approach.† Clinical Chemistry 56 (March 2010): 437-444. [18] Freer et al., 437-444. [19] Freer et al., 437-444. [20] D.D. Waggoner, N.R M. Buist, and G.N. Donnell., â€Å"Long-term Prognosis in Galactosemia: Results of A Survey of 350 Cases† Journal of Inherited Metabolic Diseaase 13 (November 1990): 802-818. [21] Isselbacher, 528. [22] Isselbacher, 528. [23] Wang, 263. [24] K.C. Gross and P.B. Acosta., â€Å"Fruits and Vegetables Are A Source of Galactose: Implications in Planning the Diets of Patients with Galactosemia.† Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease 14 (1991): 253-258. [25] Kevin M. Antshel et al., â€Å"Cognitive Strengths and Weaknesses in Children and Adolescents Homozygous for the Galactosemia Q188R Mutation: A Descriptive Study.† Neuropsychology 18 (October 2004): 658-664.

Rastafarianism in Jamaica Essay -- Religion

Rastafarianism arose in the slums of Jamaica around the time between the nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties. It has a lot of inspirations of Christianity combined into its culture. Rastafarianism is a very interesting religion; it’s followers known as Rastafarians as well as Rasta’s or Rastafaris, derived from Jamaica to form a unique clan of Jamaican-English. For most Rastafarians what they believe is not a religion, but simply just a way of life. Rastafarians share their emotions about oppression, poverty, and black discrimination along with their religion. The next few paragraphs will explain Rasta history, major beliefs, religious practices, and the religions subdivisions. In the early years of this religion a man by the name of Marcus Garvey, born in Jamaica in 1887, started teaching to other Jamaicans to stand up for their race and culture. He formed the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914. Marcus Garvey preached all over Jamaica, he believed that Jamaicans were really Israelites and were shunned to Jamaica as a punishment. Garvey wrote a very powerful play called â€Å"The Coronation of The King and Queen of Africa†. Many Rastafarians have said Garvey told them they need to go to Africa and there they will find the king they are looking for to save them. Soon after on the second of November 1930 they crowned Ras Tafari Makonnen as their emperor of Ethiopia. This emperor took the name of Haile Selassie, which by definition means â€Å"Might of The Trinity†. To many he was a form of Jesus Christ. On the other hand Marcus Garvey disliked emperor Selassie immensely, he thought that he was an unequipped leader. Haile Selassie s pread the thought that god created the black man before he even created the white man. â€Å"Rastaf... ...birthday and a certain color. Rastafarianism began on the principles of equality and black freedom. Over many years it has grown into a huge religion practiced by many. It has spread not only in Jamaica, but the Caribbean, England, the US and Canada also. There are now over one million people today that practice the religion of Rastafarianism. If someone wanted a calm, peaceful, and meaningful life without hatred they should defiantly consider practicing the religion of Rastafarianism. Overall this religion brings the unity of all ethnicities and the harmony and unity of its people with the environment. Works Cited Beyer, Catherine. "Rastafari." . N.p., 2012. Web. 6 Apr 2012. . . "Rastafari." . N.p., 2004. Web. 6 Apr 2012. . . "Rastafarian History." . BBC Religion, 21 Oct 2009. Web. 6 Apr 2012. .

The Countercultures of the 1960’s and 2000’s

The Sixties has distinguished itself as a decade that saw great cultural and political upheavals. The movements of the Sixties were struggling against the most problematic and difficult issues of post-war world — racism and poverty, dehumanization in the developed world due to technology, and Third World liberation (Morgan 4). By the 1960s, the ghetto communities of California became overly poor, overly policed, and extremely resentful. This tension between a racist and repressive police force led to civil disturbance and unrest in the United States.Growing unrest led to the rise of the civil rights movements such as the Black Panthers in Oakland, the Black Berets (Chicano) in San Jose, and the Brown Berets in Los Angeles. In an effort to divert or destroy growing movements for social change, the government infiltrated most civil rights and community activist groups, precipitating their demise or diminishing their influence (Rodriguez 12). In the fall of 1966, two young black militants, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California.They wanted to have African-American history courses taught in the college as well as the employment of additional black teachers but soon evolved in response to a survey of the community to include a ten-point platform which called for â€Å"Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice and Peace. † This basic ideology has been flexible enough to be adapted to meet the needs of all those who conceptualized the Black Nationalist struggle as one of both race and class (Harris 162). The Brown Berets was an organization who initially led the cultural awareness and social-political activism in the 1960’s for the young Hispanics.They were a new generation of Mexican students characterized by increasing militancy over continuing inequity in education and inequality in economic opportunity. However, the Brown Beret’s resistance to police harassment, coupled with their military idolatry and political romanticism caused the organization to degenerate into militant violence and, gradually, to alienate the Mexican community and its youth altogether (Alfieri 1569). In the late 1960’s, a group was formed calling for a new gay radicalism. It was called the Gay Liberation Front which aimed to fight the cultural homophobia alongside racism, sexism, and militarism.It was formed after the Stonewall Riots which started with the raid on a gay bar. The police was met with much resistance and shouts of â€Å"Gay Power! † The movement aimed to free sexuality, transform the family as an institution, end anti-queer violence, and develop a new vocabulary for the erotic (Shepard 49). The 1960’s also saw the rise of rock music and alongside it, the movement known as the counterculture emerged. America’s youth was vulnerable to the messages of rock music's sounds. From this emerged a group called the hippie.â€Å"Hippie† meant differ ent things to the older and younger generations. According to Terry Anderson in The Movement and the Sixties (1996): Parents usually stated that hippies included everyone revolting against something, or simply revolting to them, and mainstream journalists simply labeled them â€Å"dirty, costumed protesters† who had long hair, smelled, and smoked dope. Marijuana was the â€Å"staple of hippiedom,† declared Time, â€Å"L. S. D. its caviar,† and Nicholas von Hoffman added, â€Å"if the word means anything, it means a hippie is a dope dealer.† At the end of the decade a journalist summed up the older generations' level of knowledge of the counterculture when he gave his peers advise on how to spot a hippie: â€Å"Well, hippies look like hippies† (243). The hippies promote a bloodless revolution of young urbanites, who, although they protest against much in society, are non-violent protesters, and who symbolize their attempt to overthrow western values by their home-made clothes, their rejection of the distinction between ‘decent' and ‘obscene', their disbelief in political solutions, and their desperate attempt to be ‘folk' (Wilson 195).In the twenty first century, fads and lifestyle are likewise influenced by music and less due to civil activism. It is rooted more on pop culture. Pop started in the underground in the â€Å"subcultural movements of Black youth, White gays or artistic avant-gardes†¦ pop as a way of living means a way of thinking and feeling, of living and also of dying†¦from Jimi Hendrix to Kurt Cobain† (Muggleton & Weinzerl 42).An example is Goth which was initially a musical genre that emerged in the late 70s post punk era and has now evolved into a full-blown sub culture with the introduction of Gothic fashion and imagery movement. A Goth is someone who is usually into the darker side of the world is deep into thought and feeling and often creates or modifies their clothing u sually consisting of mainly black. Tribal designs and religion-related jewelry are common, such as crucifixes and pentagrams (Muggleton & Weinzerl 290).Then there is hip-hop, a sub-culture or lifestyle which started as a name for the four elements of the late 70's New York City renaissance which includes break dancing, emceeing, (rapping) graffiti, and turntablism. We see its proponents wear loose pants and shirts for men, tight pants and shirts for women and bling-blings. Music and dance has also created an identity and a sense of belonging within the clubbing crowd called rave technotribalism. They are dress upped for parties and clubs.In contrast, we have the Gen X who feel politically dispossessed and express their agitation in the name of democracy, environment, fair trade and other societal issues who dress up in jeans and shirts and carrying back packs (Muggleton & Weinzerl 68-69). Works Cited Alfieri, Anthony V. â€Å"Racism on Trial: The Chicano Fight for Justice. † Duke Law Journal. 53. 5. (2004). 1569+. Anderson, Terry H. The Movement and the Sixties. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Harris, Jessica Christina. â€Å"Revolutionary Black Nationalism: The Black Panther Party. † The Journal of Negro History.85. 3. (2000). 162. Morgan, Edward P. The 60s Experience: Hard Lessons about Modern America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991. Muggleton, David & Weinzierl, Rupert (eds. ) The Post-Subcultures. New York: Berg, 2003. Rodriguez, Luis. â€Å"The End of the Line: California Gangs and the Promise of Street Peace. † Social Justice. 32. 3. (2005). 12-16. Shepard, Benjamin H. â€Å"The Queer/Gay Assimilationist Split: The Suits vs. the Sluts. † Monthly Review. 53. 1. (May 2001). 49. Wilson, Bryan. The Youth Culture and the Universities. London: Faber, 1970.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay on the Enneagram Personality Types

How to Write a Descriptive Essay on the Enneagram Personality Types Descriptive writing is a unique form of creative writing whereby you describe an object, emotion, situation, person, etc†¦ You are forced to create a written account of something by way of artistic freedom. When writing a descriptive essay on the Enneagram personality types, you want to describe your topic in such clear a fashion that the reader walks away with a clearly formed impression in their mind which matches the one in yours. Writing should function as a focused expression of your studies and your thoughts. As your writing skills are honed, your perceptions and your critical analyses and creative skills will improve too. Writing in this sense is essentially the development of your ideas. Your objective here is to convince your reader that you have sufficiently supported the concept you developed. You must maintain tight organization and sufficient control over your writing. To do this, you need to have a central idea which is your thesis, with several paragraphs which grow systematically from this thesis in support of it, and all of the information you include needs to contribute the understanding the reader has of your thesis. In order words: Your essay needs to cover the topic you are writing on. Your essay needs to have a central idea which governs the development of the work, which is stated in the thesis. Your essay must be so well organized that every part of it contributes something new to the understanding the reader has of your central idea. Now, for the descriptive essay, you have a bit more flexibility as to the flow or organization of your work, but it should nonetheless serve some purpose for the reader. You want to ensure that your descriptions are each categorized in a separate paragraph with proper transitions in between them so that the reader can easily move from one area of your work to the next. When you are writing, it is important to consider the reader of your essay. You want to take into consideration who it is you are writing for beyond just your professor. Sure, you want to get a good grade from them, but you might also share this piece of writing with other classmates or friends. Your classmates, for example, may not have the same input as you did on the same piece of work. You could write on the same topic, or a similar one, but you might each take something different from the work and in that you can share with one another your thoughts (check out the topics on personality types prepared for you). You should remember that as you make references to different works or sources, you should tell the audience something they do not already know in lieu of just regurgitating a plot summary or a biography and telling them things they already know (the article about facts may help you to gather information or find the right references for your paper). So remember that even if your entire class has been asked to describe the same topic, you have a great deal of flexibility within that and can let your creativity fly.

Hearing Loss and MP3 Essay Example

Hearing Loss and MP3 Essay Example Hearing Loss and MP3 Paper Hearing Loss and MP3 Paper Cochlea is a snail like-structure located at the inner ear. Canals which transmits pressure and The organ of corti the sensitive part which detects pressure impulses, that travels along the auditory nerve that absorbs electrical impulses from the cochlea. Semicircular canals that balance body organs and detects acceleration of three perpendicular planes which helps you keep your balance. Auditory hair cells are vital part of the ear’s to detect easily the sound it has microscopic hair-like projections which consist of channel or pores that open   after the hair like projections are subjected to mechanical force. Channel opens and releases small molecules in a chemical reaction that directly tells the brain that the sound has been detected . Hearing disability can be in all age groups. Children because of infection due developmental stage of the fetus can genetically acquire hearing loss. It includes congenital syndrome such as Down Syndrome or Trisomy 21, Parent with familial deafness can be genetically acquired, infections during pregnancy of the mother for example the mother had German measles (rubella)   or cytomegalovirus   during high risk of pregnancy. With superficial hearing loss can have dilemma  Ã‚   in speech development and  Ã‚   learning. In adults, most common cause of hearing loss are caused by progressive bilateral hearing loss or senile deafness and noise that can be made by men. â€Å"old hearing†Ã‚   which affects men rather than woman, it also linked to noise exposure, most of this are men who are working in industrialized company or   military men whose in the field. Mechanism of hearing is complicated. Sound waves which enters the ear canal and moves freely in the eardrum we called it tympanic membrane; eardrum is located to the hearing organ or cochlea with small bones called ossicles which anchored to the eardrum. Cochlea also called oval window, movement of the eardrum that sets up movements in the bones which in return the oval window, these tiny hair cells that lines the part of the cochlea are stimulated by these waves, which transmits   nerve impulses that travels along the brain which can detect if the sound is received. Nowadays MP3 is a cultural phenomenon and it is a matter of fact that millions of electronic devices and computers includes and supports MP3 capacity. In the 21st century MP3 has caused a new shift in developing electronic devices and thus has captured attention of millions people worldwide. MP3 is a standard for audio compression meaning that this standard aims at making any music file smaller and loss of sound quality is little. Actually, MP3 is a part of MPEG characterized by low bandwidth. Millions of music lovers are re-awakened because MP3 gives them an excellent opportunity to store thousands of songs, to search them by genre, artists and title. Thee whole music collection is available when clicking simply one button. Therefore, MP3 is more than a technology. Jones (2000) stated that MP3 is sensational development. Nevertheless, controversies over health risk are present as well as MP3 is stated to entail potential health risk. Jones (2000) cited The Institute of Hearing Research who admitted admitted that â€Å"new technology and ever-increasing storage capacity enables people to listen non-stop for hours and at louder volumes than ever before which could eventually impair hearing†. Thus, MP 3 may cause ringing or buzzing in ears. Andrew Reid, the British Society of Audiology, says (Jones 2000) that â€Å"if people experience that they really need to turn down the player straight away and then consult their doctor if the problems persist†. He comments (Jones 2000) that â€Å"this evidence suggests that people should get better quality headphones if they want to safeguard their hearing† meaning that MP3 may cause users to crank up music to the highest and the most dangerous levels. Prevent Hearing Loss 2006) says: â€Å"If you keep the volume at a level where you can still comfortably carry on a conversation, you won’t need to limit the amount of time you listen to your music†.   Thus, the volume should never be turned all the way up. Actually, the noise is considered safer if a person going next to you doesn’t hear your music and if he hears it means that the music is dangerously loud. So, Spencer (2006) recommended being aware of the music style and noise. To prevent hearing loss doctors strongly recommend giving ears necessary rest not depending on music volume because quieter noise continuing for long period of time is more harmful than highly-intensive noise for a short time period. Summing up, the best preventive strategies are to buy earphones with the highest quality, to limit music volume and time of exposure and, finally, to allow ear to take a rest to recover from noise.

Five Views on Sanctification Essay Example

Five Views on Sanctification Essay Example Five Views on Sanctification Paper Five Views on Sanctification Paper All Christians in a process of their spiritual development realize the need of living a holy or sanctified life. However, there is no one uniform view on how sanctification can be achieved. â€Å"Five Views on Sanctification† comprises a gathering of studies of five major Protestant views on sanctification. Each author presents his own understanding of sanctification, and responds to the opinions of others. Melvin Dieter summarizes the Wesleyan View, Anthony Hoekema explains the Reformed view, Stanley Horton presents the Pentecostal view, McQuilkin presents the Keswick view, and John Walvoord explores the Augustinian-Dispensational view.In this book Protestant theologians address such topics as possibility of success in sanctification, the way to achieve it, crisis experience after a person’s conversion, as well as other issues connected with the concepts and processes of sanctification. The book is written in a counterpoints manner, which allows reader to examine stren gths and weaknesses of each view and make reasonable conclusions.The Wesleyan View derives its name from John Wesley, an English theologian and evangelist. Dieter summarizes that Wesley saw the final goal of sanctification as a renewal of â€Å"mens and womens hearts in (Gods) image† (Dieter 15). The achievement of this goal could be implemented on practice in a person’s physical existence. His understanding of connection to God was through love, which was the key factor in gaining Christian maturity and achieving sanctification. In his opinion, a person’s heart turns to God after acquiring â€Å"a faith that works by divine love in the crucible of everyday life† (Dieter 12).Wesleyan view strongly supports the idea of the original sin, and as a key factor in purification process on the way closer to God it points out â€Å"prevenient grace†, which is the initial step in the process of sanctification and â€Å"the beginning of the process by which God begins to lighten the darkness of the Fall for all men and women; it will bring those who faithfully receive it to saving grace, sanctifying grace, and grace for the life of love (Dieter 25). Wesley believed that the process of sanctification has no limits; there is no point where a Christian could stop his development. He also believed that regardless a person’s Christian maturity, there is always a possibility of committing a sin. As for the law, Wesley believed that it was enclosed in the Sermon on the Mount, saying that â€Å"the Ten Commandments are renewed in the Sermon on the Mount in their sanctifying purity and spirituality and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dieter 26).Under the Reformed view sanctification can be achieved under three main conditions: experience of a growing union with Christ, sanctification by truth, sanctification by faith. The concept of sanctification according to the Reformed view is describe as â€Å"that gracious operation of the Holy Spirit, involving our responsible participation, by which He delivers us as justified sinners from the pollution of sin, renews our entire nature according to the image of God, and enables us to live lives that are pleasing to Him† (Hoekema 61). There are two outcomes of sanctification according to Hoekema: the proximate and final goals of sanctification. The final goal of sanctification is the glorification of God, and the proximate result is perfection, or likeness of Christ.Positional sanctification concept from the Pentecostal Perspective is similar to the Reformed view. This type of sanctification occurs at the moment of belief, involves the believer being set apart from the world to follow Christ, puts believer in perfect relationship with God, and sets Christians free to do Gods will. According to Horton, in order to achieve sanctification Christians demonstrate a complete obedience to the God’s will. Pentecostals reject the possibility for Christian to achieve a perfect sinless s tate, leaving space for an opportunity of a believer being weakened by sin. On of the most unique features of this view is baptism by Holy Spirit, which occurs after a Christian reached salvation and it empowers through the filling of the Spirit (Horton 130).According to the Keswick view, Christian life should be based on the forcing progress and victory, such as overcoming temptation, growth in obedience, improvement of self-control, resulting in the increased joy. The followers of the Keswick movement were represented by theologians with different persuasions and beliefs, and therefore the Keswick view does not have a well-defined concept of sanctification. However, McQuilkin summarizes sanctification as a setting apart for service to God. Those who achieve sanctification receive holiness and separate from sin. McQuilkin points out three main kinds of sanctification: positional, experiential, and permanent. The first is realized after a Christian’s conversion and results in justification in front of God. Experiential sanctification can be compared to the progressive sanctification of the Reformed view, and the author describes it as the outworking of ones official position in daily life† (McQuilkin 153). Transformation to the new life and the achievement of the likeness of Christ of the believer marks the occurrence of permanent sanctification, which results in a departure of a person from sin. McQuilkin summarizes Keswick view as a balanced opinion on different Biblical ideas of sanctification appeared through the development of the Christian culture.The dispensational view is researched by John Walvoord, who emphasizes one factor generating differences in concepts of sanctification. He believes this factor to be the rate of a person’s transformation after achieving sanctification. The other views argue whether a person completely changes or some aspects from the previous experience still remain. Walvoord concludes this difference in the presence of â€Å"sin nature.† He defines â€Å"sin nature† as â€Å"The concept of a sin nature can probably best be summarized as a complex of human attributes that demonstrate a desire and predisposition to sin† (Walvoord 206). Dispensational point of view states that choices made in people’s life shorten or extend the way to sanctification, which eventually be achieved and a sanctified Christian will reflect Christ’s glory and perfection. Complete God’s perfection cannot be achieved through the sanctification process though; rather it gives an increasing assurance of a believer’s salvation through Holy Spirit. The result of this process is that a mighty work for God can be accomplished† (Walvoord 222).

The effectiveness of tourism as an economic developmental model for Research Paper

The effectiveness of tourism as an economic developmental model for underdeveloped countries - Research Paper Example Earnings from the tourism sector are impressive, providing about 50 percent of Seychelles’ GDP (Seychelles - THE ECONOMY, n.d.). Unlike majority of the African countries, Seychelles is one of the most developed countries in the African region. Even though most of the African countries are blessed with dense forests and natural beauties, none of those countries exploited it as did by Seychelles. The administrators of Seychelles did everything possible to transform Seychelles as the tourist’s paradise in the African region. It should be noted that the administrators have developed the necessary infrastructure facilities for tourism development in Seychelles. Plenty of world class hotels and restaurants are available in Seychelles so that tourist may not face any problems in the country. Moreover, the government has liberalised the procedures for getting tourists visas to Seychelles. An international airport was opened at Anse Dejenner, Mahe in July 1971 by the government of Seychelles to encourage tourism. Since then, the number of tourists visiting Seychelles has been gradually increasing. â€Å"From a relatively small number of 3,175 tourists in 1971, the figure exceeded the 100,000 mark for the first time in 1990†(Gabbay and Ghosh, n.d., p.1). The number of tourists in has already been crossed the 200000 mark. The case of Botswana is also similar to that of Seychelles. â€Å"Tourism income at present is valued at around $240 million per year in Botswana† (Botswana, 2011). Plenty of game reserves with hunting and photographic safaris are available in available Botswana. Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the most famous park in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. More than one million tourists are visiting Botswana every year.... This paper offers an thorough analysis of the effectiveness of tourism as an economic developmental model for underdeveloped countries taking Seychelles, Botswana, Mauritius and Caribbean islands as examples. One of the major reasons for underdevelopment in poor countries is lack of resources. However, majority of the poor countries are full of natural beauty and hence such countries can develop tourism as a major revenue source. For example, Seychelles, Botswana, Mauritius and Caribbean islands are some countries, which have lack of internal resources, but have beautiful beaches, seashores and landscapes. Unlike majority of the African countries, Seychelles is one of the most developed countries in the African region. It should be noted that the administrators have developed the necessary infrastructure facilities for tourism development in Seychelles. Plenty of world class hotels and restaurants are available in Seychelles so that tourist may not face any problems in the country. Moreover, the government has liberalised the procedures for getting tourists visas to Seychelles. The case of Botswana is also similar to that of Seychelles. Plenty of game reserves with hunting and photographic safaris are available in available Botswana. As in the cases of Seychelles and Botswana, Mauritius is also utilizing tourism revenue for economic development.Antigua is the most developed Caribbean island with the help of tourism followed by Bahamas and Barbados. Underdeveloped countries can definitely promote tourism as a major revenue source.

Trade preferences for developing countries Essay

Trade preferences for developing countries - Essay Example On the other hand, in 2005, the OECD3 conducted an empirical research and reached to the conclusion that multilateral trade liberalization implemented by the EU has resulted in comparatively higher sizeable corrosion of predilections than the liberalization processes implemented by countries like Canada, Japan, Australia, and the United States. Thus, the importance of the trade preferences provided by the EU proved to be relatively less in comparison with the preferential schemes provided by other countries. The conclusion of OECD has also been maintained by Nilsson in his empirical research conducted in 2007. In the year of 2007, Persson and Wilhelmsson4 put their effort to find that some particular EU preferential deals had produced great impacts, specifically the schemes that were offered to the Pacific countries as well as the African Caribbean nations. These kinds of findings had earlier been reported by Nilsson in 20025. However, the preference schemes of a donor country should be seen with respect to the overall trade openness of the donor. For instance, if a benefactor does not have a high figure relating to the imports covered under the preferential schemes, then this would result in the entrance of a bulky share of the donor’s imports under the mechanism of MFN-0 tariffs. In this case, the capacity for preferences is limited as well. As a result, no matter whether the utilization of the rate of preferences in such state of affairs is high or low, it no longer becomes so vital. For getting an accurate picture of the openness of a donor to imports from less developed or developing nations, it is vital to study the share and the quantity of imported commodities entering the EU under the scheme of MFN-0, the proportion and volume of dutiable imports, the proportion of imports entitled to preferential arrangements, and, finally, the rate of preference utilization. This paper will put its effort to examinee the impact of EU trade preferences towards developing countries with special focus on India on the basis of existing literatures. However, before moving onto analyzing the impact, the paper will discuss the existing trade preference scheme. Then, it will consider general impact on developing countries a s a whole and finally it will put its special focus on India. Scope and coverage of trade preferences forwarded by EU: The fundamental principle of World Trade Organization is to practice the non-discriminating attitudes among the trading partners. However, it has been accepted that the developing nations should get favored treatment, compatible with their relatively disadvantageous economic situations. During 1971, following one of the UNCTAD’s (United Nations Conference on Trade & Development) recommendations, it was pointed out that the nations that had entered into the agreement under the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), predecessor to what is now known as the WTO, had agreed upon on a waiver of ten-y ears for the

Using a case example analyse a decision made by a nurse in the Essay

Using a case example analyse a decision made by a nurse in the practice setting - Essay Example Decision making in a nursing profession evaluates the ability of a nurse to identify and collect critical information in an emergency situation, analyze on them, identify appropriate decisions and more importantly, implement those decisions in such precarious situations.According to the case presented, the decision of the nurse is to respect the choice of the patient and go with the method of treatment, as chosen by the patient. (Adair 1999) This decision-making process plays an integral part in establishing the most complex of all relationships in health care – between a patient and the nurse.The health care services have improved so much that patients have become more cautious about the approach taken for their treatment. (Benner 2004) Many of the services are customized in such a way that the patient’s approval of the process taken for their treatment has become a must. So, with the growing trend, people have started to understand about the different options availabl e for a particular treatment and know about the consequences of each of the methods. (Benner 2001) These steps of improvement towards health care clearly show that decision-making has gained high priority among the patients. The changing trends have made sure that nurses are given full freedom to excise their duties and make appropriate decision. Such autonomy has also provided them with prime responsibility. Any decision that could have severe impact directly affects the growth of their career. (Department of Health Nursing and Midwifery Council 2002) It also acts as one of the means of measuring a nurse’s contribution towards improvement of health care. The clinical importance of decision-making process is directly attributed towards the improvement of patient care. Their critical thinking skills in a clinical field allow them to be actively responsive to grasping even semblance of opportunities that could help in improving care. (Chapman 1994) In this case study, the patie nt is a 26 year old female working as an assistant in a shop. The patient as got a cut in the proximal phalange on the dorsal aspect of the middle finger. The patient is extremely tentative towards the concept of needles and sutures and in every possibility is in favor of avoiding such methods to treat her. The nurse handling the case, being an experienced practitioner in nursing gave the opportunity for the patient to decide between suture and gluing. The nurse practitioner did not fail to mention about the advantages and consequences of choosing each method. Given the stress that the patient incurs about suture and needles, the patient’s choice for gluing method to treat her was respected and followed. The first priority of the nurse practitioner while deciding on the method of treatment was to respect the choice of the patient. Since the patient was given the details of both the procedures and after having decided that the nature of the wound to be a minor one, the patient was given the responsibility of self-management. Secondly, the guidelines of the gluing procedure were easily satisfied by the wound’s state and hence, the nurse had an easy approach while deciding on the treatment. (Tschudin 1994) Several systems like the Clinical Decision Support Systems are used to support practitioners while making decisions. (DOH 2007) Such systems are categorized as knowledge based and non-knowledge based. These systems work on the basis of the information collected and also on the past history of the patient to guide the practitioners to take a final decision. Ultimately, these systems only help in guiding the practitioners to make a decision and they do not finalize any decision. (DOH 2009) The theories of rational approach towards clinical decision-making suggest that, decisions should be made on a long term basis, taking in details of the numerical data, the probabilities of different decisions and others facts. These systems help in collecting tho se empirical data and allow for making a decision that is well thought

Explain an interesting case, using concepts (sexuality, racism, Essay

Explain an interesting case, using concepts (sexuality, racism, consumerism, patriotism) - Essay Example In its broad perspective, the concept of racism encompasses practices and ideologies that aim to justify the unequal privileges among people of different racial backgrounds. As a socio-economic ideology and order, consumerism promotes the acquisition of services and goods in a way that is ever increasing. The cultural attachment to a persons homeland and the devotion to their country describe the concept of patriotism. However, the application of the notion varies with geography, political ideology and context. Much literature has been written to explain the connection between these various concepts. Sexuality in the modern society has taken a different direction and has become a different concept in which pornography and exposure of ones privacy are permissible acts. Paris Hilton is described as a highly sexualised, narcissistic, and spoiled person who goes after nothing else than fame. However, what connects sexuality to Pornography and the influence of the modern technology? Undoubtedly, the concept of sexuality has been abused. The past is not anything pleasing to Paris. Like many other people in the American history, Paris wanted to become somebody else in the present times (Gwynne and Müller 21). Sexuality was taking a different direction in the modern times relative to its ancient conceptualization. Probably, modernity and technology can bear the blame for such dramatic changes. Paris’ privileged position in the hereditary aristocracy in America is contrasted with the tension that emanates from her celebrity status. Wealth is said to influence the articulation of a persons attainment of individuality in a given culture rather than being the distinction between stars and the other society members. Just like a celebrity, sexuality is about image. The identity of celebrities that is at times unattainable and inherited but nevertheless admired for imitation and acquisition. Sexuality in the modern

Credit Counterparts of Broad Money Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Credit Counterparts of Broad Money - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the effect of a government loan to another government is a reduction in the money supply in the economy. Based on the IS-LM model, it is apparent that reducing the supply of money shifts the LM curve to the right thus moving the equilibrium interest rate upwards and the level of national output downwards. On the macroeconomic level, the government can use this item of the Broad money counterparts as a macroeconomic policy to curb inflation or unsustainable increases in national output. The policy can be used as a contractionary fiscal to reduce excess liquidity in the economy and control inflation. Excess liquidity refers to a situation where the money being held by the public is in excess inducing excess spending and hence excess demand. The excess demand to supply can cause an unhealthy price increase. Foreign reserves are adjusted using the surpluses of trade that is a stimulus to increase exports thus increasing the foreign reserves while an increase i n imports decreases the foreign reserves. Changes in foreign prices in countries largely dependent on international trade have a significant effect on the money supply, inflation, and national output. The increase in the prices of imports will result in inflationary pressures in the economy. On the contrary, an increase in export prices will cause an increase in the profitability of the export goods and hence a shift of resources in the production of export goods. The change in import and export prices affects a countries balance of payment situation. The government can control national output and inflation through fiscal policies regulating imports and exports. When the balance of payment has been offset by over importation, the government can curb the inflationary effects by introducing higher tariffs that will adjust imports to a sustainable level.

Business Defamation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Defamation - Assignment Example The author of the paper states that now as individuals can sue each other for defamatory or vilifying statements, a contending business can take your company to court for making statements. Which are destructive to its business repute. Some Salespeople recurrently put side by side the qualities and uniqueness of their product or service with a competitor's during the sales presentation. Such comparisons when made are often imprecise or deceptive and from time to time tend to insult a company's business standing and deform or belittle its products. These very exact rules govern what an employee can and cannot say about the feeling of hostility that he possess for any competitor. It is a far better choice to hold down your staff and even lose an account or two. Rather than suffer hazard of the advanced costs of having to secure your company in court. This is a copious position for a business defamation lawsuit. Not actually for defamation, but the case can be turned. And they can be ta ken to court for the conduct of 'Misuse of information'. As the information was already in the public domain. It is more a copyright issue than a defamation one. He would win the case, the reason being what the law and what it actually entails: The Supreme Court ploy that the Internet is an only one of its kind intermediary at liberty to have the maximum defense, under the speech protection Rights of the First Amendment to the US Constitution. This also gives the Internet free speech defense similar to the defense in print. The Internet is considered the primary electronic media to accomplish this. For the reason that of having squat barriers to admittance, not having plenty, but loads of speakers, and no gatekeepers. The Communications Decency Act was approved in February 1996. The CDA forced the broadcast-style content set of laws on the release, decentralized Internet and severely constrained the primary alteration rights of all Americans. CDT sturdily disparate this legislation because it endangered the very subsistence of the Internet as a means for gratis expression, edification, and political conversation. Even though well-intentioned, the CDA was ineffective and failed to recognize the unique nature of this global, decentralized medium. The CDA banned redistribution "offensive" or "blatantly unpleasant" resources in a public forum on the Internet -- together with net pages, newsgroups, chat rooms, or online discussion forums. (CDA act) Mathew will win against Johnson in the two courts. This case seems to portray a termination, wherein there has been no documentation of the reason why. This is why under the employment law Mathews can take the company to court and win the case eventually.  

Explain an interesting case, using concepts (sexuality, racism, Essay

Explain an interesting case, using concepts (sexuality, racism, consumerism, patriotism) - Essay Example In its broad perspective, the concept of racism encompasses practices and ideologies that aim to justify the unequal privileges among people of different racial backgrounds. As a socio-economic ideology and order, consumerism promotes the acquisition of services and goods in a way that is ever increasing. The cultural attachment to a persons homeland and the devotion to their country describe the concept of patriotism. However, the application of the notion varies with geography, political ideology and context. Much literature has been written to explain the connection between these various concepts. Sexuality in the modern society has taken a different direction and has become a different concept in which pornography and exposure of ones privacy are permissible acts. Paris Hilton is described as a highly sexualised, narcissistic, and spoiled person who goes after nothing else than fame. However, what connects sexuality to Pornography and the influence of the modern technology? Undoubtedly, the concept of sexuality has been abused. The past is not anything pleasing to Paris. Like many other people in the American history, Paris wanted to become somebody else in the present times (Gwynne and Müller 21). Sexuality was taking a different direction in the modern times relative to its ancient conceptualization. Probably, modernity and technology can bear the blame for such dramatic changes. Paris’ privileged position in the hereditary aristocracy in America is contrasted with the tension that emanates from her celebrity status. Wealth is said to influence the articulation of a persons attainment of individuality in a given culture rather than being the distinction between stars and the other society members. Just like a celebrity, sexuality is about image. The identity of celebrities that is at times unattainable and inherited but nevertheless admired for imitation and acquisition. Sexuality in the modern

Business Defamation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Defamation - Assignment Example The author of the paper states that now as individuals can sue each other for defamatory or vilifying statements, a contending business can take your company to court for making statements. Which are destructive to its business repute. Some Salespeople recurrently put side by side the qualities and uniqueness of their product or service with a competitor's during the sales presentation. Such comparisons when made are often imprecise or deceptive and from time to time tend to insult a company's business standing and deform or belittle its products. These very exact rules govern what an employee can and cannot say about the feeling of hostility that he possess for any competitor. It is a far better choice to hold down your staff and even lose an account or two. Rather than suffer hazard of the advanced costs of having to secure your company in court. This is a copious position for a business defamation lawsuit. Not actually for defamation, but the case can be turned. And they can be ta ken to court for the conduct of 'Misuse of information'. As the information was already in the public domain. It is more a copyright issue than a defamation one. He would win the case, the reason being what the law and what it actually entails: The Supreme Court ploy that the Internet is an only one of its kind intermediary at liberty to have the maximum defense, under the speech protection Rights of the First Amendment to the US Constitution. This also gives the Internet free speech defense similar to the defense in print. The Internet is considered the primary electronic media to accomplish this. For the reason that of having squat barriers to admittance, not having plenty, but loads of speakers, and no gatekeepers. The Communications Decency Act was approved in February 1996. The CDA forced the broadcast-style content set of laws on the release, decentralized Internet and severely constrained the primary alteration rights of all Americans. CDT sturdily disparate this legislation because it endangered the very subsistence of the Internet as a means for gratis expression, edification, and political conversation. Even though well-intentioned, the CDA was ineffective and failed to recognize the unique nature of this global, decentralized medium. The CDA banned redistribution "offensive" or "blatantly unpleasant" resources in a public forum on the Internet -- together with net pages, newsgroups, chat rooms, or online discussion forums. (CDA act) Mathew will win against Johnson in the two courts. This case seems to portray a termination, wherein there has been no documentation of the reason why. This is why under the employment law Mathews can take the company to court and win the case eventually.  

The impact of globalisation on business Essay Example for Free

The impact of globalisation on business Essay 1. INTRODUCTION. Advancement in transportation and information technologies has opened up the world to lucrative business opportunities. Many companies no longer confine their business domestically but reach out globally in search of better profits. When a company conducts business across national boundaries, it is participating in international business. International business paves the way for globalisation. Ball et al. (2004) found that globalisation can be defined in many ways but broadly globalisation occurs when an entity (government, company, NGOs, etc.) carries out an activity (economic, political, technological, etc. ) in a host country. Globalisation has impacted the way many companies performed their business. New strategies are required to identify the opportunities presented by globalisation. Companies need to understand the forces that drive them towards globalisation. Most importantly, the companies must be prepared to meet the challenges of globalisation. This report presents globalisation in the context of a global strategy. It assesses the impact of the global strategy on the Texchem Group of Companies (Texchem), a company based in Penang. Texchem is founded in 1973 by its current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dato Seri Fumihiko Konishi. Today, Texchem is well diversified into the business of trading, manufacturing and services with divisions in the packaging, industrial, food, family care and venture industries ( 2003). Currently, Texchems globalisation efforts are concentrated around the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) countries and China (Chiew 2004). The organizational structure of Texchem is shown below. The groups investment holding company is Texchem Resources Berhad.  (source: Texchem Resources Bhd, www.trbgroup.com/business_act_corporate_structure.htm) FIGURE 1: Texchem organizational structure 2. FORCES DRIVING TEXCHEM TO GLOBALISE. Normally, a companys decision to globalise is influenced by a combination of several factors. These factors are the forces that drive a company to expand abroad. Each company has its own unique reasons to carry out oversea business activities since declining trade barrier and technological changes seem to underlie the trend towards greater globalisation (Hill 2003, p. 8) today. Texchem has mainly operated domestically apart from venturing into Singapore a year after its inception. It was not until 18 years later that Texchem started its globalisation exercise aggressively after building up its strength and reputation. Starting with Thailand in 1992, Texchem continued with Vietnam (1994), Myanmar (1997, Indonesia (2002) and China (2002). Now, Texchem is well represented in the ASEAN region (Texchem Annual Report 2002). Like any other companies, there were also unique forces that drove Texchem to globalise. Chief among them were: * Be a US$1 billion company. It cannot be denied that all companies are profit driven. After all the very existence of a company rest on the profits it makes. Texchem is no different in this aspect. However, Texchem is not only trying to make a profit but striving to be a US$1 billion company by 2010. This is Texchem Vision 2010 which is to be achieved with annual sales revenue of US$1 billion (Konishi 2002). Texchem 5 year performance chart below shows that there is still much to do and globalisation is the answer to bigger market opportunities. (source: Texchem Resources Bhd., www.texchemgroup.com) FIGURE 2: Texchem financial performance In order to realise this Vision 2010: Texchem has identified and capitalised on global market opportunities and allowed its growth to be determined by market trends and customers demands. Then it responded to such opportunities with top quality products and services that deliver real value www.texchemgroup.com/aboutus/history.html 2003, p. 1). Furthermore, Texchem has to survive through economic crisis in order to sustain a steady and resilient performance. One way is to prudently invest in growth industries with different market cycles like the food industry (  history.html 2003). * Loss Of Trade Preference. Konishi said Malaysia is treated by Europe under the general system of preferences which imposed an import duty of 14% on Malaysian products entering Europe. Texchem will not enjoy this status when import duty goes up to 20% in 2005 (Tan 2004). In 2003, Konishi said Texchem has estimated a US$25 million export market to Europe, Japan and Australia for its surimi and fishmeal products by 2006 (The Star 2003). The loss of this preference will affect Texchems profit. It may not be feasible to market seafood products in Europe due to price disadvantage. Therefore, to continue capturing the European market, Emmanuel (2004) wrote that Texchem is setting up a RM50 million seafood processing plant in Europe in 2005. Tan (2004) reported that Konishi said, Raw material will be imported from Myanmar as import duty on raw material going into Europe is only 3.5%. Production cost will then be lower giving Texchem the  competitive edge again. * Be close to clients / customers. Interdependency among companies is a norm. When a client is satisfied with the companys products and services, loyalty is attained. Therefore, when a client sets up shop overseas or penetrates a foreign market, it is not surprising that the company normally tags along. Many international companies wanting to market and distribute products in ASEAN have appointed Texchem for the task due to its reputation and international networking. Taking customer support a step further, Texchem even located its operation to be close to its local and multinational clients ( 2003 ; www.texchemgroup.com/stakeholders/customers.html 2004). For instance, Texchem-Pack (Thailand) was established to serve its major Texchem customers like Seagate, Mektec, IBM, etc. in Thailand (Konishi 2003). Its production facilities are located near customers operations to give immediate respond to their needs and to any changes in the local market. This also shorten delivery timings and to provide just-in-time delivery. Reduction in logistics and transportation charges is a cost savings to customers ( 2003). Another example is Texchem-Pack (Wuxi) which was established to serve the hard disc drive industry, the semiconductor industry, the electronics industry and the telecommunications industry in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai, China ( 2003). The establishment in China enables Texchem to be close to and provide more effective and efficient services to its customers in China. * Acquire Technology. Many companies brought along their technologies when setting up shop abroad. As the world become more and more accessible, it becomes possible to team up with these companies in the host country to acquire their technologies. Although Texchem has invested heavily in research and development and use leading edge, in-house facilities both for product enhancement and for new products (www.texchemgroup/business/packaging.html 2003, p. 1), it is continuously seeking out new technologies to gain competitive edge. As such Texchem joint ventures with international leader and creates new subsidiaries often through technology transfer arrangements that enable both parties to net a bigger catch ( www.texchemgroup.com/business/texchem-eng.html 2003a ;  group.com/stakeholders/associates.html 2003). To illustrate, Eye Graphic (Vietnam), a Texchem joint venture with Eye Corporate Planning Co Ltd of Japan, is equipped with advance digital propress system and flexo photopolymer printing plate making equipment ( * Demand. In any business activities, there must be demand. Without demand, a companys product will eventually be rendered obsolete. One of the reasons Texchem chose to expanded into ASEAN and China was because there was a huge demand for its products. And, Texchem is prepared to set up more manufacturing plants to meet the increasing demands of the ASEAN market ( 2003, p. 1). With greater demands from the Chinese market, Texchem now intends to expand its Wuxi plant into thermoforming for the high-tech industry and injection moulding for the computer and semi-conductor industry (Konishi 2003a, p. 2). Also, in line with increasing global demand for surimi, Texchem has set up a manufacturing plant in Myeik, Myanmar (Konishi 2003a, p. 3). Texchem expansion into Indonesia, with its largest manufacturing plant in Kerawang (near Jakarta), is to cater for the need of 206 million people. The  brand name of Fumakillas mosquito coil in Indonesia is distributed under the name Domestos Nomos, a successful household name ( 2003a). Yap (2003) reported Konishi as saying, so far, we have shipped over 400,000 cartons in the first 6 months of operation, equivalent to the total volume that Texchem sold in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines in the same period. A comparison of the population in ASEAN countries in presented below in order to appreciate the magnitude of the demands in ASEAN. FIGURE 3: ASEAN population breakdown. From the table it is understandable why Texchem has been aggressive in penetrating the ASEAN market to capture the demand. ASEAN has a combined population of 500 million. 3. GLOBALISATION EFFECTS ON TEXCHEM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY. Before a company expands abroad, it must have a strategy. According to Ball et al. (2004) there are several strategies that could be adopted such as the global strategy, multidomestic strategy, transnational strategy and international strategy. Globalisation has an influence on which strategy to adopt. Careful assessment of the various internal and external business environments is a prerequisite before any decision can be made. In crossing national boundaries, globalisation affects Texchem international business strategies in terms of the following: * Standardisation. Texchem operations are standardised in all the host countries. All packaging plants provide: One stop total packaging solutions equip with state-of- the-art facilities. Furthermore, all Texchem plants support customers through excellent logistics, warehousing and inventory management. This is done via a nationwide network of branches and sales offices ( www.texchemgroup.com/business/texchem-pack.html 2003c, p. 2; www. texchemgroup.com/business/texchem-mat.html 2003a, p. 1; www.texchemgroup. com/business/familycare.html 2003, p. 3). With globalised operations, Texchem would be able to take advantage of business opportunities occurring anywhere in the world and would not be constrained to specific sectors (Khambata and Ajami 1992, p. 43). As product preference and requirements are becoming increasingly alike globally, product standardisation across all cultures would enable companies to manufacture and sell low-cost reliable products around the world without being adapted to individual country preferences (Khambata and Ajami 1992, p. 43). To capitalise on this, Texchem products are also standardised globally. It manufactures and distributes household insecticide such as the Fumakilla mosquito coils under different brand names in Indonesia (Domestos Nomos), Thailand (Chang) and Myanmar (Jumbo) ( 2003b). * Global Decision Making. With globalisation, Texchem decision making covers a wider scope now compared to when it did domestically. Texchem has centralised its decision making in its Penang corporate office. This is where Texchem makes decision on strategies issues such as policy, capital, technology and products. Decisions are global minded taking into consideration the local factors of the host countries. Texchem Design Centre is centralised to tailor-make packaging solutions in the fastest possible time for all its plants across ASEAN countries and China to meet customers demand around the world ( 2003). * Market scope. Globalisation opens up the world as a very big market. Domestic markets, however large, are limited in size and growth and are targeted by domestic competitors (Khambata and Ajami 1992). To continue growing, Texchem sees the world as one market to sell its products. Khambata and Ajami (1992, p. 283) said that: Apart from the fact that the existence of a new, larger customer base would help boost sales, overseas markets often confer additional advantages such as competition from overseas markets may not be strong. When the local market is large and the demand is consistent enough to justify investment in the plant and equipment needed to set up a manufacturing operation, production economies can occur (Khambata and Ajami 1992, p. 284). Also, Texchem can tap the Chinese market to derive economies of scale and scope (Konishi, Texchem annual report 2002). Operational economies of scale allow Texchem to keep prices competitive and deliver exceptional value ( 2003). * Develop skills. Part of the globalisation process concerns developing skills especially multicultural and bilingual ones. Texchem encourages such skills development to communicate and establish rapport with its global clients, staff and customers. Not surprising, Texhem only recruits staff of outstanding caliber and provides training for them ( 2003). In order to develop skills, Texchem formed strategic alliances with agents around ASEAN region with strong domestic knowledge in sales and distribution ( 2003b, p. 1). Texchem has approached globalisation with a global strategy because the above effects have the essence of a global strategy. Ball et al. (2004, p. 6) defined the global strategy as a strategy that attempts to standardise and integrate operations worldwide in all functional areas. Texchem has adopted precisely this strategy. 4. MAJOR OPPORTUNITIES CREATED FOR TEXCHEM. As the world shrinks into a global village because of accessibility, abundant opportunities are available to business organisations. Companies are quick to take advantage of these golden opportunities to further their interests. In other words, globalisation provided avenues for companies to spread their wings into foreign markets. Globalisation presented many major opportunities for Texchem too as it did for others. Texchem management was quick to see these opportunities and swiftly took advantage of them. The major opportunities created for Texchem were: * Tariff Reduction. Tariffs are taxes levied on foreign goods entering the country. Sometimes it can be levied on goods leaving the country as well. According to Hill (2003), tariffs protect domestic products against foreign ones. It is a form of government intervention to shield local companies from international  competitors who have superior technologies to make higher quality products at lower cost. By levying taxes on such goods, it brings up their prices to be on par with local goods. With the exception of Singapore, all ASEAN countries have imposed tariffs on imports. However, ASEAN initiated the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 1992, detailing a regional progressive tariff reduction plan. To be implemented in stages, tariffs on goods with 40% ASEAN content shall be progressively reduced to between 0 5% by 2003. There were some exemptions to the implementation year for Vietnam (2006), Laos and Myanmar (2008) and Cambodia (2010) ( 2003). With the reduction in tariffs coupled with the huge population in ASEAN countries, the trading opportunities are very attractive. Texchem acknowledged this fact. It noted that with AFTA in place, the regional exchange in business is expected to further boost various industries ( 2003a, p. 1). Texchem has been anticipating AFTA since 1990s. Knowing the opportunities AFTA presented, it has ventured into ASEAN countries to position itself first while waiting in full anticipation for the implementation of AFTA. This strategy gave Texchem a head start to study the market opportunities of the host country better, build up its reputation, find solutions to lower production costs and sell competitively. This foresight has paid off handsomely as Texchem registered improved sales in all its division for the year 2003 (Konishi 2003b). As quoted in the Texchem investor newsletter (2003, p. 4), the increase in revenue for the Packaging Division was mainly contributed by the successful penetration into new market AFTA region, namely Thailand. This is because: Thailand experienced a substantial increase in revenue from the trade of plastic resins, a direct benefit of reduces impact duties effective Jan 2003, in line with the implementation of AFTA (Texchem investor newsletter 2003b, p. 2). As Konishi (2003b, p. 5) mentioned: Texchem Resources Bhd Group will continue to make the 100% AFTA proof objective its priority. Texchem is indeed in a position to take full  advantage of AFTA as it expands further into the global market. * Strategic Location. Geographical location is another opportunity that can be taken advantage of. According to Ball et al. (2004, p. 263), geographical proximity is often the major reason for trade between nations. Apart from close proximity, the location of a nation also offers other suitable operational advantages for foreign companies. For instance, if the country has sea frontage, companies can make use of ports in the country to export their products. This was what Texchem was looking for when it ventured into Myanmar. Texchem was searching for an advantage in Myanmars location and found it in a town called Myeik (please see map for location). (source: design printing services, www.dpsmap.com) FIGURE 4: Map of Myanmar. The Myeik Archipelago, which includes over 800 pleasant and enchanting islands, lies in the Andaman Sea along the south Tanintharyi coast. Myeik is the port city of this archipelago. It has the potential for industrialisation of marine base products because the Andaman Sea has abundant fish. Texchem joint ventured with Mascot Industries Co Ltd of Myanmar to set up ASK Andaman (Lee 2003). The strategic location of ASK Andaman at a fishing port complement the abundant fresh fish from the Andaman sea has set it as the most idealistic plant for surimi and fishmeal processing ( www.texchemgroup.com/  business/andaman.html 2003, p. 1). The fishing port facilitated the export of Texchems products from Myeik to Japan, Australia and Europe. It also provided an infrastructure for Texchem geographical reach so that it is the ideal partner for multinationals that have operations spread across the region ( 2003, p. 2). * Abundant Raw Materials. Sourcing for cheap raw materials is an important task in any operation. This is where competitive advantage can be sustained. Therefore, many foreign companies flock into ASEAN in search of raw material because they are in abundance. Konishi said Texchem globalisation into Myanmar enables it to tap the countrys natural resources and obtain a reliable supply of good quality and more cost effective raw material (The Star, 2003). ASK Andaman manufactures and market surimi and fishmeal products and provides Seapack Food with a reliable supply of reasonably priced, good quality surimi raw material ( 2003a, p. 1). It requires fresh fish to manufacture and process surimi and fishmeal products. The Andaman Sea has abundant supply of fresh fish to provide ASK Andaman. * Low Labour Cost. Labour cost in ASEAN countries is generally low with the exception of Singapore and Malaysia. Many foreign investors take this opportunity to relocate their operations here so that their production cost can be reduced. The table below provides a comparison of labour cost among ASEAN countries. Texchem has set up manufacturing plants in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar because the labour cost is lower than Malaysia. It practices stringent cost controls ( 2003, p. 2) and taking advantage of this opportunity is a prudent strategy. The setting up of manufacturing operations in competitive labour cost countries (Texchem investor newsletter 2003a, p. 2) provided Texchem with a competitive advantage over other domestic competitors. Konishi (2003b, p. 4) was please to note that: The year 2003 was spent building a solid base for Texchem operations in Myanmar and with its competitive labour and abundant natural resources, great returns beckons as Texchem begins exporting its marine products globally. Myanmar Sometimes a company is attracted by just one or two opportunities offered by the host country. However since Myanmar offers all the above opportunities for Texchem, it is only appropriate to provide an opinion of the country in this report. Myanmar has rich natural and human resources. The government is encouraging direct foreign investments to take advantage of these resources. With a market oriented economic system aimed to liberalise its economy, foreign investors would be given the right to enjoy appropriate economic benefits. They would also be safe guarded by the Government against nationalisation of their business. There are tremendous investment opportunities in natural resources such as teak forests, minerals and gems. Historical and cultural attractions offer vast potential for tourism. The labour force is highly literate and trainable. Myanmar has a long coastline rich in fish and other marine life. An estimated one million metric tons of sustainable fishery resources could be exploited annually. Investment opportunities in the fishery industry include setting up of cold storage facilities, fishmeal plants, canning plants and shrimp farms and / or hatcheries ( n.d.). 5. CHALLENGES FOR TEXCHEM AND MEETING THEM. Converting business opportunities into profits is usually never plain sailing. There are challenges to overcome first. These challenges come in many forms i.e. trade barriers, high taxes, corruption, unskilled workers, poor infrastructure etc. Although globalisation created many opportunities, Texchem must overcome the many challenges that came with these opportunities before reaping in the profits. Among the many challenges Texchem has or shall encounter in globalisation are: * Building Brand. Branding is a very important exercise for companies going global. Foreign markets must be made aware of the existence of their products. Irrespective of the large population, if the product is not known then there shall be no demand. When Texchem ventured into Indonesia to market its mosquito coils through Fumakilla, it realised the difficulty in building its mosquito coil brand. Fumakilla is relatively unknown to millions of Indonesian and without awareness the product will be just another product on the shelves. As a solution, Fumakilla has embarked on a RM12 million branding exercise to expose its mosquito coils to the Indonesian market under the brand name Domestos Nomos. Advertising and promotions activities were carried out via PT Technopia Lever (Texchem investor newsletter 2003b). Since the expansion of the Family Care business to Indonesia in September 2002, Domestos Nomos has: Achieved a market share of 6.5% as of Sept 2003. Sales in the 2nd half of 2003 improve due to seasonal trend of the household insecticides market in ASEAN. It has also become the top brand with an average market share of 40% in modern retail outlets located within Jakarta and Medan (Texchem investor newsletter 2003, p.4 2003a, p.3). With such a large market, Fumakillas top priority for 2003 was to build the Domestos Nomos brand so as to achieve further significant market penetration into Indonesia. With a population 206 million, industry  potential in massive (Tan, GH 2002, pp. 30-31). * Sustaining Market. Market penetration is just the first step to a successful globalisation. After penetrating a foreign market another challenge shall present itself. This challenge is sustaining the market. Sustaining a market is difficult because there is no such thing as a perpetual sustainable market. Products come and go frequently because of competition. Texchem success depends on: Keeping its fingers on the pulse of an ever-changing market and on its resourcefulness in responding to customer needs. By constantly updating knowledge of market trends and sharing knowledge with suppliers, Texchem is able to rapidly develop and introduce new products that exceed its customers expectations (  industrial.html 2003, p. 1). Texchem is focused on maintaining its market leadership and is confident of attracting potential partners for help because of more competitive products from China (Texchem investor newsletter 2003b, p. 2). Therefore, Texchem is very selective in its choice of partners, choosing only those whose needs can genuinely be met and who are committed to long term brand building ( 2003, p. 3). * Financial Limitation. Insufficient financial capability is a hindrance to globalisation. Funds are required to invest in foreign soil. Additional plants and equipment have to be procure and employees paid. Normally, capital expenditure can only be recouped after a few years of operation. Sourcing for funds to globalise is a major task for Texchem. One of the ways to overcome the shortage of funds is to list the company in Securities Exchanges. In September 2003, Texchem announced: The listing of its Packaging business on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX-ST). Texchem is currently awaiting approvals from SGX-ST and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to list Texpack Holdings on the SGX-ST (Texchem investor newsletter 2003b, p. 3). The access to funds shall pave the way for Texchem to take advantage of viable investment opportunities in the international capital market. It also broadens its fund raising capabilities to expand and grow its Packaging Division within the region and on the global arena (Texchem investor newsletter 2003a). * Risk. There are no risk free investments. The same goes for globalisation. In fact, risk assessment for globalisation is considered a delicate task. Unexpected global events such as epidemic, natural disaster and war are some of the risks that are difficult to account for. These unexpected events affect company performance. Texchem Food Division performance could have been better if not for the SARS epidemic and war in the Middle East (Nishida 2003, p. 28). To demonstrate the impact, Kim (2003, p. 18) said that Texchem-Pack (Wuxi) in China suffered losses due to the indirect effect of the SARS epidemic during the first half of 2003 because Texchem sales and marketing team was prevented from servicing the clients due to the outbreak. However, Texchem was able to overcome this challenge with the support from its clients, new business partners, the dedication of the team and the support form the Penang head office'(Kim 2003, p. 18). Apart from that, the risk of lack of basic infrastructure and communications  is another prevailing issue when entering third world countries. Texchem can attest to that because the initial stage of establishing in Myanmar was difficult because of the lack of infrastructure and communication problems (Nishida 2003, p. 28). Nevertheless, Texchem was able to grow and expand its operation in Myanmar due to strategic acquisitions, meticulous planning and the synergizing of all Texchem plants (Nishida 2003, p. 28). 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION. Globalisation has changed the way business is being conducted. From being a domestic company in the 1970s and 1980s, Texchem is now a successful global company. Ever since Texchem started globalising its performance has been growing steadily. Apart from a slight drop in revenue in 2001, Texchem has registered an increase in sales and operating profit for the past five years. (source: Texchem Resources Bhd, www.texchemgroup.com) FIGURE 5: Texchem financial performance For the year 2003, Texchems gross dividend payout was a remarkable 8%, much to the delight of its shareholders. Globalisation has also generated sufficient profit for Texchem to be transferred to the Main Board of the Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) in 2001 after being listed in the Second Board in 1993. This milestone signified the growth of Texchem into a major listed conglomerate in Malaysia. Texchem is now a household name in family care products and its packaging division is well represented in ASEAN. Its food division is also making inroads into Europe, starting with Italy. Overall, globalisation has indeed changed the corporate profile of Texchem. It has provided Texchem a vast market for its products and Texchem has seized the opportunities created well. With six more years to go, Vision 2010 may sound a little ambitious. It is not that Vision 2010 cannot be achieved but it should be scaled down to allow for any unforeseeable economic crisis such as workers strike, war, epidemic or even natural disaster. Also, Texchem should continue spreading its influence in the relatively untapped Chinese market. Aggressive branding exercise is required here to capture a lion share of its 1 billion market opportunity. With AFTA already in full implementation for certain ASEAN countries it may be prudent for Texchem to invest more in Research Development so that it can continuously reinvent itself to stay relevant. Competition is getting keener with more and more companies expanding in ASEAN to take advantage of AFTA. Finally, Texchem may consider a multidomestic strategy in the near future as it strengthens its foothold globally. This strategy is flexible and allows participation from the locals. Furthermore this strategy allows global companies to look beyond costs and product standardisation to think in new ways about world competition (Hamel and Prahalad 1985, p. 139). REFERENCES: 1. Associates 2003, viewed on 14 July 2004, holders/associates.html, p. 1. 2. 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