Certified Specialist of Wine Review

Maps Review France Major AOC Wine Producing Regions Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Rhone Valley, Provence, Languedoc, Bordeaux, Loire Valley Chris and Bored Raj Played Little Balls Loudly Major Topographical Features: Massif Central ( Central highlands of the country), Alsp in SE, Loire, Garonne, Dordogne , Rhone and Rhine Rivers and Vosges Mountains – NE France – Shields vineyards of Alsace , Champagne and Chablis Mediterranean climate : Rousillion, Languedoc, Provence and Rhone Regions Red Grapes dominant: Full Bodied, Moderate acidityMaritime Climate: Western part of France, Loire Valley White Grapes dominate: high acidic, low to medium body, low in alcohol White Grape Varieties 1) UGNI BLANC ( Trebbiano), Chardonnay, Sauv Blanc, Melon de Bourgogne ( Muscadet), Muscat ( Vin Doux Naturales), Chenin Blanc Red Grape Varieties: 1) MERLOT ( Bordeaux and Languedoc), Grenach, Syrah ( N. RHONE), Carignan, CAB ( Bordeaux), Cab Frank ( tolerates cool weather – Loire), Gam ay, Pinot Noir ( Burgundy), Cinsaut ( blending grape of South), Pinot Meunier ( other Red grape of Champagne), Mourvere ( Languedoc & Provence)Vin de Table, Vin de Pays, VDQS, AOC (300, ? of French Wine) Bordeaux Highlights ( SW FRANCE) Known for Long Lived, High Quality Reds & Sweet White Dessert Wines Varieties: Melot, Cab, Cab Frank, Malbec & Petit Verdot, Garonne and Dordogne Rivers form the GIRONDE, flows into Atlantic River divided region in 3 Sections 1) Left Bank – West a. Upper End Left Bank Reds : Cab Territory, Medoc Region – World’s Finest b. Sweet White Wines comes from Sauternes on Left Bank, Botrytis Condition/ Noble Rot 2) Right Bank – East . Upper End Right Bank Reds : Top Quality, Long Lived Reds i. Pomeral & St. Emilion AOC’s 3) Entre – Deux – Mers a. Dry White Wine Area – Graves, Area of Left Bank North is called MEDOC, south and west of the city is called GRAVES – Most White Varietals are found hereà ¢â‚¬ ¦ Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, Muscadelle Bordeaux AOC vs Bordeaux Superior – Can be used for Red and Sweet White, tighter restrictions, older vines ,lower yields, several months of aging, higher minimum ripeness at harvest, half degree higher alcoholMEDOC: Four of the most esteemed villages – St. Estephe, Pauillac, St. Jullien, Margaux GRAVES: Sauternes – Sweet Wines, Pesac – Leoganan – split off from Graves to establish its own identity – most highly regarded Ch. Of District Bordeaux Classifications Top Level – Premier CRU comprised of 4 Chateaus : Haut Brion (Graves ), Lafite – Rothschild, Latour & Margaux , WHITES – FIRST SUPERIOR GROWTH = Chateau d’ Yquem St. Emilion Grand Cru: only classification system on Right Bank: Grang Cru Class and Premier Grand Cru Classe: Ch.Ausone and Ch Cheval Blanc – Category A RANKING LOIRE VALLEY Loire River = Longest River in France, Flows NORTH Known for Crisp Whi te Wines, Light Red Wines and some Fine Sweet & Sparkling Valley Divides into Three Winegrowing regions, West to East†¦ Pays Nantais ( Nantes County) – Chilly maritime Climate, Melon de Bourgogne ( muscadet), 4 MUSCADET AOC’s Central Loire ( Anjou and Touraine) – Humidity remains high from sea, Botrytis Development, Chenin Blanc & Sauvignon Blanc, Cab Frank for Reds and Roses, Malbec / Cot, Grolleau and Gamay FINES BULLES ( Fine BUBBLES) : Specialty here, made in Traditional Champagne Method but uses Chenin Blanc and either Cabs as Main Ingredients – Anjou AOC ( primarily Cab Frank), Raose d’ Anjou ( Rose/Mainly Grolleau ) Cabernet D’Anjou ( 2 Cabs ony), Rose de Loire ( Dry Rose) Sweet dessert wines are the specialty , botrytis favors conditions – Coteaux de Layon AOC : Subregions are Bonnezeaux and Quarts-de- Chaume (100 % Chenin Blanc), Premier Dry White Appelation = Savennieres ( 100 % Chenin Blanc) SAUMUR: Known for its spark ling wines – Chief Source of Grapes for Cremant de Loire – Sparkling wine – TOURRAINE: Bourgueil & Chinon – regions that are known for excellent red wines , 90 % Cab Frank , Vouvray – uses 100 % Chenin Blanc and can be dry or sweet, also Montlois Su Loire – produces similar wines – Sancerre & Pouilly – Fume : 100 % Sauvignon Blanc Wines, Also Pinot Noir Eastern , Upper Loir ,( Sancerre/Pouilly – Fume) Continental climate, Sauvignon Blanc- minerally with high acidity and fine aromatics , flinty soil makes SMOKIER flavor CHAMPAGNE Four Zones : Montagne de Reims ( Chard), Vallee de La Marne (Pinot Meunier &Pinot Noir), Cote des Blancs (Chardonnay), Cote des Bar (Pinot Noir) Kimmerdigian Clay: In Cote de Bar Region, Clay created during the Jurassic period, Chalky soil formed by Microscopic Shellfish – High Water Retention capacity, heat retention and heat reflection Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Pinot MeunierChampagne Styl es: Non Vintage ( Blend of Wines from Several Vintages – MUST age for 1 year on lees in the bottle), Vintage (Single Year Harvest – min 3 years aging), Prestige Cuvee (Top of Line produced by Champagne House), Blanc de Blancs (Chard), Blanc de Noirs, Rose Dry to Sweet: Brut, Extra Dry, Sec, Demi Sec, Doux ALSACE NE Corner of France, Vosges Mnt & Rhine River ,Lies Across German Region of Baden, Cold Continental Climate, Dry because of shadow of Vosges Grape Varieties: Reisling, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris & Pinot Noir 2 Styles of Dessert Wines ) Selection de Grapes Nobles: Sweet, Sauternes Style , Botrytized Wine 2) Vendange Tardive: Late harvest grapes, may or may not be affected by Botrytis Alsace AOC: 100 % of any of the following; Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris, Auxerrios, Pinot Noir, Sylvaner, Muscat and Chasselas – Blends of these varieties are called EDELZWICKER CREMANT D’ ALSACE AOC: sparkling wine – Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Auxerrois BURGUNDY Known for elegant, silky and complex Pinot Noirs and complex dry white wines from Chardonnay Distinct Vineyard Areas Chablis ( Makes STILL wine) Cote d’ Or – Lies SW of city of DIJON Divided into 2 Segments: Cote de Nuits – North (Pinot NOIR DOMINATES), Cote de Beaune – South Cote Chalonnaise Macconnais (Gamay) Grape Varieties: Chardonnay & Pinot Noir – CLAIM TO FAME, Gamay, Aligote (Minore white Variety of BURGUNDY) Burgundy Wine Styles: All Dry and Still, Moderate in Alcohol, Acidity & tannin , Earthiness, Oak Aging is Norm, South of Chablis – Chardonnay is Richer and Less Acidic, Cotes d Or – Wet Earth Wine Style

A Description of Marketing Essay

Philip Kotler has defined marketing as satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process. The marketing concept is the philosophy that firm should analyze the need of costumer and then make decision to satisfy those needs, the better than competition. A marketing plan is a comprehensive blueprint which outlines an organization’s overall marketing efforts. The last step in the process is the marketing controlling. The marketing plan can function from two points that is strategy and tactics. In most organizations, strategic planning is an annual process, typically covering just the year ahead. Occasionally, a few organizations may look at a practical plan which stretches three or more years ahead. Behind the corporate objectives, which in themselves offer the main context for the marketing plan, will lay the corporate mission, which in turn provides the context for these corporate objectives. In a sales-oriented organization, the marketing planning function designs incentive pay plans to not only motivate and reward frontline staff fairly but also to align marketing activities with corporate mission. The marketing plan basically aims to make the business provide the solution with the awareness with the expected customers. According to Malcolm McDonald, marketing strategies can be seen as the means, or game plan, by which marketing objectives will be achieved and, in the framework that we have chosen to use, are generally concerned with the 8 P’s that is price, product, promotion, placement, people, physical, process and packaging. See more:Â  Mark Twain’s Humorous Satire in Running for Governor Essay * Price is the amount of money needed to buy products * Product is the actual product * Promotion is getting the product known by all people. * Placement is where the product is sold * People is represent the business * Physical environment is the ambiance, mood, or tone of the environment * Process is the Value-added services that differentiate the product from the competition e.g. after-sales service, warranties * Packaging is how the product will be protected A marketing plan for a small business typically includes Small Business Administration Description of competitors, including the level of demand for the product or service and the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, description of the product or service, including special features, marketing budget, including the advertising and promotional plan, Description of the business location, including advantages and disadvantages for marketing, pricing strategy, and market segmentation.

Soap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Soap - Essay Example A particular symptom of GERD is heartburn. Other indications involve regurgitation, epigastric pain, hoarseness, wheezing, and coughing. *taken from Chandrasoma & DeMeester, 2006 Pathophysiology of HTN As indicated by pathophysiology of hypertension (HTN) research, high blood pressure could be categorized as either essential or secondary. The former, essential hypertension is a pressure increase because of unidentified clinical causes. While, secondary hypertension is a pressure increase because of some other primary health illnesses such as kidney problems, tumors, diabetes, etc. Chronic hypertension can lead to stroke, heart failure, heart diseases, heart attack, and other illnesses. *taken from Izzo, Sica & Black, 2007 Pathophysiology of DM The pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus is connected to insulin, which is a hormone produced by the pancreas’s beta cells. This hormone is in charge of sustaining glucose amount in the blood. It enables the cells to utilize glucose as t he primary source of energy. Yet, in a person suffering from diabetes, because of anomalous insulin metabolism, the body tissues and cells do not utilize glucose from the blood, leading to an increased glucose level in the blood or also called ‘hyperglycemia’. ... If a person has a low BMD, s/he has osteopenia. Developing osteopenia implies there is a higher risk that, over time, a person could have BMD that is quite lower than normal, referred to as ‘osteoporosis’. *taken from McIlwain, Cruse, Bruce, & McIlwain, 2004 Application of Advanced Nursing Practice Framework Three distinct methods of abdominal pain assessment may be determined from the evaluation, which are (1) the appearance of the patient (dependence on observation), (2) the gestures and statements of the patient (dependence on the expressions of the patient), and (3) the normal condition (dependence on typology). In evaluating the postoperative pain of the patient, the nurse should depend on one of these three methods to get attain the level and quality of the abdominal pain of the patient during assessment. When the nurse depends on ‘the appearance of the patient’ or observation, s/he will make use of information gathered concerning objective facts such as posture or movements, skin color, vital signs to get to abdominal pain assessment. In contrast, when the nurse depends on ‘the gestures and statements of the patient’ or expressions, the nurse will have to regard the patient’s statement and gesture as the appropriate information for the type and level of abdominal pain the patient is experiencing. The nurse depending on ‘the normal condition’ or typology should pay attention to the conditions and characteristics of diagnostic or special tests, the time since examination, or the characteristics of the patient like sex, age, etc. in identifying the kind of pain felt by the patient. *taken from Whyte, 1997 Application of Family Stress Theory Family stress theory offers a

Dicuss the Roles that English Language Newspapers Play in India Essay

Dicuss the Roles that English Language Newspapers Play in India - Essay Example From the study, it is evident that English has helped foster nationalism in India. Moreover, newspapers have been an agent for social change helping bring land reforms and enhancing liberation struggle. Introduction In India, the English speaking population is estimated at 4 percent of the total figure (Hohenthal, n.d). Consequently, English is not categorized among the fifteen national languages used in India. According to Hohenthal (n.d), there was a provision in the Indian constitution which allowed English to be used as an official language until 1965 after which it would be replaced by Hindi. However, efforts to remove English as the official language faced much opposition from Dravidians in the south. Following much opposition, the government gave in and recognized English as the associate official language in India (Hohenthal, n.d). Additionally, English is used as the official language in four states: Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya. However, English has not been ful ly accepted in India as political and nationalists pushing for Hindi to be recognized as the sole national language (Hohenthal, n.d). Despite this opposition and different reception of English in the society, its role in media is increasing (Hohenthal, n.d). English newspapers, magazines and journals are increasing in number. Hohenthal (n.d) writes that out over 19,000 newspapers were recognized in India; 18.7 percent were in English while 27.8 percent were in Hindi. This leads to debate on the role of the English language newspapers in India; yet the population speaking the language is insignificant in number and most of them are multilingual. In addition to informing the public, newspapers serve various roles, as discussed by Harbermas and Anderson. Harbermas explained that newspapers are important in public sphere to enhance rational debate while Anderson noted that newspapers serve a role of creating nationalism. Discussion In India, more than 107 million copies of newspapers ci rculate daily, making it one of the largest newspapers markets in the world (Krishna, 2011). It is further pointed that India accounts for over 20 percent of the global dailies. The English-language newspapers consumption is growing steadily, enjoying the biggest share from the print industry revenues (Krishna, 2011). A joint research conducted by KPMG in conjunction with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed that demand for the English language newspapers is estimated to grow by 7 percent annually from 2011 to 2015 (Krishna, 2011). Some players in the industry have even decided to concentrate in distribution of the English newspapers in some states previously dominated by native language newspapers, such as Kerala (Print media set to "see a churn" in South Indian state, 2012). These statistics show that most Indians read newspapers which shows that they serve a certain purpose in the lives and to the society in general. Newspapers are part of the print media; understanding their role and development can be pegged from the theory developed by Benedict Anderson and Jurgen Harbermas (Jeffrey, 2009). According to Habermas, press is the most preeminent public sphere institution. Schudson (2003) asserted that print is important because it allows rational deliberation among intelligent citizens in the public sphere. From the point of view of Anderson, newspapers and other forms of printed media help create a common

Sand creek massacre Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sand creek massacre - Research Paper Example Though there was chaos and panic upon the start of the attack, some Native Americans refused to fight. Chief Black Kettle and Chief White Antelope of the Cheyenne stood with their arms folded, having unsuccessfully tried to stop the raid, signifying that even now they would not take up arms or move against the attacking soldiers3. Chief Black Kettle also hoisted the American flag atop his lodge, along with the white flag of surrender, as he had been promised by Colonel Greenwood, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, that should he fly the American flag he would be under the protection of the soldiers and kept safe4. However, on that day, it did not help to save his people. Men, women, and children were killed without reason or sympathy, even those that put white cloth on sticks and showed their surrender5. Nothing mattered to Chivington but clearing out the Native Americans, and their hatred knew few bounds. Chivington wasted no time in celebration. He gleefully sent a telegram that informed his superiors of his victory, stating that between 400 and 500 Native American warriors were killed (in reality, it was 105 women and children, and 28 men)6. However, Chivington took delight in making it sound as though it had been the result of a very long and hard-won battle, praising his officers lavishly as he did so7. He had lost only nine men and had 38 wounded, mostly from friendly fire8. The encampments of both tribes were burned to the ground, on the orders of Colonel Chivington, before the soldiers rode away9. Though the bloodlust for Native Americans had been satisfied, the results would damage Native American relations for years to come. Chivington, as well as others, were called to testify before Congress, to the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. According to the published report, it was found that his acts were

Explain the relationship betweenTeam Learning and Shared Vision Term Paper - 1

Explain the relationship betweenTeam Learning and Shared Vision - Term Paper Example ave its basis on the cognitive capabilities of every individual that varies according to history of psychological patterns as expressed by many theories, specifically the Psycho Dynamic Theory (Klein, 1998). In contrast, team learning is a vast concept with huge nitty-gritty involved in it. It requires extensive effort and investment of a lot of time to lead a team through a learning process. Since, there are many individuals who have to go through distinct cognitive processes unique than the rest, the learning process is extensive with many endorsements to get things clear on part of every individual. Thus, it reaches a high level of complexity that could mean excessive repetition for some individuals if they are quick learners and can readily adapt to a change. Moreover, to add to the complexity in a team-learning environment, every individual happens to have a distinct social, cultural, psychological, religious, and psychosocial background. These factors have unique and strong impact over the lives of those individuals and these factors influence the way they carry themselves in different lifestyles. Their thinking capabilities and cognition are usually shaped by these factors since their brought up and lifestyle depend on them. Therefore, a team of diversified individuals with distinctive lifestyles and culture are very much difficult to handle making it difficult to impart something to them homogeneously. On the contrary, in an individual learning, the specific person is considered as a unit; however, in team learning, the whole team is a unit. Thus, it does not matter if half of the members work effectively and the other half does not; the only thing that could make them successful would be every individual putting up good efforts and collaborating with each other’s aptitudes to achieve something, which is aspired and pursued by all of them (Gorelick, Milton & April, 2004). Coming towards the second concept, let the paper analyze what the concept

Denial or doubters of the environmental global warming Essay

Denial or doubters of the environmental global warming - Essay Example These experts include Frederick Seitz, Ph.D. Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D., S. Fred Singer, Ph.D, Patrick J. Michaels, Ph.D.,Robert C. Balling, Jr. Ph. D.1 They have expressed doubts over climate change and challenged the consensus of mainstream scientists (Granados). This paper briefly explains the biggest theory of denial or doubters of the environmental global warming Lord Crimson (n. d) has cited the opinions of 19,000 scientists in order to argue against the established theories of global warming. These scientists have established that the current theories about the responsibility of the human in global warming are in question. They have signed a petition saying global warming is probably natural and not a crisis (Lord Crimson). United States is depending heavily (around 85%) on fossil fuels for its energy needs. Fossil fuels are exhausting day by day and it is difficult for United Sates to meet all its energy needs in future in the absence of fossil fuels. So, they want to reduce the usage of fossil fuels as much as possible by other countries and for that purpose they have attributed the global warming problem to the emissions from the fossil fuels. â€Å"Dr Sami Solanki, the director of the renowned Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Gottingen, Germany, ha conducted a research in order to find out the reasons behind global warming. He has concluded that the Sun has been at its strongest over the past 60 years and may now be affecting global temperatures† (The Global Warming Scam). In other worlds, instead of searching for the reasons of global warming on earth, we must look in to the sky to find out reasons. The solar radiations were intensified a lot for the last 1000years as per the studies conducted by Dr. Solanki. These rise in solar temperature causing the atmospheric temperature rise and melting of ice from the Polar Regions. Increased amount of flood, the sea level rise and the melting of huge ice blocks

Usability will be an important factor in QoL and QoA Essay

Usability will be an important factor in QoL and QoA - Essay Example Current markets are saturated with lots of computer products from different vendors. As a result, manufactures need to develop systems and products that are usable by consumer. In order to achieve this, they should focus on user-oriented methods of product design rather than technology-oriented methods (David, 1984). In doing so, the customers quality of experience will increase which will in turn increase the quality of experience. The key idea behind usability is the object should be designed with key attention and consideration put on the user’s psychology and physiology. In other words, the designed systems should be efficient. By efficiently, it means that a consumer takes little time to learn and use it. This will ensure that the consumer make more use of the given product thus improving their quality of life. Many are the times when products come in the market and go. During this period of time, consumer may forget how to use the particular product. Usability focuses on the ability of consumers to remember how to use this product, were it to return back to the market. It is very important to design products that consumer will easily remember to use as this will enable them establish proficiency hence improving the quality of life (Iler, 2000). Produced goods are never 100% efficient and as a result the manufacture needs to test it before releasing the product into the market. Manufacture need to understand that testing things prior to releasing them into the market is cheaper compared to releasing and then make rectifications later. In addition to that, quality of life demands that for people to experience the general welfare of life the level of errors, arising from usage of commodities, should be minimized greatly (Mellouk, 2014). This means that consumer goods should be designed in a way that consumers will make very minimal errors while using these products. Manufactures should therefore design products with interfaces that are easy to understand

Hinduism Essay Example for Free

Hinduism Essay Hinduism is the religion of the great majority of the people of India. The word comes from the Sanskrit sindhu, â€Å"river,† and originally referred to the Indus. Hinduism is actually a collection of many native Indian religions, past and present. It is responsible for the social structure of India, especially for the caste system (a hereditary class system). The oldest of the world’s great religions, Hinduism is the only one without a founder. It has never tried to win converts by force and has always tolerated other religions and absorbed ideas from them. Hinduism has about 20 sects, with beliefs that range from primitive forms of animism to the highest reaches of mysticism and philosophy. Many of the sects and cults seem to be separate religions. Yet all have a family relationship since they spring from common traditions and thrive on the conditions peculiar to India. Most have a mystic strain and all stress nonviolence. †¢ Describe the major tenets of the Hindu belief system. Hinduism has many sacred objects and places. The cow is the most sacred of animals and must be protected. Most sacred of all places is the Ganges River, to which millions go each year to bathe and to become purified. Hindus believe in rebirth, or reincarnation, and in what they call the law of karma. Under this law the conditions of each new lifetime are determined by the actions of the preceding life. To the Hindu, salvation consists of liberating the soul from attachment to worldly desires in order to gain union with Brahman. If a Hindu dies liberated he must be born again into this world and again endure its suffering.

Jungian archetypes in today’s global society Essay Example for Free

Jungian archetypes in today’s global society Essay This essay presents Jungian â€Å"archetypes† derived from the theoretical formulations of Carl Gustav Jung aimed at understanding their impacts in today’s global society. This essay also presents a list of individuals noted for their contributions for changing the image of the world totally different from those of the Medieval Period’s and from these thoughts one can imagine the prospects of the future. This essay concludes with the citation of some present-day personalities, technologies, and significant events as objects of Jung’s archetypes. Jung’s theory of personality has tremendous influence on sociology—â€Å"the science of society, social institutions, and social relationships [or] specifically the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings† (Merriam-Webster 2004). In order to appreciate the impact of the personality theory of Jung in sociological settings, it is necessary to mention key components of the theoretical constructs foremost of which is the â€Å"collective unconscious†Ã¢â‚¬â€in which Jungian archetypes reside. The â€Å"Ego† is the â€Å"conscious mind†Ã¢â‚¬â€it is the seat of â€Å"perceptions, memories, thoughts, and feelings †¦ from the viewpoint of an individual person it is regarded as the center of consciousness,† write Hall Lindsey (118). The â€Å"Personal Unconscious† is the â€Å"region adjoining the ego †¦ consists of experiences that were once conscious but which have been repressed, suppressed, forgotten, or ignored† (118). Under the â€Å"Personal Unconscious† are various â€Å"complexes†Ã¢â‚¬â€the organized group or constellation of feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and memories; that have mental life of their own and have the capacity to seize the personality and to utilize for its end, like â€Å"Napoleon’s lust for power† (118). The â€Å"Collective Unconscious†Ã¢â‚¬â€considered as the â€Å"storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from one’s ancestral past, a past that includes not only the racial history of humans as a separate species but their prehuman or animal ancestry as well †¦ [It is] the psychic residue of human evolutionary development, a residue that accumulates as a consequence of repeated experiences over many generations. † If we humans today are afraid, for example, of the dark or of snakes, it is because our primitive parents â€Å"encountered many dangers in the dark and were victims of poisonous snakes,† write Hall and Lindzey (118). And â€Å"what a person learns is substantially influenced by the collective unconscious that exercises a guiding or selective influence over the behavior of the person from the very beginning of life. † Furthermore, the â€Å"two unconscious regions of the mind, the personal and the collective, can be of immense service to humans †¦ the unconscious holds possibilities which are locked away from the conscious mind, for it has its disposal all subliminal contents, all those things which have been forgotten or overlooked, as well as the wisdom and experience of uncounted centuries, which are laid down in its archetypal organs† (119-120). The â€Å"structural components of the collective unconscious are called by various names: archetypes †¦ primordial images †¦ mythological images, and behavior patterns† quotes Hall and Lindzey of Jung (1943). â€Å"An archetype is a universal thought (idea) form that contains a large element of emotion† (Hall and Lindzey 120). An example is the â€Å"mother archetype†Ã¢â‚¬â€an image or a perception of an individual recognized by an infant irregardless of race anywhere in the world. How can this happen? â€Å"It is a permanent deposit in the mind of an experience that has been constantly repeated for many generations. † (Hall and Lindzey 121). Another example is an image of the â€Å"sun† which has been seen by all inhabitants of the world (except the blinds) rose in the east and set on the west horizons—so that â€Å"certain concepts and images of a supreme deity are off-shoots of the sun archetype† (121). â€Å"In a similar manner, humans have been exposed through their existence to innumerable instances of great natural forces—earthquakes, waterfalls, floods, hurricanes, lightning, forest fires †¦ Out of these experiences there has developed an archetype of energy† (121). On the other hand, two or more archetypes sometimes fuse together so that one can see the person of a â€Å"Hitler† as a form of fused archetypes of â€Å"demon and hero †¦ so that one gets a satanic leader. † Furthermore, â€Å"[m]yths, dreams, visions, rituals, neurotic and psychotic symptoms, and works of art contain a great deal of archetypal material, and constitute the best source of knowledge regarding archetypes,† write Hall and Lindzey (122-123). Jung identified four key archetypes in his personality theory—they are briefly described here, namely: The â€Å"Persona†Ã¢â‚¬â€is a â€Å"mask adopted by the person in response to the demands of social convention and tradition and to his or her own inner archetypal needs,† quote Hall and Lindzey of Jung (1945). This persona is the â€Å"role assigned to one by society, the part that society expects one to play in life. The purpose of the mask is to make a definite impression upon others and it often †¦ conceals the real nature of the person. The persona is the public personality †¦ contrasted with private personality that exists behind the social facade† (Hall and Lindzey 122). The person archetype â€Å"originates out of the experiences of the race; in this case, the experiences consist of social interactions in which the assumption of a social role has served a useful purpose to humans throughout their history as social animals† (122). The â€Å"Anima and the Animus†Ã¢â‚¬â€it is â€Å"fairly well recognized and accepted that a human is a bisexual animal. On a physiological level, the male secretes both male and female sex hormones, as does the female. On the psychological level, masculine and feminine characteristics are found in both sexes†¦. The feminine archetype in man is called the anima, the masculine archetype in woman is called the animus,† quote Hall and Lindzey of Jung (1945, 1954b). These archetypes are the â€Å"products of the racial experiences of man with woman and woman with man †¦ by living with woman throughout the ages man has become feminized; by living with man woman has become masculinized† (122-123). The â€Å"Shadow† archetype consists of the animal instincts that humans inherited in their evolution from lower forms of life, cites Hall and Lindzey of Jung (1948a). Consequently, the shadow †¦ typifies the animal side of human nature. As an archetype, â€Å"the shadow is responsible for our conception of original sin; when it is projected outward it becomes the devil and an enemy†¦. [It is] responsible for the appearance in consciousness and behavior of unpleasant and socially reprehensible thoughts, feelings and actions. These then may either be hidden from public view by the persona or repressed into the personal unconscious† (Hall and Lindzey 123). The â€Å"Self† archetype â€Å"expresses itself in various symbols, the chief one being the mandala or magic circle,† writes Jung (1955a). The self according to Jung is the total unity of all the systems that make up the personality. The self â€Å"holds these systems together and provides the personality with unity, equilibrium, and stability. † The self is â€Å"life’s goal, a goal that people constantly strive for but rarely reach †¦ it motivates human behavior and causes one to search for wholeness especially through the avenues provided by religion,† and it is here where the â€Å"figures of Christ and Buddha are as highly differentiated expressions of the self archetype as one will find in the modern world,† write Hall Lindzey (124). The foregoing presented an overview of the key Jungian archetypes. Hall and Lindzey write that the â€Å"most salient feature of Jung’s theory of personality †¦ is the emphasis that he places upon the forward-going character of personality development †¦ [that] humans are constantly progressing or attempting to progress from a less complete stage of development to a more complete one †¦ [and] that mankind as a species is constantly evolving more differentiated forms of existence† (134). Table 1 shows the Table of Contents of a special edition of the Reader’s Digest magazine capturing the significant contributions of popular and important persons the world has ever produced so far. Each one of the persons mentioned walked in the alleys of human endeavors leaving a legacy that benefited many generations to come after theirs including today’s generation. Table 1. Table of Contents of a Pocket Book on â€Å"popular and important subjects. † Adapt from Reader’s Digest (n. d. ) I. Giants of the World of Science—Copernicus: The man who moved the World (pp. 3-8); Galileo—Bold Discoverer (pp.9-14); Sir Isaac Newton, Explorer of the Universe (pp. 15-20); The Evolution of Charles Darwin (pp. 21-28); Albert Einstein, the man, and the Theory (pp. 29-33). II. They Opened Our Minds—Socrates: A One-Man Turning Point in History (pp. 37-42); What Plato Says to Us (pp. 43-48); Aristotle: Master Mind of 300 B. C. (pp. 49-52); Listen to Wisdom of Confucius (pp. 53-56); William James and the Adventure of Being Human (pp. 57-66); Emerson’s vital Message for Today (pp. 67-74). III. They Sought the True Way—The Man Called Jesus (pp. 77-82); Saint Paul – Apostle to All Men (pp. 83-88); Islam: the Misunderstood Religion (pp.89-98); Buddha, â€Å"The Enlightened One† (pp. 99-104). IV. They Fought for Democracy—Thomas Jefferson, Architect of Democracy (pp. 107-112); The Prodigious Gifts of Benjamin Franklin (pp. 113-118); Woodrow Wilson’s fight for Peace (pp. 119-124); â€Å"We Must Never Deny Our Gratitude†: A Portrait of Winston Churchill (pp. 125-130). V. They Opened the Door—Columbus: He Knew the World Was Round (pp. 133-140); Westward – With Lewis and Clark (pp. 141-148); And Then Came Ford (pp. 149-158); Alexander Graham Bell: The Man Who Tied the World Together (pp. 159-164). VI. Apostle of Human Rights—Abraham Lincoln’s Hardest Decision (pp.167-172); Mr. Thoreau of Walden Pond (pp. 173-180); Gandhi: Apostle of Non-Violence (pp. 181-188). VII. Giants of the Arts—Leonardo da Vinci: The Firs Modern (pp. 191-198); Delacroix: He Opened the Door to Modern Art (pp. 199-202); Pablo Picasso, Artist of the Century (pp. 203-208); Beethoven the Incredible (pp. 209-214); Frederic Chopin: Poet of the Piano (pp. 215-218); Mozart, Music’s Wonder Child (pp. 219-224). VIII. They Took Us Into the Future—The Day the Atomic Age Was Born (pp. 227-232); We Tamed Penicillin (pp. 233-238); With Ranger VII-To the Moon (pp. 239-245). What is the goal of human development? Toward what end are humans and mankind striving? Hall and Lindzey’s answer to these questions is this: the â€Å"ultimate goal is summed up by the term self-realization. Self-realization means the fullest, most complete differentiation and harmonious blending of all aspects of a human’s total personality. † To this end, there is one significant thing that appears to be consistent in all human history—this is what Hall and Lindzey write as â€Å"progress† which â€Å"did not stop with the creation of humans; just as humans represent an advancement over all other species of animals, so does civilized man represent an improvement over primitive man† (134). Meanwhile, Koontz, O’Donnell, and Heinz Weihrich, write â€Å"Every group of people that performs near its total capability has some person as its head who is skilled in the art of leadership [with] †¦ at least three major ingredients—the ability to comprehend that human beings have differing motivating forces at varying times and in different situations, the ability to inspire, and the ability to act in a way that will develop a climate for responding to an arousing motivations† (663). Who are the prime persons and entities in the 1990’s and in the current decade that could have influenced the direction of the world affairs in today’s â€Å"global society†? I have a few names to mention before ending this essay: the introduction of the â€Å"internet† in the early 1990’s that almost shattered the communication barriers overnight with Bill Gates’s Microsoft Internet Explorer; George W. Bush, Sr. and the first Gulf War in the Middle East that reinforced the resentment of the Muslim world against Christendom and in particular the United States; Osama Bin Landen and the 9/11 terrorism; George W. Bush, Jr. and Weapons of Mass Destruction with Iraq War; astronomy and the Hubble Space Telescope that captured close-up photos of far-flung universes never before seen (Voit); and the twin rovers that traversed the Martian face with Intel’s microprocessors as enablers of nanotechnology. These never-ceasing human endeavors reflect Jung’s archetypal descriptions present in all human undertakings in any given society around the world. References Hall, Calvin S. , and Gardner Lindzey. Theories of Personality. 3rd Ed.. New York, NY: Wiley, 1978. Koontz, Harold, Cyril O’Donnell, and Heinz Weihrich. Management. 7th ed. Tokyo, Japan: McGraw, 1980. They Changed Our World. Editors of Reader’s Digest. USA: Berkely, (n. d. ). Voit, Mark. Hubble space telescope: new views of the universe. Ed. Himmel, Eric. New York, NY: Abrams.

Firewall Effects on Network Performance | Evaluation

Firewall Effects on Network Performance | Evaluation In an age where our society relies so heavily on electronic communication, the need for information security is constantly increasing. Given the value and confidential nature of the information that exists on todays networks, CIOs are finding that an investment in security is extremely beneficial. Without security, a company can suffer from theft or alteration of data, legal ramifications, and other issues that all result in monetary losses. [The Best Damn Firewall Book Period] Corporations are realizing the need to create and enforce an information security policy. As a  result, IT professionals are constantly being challenged to secure their networks by installing firewalls that provide more secure [Cisco Security Specialists Guide to PIX Firewall]. Firewalls are essential components in improving network security. Most firewalls are deployed at the edge of the network to filter legitimate traffic, and can be deployed in the core of the network to further supplement and protect the capability of the network and the application running over the network to deliver required services to the end user. Firewalls have become increasingly complex, evolving from offering traditional firewall capabilities to protect networks, to offering application-aware processing of several Internet protocols. Brief literature review: Firewalls are the first front line defense mechanism against intruders ,a firewall system can operate at five of the seven layers of the OSI reference model. However, most firewall systems operate at only four layers: the data link, network, transport, and, possibly, application layers. Based on the simplicity or complexity of a firewall product or solution, the number of layers covered varies. For example, a standard IP access control list (ACL) on a Cisco router functions at OSI Layer 3, and an extended IP ACL functions at Layers 3 and 4. [cisco press cisco router firewall security] Firewalls work by inspecting different fields in headers of the packet, finding the matching rule and doing the action specified in the rule. Common firewalls (and rules) examine at least IP addresses, next protocol type (TCP or UDP) and in case of TCP or UDP their respective port numbers. That usually gives five different variables (source destination address, protocol, source destination port) to work with. [Optimizing firewall performance]. [Performance analysis of the Linux firewall in a host]. As example ,a firewall that operates at only Layers 3 or 4 can filter only on IP protocol information, IP addresses, and TCP or UDP port numbers; it cannot filter on application information such as user authentication or commands that a user enters. Therefore, the more layers a firewall can process information from, the more granular it can be in its filtering process. [cisco press cisco router firewall security] There are many considerations that organizations should include in their firewall selection and planning processes. Organizations need to determine which network areas need to be protected, and which types of firewall technologies will be most effective for the types of traffic that require protection. [ Guidelines on Firewalls and Firewall Policy]. In addition, Incorporating a firewall into a network structure is likely to increase processing and even create bottlenecks [Evaluation of Firewall Effects on Network Performance] ,whereas Each rule that a firewall has to analyze results in additional processing overhead. This means that the more rules a firewall has, the longer it will take for the firewall to determine whether or not the packet in question may pass through. [Firewalls Overview and Best Practices]. As result Firewalls are one key factor in network performance. If they cant process their rules fast enough then the whole network slows down. [ Optimizing firewall performance] Some studies shows that the firewall is sensitive to the number of rules, the type of filtering, and the transmission rate. The results of our first scenario demonstrate that for each type of filtering, latency increases linearly as the number of rules increase. [Performance analysis of the Linux firewall in a host] Scope and limitation of the study: There are some points may represent the scope and limitation of the study, including: This project focus on evaluating the effect of firewall performance using an OPNET Modeler network simulator and analyzing on different scenarios and to compare the performance impact when firewall applied. This project also focusing on effects of firewall filtering on network performance. In this study we are going to select special type of firewall application firewall The number of workstation is limited which wont exceed 200 nodes. The result will be collected is based on the simulation so may be this result will not be applicable in real hardware. Statement of the research problem: This research reports on the evaluation of using firewall in three different scenarios, which can show the impact of applying the application firewall on the performance of the network. Therefore, the research addresses the following research problem: How can we make trade-off between the security and performance? Essentially I argue that in order to investigate the feasibility of getting the trade-off of using the firewall, its necessary to compare the result when the firewall applied in different scenario, it might be depends on the policy or function nodes. Research questions: To address the research problem identified in the previous section, the following research questions have been designed: What are negative aspects of firewall? What are positive aspects of combined security and performance? What are the effects of firewall in the link utilization? What are the effects of firewall in the Real time application? Research objectives: The main objective of this research is to investigate the impact of firewall policy on the performance of the network. To identify negative aspects of firewall. To determine positive aspects of combined security and performance. To examine the effects of firewall in the link utilization. To identify the impact of firewall in real-time application. To compare the result from different scenario to estimate the effects of policy. Significance of the study: The growing Demand for using firewall by the internet users and companies to provide more protection for them and the influence of apply firewall policy in the network performance gave the impetus for this study. To verify that we propose here three different scenarios, CNTs as the one of the components of MMIC transmission lines to enhance the electrical performance. This material offer some remarkable characteristics for microelectronics applications and their large kinetic inductance (skin effect), long mean free paths, high current carrying capability and high thermal conductivity made them ideal candidates for RF/microwave applications as transmission lines. Research methodology: The research methodology work will go through four stages namely: theoretical stage, data analysis and design stage, lab stage, and evaluation stage. Theoretical stage: The objective of the theoretical stage is to constitute a theoretical frame to enable the success of the lab stage through that frame. Data analysis and design stage: In this stage, all related data obtained in the theoretical stage will be analyzed and then a selection process will be done in order to get the high quality CNT and the right design for CNT-based TLs to be able to accomplish the research questions through synthesis and characterization process. Lab stage: At this stage, firstly, the growth parameters will be optimized by using chemical vapor deposition growth method In order to produce large scale and well-aligned CNTs. Next, the characterization process will be done on the samples. SEM, FESEM, and HRTEM techniques will be used to study the morphology of the samples. XRD and EDEX techniques are used to study the samples crystallographic structures and composition elements in the samples respectively. For electrical characterization, I-V and resistivity measurements using four point probes will be applied for low frequency. Lastly, in the implementation process, the determined high quality CNT will be used to fabricate transmission lines, and then RF characterization will be done using VNA at different frequencies. Evaluation stage: The experimental results are analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the new variables in order to get the best CNT for the TLs. Current Stage: For device applications, the orientation of the CNT is particularly important. Therefore currently, the growth parameters are optimized by using chemical vapor deposition growth method and then, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to study the morphology of the samples in order to get large scale and well-aligned CNTs. The fabrication of CNTs on P-type silicon substrates; size 1 cm by 1 cm were done using nickel (Ni) as catalyst. The first process is to remove any impurity and oxidization on the Si substrate surface. The substrate will go through stages of cleaning process, starting with acetone, methanol and then rinsed with deionized water to remove organic contaminants and particles. Then, the Si wafer was cleaned by hydrogen gas to remove natural oxide. Next, a thin Ni film was deposited on a substrate as catalyst using Electron-Beam evaporator and the substrate was placed on alumina boat before placed inside a double-heater TCVD. The first heater was set at 1000 °C to decompose methane, while the second was set at 800 to 1000 °C for pre-treatment of the catalytic film. As A. Awang Teh et. al. proposed [41] a precursor of ammonia and methanol solution at ratios of 5:8 was used to enhance the growth of CNT in methane ambient. The second heater was first switched in flowing Argon at 100 sccm. When the temperature of the second heater reached setting point and stayed stable, first heater was then switched on and methane gas was flown at flow rate of 10-50 sccm. The total growth time of the CNTs varied from 30 to 3 hours. Finally, methane gas was turned off and the furnaces were cooled down to room temperature in flowing Argon at 100 sccm to avoid carbon oxidation. After fabrication is completed, The CNT morphology was examined using SEM. Figures 1- 6 show the growth of CNTs on Si substrate using Ni with different thicknesses and subjected to methane ambient at 850 oC for 2 hours. One of the first things to note is that the catalyst thickness affects the diameter and density of the CNT. The catalyst film thicker, the larger diameter and more density CNT we can get. Also, it can be seen clearly this relationship from the SEM results shown in fig.11 to 14. Furthermore, from the SEM image shown in figure 4 the least nickel or carbon nanoparticles protrude from the nanotubes was observed. These conductive nanoparticles cause electrical shorts between interconnects for device fabrication. For this reason we can consider that the optimum nickel catalyst thickness in our case is 10 nm. A final point to note is that there is no CNT at all in figure 1. It means that the catalyst film thickness is very thin and after recombination the size of catalyst nanoparticles is too small to synthesis CNTs. Another key parameter to affect CNT growth is temperature gradient. As we can see from the SEM results shown in figures 7-20, by controlling the growth temperature we can increase the growth efficiency and purity. At reaction temperature 900 °C, the growth of clean CNTs was observed. However, no CNTs were formed when the growth temperature exceeded 900 °C. Instead, amorphous carbon was observed on the surface of the substrate. Besides catalyst and temperature gradient, carbon source flow rate also plays an important role in the CNT growth. It can be stand out from experimental results shown in figures 21 to 28 that a higher flow rate will increase the decomposition rate, and consequently the growth rate of CNT. However, when the flow rate of Ni was 10 sccm there is not enough reactant to react with the catalyst and just catalyst nanoparticles were observed. The gas flow rate affects not only CNT density but also nanotubes diameter. The higher gas flow rate, the larger diameter of nanotubes will grow. However, after a critical point, increasing the flow will change the carbon product from CNTs to carbon nano-fibers (CNFs), as it was observed from the result. The last growth parameter we have optimized is syntheses time. From experimental results shown in figures 29 to 32 we can find the relationship between the syntheses time and the length on nanotubes. Longer synthesis time with longer catalyst lifetime, longer CNT we can get. More optimization and characterizations must be done on the samples in order to get well-aligned and density MWCNT, before transmission line fabrication. Preview of the thesis: This thesis is organized into five chapters. Chapter One serves as an introduction to this study, providing the theoretical framework, research objectives and significance of the present study. It also offers a brief overview of the methodology that is employed. Definitions and delimitations that map out the boundaries for the present study are also outlined. Chapter Two provides the literature review for this study and serves to develop key issues related to the theoretical framework. The third chapter is on methodology. This study approaches the issues of fabrication, simulation and modulation. The fourth chapter reports the results of the content analysis and discusses the findings. The fifth chapter reviews the research questions and summarizes the thesis. This chapter also provides suggestions for future research. Network Security is one of the most important fields dealing with the Internet. The ability to access and transfer information in a few seconds allows the government, companies, educational institutions, and individuals to accelerate the decision process or simply be informed. However, information can be very valuable and there is a need for better and faster security systems to protect information and networks. Therefore, it is best to limit the number of rules to no more than 30-50. However, for best performance, less than 25 rules are recommended. Also, firewalls process their rule base from the top down. As soon as the firewall finds a rule that applies to a particular packet, the rule is applied and the packet is processed (either allowed to continue or dropped). It is recommended that the most important and most utilized rules should be at the top of the rule list. This prevents the firewall from having to process through a number of rarely used rules to finally get to rules that apply to the majority of the network traffic. Determining the correct order of rules for a particular implementation is an ongoing process. Initially, there is a significant amount of testing and trial-and-error involved in determining the correct order that the rules should be in. Also, the rule base should be reviewed periodically to see if the organizations requirements or network usage has changed that wou ld require the reordering of existing rules as well as adding or removing rules. Finally, one should make sure to keep the number of domain objects in the rule base to a minimum, and also make sure that these objects are kept towards the bottom of the rule base list. Firewalls Overview and Best Practices There are many aspects to firewall management. For example, choosing the type or types of firewalls to deploy and their positions within the network can significantly affect the security policies that the firewalls can enforce. Policy rules may need to be updated as the organizations requirements change, such as when new applications or hosts are implemented within the network. Firewall component performance also needs to be monitored to enable potential resource issues to be identified and addressed before components become overwhelmed. Logs and alerts should also be continuously monitored to identify threats-both successful and unsuccessful. Firewall rulesets and policies should be managed by a formal change management control process because of their potential to impact security and business operations, with ruleset reviews or tests performed periodically to ensure continued compliance with the organizations policies. Firewall software should be patched as vendors provide updates to address vulnerabilities. [ Guidelines on Firewalls and Firewall Policy] The firewall can become a bottleneck. All network traffic that passes between the Internet and the DMZ, the DMZ and the private network, and potentially, the Internet and the private network, must be inspected by the firewall. This can result in the firewall becoming a bottleneck and reducing the performance between the network and the Internet.

The Mask of Ra :: essays research papers

This book sucked, actually I didn't read it, it was to long and I had to little time.456555555555555554gfdgkldf;aslksdd;lfsalf;dsldlf;ksdfBack to essays. Home. Legislative Analysis for the National Minimum Drinking Age Act by Alex Koroknay - Palicz The National Minimum Drinking Age Act is perhaps the law that has the most impact on the day-to-day lives of America's youth since it was signed into law on July 17, 1984. While the 21-year-old drinking age seems imbedded in American society, it is only a recent innovation. Most people do not know that the drinking age was only made a national law in 1984, and only after a determined battle by special interest groups. First and foremost this paper will discuss the history of the drinking age issue in America. Then covering the people involved in this issue. This bill concerned many notable politicians and lobbyists, fighting for it and against it; they left their impact on the future of our nation. These eminent people have gone down in history for the effect they have had on this piece of legislation. Following that this paper will delve into the lengthy process that is required for an idea to become a bill and finally be passed into law. Both houses and several committees exerted their influence on this and helped it on its way. Special interest groups also had a profound effect on this piece of legislation. Finally I will add my own conclusions about the bill and analyze the political process. The history of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act truly started back before Prohibition. The temperance movement used selective prohibition (drinking ages) as a stepping stone approach to their goal of outlawing all alcohol. Finally they did achieve the goal of total Prohibition of alcohol, and in 1919 the 18th amendment to the constitution was ratified. Although do to the seemingly ineffectualness of Prohibition and the change in public opinion, the 18th amendment was in 1933 repealed by the 21st amendment. What followed was a compromise with the lingering temperance movement and the modern drinking age was established. "The political failure of general Prohibition meant that American adults would increasingly focus justifications for alcohol policy less on the perils of drunkenness and more on the tenuous concept that adults can drink properly but youths cannot or should not." (Males 190) From the end of Prohibition until 1984 drinking ages were determined by the states, many of them had the age at 21 while several lowered the age to 18 for the purchase of beer.

Essay --

There was also the isolation of the USA that was a problem. After all the problems they had while joining World War One, they wanted to be isolated and get away from European problems. They didn’t join the League of Nations, which was a disadvantage for them and made them weaker because the USA was a very powerful country. In addition, there was a problem of foreign policy and aggression. In the early 1930s, Hitler began to pursue many foreign policies. He increased his army by approximately 300,000 soldiers. The Treaty of Versailles only allowed him of 100,000. Hitler also rearmed, which was also against the Treaty and developed secretly an air academy to train pilots and built over 1000 aircrafts. Even though he was breaking several terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations was doing nothing to stop him, which showed how weak they were becoming. In the Treaty of Versailles, the Saar Land, which was part of Germany, was given to and ran by the League of Nations. In 1935, as the League promised Hitler, a plebiscite occurred. The people of the Saar were to vote if they...

Ethics †Utilitarianism Essay

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that assesses an action as morally right and just if it produces the most amount of net happiness. There are two forms of utilitarianism: act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism is the standard form, which considers all paths of the action that lead to immediate and long-term happiness, as well has the magnitude and how long the happiness will last. Furthermore, if all paths lead to the same amount of net happiness, each path would be just as morally right as the other. It also does not take into account the number of people it affects – it only considers the amount of happiness. To English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain. He believed that all types of pleasure, if the in same amount, were also equal in quality. However, it is difficult to calculate an amount of happiness. Is the amount of happiness one receives from getting a promotion at McDonald’s the same as happiness one gets from graduating law school? So, John Stuart Mill, fellow philosopher and follower of Bentham’s utilitarian theory, believed that different pleasures have different values. To Mill, physical pleasures are valued less than pleasure that invigorate the mind. Thus, in the McDonald’s promotion and law school degree scenarios, Bentham would argue that they would each render the same amount of happiness, whereas Mill would argue that receiving a degree from law school would render more happiness because it would bring out more possibilities for a career and ultimately increase one’s well-being. In addition to bringing out the most happiness, the utilitarian theory also recognizes that all the possibilities of an action may not bring any net happiness. In these instances, the theory guides one to choose the action that would produce the least amount of unhappiness. There are two major criticisms utilitarian’s face. One is that no one can possibly know all immediate and future ramifications of an action and even if it were possible, it would take too much time in real-life scenarios to practice. A utilitarian would agree that no one can possibly know all consequences of a given situation while defending that the theory is used a guide to maximize happiness. A utilitarian would also note that since people generally know what happiness and one’s well-being consist of, it helps eliminate obvious wrong choices to save time. The second major criticism is that the action itself, though yielding the most happiness, may not be morally right. In these instances, a utilitarian would argue that this flexibility is realistic and can be applied a real-life situation that are not always black and white. In real-life there are often grey areas where one may need to make difficult or seemingly immoral decision, but the end result of the action may bring about the most happiness than an action that was moral. The second form of utilitarianism, rule utilitarianism, is similar to the standard form except that it adapts a set of guidelines, an â€Å"optimal moral code† to determine right or wrong. It is also emphasized in rule utilitarianism that if an action produces the most amount of happiness, yet defies the optimal moral code, it is wrong. Challenger Disaster. In January 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded because the O-rings failed to seal in the booster rocket joints due to low temperatures the day of the launch. Morton Thiokol, Inc. was the manufacturer of the booster rockets and one of Thiokol’s engineers, Roger Boisjoly, found that low temperatures detrimentally affected the seals of the booster rockets. He informed his superiors of his findings, but they were deemed as insignificant. The night before the flight, Boisjoly and his colleagues advised against the launch due to the low temperatures, but their employers ignored the advice and moved forward with the liftoff. All seven astronauts onboard died in the explosion. In accordance with the utilitarian theory, Boisjoly did act morally right. He informed his superiors and NASA of his research findings to avoid failure and reduce the amount of unhappiness – the death of the astronauts. Thiokol and NASA, however, did not act morally right. Though the postponing of the launch was not favorable, it would to allow more time to redesign the seals and most likely avoid the catastrophe. They also could have postponed the launch to a day with optimum temperatures for the seals. Consenting to Sexual Harassment In Vinson v. Taylor, Mechelle Vinson claims that her supervisor Sidney Taylor sexually harassed her. She testified that after a year of working at the bank Taylor made advances on her saying that she â€Å"owed† him for getting her the job. She turned him down initially, but eventually became sexually involved with him for her last three years she was employed at the bank. She claims that Taylor raped her and if she did not submit, she would be terminated. Taylor denied the accusations saying that he has never had any sexual relations with Vinson and that Vinson made advances on him. And in retribution for denying her, she filed charges against him. The courts ruled that the relationship between Vinson and Taylor was voluntary and that the employer was not liable, especially since Vinson to not notify the company. Vinson appealed the case and the Supreme Court then ruled that the advances on Vinson were unwelcomed though voluntary. They did not disclose whether or not the employer was liable for sexual harassment. The rule utilitarian theory applies here in that Courts followed a set of rules to produce an outcome. It’s also a case of what action renders the least amount of unhappiness. Through Vinson’s appeal the court stated that regardless of her willingness to have sexual intercourse with her superior, it was unwelcome. It’s difficult to say what the outcome is since the Court did not state whether or not the employer was liable. Parable of Sadhu In the parable of sadhu, Bowen McCoy makes a 60-day trek with his friend Stephen, a few porters and Sherpas in the Himalayan Mountains. They reach a point of the trip where they must make it over an 18,000 foot pass over a crest to reach Muklinath, an ancient holy village for pilgrims. The take a night’s rest before they make the pass and there are a few groups the are within range; a group of New Zealanders, two Swiss couples and a Japanese hiking club. The next day, the New Zealanders depart for the pass first. Stephen, who is beginning to suffer from altitude sickness, and Bowen begin their journey to the pass when they see one of the New Zealanders carrying an almost naked, barefooted sadhu across his shoulders. The New Zealander leaves him with them exclaiming that he has done what he can and that they should care for him because they have porters and Sherpa guides and that he and his group are moving forward with their trek. Bowen checks his pulse to find that the pilgrim is alive. They wonder why he has hardly any clothes on and why he did not choose the safer route. Stephen and the Swiss couples begin to take off some of their clothing to warm up the sadhu. Bowen does not hesitate to move forward as he wants to make it over the pass and the journey becomes more dangerous as time passes; the ice steps would melt and would make the path slippery. Bowen continues, leaving Stephen, the Swiss, and the Japanese behind. The Swiss catch up to Bowen finds out from them that the sadhu was doing fine and that Stephen is approaching. Stephen is upset with Bowen and asks how he feels about contributing to the sadhu’s death. Stephen tells Bowen that he stayed with the sadhu until the Japanese arrived. He asked the Japanese to borrow their horse to take the sadhu down to the hut, but they refuse and give him food and drink before continuing on. Stephen then asked the lead Sherpa, Pasang, to get a group of porters to carry the sadhu down, but he also refuses because he believed it would exert the porters’ energy and that they would not able to do it before the ice melted into a slippery slope. Pasang encouraged Stephen to continue with the time-sensitive hike and the Sherpas carried the sadhu down to a rock in the sun and pointed out to the hut that was 500 feet away. The last time the Sherpas saw the sadhu, he was throwing rocks at the Japanese’s dog, which had scared him. Though it may seem morally wrong to leave the sadhu and carry on with the journey, Bowman acted correctly according to the utilitarian theory. If he had helped the sadhu get across the pass to Muklinath, where he seemingly came from, Bowman may not have had the energy to do so and risk both of their lives, which would be the most amount of unhappiness. If he backtracked and took the sadhu to a hut for warmth and safety, he would have jeopardized his trip and defeated the purpose of this journey and moreover, the pilgrim may not have wanted to be â€Å"saved† for he was nearly naked and did not chose the safer route. One Nation Under Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is the largest company in retail with nearly 5,000 stores and 140 million shoppers. It continues to grow as they open more and more stores that sell household items at bargain prices. As they expand, they are able to offer lower prices because they can buy in very large bulk quantities and demand better prices from their vendors. Though it seems that everyone would be in favor of this large bargain retailer, who sells consumer necessities at extreme low prices, there are many critics of Wal-Mart’s operation. They stomp out small, local â€Å"mom and pop† shop business and compete with supermarkets, eliminating jobs and disrupting communities. They are also an anti-union establishment, pay low wages and most of their employees do not receive health insurance. Lastly, they are criticized for not carrying certain products like racy magazines such as Glamour or Cosmopolitan. Thus, locals often refuse and dispute the expansion of Walmart in their town. According to the utilitarian theory, Wal-mart is not behaving morally wrong. They are abiding by the laws. Though they may pay low wages and not offer health benefits to part-time employees, they are able to employ 1. 4 million people. Their business also allows consumers to purchase necessities at some of the lowest prices available. Furthermore, the decision to not carry certain products like racy magazine or music with explicit lyrics would outweigh the fact that they carry thousands of household necessities at a bargain. Face Transplant: â€Å"Highly Risky Experimentation† Isabelle Denoire was victim of a terrible incident that left her face, extremely disfigured. Her lips chin, nose were clawed and bitten off by her dog. The events that led up the incident are uncertain. She said that she took meds to help her sleep and that while walking down her hallway on the sleeping medication she stumbled over her aggressive dog that she had just adopted. Her daughter said that Isabelle tried to kill herself and the dog was trying to wake her up after she fell to the ground and lost consciousness. While in the hospital the chairman of the department of Maxillofacial Surgery at Amiens University Hospital, Dr. Bernard Devauchelle thought that she should would be a good candidate for an experimental face transplant that was considered time sensitive because the longer they would of waited the more scar tissue she would have had, which would of made the surgery more dangerous. With consent from Isabelle they partial transplant was done but a wave of criticism came once the news was released. Many in the industry felt that the surgery was too dangerous and other option should have been considered. They thought that Dr. Devauchelle insisted on doing the surgery not because he wanted to do what was best for the client but so that he would get publicity for it. They also believed that he chose the wrong sort of client for such an operation. Since Isabelle had tried to commit suicide she wouldn’t be a good candidate because she might not be able to deal with the cameras and news attention, that it might be more than she can bare and wasn’t mentally strong enough to handle it. According to utilitarianism, an action is right if it brings about as much net happiness as any other action the agent could have performed. I believe that Dr. Bernard Devauchelle did take into account other possibilities before they made their decision to do the partial facial implant. It was a time-sensitive decision his patient needed to make and according to him, she eagerly wanted him to help her so that she could be as normal as possible again. Critics of the transplant dispute that was he did was morally wrong, but ultimately it was Isabelle’s decision. I have learned that all real-life decisions are not just black and white. Some are easy and some difficult and even harder. We all have general innate moral code of conduct and the rule utilitarian theory is one that I relate with the most.

Cultural Practices that Affect Health Essay

The Community Health Nurse (CHN), an individual who works outside of the hospital setting and typically with a specific community to provide basic health care systems (All Nursing Schools, 2009) can be perceived as the bridge to address the gap between western medicine and cultural traditions. In cases when cultural practices cause physical harm and health risks, the CHN can be the tool to provide information and educate individuals to inform them of the tangible health risks and often permanent damages caused by such practices. What is also important to acknowledge is that there is an imminent health risk that needs to be addressed. According to Megan Costello (2004), in an article about female circumcision, sometimes making a practice illegal does not serve as a good enough deterrent. Costello (2004) explains that what people need is more information to understand the health risks and the unwarranted, in terms of perceived health benefit, practice. In North African countries, an average of 94 percent of women are subjected to female circumcision (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 2008). In the United States there are an estimated 228,000 girls and women at risk of female circumcision (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 2008). The CHN through community agencies or organizations can work to create care systems that will facilitate the dissemination of information. The CHN can effect policy change that will bring health care to the disadvantage populations or minority groups, such as refugees, who may have little understanding of western health care systems. Essentially, to address the gap between large health care institution and individual members of small communities, the CHN has the task of developing a system that will inform members of these groups of the serious harm caused by their practices. Similarly, the CHN through the same system can protect the young adults often subjected to these traditional practices. In the case of female circumcision, Bien Aime of Equality Now (quoted in Costello, 2004) says, â€Å"†¦ people need education. We need people on the ground who have access to girls and young women at risk, to help them understand that not only is this procedure against the law, but also that there are harmful effects. † As more and more cultures and ethnic backgrounds are assimilated through migration activities there is a need to provide health care that is culturally competent. The CHN becomes integral in the task of providing adequate care to all individuals with equity regardless of cultural or ethnic backgrounds through a sensitive approach. In cases where the cultural practice causes permanent injuries and prolonged negative complications to health the CHN can contribute to changing these practices. References All Nursing Schools. (2009). Become a Community Health Nurse. All Nursing Schools. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www. allnursingschools. com/faqs/community-health-nurse. php Brigham and Women’s Hospital. (2008). African Women’s Health Center. Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Retrieved March 7, 2009 from http://www. brighamandwomens. org/africanwomenscenter/FGCprevalence. aspx and http://www. brighamandwomens. org/africanwomenscenter/education. aspx? subID=submenu4 Costello, A. (2004, February 19). Two in U. S. Accused of Genital Mutilation. Women’s E News. Retrieved March 7, 2009 from http://www. womensenews. org/article. cfm/dyn/aid/1718

Premarital Sex: A Morally Issue

Pre-marital sex, young Catholics know it is wrong. So why do they do it? Most teenagers have heard or coined the phrases â€Å"everyone†s doing it.† â€Å"If you loved me you†d do it† and also â€Å"It†s okay I have a condom.† Sex before marriage can be harmful to your body, your future, but the scariest of all your eternity. In this paper we shall look more into the Catholic point of view on pre-marital bliss. The purpose of sex is to unite a married couple as one loving body in consummating a marriage, to leave the possibility of procreation open, and to and to educate a child. The purpose of sex is to unite a married couple as one loving body. This is because God†s intention in creating the first man and woman was for them to love and create more men and women. To do so a married couple must join as one loving body or to have sexual intercourse. In having intercourse the first time in a marriage you are consummating the marriage therefore making the marriage official in the eyes of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: â€Å"the union of man and woman in marriage is a way of imitating the flesh in the creators generosity and fecundity: ‘Therefore . . . and they become one flesh† (Gen4:24) All human generations proceed from this union† (Catechism 2335). Sex is meant for mature individuals who are prepared to face the consequences of sex. Two of the biggest fears in premarital sex are STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) and unwanted pregnancy. A married individual normally does not have to deal with such problems. This is because at the average age of marriage most STDs are not common. Second, in a marriage a couple normally wants a child to care for. However, teenagers do not want these responsibilities. Which leads to common use of contraceptives in teen sex. Sex is meant to leave an opening for procreation. Contraceptives are commonly used in premarital sex. These are used to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STDs. How can one use a condom and leave an opening for a child to be conceived? The Bible says â€Å"God blessed man and woman with the words: ‘Be fruitful and multiply†Ã¢â‚¬  (GS 50). Condom, the most popular choice for a contraceptive, is a latex cover for the male phallus, which prevents the sperm from entering the vagina and making it†s way to the egg. In humans sexual reproduction is done through intercourse. When the sperm meets the egg. When a condom does fail there is a high risk of catching a STD or having an unwanted pregnancy. In the chance of a pregnancy there are alternatives such as raising the child on your own, giving it up for abortion, and the sinful way out, having an abortion. Abortion is a mortal sin because it is the death of an unborn child. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: â€Å"By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and is in them that it finds their crowning glory† (1652, 460). Raising a child on your own is not impossible however it is not easy. Finally, Sex is meant to aid in educating a child. Without sex there is no child. In the cases of teen-parents, it is not probable that the child will grow up with the proper education. This is most probable because the teens themselves are still learning. In the instances of single parent parenting, the education can be very tedious. It would be tedious because the single parent would have to play the role of the mother and the father as well. Such examples prove that sex inside of marriage is the simplest choice. One would not have as many issues to face and will be able to raise a family almost problem free. In parenting there will naturally be problems too, however when an adult is there to help their children they have the personal experience and moral guidance needed to lead the offspring off on the right foot. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: † Parents are the principle and first educators of their children. In this sense the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the service of life† (1653, 461). When your child comes to you and tell you that their boy/girlfriend is pressuring them for sex you can be able to tell them to abstain. â€Å"Abstinence is the only safe and morally correct form of contraception†. In conclusion, sex is meant to unite a married couple as one loving body in consummating a marriage, to leave the possibility of procreation open and to and to educate a child. The previous information has shown sex to only be moral and truly worry free in a marriage. â€Å"Let the Hebrews marry, at the age fit for it, virgins that are free, and born of good parents. But if the damsel be convicted, as having been corrupted, and is one of the common people, let her be stoned, because she did not preserve her virginity till she were lawfully married; but if she were the daughter of a priest let her be burnt alive† (Pastor David, Virginity/Marriage, 1)

Blackberry Strategy

BlackBerry’s strategy to gain market share in the mainstream market and The use of promotions to achieve its goals Team JMARCS Bozak, Dasgupta, Feng, Kumar, Sharma, Tu SET: 1G  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MKTG-1102  Ã‚  Ã‚   Instructor: Don Linder  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   October, 22, 09 Introduction: Research In Motion (RIM) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. (Reseach In Motion) RIM was founded in 1984. RIM now has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. BlackBerry is a line of wireless handheld devices that was introduced in 1999 as a two-way pager. In 2002, BlackBerry was released, which supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services. It delivers information over the wireless data networks of mobile phone service companies. BlackBerry holds the world's second highest market share in the smart phone platform, capturing 21% of worldwide smart phone sales in Q2, 2009. On 30 May 2009, RIM announced the number of BlackBerry subscribers has reached approximately 28. 5 million. (Wikipedia) BlackBerry’s competitor Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007 which was named the Invention of the Year by Time Magazine. Apple iPhone is growing at a very impressive rate and with introduction of iPhone 3GS, Apple looks all set to overtake RIM by mid of 2010 and become number two player in smart phone market. Analysts were saying that RIM is unlikely to maintain its over 50% share in North America due to growing competition from Apple, Motorola, and Palm, among others. (Wikipedia) Problem: How does RIM gain market share in the consumer smart phone market? Key Findings: Consumer behaviour Two types of users for smart phone customers: ? Enterprise customers- BlackBerry was a â€Å"company decision†. ? Non-Enterprise customers- BlackBerry was a â€Å"personal decision†. †¢ According to Canalys Research, touchscreens became the preferred interface, representing 40% of all shipments. Upon recognizing Apple’s success with the iPhone touch screen interface, R IM introduced its own touch screen device called BlackBerry Storm in end of 2008. (Canalys Research) †¢ According to Canalys Research, Smart phones have been opposing the industry norm, with shipments growing despite the global recession. Canalys Research) Company information †¢ An aggressive â€Å"buy-one-get-one† promotion by Verizon Wireless helped RIM’s BlackBerry Curve move past Apple’s iPhone to become the best-selling consumer smartphone in the U. S. in the first quarter (Q1) of 2009. (NPD Group) †¢ iPhone is exclusive to major carriers such as AT (in US), Rogers and Fido (in Canada) and O2, T-Mobile, Vodaphone (in Europe) and many smaller carriers around the world. †¢ Verizon and Vodafone are heavy promoters of BlackBerry. †¢ Palm exclusive to Sprint until 2010. †¢ RIM has successfully expanded its product portfolio to include a wide election of devices and interfaces that appeal to a range of customers at different price po ints. Market Share †¢ The battle between iPhone and BlackBerry is over the Non-Enterprise market, as the users of smartphones are increasing in this segment. †¢ RIM’s consumer smartphone market share increased 15 percent to nearly 50 percent of the smartphone market in US in Q1 2009 versus the prior quarter, as Apple’s and Palm’s share both declined 10 percent each. (NPD Group) †¢ According to NPD’s â€Å"Smartphone Market Update† report, U. S. consumer sales of smartphone handsets in first-quarter, 2009, ranked in the following order: 1. RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models); 2. Apple iPhone 3G (all models); 3. RIM BlackBerry Storm; 4. RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip); 5. T-Mobile G1. (NPD Group) †¢ According to Gartner’s research, the smartphone sales grew 27 percent during the period. In smartphones Nokia came in top but their market share dropped from 47. 4 percent in Q2 2008 to 45 percent in Q2 2009. RIM saw 1. 4 percent jump in market share, which brought their number to 18. 7 percent. Apple saw the biggest jump from 2. 8 percent in 2008 to 13. 3 percent in Q2 2009. (Gartner) Gartner says â€Å"Apple’s expansion into a larger number of countries in the past year has produced a clear effect on sales volumes, as have the recent price adjustments on 8GB 3G iPhone. † (Gartner) Assumptions: RIM has the necessary financial resources or the means by which to promote its product. RIM also needs to have enough financial reserves to absorb lower profits due to aggressive promotions . SWOT Analysis: We have quotes from our research accompanying the statements below. These quotes are designed to further illustrate the meaning of the statements. Strengths Global prominence and financial stability of the BlackBerry brand in North America provides a strong platform for product innovation. â€Å"Over 35 percent of 2007 revenues were from global sales outside North America. Between 2001 and 2007, the company grew its workforce from about 1250 employees to more than 7000 employees. † (Grewal, 2009) †¢ RIM's BlackBerry offers a varied set of products to identify the needs of the different segments of users. RIM has a strong line up of smart phones such BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Pearle with the popular QWERTY keyboard. The new series include clean and sharp BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm. RIM has also introduced BlackBerry App World where you can download and purchase apps from a smart phone. So far RIM has established a strong base with professional users because of their product's functionality and security. â€Å"Storm, the new BlackBerry is among RIM's strongest moves so far to appeal to the increasing number of consumers opting for multimedia phones, a market that is increasingly turning to touch-screen devices for their ease of use. † (The Wall Street Journal) †¢ BlackBerry carries a range of reasonably priced products which gives their customers the most selection in the smart phone market. Our checks show AT store reps appear poised to recommend BlackBerry to shoppers deterred by iPhone’s $599 (U. S. ) price tag,† (The Globe and Mail) †¢ RIM's strength in the smart phone market is its impressively sized distribution network to provide products and services to the consumer. â€Å"Retail consumers and corporate clients can buy the BlackBerry from more than 500 carriers and distribution partners in about 170 countries around the world. † (Leader-Post) Weaknesses †¢ RIM has a weak entertainment platform for its product compared to its biggest rival: Apple, which specializes in consumer friendly multimedia device. Below, we have a recent quote from BlackBerry CEO Jim Balsille, who emphasizes the company's need to focus on the non-enterprise market. â€Å"As we head into the third quarter we look forward to gaining traction with BlackBerry services in new market segments to drive the next leg of growth for the company,† (Perez) †¢ BlackBerry is weaker brand compared to Apple and Nokia in the consumer sector. They have only recently started to promote their product for the mainstream consumer. †¢ â€Å"The company expects to ship between 9. 2 million and 9. million BlackBerry smartphones next quarter, as it prepares for follow-ups to popular devices such as the Storm and Bold. But some analysts expressed concern over its push to the mainstream because it would mean that RIM would be competing more directly with its consumer-friendly rivals. † (Perez) †¢ Due to the relatively higher prices of BlackBerry products, it has a harder time competing in emerging markets. â⠂¬Å"Nokia has a strong presence in the low-cost part of the market. And it's likely that the company will continue to maintain strength here, leveraging its massive scale to keep costs low. (Reardon) Opportunities †¢ Consumers are more receptive to purchasing media online. This has a created a market that Apple has capitalized on with its services like iTunes and Apple App Store. RIM has recently introduced their own app store which has so far received positive reviews. â€Å"RIM's app storefront will be key to the firm's long-term success. Just as Apple's App Store and iTunes drive sales of the company's hardware, App World—which has received generally positive reviews—must be attractive enough to lure users away from the other smartphones on the market. † (Gibbs) Due to increased globalization and consumer acceptance of new technology, consumers around the world are ordering smart phones from their local carriers. This opens new markets for RIM to expand in. Despite global recession, the demand for smart phones grew as there was a 27 percent increase from Q2 2008 to Q2 2009. Threats †¢ Growing competition from Apple, Nokia, HTC, and Palm among others. Apple is expanding into a large number of countries while lowering their prices which is increasing their sales volume significantly. Nokia is the largest smart phone provider with ample capital to develop their technology and products. But as the iPhone and other rivals expand their reach, RIM could find itself fighting for previously uncontested territory. † (Leader-Post) †¢ The world economy is going through a downturn. This has inevitably changed the consumer behaviour towards higher end devices. â€Å"The current economic climate is negatively impacting sales of higher end devices,† (Gartner) †¢ RIM is susceptible to lawsuits because it holds countless patents for its products and its immense success makes it a target for patent holding companies like N TP. â€Å"On March 3, 2006, RIM announced that it had settled its BlackBerry patent dispute with NTP. Under the terms of the settlement, RIM has agreed to pay NTP US$612. 5 million in a â€Å"full and final settlement of all claims. † (Reardon) Competitive Analysis: In the global smart phone market, Apple is growing exponentially with market share increasing from 2. 8% to 13. 3%. RIM has a gradual increase in market share of 1. 4%, which brought their number to 18. 7%. Nokia, the top manufacturer of smart phone is lagging behind with market share dropping from 47. 4% to 45%. Nokia is more affordable and is very prominent around the world especially in the emerging markets such as India and China. They lso have a strong base with medium to lower income consumers. Because of the lower price point, they provide limited functionality compared to its counterparts. BlackBerry appeals to a vast customer base and its market is separated by products rather than income. The financially sensitive customers are more accepting of products such as BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Pearl. In t his segment, RIM competes directly with Nokia’s smart phones. This increases the popularity and brand recognition of RIM. RIM also invests heavily towards Research and Development to create superior products for satisfying the demands of higher end consumers. This customer base is more accepting of higher priced products because of their superior quality. This increases the margin RIM enjoys compared to Nokia. Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry Storm/Bold are in the same price range. However, RIM has a varied portfolio of products that range from $100-$500 US dollars. BlackBerry Storm and iPhone 3G are very similar products that share features such as touch screen interface and 3G software and hardware capabilities. Palm, Motorola, HTC and others are very limited in their market share. Their products are usually cheaper compared to RIM and Apple with inferior quality. Examples of the inferior quality will be no built-in Wi-Fi and low-resolution cameras. Unlike RIM and Apple, these companies use third party software such as Windows Mobile which has garnered negative reviews. According to a survey by CFI group, it showed that Windows Mobile users had a low level of customer satisfaction when compared to users of other smart phones. Out of a possible 100 points, Windows Mobile rated only 66, compared with BlackBerry (73), Google Android (77), and iPhone (83). This corresponds with the decrease in Windows Mobile's share of the Smartphone market by 2. % in 2009. (Wikipedia) Target Market: Our target market for the problem is the entertainment-focused users who range in age from mid-teens to early 30s. They see a mobile device as a lifestyle choice, and they're willing to pay extra for a device that'll help keep them entertained. This group will use the device for things like multimedia entertainment, social messaging, and gaming. Our target group needs to be relatively affluent with disposable income; therefore, they will likely be based in developed continents such as North America, Europe and Australia. RECOMMENDATIONS: Alternative 1: â€Å"We gain market share in the consumer smart phone market by lowering the price of BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Bold. The price of the Storm and Bold series will be lowered by $50 in an effort to increase sales by 25%. † Advantages: 1. Lowering the price of BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Bold will be a strong incentive for mainstream consumers to choose those products over BlackBerry's competitors. 2. As lowering the price will make the products more affordable, new users and carriers from other countries will adopt BlackBerry products. . Lowering the price of BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Bold will not only bring in users from the established mainstream consumer base but also new users who are transitioning to smart phones from handsets. This will create a greater awareness of BlackBerry products. BlackBerry could use this recognition to introduce new products. Disadvantages: 1. A part of the customer base might assume the decrease in price will correlate with a decrease in quality. Therefore, they might avoid buying lower priced BlackBerry products. 2. Competitors might lower their price to compete with BlackBerry which will create minimal additional revenue from new customers. The already decreased profit margin from lowered price combined with minimal increase in revenue will decrease profits. 3. RIM might lose money by over producing BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm as its sales forecast didn’t meet actual customer demand. They might lose customers and harm their brand by under producing the products as their supply won’t be enough to meet the demands of the customers. This will generate anger and dissatisfaction towards RIM. Alternative 2: We gain market share by offering diverse products targeted to specified segments of consumers (niche marketing). † Advantages: 1. RIM will create new market segments (market segmentation) that will correspond with the needs of specific demographic of consumers. 2. RIM will attract more consumers with the larger line up of products and services. This will be able to exp and their brand name. 3. RIM will have greater margins with these targeted products as customers are willing to pay more for products that are more in sync with their needs. The increased margins will increase the profits. Disadvantages: 1. Introducing new products involves a significant investment in start up for Research and Development. Niche markets are usually much smaller than the mainstream market and therefore it will be harder for RIM to sell enough BlackBerry devices to recuperate its initial investment. 2. Consumers may not be interested in the new products. Keeping in mind the current economic conditions, consumers might delay their purchase of luxury products like a BlackBerry. They might also continue with traditional alternatives like handsets to meet their needs. 3. It will dilute the brand. BlackBerry already has an established brand that their customers identify with. Expanding the product base rapidly will confuse customers about BlackBerry products and negatively affects sales of their bestsellers such as: BlackBerry Storm, Bold, and Curve. Alternative 3: â€Å"We gain market share by increasing advertisements on TV and internet which would increase our brand recognition. † Advantages: 1. With unique and creative marketing campaigns, RIM’s products will be more recognizable compared to its competitors such as Apple and Nokia. RIM will gain market share by getting its competitors customers as well as attracting new customers switching to smart phones. 2. A successful advertising campaign will retain encourage brand loyalty from RIM's existing customers. These customers might choose RIM's product in the future because of their comfort level with the BlackBerry brand. 3. It will attract new customers by detailing the merit of RIM's products over its competitors. Disadvantages: 1. RIM’s campaign might be ineffective because of the oversaturation of advertising campaigns from the different smart phone manufacturers. 2. Increased advertising does not necessarily result in increased sales. RIM might spend excessive amounts on promoting their products which may not be successful and hurt their bottom line. 3. Self-destructive advertising might alienate a portion of their existing customer base. An example would be: RIM's spokesperson (celebrity/athlete) commits a crime. In this case RIM's image might be tarnished by association to the person. Solution: Problem: How does RIM gain market share in the consumer smart phone market? Alternative 3: â€Å"We gain market share by increasing advertisements on TV and internet which would increase our brand recognition. We believe this solution is most likely to succeed and deliver results. For the near term, RIM will follow Apple’s example and attempt to meet the functional and psychological needs of consumers. An example of meeting a psychological need would be to primarily use BlackBerry products as a fashion statement or a status symbol over its inten ded purpose. This is only possible by extensive promotion in order to make the BlackBerry the â€Å"it† brand among the mainstream consumer. BlackBerry has a more diverse selection of products compared to Apple and Nokia. It should capitalize this strength by advertising the benefits of its products to the consumer segments. Promotions will bring in new customers. In future, these new customers might upgrade to other BlackBerry devices. They will also spread the word about BlackBerry creating goodwill and admiration for the brand. Advertising also has a long term goal in mind which is to grow the BlackBerry brand worldwide for years to come. Implementation Plan: Step 1: Divide the consumer base into manageable market segments. Step 2: Target a segment to pursue. Step 3: Determine how BlackBerry would be positioned in the segment. Step 4: Our marketing objective will be to gain share in our segment. Step 5: Communicate the value of the BlackBerry through the use of television, magazines and the Internet. Step 6: We will evaluate our performance and make adjustments for an improved process. Plan B: Problem: How does RIM gain market share in the consumer smart phone market? Alternative 1: â€Å"We gain market share in the consumer smart phone market by lowering the price of BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Bold. The price of the Storm and Bold series will be lowered by $50 in an effort to increase sales by 25%. This plan will also increase BlackBerry’s market share. It will bring in new mainstream customers for the very popular BlackBerry Storm and BlackBerry Bold. These products are direct competitors for Apple’s iPhone. The price decrease might lure Apple customers to switch to BlackBerry products as the quality difference between the products is minimal. The likelihood of RIM’s competitor s lowering their price to counteract the decrease in their sales is low, because that will lower the margin of the whole sector rather than just one company (RIM). To avoid these price wars, they will let RIM enjoy the increased market share. Course Concepts: Major concepts used were: a) The Marketing Research Process: We used the format showed in Exhibit 5. 1 in page 122 of the Marketing book. We made a rough copy in class that defined the problem clearly and the objectives. We delegated the objectives to group members. We performed researched on it and collected the secondary data. We then analyzed all the data and wrote this paper. b) The Marketing Environment Analysis Framework: We used this framework extensively throughout our project. We analyzed SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) of RIM in detail. SWOT analysis helped us design solutions based on RIM’s strengths and weaknesses. We also made solutions that let us develop the opportunities and guard us from the threats. We integrated the Macroenvironmental Factors such Competitors, Demographics, Social/Cultural and Economic. c) We identified segmentation, targeting and positioning in our Implementation Plan. This helped us focus on a group of customers and to come up with solutions that will meet our goals concerning this group. References Canalys Research. (n. d. ). Smart phones defy slowdown. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Press and Research releases: http://www. canalys. com/pr/2009/r2009081. htm Gartner. (n. d. ). Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Declined 6 Per Cent and Smartphones Grew 27 Per Cent in Second Quarter of 2009. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Press releases: http://www. gartner. com/it/page. jsp? id=1126812 Gibbs. (n. d. ). Why RIM’s App World Is Key to Its Long-term Success. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from GigaCom: http://gigaom. com/2009/09/28/app-world-will-be-crucial-for-RIM-as-smartphone-space-heats-up/ Grewal, L. P. (2009). In Marketing (Canadian Edition ed. , pp. 3-4). McGraw-Hill. Leader-Post. (n. d. ). Analysts pessimistic about RIM's market share. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Business : http://www. leaderpost. com/business/story. html? id=2033215 NPD Group. (n. d. ). RIM Unseats Apple in The NPD Group's Latest Smartphone Ranking . Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Press release: http://www. npd. com/press/releases/press_090504. html Perez, M. (n. d. ). BlackBerry Maker Pushes For Mainstream. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Information Week: http://www. informationweek. om/news/personal_tech/blackberry/showArticle. jhtml? articleID=220200247 Reardon. (n. d. ). Smartphone sales slow amid troubled economy. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from CNET: http://news. cnet. com/8301-1035_3-10113288-94. html Reardon, M. (n. d. ). Market to be dominated by smartphones and low-cost handsets. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from CNET Crave: http://asia. cnet. com/crave/2009/08/14/market-to-be-dominated-by-smartphones-an d-low-cost-handsets/ Reseach In Motion. (n. d. ). Company. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from RIM: http://www. RIM. com/company/index. shtml The Globe and Mail. (n. d. . iPhone price may help BlackBerry. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Featured Market Blog: http://www. theglobeandmail. com/blogs/markets/iphone-price-may-help-BlackBerry/article767553/ The Wall Street Journal. (n. d. ). BlackBerry With Touch Screen Planned . Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Business:: http://online. wsj. com/article/SB121087480469495889. html Wikipedia. (n. d. ). BlackBerry. Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/BlackBerry Wikipedia. (n. d. ). Windows Mobile . Retrieved 10 22, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Windows_Mobile