Aqa-Scly1-W-Qp-Jun11

General Certificate of Education Advanced Subsidiary Examination June 2011 Sociology Unit 1 Wednesday 18 May 2011 For this paper you must have: ? an AQA 8-page answer book. SCLY1 9. 00 am to 10. 00 am Time allowed ? 1 hour Instructions ? Use black ink or black ball-point pen. ? Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Examining Body for this paper is AQA. The Paper Reference is SCLY1. ? This paper is divided into three sections. ? Choose one section and answer all of the questions from that section. Do not answer questions from more than one section. ? Do all rough work in your answer book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information ? The marks for questions are shown in brackets. ? The maximum mark for this paper is 60. ? Questions carrying 24 marks should be answered in continuous prose. In these questions you will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist v ocabulary where appropriate. G/T64897/Jun11/SCLY1 6/6/ SCLY1 2 Choose one section and answer all of the questions from that section.Section A: Culture and Identity Total for this section: 60 marks Read Items 1A and 1B below and answer questions Item 1A Interactionists see a person’s identity as arising from interactions with other people and from how those interactions are interpreted. For example, social expectations about what is an appropriate leisure activity for an older person may influence what that person does in their spare time. This choice of leisure activity may affect how they see themselves and how others see them, both of which contribute to their sense of identity.Item 1B For Marxists, culture in society reflects ruling-class ideology. It expresses the distorted view of the world put forward by the dominant class and is important in maintaining the system of social inequality that exists in capitalist society. Functionalist sociologists argue that the culture of society reflects the shared values of that society. Society needs a shared culture to run effectively, and various agencies play their part in socialising members of society. 0 0 1 2 Explain what is meant by ‘socialisation’. 5 0 1 to 0 5 that follow. (2 marks) Suggest two reasons, apart from the one mentioned in Item 1A, why leisure choices may vary across different age groups. (4 marks) Identify three characteristics and/or concepts associated with interactionist views of culture and identity, apart from those mentioned in Item 1A. (6 marks) Examine sociological explanations of the ways in which ethnicity may shape social identity. (24 marks) Using material from Item 1B and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of the role of culture in society. (24 marks) 0 3 0 4 0 5G/T64897/Jun11/SCLY1 3 Section B: Families and Households Total for this section: 60 marks Read Items 2A and 2B below and answer questions Item 2A Many people see childhood as a natural stage of l ife that is determined by biology. What is expected of children is shaped by their age. However, sociologists suggest that childhood is a social construction. For example, changes in the laws regarding compulsory education and access to the labour market have shaped the experiences of children today. Item 2B Feminists take a critical view of the family.They argue that family life maintains and promotes gender inequality. For example, this is reflected in the domestic division of labour. Housework and childcare in the family, which are carried out mainly by women, are unpaid and hardly recognised as work at all. However, some sociologists suggest that feminist theories ignore the extent of family diversity. In fact, family roles and relationships are varied and therefore women’s experiences of family life are more diverse than some feminists suggest. 0 0 6 7 Explain what is meant by the ‘social construction’ of childhood (Item 2A). 0 6 to 1 0 that follow. 5 (2 mar ks) Suggest two ways, apart from those mentioned in Item 2A, in which government policies and/or laws may shape the experiences of children today. (4 marks) Identify three reasons why the birth rate has fallen since 1900. Examine the reasons for changes in the divorce rate since 1969. (6 marks) (24 marks) 0 0 1 8 9 0 Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the contribution of feminist sociologists to an understanding of family roles and relationships. (24 marks) Turn over for Section C Turn over ?G/T64897/Jun11/SCLY1 4 Section C: Wealth, Poverty and Welfare Total for this section: 60 marks Read Items 3A and 3B below and answer questions Item 3A In the United Kingdom, there is a mixed economy of welfare provision. This means that a range of different individuals and organisations provides welfare. The state benefits system is part of this provision and includes some benefits that are universal and others that are means-tested or selective. Voluntary groups also provide welf are services alongside the state and other providers.Item 3B Some sociologists suggest that the attitudes and behaviour of the poor themselves are a significant factor in the existence and continuation of poverty. The poor have a distinct subculture that is different from the rest of society. This subculture encourages certain attitudes and behaviour that keep the poor locked in poverty. However, other sociologists question the existence of a set of different norms and values among the poor. Instead, they suggest that poverty arises from the structure and organisation of society. 1 1 1 2 Explain the difference between income and wealth. 1 1 to 1 5 that follow. 5 (4 marks) Suggest two advantages of welfare benefits being universal, rather than selective (Item 3A). (4 marks) Suggest two advantages of welfare provision by voluntary groups (Item 3A). (4 marks) 1 1 3 4 Examine the reasons for the increasing inequality of wealth in the United Kingdom since the 1970s. (24 marks) Using mate rial from Item 3B and elsewhere, assess the view that the attitudes and the behaviour of the poor themselves are responsible for poverty. (24 marks) 1 5 END OF QUESTIONS Copyright  © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. G/T64897/Jun11/SCLY1

Analyse Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles Essay

These two findings are very important as they provide the reader with shocking information. This is because we discover that Mr and Mrs â€Å"Stapleton† are actually husband and wife. Even more we realise that Mr and Mrs â€Å"Stapleton† are actually the Vandeleurs. As a result of this great deception the finger points to Mr and Mrs Stapleton as being the murderers. This information is the most vital information which will help to solve the mystery. There are points in the novel where events simply provide Watson and Holmes with information. The events which provide information are almost always false leads which create a sense of uncertainty as to who is the criminal. â€Å"Go back to London! Start tonight!†¦ Hush my brother is coming! † chapter 7 This quote is said by Miss. Stapleton to Dr. Watson as she mistakes him for Sir Henry. This prompts Watson to investigate further into the Stapletons as it is very mysterious as to why she would like Sir Henry to go back to London. This is because she doesn’t want her brother Mr. Stapleton to find out that she has said this and when she discovers that she was actually talking to Watson she takes back her comment. This was actually a false lead as we discover in the later part of the investigation, which was put in by Conan Doyle so the reader is kept in suspense as to whether she had a hand in the death of Sir Charles until the di nouement. Even though there is the interviewing of people in â€Å"THOTB†, they don’t provide their own version of events of the crime. Dr. Mortimer is the only person who really provides Holmes with information of what he thought happened at the murder scene. Conan Doyle has used a different approach to the nature of the investigation because most of the information is gathered behind the scenes or events provide information. By doing this Conan Doyle has made his novel unique and perhaps more interesting than the typical investigation as there is a greater anticipation as to whom the killer could be. Sherlock Holmes fits the profile of a classic detective very well and this is evident in â€Å"THOTB† from the start of the novel. The detective is usually more or less socially isolated and referred to as a â€Å"loner†. We can see this in â€Å"THOTB† from the fact that Holmes only â€Å"socialises† with Watson, but then one could argue that he only socialises with Watson because he enhances his intellect by comparison. Holmes does not have any family and the fact that he rests upon the moor for a lengthy period of time suggests that he is used to being alone. â€Å"I knew that seclusion and solitude were very necessary for my friend in these hours of intense mental concentration in which he weighed every particle of evidence†¦ â€Å"

Immigration in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigration in America - Research Paper Example Among these, over 90,000 are nonimmigrant business people, students, workers and tourists, who get in to the nation through airports and border crossings. Approximately 3,000 of them are immigrants or expatriates, who would become permanent dwellers of the U.S. through special invitation. Moreover, over 1,000 of the immigrants are illegal aliens; typically, Mexicans, who dodge border controls, enter the United States, and inhabit. Several factors motivate these immigrants including religious, political, and economic factors. For the initial immigrants, Spaniards needed Christian converts in Florida and the southwest; the Puritans in Massachusetts wanted to institute a society limited to members of their faith while German sectarians wanted religious liberty in Pennsylvania (Martin & Midgley, 2003). Cynical perceptions of outsiders as belonging to a different race, ethnicity, economic status, religion, or political attachment have significantly interfered with America's interest for n ewcomers. Since the eighteenth century, the inborn Americans have raised various issues concerning the influx of immigrants in to the country. These issues include concerns regarding pressure on public services, job contest, and an apparent incapability of the U.S. to take in cultural foreigners easily (Ogletree, 2000). Several studies on the public opinion concerning immigrants in the 1960’s indicate that many of Americans proposed for the reduction of both authorized and unauthorized immigration. On the other hand, public opinion surveys carried out at the close of the 18th century indicate that the public were more lenient toward immigration. This is because there were low rates of unemployment and the economy was growing (Martin & Midgley, 2003). Immigration policies in America After the World War I, many Americans became more patriotic and demanded for the removal of foreign blood from their country. Consequently, this resulted in the development of various acts and poli cies aimed at regulating immigration in to America. For instance, this anti-immigrant climate prompted for the enactment of Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924. These resultant acts instituted quota methods intended to decrease considerably the number of southern and eastern Europeans and to block all Asians. During this time, there was widespread perception that these foreigners were polluting the American culture. This perception carried a lot of weight in congressional discussions, as did the argument that strangers were the carriers of fundamental ideologies (Vecoli, 1996). For the nation’s first 100 years, the United States assisted immigration, welcoming aliens who could help to inhabit a huge nation. However, from the 1880s onwards, the United States started to block particular categories of immigrants. This comprised low-skilled contract workers, Chinese and prostitutes. Consequently, this led to the development of the phase of qualitative limitations on immigration. Ac cording to the United States laws and policies, immigrants are nationals of foreign countries given visas that permit them to live and work permanently in the United States

Does the Sale of Goods Act 1979 Put too Much Emphasis on the Concept Research Paper

Does the Sale of Goods Act 1979 Put too Much Emphasis on the Concept of Property - Research Paper Example The sale of goods within the UK is legally governed and directed by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 which has been further amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 and the sale of Goods and Amendment Act 1995. The Acts specify the duties of the seller and the buyer as the seller is legally bound to deliver the goods, the buyer has to accept and pay for them according to terms of the contract. As the seller should be ready to give possession of the goods to the buyer, the buyer is legally responsible to pay for the goods to take possession of them. These are fundamental duties of the seller and buyer and if one party fails to maintain terms of contract another can sue for damages and cancel the contract. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 has undergone several amendments and changes since its introduction and has become more and more consumer-focused to uphold the quality of goods and buyer rights . ... If the buyer gives the purpose of the purchase, the goods should fit the purpose If the sample is shown to a consumer before selling the specified goods, then the goods should confirm or be similar to the sample shown These are the terms and conditions of the contract and both the seller and the buyer have obligations to maintain these terms of contract5. Any breach of contract can entitle the purchaser to reject the goods and seek reimbursement on the purchase price or even claim damages by taking legal action6. Thus the Act specifies the fact that all traders must sell goods that are as described and shown to the consumer and they should also be of satisfactory quality. If the products do not meet the requirements of the consumer, then the consumer can reject them and claim reimbursement and money back on the goods and they have to do this quickly. The Sale of Goods Act has recently had another amendment and is specified in the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 20027.              

The Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching Essay

The Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching - Essay Example The target language is the main language in the classroom, and everyone learns it better by speaking it. Reading and writing in the target language follows once a lexical and grammatical foundation has been established. That means, the learner is corrected when he makes mistakes in spelling, vocabulary use, etc. The teaching of the foreign language is from simple to more complex forms. Upon learning this, some may be curious as to the Oral Approach is regarded by students if they have already been exposed to other teaching approaches. Would this approach clash with other methods students have already been accustomed to or would it supplement them? How about students with language impairments? Would the Oral Approach be able to encourage them or discourage them from speaking in a foreign language? The Situational Language Teaching approach is a language teaching approach that helps the learner understand the foreign language better by clustering lessons based on certain situations. Pi ttman (1963) clarifies the word ‘situational’ as identifiable concrete materials, pictures and relia which are used together with actions and gestures in order to demonstrate the meanings of new language words and phrases. If possible, these are used to teach a lesson on a particular situation. This eases the learner, knowing that what he is learning is about something familiar to him and can focus on the theme of the lesson. For example, simpler lessons teach about vocabulary on family will have pictures of family members. In any learning situation, it helps if the new knowledge is linked with previous knowledge. The Situational Language Teaching approach capitalizes on the learner’s own context. In the article, an example was provided on using actual objects to help students learn foreign words without necessarily identifying the object in the home language. This is effective since the objects are familiar to the students. The same may be true when the teacher teaches them a song about something they can relate to in their own context. It would be effective to use visual aids for the song so it becomes easily understandable to the learners especially if the song depicts a story. The pictures in the story may be presented while parts of the song related to the picture are sung. The theory underlying these approaches leans on the behaviourist perspective. Palmer (1957) summarizes the process of learning a language as receiving the knowledge or materials (stimulus), retaining it by repeating it both mentally and verbally, and using it in practice until it becomes a skill which later on becomes second nature to the individual. The issue now comes for people who would have deficiencies in the skills of memory and repetition. Does that mean they will be unable to learn another language due to their limitations? If these language teaching approaches are effective in the classroom, how would it translate to outside the classroom? It would be alri ght if the students live in the country where the target language is spoken since there would be several people whom they can practice their new skills with. If they live in their home country, however, where the target language is constrained within the classroom, then there would be no other people to practice with and understand what they are saying especially in the home if

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

History - Essay Example On the other hand, they too gained a lot from the revolution as well. This is actually due to the fact that they got an available opportunity to mix freely and get to know the other non-Jewish neighbors. The Jews also had an inner feeling of ultimate security due to the fact that they had tirelessly championed for the liberation of their country importantly, self with the entire unity of their Christian associates. Their major strength was bestowed in unity and most importantly, self confidence. These are the main features that they used in order to champion for their rights without false pretense and very much boldly (Mazur, 2012). The Jews majorly originated from virtually every country in Europe and the Middle East but most of them migrated from Eastern Europe and Germany. The major reason for migration from the Middle East, Europe, Eastern Europe and Germany was due to poverty, discriminations and massacres (Joseph, 1988). The first Jewish immigrants to Chicago came from the cent ral Europe and arrived in 1841. Most of the early Jewish settlers began as street peddlers and later opened stores that later developed into reknown companies such as Florsheim, Spiegel, Aldens, Mandel Brothers among others (Mazur, 2012). The civil war that occurred in America divided the Jews along various different lines (Mazur, 2012). It separated the Jews physically and ideologically, this is to say that there were Jews in the south of the country as well as the north of the country, others upheld slavery and human trafficking while the others rejected and fought against the vice. In the same manner, there were other Jews who worked hard to ensure that there was unity among the Jews whereas on the other hand others were struggling to ensure that the Jews were actively divided (Mazur, 2012). It is very much evident that the civil strife that occurred in America affected the Jews as well. Consequently, there are three characteristics of the struggle that had a different impact on the Jews specifically. To begin with, the civil strife led to an increase in panic and uncomfortability among the Jews. This later gave rise to increased racial and religious differences and biases in America. To make matters worse, the Jews both in the north and south of America, were made to bear the whole blame (Mazur, 2012) Secondly, the Jews were however adversely affected by the fact that the Jews in the North were denied the chance to have or to elect an army chaplain. Even though the task was not that easy, the Jews saw that they too had a say and hence wanted a representation on the same. According to the law that had been put in place and was functional at that moment, an army chaplain had to be, â€Å"a regularly ordained minister of some Christian denomination† this therefore made it very difficult for the Jews to qualify. The law however was seen to become that strenuous and even President Abraham Lincoln himself made an effort to re-strategize the clause in orde r to loosen its strenuous ends but his efforts did not bear instant fruits. Instead it took the Jews over one year of great job and hard work before the law was amended and passed successfully (Joseph, 1988). The Jews also suffered the consequences of the civil war through an operation that was far much against the Jewish officials. This is the final and the most

Comprehensive Mental Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Comprehensive Mental Health - Essay Example Diagnosis 3: Risk of serious malnutrition and existing malnutrition indicated by greater than 1 lb weight loss in a week, which is probably related to this current illness. The patient's feeling of heaviness of limbs, back, head, and aches in the same areas; loss of energy and fatigability, difficulty eating without the staff urging poses risks for further malnutrition. Gastrointestinal symptoms of dry mouth and somatic psychic gastrointestinal symptoms of depression manifested by wind, indigestion, diarrhoea, cramps, belching may aggravate the decreased appetite. Slight retardation at interview may indicate lassitude, and irritability may further aggravate loss of appetite, since it may represent inner tension representing feelings of ill-defined discomfort, edginess, inner turmoil, mental tension mounting to panic, dread or anguish that may lead to further loss of desire for food. Priority 1: Diagnosis 1: Risk for Injury related to hopelessness and impaired pro... ion manifested by suicide attempt in the current admission and sadness, suicidal thoughts, dejection, or episodes of weeping on assessment and feeling of rejection, despondence, self-reproach, and hopelessness indicated by expressions of feelings of discouragement, despair, pessimism about future, which cannot be dispelled. Also, current serious attempts of suicide and helplessness and worthlessness indicated by patient's statement on interrogation. Rationale of the Priority 1: Depressed individuals have negative evaluation of their worth, which often is unrealistic. They are known to have guilty preoccupations or ruminations about minor past failings, where always they blame themselves. It is very common for these individuals to misinterpret neutral or trivial everyday events as due to failure of his or her person. Their exaggerated sense of responsibility for untoward events makes them very commonly feel hopeless, helpless, worthless and powerless. Due to her previous history of paranoid schizophrenia, it would be natural to expect possibility of disorganized thought processes, such as circumstantial or tangential thinking. Although there is no evidence of such in examination or history, there is a high possibility of hallucinations and delusions. Any assessment of depression requires that the risk of self-harm or suicide be assessed. This is the first priority since patient safety if the first nursing priority. In this patien t, due to attempted suicide and related admission, this becomes a greater priority. In depressed patients, self-harm and suicide are very prevalent. Anyone showing symptoms of severe depression, especially psychomotor retardation and/or psychotic symptoms should be regarded as at high risk of suicide, as should anyone who has previously

Applications of Operant Conditioning at School Essay

Applications of Operant Conditioning at School - Essay Example Operant conditioning can be defined as a type of learning in which voluntary (controllable; non-reflexive) behavior is strengthened if it is reinforced and weakened if it is punished (or not reinforced) 1 . It states that environmental contingencies or the environment's 'reaction' to an individual's behaviour controls that individual's behaviour. As an Undergraduate he was an English major, then decided to study Psychology in graduate school. Early in his career he believed much of behavior could be studied in a single, controlled environment (created Skinner box - address later). Instead of observing behavior in the natural world, he attempted to study behavior in a closed, controlled unit. This prevents any factors not under study from interfering with the study - as a result, Skinner could truly study behavior and specific factors that influence behavior. During the "cognitive revolution" that swept Psychology (discussed later), Skinner stuck to the position that behavior was not guided by inner force or cognition. This made him a "radical behaviorist". As his theories of Operant Conditioning developed, Skinner became passionate about social issues, such as free will, how they developed, why they developed, how they were propagated, etc. 1 Skinner state that actions that are followed by reinforcing consequences are more likely to re-occur, and that actions that are followed by unpleasant or punishing consequences are less likely to re-occur. Again this might seem deceptively simple. However, the theory becomes more complicated when one realizes that what constitutes punishment and reinforcement differs depending on the individual. Skinner also noted that the situation within which the learning took place had to be taken into account. In analyzing and trying to account for behaviour, the psychologist, as behavioural detective, needs to take into account the antecedent (what happens immediately before the behaviour), the behaviour, and the consequences of the behaviour. This method is known as the ABC approach (A for antecedent, B for behaviour and C for consequences). There are five basic processes in operant conditioning: positive and negative reinforcement strengthen behavior; punishment, response cost, and extinction weaken behavior 2. Positive Reinforcement The term reinforcement always indicates a process that strengthens a behavior; the word positive has two cues associated with it. First, a positive or pleasant stimulus is used in the process, and second, the reinforcer is added (i.e., "positive" as in + sign for addition). In positive reinforcement, a positive reinforcer is added after a response and increases the frequency of the response. 2 Negative Reinforcement The term reinforcement always indicates a process that strengthens a behavior; the word negative has two cues associated with it. First, a negative or aversive stimulus is used in the process, and second, the reinforcer is subtracted (i.e., "negative" as in a "-" sign for subtraction). In negative reinforcement, after the response the negative reinforcer is removed which increases the fre

Darwin Natural Selection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Darwin Natural Selection - Essay Example As the paper highlights  one of the issues that creationists and individuals that believe in intelligent design point to as a shortcoming of natural selection is with respect to those organisms or systems that are highly complex and in which partial inadequacy of function would preclude natural selection.   One such system would be that of the human eye; arguably one of the most complex mechanisms that exists within nature.   However, Darwin, and those that support him would point to the fact that the need to see would be evidenced through many of the different states of eyesight that exist from the most basic caterpillars to the most advanced mammals.   Although it is true that the theory itself exist on something of an extension basis, the understanding and believe that the validity and truth of the statement ultimately exists as a function of its existence, there are a number of moral parallels and understandings that can be constructed via immoral understanding of specifi cally what Darwin’s theory entails.This paper outlines that  without the four a higher power, morality and another itself is constrained only with regards to the way in which humanity seeks to buy morality within the current context. In other words, natural selection in and of itself is a process by which furtherance of species is sure by the natural and â€Å"blind† process that nature engages to select those which will most likely carry on genes further the process of reproduction.

The nature of Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The nature of Crime - Essay Example However, an understanding of both these theories is important because they help in knowing the nature of crime. The central proposition made by the strain theory is the idea that social structures and individual situations within a society may be the causes of crimes since the strain put on the individual due to them encourages criminal behavior. This theory emerges from the work of Émile Durkheim and has been further developed by many social scientists following in his footsteps (Cullen, & Agnew, 2006). With regard to the strain which causes crime, there are two possible sources i.e. social structures and individual experiences (Miller et. al., 2002). The first one comes from the social structures which define how the needs of an individual are to be satisfied. If the social structures are inadequate, especially with regard to satisfying the needs of the middle class, then more people from the middle class may turn to crime if they see a lack of opportunities and have limited means (Miller et. al., 2002). Therefore, in this respect, the blame for criminal activity or the increased rate of crime comes from a failure of social institutions rather than individual negligence. The second strain can come from the individual since the experience of a person within society can lead him/her to a life of crime (Wikipedia, 2006). For example, if a middle class person sees enough things which lead him to desire more than his/her means then s/he may choose to do things which are illegal to attain those things (Miller et. al., 2002). Of course that person may not actually need those things for their basic survival but the creation of the need can come from their own experiences. Similar to the strain theory, the social disorganization theory also focuses on the relationship between the individual and the social setup. However, the primary focus

Out with the Old in with the New Essay Example for Free

Out with the Old in with the New Essay Education is the single most important factor in not only an individual’s life and their outcome for success, but also the outcome of future success in America. In order for our country to be successful we must invest in our future generations and the training they will need once they move on to their future endeavors. Although America spends vast amounts of money each year on education, money is not always the answer. We must improve the performance in our classrooms by making sure we have the strongest faculty possible. Teachers being given the luxury of tenure are hurting student performance and the performance of America. Tenure is not only allowing teachers to keep their jobs secure based off experience rather than performance, but also it is this job protection that makes the removal of poorly performing teachers so difficult and costly. In a result, most schools end up retaining their bad teachers. Teachers having tenure is a very controversial issue in today’s society. There are many pros and cons to this subject, but it is crucial that we have the strongest faculty we can in order to have a bright and prosperous future for this country. Teacher’s tenure is a form of job protection that public school teachers receive after 1-7 years on the job. It was created in the early 1920s in order to protect teachers from losing their jobs to younger less expensive teachers. According to Time U. S. magazine, â€Å"Roughly 2. 3 million public school teachers in the U. S. have tenure†(Stephey). With all the budget cuts that have happened, many talented, energetic and young teachers are being fired in order for other teachers to keep their job. Teacher’s job security should be based on performance in the classroom rather than years a teacher’s been teaching. Teacher’s tenure is one of the most controversial issues in education today. Many people argue that it protects teachers from being fired for personal or political reasons, and prevents the firing of experienced teachers to hire less expensive new teachers. Before tenure was in place, teachers would be fired if a new political party took office or even if the principle wanted to make room for a teacher friend. Tenure adds stability for the community around it because teachers with long careers are known and trusted throughout the community. Proponents also say that eliminating teacher tenure would discourage people from entering the teaching profession. Many people would decide to invest their talent in a more securable profession rather than risking their future on what could be a future pink slip. Having less talent in the teaching field would greatly impact education in a negative way. It would reduce innovation in teaching because many teachers’ lesson plans would become skewed towards the standardized tests in order to keep their jobs. Standardized test should not be the reason a teacher loses his or her job, but no teacher should have the luxury of having guaranteed job security. According to the pro-education reform documentary â€Å"Waiting for Superman,† only one out of 1000 teachers is fired for performance-related reasons each year. Teachers with tenure are the older and more experienced teachers. Although they may have experience, their age may be a downfall in their teaching tactics. The older a teacher is, the less energy they have for holding the attention of the class. Especially in the technological age, teachers must be not only energetic and relatable to their students, but they must also be computer savvy. Every classroom now a days has either a computerized white board, projector, or even a class set of laptops. The future of education relies on technology and many teachers that hold tenure have not grown up around such technology. This restricts them on their ability to utilize technology in order to relate to their students. With the high school drop out rate increasing each year, teachers must be well equipped with skills of not only the Internet, but also power points, online lectures, and also online tutoring that all their students may have access to. Society has risen the new generation of students to live off technology. Hardly ever do students look something up in a book rather than resorting to Google to find their answer. In a result, teachers that are younger with less experience in the classroom, tend to have more experience with the technological tactics of learning that many present day students prefer. Relating to the students learning habits is crucial for their future success in higher education. Firing a teacher with tenure is a very long and difficult process. It may take up to a year before the courts become involved before a teacher may lose their tenure. Teacher tenure requires schools to make long-term spending commitments and prevents districts from being fiscally flexible. Teacher employment contracts generally lack provisions for declining enrollment and economic turmoil. As a high school student, I saw many first hand accounts on the effects of tenure. Although it does affect teachers the most, the community around the school may be affected as well. While I was in high school, our school experienced many of our most talented young teachers being â€Å"pink slipped†. Many of the teachers being fired were the most respected around the campus, being favored by the student body by the way they could relate, and teach a subject with such interest. The majority of the school was outraged that many of the younger teachers were being fired rather than the uninteresting older teachers that did not get through to their students as well. The issue began to enter the classrooms affecting the learning of the students. The problem resulted in an organized â€Å"walk out† were the majority of my school walked out of their classrooms in an attempt to save the jobs of their favorite teachers. Although teachers tenure may create stability in a community, fair job protection, and an attractable job profession, tenure must either be eliminated completely, or much more difficult to acquire. Teachers in the K-12 must be held to the same requirements as a college professor in order to acquire tenure. Acquiring a tenure in college requires not only participation in the classroom for a certain amount of years, but also contributions to their given field and accomplishments they make in their long career. Teachings in the K-12 are usually held to the standard of working for two to seven years and then being rewarded job security. By being able to acquire tenure so easily, the education system as a whole suffers. With less talented teachers having secure jobs, students do not learn as efficiently which contributes to the lack of college degrees in America. Education as a whole is the most important issue for America’s success. In education, learning does not start with the student, but instead the tools they are given to succeed. We must either eliminate tenure, or raise the difficulty of acquiring such job security for the betterment of our future leaders.

Going to Disney World Essay Example for Free

Going to Disney World Essay I had been planning our trip for three months for me and my five children to go to Disney World. I had gone and got book and done research on the computer, I wonted everything to be perfect and organized. We were going to go the week before Christmas and be there for a week. Has it got closer to the day before we would be leaving the excitement been building in all of us. Four days before we were going to leave I got the dreaded stomach flu. All I could think about was I had to get better before we would be leaving. Has the days went on I was feeling better and started packing and getting everything together for my first family trip since my divorce. I packed the car up the night before we were going to leave and it took hours, first the suitcase, then car seats and then checked the list so we would not forget anything that we might need for our adventure. The next morning woke the kids up at four am, with sleep still in their eyes, got all situated in the car and we were off to Disney World. The kids were so excited, they all was talking at one time about what they wanted to see and what the wonted to do. About lunch time they all settled down enough where I could understand what they were saying. I decided that we would take our nine hour drive and make a two day drive out of it so we were not in the car all day, so our first stop would be Birmingham, Alabama. I told the kids to look out the windows and the first hotel that they see that they would like to stay yell and we would go check it out. My oldest two at this time was tired of sitting in the car so it did not take long for them to really start looking for something nice and that would maybe have an indoor pool so they could get out of the car for at least for a while. We had passed two exits by now and I was thinking I hope one of them would yell soon, because I was getting tired of driving for the moment. Then out of Jackson’s mouth he yelled â€Å"There is one and it looks really nice Mom†, so off the next exit I went to check it out. Has we pulled up to the Hilton I knew this was going to cost me, but not saying a word I went through the front doors and ask if I could get a room for a night. Has we went to our rooms they kids was trying to get in the bags to get their bathing suit to go to the pool. That night we swam, played game in the arcade and ordered pizza for dinner. Knowing we had to get up early I started trying to settle the kids down for bed a nine o’clock, but they were so full of excitement and anticipation to get to Disney World none of them wonted to sleep. Midnight came and I looked around they all had fell asleep, Jackson on the floor where he had been watching television, Briar in the chair were he had been coloring , Summer had curled up in a ball in the bed, and the babies was safe in their travel cribs. At that moment I knew we were going to have a great and amazing time when we got to Disney World. Has the sun come up in the morning it was shining through the window right in my eyes and I could hear the kids already up and ready to leave. We loaded back into the car, four hours to go to we got to Florida. Has we arrived in Florida we had to find the house that my mother and rented us for the week, that was our entire Christmas gift. Finally, we found it and when I drove up it looked like a castle. Has the kids could not wait to jump out and check out the house I was overwhelmed that my mother would have rented us this house for a week, that was so gorgeous. Has we walked in the house it was like a house you would see in the movies, seven bedrooms, five baths and it had its own pool that was shaped like Nemo. The kids was running and yelling saying â€Å"This room is mine and I claim this one†. As we got all unpacked and settled in, we started making a plan for the morning, it would be our first day a Disney World. We got out our book of How To Do Everything You Wont To Do At Disney World In A Week. We had made reservations for breakfast with Mickey for in the morning; to start our first day and then we would be going to Magic Kingdom the rest of the day. The morning had arrived for us and we were all smiles and full of excitement. Has we rode through the gate at Disney World all the kids yelled â€Å"We made it†. I wanted to cry, because I knew I could never replace this memory. We could see the parks and some of the rides has we pulled close to where we would be eating breakfast. I had set it up where I could valet park, because I did have five kids by myself and I knew that it would not be easy trying to get everybody settled in strollers by myself. Breakfast was very hectic, feeding the babies, taking pictures and trying to eat all at the same time. The kids really enjoyed the waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse and loved to see all the charterers has they were eating. People was looking at me like I was crazy, but I did not care I was with the five most important people in my life and I was enjoying every minute of it. Jackson pulled out our map and planning book, he was our event planner for the day; he said it was time to go if we wanted to stay on a schedule for the day. Tickets were our first stop, and then here was the moment we had been waiting and planning for. It was a warm day in December, there was a feeling of mist in the air as the sun was coming up and we could already smell cotton candy in the air. Our first stop was going to be the Dumbo ride, they say that is the most popular ride for little kids, and our goal was to do all the baby rides first and when they took a nap for the day the big kids would be able to ride space mountain and many more big roller coasters that we have read about. We stood just 45 minutes in line to ride the Dumbo ride, It is flying elephants and they go up and down, the babies giggled the whole time we were on the ride and their eyes was shining like diamonds was in them. After hours of line waiting and ride the teacups, it is a small world and see all the princess, the babies had fell asleep in their stroller. Has we made our way to the big kids rides there was a parade and Jackson could not resist his self to get right in the middle of it, I could not get to my camera fast enough. He danced and sang as we stood on the side of the path of the parade and cheered him on. I could not how planned this most memorable moment if I would have tried. As the sun was setting, the park was lite up with a million Christmas lights and it was a beautiful sight. We were trying to make it to the fireworks, which are shot off Cinderella’s castle. As we were walking we went down a street that looked like a small town. Stores on both sides, vendors selling popcorn, and then we started to see it snow. They were blowing fake snow on the street. It was a feeling of Christmas, without it being cold and stressed. At the end of the street you could see the castle lite up and it changed colors with every firework that was shot off. As we are standing there watching fireworks my three oldest children put their arms around me and said â€Å"love you mom and thank you for being the best mom ever†. It was at that moment I knew Disney World was the place were dreams come true. As we got back in the car that night to go back to the house the kids ask† we are coming back tomorrow aren’t we mom.† I replied â€Å"Yes, and I cannot wait to see what memories we can make then.†

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Business

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Business 1. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging Business Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive medical imaging modality that has emerged in the first half of 1980s and become a preferred tool in detecting a wide range of diseases (Yildirim, et al., 2015)[1]. Since its invention, MRI has undergone a continuous flow of innovations and proven itself as a versatile tool that addresses an increasing number of clinical problems and enables research in a growing spectrum of clinical and technological fields. Over the course of its evolution MRI has proven itself has a well-established diagnostic tool and enabler in particularly neuro-radiological applications, functional and anatomical imaging of the brain, imaging of the musculoskeletal (MSK) system and the spine, and a strong contender in cardiovascular imaging, breast imaging and imaging of the abdomen and pelvic region. As a result of its versatility and non-invasive nature, MRI enjoys an increasing demand (Wilson, et al., 1999; Al-Kwifi McNaughton, 2013) and becomes a strong alternative to less costly modalities such as X-ray and Computed Tomography (Semelka, 2004). Despite all the innovations, and the advantages it offers with respect to other techniques, MRI remains the most expensive medical imaging modality, both in terms of production costs and cost of ownership constitutes a global market that is currently about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 5 billion, and is expected to exceed à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 7 billion by 2021 (MarketsAndMarkets, 2015). Figure 1 MRI, applications areas and competing technologies.   1.1. The Market Over the past three and a half decades, the MRI business has evolved into a nearly mature market, particularly in terms of number of installations and users, which mainly consist of academic hospitals and research institutes, public and private hospitals and specialized clinics and centres (Oh, et al., 2004; MarketsAndMarkets, 2015). The MRI market is dominated by three vendors, namely Siemens, General Electric (GE) and Philips, which cover about 75% of the market, and followed by smaller firms like Toshiba and Hitachi as well as relatively smaller firms and new entrants such as Fonar, Alltech and United Imaging (MarketsAndMarkets, 2015). Geographically, the MRI market is dominated by North America and Europe, which happen to be the birthplaces of the modality (Lauterbur, 1973; Mansfield, 1977), with respective shares of 31% and 29% (MarketsAndMarkets, 2015). These, so to speak, old regions are followed by a younger and dynamic region, Asia, which has a share of 25% and observes a demand that is rapidly increasing (MarketsAndMarkets, 2015). The remainder of the MRI market is populated by emerging markets such as Latin America, the Middle East, the Pacific and Africa (MarketsAndMarkets, 2015). Figure 2 Global MRI market (Adapted from MarketsAndMarkets, 2015). The industry is governed by fast technological change and substantial heterogeneity in terms of technology and implementation among vendors (Krieg, 2004; MarketsAndMarkets, 2015). While products can roughly be categorized into groups representing magnetic field strength expressed in Teslas (e.g. 1.0T, 1.5T, 3.0T) or architecture (e.g. open versus narrow-bore or wide-bore cylindrical) (MarketsAndMarkets, 2015), differentiation among products and vendors is dictated by features, clinical applications and research techniques that come integrated with a MRI system (Krieg, 2004; Al-Kwifi McNaughton, 2013). In recent years, the business has observed a significant development that manifested itself as a clear split in market segmentation, with premium (or high-end) products catering to the upper half of the market and value products (or low-end or low-cost) catering to the lower half (Donoghue, et al., 2012; Global Industry Analysts Inc., 2015). This split, which was initially caused by the demand structure seen in the Asian and emerging markets, also found acceptance and support in Europe and North America, particularly in sectors where cost began to assume a primary role in purchase decisions as well as reimbursement policies (Proval, 2014; Global Industry Analysts Inc., 2015). In older markets such as North America and Europe, and also in Japan, the business seems to have reached a certain level of maturity (AuntMinnie.com, 2013). In these regions, the market shows a declining growth rate, mostly as a result of substantial market saturation and negative environmental influences such as declining reimbursements resulting from more stringent policies implemented by governments and insurance companies (Proval, 2014; Global Industry Analysts Inc., 2015). Another development that challenges the vendors is the increased number of brand switching, which, to some extent, can be related to market saturation (Al-Kwifi McNaughton, 2013). Customers moving from one vendor to another as such is observed to accelerate price erosion and hurt profitability significantly. In developing markets and markets showing a positive growth rate, like the emerging markets and Asian regions such as China and India (AuntMinnie.com, 2013), cost of investment and operation emerges as the primary factor affecting the business (Global Industry Analysts Inc., 2015). Additionally, the business, particularly of the incumbent firms (i.e. the big five) is challenged by governmental policies that directly or indirectly favour local competition, particularly in the low-end segment (Torsekar, 2014; Rizzo, 2016; Business Standard, 2016). Access to a larger portion of these markets is blocked by either complicated bureaucratic procedures (Torsekar, 2014), elevated import taxes (Business Standard, 2016), or by directly backing local manufacturers by means of targeted subsidies or privileged contracts (credible source needed).      Ã‚   1.2. Product Innovation Historically, MRI has been a technology driven industry, and as it is typical for high-tech businesses, product innovation has been critical to market performance and central to sustainability of the business (Krieg, 2004; Paladino, 2006). Different than most high-tech industries, however, MRI has strongly benefitted from a co-creation culture where most innovations have emerged from interactions and partnerships between vendors and key, and mostly academic, users (Figure 3). This culture led to a symbiotic vendor-user relationship that resulted into a rapid pace of product innovation, which, in turn, boosted demand for more advanced and specialized products (Krieg, 2004). Figure 3 A history of co-creation in MRI (Adapted from Philips Healthcare, 2016) However, the rate of ground-breaking and truly differentiating innovations is facing a slowdown (Holloway, 2014). In the last 10 years very few breakthroughs led to a significant or long lasting technological and competitive advantage, or have opened new areas of application and research. In the fields where MRI has proven itself as a mature diagnostic apparatus, such as neurology, MSK and brain imaging, all major vendors products are known to deliver very similar performances and adequate quality as far as general purpose use is concerned. Only in case of very specific needs, a particular vendor is seen to differentiate itself from the others and gain advantage in winning a bid or public tender. This situation, which can be defined as technological equilibrium, and relatively long presence of the modality in old markets, with an average age of about 15 years in North America, is believed to propel brand-switching (Al-Kwifi McNaughton, 2013), and more importantly, to move the accent of product innovation away from revolutionary breakthroughs to more evolutionary changes that particularly improve ease of use, patient comfort and productivity (Global Industry Analysts Inc., 2015).   1.3. Established Marketing Strategies Almost every major MRI vendor is part of a multi-national conglomerate that is active in multiple areas of business. Therefore, the strategies followed by individual companies draw a lot from the business group they belong to, and show differences particularly in cultural background, brand positioning and messaging. Yet, over time the medical device business, and particularly MRI, has developed its own common ground and generally accepted and practiced traditions. The business commercial heart-beat is primarily set by the annual gathering of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), which is held towards the end of the year and known to be the stage for new product launches, and secondarily the annual meeting of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), which takes place in spring time and lays the emphasis more on scientific and technological advancements in the field. While aligning their annual activities with these two events, vendors seem to show little indifference in the marketing strategies they follow, resulting into an equilibrium state very much similar to that seen in product innovation. Even, marketing materials, such product brochures and whitepapers give the impression as if they originate out of same hands, aside from small nuances in messaging, branding and company culture[2]. Inferred from marketing materials and product pricing, target market definition is predominantly based on pricing, which is strongly correlated with hardware characteristics (e.g. field strength, gradient system, receiver architecture etc.) and applicatory capabilities (Figure 4). Figure 4 In practice, however, the market seems to be far from consisting of two segments clearly separated from each other, as such. In his empirical study investigating the effectiveness of marketing strategies in medical markets, Brian Smith (Smith, 2003) identified that the segments are divided into sub-segments based on varying behavioural and preferential characteristics of users. However, the study also established that, despite such variation, the market does not show a continuum of homogeneous and distinct motivator based sub-segments, as seen in most consumer businesses, but rather consists of a discrete segmentation with limited degrees of freedom, which most possibly arises from the rather rigid, dominant and costly hardware characteristics of the modality and the highly regulated nature of the business environment. Of course, the relatively low number of incumbents, and their close collaboration and interaction in determining the industry standards under the directive of the Inte rnational Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), also plays also a significant role in the setting and rigidity of the boundaries of the business. Despite the constraints inherent to the nature of the modality and business environment and financial boundaries set by the customers budgetary considerations, vendors seem to seek strategic strength and competitive advantage by recognizing behavioural and preferential differences and formulating value propositions that match the specific needs of the users (Smith, 2003). In MRI, this is mainly done by fine-tuning the product composition, particularly the applicatory capabilities, which, while being very dependent on the underlying hardware platform, are defined by the software capabilities, namely data-acquisition routines (a.k.a. pulse-sequences), image reconstruction algorithms, and post-processing tools. The value-proposition is further augmented with service and support, as well as more intangible offerings and benefits of secondary and tertiary importance, such as membership of strong user network, participation in advanced research activities etc. Such customization approaches , however, are mostly left to the discretion of the local marketing and sales teams, and observed to show strong variation depending not only on the needs of the customers, but also on the specific circumstances of the negotiation and/or bidding process and position with respect to competition. From general and global marketing activities perspective, the business seems to rely on downstream activities, which centralize around new product offerings in terms of new hardware platforms and configurations, and applications consisting of novel pulse-sequences, reconstruction algorithms and post-processing methods and focus mostly on the RSNA, and upstream activities, which involve input gathering from the customer base, particularly from the so called key opinion leaders (a.k.a. key users), research collaborations with a select number of sites as well as general user surveys, feedback from local marketing and sales teams, and competitive analysis of market changes. While downstream marketing and the show to be put on stage during the RSNA help the vendors catch the attention of the market, and, more importantly, the prospective customers, it is mostly the upstream activities, and the subsequent product definition and development process, that paves the way of success, and embodi es the governing dynamics the organization. 1.4. Governing business model While exact implementation may vary from one vendor to another, it is observed that the majority of the major players follow product definition and development processes that are quite similar in the general sense. According to this, input gathered from upstream activities are converted into a user requirement specification, which subsequently is translated into one or more product definitions, and evaluated as a combined or individual business cases, with market and sales projections based on feedback from local marketing and sales teams and competitive analysis. Based on the value offered by each case product proposals are accepted to the annual operations plan (AOP), and are programmed for feasibility studies, if any needed, and product development. Most vendors, divide their annual plan into two parts, first spanning the first half of the year and catering to the installed base in terms of service releases and product updates, and second spanning the second half of the year and f ocusing on the new product introductions intended for the RSNA. 1.5. Changes in the Market Historically, the target audience of medical devices in general, and MRI in particular, has been the medical practitioners (e.g. radiologists, specialists), administrators of medical institutions and clinics and research scientists from various medical and engineering. In the earlier years of the business, the composition of this audience was mostly dominated by researchers and medical professionals with strong understanding of the physics and engineering of MRI, and driven by the desire of exploring new fields of research and application disciplines (van den Brink, et al., 2015). However, as the modality matured, the market evolved into a state where the focus shifted more to utilizing MRI as a robust and reliable diagnostic tool, than just a research platform (Holloway, 2014). Paired with this change, the proportion and influence of the medical professionals, including administrators, started to exceed those of researchers and scientists disciplines (van den Brink, et al., 2015). Over the years, and driven by increase in demand for clinical MR scans, the business also saw the entrance and influence of a new type of user, namely the operator, also known as the technologist or radiographer. In time, in the clinical, as well as in a considerable portion of the research settings, the day-to-day of operation of the systems were seen to be taken over from highly knowledgeable medical professionals, engineers and scientists, by operators whose sole responsibility was to operate the MRs disciplines (van den Brink, et al., 2015). Hence, as a combined result of these changes, the practical knowledge of utilizing MR in a clinical setting increased, together with the demand for clinical MR scans, and number of MR installations, and the average knowledge of MR physics and engineering of the people sitting on the operators chair declined (Yildirim, et al., 2015). This, together with the demand for higher productivity (i.e. higher number of scans per day) and desire for shorter training investments brought new factors into the equation of product formulation, namely, workflow and usability (Holloway, 2014; Duszak, 2012). Aware of the increasing importance of workflow and usability, the vendors have implemented marketing strategies that emphasize the productivity and efficiency of their existing products, in addition to the technical capabilities. At the same time, vendors introduced product changes that focus on higher patient throughput, simplified patient handling, improved usability of the MR console etc. As a consequence of these changes the jargon governing product and marketing materials slowly shifted from a technically savvy language to a softer language expressing customer excellence, efficient workflow, easy scanning. In addition to the changes in market demographics and demand structure, which mostly arose from the internal dynamics of the market, the MR business is also observed to be influenced by external changes, particularly advancements in mobile communications, information technologies (IT), the internet and social media. As mentioned before, the MR business is based on a strong co-creation culture and close interaction between customers and vendors. As an integral part of this culture, there is strong empathy among MR users for the complexity of the technology and challenges vendors face during product development and manufacturing. However, the empathy of MR users may not last very long. In a recent survey conducted among MR users (Yildirim, et al., 2015), it was observed that the MR user becomes less tolerant to lengthy product service update cycles and new product introduction cycles that are measured in months to years. There is a significant lack of empirical studies addressing this change. However, this behavioural change believed to be an extension of the observed impact of technological advancements on consumer behaviour, particularly in e-commerce, online services, IT and telecommunications products. Studies conducted in these businesses have shown that the consumers have become more and mor e accustomed to high responsiveness from companies in acquiring goods and services, as well as prompt feedback in case of inquiries and complaints.   2. Purpose of work 2.1. Problem Statement In light of the changes and trends observed in the market, as well as the level of maturity reached in about 65% of the global market, the number of challenges the MR business is facing, and will likely continue to face in the foreseeable future can be summarized as follows: High costs associated with high-end scanners Increasing demand for low-end scanners Slowdown in ground-breaking innovations Homogenization of technology Brand-switching in mature markets Changing market demographics and declining technical proficiency of users Shifting of demand from novel applications to clinical utilization and efficiency Weakening of co-creating culture and increasing impatience of users On global scale the MR market is far from stagnation. However, challenges above make maintaining market share and gaining new grounds a difficult task. Some of these problems, particularly those related to high costs of innovation, manufacturing and ownership, are not new to the industry. But problems arising from the changes in the market, particularly those related to the maturation of the market, changes in user profile and behaviour and demand structure are new. Strategies based on technological innovations, while being helpful in preserving brand image and presence in high-end segment, will not suffice to address these issues and sustain competitive advantage and profitability. In order to stay afloat, the business, and particularly an incumbent, will need to explore new strategies and solutions to deal with the emerging problems. This work, aims at contributing to such an exploration by addressing the following problem statement: How can the MR business, particularly an incumbent, overcome the challenges arising from market changes, without resorting to costly technological innovations? Obviously, such a statement is very broad and may require a comprehensive solution, also including product innovations, and probably a total overhaul of the business strategy. But in respect to imitations inherent to a dissertation, the scope of the work presented will mostly focus on solutions that will address changes in demand structure and user profile.   2.2. Proposed Solution Reducing manufacturing costs and cost of ownership, improving robustness and usability and introducing products that meet the needs of the low-end segment will require solutions that greatly rely on innovations in product design and manufacturing. However, these issues, and specifically issues related to changes in demand structure, demographic composition, focus of utilization as well as competitive elements involving homogenization and brand-switching can also be addressed by innovations in organizational and operational approach to the business. Today MR vendors seem to focus too much on the future in terms of the next novel technology and new markets or users to be conquered. The business process is almost sole based on this focus. Next to being future oriented the business may also find benefit in focusing on the past, or more accurately, the existing installed base. This idea, encouraged largely by the level of maturity of the market, entails learning from collective experience of users, and on the larger scale, from the collective experience of the whole MRI world, and formulate product improvement, marketing and sales strategies based on this learning. Learning as such can be realized in many ways and, in fact, is not new to the MR business. Vendors, collect information from their customers through regular and structured surveys, or occasional direct contact by marketing and sales teams. Also annual events, like RSNA and ISMRM, form a viable platform for information and feedback gathering. Next to these, firms also collect information and receive feedback from third party sources like Net Promotor Score surveys and market research reports, which also contribute to the business intelligence activities of the companies. In addition to such business and market oriented feedback gathering, vendors also receive feedback from another type of source: customer complaints. A customer complaint, as the name implies, is an expression of dissatisfaction (Landon, 1980), and is a formal and regulated entity in MRI in particular, and medical imaging in general. Customer complaints, may entail actual product defects, that is, unintended behaviour or malfunction of the product or a component thereof, or annoyances that arise from the intended behaviour or design of the product. Regardless the reason, customer complaints are issued using formal tools, and monitored by regulating bodies with strict rules regarding handling and processing (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2015). While in general, a low number of customer complaints, is very much desirable, feedback as such is an invaluable opportunity for vendors to learn from their mistakes.   Sources mentioned so far, while all beneficial, have one character in common. They are, in one form another, expressions of explicit feedback, which is known to mostly capture the part that is immediately visible, and therefore is prone to being incomplete or insufficient in uncovering actual user experience and value (Vargo, et al., 2007; MacDonald, et al., 2011). As a complementary source, this work proposes the utilization of implicit feedback, which is tacit in nature and captured in various forms of data generated by the user, or more accurately, the use of MR systems. The data consists of so called machine-data, which are mostly log files that are generated by the MR systems automatically, as well as human-data, such as clinical protocols that are created by users and reflect preferred ways of system use, and scientific output in the form of publications and conference contributions, particularly generated by academic users. Currently there are about 35 to 40 thousand operational MRI systems, with a yearly expansion of 2500-3000 systems. That means that, currently, a major incumbent would have had about 10 thousand operational systems, and over the past 10 years about 7500-8000 in average. Considering has been producing at least one log file per day, the minimum number of log files estimated to have been accumulated would be about 30 million. Assuming that each file is of 100 MB ins size, such a collection will yield 3000TB of data, large enough to fill more than half a million DVDs. Adding, protocols, publications and other sources to this, the data will multiply massively in size reaching the zettabyte scale (Raghupathi Raghupathi, 2014). In information science, datasets of such size and complexity are defined by the term Big Data (Russom, 2011; Singh Singh, 2011; Madden, 2012) whereas the processes and techniques used to structure and analyse such complex data and retrieve meaningful information out of it are brought together under the term Data Analytics (Russom, 2011; Singh Singh, 2011).   Ã‚   The proposed solution relies heavily on Big Data and Data Analytics, or shortly Big Data Analytics. But rather than being an exercise of solely academic nature, the work aims at defining a framework that integrates Big Data Analytics into the operational and organizational structure of an incumbent MR vendor. The work also includes practical examples of how to utilize Big Data Analytics in identification of implicit and hidden user needs, product formulation as well as, and particularly, in marketing and sales and create value for both the company and customers. 3. Big Data Analytics Big Data is a term used for massively large data sets with complex and heterogeneous structure that cannot be handled, i.e. stored and analyzed, using conventional techniques (Russom, 2011; Singh Singh, 2011; Madden, 2012). Data Analytics, on the other hand, is a collection of techniques and procedures that are used to process and analyze massive amounts of data. Brought together under the name Big Data Analytics, the purpose of this toolset is to identify hidden correlations and patterns in data, and convert a seemingly unordered pile of data into meaningful information and insights (Russom, 2011; Singh Singh, 2011). Although the concept of Big Data has emerged no longer than a decade ago, the use of data analytics in business practices is not a new idea. In 1950s businesses were analyzing information captured in electronic spreadsheets manually in order to uncover and understand trends and changes in data (Handfield, 2013). With the advances in of computer technology, the spreadsheets have been evolved into large electronic databases and later into data-warehouses, whereas the labor intensive manual processing practices made room for computer programs capable of running complex algorithms in an automated and efficient manner. In time and with technological advances particularly in computing and communications, the number of events and amount of information worth recording increased dramatically, and with decreasing cost of electronic storage, so did the record keeping. It is even said that, more than 90% of what is described as Big Data, has been created in the past few years (Dragland, 2013), and has the potential to transform business, provided that it is processed and consumed properly (LaValle, et al., 2011). Nevertheless, handling Big Data, and converting it into meaningful and actionable insights is not a trivial task. In their field work, LaValle et al. (2011), identified that there are three levels of capabilities, or stages, in which organizations go through on their Big Data Analytics journey: aspirational, experienced and transformed. Organizations in aspirational stage are described to be furthest of achieving the analytical targets they set, and lacking some of the essential requirements such as expertise and tools. Organizations that are described to be experienced, are those have managed to lay down a basis that enable better ways to collect data, conduct analytics and act upon insights. These organizations, also look to go beyond the immediate benefits of Big Data Analytics, which is typically in cost management, and create value in other domains as well. It is however the transformed organizations that make most of Big Data Analytics. Transformed organizations are those that have passed the stage of acquiring expertise, implementing tools and exploring new uses of Big Data Analytics beyond cost management. Instead, they are deemed to be proficient in data driven resource management and optimization of tools and processes and they use Big Data Analytics to create competitive advantage (LaValle, et al., 2011). 3.1. The Five Vs of Big Data Analytics In order to progress from the aspirational stage towards the transformed stage, a business first needs to develop a solid understanding of Big Data and what makes it big and challenging to deal with. Technically, Big Data is characterized by a set of attributes, which are called the Vs of Big Data: Variety, Velocity and Volume (Laney, 2001). As the name implies, Volume represents the amount of data, whereas Variety represents the heterogeneous composition of data sources and data originating thereof. It is particularly Volume and Variety that make Big Data really big and complex (Laney, 2001; Qureshi Gupta, 2014). Velocity, on the other hand covers the flux of data inflow, as well as the rate of change. Velocity also has implications regarding the speed of processing and analysis of data, and is a source of a different type of challenge that manifests itself in constraints and complexities in operational implementation and execution (Qureshi Gupta, 2014). Beyond the basis laid down by Laney (2001), recent studies in the field have extended the Vs of Big Data further by adding Veracity (Morgan, 2012) and Value (Qureshi Gupta, 2014). Veracity mainly deals with the quality and reliability of data. Expectedly, and particularly considering the high volume and velocity, Big Data is far from being 100% correct and usable. Nonetheless, it has to be valid and of good quality at a certain level to be useful. Without Veracity inte

Different Philosophies on Risk Assessment: Case Study of the United States and European Union :: Politics

Different Philosophies on Risk Assessment: Case Study of the United States and European Union Introduction â€Å"Science-based regulation should never be misunderstood to mean science converted, at its face value, into regulation.†[1] Hence, regulation based entirely on ‘sound’ science, as the United States urges its trading partners to adopt, is only theoretically possible. The values of a society will ultimately affect the outcome of science-based risk assessment. The origin of facts is contingent on what the society deems is most important for research, how it is researched, and which of the research matters in the final assessment. The interpretation of facts will be determined by regulatory institutions, official expertise, economic models, and assumptions on what constitutes a desirable society.[2] The risk assessment methodologies and risk management approaches of the United States and the European Union towards genetically modified foods demonstrate this truth, and this situation will be explored as a case study of science – based regula tion. In science lies the facts, but the origin and interpretation of the facts cannot be separated from political, social, and cultural influences. Background The European Union and the United States have different risk assessment and management policies which arise from political and socioeconomic differences within these two societies. From a political and cultural standpoint, the clout of strong consumer unions and farmers in the European Union and similar pull from the industrial sector in the United States cannot be separated from the decision-making process. Socially, we find that risk perception between the two societies is quite different. American society exhibits consumer acceptance and the European Union exhibits consumer recalcitrance towards GM-foods. More importantly, the differing philosophies in risk assessment are structured so that either entity can have their risk assessments arrive at their desired outcomes. The United States insists that risk assessment of genetically modified foods be based on ‘sound’ science and rules. Though the European Union does not directly counter this position, it did recently make clear in The EU Communiquà © on the Precautionary Principle[3] that it would reserve its sovereign right to exercise the precautionary principle when the known facts surrounding the risks of a particular GM-food were not enough to establish the food as safe for human consumption. Different Philosophies on Risk Assessment: Case Study of the United States and European Union :: Politics Different Philosophies on Risk Assessment: Case Study of the United States and European Union Introduction â€Å"Science-based regulation should never be misunderstood to mean science converted, at its face value, into regulation.†[1] Hence, regulation based entirely on ‘sound’ science, as the United States urges its trading partners to adopt, is only theoretically possible. The values of a society will ultimately affect the outcome of science-based risk assessment. The origin of facts is contingent on what the society deems is most important for research, how it is researched, and which of the research matters in the final assessment. The interpretation of facts will be determined by regulatory institutions, official expertise, economic models, and assumptions on what constitutes a desirable society.[2] The risk assessment methodologies and risk management approaches of the United States and the European Union towards genetically modified foods demonstrate this truth, and this situation will be explored as a case study of science – based regula tion. In science lies the facts, but the origin and interpretation of the facts cannot be separated from political, social, and cultural influences. Background The European Union and the United States have different risk assessment and management policies which arise from political and socioeconomic differences within these two societies. From a political and cultural standpoint, the clout of strong consumer unions and farmers in the European Union and similar pull from the industrial sector in the United States cannot be separated from the decision-making process. Socially, we find that risk perception between the two societies is quite different. American society exhibits consumer acceptance and the European Union exhibits consumer recalcitrance towards GM-foods. More importantly, the differing philosophies in risk assessment are structured so that either entity can have their risk assessments arrive at their desired outcomes. The United States insists that risk assessment of genetically modified foods be based on ‘sound’ science and rules. Though the European Union does not directly counter this position, it did recently make clear in The EU Communiquà © on the Precautionary Principle[3] that it would reserve its sovereign right to exercise the precautionary principle when the known facts surrounding the risks of a particular GM-food were not enough to establish the food as safe for human consumption.

J.B.Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls :: English Literature:

An Inspector Calls’ is a play about ideas, it contains thought provoking material the aim of which is social reform. But the Whole Thing’s Different Now ----------------------------------- ‘An Inspector Calls’ is a play about ideas, it contains thought provoking material the aim of which is social reform. At the start of the play this rich, middle class family think themselves â€Å"a nice, well behaved family†, â€Å"respectable citizens† but some of their views are changed by a mysterious inspector who uncovers some disturbing truths about their lives. The inspector shows how each member of the household has contributed to the suicide of a young working class girl. This play highlights the problems and flaws in attitudes just after the turn of the century and that people can be wrong about many things including the future, themselves and their beliefs and prejudices. By doing so this play promotes the utopian ideals of liberty and equality and follows in the footsteps of the French and Russian revolutions. Set in between these two events it reminds us that people will always strive for a better quality of life and that history will repeat itself until we live in a perfect society. This play has a timeless quality about it and the problems of society that it raises are still present in today’s society. It seems we as nation, or as a species for that matter, have still not learnt from our mistakes. We continue to ignore mistakes, fail to concede we are wrong and pretend it is not our fault or responsibility. We are a too alike to Mrs Birling and can not accept change easily. It is still the younger generation who lead the drive for social reform and changes in attitude, eco-warriors for example. This is a very socialist play but is not directly insulting of the richer classes, just critical of their ignorance. The play was first performed in Stalin’s Communist Russia by the Kamery and Leningrad theatre companies in Moscow, August 1945. World War Two had just been ended by the atom bomb and throughout allied Europe soldiers began to come back home to a hero’s welcome for the second time in half a century. They had saved the world and did not want to return to a life of virtual slave labour. Workers and unions were demanding more rights and the years of war had weakened the class system. A change was required. Though not as violent as the Bolshevik revolution people were fighting old ideas and embracing new ones. They did not want another war. National patriotism had brought communities closer together. The Blitz and rationing had put everybody in the same boat and people looked out J.B.Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls :: English Literature: An Inspector Calls’ is a play about ideas, it contains thought provoking material the aim of which is social reform. But the Whole Thing’s Different Now ----------------------------------- ‘An Inspector Calls’ is a play about ideas, it contains thought provoking material the aim of which is social reform. At the start of the play this rich, middle class family think themselves â€Å"a nice, well behaved family†, â€Å"respectable citizens† but some of their views are changed by a mysterious inspector who uncovers some disturbing truths about their lives. The inspector shows how each member of the household has contributed to the suicide of a young working class girl. This play highlights the problems and flaws in attitudes just after the turn of the century and that people can be wrong about many things including the future, themselves and their beliefs and prejudices. By doing so this play promotes the utopian ideals of liberty and equality and follows in the footsteps of the French and Russian revolutions. Set in between these two events it reminds us that people will always strive for a better quality of life and that history will repeat itself until we live in a perfect society. This play has a timeless quality about it and the problems of society that it raises are still present in today’s society. It seems we as nation, or as a species for that matter, have still not learnt from our mistakes. We continue to ignore mistakes, fail to concede we are wrong and pretend it is not our fault or responsibility. We are a too alike to Mrs Birling and can not accept change easily. It is still the younger generation who lead the drive for social reform and changes in attitude, eco-warriors for example. This is a very socialist play but is not directly insulting of the richer classes, just critical of their ignorance. The play was first performed in Stalin’s Communist Russia by the Kamery and Leningrad theatre companies in Moscow, August 1945. World War Two had just been ended by the atom bomb and throughout allied Europe soldiers began to come back home to a hero’s welcome for the second time in half a century. They had saved the world and did not want to return to a life of virtual slave labour. Workers and unions were demanding more rights and the years of war had weakened the class system. A change was required. Though not as violent as the Bolshevik revolution people were fighting old ideas and embracing new ones. They did not want another war. National patriotism had brought communities closer together. The Blitz and rationing had put everybody in the same boat and people looked out

Culture Dominated by Males in Literature Essay -- Literary Analysis

How is the protagonist’s relationship with his/her mother the source of their alienation? ‘All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother’ -Abraham Lincoln.’1 Alienation: a withdrawing or separation of a person, or a person’s affections from an object or position of former attachment2. Alienation is a key theme present in Woman at Point Zero3 and The Metamorphosis4 by Nawaal El Saadawi and Franz Kafka respectively which is accentuated by both authors to describe what the protagonists go through. With the use of diction, imagery, contrast and symbolism, it is seen how the absence of mother in the protagonist’s life in the two books contributes greatly to their alienation. Gregor Samsa, from The Metamorphosis was the sole bread earner of his family, and was brought up in a society where men took charge. When he undergoes his metamorphosis, he cannot stand the fact that his family has to work and he ‘toyed with the idea that next time the door was opened, he would take the family’s affairs in hand’ (111). These thoughts suggest how much Gregor disliked the fact that ‘his mother had to do the cooking’ (96). The connotation of the word ‘toyed’ creates an image of how Mrs. Samsa was unable to act. Gregor’s desire for domination at this point in the novel begins to emerge, as he searches for his new place in the family, which symbolizes his attitude as he is executed from his bread earning position. However, at this point Gregor is unable to do anything and is left contemplating about it. Nawaal El Saadawi shows us how Firdaus, from Woman At Point Zero never shared a normal relationship with her mother in the little time that she lived with her. Firdaus first notices her mother’s disregard when she trie... ... from their mothers decreases as the novel goes on. It is ironic that a figure such as that of a mother who is supposed to shower her children with abundant love under all circumstances shuns away from her children when they need her the most. Nawaal El Saadawi and Franz Kafka portray their characters as people who share unusual bonds with their mothers and how this contributes greatly to their progressing alienation throughout the book. WORKS CITED: 1. "Mom Quotations - Quotations." BellaOnline -- The Voice of Women. Web. 03 Mar. 2010. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art9484.asp 2. Webster’s All-In-One Dictionary and Thesaurus, 2008 Edition. Print 3. SaÊ »dÄ wÄ «, NawÄ l. Woman at Point Zero. London: Zed, 1983. Print 4. Kafka, Franz, and Malcolm Pasley. Metamorphosis and Other Stories: Works Published during Kafka's Lifetime. London: Penguin, 2000. Print

Early Pregnancy

The Internet ! Teenagers nowadays have so many problems. One of the most common problems is big occupation with the Internet. Teenagers use it every day but not in a good way. The fact is that we can’t imagine one day without the Internet, but children today use it for things which don’t have a good influence on them. For example , kids spend few hours every day playing computer games. They don’t learn anything good from it. Years ago children used to spend all of their free time to hang out with each other, but nowadays they spend all of it to chat online with their friends.That’s the worst thing with Internet. They spend their childhood with the ‘ peace of technology ‘ , not with real people. It would be the best if parents took care of their children and thought more what they do in their free time. They should restrict their time and in that way they could have more time for something that are important in their life. On the other side we n eed Internet for everything today. The bright side of the Internet is that we can get intouch with our cousins and friends form other countries by skype.Unsociable children Big problem of children nowadays is that they have problems with finding friends. It’s really hard for them to find someone who will understand and support them in every way. The Internet , that I’ve just written about has a big influence on their sociable life,so they’re often lonely and feel depressive all the time. They watch lots of movies that are not suitable for their age and they think it’s okay to do those things.Because they don’t have friends and feel depressive , they become aggressive and often don’t find their soulmates. Children don’t understand each other al all. There is too much bullying and misunderstanding in their lives. When someone doesn’t want to do something bad, like smoking cigarettes , or drinking alcohol , what is ‘normalâ €™ nowadays in their age , that person for the rest of society is not normal or modern and than they reject him/her from their group. But , the only truth is that if you don’t do those bad things you stayed good unlike them. Early Pregnancy In considering an article on â€Å"Early Pregnancy: Normal and Abnormal† for a monograph on ultrasound in reproductive medicine and infertility, several issues arise. It is essential that the sonologist or sonographer understand what early pregnancy looks like on transvaginal ultrasound and why it looks like that, so that one can distinguish early pregnancies that are normal from those absolutely destined to fail.Regardless of the level, if any, of assisted reproduction, the use of ultrasound in early pregnancy begins with basic physiology and anatomy. Most often, the patient with an issue of questionable fertility is well-known to the medical establishment, highly motivated, compliant, and usually follows any instruction offered. More often than not, the biochemical evidence of a pregnancy event (i. e. , detection of human chorionic gonadotropin in blood or urine) precedes our ability to see the pregnancy sonographically.In fact, the gap between biochemical detection (as earl y as 30 to 50 mIU/mL) often from over-the-counter home pregnancy tests and our ability to detect a pregnancy even with the sonomicroscopy of the vaginal probe has widened in the recent past. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is produced by trophoblastic tissue. It is detectable 8 days after conception. [1] Conventional over-the-counter home pregnancy tests turn positive at around the time of the missed menses (30 to 50 mIU/mL). It is often erroneously referred to as the â€Å"beta subunit† or simply the â€Å"beta† although most current tests measure the intact hCG molecule.The ? subunit was originally described to distinguish it from the ? subunit, something that is shared with other molecules such as thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Normally, hCG doubles every 48 hours, although a minimum rate of rise is 53 to 66%[2,3] in 48 hours. It is essential to realize that apparently normal doubling times of hCG do not ensure an intrauterine location, as 15 to 20% of ectopi c pregnancies can follow normal doubling times of hCG, and these are ones that often end up with a beating heart and normal appearance, although extrauterine in location Early Pregnancy The Internet ! Teenagers nowadays have so many problems. One of the most common problems is big occupation with the Internet. Teenagers use it every day but not in a good way. The fact is that we can’t imagine one day without the Internet, but children today use it for things which don’t have a good influence on them. For example , kids spend few hours every day playing computer games. They don’t learn anything good from it. Years ago children used to spend all of their free time to hang out with each other, but nowadays they spend all of it to chat online with their friends.That’s the worst thing with Internet. They spend their childhood with the ‘ peace of technology ‘ , not with real people. It would be the best if parents took care of their children and thought more what they do in their free time. They should restrict their time and in that way they could have more time for something that are important in their life. On the other side we n eed Internet for everything today. The bright side of the Internet is that we can get intouch with our cousins and friends form other countries by skype.Unsociable children Big problem of children nowadays is that they have problems with finding friends. It’s really hard for them to find someone who will understand and support them in every way. The Internet , that I’ve just written about has a big influence on their sociable life,so they’re often lonely and feel depressive all the time. They watch lots of movies that are not suitable for their age and they think it’s okay to do those things.Because they don’t have friends and feel depressive , they become aggressive and often don’t find their soulmates. Children don’t understand each other al all. There is too much bullying and misunderstanding in their lives. When someone doesn’t want to do something bad, like smoking cigarettes , or drinking alcohol , what is ‘normalâ €™ nowadays in their age , that person for the rest of society is not normal or modern and than they reject him/her from their group. But , the only truth is that if you don’t do those bad things you stayed good unlike them.

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Essay

By Gregg Keizer Courtesy of TechWeb News scour as spyware has become a funky word and users have been bombarded with stories its pervasive,pernicious nature,criminals have dramatically expanded their distribution chhanels and infected and overpower majority of enterprise PCs anti-spyware vendor webroot give tongue to tuesday as it rolled out its in vogue(p) stats.The heel of despiteful sites hosting spyware has quadrupled sense the leading of the year,siad Richard Stienon, Webroots director of treats research, and now number over 300,000 URLsOn average,enterprise PCs have 27 pieces of spyware on their hard drives,a 19 share encrease in the last quarter alone,while a whopping 80 per cent of corporal computer host at least(prenominal) on one instant of casteless software,whether thats adware,spyware,or trojan horse.The actual malevolence of it is increasing,said Stienon. theressimply more malicious activity per piece of spyware.Theyre non satisfied with making their seven cent a click by inundate systems with adware now theyre focussing on identity theft,sometimes from within an organization spywares is being used by insiders,insane swerve their employer or boss.ll.do the following instruction and save up your answer on space provided1.Press Ctrl+AWhat happened? The all words that im typing is cozy upened.2.be legitimate nothing is selected.using the muose,in the startle paragraph,select or highlight with out losing the selection,hold the Ctrl break and highlight the new(prenominal) spywarewords on the first paragraph. What happened?3.Position the arrow at the very start of a paragraph.hold the Ctrl+shift key then twitch the right arrow key 3 or more times. What happened?4.position the cursor anyplace in the first paragraph.hold the shift key and click anywhere in the 3 paragraph. What happened?5.position the cursor anywhere in the first paragraph.hold the shift key and click on arrow key 3 or more times. What happened?

Marketing Plan: Product and Performance Essay

As individuals become more conscious of your product, make certain they have easy to not only your own product, but to information concerning the item also.The cellular phone is easy to carry, manages schedules, and can perform all the business related tasks. The size itself has become important apart from mobility. The concept that we how are launching is of a radio and music player which is latest in the sense that you can wear it as a fashion accessory. Radio is considered to be one of the most important media apart from television and internet.The item needs to be technologically feasible.20 are extremely popular within the target market. The major target market for our product is the age between 15 and 26. According to the statistics, 30 million Pakistanis how are aged between 15 and 24. Considered in the context of total population (approx.

Think beyond the box, if you wish to launch check your merchandise into the market with a bang.This generation is the technologically accessorized generation, with everything hanging from their clothes, from cell phones to CD players, and computers are a way of life. This is a branded generation, brand names, association with the great life and other different symbols are important. The emerging concept of brand association amongst teens and adults, and awareness will make our product more appealing to the customers. Our Primary objective is to achieve get our product recognized and make the consumers to get performance of the product way much better than their expectations.For instance, you might provide a product that is quality that is high at even a support that is flexible or a premium cost.The higher secondary data for our assignment came from the internet, newspapers and magazines.Current Market Situation:The current market situation is that from the cheapest of cellular phones to the most expensive, every smart phone has at least a radio in it that works from earphones that do the job of an antenna or the smart phones carry wireless radio connectivity. Other than that most phones have music players. In such a market where mobile phones are treated as a necessity from quite a long while we’d enter with a product that has a awful lot of internal memory, long batter and works hand in hand with the fashion.

Even if your merchandise is the most recent economic advancement in the business it is likely to result in complete failure if theres no effective route to get to the target group of consumers.The basic concept that we are launching is of an earring radio and music player which is latest in the sense that you can abrasive wear it as a fashion accessory. We are  launching it under the brand name LAPCA. Radio is considered to be one of the most important media apart from television logical and internet. The major source in use during cricket matches, exercising in the morning and during traveling for work or school.Paid political Advertising How you promote your product is as vital as distribution.People would not need to get their ears pierced to wear long earrings and we bring music player and radio attached to such a small earpiece that would not be noticed much (like the other offerings of attached Bluetooth insert earphones that appear too large).Objectives and issues:Incr ease the profits by at least 10% in the first year of the launch. Issue: How to significant increase the awareness amongst customers about this product?To create 10% market share for the product and to work to improve it further. Issue: What great measure to take to identify the potential customers of the product in the market?To identify 5 potential outlets where to place the product initially.

Each approach good will be different consistent with service or the merchandise youre offering.We will market our product through multiple segment strategy, as we are be targeting GEN X and GEN Y belonging to upper class and upper middle class of our society. Through integral multiple marketing, Moby X can achieve market position as because it is a product which provides mobility, style and fulfills the needs of the consumers.Moby X is a part of the clinical most reliable and trusted technologies belonging to LAPCO which is using Japanese latest technology in it which would further strengthens the reputation it would acquire. Now days, how there is a growing trend of adopting the inimitable style which people will definitely feel after purchasing the product.Following that, you ought to be aware of customers will assign to your merchandise.Market Positioning:Moby X has been positioned in the customers mind as a part of their lifestyle it impeccable suited their personality. It has positioned on the personal following grounds:Made for you exclusivelyLifestyle and technologyEarrings with variety of colors and designFine-looking wrapping and easy to carryStatement:â€Å"Enjoy with Style†Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Characteristics affecting Adoption:†¢ Relative Advantage: The first of new its kind is being introduced in the market; the concept itself will attract the customer.†¢ Compatibility: Moby X higher range of frequency will make it easier to add main channel and thus more value to the product. Secondly, memory of 20GB to carry your songs and making of playlists.

Marketing is a fundamental important part of business achievement.Age:Our product caters to women ranging from age 15-26 yrs old. Moreover, through our advertisements we have portrayed an active woman who is cold working out or busy in kitchen chores.Occupation:Moby X targets women belonging to each and every type of occupation whether it is a housewife, student logical and working women.Income:Our product Moby X caters to upper class and upper middle class.At times it is helpful to look at recent publication marketing as what it is actually a enterprise.SWOT AnalysisStrengthensBeing first of its kind to be launched in the marketThe smaller sizeThe mobilityThe attractive package and demo included in the gadgetThe exquisite location of electronic gadget’s other outlets in different mallsEasy to useIn accordance with the latest fashionAttractive mix of radio and music player hand in hand as a same fashion accessory Japanese technology, one of the most reliable manufactures WeaknessLimited warrantyRequires proper maintenanceBatteries are to be charged according to usage level thus requires cost to keep the little gadget workingOpportunitiesThe customers are fond of accessories which can help extend our accessories from earrings to rings, bracelets and necklace fair Hearing radio can replace the care tapes as being mobile and fashionable in nature Being a new product creating a new market the competition is minimized to a first great extent The distinctive attributes will outweigh the element of high price The opening of the new malls throughout the country with better electronic outlets will provide a better location to display the gadget There is an opportunity for line extensionNew technology is in its growing stage which helps attract customers with new its distinctive attributes The interests of teenagers in acquiring latest technology will further increase the market share Computer system placed at the electronic outlets could self help provide fr ee demos of the product at the outlet A survey at the outlet about the buying experience of the product and after sale experience can great help make the product more effective and increased customer satisfaction The smaller size and mobility if appreciated could provide line extension for the productThreatsThe electronic market is still under developed in PakistanThe fluctuating electronic logical and political conditions of the country can hinder the sale of the product Less awareness amongst the public about the electronic items The training of sales person for the productCompetitors can come up start with a similar and better product before our product is established The higher price of the product could lead to duplicate products in the market The health conscious people could negative resist the productThe fashion conscious people may not take the initiative to buy the productThe analytical buyerMarketing Environments (PEST ANALYSIS)Political:The fluctuating political environm ent in the country can be dangerous. Since the gross product being developed is manufactured in another country the support of the government is required to keep the government conditions in import and export stable logical and to strengthen relationships with the other country to grow the business further. Economical:The product that is being launched is an expensive product the economic conditions will determine the national income or the buying power of the consumer which indirectly will determine whether the people would be willing on the products that are not part of their basic needs.Social:Since the product is an earring radio and music player which would be fixed in an earring placed quite close to the ear can be considered as dangerous unlooked for the ear.

Your marketing program should begin with an executive summary.Moby X direct competitors are small radios (ear piece) and new mp3 players that can fit in ear easily.COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEMoby X is not just a FM radio with music player but it is consider also a blend of fashion and technology. Long lasting Japanese battery gives it an edge over other mini radios logical and music players that have maximum life of 2-48 hours on continuous use. Providing maximum FM band range from 87-108 MHz among new its competitors who offer mini radios with FM band 88-108 MHz Furthermore, adding value to the music player with 20GB built-in memory which wouldn’t look small for at least 10-15 years from now.You want a marketing program, to increase your organization.Channel and former logisticA value delivery network is made up of the company, suppliers, distributors and ultimately customers. Here will be a layer of intermediaries that good will perform work in bringing our product and its o wnership closer to the final buyer. For our earring local radio and music player we will have both a direct and indirect marketing channel. We will have a customer marketing channel.

Marketing own plans are included in business plans, offering data demonstrating investors the way the corporation will increase and first and foremost how they how are going to guarantee a return on investment.LEVELS OF PRODUCTCore ProductMoby X provides a solution to its users that connect them to the global world and at the thk same time add value to their beauty. It is smallest in size but greater in quality and style that’s what the consumers want. Actual ProductMoby X, an earring radio and a music player.Augmented ProductCustomers are provided with the free demos of the product on computer system installed at the outlets and for further understanding, instruction booklet is also provided with Moby X.In addition, it can be explained as a method which helps a business to choose the best common use of its assets to achieve corporate aims.PRODUCT COMPOSITIONProduct Quality:Moby X works great, everywhere in the world, under brand name LAPCO using Japanese microchip techn ology logical and providing the FM band from 87 to 108 MHz’s Stereo-sound is really excellent plus 3-years money back warranty is also given. Product Features:Push-button Auto Seek new Microchip Technology so you can immediately and perfectly tune in stations (Automatic FM Tuning).Provides high quality stereo sound.Long last many Japanese battery included.

Seemingly, however good it is, a plan cant implement itself.Ideal for use in parties, sports, travels, hiking, working, Jogging, bike riding, boating, fishing, picnics, reading, camping, skate boarding, gift giving, foot and vehicle surveillance, to pass the time while waiting for subject, anywhere, everywhere, in the form of earring as simple microchip (radio). A music player main memory of 20GB built-in.Product Style and Design:It comes in many splendid colors with different style for female. It is designed in a way so as to increase portability.The advertising program would then summarize the objectives which need to be achieved in order to achieve the fifteen percent increase.Packaging:Moby X what comes in a square and heart shaped gift box.Labeling:All the important information is mentioned on the label. The label contains the name of the product, name of the manufacturer and distributors, warranty limit, warnings, guidelines on usage.Product Support:A booklet on guideline s regarding the product is provided with Moby X.

Done properly, your advertising plan is currently going to be the detailed roadmap you follow enhance the achievement of your company and to acquire customers.The price is aligned with other marketing mix covering the promotion, placement and product.Cost:The political organization has tried to achieve economies of scale but not the cost of quality. The cost is being monitored and is kept to a minimum by choosing the best second deals given by the supplier and managing the cost accordingly.Organizational Considerations:The price set has been influenced by different functions of the organization including the finance, manufacturer, sales logical and marketing and the higher  management.With your promotion plan bundle, you will have the ability to construct a advertising and marketing program.44ZI AM Radio Rs. 8405Tiny FM Radios (China Toy Factory Inc)Rs.1200Mini Mp3sRs. 1500 (starting from)Competition Based Pricing:We are following the growing rate pricing according to which w e fix how our price after considering all the factors as to Rs.

PROMOTIONMoby X being a new product in the market would require intensive advertising. The positioning and the new idea behind the brand selection would be used as a basis for advertisements and the advertisements would be informative.ADVERTISINGRadio:Radio FM channels would be able to attract the major cream who could use our product and create a positive word of mouth for others. Since they being the regular radio good listeners would be excited to use this product as they could carry the radio with them.Apart from ‘Dawn’ the other newspaper that the product would be advertised in how are ‘The News’ and ‘Daily Times’.Magazines:Moby X being a technology product it would be advertised in magazines as ‘SHE’ a leading magazine. Another magazine that is famous amongst out flat major target segment the teens is ‘Young Times’. It is Dubai based magazine is especially for kids.Television:The few major channels as HUM TV and GEO TV will be given the task to advertise the product.Websites:Msn.com/Click on line a website providing information regarding new technologies, funmaza.com a famous website viewed by most of the Pakistanis and Apniisp.Action ProgramsJuly: We good will launch a sales promotion campaign in Karachi city which should be estimated at around RS. 2 Million. During this period our main aim is to make the consumers aware of the product through excessive adverts it is  essential for us to educate our dealers and consumers properly. Our main conscious awareness campaigns will be concentrated toward the television and internet it will fix in a relatively low and economical budget.