Mate Selection

It is not uncommon for individuals to bargain with themselves in an effort to create motivation where none exists: If I get the lawn mowed before noon, I’ll spend the rest of the day watching football; if I lose five pounds, I’ll buy that new dress.   Sometimes, when individuals bargain, it isn’t as much for motivation as it is for justification: If my boss won’t give me that raise, I’ll stop working those extra hours; I had every right to flip that guy off because he cut right in front of me. These are instances in which the bargaining is self-motivated, self-serving, and self-indulgent, and while effective and perhaps necessary, the stakes in most of these circumstances isn’t necessarily high.   After all, who’s going to know or care if a yard goes unmowed, a dress is prematurely purchased, an extra hour isn’t spent at one’s desk, or a flip-off wasn’t honestly deserved?   However, when it comes to choosing a mate in a relationship, the role played by bargaining carries a much higher stake, and the consequences of poor judgment while bargaining and/or poor bargaining tactics can be devastating. The degree to which bargaining occurs during the mate selection process varies from person to person as do the focal point(s) of the bargain; however, there are a number of areas that are particularly intriguing. â€Å"The Necessities and Luxuries of Mate Preferences: Testing the Tradeoffs† (2002)  focuses on the degree to which â€Å"women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in  potential mates before considering many other characteristics† (Li, Bailey, Kenrick, &  Linsenmeier).   Factors such as a potential mate’s attractiveness and social status are essential  according to Li, et al. (2002); however, because their research placed greater emphasis on  realistic economic potential as opposed to that of previous research (which allowed for  speculation regarding â€Å"how to spend imaginary lottery winnings†), a pattern that had not  previously emerged became clear: the sexes do not always agree on what constitutes a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"necessity† versus what constitutes a â€Å"luxury† (Li, et al., 2002). American social construct is partially responsible for this difference.   Men are far more likely to have access to â€Å"status, power, and resources†; therefore, these are deemed â€Å"necessary† traits by women who seek a mate.   On the other hand, men view women as the means by which offspring can be produced, and based on this, they see physical attractiveness and age as â€Å"necessary† factors in mate selection (Li, et al., 2002).   Obviously, this requires a great degree of bargaining as the two subjects are (at least initially) focused on absolutely different traits while evaluating a potential mate Where Li, et al. conclude that much of the bargaining that occurs in mate selection is based on the differences between what men and women consider â€Å"necessary,† â€Å"Gender Socialization: How Bargaining Power Shapes Social Norms and Political Attitudes,† (2005) examines the social dynamics that might be responsible for creating the basis for the differences between the sexes regarding what is â€Å"necessary† (Iversen & Rosenbluth). Iversen and Rosenbluth (2005) focus on the issue of patriarchy â€Å"and explore its effects on female social, economic, and political status† in order to evaluate â€Å"mate choice preferences between agricultural, industrial, and post-industrial societies.†Ã‚   This research was an intriguing undertaking, and what it revealed was the effect that social structure had on the bargaining that took place in mate selection. Social settings that required brawn (i.e. the agricultural and industrial periods) required women willingly bargain to find a mate who was physically capable of performing basic household and wage-earning duties (Iverson & Rosenbluth).   Women often bargained for a mate with physical strength by giving up living arrangements, locations, and circumstances.   Because women of the agricultural and industrial periods were not physically capable of performing some tasks and legally barred from others, there was little choice but for them to put aside almost everything but sheer physical strength when undertaking bargaining during mate selection (Iversen & Rosenbluth). When the post-industrial period was examined, two significant differences were seen.   First, because the need for physical prowess to survive at home and at work had diminished, women were far less likely to bargain away everything simply to secure a strong man.   â€Å"Once employment opportunities for women [began to approach] those of men in quantity and quality, socialization [began] to shift away from [women’s] ‘playing the marriage market’ † (Iversen & Rosenbluth). No longer would women willingly pack up and move hundreds of miles away from all family and all friends, nor would they automatically settle for a man of lower social and economic status in order to marry brawn—women could consider themselves wage-earners and be more choosey when it came to potential mates (Iversen & Rosenbluth). The second phenomenon that was revealed was â€Å"the declining importance of virginity† that factored into the bargaining (Iversen & Rosenbluth).   Where women of the agricultural and industrial periods had to secure their virginity absolutely, women of the post-industrial period were not as likely to be dismissed as ineligible brides by the men of the era simply because they were no longer virgins.   This degree of personal control had a freeing effect on women who began to see themselves as capable of autonomy (Iversen & Rosenbluth). Much of this seems to indicate a breaking away on the part of women, and Iversen and Rosenbluth (2005) conclude that â€Å"while mate preferences in agrarian societies seemed to reflect an inevitable female resignation to their subordination, modern mate preferences are more egalitarian, and the gender gap in policy preferences suggest that many women are hoping to use the democratic state to make them more egalitarian still.† Given the number of times a day an individual is likely to bargain with him/herself over routine actions or mundane decisions, it seems reasonable that a great deal of bargaining go into something as significant as the selection of one’s mate.   Research seems to indicate that like other acknowledged differences that exist between the sexes, the degree to which certain factors influence bargaining with and selection of a potential mate may depend on the gender of the evaluator. Further, it seems that as time passes and the more independent women become, the more the evaluative items regarding what is â€Å"necessary† may change in the minds of both males and females. References Iversen, T. & Rosenbluth, F.   (2005).   Gender socialization: How bargaining power shapes social norms and political attitudes.   Retrieved October 22, 2006. Li, N. P., Bailey, J. M., Kenrick, D. T., & Linsenmeier, J. A. W.   (2002).   The necessities and luxuries of mate preferences: Testing and tradeoffs.   Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6). Retrieved October 22, 2006               

Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse

The topic I chose for this project was the link between domestic violence and substance abuse. From the research that I did, there is a definite link between domestic abuse and substance abuse. According to the National Coalition against domestic violence, â€Å"Regular alcohol abuse is one of the leading factors for intimate partner violence. † Approximately 61% of domestic violence offenders also have substance abuse problems. Domestic violence is the use of intentional emotional, psychological, sexual, or physical force by one family member or partner to control another.These acts can include, verbal abuse, threats, physical abuse, sexual abuse, destroying the victim's possessions, slapping, punching, kicking, burning, stabbing, shooting, or killing the victim's. A woman is beaten every 15 SECONDS in the United States, 30% of female trauma patients have been the victim of domestic violence. The medical costs for women who have been injured by their partners total to more th an 44 million annually. Researchers have found that one-fourth to one half of men who commit acts of domestic violence also have substance abuse issues.A study conducted by the â€Å"Department of Justice† of murders in families found that more than one half of defendants accused of murdering their spouses, as well as almost half of the victim's, had been drinking alcohol at the time of the incident. Alcohol and drugs may be used to cope with the physical, emotional, and/or psychological pain of family violence. â€Å"Regular alcohol abuse is one of the leading factors for intimate partner violence, also men who batter frequently use alcohol abuse as an excuse for their violence.They attempt to rid themselves of responsibility for their violence by blaming it on the effects of alcohol. † (NCADV) The effects on children of substance abusing parents is also great, â€Å"Children of substance abusing parents are more likely to experience physical, sexual, or emotional ab use than children in non-substance abusing households† (NCADV) In fact 80% of child abuse cases are linked with the use of alcohol and other drugs. These children are also at a greater risk of not only developing domestic violence issues of their own, but also substance abuse issues. An estimated 3 million children witness acts of violence against their mothers every year, and many believe that violent behavior is an acceptable way to express anger, frustration, or a will to control. † (Recovery Network) Common myths about domestic violence are as follows: domestic violence is caused by substance abuse, this is not true, domestic violence and substance abuse are two separate problems and must be treated separately.Two, substance abusers cannot control their violent behavior, contrary to that belief, it had been proven that batterers know how to hide the violence they inflict, even under the influence of alcohol or drugs. And three, treating the substance abuse issues wil l end the domestic violence, this is also a myth because there is no guarantee that successful treatment for substance abuse will stop the domestic violence. The evidence between the link in domestic violence and substance abuse is great.In fact, â€Å"About 40% of children from violent homes believe that their fathers had a drinking problem and that they were more abusive when drinking. † (Recovery Network) Also, when a child is subjected to physical abuse, they are more like to develop drug abuse later in life. Another interesting fact is that â€Å"teachers have reported a need for protective services three times more often for children who are being raised by someone with an addiction than for other children† (Recovery Network)Other connections I learned about while doing my research are that many times alcohol and other drug abuse may be used to cope with the physical. Emotional, and/or psychological pain of family violence. Often times the behavior is learned, be cause we learn in our families and social groups that certain events or behaviors are connected and expected. Denial often is a major factor in domestic violence too, because an abusive individual excuses their violent behavior and, are often excused by their partners and other family members because they were drunk and â€Å"not in control. Also, â€Å"Research supports the connection between substance abuse and domestic violence. Members of families in which one or both parents abuse substances are considered to be at high risk for physically abusing and neglecting their children. † (Recovery Network) The National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse found that as many as 80% of child abuse cases are associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs, and the link between child abuse and others forms of domestic violence is well established.As far as treatment, the treatment for domestic violence and substance abuse needs to be approached separately. Because, in most cases sub stance abuse treatment does not address the anger management problems that are associated with domestic violence. â€Å"Effective treatment for domestic violence offenders includes cognitive therapy, which helps the offender develop alternate ways of reacting to anger, and skill development, which helps the offender learn how to establish loving relationships that are free from violence. (Sober living by the sea) I learned a lot from doing this paper. As a woman who has been through domestic violence myself, it was intriguing to learn about the links between domestic violence and substance abuse. When I was married to my ex-husband, we both did marijuana, he had a lot of mood swings and violent tendencies. Now that I look back and now that I know what I know about the connection of domestic violence and substance abuse, I can see where he maybe would have thought his actions were â€Å"justified. Also, knowing what I know now, I think it would be a tai assessment that although he received treatment with his substance abuse issues and has been sober for about 7 years, he never received treatment for the anger issues and I can still see those types of behaviors in him today. Living with someone for that long ,you get to know aha their moods are, and I still know to this day when I can and when I cannot approach him about something, basically, I know what kind of mood he is in as soon as I see him.His anger is written all over his face, it is days like that when I realize that I am happy I was able to walk away from the relationship. The fear of never knowing how someone is going to react and always having to walk â€Å"on eggshells† is a heavy burden to live with everyday. Also being a recovering addict, I know that a lot of my own anger came from my guilt, resentments, and self-loathing, working on those issues and learning to love me for me and also working with the counselors at the Shock program and in treatment, helped me to be able to control my a nger and take a â€Å"timeout† if I need to.Now that myself and my ex-husband are sober, I can only hope that we will have broken the cycle of addiction and domestic abuse so that our children do not have to experience the same thing. Domestic violence and substance abuse are two huge problems that, I think, is becoming more and more of a problem in the world today. Being able to recognize the link between these two, I hope that I as a counselor, will be able to help more of my clients who are experiencing the same kind of situation.

Reading More Books Essay

How to encourage your children to read more books Ten great ways to develop your children’s desire to read book By Chris Barnardo Reading is great for both you and your children and is a fantastic form of relaxation and escapism. Reading books helps your children develop their language skill, extend their vocabulary and their understanding of the world. Your children’s spelling and writing skills are also improved by regular reading. Reading can be especially helpful to your children when they are going through difficult times in their lives, such as the separation of parents,  starting a new school, the death of a loved one, bullying, or puberty. A good book gives them a mental place to go where the day to day worries aren’t so ever present, it gives them new people to meet and gets them involved in other people’s stories. Reading develops your children’s creativity. It’s better than the television, because when children get involved in the book they are reading, they imagine the characters and scenes, which paint all kinds of Fill your house with books and give your kids their own bookshelf This is especially important if they don’t live with  you, because any way you can make your place feel like their home, is good, and having their own favourite books in a special place is perfect. Read to your children Set up a routine of a bedtime story or chapter from their book. Bedtime reading is a great routine to get into because it is a perfect relaxing bridge between the excitement of the day and sleep. It is also a special time for you to be together without the stresses and hassles of the day, a time when all is clam and you are just having fun together. However, don’t restrict yourself to bedtimes,  read to them whenever the opportunity presents itself. Read them funny or interesting stories from the newspaper when you spot them, save and read out a funny or moving poem before you eat a meal together; get them to read their homework out loud to you when they have done it. Page 1 of 2 wonderful images in their minds, in a far more interactive and satisfying way than television can ever do. reading encourages your child to be creative and think for themselves. So, everyone knows how good reading is for their children, but how do you encourage them to read, or read more. Here are ten top tips to get you started and get your children reading books. Listen to audio books in the car on longer journeys Audio books make every long journey an adventure in itself. If the story is good and the narration is well done, the journey will flash by and when you reach your destination you may even find yourselves wanting to stay in the car to hear the end of the story. They can be expensive, but most stories will bear repeated listening and the library lend out audio books for free. Don’t be a book snob Children are inspired to read by all kinds of  different books, graphic novels, magazines, web blogs, manuals, science fiction, or teenage romance for example. Let them get interested in reading in whatever form that takes to start with, once they get into the habit of reading this will expand to take in a wider and wider choice of material over time as their friends introduce them to new books and ideas.  © C. Barnardo dadcando 2008 How to encourage your children to read more books Talk though the story when you read it Chat about the characters in the story. If it is a novel then talking about the main character’s  motivations, asking what your children think the characters are going to do next, or what is going to happen in the story, all add weight to the experience of reading. Ask questions about the writer’s style, or the way the writer describes the scenes will help your children get the most out of the story and will help them in a very subtle (but powerful) way with their own written schoolwork and homework assignments. Discussing stories and listening to what your children have to say about the characters and the situations they encounter in the book will tell you a lot about  what your child is thinking, and help you understand them better. At weekends or on holidays make a treat of getting magazines Magazines have short articles about things they like, horses, cars, fashion, gossip, TV soaps, toys, console games, and popular science for example. If they really like a particular magazine then consider buying a subscription to it for them as a birthday (or other special occasion) present. Give books as gifts Take the trouble to go to the bookshop at the weekend or browse the second hand book shop for interesting titles and involve your children in  choosing the best book as a gift. When giving a book, especially to your children, always write their name and the date and a short message in the book inside the cover or on the flyleaf. Then they’ll always know it’s theirs and know that you think that it is a precious gift that you have chosen specially for them. Choose material that they like There is plenty of time to discover the classics. To start with choose books that you know your children will like. Choose different books to read to them than those which they are going to read to themselves. When you read to them, you can pick books with exciting or thrilling stories that may have longer words in then they would be able to read themselves. (Always explain a word or phrase if you think that they don’t understand it). Perhaps you have seen a film that you all liked, get the book that inspired the film and read that. If they are reading to themselves, a graphic novel or even a comic is an excellent way to start reading around a film story. Have a word of the day Reading is as much about exploring language and the way stories are told as it is about the stories  themselves. Look on the web or in a dictionary and pick a word of the day which you can all learn together. The word you choose can be gross or exciting, different or funny, long or strange but above all make sure that it is useful in some way. Get everyone to make up a sentence with the new word in it and give a point or star for the best sentence. If they want, let your children each find and tell their favourite new word of the day. A good time to do this is at meal times when you are all together. *** For some ideas on a few good books that your  children might like, have a look at dadcando’s what we like this week column or dadcando’s recommended â€Å"Superb kid’s books† on dadcando’s â€Å"Be Inspired, be inspiring† pages. Get a poetry book and occasionally read them a poem Poems are fabulous for evoking emotions and feelings. The best poems condense and capture descriptions of scenes or feelings in a very powerful way, bridging the gap between stories and songs. Inspire your children with poems and they will remember lines from them, and the times you read to them, for the rest of their lives. Page 2 of 2  © C. Barnardo dadcando 2008.

Discovering the Culture of Inquiry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discovering the Culture of Inquiry - Essay Example The value of research studies, whereby new medicines along with control groups, are tested for various health symptoms at different dosage levels, and then added to a standardized repository, cannot be overstated enough. Nurses use theory-based practices in first interviewing and working with patients to record health issues which are compromising those patients, including their environments. From there, a nurse can utilize the same theory or add on another theory to complement and enhance a treatment program, based on research conducted through the hospital or clinic’s repository of clinical information (Allred, Smith & Flowers, 2004). The Cochrane Center in Oxford, England, along with the Cochrane Collaboration, is one of the largest repository of clinical information which can be accessed by medical personnel nearly everywhere in the world. This, along with nursing theory practices, and researching the latest proven methods of medical practice, provide the best foundation for both nurses and their patients in getting the help they need (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2011). Allred, S.K., Smith, K.F. & Flowers, L. (2004). Electronic Implementation of National Nursing Standards-NANDA, NOC and NIC as an Effective Teaching Tool. Journal of Healthcare Information Management, 18(4). Available at

The Debate on the Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

The Debate on the Presidency - Essay Example From the creation of this legal document, and including today, there has always been squabbling between the branches of power as to who has more authority, thus entitling them as they saw it to greater political recognition and distinction. That has most definitely been the case with the discussion over the role of the Presidency, or otherwise referred to as the Executive Branch of power. In his text â€Å"American Government: Brief Version†, James Wilson writes that such instrumental leaders from the Revolution like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton had decided that as far as they were concerned, the nation was in need of a strong governmental system. The first talks, Wilson says, began in 1785 in Mt. Vernon, and it would be at this meeting that a later meeting would be scheduled. Wilson explains this by writing that, â€Å"A small group, conferring at Washington’s home at Mount Vernon in 1785, decided to call a meeting to discuss trade regulation, one of the many seemingly insoluble problems facing Congress,† Further elaborating that, â€Å"That meeting, held at Annapolis, Maryland, in September 1786, was not well attended, so another meeting was called for May 1787 in Philadelphia- this time for the more general purpose of considering ways to remedy the defects of the Confederation,† (Wilson p.12). The Articles of Confederation were the governing documents used until the creation of the Constitution. Like present day, the political system of the 18th century, while in its infancy, was still in constant formulation and change. The steps taken towards the forming of such a document(s) is never without argument or heated discussion. As for the intentions, as well as the desires of the signers, Wilson explains that, â€Å"As in 1776, their objectives were still the protection of life, liberty, and property, but they had no accepted political theory that

Mri tech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mri tech - Essay Example Therefore, with T1 weighted MRIs, the images will appear to be bright (high intensity). This is because the major composition of yellow marrow is fat and fat possess very short T1 relaxation phase. The red or hematopoietic marrow is framed up with 40% of water and fat and 20% protein. Water holds a longer T1 relaxation phase and therefore, the images of red marrow is low intense or dark in nature due to very low signal intensity. The diagnoses of bone marrow lesion on yellow marrow background are effective using T1 weighted MRIs but it can be difficult with the case of lesion on a red marrow. With T2 weighted images, the red marrow and yellow marrow cannot be easily distinguished. STIR is more effective than T2 weighted spin images. (Dimopoulos, Moulopoulos, 1997). The figure shows dark signals highlighted with small arrows that indicate the red marrow in the spinal region and bright signals highlighted with long arrows indicates yellow marrow around femoral epiphyses as well as apop hyses. This is an image of a normal bone marrow of a child. (Dimopoulos, Moulopoulos,1997). An abnormal situation characterized by severe pain and irritation in the knee as a result of high level of pressure offered from patella or kneecap is referred as Chondromalacia (cluett, 2010). The patella is normally covered with a smooth layer composed of cartilage. The cartilage moves effortlessly and flexibly across our knee and thus, facilitates easy bending of the knee joint. The case is different with patients affected with chondromalacia wherein the patella inclines to rub against one or another side of the joint. This results in irritation and pain in the knee. Chondromalacia patella symptoms include distributed knee pain mainly in the front and back side of knee cap. It is accompanied with worsening of pain while arising from an elongated sitting posture, climbing upstairs, wearing heels, kneeling or jumping. (Cluett, 2010) MRI appearance of chondromalacia comprises of signal hetero geneity surrounded by hyaline cartilage, predominantly with T2 weighted MR images, hyaline cartilage covered focal hyperintensity, mainly showing linear or focal abnormalities in the hyaline cartilage and asymmetrical configuration to the hyaline cartilage surface. It is required to use the modifier â€Å"severe† when variations that are greater than one cm in diameter are observed. If high density central defects are present then also the severe modifier need to be used. These defects can be distinguished from usual chondral defects by comparing the centralization of the final lesion that are widely spread and lacks surroundings (Loren, 2008) Full thickness chondral defect is appeared with high signal joint surface lesion represented in black arrow is covered by normal low intense hyaline cartilage on this spin echo T2 weighted image. (Loren, 2008) Osteochondritis dessecans is a medical condition that arises when certain amount of cartilage in a joint connected with a thin b oney layer separates from the rest of the bone. The affected person usually experience server pain, irritation and discomfort near a bone ending position. (Kennedy, no date) OCD is usually seen with larger joints such as the hips, knees and the ankles. The condition is also accompanied by severe rib pain. In association with rib pain, the uneasiness normally occurs in breastbone or in the spine where the ribs get connected. The major cause of OCD is certain type of repetitive injury or

Are we obligated to provide Government aid in order to help people in Essay

Are we obligated to provide Government aid in order to help people in other countries - Essay Example The aid provided by OECD is known as official developmental aid (ODA). This aid is provided to different countries on the basis of certain terms and conditions. (OECD) Though, this aid provides great assistance to underdeveloped countries but it also has certain ethical drawbacks. Foreign assistance may result in exploitation by benefactor countries. The countries giving foreign aid may also interfere in the cultural and domestic affairs of the Recipient country. Moreover, this assistance may reach the wrong hands which may affect the correct and appropriate use of this aid. All these drawbacks are generally accepted by the public and government of donor and Recipient countries but these are the arguments which are held against the foreign aids by different scholarly and philosophical point of views. The world is composed of different nations that are trying to maintain their economic and social stability. If we divide the world into poor and rich nations, we will realize that two third of the nations of the world are extremely poor and the remaining one third are extremely rich. It is obvious that the poor nations desperately need the assistance and help of the rich nations for their development but this help can be hazardous if each of the rich nations follows its own unrealistic philosophy of equity and justice. In order to make this aid and assistance fruitful we need a governing force that can ensure the appropriate and justifiable use of the foreign aid. But if we look into the practical world we will realize that there is a lack of proper governing body as U.N is not strong enough to implement any policy against the will of its strong and influential members. We should also keep in mind that rich countries do not provide aid for free they gain something from it as well, such as the right to manipulate the decisions of the recipient countries according to their will and to have the right to have a say in their domestic matters. They also provide aid to some under developed countries so that they can forcefully get the military assistance of these countr ies for their selfish interests. An example of this can be seen in Pakistan, while United States of America donates huge amounts of money to Pakistan it asks for the military assistance of Pakistan in return. Pakistan provides military assistance to America in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. (The Times of India) Though this norm is acceptable to the people and the government of these countries most of the NGOs and scholars are against it as it is not ethical to exploit the human resources of the recipient country because you are providing aid to them. But this assistance has some advantages as well because by providing military assistance Pakistan along with the United States of America can play a part in getting rid of terrorism. Another major drawback is the interference in the cultural and domestic matters of the recipient country. The financial aid provided by the donor country does not give it the right to interfere in the interstate matters of the recipient country. A recent example of this issue is the protest against Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, when this protest grew wilder; the United States

COMMERCIAL LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

COMMERCIAL LAW - Essay Example However, in protecting the interests of consumers, the Act does not go to the other extreme of compromising the interests of lenders. Since one of the requirements of the Act is that lenders and businesses offering credit are to seek a license before they can enter the business of credit, therefore the Act also protects the interests of genuine lenders by enforcing the repayment of debts that consumers may incur, which cannot be easily escaped. One of the notable provisions of the Consumer Credit Act of 1974 which has often been questioned is Section 127(3) which allows for certain agreements t be completed nullified if they are considered extortionate. This is one of the radical reform measures being undertaken through the new Consumer Credit Act of 2006, which does away with this provisions and introduces some fresh measures for the protection of lenders, such as allowing a wider range of small businesses to also enjoy the protection afforded to individuals. However, the scrutiny and screening of lenders and donors of credit has also increased considerably through the enhanced powers that are provided to the OFT under the new Act of 2006. The Consumer Credit Act of 1974 is specifically formulated to regulate all consumer credit and consumer hire arrangements that deal with amounts that are less than 25,000 pounds (www.dti.gov.uk). Therefore at the outset, by regulating such low cost transactions, it works to the benefit of average low and middle income consumers rather than targeting the rich and wealthy who are few in number. The Act also lays out a definition of the range of individuals who are to be protected by the Act . One of the ways in which the Act protects consumers is by laying down the form and contents which agreements are to be composed of, providing redressal procedures that must be adopted in case there is a default or a termination of the credit arrangement by either party and by disallowing extortionate credit bargains. For

Management of service quality issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Management of service quality issue - Essay Example The valet parking service is generally provided by establishments such as hotels, restaurants, big business houses, malls and theatres. In the current research, various advantages and issues of valet parking with respect to the Address hotel has been discussed. The Address hotel is one of the well known and favourite destinations in Dubai. The hotel expects to increase its overall service quality and enhance customer satisfaction through better management of valet parking services. In order to identify the major problems in valet parking service quality, fishbone analysis and Pareto analysis tool have been used. Analysis of these two theories has revealed that there are six major problems which results in customer dissatisfaction and overall damage of the hotel’s brand image. After identification of these exact problems, various possible recommendations were suggested. Valet parking is convenient as well as affordable to the customers. In majority of cases, valet parking is ve ry cheap and affordable. Valet parking helps in improving the overall experience of the customer. The customers are able to start their experience with a pleasurable parking service facility. Introduction Valet parking is a common parking service provided by some stores, businesses and restaurants. The tradition was initiated in North America and then had spread to other parts of the globe such as Europe, Australia and Middle-east (Clarke and Chen, 2012). While self-parking customers need to find a parking place by themselves, in Valet parking the vehicles of customers are parked by an individual known as Valet. This kind of service either requires some charges to be paid by the car owner or it can be free of charge by the business or establishment. The major advantage of valet parking is that it is convenient. Customers need not walk distant places especially when they are carrying heavy things with them. A lot of handicapped customers rely on valet parking services as they cannot walk to the destination from a distant parking space. Valet parking is also convenient during bad weather conditions. In most of the high profile hotels and restaurants, valets are knowledgeable and professionals who are able to drive and place every model in their perfect places. It is also a method of saving space compared to normal street parking. The various venues where valet parking is currently used are single events, bar or restaurant locations, crowded settings, hotel locations, casinos, malls and airports (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Most individuals who provide valet parking services usually fall in the age group of 18-28. However, attendants as old as 60 can also be found working in this valet service. Turnover is quiet high for these services. Valet parking also includes certain types of equipments for example, valet podiums where vehicles are handed over to the valet, key boxes used for protecting and storing the keys and valet tickets to keep a check on the different ve hicles. In some urban areas and exceptional places, valet parking services are also provided for bikes. The purpose of the current project is to investigate and research the management of valet parking service. The project will throw light on how the service is being provided in five star hotels and how it is affecting the overall performance of these hotels. The organization taken for the project is Address hotel in Dubai. The Address hotel in Dubai is one of the well known hotel destinations. It is near by the sea shore and is situated in Dubai

A World of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

A World of Art - Essay Example For instance, the Greeks invented three architectural systems called Doric, Ionic and Corinthian that stood for various meanings (Architecture, 2011). The Doric order, the column a sturdy and plain appearance, was used for the Parthenon in the capitol, and it incorporated worship of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom (Architecture, 2011). The point of using the Doric order was to symbolize order and harmony, which coincides with the goddess Athena. Architecture was not the only form of art that reflected religion. Sculptures were vastly popular in ancient Greece and they often times were figures of gods and goddesses like Zeus, even heroes and events were created to mirror religion. In the Christian era, art and architecture were not very different from Greece in how religion was portrayed. Before Christianity was universally accepted, art had to be hidden. These artists did not focus on perfection and beauty as did those that produced Greek art because they sought importance in tra nsforming their beliefs and teaching the Christian religion to others (Early, 2007). Sculptures were rarely seen, and unlike Greek architecture, Christian architecture was bland and unadorned in comparison (Early, 2007). However, the interiors were rich with furnishings- marble, mosaics, hangings, etc. as if to show that Christianity is not about always being beautiful and showy, but faith is set at the hearth like the heart and done with the family. 2. a. Mannerism: This era was set in before the baroque period, and it was European art that occurred around 1520-1580 in Italy Renaissance (Sayre, 2007). The focal term was harmony, which was illustrated through naturalistic paintings, i.e. paintings that were universally recognized as meaning the same thing to various people. Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael were famous artists of this era (Sayre, 2007). b. Baroque: Following the mannerism era, baroque came about in the late 16th-early 18th century throughout Europe (Sayre, 2007). It is a form of art that reflects religious themes as well as express power in aristocracy society. Lavish palaces were influenced by baroque style, as well as the artists Peter Paul Rubens and Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Sayre, 2007). c. Rococo: This type of art stemmed from baroque in the late 18th century in France due to the fact that baroque artists began to experiment giving up their symmetry and turned to creating ornate and playful art (Sayre, 2007). A lot of this art was created to be motifs of decoration and often criticized for its lack of sophistication. However, despite the controversies, it still remains a part of art history and so do the artists that incorporated it like Franz Anton Bustelli and Andrea Casali (Sayre, 2007). d. Neoclassicism: Unlike Rococo style’s seemingly unimportance, the neoclassicism era was distinct and memorable through its utilization of the visual arts like music, architecture, literature, and theatre and occurred late 19th century all over Europe (Sayre, 2007). It actually became a sort-of outspoken response to the â€Å"shallow† form of Rococo. It portrayed elements like war, politics and bravery (Sayre, 2007). Lastly, the artists that represent this period are Sir Christopher Wren and William Kent. e. Romanticism: This era is viewed as being the intellectual era, not romance, that gained popularity in the late 18th

A rite of passage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A rite of passage - Essay Example The Tibetans have Lamaism as their religion, which is an integration of the native Tibetan religion (Bon) and Mahayana Buddhism (Kapstein, p38). In a general perspective, the basic rite of passage for the Tibetans is the sticking of a tiny piece of Tibetan’s staple food (zamba) on the newborn’s forehead. This is perceived as the process of purification of the newborn. Additionally, when the baby is a month old, the parents are bound to paint the tip of its (baby’s) nose with soot as a sign of prevention from ghosts, whereas the relatives and parents of the baby going to the monastery to pray for protection from the Buddha. This is the general rite of passage of newborn babies, regardless of the gender. At a later age, that is, at the age of twelve, a Tibetan girl’s hair is combed into two braids. The braids are later advanced in to three, at the age of thirteen and/or fourteen, and five braids at the age of fifteen and/or sixteen (Kapstein, p67). However, the girl’s hair is combed into dozens of braids at the age of seventeen to signify the initiation into adulthood. In the Tibetan culture, changes in hair are used to mark the several rites of passage for the girl child (Kapstein, p67). According to research, hair changing ceremonies conducted for the Tibetan girls deliberate on the social status of the girls (Kapstein, p85). The hair changing ceremony for the Tibetan girls signifies that the girls are old enough to raise and cater for families, and hence they are ready to accept marriage proposals, and are ready to get married (Kapstein, p85). As a matter of fact, the Tibetan boys tend to court the girls after the hair changing ceremony, with intentions of sleeping with them and propose marriage. Research also indicates that hair dressers were strictly married women, who were carefully selected as per their beauty, perfect eyesight, and/or intact teeth

Intelligence Led Policing Essay Example for Free

Intelligence Led Policing Essay Intelligence Led Policing is a strategy that reduces crime through a strategic management and effective enforcement of strategies that target prolific offenders. In order to reduce social harm, the police have to work wider partners for wider potential solutions. The police have to combine their knowledge on criminal intelligence with crime analysis knowledge so as to come up with a substantial decision. It aims in achieving crime reduction and prevention by disrupting the activities of offenders through employment of a top-down management approach. Another way of predicting a prolific offender is through strategic targeting and prioritization. Targeting should be strategic towards individuals, location or operations that will produce the best results and success, thus enabling police officers to work effectively (Peterson, 2005). In addition, the information should be from reliable sources so as to allow the best results without breaching innocent people’s rights. Another issue is the use of previous crimes records as indicators so as to foster preventive measures in order to mitigate the offender from committing crimes. This operation can happen to be the best given that the information at hand is reliable but it can be unethical if the target happens to be clean (Peterson, 2005). Furthermore, through proper data collection either through physical surveillance, electronic surveillance, confidential informants, and public records or under covers operators who have provided vital information which after being analyzed they guarantee success. In conclusion, Intelligence Led policing focuses on certain criminal activities and key criminals can be targeted for inquiry after there problems are assessed. Moreover, some character and upbringing traits are use to predict recidivist behavior which helps in predicting prolific offenders and it tries to capture both operational and ethical issues. The number of times an offender has appeared in court, drug users’ and having delinquent acquaintances foster a good prolific offender target.

Magazine Advertisement The Main Target Objective Marketing Essay

Magazine Advertisement The Main Target Objective Marketing Essay The main target objective for advertisement through flyer is to promote the product, which is the Fipper. The distribution of flyer is to give message to target consumers about the latest promotion which is with every 2 pairs purchase of Fipper slipper, buyer will able to get RM3 discount for the 2nd pair of Fipper slipper. This promotion is targeted to consumer within area of 50 selected flagship outlets all around Malaysia. During this advertising campaign, there will be 50,000 copies of promotion flyers will be distribute to these resident areas, which means there will be as much as 1000 copies of flyers distribute to each selected flagship outlets area. The flyer has stated that the discount promotion will be start on 1st May 2013 to 31st May 2013. That means the advertising will be run for 31 days constantly. The objective of having this promotion is to increase range of audience and attract more customers to go to the Fipper outlets. This promotion only generate small amount of profit but it is a good way to target customers which are going to give a first try on Fippers product. By delivering a great positive post-consume evaluation, this discount promotion enables Fipper to put up long-term relationship with its regular customers and having better opportunity getting market share from other competitors. Magazine Advertisement: The main target objective for advertisement through this advertising medium is to attract magazine readers to the products. This is also because magazines advertisement can last very well in long-term since a magazine can be use as long as it is useable unlike flyer. For this advertisement, there will be 3 different sizes of magazines advertisement to be used, which are full page size, half page size and quarter page size. The best magazine to insert the Fipper advertisement into the magazine page is SEVENTEEN magazine Malaysia. The reason is because Fipper is target from teenage to young adult consumer and should be advertise through magazines that target in the same age group. This advertisement will be scheduled in the duration of 5 months starting from May issue until September issue. A full page size of Fipper ads will be used for the May and June issue of SEVENTEEN magazine Malaysia, half page for July and August issue and quarter size for September issue. These 3 different siz es of ads will also be appear in different design and layout for each size but primarily will promote the Fipper latest product such as the Fipper Canvas. Advertisement will be designed according to teenagers and young adult personalities to have higher rate of readers or audiences. Newspaper Advertisement: The main target of newspaper advertisement is to give information about the Fipper sales promotion and promote one of the Fipper products, which is the Fipper Comfort. The price for 2 Fipper Comfort is RM51.80 but will have 10% discount during promotion period which make it only RM46.60. This promotion is recommended for consumers who are seeking for a extra softness and comfort for their feet. This promotion with the strategy of buy more for more discounts will persuade the consumers to buy more products of Fipper. This strategy enables Fipper to increase their sales in other products such as Fipper Classic and Fipper Slick. The lower profit of product does not affect the profit in overall sales with higher selling rate even there is a discount. New Straits Times Newspaper has been chosen in advertising Fippers promotion. The reason New Straits Times Newspaper has been chosen is because it is one of the highest readership among all the newspapers and it may be the most efficient medium ads for Fipper to promote its brand and deliver the message of the advertiser to its target consumers. The length of period for advertisement in New Straits Times Newspaper is 3 days in row corresponding towards the sales promotion by the Fipper. That means within the 3 days of promotion, the advertisement will be appear in New Straits Times Newspaper which will be on 16 May, 17 May and 18 May 2013. New Straits Times is the perfect newspaper to advertise the Fipper promotion because it is one of the highest readership media in Malaysia and also target for younger consumer such as young adult. This is also because since it only last for 3 days, daily newspaper should able to deliver the message because it is published daily rather than like mag azine which monthly. Billboard: The main target objective for advertisement through billboard is to promote and to give impact to road user about the Fipper product. The advertisement which published on billboard on the road side does not only include the messages of latest product of Fipper but it is also to remind the road user about the brand and grab attention of road user. Through the use of billboard advertisement, brand recognition among consumers will be increased. The great brand recognition of Fipper will reach the objectives of increasing sales and generating profits. Spectrum Outdoor Marketing has been selected in the billboard advertising company. This is because Spectrum Outdoor Marketing billboard advertising company is one of the most famous billboard suppliers in Malaysia and it has the biggest coverage on road side billboard along the South-East Highway. The advertisement duration for Fipper on billboard has been set to 3 months. The venue of the billboard will be placed at South-East Highway in Kuala Lumpur area because Kuala Lumpur is the most populated place in Malaysia and there is high number of road user go through Kuala Lumpur. Television Commercial (TVC): The main target advertising through TVC is to provide information about Fipper to mass audience and at the same time to persuade audience for the purchasing Fippers product. The use of TVC is the most effective way to reach to high population of mass audience and delivering the message in an interesting way which include of moving images, sound effects, music, and subtitle. Besides that, the background music and sound effects that being used in TVC will create an opportunity for Fipper to be recognized by audience. 8TV is selected by Fipper to advertise their TVC because most of the audiences of 8TV are from youngster and they are the demographically main target audience in the Fippers target segmentation. The advertisement on 8TV can be considered as the most efficient way to reach to the main target consumers for Fipper. The TVC scheduling for Fipper are set and to be advertised on 8TV in week days. Due to the high cost of TVC advertisement, the advertisement of Fipper will appear on 8TV for 3 days in a week. The advertisement will be last for 1 month, which is from 1st May 2013 until 31st May 2013. The time slots taken for Fipper would be in afternoon starting from 2pm until 4pm and in night from 7pm until 10pm. The frequency for the TVC will once for each session which will appear 2 times every day for 31 days. Web: The web will also be used as advertisement medium for Fipper product. The reason that web used for advertisement is because it can deliver the message to mass consumer than any other type of advertisement medium. It is also the best way to approach audience since the target consumer which age group is between 13 and 30 years old use internet very frequently nowadays. MSN Malaysia webpage will be used as advertisement site for the Fipper products because it is used by large amount of internet surfer. This method will able to deliver its advertisement message to target audience effectively. The time slot for this advertisement will be starting from the first week of May which is 1st May until 2nd week of May which is 14th May 2013. Therefore, it is a total of 14 days of advertisement execution. The advertisement will promote the benefit of Fipper products from other competitors and giving a positive way towards Fipper products from audiences perspective. This will show the uniqueness of Fipper and consumer able to differentiates it from other products brand.

Factors that influences consumer buying behaviour for fast food of mcdonalds

Factors that influences consumer buying behaviour for fast food of mcdonalds Introduction: In the recent period of time, there has been a hasty change in the food habits among UK residents. Fast food is in United Kingdom since medieval age, it wasnt exactly 21th century fast food but somehow similar to todays fast food. Fast food has become a popular trend of British culture as it is been carried a long way since Roman Empire. The basic roots of fast food are coming over from America but fast food was in different form in every country. It started getting into more of a worldwide business when globalisation started its role. It is now one of the multi-million pound industries which boost the UK economy. Fast food was revolutionised in 1902 with the introduction of the automat in America, where customers started to line up for readymade foods from the display counters or vending machines, paid and either left or ate the food on the premises. The restaurant which made its first move into UK was KFC in 1965 following the step, pizza hut came into the market in the year 1973 a nd then the global fast food leader McDonalds jumped in the year 1974. (Fast food nation, 2009) In 1940s, McDonald brothers introduced new concept of Speedee Service System which revolutionized the restaurant business, the benefits of their system was advertised as Imagine- No carhops-No waitresses-No Dishwashers-No bus boys-The McDonalds system is Self-Service (Scholosser,E, 2002..P20) In the past few years fast food has industry has faced many criticism, people are getting more concern about healthy diet. Government interaction in to business by banning the advertisement in certain places as well as many campaigns and programs are raised following the health awareness among the people. People are getting against the salted chips, high fat meals and many other issues. Why fast food is been considered and its expansion in United Kingdom Every day many people are consuming fast food and for many people it is a regular evening dinner. Fast food is developing and expanding immensely. A recent survey carried out by BBC world, 2008 shows that 45% of people in UK are likely to agree that they liked the taste of fast food too much to give it up, as well it also reveals that people in the UK are Europes highest fast food consumers which is due to the popularity of fast food chains in their favourites list. Consumers are having a growing desire for fast food and UK consumers trying to put McDonalds on the safer side in the economic crisis with sales in 2008 beat last years. The per head spending of UK customers in 2007 was  £82 in fast food restaurants which is predict to go higher and it will benefit chains like McDonalds and burger King. (Data Source: Caterersearch, 2008) The United Kingdom national statistics in 2009 (Kent K, 2009) suggests that unique nature of working force has increased due to the rise in numbers of women working as the employment pattern and style of student including international students and many foreign workers has been increased. According to Schlosser E (2002) with increased mobility and the expansion of urban areas people spent more time in their workplace. This was also paired with an increasing number of working women in the workplace thus leading to less time allocated for food preparation at home, supporting the argument Glazer F (2009) provides evidence in the research that working moms are more concerned about lack of time to prepare meals in compared to moms who is not working. In such a way, some three quarters of the family food budget was initially spent on fast food meals. Kent K (2009) This increase in the work force from migrant workers, foreign students as well the increase of women in work force has made a big contribution in fast food success, considering London as the location of this study it is clear that it is the most diverse city of UK with different cultures sharing their views and rituals in the city. The fast food has also been driven by multi-cultural people in London, London is considered as one of the most diverse city in the world and where a marketer can expect a diverse buying behaviour too. Many cultural and communities are based in London and the city also expect the numbers of tourist every day, all these different cultures have their unique taste. The multicultural customer has base has forced the marketers to include diverse taste and they have to consider the demand of their multicultural customers. McDonald has taken the initiative by promoting the different cultural promotional menu for example: Chinese food promotion and recently launched Indian chicken tikka wrap. The food giants are keeping the diverse customer base into consideration. Snackspot, (2009) The big brands are regularly expanding their menu in order to cope with the demand of the fast food customers. The fast food market is getting really high due to the number of consumers getting towards it; the industry is growing really rapid and fast food companies making better profits on daily basis. The branded fast food outlets and classic British cafes are the main chains in the industry, the restaurants and take away shops are deeply rooted on the British high roads and at popular shopping centres as well as retail parks, motorway and at many other places. Brandau M, (2009) a recent consumer research has found out that quick service restaurants have gained market through value of offering and premium menu which has helped them to go through post recession recovery, it is also been revealed that big fast food giants has gained a huge number of affluent customer base as well more typical fast food lovers in this economic downturn which is been named as barbell strategy. As the study show there has been a massive rise in the fast food consumption and every day it is more and more expanding. McDonalds is in the UK fast food market for long but recently there has been a fierce competition between Technology has played its role in almost every business. Technology could be used from improving business to attracting customers into the restaurant. Smithers R (2007) the idea of launching the free internet service in the McDonalds restaurants have helped the company in getting number of customers into the restaurant, Liddle A (2005) also they are teaming up with Nintendo to promote its portable Nintendo DS to attract the gamers, it is kind of great promotion which is building a brand image and it can attract many teens into the restaurant. The Wi-Fi concept has attracted many students which can help them in savings money on internet. The fast food giants have also started taking card payments few years back which proves to be a convenient method of payment ignoring the hassle of change, card payments has no minimum payment restrictions in many outlets and can be used also for 20p sweet chilli sauce in McDonalds. The card concept was upgraded by Barclaycard arrival of contactless t echnology which was successfully launched at McDonalds. Chain Store Age (2007) mentions that according to a survey conducted by Visa, the use of card payments in the quick service restaurants has been rated a more convenient experience, around 82% consumers agreed with the fact and 77% agreed that it pursues them buy whatever they desired because they were not limited to the cash in their wallets. Pietrykowski B (2004) mentions that fast food industry has faced many critics from many groups in the previous years and its still facing problems from the media and also from the government, in the year 1986 there was campaign started by an Italian which was named slow food movement, at present it comprises 77,000 individual members representing 48 countries, Slow food (1989) We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat fast food, so slow food is now the only truly progressive answer, Walsh B (2008) names this movement as the anti-fast food, anti-industrial and anti-agricultural movement. Whereas Pietrykowski B (2004:12) states slow food movement seeks the preservation of local foods and cuisines by creating and strengthening networks of social relations between consumers and makers. In return the fast food companies introduced healthy options in their menu ad ding fruits and nutritional information as well reduce salt to their food. Fast food giants are also keeping up the demand by expanding their menus and trying different promotional tactics. Fast food is considered as an easy key and recently with the added values to healthy food and also by adding organic ingredients and food to their menus; it is drawing attention to many new customers. Glazer F (2009) mentions that McDonalds recently launched the global moms panel to advice the company on issues such as balanced food and communications with the families as well as launched moms quality program insisting on the chains quality and safety standards, hence the food chain has taken a family step towards their products and launching such campaigns can create a better trust among their consumers. Sky News (2010), McDonalds has achieved this success by following these steps in to their business as well as their performance was aided by its superior value at every level of the menu, helpin g it to push up sales increased by double digits and full year profits growing up to 6% to  £2.83 billion. Life style impacting the fast food industry and cultural influence on fast food advertisement and its consumption London is been considered as one of the business capital of the world, similarly one of the most diverse city in the world too, hence the lifestyle of the city is much different comparing to other UK cities. Economist (2003) mentions that before when people needed fatty hot food, they had to cook it. So they had to spare time and energy, this has discouraged the consumption but now the mass preparation of fast food took away that concept, nobody has to make big effort and nobody has time. The lifestyle of Londoners is getting more and more hectic. The fast food trend has taken the effort of cooking out from the house to the giant fast food companies, people do not mind eating in trains, busses as long as it saves time. Londoners are getting into work more in comparison to previous years in London. Kent K (2009) The image above shows the different cities of United Kingdom, which shows London having the highest employment rate in the recent years and again, Economist (2003) the proportion of women going out to work is probably the main force pushing the time-saving trend, Britain is considered as a topper in convenience food league as well as the working women league. Within an increase in employment there has also been a change in the working hours of British people, Summerskill (2000) mentions that it is one of the main reasons of time poverty and fast food consumption in Britain. People are working long working hours possibly with few breaks and many doing antisocial hours (typical night hours), or they take second and third jobs to meet their own needs. In UK, one in nine workers do more than 60 hours a week, antisocial working hours and working extra hours are very common, especially in retail industry as many are getting 24/7. (Dailymail, 2008) A research conducted by Oxford Economics c onsultancy suggests similarly there has been rise in the income which has made the living standards in Britain better, the living standards were been calculated taking GDP in to consideration. Another lifestyle based factor is individualism, which is much common in London because of many foreign workers and students. Arndt M (2007) In general, the heavy consumption of fast food is a single man in his mid-20s who has a professional job that pays above average wages. Hence the lifestyle is much responsible for the success of the fast food market. Marketers need to consider many things when they start promoting a particular brand or product. As the world is not homogenous, there is a difference in choice even in the same culture. If we consider London, there are number of multi-cultural people living in the city. A company in order to get success cannot really rely on just one common culture. Rugman A (2001: 583) suggests that globalization does not, and has never, existed in terms of a single world market with free trade, cultural differences has divide the world into the triad blocks. In United Kingdom, Schiffman L, Kanuk L (2007) there is many different societies and culture residing in other term subculture. Subculture is set of people with distinct belief and behaviour, it differs from mere social grouping, is awareness of style and differences in style, language or other phenomena and more complex society. The fast food companies focus on particular subcultures in order to gain the market and to make the advertisement wo rk. Types of subcultures followed by companies in segmentation Schiffman L, Kanuk L (2007) McDonalds has used the concept of sub-culture by diversifying few of their London based restaurants into Halal restaurant, which is certainly a part major muslim community in London. Similarly KFC has followed the same step and has turned 74 out of 700 of their restaurants into Halal certified restaurants, their products are been approved by recognised Muslim association and certificate is been displayed at their restaurants (KFC, 2010). United Kingdom is a very diverse country and considering the fact about the different ethnic backgrounds, fast food companies run different events and food promotions in order to attract the consumer towards the brand and towards their product such as oriental menu taking Chinese into consideration and chicken tikka wrap attracting Indians and Pakistani. Furthermore McDonalds acts according to the location. McDonalds restaurant Location Segmentation steps Manhattan, New York The target customers are working class people coming for breakfast or lunch Maastricht, Netherlands Jakarta The target customers are families with children, with big playgrounds surrounded by swings, slides etc. The target customers are youngsters and yuppies. Ghauri, Cateora, (2005 P-22) In this competitive period of business, the fast food companies cannot do business without taking international business dimensions into the business. It not only helps to gain the local market but it also helps to gain success in the cross border trade. The marketing polices may be needed to change according to different market culture. Fast Foods heavy investment on advertisement Without a strong recognisable brand name a product is no more than a commodity, with out advertising there is no recognisable brand name. (Wright R, 2000 P-89) Consumer buying behaviour depends mainly on awareness and recognition which is achieved by advertisement. Advertisement can be consider as a way of communication, almost all advertisement contains a persuasive element of sales but it also creates brand and should also deliver a motive. (Sargeant A, Asif S, 2000) The above gives an idea how the advertisement is conducted and which factors are been consider when an advertisement is carried on. In UK, McDonalds identified the need of co-ordinated marketing and advertising policy, in order to gain the market, a company should find out what the customers want, develop products to satisfy them, charge them the right price and make the existence of the products through promotion. McDonalds is now the biggest single brand advertiser on British television. Promotional activities and special suggestive selling within the restaurant have a tactical role to play in getting people to return to the restaurants regularly. All franchisees benefit from any national marketing and contribute to its cost, currently a fee of 4.5 percent of sales. (The times, 2009) Consumer buying behaviour and Marketing Mix For a person to make a decision, a choice of alternatives must be available. When a person has a choice between making a purchase and not making a purchase, a choice between brand x and brand y, or a choice of spending time doing A or B, that person is in a position to make a decision. Consumer decision depends on many factors, human brain has two hemispheres one on left and another on the right. It is important for an advertisement to appeal to both sides. This means combining the rational dimension with the emotional component in your brand proposition. If they build a brand personality for a product that has both an emotional and rational appeal then they are appealing customer decision making. (Schiffman L and Kanuk L, 2004), a various index of repetitive purchase go after a similar buying decision which can be determined through brand, products and other factors. (Ehrenberg, 1988:28) Knowledge of consumer buying behaviour can help the companies to identify the needs of consumers better and that can lead towards market success. McDonalds is one of the worlds best familiar brands, and the consumer buying decision affects from many point of view. A repetitive purchase can only occur if the companies deliver consistently. A model of consumer buying behaviour is shown below which can be applicable to many companies and it helps to identify the consumer buying decision. The model describes the customers perception towards different purchase factors, these factors runs through consumers mind and after a while the consumer can come to conclusion of purchase or no purchase. The Times (2006) has conducted a study on McDonalds, The consumer takes number of external and internal factors before making the buying decision. Psychological factors are important, e.g. what image doest the product give or how the consumer feels when purchasing it (eg; pound saver menu for quick bitters). The advertisement of the product has to be linked with the realism of the consumer buying behaviour, if the advertisement matches with the consumers emotion then the result will be positive. It is called a black box model. (Kotler, 2004) Jill McDonald, Chief marketing officer of McDonalds UK reveals their idea behind the advertisement of McDonalds that they always try to be clear and confident about what they are and what they stand for and they convey in a simple language consi dering every single person to understand their message as McDonalds have always been customer oriented. Although (The times, 2006) it is essential that the messages which are being communicated by the company to their customers supports each other and there should be brief understanding keeping brand aspects in the communication and the target audience should be rolled out into action which may include purchase of a product or referring to their friends or family etc, the core concept in consumer buying process is to make customer feel positive about the product and (Achenbaum 1989, Lindsay 1990) it is quite fact that advertising is the best source in influencing the consumer buying decision and to build a brand image. (ODoneell C, 2005) Marketing mix supports companies marketing and business strategies whereas mix includes price, place, product and promotion, (Kotler P, Armstrong G, Wong V, Saunders J, 2008) mentions that the marketing strategy is linked with the marketing mix in order to achieve the companys marketing aims and objectives, the marketing mix acts as a toolkit in order to establish a strong marketing hold in the target market. A company may use one marketing mix to reach one target market and can differentiate second one to achieve the target market. (Pride W, Hughes R, Kapoor J, 2009) Schieffer R, Leininger E, (2008) McDonalds has successfully marketed their product to their targeted customers and has developed well positioned offerings for a manageable group of target segments, which is an effective marketing mix, offers (Baker M, 2003) a right product that meets the customers demand, that is of effective cost to the customer and it effectively delivers the quality and usage of the product which can be purchased with the utmost convenience. McDonalds customer profile is very diverse, family visits with their children for a treat, kids visits McDonalds for fun and youngsters visits considering price and the business customers may visits for a quick service. The specific target can be simple to communicate and the company can convey their message in an effective and efficient way. McDonalds have also tried to offer a product which is demanded by their customers, Jim Skinner, Vice president of McDonalds limited mention (Schieffer R, Leininger E, 2008) that McDonalds always focus on good customer service, quality product and hygienic cleanliness in their restaurants, as well as they always giving tips on management Mr. Skinner mentioned face the facts, listen to your customers because they will tell you what really matters. The company should always keep in mind that they are not the only one offering the product or service, a customer have a choice unless there the company holds a monopoly of particular product. McDonalds has to consider the competitors and taking them into consideration they have to revitalise their menu. The product life cycle is much important for a business to float regularly in profit and with good brand image. (Marketing, 2009) McDonalds has successfully launched new chicken legend burger chicken selects in competing with KFC for their spicy chicken strips, in their menu in the past year as well introducing fish fingers in their happy meal selection. The company also launched a range of healthy products including the organic milk and they introduce ethical standards for their coffee suppliers. McDonalds brand has gone to the basic of marketing communications; the new product launched is typically marketed through television and newspaper advertisement. (Justin M, 2009) following this mantra McDonalds always improve their products and services. In order to sustain in the market McDonalds has always been innovative in their products and it will continue to do so. In the below mention diagram the chicken legend and chicken selects product of McDonalds are the recently launched new product or innovation of McDonalds, where as one can say that their popular burger Big Mac is at the maturity stage. (Strategic Management, 2005) Similarly (Haines S, 2008) the price of the McDonalds product reflects the targeted customers decision to purchase the benefit; it represents a link between the pricing rationale to value, revenue volume of the product, McDonalds has always maintained their product when there is reduction in the price in order to compete in the market, usually many companies face the quality issue when they reduce the price of a particular product or services, as the customers mentally thinks that the reduced price products are not really same compared to original product quality. Kurtz D (2008) explains that the pricing objective varies from company to company, the main areas to consider in price objectives are probability objectives, volume objectives, meeting competition objectives and prestige objectives and McDonalds follows a mixture of this objectives into their business. References http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=P_ovoY2ZcbkCpg=PA255dq=marketing+mix+modelcd=1#v=onepageq=marketing%20mix%20modelf=false

Metal Storm :: Technology Weapons Essays

Metal Storm What is Metal Storm? Metal Storm is a revolutionary type of ballistics technology, utilizing electrical impulses to fire projectiles, rather than conventional mechanical impulses. These weapons have no moving parts aside from the projectiles themselves. The bullets are stacked on end in the barrel, separated only by a thin layer of propellant. A small electric current passing through the barrel ignites the propellant, firing the bullet from the barrel. To prevent one layer of propellant from igniting the rest of the propellant in the barrel, causing a disastrous chain reaction, the bullets are modified so that the head of the bullet will expand, sealing the barrel, when the bullet ahead of it is fired. Because of this and the nature of its electrical firing system, Metal Storm offers a variable rate of fire, from semi-automatic to a devastating 45 thousand rounds per minute per barrel, with each bullet leaving the barrel at only 4† behind the last. Also, because all that is necessary to prope l a bullet from the barrel is an electrical impulse, many barrels can be placed in an array and fired all at once. Metal Storm Ltd., the company that produces Metal Storm ballistics technology, has produced a prototype gun, nicknamed â€Å"Bertha,† which can fire at a rate of up to 1.62 million rounds per minute. Comparing this to the fastest rate previously achieved by a machine gun of 6,000 rounds per minute, one can begin to see the deadly power of this technology. And while one might think that energy would be an inherent problem with an electrical firing system, in this case, it’s not. Because the electric current is only used to ignite the gun propellant, only a very small amount of energy is required, and Metal Storm weapon can operate easily on the power from a simply flashlight battery. In addition to the machine gun, this technology is also being put to use in other applications, including a handgun variant (intended for use by military and police), a sniper-rifle (recently contracted by the United State’s Department of Defense), and even an Area-Denial Weapons System (to replace land mines), which can be operated by a single man to fire up to 1800 grenades and 360 solid mortar rounds intelligently aimed at enemy units in only a quarter of a second. Beyond this, they have also begun work on a fully automated aircraft.

tough choices :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was asked to think back about something memorable and to write an essay about a life’s lesson learned. In high school, soccer was very important to me. It was my favorite sport. My freshman year I decided to pick and focus on only one of the many sports I had played in the passed. I came to the conclusion that I should play soccer considering it was one I was strongest at. I also enjoyed soccer more than the other sports I had played because it was a tough sport, which was a challenge to me. During the years I played high school soccer I made a decision in which when I look back on, I think I could have handled differently. I never spoke up. I would just do what I was told to do. Whatever I was told to do I did it the best I could. I thought that cooperating, listening and giving it my best shot is what would get me ahead before someone else. But I was wrong and that has cost me dearly. As a freshman I played soccer for Paramus Catholic High School. I started as a forward on their junior varsity team. As the season went on the varsity coach noticed my aggressiveness and moved me up to play with our varsity team. To be picked out of all the girls on the team I can’t tell you of a better feeling of self-pride. Then as a sophomore I transferred to Hackensack High School. There, I again started as a forward for their junior varsity team. Later into the season I was brought up to practice with varsity. I practiced with varsity but only played in a couple of games. Imagine my disappointment, I joined the soccer team to play, not sit on the bench. I worked so hard in practice to prove myself but it got me nowhere, not even a chance. So I asked to be moved back down to junior varsity where I could play. At least on the junior varsity team I was recognized for my efforts. As a junior I tried again and made the varsity team at tryouts. I was excited because we had lost a lot of seniors and I expected to get more playing time. Upperclassmen always played over underclassmen. But I was wrong. Instead I sat the bench and freshmen played over me. tough choices :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was asked to think back about something memorable and to write an essay about a life’s lesson learned. In high school, soccer was very important to me. It was my favorite sport. My freshman year I decided to pick and focus on only one of the many sports I had played in the passed. I came to the conclusion that I should play soccer considering it was one I was strongest at. I also enjoyed soccer more than the other sports I had played because it was a tough sport, which was a challenge to me. During the years I played high school soccer I made a decision in which when I look back on, I think I could have handled differently. I never spoke up. I would just do what I was told to do. Whatever I was told to do I did it the best I could. I thought that cooperating, listening and giving it my best shot is what would get me ahead before someone else. But I was wrong and that has cost me dearly. As a freshman I played soccer for Paramus Catholic High School. I started as a forward on their junior varsity team. As the season went on the varsity coach noticed my aggressiveness and moved me up to play with our varsity team. To be picked out of all the girls on the team I can’t tell you of a better feeling of self-pride. Then as a sophomore I transferred to Hackensack High School. There, I again started as a forward for their junior varsity team. Later into the season I was brought up to practice with varsity. I practiced with varsity but only played in a couple of games. Imagine my disappointment, I joined the soccer team to play, not sit on the bench. I worked so hard in practice to prove myself but it got me nowhere, not even a chance. So I asked to be moved back down to junior varsity where I could play. At least on the junior varsity team I was recognized for my efforts. As a junior I tried again and made the varsity team at tryouts. I was excited because we had lost a lot of seniors and I expected to get more playing time. Upperclassmen always played over underclassmen. But I was wrong. Instead I sat the bench and freshmen played over me.

Price Analysis in Various Situations

Price analysis is a price comparison of a proposed price without analyzing any of the separate cost of elements that it’s composed of. With any purchase some type of cost analysis is completed in order to receive the best price possible. This paper will discuss which method for performing price analysis is best in the widest variety of situations. The policy of the government is to contract for its products and services at fair and reasonable prices. With that, many factors are taken into account when determining fair and reasonable prices and how the government determines fair and reasonable pricing. There are five means identified to determine fair and reasonable pricing: competitive offers, established catalog prices, established market prices, established by law and regulation, and cost based prices. Fair and reasonable price is what the government is willing to pay for products and services in competitive market conditions given reasonable knowledge of the marketplace. When the government acquires various products and services it must forecast the products and services in its budget and be able to convince the reviewing authorities the the forecast is reasonable. When forecasting the likely price of acquisition evaluation of bids, proposals, and quotations has to be completed. Then, the bidder or offeror for the reward must be selected and then the preparation for price discussion in negotiation. Given the opportunity to use any method of price analysis for the duration of my career, I would choose comparison of competitive bids. With this method three or more suppliers for the price of the same product are selected in order to determine if a particular price is reasonable. However, it’s not the best idea to go solely on the lowest bid without knowing full details into how that figure came about. Cheaper is not always the best value. Instead of comparing the lowest price, compare the total cost of acquisition. This includes variable cost, fixed cost, and semi-variable cost. When all these items are discussed a fair and reasonable price is at hand. If taking the lowest price is the key then there would be no value if what is purchased is unknown. In all, Price analysis is a price comparison of a proposed price without analyzing any of the separate cost of elements that it’s composed. Given the opportunity to choose the method of price analysis, I would choose comparison of competitive bids because it allows multiple offers to be compared and other factors of discussion in negotiaton of priceing.

Alfred Binet

Among the most prominent persons in mental testing is Alfred Binet, who was born July 11, 1857, at Nice, France, and died in Paris on October 18, 1911. Binet completed a licence in law in 1878 and then pursued, but did not complete, a medical degree. Binet’s early interest in psychology was influenced by Charcot’s work in hypnosis. Binet then pursued other experimental topics, eventually arriving at his interest in mental testing. For much of his career, Binet served as director of the Laboratory of Physiological Psychology at the Sorbonne.Following a period of experimental research with Victor Henri, he accepted a collaborative research arrangement with Theodore Simon. Simon’s proximity to mentally retarded subjects and Binet’s membership with the Society for the Psychological Study of the Child formed the basis for significant research. Binet’s active involvement with the society led to his appointment to a study commission of the Ministry of Publ ic Instruction â€Å"from the vantage point of which he saw the compelling need to find a way to differentiate those children who could learn normally from those who could not† (Wolf, 1973, pp.21–22). After failing to obtain academic positions at three French universities, Binet produced with Theodore Simon, in 1905, the first intelligence scale â€Å"oriented to ‘tasks or behavior’ rather than to so-called faculties† (Wolf, 1973, p. 29). The scale was part of a more comprehensive process for differentiating normal and retarded children, and it was revised in 1908 and 1911. His test was introduced in America by Henry Goddard, who developed his own revision. The most popular American revision was that of Louis Terman in 1916. Binet’s scales ingrained the concept of mental age in testing for decades.The first experiments to catch his fancy involved the two-point threshold: the simultaneous stimulation of the skin by two compass points, and the determination of the conditions under which they were perceived as one or recognized as two. This procedure had already been the subject of much experimental investigation, and early psychologists had learned that the separation of points required to produce a sensation of â€Å"twoness† varies greatly with the part of the body stimulated—for example, it is some thirty times greater for the small of the back than for the tip of the index finger.Several theories had been proposed to account for these variations, focusing on the presumably varying distribution of nerves in different parts of the body. (Thorndike, R. M. , and D. F. Lohman, 1990). Binet conducted a few simple two-point threshold experiments on himself and some friends, and concluded that the theories he had read about were wrong in some of their details. He quickly wrote an article describing his experiments and offering a â€Å"corrected† theory. Always a graceful and persuasive writer, he succeede d in getting this published.Any pleasure at seeing his words in print was soon curtailed, however, because his article caught the critical attention of one Joseph Delboeuf (1831-1896), a Belgian physiologist who had done some important work on the two-point threshold which had been overlooked by Binet. Delboeuf published a critique stating that his own much moresystematic experiments did not agree with several of Binet's findings, and showing that he had already published a much more sophisticated version of Binet's theory long before.Binet had obviously rushed prematurely into print, and Delboeuf publicly humiliated him for it. (Thorndike, R. M. , and D. F. Lohman, 1990). Even Delboeuf's attack could not diminish Binet's ardor for psychology, however, and his next passion became the associationist psychology of John Stuart Mill, whom he would later call â€Å"my only master in psychology. † Binet was persuaded by Mill's arguments about the potentially unlimited explanatory p ower of associationism, and said as much in his second venture into psychological publication. (Joy A.Palmer, Liora Bresler, David E. Cooper, 2003) Yet Binet was once again treading upon dangerous ground. Associationism as a psychological doctrine clearly had its merits, but by 1883 much evidence had already accumulated to show that it could not stand as a complete explanation of mental phenomena, even after any possible innate factors were placed aside. In particular, associationism was ill equipped to account for varying motivational influences on thought, or for many of the unconscious phenomena that were coming to increasing attention at that time.Thus the laws of association were hard pressed to explain, by themselves, why a particular starting thought can lead to totally different trains of associations, depending on the motivational state of the individual. Phenomena such as post-hypnotic amnesia posed another difficulty for exclusively associationistic theory. When a recentl y hypnotized subject was asked what happened while he was hypnotized and failed to remember, he provided an example of disassociation of ideas.The stimulus of the question failed to bring in its train the associated ideas and memories, including the answer, which one would normally expect. Mill's laws of association had nothing to say about how ideas could become disconnected, or â€Å"dissociated,† from each other. (Joy A. Palmer, Liora Bresler, David E. Cooper, 2003) This time Binet recognized the deficiencies in his psychology without help from a Delboeuf, and took steps to remedy them. But even though he was soon to augment his associationism, he never lost respect for its great though incomplete explanatory power.Years later, when he attacked the problem of assessing intelligence, he would not be restricted, as Galton and Cattell had been, to the consideration of presumably innate factors such as sensory acuity or neurological efficiency. Instead, Binet would argue that â€Å"intelligence† whatever else it was could never be isolated from the actual experiences, circumstances, and personal associations of the individual in question. (Joy A. Palmer, Liora Bresler, David E. Cooper, 2003) Among Binet’s achievements was the founding (with Dr. Henri Beaunis) of the first French psychology journal, L’Annee psychologique, in 1895.He was a significant figure in early French psychology, and the studies of his two daughters likely influenced the subsequent research of Jean Piaget. Though Binet was neither trained nor served as a school psychologist, he has had an enormous impact on the practice of school psychology. References: Joy A. Palmer, Liora Bresler, David E. Cooper. Fifty Major Thinkers on Education: From Confucius to Dewey; Routledge, 2003 Thorndike, R. M. , and D. F. Lohman. A century of ability testing. Chicago: Riverside, 1990 Wolf, T. H. Alfred Binet. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973

The Sundale Clubs

The Sundale Club I. Problems A. Macro 1. Division within organization due to poor relationships among personnel. 2. Lack of leadership and direction within organization. B. Micro 1. Johnson’s (reputed) behavior. 2. Loss of members. 3. Chain-of-command difficulties: Frank Havens unable to talk to boss, Bob Watts uninterested in problem. 4. Poor staff morale; treatment of Pat indicates problem. II. Causes 1. No recognition/follow-through for staff. Pat overlooked for promotion. 2.Personal relationship between Chuck Johnson and Ted Ellis detracts from goals of organization and from staff morale. 3. Bob’s upcoming retirement detracts from interest in problems. III. Systems affected 1. Structural – personal relationships and director’s lack of interest hurt chain-of-command effectiveness. 2. Psychosocial – low morale within staff due to favoritism, disinterest, loss of membership, lack of direction of system. 3. Technical – none apparent. 4. Manag erial – organization’s purpose and source of money undermined by personal interests and lack of direction.Managers who had authority, such as Bob Watts, are unwilling to take action. 5. Goals and values – there is no sense organization goals among management or staff despite declining membership. Staff and even some managers are increasingly interested in protecting their jobs or finding another job elsewhere. Consequently, there is little concern for providing service to the membership. IV. Alternatives 1. Leave as is. 2. Let Bob Watts retire; explain problem to new director. 3. Unite staff (as Carol has started); include in meeting with new director/board. 4.Carol Happ hire OD practitioner to intervene and unite staff, but this will be difficult as Watts seems to be â€Å"coasting† until retirement. V. Recommendations Realistically, not much can happen until Bob Watts retires. Before Watts retires, some of the staff could unite under the leadership of C arol Happ and meet with Bob. But this has definite risks, particularly for any staff under Ted Ellis. Approach Watts from viewpoint of helping increase memberships and how unity, etc. , is needed for this to occur. If Happ and the staff can gain Watts’ support, hire an external OD practitioner.

Guns, Germs, And Steel Essay

In the book Guns, Germs, and Steel the Fates of Human Societies, Jared Diamond discusses the superior developments and advancements of mankind that shaped history through time. Throughout the book Diamond states how disease and germs have shaped history up to today. â€Å"Because diseases have been the biggest killers of people, they have also been decisive shapers of history.† For instance, Diamond relates to a story once told to him by a friend about a man that contracted a very odd disease. As the story progressed you eventually found out how the man got the illness by having sexual intercourse with a sheep. This illustrates human diseases of animal origins (pp.195, 196. 197, 206-210). Diamond also discusses how the Europeans were able to defeat the Native Americans because they brought diseases to them that they were not yet immune to. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond discusses the evolution of disease that is contracted from animals. Diseases that have had a major impact throughout history such as smallpox, malaria, tuberculosis, plague, flu, and measles have been adapted by humans from animals (p. 196). One example of how a germ can spread is by patiently waiting to be transmitted through the victim. For instance we often contract salmonella by eating raw or unprepared food like eggs and meat; and the worm that causes anisakiasis by eating raw fish. Germs don’t just wait to be transmitted by waiting to be eaten by the victim but by hitchhiking on the animals’ salvia. For example, mosquitoes, fleas, and even lice carry fatal germs that can cause diseases such as malaria, plague, or even typhus, and once bitten you can easily contract any of those diseases (p.198). Moreover, the worst type of transmission of the germs is by passing through a woman to her fetus and pass on –infect- her child. That type of transmission diamond describes as contracting syphilis, AIDs, and rubella (p.199). AIDs, as Diamond informs us, came from a virus in African Monkeys that was first detected in 1962 (pp.197, 199, 201, and 208) One main example of how disease had a huge impact on shaping the course of history is the Europeans defeating the Native Americans (pp. 210, 211, 212, 197). The Europeans came to the Americas in 1492 on Columbus’s voyage. When they came they were able to conquer the Native Americans due to the murderous microbes. Many more Native Americans died in bed from disease than ob n the battle field because of the Eurasian germs. For example, Cortà ©s came to the Mexican coast attempting to conquer the Aztec empire. When he reached Tenochtitlan he was able to escape with one third of his army left. When they returned, the Spaniards had an advantage due to the epidemic that was brought to the Aztecs by a Spaniard. The epidemic spread like wildfire and by 1618 the Aztec population drastically decreased from 20 million to 1.6 million (p.210). Additionally, Pizarro had the same luck when he got to Peru and attempted taking over the Inca Empire in 1531. Smallpox came in 1526 killing a large number of Inca residents’ as well as the emperor and his successor. Hernando de Soto came to the Americas and was the firsts to march through southern united states. He came across many abandoned sites due to epidemics and Eurasian germs. As de Soto marched through the Indian sites of lower Mississippi, Eurasian germs had already reached most of north America and kept spreading. The main killers of the Indians had been the Eurasian germs that were not introduced to the native Americans and therefore never immune.

Heatlhy Eating

Healthy eating and exercise will help in the prevention or maintenance of sugar levels thus lowering the chance of developing diabetes and/or other illnesses. A well balanced diet and regular exercise are important for a healthy lifestyle to avoid these health issues. There are certain benefits and important reasons for eating healthy. Eating healthy allows the body to operate more efficiently, so that the numbers of visits to the doctor’s office related to digestion or the lack there-of are kept to a minimum, and a better quality of life can be enjoyed. This paper will discuss the benefits of healthy eating, controlling diabetes and prevention of other diseases and illnesses. There are significant benefits of feeling better. For one, a healthy lifestyle promotes feeling better through exercise, and taking advantage of activities that are not regularly participated in, because of the way the body feels. Feeling better will also boost metabolism. This means the body does not feel tired and could potentially encourage a daily exercise plan. Exercising will get the cardiovascular, lungs and stigma pumping. This exercise plan could aid in the prevention of unwanted medication due to fatigue, being overweight and generally not feeling well. Just moving about and being active can work certain parts of the body. When the body feels good it releases adrenaline. Adrenaline helps with daily activities. Walking or running on a daily basis will provide the body with some kind of physical activity. Feeling better alone with healthy eating is a key essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. More than a decade ago, the U. S. Department of Agriculture created the Food Guide Pyramid. This simple illustration conveyed in a flash what the USDA said were the elements of a healthy diet. The Pyramid was taught in schools, appeared in countless media articles and brochures and was plastered on cereal boxes and food labels (Willett, 2000, 2005). From EAT, DRINK, AND BE HEALTHY by Walter C. Willett, M. D. Copyright  © 2001, 2005 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Reprinted by permission of Free Press/Simon & Schuster, Inc. The Healthy Eating Pyramid sits on a foundation of daily exercise and weight control. Why? These two related elements strongly influence ones chances of staying healthy. They also affect what and how you eat and how your food affects you. (Willett, 2001, 2005) Does the body need three meals and two snacks between meals daily? Well, listen to what the body says. One way to listen to the body is to stop eating when the stomach feels full. When the stomach feels full, do not continue to eat. Feeling stuffed will cause fatigue, a sluggish and tired feeling accompanied with feeling uncomfortable. Do not over eat; this could result in stretching the abdomen. â€Å"Eating healthy foods provides your body with energy, strengthens your immune system and improves your ability to stay fit† (Segal, 2000). Another reason eating healthy foods is essential is it provides the body with nutrients needed to maintain energy levels throughout the day. A person will feel better and have higher sustained energy levels that could last until evening or when it is time to retire for the day. Here are some suggestions that should be used to start eating healthy. They recommend to develop a routine meal plan for daily meals and snacks. First, learn to not skip meals especially breakfast; a balanced breakfast is recommended every morning. Providing the body with breakfast in the morning is like starting the motor of a car with a full tank of gas. If there is no gas in the tank, the car will not run. With a full tank of gas, the car is able to run for days. By providing the body with fuel in the morning, the body is started for the day. When planning a routine meal plan for eating healthy, think about if the body weight is normal. If the body weight is normal, three meals a day and two snacks between meals can be enjoyed everyday. Snacks can be enjoyed between meals if hunger is experienced. Some suggestions for eating healthy without piling on calories are to eat raw foods like salads combined with low fat dressings. Drink plenty of water to dilute toxins the body stores, which could leave a sluggish feeling. If drinking water is boring, natural fruit juices low in sugars can be substituted. Healthy eating can prevent certain types of diseases and high cholesterol. When shopping for food at the grocery store, purchase certain foods that are low in saturated fats, low fat or skim dairy products. Try to avoid a large amount of red meat. Purchase meat products that are high in protein and buy products that have some fiber in them. Foods that are high in saturated fats and cholesterol are known to cause blockage in the body arteries. When these arteries are blocked, the blockage will cut off the supply of blood to the heart. If the heart does not get the oxygen it needs, this will result in a heart attack. Dairy products such as milk, ice cream, butter and cooking ils are high in fats and should be given careful consideration when being purchased. The reasoning for not eating a large number of red meat products is because these meats are high in cholesterol and the body produces its own cholesterol. Cholesterol is found in our hormones and in bile acids for digestion purposes. When cholesterol is deposited into the body from the food we eat, the ch olesterol goes into the arteries that could result in a blockage of the arteries. The coronary arteries narrow with high cholesterol foods. A person can develop angina, or result in a heart attack. Foods we can eat to maintain a healthy body have carbohydrates low in total fat, non-dairy products, soy products, skinless chicken, fish e. g. salmon, cod, trout, and nuts. There are benefits to eating these types of foods. Eating these types will provide the body with the nutrients the body needs to stay healthy. Carbohydrates low in fat, reduce the amount of starch the body will absorb. These starches found in carbohydrates turn into certain sugars once it passes through the digestion track. Too much sugar in the body can be filtered into the blood. If there is a family history of diabetes, I would suggest being mindful of products purchased high in carbohydrate and sugars. This is why it is recommended to purchase products low in carbohydrates because as the body ages it unable to breakdown these products as effectively as it did when the body was younger. As the body ages, the body loses certain hormones that are not reproduced therefore compromising overall health. Sugars are measured with a glycemic index (GI). The glycemic index measures how fast carbohydrates are digested when it enters the bloodstream which raises the blood-sugar levels in the body. When foods with a low glycemic index enter the bloodstream the insulin trigger is slower contributing to a steadier blood sugar level. When foods have a higher glycemic index entering the blood stream quickly, it causes the insulin to respond more quickly resulting in large blood sugar swings. This is why it is so important to balance carbohydrates each meal since the effect of one food offsets the other, and all foods turn into sugars to fuel the body. Non-dairy products are recommended in practicing good choices for healthy eating. There are a couple of good reasons for purchasing non-dairy products. Non-dairy products are low fats. Non-dairy products provide the body with the benefit of getting some extra protein in the diet. An additional good product to include when making good quality choices for healthy eating is soy. There are many benefits for including soy in a daily diet routine. Soy is high in protein. Soy can be substituted for red meat. Soy comes in a variety of forms. Soymilk is a non-dairy product. Soy products can be purchased in hamburger, hot dog, sausage, bacon, buffalo wing and host of other forms. It is possible to find soy products in a grocery store. There are many different brand names to choose from. In some studies, soy has been known to reduce hot flashes in women during menopause. Soy products can be used with hormone replacement therapy. Skinless chicken is another product that is beneficial for healthy eating. Chicken also provides the body with protein. Removing the skin from the chicken is important for a couple of reasons. One reason for removing the skin is, so the body does not absorb all the fat that is stored in the skin. The fat from the skin contains and holds toxins that are not good for the body. These same fats produce starches and sugars in that could aid in blockages in the arteries over time. By simply removing the skin from the chicken that is one step forward in practicing good eating habits. Fish alone is good for the body. Fish has certain oils that aids in the production of a healthy heart alone with providing the body with good saturated fatty oils. If fish is not a favorite to eat, a supplement of fish oil caplets or pills can be included in a daily diet routine. Nuts are also an enormous source of nutrition with any diet plan. Nuts are an excellent source of protein, minerals and other nutrients found beneficial to the heart. According to the FDA in July, 2003, it is suggested that eating 1. 5 ounces of some nuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. Six of the healthiest nuts to choose from are: walnuts that contain the antioxidant compound ellagic acid, which is known to fight cancer and support the immune system; almonds are rich in potassium, manganese, copper, the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium, and calcium. Just a quarter cup of almonds contains as much calcium as a quarter cup of milk. Cashews are lower in fat that other nuts and 90 % of the fat found in cashews is oleic acid, the heart-healthy fat found in olive oil. Eating three quarters a cup of pecans can help lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and help clear the arteries. Brazil nuts are rich in selenium which may help with breast cancer. Macadamia nuts are also a good source of protein, fiber, healthy monounsaturated fats, potassium and magnesium. These nuts are also shown to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) just as the pecans do. As with all daily routine diets, a good multivitamin is recommended. Even though this meal plan is a good choice for healthy eating, a multivitamin can be used in conjunction to maximize the benefits of healthy eating. There are a variety of multivitamins to choose from. Choose the multivitamin that best fits the body and lifestyle. Vitamins come in a host of categories. Vitamins can be purchased depending on the age of a person and other factors. For younger adults who are very active, a multivitamin choice may be a multivitamin with a higher percentage of B6 and B12 for energy. For older adults with a calcium deficiency a multivitamin high in calcium would be a good choice. Whatever the need, there is multivitamin suited for the body and all lifestyles. To ensure that the multivitamin being purchased is tailored for the body and lifestyle, check with a doctor or pharmacist for help in choosing a good multivitamin. Therefore, by following a basic guideline for healthy eating, the benefits of feeling better will be greater, and there will be fewer trips to the doctor’s office and a reduction in diseases and illnesses. A better quality of life can be enjoyed with a healthy diet and exercise. References Kemp, J (2001). Preventing and Healing heart disease. Healthy guide. org. Retrieved 01-07, 2009, from http://www. helpguide. org/life/healthy_eating_diet. htm Bray, G (1988). Partnership for a Healthy Management. Obesity Part 1 Pathogenesis, 149, Retrieved 01-07-2009, from http://www. consumer. gov/weightloss/bmi. htm Dorsey, J (2001). Diabetes diet and Nutrition. Healthy guide. org. Retrieved 01-07, 2009, from http://www. helpguide. org/life/healthy_eating_diet. htm. Segal, J (2001). Healthy Eating: Tips for a healthy diet. Healthy guide. org. Retrieved 01-07, 2009, from http://www. helpguide. org/life/healthy_eating_diet. htm Willett, W (1988). Eat. Drink, and be Healthy. 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