Constitution vs Articles of Confederation Essay

As one of the creators of the new Constitution of 1788, you are chosen to present its strengths as compared to the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. What areas of importance will you stress in attempting to get it passed unanimously? Give good well-reasoned arguments in a report of approximately 400 words. You will need to research the details of each document, using resources from the library, the Internet, or other sources. Be sure to use proper spelling and grammar. Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation were a written agreement, ratified by the thirteen original states of the United States of America, which laid the guidelines as to how the US government was supposed to function. Sometimes, simply referred to as Articles, this agreement was created in November 1777, and ratified by the 13 original states in March 1781. Within a few years of its ratification, it was subjected to severe criticism by the Founding Fathers of the United States. Eventually, it was decided that this agreement had to be revised to suit the needs of the nation as a whole. In May 1787, delegates from the 13 states met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. However, in course of convention all the delegation members came to a mutual conclusion that rewriting the entire Constitution was better than revising the existing Articles of the Confederation. The US Constitution The US Constitution, which is considered to be the supreme law in the United States of America today, is an agreement which provides the guidelines for the organization of the United States government, i.e. the federal government, and its relationship with various states and citizens of the country. Basically, the numerous problems with the Articles laid the foundation for a new constitution. When the delegates from all the thirteen  states met to revise the Articles of Confederation, they came to a mutual conclusion that drafting a new constitution was much viable option than revising the existing one which was full of problems. The delegates involved in the Philadelphia Convention, where the new US Constitution was drafted, included some of the prominent names of the American history including James Madison, George Washington, William Pierce and Benjamin Franklin. Articles of Confederation vs. the US Constitution If you try to compare the Articles with the new Constitution, you realize that the former was full of drawbacks, while the latter had answers to all these drawbacks. The Articles was subjected to severe criticism for the very fact that it centralized all the powers in the hands of state government, and left the national government with no major powers at all. As opposed to the unicameral system which was facilitated by the Articles of Confederation, the US Constitution introduced the bicameral system of governance, which was divided into the upper house and lower house. Yet another difference between the two was pertaining to the number of votes each state had. While the Articles had a provision of one vote for every single state irrespective of its size, the US Constitution had the provision of one vote per representative or senator. Similarly, the new Constitution also made provision for executive and judiciary branches of the government, something which the Articles of Confederation didn’t facilitate. When the Articles were the supreme law of the land, the national government required approval from 9 of the total 13 states to pass new laws. This was also changed in the new Constitution wherein approval of more than half of the total nominees of the states is enough to pass new laws. In order to amend the constitution, the national government required unanimous approval from all the 13 states. As per the new law though, the number was changed and only 2/3rd of the both houses and 3/4th of state legislatures was enough to amend the Constitution. This made the task of amending very easy, and the 27 amendments to the US Constitution highlight this very fact very well. The federal courts were not in picture when the Articles of Confederation was the supreme law. But when the US Constitution was introduced, it did feature provision for federal courts, which were assigned the responsibility of resolving disputes between the citizens as well as the states. While the Articles didn’t give the national government the right to levy taxes on its citizens, the Constitution did give the federal government the powers to do so. Similarly, the federal government required approval from the states to raise an army as per the stipulations of the Articles. According to the Constitution, on the other hand, the federal government has the right to raise an army to deal with conflict situations. The Articles didn’t allow any interference on the part of the federal government in terms of regulation of trade and commerce, but the US Constitution gave the federal government the right to control trade and commerce at the international level as well as the int er-state level. The new Constitution was drafted because the Articles of Confederation, which preceded it, didn’t live up to the expectations. The states were undoubtedly happy as they were in command, with the national government having no enforcing authority whatsoever, but this left the United States of America in a state of chaos – with each state coming up with its own laws. With all this chaos, the US Constitution was surely the need of the hour.

External analysis soffee culture Essay

1.0 Introduction: – For an organization to survive and grow, they must have strong build strategy. Strategy is defined as a tool to assist organizations to achieve its long-term goals Hubbard, Rice & Beamish (2010). These goals are the prime reason for an organization to exist and strategies are developed to achieve these goals. Fig. 1.1- ESC model for strategy development Hubbard, Pocknee and Taylor’s (1996), explains the strategy making process via ESC model. Fig 1.1 shows the ESC (Environment, Strategy & Capabilities) model to describe the strategy making process for an organization. Strategies are made keeping a number of factors in consideration. Environment stands for Macro and industry based environment and factors that effect the operation of an organization. Environment is discussed more in detail in later part of this report. Business strategies are made considering the interest of stakeholders, company’s mission and value statement and values of the organizations. Capabilities for an organization are their resources, staff, economy of working and systems available for an organization to work in. This section is also discussed in details in this report. Also, to make effective strategies companies need to generate and gather information, analyze that information, process and implement those chosen strategies. Hubbard, Rice & Beamish (2010) explains that final part of strategy implementation is to review and monitor the strategies to find the gaps in results and fill those gaps accordingly to improve company performance. 2.0. Macro Environment Analysis Hubbard, Rice, Beamish (2010), explains that all the factors outside the organization that effect the business are studied under external environment analysis. These factors effect the strategy formulations, vision and mission planning and future organizational business. Environment analysis comprises of two major elements i.e. Macro environment analysis and Industry environment. Macro environment includes all the broad forces that surround and effect the organization and are as follows:- 2.1 Economic Dimension:- Economic dimension of an organization is the overall financial condition of the economy where organization is operating. Most important economic factors for an organization is GDP, inflation rates, exchange rates, taxation rates and wages rates. These factors define the economic dimension of an organization. Example: – Starbucks business in US during Global Financial Crisis During GFC, Starbucks was forced to pay more for its resources and to cover these additional expenses; company was forced to increase its product prices. But with the rise in interest rates and less borrowing/spending power of customers in the market, Starbucks had no option other than bearing the costs itself without increasing the prices. This additional burden forced Starbucks to close 600 stores in July 2008 (page 151, Howard Schultz, 2011). This example clearly explains the effect of Economic conditions on an organization when low purchasing power of customers lead to less demand and its effect on an organization. 2.2 Political/Legal Dimension: – This refers to the government regulations of business and its general effect, relationship with it. Its important for an organization as it defines what the organization can do and what they cannot. Customs, policies, regulations of a particular country affects the business of a international organization. 2.3 Technological Dimension: – This factor defines the resources available to operate its business in a country. It defined how an organization can convert its resources into products and services. Technology is applied with the discretion of the organization but its availability and form depends on the general environment. 2.4 Socio cultural: – Socio cultural dimensions include the culture, social effect and trends, customs, values and demographic patterns and trends in a particular demographic area. This includes the patterns people are used to and defined the future for the company with respect to its products. Example: – Starbucks in planning to expand its business in Asian countries and is planning to change 5000 year old tea-drinking culture into coffee culture (Ed Liston, 2011). Asian countries have a strong culture of consuming tea and have significant medicinal beliefs as well. Starbucks is planning to expand its business in these countries directly challenging the socio cultural dimension (page 296-305, Howard Schultz, 2011). This strategy can have mixed effects on the business. It’s a direct competition between old traditional beliefs and habits v/s young coffee drinking generation. There are no significant results available on the topic, but will be an interesting topic to work. This strategy can affect Starbucks business dramatically. 2.5 Sustainability: – It’s a new trend mostly visible in developed countries to develop sustainable business practices to address environmental issues. Companies are expected to follow guidelines, to develop their sustainable image. This includes fair work practices, focus towards general environmental damages, deforestation, ecological concerns etc. Example: – Starbucks fostering Sustainability Starbucks tag their stores as green and try to design the stores with recyclable products, reused cabinets, natural colors, and efficient lights. Company’s agricultural methods are organic, using no petrochemical based fertilizers and insecticides, and they are beneficial to the environment and water (page 317-321, Howard Schultz, 2011). Starbucks also offers 10% discount if customers bring their own coffee mugs (page 161-165, Howard Schultz, 2011). Starbucks has been busy promoting their environment involvement by developing new environmental strategies and by minimizing their carbon footprint (Starbucks Website). 3.0 Industry Analysis/ Porter’s five forces Analysis: – Fig. 1.3 – Porter’s Five Forces Model Industry analysis is used to determine the factors that influence the profitability of an organization. As shown in fig 1.3, industry analysis consists of five main forces. Porter (2008) describes these forces as the main drivers of profitability for an organization Fig 1.3. 3.1 Competitors/ Threat of new entrants: – For an organization, competitors are those individuals or groups that can reduce the revenue or can share the revenue. New or existing organizations that compete for their business, survival and growth are termed as competitors. It can be from existing market players or new entrants to the market. Mostly organizations compete for customers, revenue but competition can also be for the resources as labor/staff, new technology or patents to ensure future revenue growth. 3.2 Suppliers: – In a producing industry, suppliers play an important role by providing resources to an industry to offer services/products to the customers. This depends on the industry-supplier relationship. If suppliers are strong, they can offer resources at a higher price to get the profit share in the organization and vice versa. Thus, in a industry its very important to have consistent and reliable suppliers. Example: – Starbucks coffee bean suppliers Starbuck buys its coffee from East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Starbucks has its approved suppliers list and to be part of that list, suppliers have to undergo a series of tests and pass some checklists. Once Starbucks approves their supplier, the company helps the suppliers to grow coffee sustainably (page 317-318, Howard Schultz, 2011). Starbucks helps their suppliers by providing knowledge, help, funds and trainings. This helps to develop the strong relationship with the suppliers and also ensures the quality of the harvest. Thus in this case both suppliers and the industry are in win-win situation. 3.3 Bargaining power of buyers: – Porter (2008) explains that if the buying power of buyer is strong, that implies that the buyer has more options to choose from and the industry has more competition. 3.4 Substitutes: – Porter (2008) explains that if the products/services of different business or company can satisfy the needs of the customers, depicts that there is a substitute available to the customers. It leads to the competition in terms of price, quality and added values to the products. 3.5 Industry Rivalry: – In a traditional economic model, if there is rivalry among the organizations in the industry, then it drives profits to zero. But there is not perfect competition and in this case companies thrive to take competitive edge over other companies. A firm can switch costs, reduce product cost, increase add on values, offer better customers service to gain the competitive edge. Example: – Starbucks competitive edge Starbucks markets their sustainable and green approach towards environment (page 147-148 & 317-318, Howard Schultz, 2011). In this modern era, with more educated groups emerging, Starbucks is attracting more educated customers. With its initiative towards green earth and working for environmental issues, customers are supporting the brand and thus Starbucks is earning reputation and revenues. The above-mentioned example is in relation with Philip Kotler’s (2001), strategy of Marketing and is proving worth full for Starbucks. 4.0 Resources, Capabilities and Creation Of Values Fig. 1.4- Resource, Capabilities and Creation of Value According to resource-based view to develop the competitive advantage over other companies, organization must have resources and capabilities that are the best in the market. In fig. 1.4, Hubbard, Rice & Beamish (2010), explains that for an organizations there are four necessary conditions to pioneer the market. These conditions are outlined as below: – 4.1 Resources: – Resources are the main factor that decides the organization’s future. Hubbard, Rice & Beamish (2010), have used VRIO/VRINE model to describe these resources better and resources must be: – Valuable: – Organization should monitor the market and its customers carefully and must have the resources to deliver the value to the customer. Customer needs are volatile in nature and keep changing, thus organizations must enhance and upgrade their resources according to the demand. Rare: – Resources of an organization should be rare and hard to imitate by the competitors. These rare resources provide a competitive edge to the organization and must be scarce to some degree of demand in the market. Inimitable: – Resources should not be easily inimitable, and should be sophisticated to imitate. It’s hard to keep inimitable resources in technological sector as long as the technology is a patent. Non-Substitutable: – Resources should be non substitutable, i.e. there cannot be any substitute to the particular resource. Organized: – Resources of an organization should be arranged and organized according to their requirement. They should be readily available when and where required and should be properly deployed as per requirement to deliver the best quality to the customers. Exploitable: – Resources should be readily accessible and available to different sectors across the organization to transform them to add value to the customers. Capabilities: – Capabilities stand for the organization’s ability to convert the available resources to customer value. It’s the ability of an organization to utilize its resources in an efficient manner. Organizations should have dynamic capabilities so that they can manage their knowledge, learn from them and also brings out new innovations as per requirement. Example: – Starbucks Logistics Chain: – As mentioned above Starbucks gets its coffee beans from East Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Different regions specialize in different blend of coffee. A perfect coffee is not just a single origin, but is a mix of different beans. Starbucks has the capability to gather beans from different regions and make a perfect blend to deliver across all its stores worldwide. Its not easy to document this capability and thus not easily imitable. This is a competitive edge that Starbuck has over its competitors to pick, mix and deliver the beans faster than any other competitor in the market. Organizations should monitor and review their operations to check the purpose of the operation. Capabilities should be valuable to the customers, they should be rare, and difficult to imitate by competitors, specific to the organization and should be better than the competitors in the market. In order to manage the capabilities organizations should exercise their capabilities across their business. These above discussed conditions should work in closely coordinated manner to develop a competitive edge over its customers and should bring better value for the customers. For example Starbucks have strong inbound logistics that in relation to Porter’s value creating activity is a competitive edge to create customer value. 5.0 Bibliography: – Hubbard, Pocknee and Taylor’s (1996), â€Å"Practical Australian Strategy†, Ch. 5, Prentice Hall Australia, Sydney. Hubbard, G. & Beamish, P. (2011). â€Å"Strategic management: Thinking, analysis and action†, 4th ed., Pearson Education: Australia. Hubbard, Rice, & Beamish, (2011), â€Å" Strategic Management: Thinking, Analysis and Action†, 4th ed., Pearson Education, Australia. Michael E. Porter (2008), â€Å"The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy†, Harvard Business Review, p.86-104, Harvard Business Publication, Boston, USA. Ed Liston (2011), â€Å" What is more popular: Coffee or Tea†, Blog on www. Stockriters. Com, Viewed on 05th Jan’12. Kotler Philip (2001),† A Framework for Marketing Management†, Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1997, Pearson Education Company, New Jersey, USA. Starbucks website viewed on 4th Jan’12, http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/business/news-starbucks-contribution-sustainability. Howard Schultz & Joanne Gordon (2011), â€Å"Onwards: How Starbucks Fought for its life without losing its soul†, John Willey & Sons, United Kingdom.

Radiobiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Radiobiology - Essay Example The smallest structural and functional component of protoplasm that can exist freely is the cell (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 485). It is just necessary to study the effects of radiation at the cellular level to truly understand the factors that affect biological tissues. Cells are of two types - somatic cells and germ cells. Of these somatic cells have three subtypes - stem cells (cells that generate other cells through differentiation), transit cells (cells that are in the state of being transformed from one type of cell to another) and mature cells (cells that are fully differentiated and are relatively stable in that state) (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 487). Somatic cells proliferate through two well-defined time periods - mitosis (M), when cell division takes place while maintaining the species chromosome number; and the period of DNA synthesis (S). (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 487). Before S, there is a gap (rest period) when DNA is not yet synthesized. After S there i s another gap (when DNA is synthesized but other metabolic processes are taking place). After M takes place. Thus, the cell proliferation cycle is - S M. In time this whole process is - (1-8h) S (6-8h) (2-4h) M (>1h) (h = hours). Thus, the entire cell proliferation cycle can take between 10 to 20 hrs (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 487). When there is death among non-prol... 487). It is notable that cells are the most vulnerable to radiation (radiosensitive) in the M and phases while they are the most resistant in the late S phase (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 487). When there is death among non-proliferating cells (static) there is said to be loss of a specific bodily function while death of proliferating cells such as stem cells and others are taken to be loss of reproductive integrity (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 487). In cases where a certain radiation-damaged cell survives and begins to proliferate indefinitely it is termed as a 'clonogenic' cell (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 487) with changed cellular characteristics (the change is to the DNA components of the cell). Radiation Characteristics: When cells are exposed to radiation the usual physical effects of the radiation on the atoms and molecules of the cells is immediate. Effects on biological function may follow later. Radiation effects on biological function are most pronounced when there is structural damage to DNA - the most critical target within cells (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 488). It is obvious that some physical factor defines the quality of the ionizing radiation beam that may damage biological tissue. In radiobiology and radiation protection this physical factor is the 'linear energy transfer (LET). According to the ICRU it may be defined as - "LET of charged particles in a medium is the quotient dE/dl, where dE is the average energy locally imparted to the medium by a charged particle of specified energy in traversing a distance of dl." (Suntharalingam et al, 2005, p. 486) Thus, the impact that radiated packets may have with the atoms and molecules of the biological tissues is not as important as the

David Hume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

David Hume - Essay Example David argues that experience can never lead to knowledge. He asserts that some vital beliefs about our world can never be justified either by experience or by reason. For Hume, people assume that experience tells them something regarding the world because of the habit or custom that human nature forces them to take seriously. However, he believed that humans do have knowledge only of the things they directly experience. Hume reveals that experience never tell us much. Considering event A and B, we assert that A causes B whenever the two occur together, implying they are constantly conjoined. Whenever we obtain A, we also obtain B, and we are certain that this conjunction will carry on. Once people realize that â€Å"A should bring about B† is equivalent simply to â€Å"Due to their stable conjunction, people are psychologically sure that B will go after A†, then they are left with an extremely weak idea of necessity. This weak grasp on the causal efficacy assists give rise to problem of Induction; people are not logically justified in drawing any inductive inference regarding the world. Amid Hume scholars it`s a subject of debate how sincerely Hume wants us to take up this conclusion and also whether causation comprises wholly in constant conjunction. Another theory of David’s influential causal arguments is the problem of induction. This is a skeptical argument which utilizes David’s insights regarding experience limiting individuals` causal knowledge to the constant conjunction (Cahalan 52). Though David offers a quick version of this principle in the center of his discussion of the causation in Treatise (T 1.3.6), it`s illustrated out more clearly inside Section IV of Enquiry. A prominent argument, its skeptical conclusions have caused a drastic effect on the epistemology field. However, it`s worth noting that not

The Impact of Advertisement on Children Research Paper

The Impact of Advertisement on Children - Research Paper Example This essay "The Impact of Advertisement on Children" describes the negative effects of TV advertisement on children health and behavioral patterns as well as the family economy. According to the recent research children are most influenced by food promotion. Moreover, food companies have the most powerful advertising campaigns. One of the major negative impacts of advertising on children is eating habits change due to numerous junk food commercials (Quereshi et al., 2). Most companies advertise food with increased amount of fats, calories, and salt. Numerous sugared drinks, unhealthy snacks, chips, and sweets are promoted products on TV and the Internet. Even cereals which are advertised as useful have increased amount of sugar (Quereshi et al., 2). Kids who are influenced by TV commercials have wrong perception of healthy portion sizes because people on the screen often eat enormous portions. That is why children who watch TV advertisements regularly have distorted eating habits. Te enagers are also affected by TV commercials, although they know the difference between healthy and unhealthy food they usually choose products that are more desirable. It is problematic that eating habits formed in early childhood most likely to remain for the rest of life. Nevertheless, family eating patterns and dietary preferences are estimated to have more influence on children that TV commercials (Quereshi et al., 4). TV is proved to be connected to increase of obesity and overweight in children.

The Betterment of the Whole Organization than Individual Effort Essay

The Betterment of the Whole Organization than Individual Effort - Essay Example Ethics specifically deal with moral issues as described above and they often derive from the values of the people in the organization or a particular group. Basically, values are described as the â€Å"essential and enduring tenets† that distinguish a certain company from the others and they are â€Å"not to be compromised for financial gain or short term expediency,† (DesJardins, 2006, p. 5). The values of the company spell its core ethical framework which should not be compromised for financial gain. Essentially, each business should strive to create a fine balance between its profit-oriented goals as well as the interests of the stakeholders. It is important for our company to take into account the stakeholder approach in its operations which states that it should be accountable for its activities to all the people affected by its operations (Rossow, 2004). I realised that as a company, we were more concerned about our own interests. More so, I later realised other e mployees were also involved in this practice and they even advised me to follow suit but my conscience would not allow me to behave like that. I had a strong ethical background from the knowledge I gained from my classes. I was closer to reality since I was working in the sales department and was aware of the real situation obtaining on the ground. Therefore, I was in a position to give meaningful advice to the top management in the company but I was scared of approaching them over the issue. An element of fear poses an ethical dilemma since she should be in a position to freely interact with the management as well as updating them about what ought to be done in the company so that it can improve its performance.

Alden, Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Alden, Inc - Case Study Example Presenting a receiving report to the supplies is important I an organization to acknowledge receipt of the materials to avoid challenges with supply. The control procedures for the above problems include passing a policy for the removal of materials from the store room only under written authorization and recording of the amount and value of the materials retrieved. Keeping a perpetual inventory system is the other procedure to solve the problems at Alden. This will allow tracking o material usage at Alden for the company to be able to forecast sales and making demand forecasts to avoid losses from shortages and reduce theft. Sending receipt reports to the supplies and checking on quantity and quality needs to ensure the supplies meet the specification of the company. An Integrated Enterprise Resource Planning system can be used to solve the above weaknesses through the development of bill of materials by the ERP system when supplies are made, developing a perpetual inventory system in the ERP system through entering inventory levels, addition, and withdrawals from the store to get the inventory at a given time (Hamilton, 2003). This will allow the ERP system to make forecasts on the usage of the materials and ensure the ERP system requiring the consent of authorized staff to make withdrawals from the store. The ERP system can also be used to make vouchering, matching, and payment of the supplies. An ERP system will also track order processing in terms of order entry, credit checking, inventory, shipping analysis, pricing among different supplies to get the best bargain, supplier scheduling and warehousing (Hamilton,

International business (Discussion Board) Assignment - 2

International business (Discussion Board) - Assignment Example According to Lamy, it is also important that the free trade agreements allow the developing countries to import what they are not good ad producing on their own. Allowing countries to trade at what they are not good at will effectively help the development of the countries. These countries can trade what they have for what they do not have, this means carrying out some kind of barter trade. Currently, the revenue these developing countries earn is spent on developing infrastructure such as roads and electricity production. They also offer their citizens social amenities such as educational and medical services. If they are allowed to trade for what they do not have, it will ease the burden on the governments’ shoulder. The governments would essentially trade for goods such as automated machineries for different production industries such as car manufacturing industries. The result will be further increase in their GDP and less dependence on foreign

Women in Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Women in - Essay Example In 1932 Woolf wrote her own innovative tome: â€Å"The Pargiter An article based upon a essay thesis interpreted to the public civilization for women’s service.† This work was available by 1937. The treatise written at this juncture ponders on that Victorian phantom also identified as the â€Å"seraph in the domicile† (scrounged from Coventry Patmore’s couplet celebrating domestic bliss). Namely, this is an altruistic, forfeitable lady in the nineteenth era whose solitary principle in life was to pacify, to compliment, and to console the men of the planet. Virginia Woolf next wrote, â€Å"Killing the Angel in the House,† This book featured betrothed in a lethal clash for mutual and monetary parity. When her secretary requested Virginia Woolf disembark, she was enlightened that her culture was bothered with the service of women. She recommended that she might tell them something regarding her individual proficiency practices. It is factual she is a w oman and also right that she is employed; but what certified skills did she have? This was extremely hard to articulate. Her occupation is writing and with that aim of work there are smaller amount of jobs for women than in any supplementary profession. Many legendary women and numerous unfamiliar women had come before her however; giving her opportunities that weren’t there before. Therefore, when she came to write, there were fewer impediments to her approach than there might have been in past eras. Writing was a decent and risk-free career. The scuff of a pen did not wreck the family serenity. No command was made upon the family incentive. One could purchase a paper costing ten and six pence that was sufficient to inscribe all the plays of Shakespeare. Pianos and models, Paris, Vienna and Berlin, masters and mistresses, were not necessities by a writer. The shoddiness of inscribing a paper was obviously

Game theory about north Korea Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Game theory about north Korea - Research Paper Example With North Korea’s (DPRK) both allies, the Soviet Union and China, recognizing the ROK government, DPRK expected similar recognition from ROK’s allies, the US and Japan, which was not granted, thereby leaving DPRK the only remaining Stalinist regime with only China backing it. Diplomatically isolated and economically down, DPRK saw the necessity to engage with the US – the nuclear umbrella of South Korea (Kim, 1998, p. 12-13), by extraordinarily exploiting its nuclear issue to gain US attention and diplomatic engagement in the 1990s (Barry, 1998, p. 95; Kim, 1998, p. 12), as North Korea sees the US’s recognition of DPRK as an independent state strategic to improve North Korea’s diplomatic and economic external relations and to allow it to obtain trade, aid and investments it badly needed to subsist and progress, yet defying US values to get into the north (Barry, 1998, p. 106). If conventional wisdom maintains that today, deterrence is the sole legitimate purpose of having nuclear weapons (Dadley & Martin, 2009, par. 3), the possession of nuclear weapons in poor states such as Iraq, North Korea, Pakistan, India, and Israel on the other hand is being utilized to define and empower the state (Bracken, 2003, sec. 2, par. 4). For example, â€Å"North Korea seeks nuclear weapons as part of a philosophy of self-reliance and a search for respect† (Bracken, 2003, sec. 2, par. 7). Thus, for North Korea†¦ possession of nuclear weapons is a diplomatic tool for seeking direct negotiations with the US† (Haruki, 2006, sec. 2, par. 5). Having lost the nuclear umbrella, it must have decided that nuclear weapons would have to constitute the pillar of national defense. Nuclear weapons, which would be aimed at South Korea, were seen as indispensable to make up for the inability to maintain the balance in conventional weapons due to economic collapse. When North Korea blocked the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and then withdrew from the Nuclear

E. Major Issues and Concerns Essay Example for Free

E. Major Issues and Concerns Essay Our world is richer than ever before, but it is also marked by enormous inequalities, both within and between countries. The average annual income of someone living in the world’s richest country, Luxembourg, is more than one hundred times larger than that of the average citizen of Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest. Such huge differences in living standards should be a matter of great concern, because they reflect serious inequalities in life opportunities. This calls for a robust policy response at both the national and international levels, so that all countries can achieve the Millennium Development Goals and other agreed development objectives (United Nations, Economic and Social Development Affairs, â€Å"2006† iii) . The process of globalization has not yet closed the income gap between poor and rich countries. On the contrary, the way in which world markets operate has been an important contributing factor to the rise in global income inequality. Richer countries, for instance, tend to have preferential access to capital markets, to attract more foreign direct investment, and to be more resilient than poorer countries in responding to shifts in global commodity markets. Efforts to reduce global inequality can promote growth and stability, and can help avert economic and social crises and even political instability. Part of the observed growth divergence is attributable to gaps in public investment in, and spending on, infrastructure and human development in these countries. Investments in infrastructure and human capital are necessary for growth. i) The need for improved infrastructure An adequate level of infrastructure is a necessary condition for the productivity of firms. It is difficult to imagine an economy without telephones, electricity or a road network. By its very nature, infrastructure is characterized by indivisibilities and countries will need to build up a threshold or minimum level of infrastructure (say, a minimum network of roads) to make a difference for economy-wide productivity growth. To reach that threshold, countries will need to sustain substantial public investment levels over prolonged periods of time. The failure to do so explains partly why Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa have fallen behind the East Asian countries that have sustained infrastructural investment. East Asian economies invested more in the quality and coverage of physical infrastructure. In sharp contrast, Latin American countries have witnessed a decline in infrastructural investment since the 1980s as a result of increased fiscal austerity. This has led to significant differences in the quality and availability of infrastructure. Since the 1960s, the road density in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa has barely increased, while it has tripled in East Asia. Also, the availability of telephone lines in East Asia is twice as great as that in Latin America and 10 times greater than in sub-Saharan Africa. The empirical evidence indicates that lagging infrastructural development could account for as much as one third of the widening income differentials between East Asian and Latin American countries during the 1980s and 1990s. ii) Human development Some empirical studies suggest that developing countries could catch up with the developed world if only they attained increased levels of human development. The links between growth and human development are complex, however. There are large disparities in indicators of human well-being, such as life expectancy and educational attainment. However, the world has seen more convergence among countries in terms of improvements in health and education outcomes than in terms of improvements in per capita incomes. The evidence in this report indicates that countries with a successful economic growth performance all had relatively high levels of human development at the beginning of their sustained growth process and showed substantial improvements in education and health as average incomes improved. Conversely, however, not all countries with relatively higher levels of human development managed to achieve high long-term economic growth rates. Human development is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for sustained economic growth. Lifting other constraints on economic growth and structural change will be necessary to create opportunities for a better-educated population. The dynamic creation of decent and productive employment is the crucial link in this regard. Recently President Bush unveiled a broad proposal to boost US economic competitiveness by injecting more than 136 billion dollars into research and education over the next decade. The programme would promote the private-sector investment in innovation and strive to make US children better in mathematics and science. The initiative is aimed at strengthening US economic leadership in the face of growing competition from countries like China and India. The President said that â€Å"The American economy is pre-eminent — but we cannot afford to be complacent,† (CNN). In fact, no economy can afford to be complacent when it comes to supporting the fundamental cause of education and human development.

Classification According To Maturity Biology Essay

Classification According To Maturity Biology Essay INTRODUCTION The human eye is very nearly spherical, with a diameter of approximately 24 mm (nearly one inch). It consists of three concentric layers, each with its own characteristic appearance, structure and functions. From outermost to innermost, the three layers are the sclera, which protects the eyeball; the choroid, which nourishes the eyeball; and the retina, which detects light and initiates neural messages bound for the brain. The eye is partitioned into two chambers, a small anterior chamber and a larger vitreous chamber. Thus the basic layout consists of three concentric layers, two chambers, iris, pupil and the lens (Ross and wilson, 2001). Fig.1 Anatomy of the eye C:UsersDHINESHDesktopUntitled1.png The Lens One of very important optical element of the eye, the crystalline lens, lies right behind the iris. The lens takes its name from its resemblance to a lentil, or bean. In adults, the lens is shaped about 9 mm in diameter and 4 mm in thickness. The lens consists of three distinct parts: an elastic covering, or capsule; an epithelial layer just inside the capsule; and the lens itself. The thin, elastic capsule around the lens has two jobs. First, it moderates the flow of aqueous humor into the lens, helping the lens retain its transparency to light. Second, the elastic capsule moulds the shape of the lens varying its flatness and, thereby, the lens optical power. This variant in optical power is called accommodation. Lens grows throughout the life span; the outer, epithelial layer of lens continues to produce protein fibres that are added to the surface of the lens. Consequently, those protein fibres nearest the centre of the lens are the oldest (some were present at birth), whereas the fibres on the outside are the youngest. Between birth and 90 years of age, the lens quadruples in thickness and attains a weight of 250 mg. In the centre of the lens, the old fibres become more densely packed, producing sclerosis, or hardening, of the lens (Paterson, 1979). For good vision, the lens must be transparent and light must be able to pass through it easily, without loss or deviation. Like the cornea, this transparency depends on the material out of which the lens is made. Of all the bodys parts, the lens has the highest percentage of protein, and its protein fibres are lined up parallel to one another, maximizing the lens transparency to light. Anything that disturbs this alignment such as excess fluid inside the lens reduces its transparency. An opacity (or reduced transparency) of the lens is called a cataract. While some cataracts are minor, barely reducing the transmission of light, others undermine vision to the extent of blindness (Kyselova, 2004). Cataract Cataract is the opacification and crystalline formation of eye lens, associated with the breakdown of the eye lens micro-architecture, which interferes with the transmission of light onto the retina. Several biochemical processes for example, calcium deposition, oxidative stress, phase transition, altered epithelial metabolism, crystalline precipitation, calpain-induced proteolysis and cytoskeletal loss takes place during the development of cataract (Moghaddam, 2005). Fig.2 Normal, clear lens Fig.3 Lens clouded by cataract C:UsersDHINESHDesktopUntitled.png Fig.4 Etiology of cataract (Jacob, 1999) C:UsersDHINESHDesktopUntitled.png TYPES OF CATARACT A. Acquired cataract 1. Age related cataract a) Morphological classification i) Subcapsular cataract Anterior subcapsular cataract mainly associated with fibrous metaplasia of the epithelium present below the lens capsule. Posterior subcapsular cataract lies just in front of the posterior capsule and a clear vacuolated, granular or plaque-like appearance. Near vision is also most often impaired more than distant vision. ii) Nuclear cataract usually begins as an amplification of the changes most often seen with normal aging lens nucleus. It is often related with increased spherical aberration and also with an increased refractive index leading to myopia. Some elderly patients may consequently be capable to read yet again without spectacles. iii) Cortical cataract may be associated with the anterior, posterior or equatorial cortex. The opacities begin as clefts and vacuoles between lens fibres because of hydration of the cortex. Both cortical and subcapsular cataracts are white on oblique illumination and show black colouration, silhouetted against the red reflex, on retroillumination. b) Classification according to maturity i) An immature cataract means partially opaque lens. ii) A mature cataract means completely opaque lens. iii) A hypermature cataract means the leakage of water from the lens it leads to wrinkled and shrunken anterior capsule. iv) A morgagnian cataract means the total liquefication of lens cortex like hypermature cataract and it allows the lens nucleus to shrink inferiorly (Hejtmancik, 2004). 2. Presenile cataract Cataract may develop early in the following conditions, a) Diabetes mellitus Typically diabetic cataract is rare. In hyperglycemic conditions, the aqueous humor secretes high level of glucose and this excess of glucose diffuses into the lens. Aldosereductase metabolises glucose to sorbitol, which then accumulates in the lens, resulting in secondary osmotic over hydration of the lens substance. Nuclear opacities are common and tend to grow rapidly. Premature dystrophy may be seen due to decreased pliability of the lens. b) Myotonic dystrophy About 90% of patients, in third decade have fine cortical iridescent opacities, which evolve into visually disabling stellate posterior subcapsular cataract by the fifth decade. c) Atopic dertmatitis About 10% of patients with severe atopic dermatitis develop cataracts in the second to fourth decades. The opacities are often bilateral and may mature quickly. Shield like anterior subcapsular plaque which wrinkles the anterior capsule is characteristic. Posterior subcapsular opacities resembling a complicated cataract may also occur. 3. Traumatic cataract Trauma is the major risk factor for unilateral cataract in individuals. The following risk factors are involved in traumatic cataract, a) Direct penetrating injury to the lens. b) Concussion may cause an imprinting of iris colour on the anterior lens capsule (Vossius ring) as flower shaped cortical opacities (rosette cataract). c) Electric shock and lightening are rare causes. d) Ionizing radiation. e) Infrared radiation- In glassblowers, the IR rays causes exfoliation of the lens capsule which results in thickening of the superficial portion of the capsule and it further splits the deeper layer and protrudes into the anterior chamber. B. Drug induced cataract a) Steroidal drugs may induce cataract. Initially the lens opacities formed in posterior subcapsular region spreads into the anterior region. The relation between dose, duration of administration and the cataract development is unclear. It is understood that children may be more at risk to the cataractogenic effects of systemic steroids and genetic susceptibility may also be of significance. Patients who develop lens physiological changes should have their dose decreased to a minimum, reliable with control of the underlying disease, and if feasible be considered for alternate drug therapy. Premature opacities may regress if therapy is discontinued, alternatively progression may occur despite withdrawn and warrant surgical intervention. b) Chlorpromazine may cause the deposit of innocuous fine, stellate, yellowish brown granules on the anterior lens capsule within the papillary area. The deposition of granular material may accumulate on the corneal endothelium and deep stroma. Both lenticular and corneal deposits are dose -related and irreversible. In very high doses (>2400 mg daily), this drug may cause retinotoxicity. c) Lens opacities may occur due to the irregular use of Busulphan (Myleran) for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia. d) Amiodarone, used in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, causes visually inconsequential anterior subcapsular lens deposits in about 50% of patients on moderate to high doses. e) Gold used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, causes harmless anterior capsular deposits in about 50% of patients on treatment for more than 3 years. f) Allopurinol, used in the treatment of hyperuricaemia and chronic gout, increases the risk of cataract formation in elderly patients, if the cumulative does exceeds 400 g or duration of administration exceeds 3 years. C. Secondary cataract A secondary (complicated) cataract grows as a result of some other primary ocular diseases. i. Chronic anterior uveitis is the main cause of secondary cataract. The earliest finding is a polychromatic lustre at the posterior pole of the lens which may not progress if the uveitis is arrested. If the inflammation persists, posterior and anterior opacities developed may progress to maturity. ii. Acute congestive angle closure glaucoma may cause small grey white anterior, subcapsular or capsular opacities within the papillary area. a. Myopia (Pathological) is linked with posterior subcapsular lens opacities and early-onset nuclear sclerosis, which may ironically increase the myopic refractive error. Simple myopia, however, is not associated with such cataract formation. b. Hereditary dystrophies such as retinitis pigmentosa, gyrate atrophy, leper congenital amaurosis and stickler syndrome may be associated with posterior subcapsular lens opacities. Cataract surgery may occasionally improve visual acuity even in the presence of severe retinal changes (Kanski et al., 2003). Free radicals involved in cataractogenesis Free radicals may be formed either by the reduction of molecules by electron transfer or by the haemolytic cleavage of covalent bond. Both these reactions may be enzymatic or non-enzymatic. Due to the presence of an odd unpaired electron in its outermost orbital, these free radicals are unstable and readily react with neighbourhood molecules and extract electrons from them, converting the attacked molecule into a few radical, which in turn attacks another molecule generating more free radicals and so on. This enables free radicals to induce chain reactions that may be thousands of events long. A free radical reaction is terminated by reaction between two free radicals or neutralization by antioxidants (Uday et al., 1999). Fig.5 Pathways of ROS formation C:UsersDHINESHDesktopUntitled 3.png Generation of free radicals Biological free radicals include reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, reactive sulphur species, free radicals obtained form xenobiotics. a) Superoxide anion radical (O2.-) It is generated from NADPH oxidase and from mitochondria. i) NADPH oxidase is present in the lysosomal cell membranes. It steals electron from O2 resulting in the formation superoxide anion radical (O ·2-). It is converted to hydrogen peroxide and is a spontaneous reaction which is known as respiratory burst. This hydrogen peroxide may react with the chlorine in the presence of myeloperoxidase to form hypochlorous acid or it may produce hydroxyl radicals, by the Fenton reaction which uses the metal ion Fe3+. ii) From Mitochondria: Ubiquionone, which is a terminal acceptor of electron, is converted to semiquinone (free radical). By reacting with O2, it forms (O ·2-) super oxide radical with H2O2, it produce hydroxyl radical ion. b) Hydrogen Peroxide H2O2 SOD It is formed by the dismutation of superoxide by the enzyme superoxide dismutase. O · 2 + O ·2 Hydrogen peroxide is generated from i) Aminoacid oxidases: Flavin is a co-enzyme required for the oxidative deamination of amino acid. The reduced flavin attacks molecular oxygen to form hydrogen peroxide. ii) Xanthine oxidase: Xanthine oxidase catalyses the conversion of hypoxanthine to xanthine and hydrogen peroxide is released from molecular oxygen. iii) Peroxisomes: Peroxisomes is the site of  Ã‚ ¢-oxidation of fatty acids.  Ã‚ ¢- Oxidation of the fatty acids is catalysed by acetyl co-enzyme-A dehydrogenase. During this process, a co-enzyme called FAD which donates two electrons gets reduced to FADH2. Again it is converted to FAD. During that process it gives out O2 and H2O (Kovaceva et al., 2007). c) Hydroperoxyl radical They are highly lipophillic and capable of initiating lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxidation Lipid peroxidation is a self- perpetuating common process and involves the conversion of lipid components from cell organelles into lipid peroxides resulting in the formation of a pigment known as lipofuscin. Lysosomic reactive oxygen species are formed as a result of complex oxidative chain reactions in mitochondria during energy production. H2O2 formed in smaller amounts by mitochondria pass through walls of lysosome and react with Fe (II) in a reaction known as Fenton reaction to form potent hydroxyl radicals which cause lipid peroxidation (Halliwell, 2001). Malondialdehyde is the major reactive aldehyde resulting from the peroxidation of biological membrane polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). MDA, a secondary product of LPO, is used as an indicator of tissue damage by a series of chain reactions. MDA is a by-product of prostaglandin biosynthesis. It reacts with thiobarbituric acid and produces a red-coloured product. MDA is a mutagenic and genotoxic agent that may contribute to d evelopment of human cancer. Ca2+ ATPase The Ca2+ ATPase is a transport protein in the cells that serves to eliminate calcium (Ca2+) from the cell. It is essential for maintaining the amount of Ca2+ within the cells. Based upon the electrochemical gradient calcium ion enter into the cells through the trans membrane. This process is important for the cell signalling by which it lowers calcium level. Thus it is necessary for the cell to utilize ion pumps to remove the Ca2+. The Ca2+ ATPase is expressed in a variety of tissues, together with the brain (Hightower et al., 1982). IN VIVO MODELS IN CATARACT (Gupta, 2004) 1. Sugar cataract i) Galactose induced cataract The changes associated with galactose cataractogenesis include the initial reduction of galactose into dulcitol through intervention of aldose reductase with NADPH as a co-factor. Accumulation of dulcitol in the lens, (since it is not metabolized) creates cellular hypertonicity associated with and/or followed by a cascade of events, which includes an influx of water, swelling of the lens fibres, epithelial cell edema, damage of plasma membrane, compromise of cellular permeability, a drop in myinositol level, a reduction in Na+ K+ ATPase activity an influx of Na+ and Cl- and an efflux of K+ and the loss of glutathione and aminoacids. These are the morphological, biochemical, enzymatic and molecular alterations in the lens associated with galactose cataracts. ii) Alloxan induced cataract Alloxan is a cyclic urea analog which is highly reactive molecule that is readily reduced to dialuric acid, which is then auto oxidized back to alloxan resulting in the formation of hydroxyl radical, O2.-, including H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). However, the other mechanism reveals the ability of alloxan to react with protein sulfhydryl groups on hexokinase, a signal recognition enzyme in the pancreatic ÃŽ ²-cells that couples changes in the blood glucose concentration to the rate of insulin secretion. By this mechanism, inhibition of glucokinase and other SH containing membrane proteins on the ÃŽ ²-cells would eventually result in cell necrosis within minutes. iii) Streptozocin induced cataract Diabetes related cataractogenic changes are seen in the animals injected with streptozocin. This streptozocin initiates cytotoxic action in pancreatic ÃŽ ² cells because sreptozocin contain glucose molecule and highly reactive nitrosourea side chain. It binds to the membrane receptor to generate structural damage. At the intracellular level three major phenomena are responsible for ÃŽ ² cell death, i) Methylation ii) Free radical production iii) Formation of Nitric oxide (NO). The damage caused to ÃŽ ² cells alters the sugar metabolism leading to diabetes. 2. Selenite induced cataract Selenite cataract resembles human cataract in many ways such as insoluble protein, vesicle formation, increased calcium, reduced glutathione (GSH) and decreased water-soluble proteins. However, selenite cataract shows no high molecular weight protein aggregation or increased disulfide formation and is dominated by rapid calpain-induced proteolytic precipitation, while senile cataracts may be produced by prolonged oxidative stress. 3. Naphthalene induced cataract Naphthalene is oxidized in the liver initially to an epoxide and then it converted into naphthalene dihydrodiol. This stable component is converted enzymatically into dihydroxynaphthalene to reaching the eye. Being unstable at physiological pH, 1, 2- dihydroxynaphthalene and spontaneously autooxidises to 1, 2- naphthoquinone and H2O2 . It alkylates proteins, glutathione and aminoacids and generates free radicals. 4. Glucocorticoid induced cataract Glucocorticoid cataract results in the formation of steroid- adduct protein, induction of transglutaminase and reduction of ATPase activity may lead to cataract. Steroid cataracts are produced by the activities of glucocorthicoids and progressed by way of production of oxidative stress similar to other types of cataract. 5. L- Buthionine S, R- Sulfoximine (BSO) induced cataract Glutathione is present in mammalian lens in high concentrations and is involved in the protection of lens against oxidation. In most of the cataracts the decrease in its level is observed. 6. Smoke induced cataract Cigarette smoke contains trace and heavy metals. The increased metal contents in lens cause lens damage by the mechanism of oxidative stress-forming oxygen radicals, via metal catalyzed Fenton Reaction. In other words cigarette smoke is associated with the accumulation of iron and calcium. 7. UV radiation induced cataract Epidemiological studies have exposed a link between exposure to UV radiation in sunlight and development of cataract. Experimental studies confirm that ultraviolet (UV) radiation induces cataract. There is, however, a lack of data on the age dependence in experimental UV radiation-induced cataract. 8. Microwave induced cataract Microwave radiation has been reported to produce posterior subcapsular and cortical cataracts in rabbits and dogs within a short span of time. 9. Transforming Growth Factor ÃŽ ² (TNFB) induced cataract TGFB is induced by injecting approximately 60 ng TGFB into the vitreous. TGFB induce lens epithelial cells to undergo molecular modify and abnormal morphologic that mimic the changes observed in human posterior subcapsular and cortical cataract (Gupta, 2004). IN VITRO MODELS IN CATARACT (Gupta, 2004) Induction of cataract in isolated animal lenses maintained in organ culture has become a convenient, quick and appropriate method for testing the anticataract efficacy of an agent. Opacification of lens is induced by generating oxidative stress/ hyperglycemic/ hypergalactosemic conditions around the lens by supplementing the culture medium with a variety of exogenous substances. 1. Oxidative stress induced cataract Oxidative mechanisms play an important role in many biological phenomena including cataract formation. Formation of the superoxide radical in the aqueous humor, lens and its derivatization to other potent oxidants may be responsible for initiating various toxic biochemical reactions leading to the progress of cataract. In vitro such cataracts are induced by agents like selenium, H2O2, photosensitizers and enzyme xanthine oxidase. 2. Selenite induced cataract In vitro cataract is produced by supplementing the tissue culture medium with 25 to 100 mM sodium selenite in which freshly enucleated transparent rat lenses are incubated at 370C. This causes membrane damage and faint cortical opacities within 24 h. 3. Photochemically induced cataract Riboflavin, a photosensitizer, is supplemented in the culture medium to induce cataract in cultured lenses. Micro quantities (4-200  Ã‚ ­M) of riboflavin lead to severe physiological damage and opacification within 24 h after exposure to light. The initial membrane damage is evidenced by a disturbed cation ratio between lens water and the medium of incubation. Riboflavin on getting photosensitized generates free radicals in a sequence of reactions. Lenses are maintained in organ culture for 24 to 72 h. The lenses are divided into four groups and incubated in the dark and light both in presence and absence of riboflavin. The lenses are exposed to light with two 15-w daylight fluorescent lamp placed at 8 inches above the cluster plate. The culture medium is replaced every 24 h. Riboflavin shows no effect on the lens in the absence of light, and light without riboflavin has no significant effect. opacification starts in the equatorial zone and gradually extends towards the centre of the lens. 4. Enzymatically induced cataract Supplementation of culture medium with 1 mM xanthine and 0.1 unit xanthine oxidase, which act as substrate and enzyme respectively, leads to generation of superoxide radical. The lenses suffer severe oxidative damage and turn opaque within 24 h when incubated in culture medium at 370C. 5. Hydrogen peroxide induced cataract Incubation of lenses in medium containing 50-500  Ã‚ ­M H2O2 and it produce cataract. Opacification starts in the equatorial region within 24 h. The entire superficial cortex becomes opaque by 96 h. Due to the high instability of H2O2, the medium is changed every 2 h during the first eight hours. 6. Sugar induced cataract Transparent and undamaged lenses are incubated in a basis culture medium with fetal calf serum for 24 to 48 h. In the control group the medium is supplemented with glucose (30 mM), lenses develop opacity in the subcapsular region on day 1 and in the central region on day 2. Biochemical analyses reveal raised polyol, malondialdehyde levels and water content, and decreased glutathione levels in these lenses. 7. Steroid induced cataract Steroid-induced experimental cataract is produced in vitro by incubating the transparent lenses in the medium containing methyl prednisolone (1.5 mg/ml). The test agent and methyl prednisolone added alone and together to the medium form drug control, control and treated groups respectively. Early cataract around the equator is produced within 24 h of incubation. Incubation period may be extended to 48 h for dense opacity. Morphological changes and modulation in biochemical parameters between the groups may show the potential of the anticataract agent. 8. Naphthalene induced cataract TC-199 medium is used for the preincubation of lens. Stock solution of napthalene dihydrodiol is prepared in 20% ethanol at 2.5-10-3 M concentration. The stock solution is diluted 1:100 to obtain the final concentration of 25.5 -10-5 M. The final osmolarity of the solution is 295-300 m Osmol. Rat lenses are incubated in TC-199 medium containing napthalene metabolite solution. Medium is renewed daily till 72 h. Lenses remain clear during the initial 24 h but from shell-like opacity around the nucleus by 48 h. Opacification becomes more peripheral and widespread after 72 h. At 48 h, under such conditions of incubation, development of opacity mimics the in vivo napthalene cataract. Naphthalene is oxidized in the liver first to an epoxide and then is altered into naphthalene dihydrodiol. This stable component on reaching the eye gets converted enzymatically to dihydroxynaphthalene. Being unstable at physiological pH, 1,2 dihydroxynapthalene sponaneously auto oxidises to 1,2 naphthoquinon e and H2O2. It alkylates proteins glutathione and amino acids and generates free radicals. There is a loss of protein thiol in this reaction and the products are less easily digestible by pancreatin than normal lens protein (Rees and Pirie, 1967). 9. Ca2+ induced cataract In this model, the control group contains the lenses incubated in the medium enriched with 20 mM Ca2+ or 1x 10-2 mM A23187 calcium ionopore. The treatment group lenses are cultured in the calcium and the test drug-containing medium. Incubation period can range from 24-72 h (Gupta, 2004). Fig.6 Mechanism of action of glucose-induced cataract C:UsersDHINESHDesktopUntitled 7.png Under physiological conditions, glucose is metabolized through the glycolytic pathway. An excess amount of glucose is converted to sorbitol by enzyme aldose reductase via polyol pathway. The glucose conversion into sorbitol by utilizing NADPH results in the reduction of NADPH/NADP+. Moreover, sorbitol undergoes oxidation to fructose by using sorbitol dehydrogenase (SD). Sorbitol does not easily cross cell membrane. Intra lenticular accumulation of sorbitol, leads to lens damage (Kyselova, 2004). Fig.7 Biomorphological changes during cataract formation C:UsersDHINESHDesktopUntitled 66.png As, the lens starts to swell in response to the hyper osmotic effects of polyol accumulation, membrane permeability changes resulting in an increase in lenticular sodium and decrease in the levels of lenticular potassium, reduced glutathione, ATP and free amino acids. The overall antioxidant status of the lens decreases because of depletion of GSH (Kyselova, 2004). Mechanism of action of calcium-induced cataract Fig.8 Calcium transport pathway Increased levels of lenticular calcium activate calcium dependent proteases. The activated proteases hydrolyze cytoskeletal proteins and lens crystalline. Crystalline cleavage would result from lower molecular weight peptides that could, in turn, aggregate to form higher molecular weight proteins (Wang et al., 1996). Various methods for the prevention of cataract The development of newer drugs for treatment of cataract mainly aims, interacting at the level of changed lens metabolism and lens pathophysiology. The in vitro, in vivo studies are used to identify the anti cataract agents. This epidemiological studies may be widely classified in the following categories (Gupta et al., 1997). Aldose reductase inhibitors Agents acting on glutathione Nonsteroidal anti -inflammatory drugs Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants Miscellaneous agents. 1) Aldose Reductase Inhibitors These drugs are aimed to prevent the metabolic dysfunctions of diabeties by polyol pathways. Aldose reductase inhibitors prevents the accumulation of sorbital within the lens would have an osmotic effect bringing in water and causing swelling and opacification. Sorbinil a spirohydantoin became the most powerful sorbitol lowering agent. Sorbinil prevents increased fluorescence and protein aggregation and it also acts as an antioxidant. 2) Non Steroidal Anti inflammatory Drugs The NSAIDS broadly studied are paracetamol, aspirin, Ibuprofen, sulindac, naproxen, and bendazec. The NSAIDS provide adequate productive effect to lens protein through various steps like acylation, carbamylation and inhibition of glycocylation. Some of them are also reported to inhibit lens AR to varying extent. NSAIDS contains antioxidant properties also. Most of the studies on the evaluation of anticataract potential of drugs have been conducted by feeding the drugs by oral route. 3) Agents which act on glutathione Glutathione is a tripeptide thiol known to control calcium inflex and protect lens protein from various agents like glucose and galactose. With advancing of age there is a considerable decrease in the concentration of glutathione and the decrease more prominent in lens with cataract. 4) Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants If oxidation in lens leads to cataract formation, then is feasible to prevent it by the use of antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and perhaps ÃŽ ²-carotene. The potential role of vitamins and antioxidants in preventing various diseases is well documented there are reports suggesting beneficial effect of vitamins like C and E in preventing cataract. Beta -carotene has also been demonstrated to protect lens damage by hematoporphysin. Ascorbate protects rubidium uptake against free radical damage and prevents light induced protein cross linking. Protective effect of vitamin C has been also reported in various in vitro studies. Vitamin E has been found to delay cataractogenesis in diabetic rats and in Emory mouse. Vitamins C and E,  Ã‚ ¢- Carotene and other anticataract agents probably act via a common mechanism of their scavenging properties of free radicals (Gupta et al., 1997b). Antioxidant enzymes 1) Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) SODs are a family of metalloenzymes that transfer superoxide in to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and represents the first line of defence against oxygen toxicity. 2O2- + 2H → H2O2 + O2 Three isoforms of SOD have been found. The first is mainly found in the cytoplasm of cells and it containing Cu and Zn at its active site (Cu/Zn SOD-1), the second containing Mn at its active site is located in mitochondria (Mn SOD-2) and the third (Cu/Zn SOD-3) is present in the extracellular fluid like plasma. SOD is a stress protein which is synthesized mostly in response to oxidative stress. It is found that little amount of Cu, Zn and Mn metals are crucial for maintaining the antioxidant activity of SOD (Halliwell, 1994; Ray and Husain, 2002). 2) Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) GPx is one of the most important enzymes responsible for the degradation of organic peroxides and hydrogen peroxide in the brain. GPx catalyse the oxidation of GSH to GSSG at the expense of H2O2. There are two isoforms have been identified, selenium-dependent which is highly active towards H2O2 and organic hydroperoxides and selenium independent GPx. GPx activity has been reduced in selenium deficiency (Muller et al., 1984; Son et al., 2007). 3) Catalase (CAT) It is a heme-containing protein present in most cells. 2H2O2+ 2H2O → O2 Catalase is 104 times faster than GPx. It is having four protein subunits, each containing a heme Fe (III)-protoporphyrin group bound to its active site. GPx and CAT were found to be important in the inactivation of many environmental mutagens (Ray and Husain, 2002). 4) Glutathione (GSH) GSH has major intracellular antioxidant molecule and it is a tripeptide synthesised by enzymatic reaction involving two molecules of ATP from aminoacids like glutamate, glycine and cysteine. It plays a very crucial role in detoxification of peroxides and electrophilic toxins, mainly by acting as a substrate for GSH transferase and GSH peroxidase. It was shown that weakening of GSH enhances cerebral ischemic injury in rats (Mizui et al., 1992; Son et al., 2007).

Examining the Legal Issue of Copyright

Examining the Legal Issue of Copyright Introduction This essay is on the topic of Intellectual property and will be split into four parts. It will explain the law regarding copyright in the UK by using the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988 (CDPA 1988), it will begin by discussing the legal terminology original work and why copyright exists and the regulations of copyright in detail with regards to fixation and originality, the definition of fixed in line with the current law, the skill, labour and judgement test including cases to support the claims and economic rights that an owner has. Secondly by explaining the 3 main types of original work that are granted protection by this act and in addition, it will shed light on what consists of copying of the work and alternatives to copyright including adaptation of the work and what the copyright infringes. The source used to gain this information is from Contemporary Intellectual Property: Law and Policy, By Hector L. MacQueen, Charlotte Waelde, Graeme Laurie and Abbe Brown. The thir d part of this essay will critically evaluate the impact of internationalism in terms of digital technologies. It will assess the new challenges this presents Intellectual Property (IP) in terms of new innovations that will affect the consumers and industry. furthermore, it will discuss the impact this has on Intellectual property by using the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property to source the knowledge. Lastly the essay will examine the case on Liam and Aleesha in terms of copyright and explain what infringements of copyright have occurred using relevant cases to reinforce the arguments that are made. Main body Copyright in its early stages was implemented to control the output of printers once the technology was invented and recognised in the 15th century. Before the era of printing, writing could only be duplicated by the process of manually copying out the work [1]. The UK formed the Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 to give creators of literary, dramatical, musical and artistic work ranging from sound recordings, films and broadcasts [2] protection and the right to regulate the way their work is used. For copyright to exist in work it must be original and fixed. The fixation or fixed term means that the work must be recorded in writing or otherwise [3] this includes and form or notion of code, either by hand or otherwise and regardless of the method by which or medium in which it is recorded [4]. Original or originality is not defined by the CDPA 1988, it is required that the work was originated from the author and not copied from another work. The work does not have to be different, it depends on the way the work was created. For example, a mobile phone application that embodies the same idea as another however has a different look and feel to the user is considered as original work. For copyright to exist in terms of literary, musical, dramatical, or artistic work, it must qualify as work. Work is determined by the amount of skill, labour and judgement that has gone into creating it. This means that the author of the work is the individual who has put the most skill, labour and made the most judgements on the work. However there have been some discrepancies in this as there are differences in opinion on how much skill, labour and judgement is required. In terms of case law for work one must look at the case of Hyperion records v Sawkins. Sawkins (S) had created new performing editions of four of his works. In total this work took 300 hours and that involved S making 3000 editorial interventions to the works. In October 2002, Hyperion Records (H) produced a CD featuring performances of the four performing editions that Sawkins created. H said that S was not entitled to copyright in these editions as editor should not obtain copyright in non-copyright work. It was held that the skill and time that S invested in making the works was enough to make them original, H had infringed S as he did not identify him as author. There are 8 types of original work recognised by the CDPA 1988. Literary works, dramatic works, musical and artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of published editions but for this essay we will only be explaining the main 3. Literary work is any work other than a dramatic or musical work, which is written, spoken or sung [5]. Literary works can consist of technological work such as software, databases and computer programs. In Anacon Corp Ltd v Environmental Research Technology it was found that circuit diagrams from which circuit boards are made into literary work as well as artistic work as the writing on the diagram is meant to be read and not just to be appreciated by eye. Dramatical work includes a dance or a mime [6]. However, there is debate on whether this includes television and films for example in Norowzian v Arks Ltd (N0 2) where N had created a film called joy which includes a man dancing with a plain backdrop, which was edited heavily. The defendants produced an advert for Guinness called anticipation that used a man dancing in a similar fashion and was edited similarly. It was held that the work couldnt be dramatic work as it cannot be performed in front of a live audience. Musical work consists of music, exclusive to any words or action intended to be sung spoken or preformed with the music [7]. A small number of notes and chords are enough for copyright protection as seen in Lawson v Dundas the four-note theme is enough to be protected by The CDPA 1988. Once original work is present, one must then determine authorship and ownership of the work. Authorship is the person who creates the work.[8] In the case of Walter v lane (1900) it was said that the author is the individual who has extended the necessary effort, skill and labour in creating the work. There is also a possibility of joint authorship where two or more authors have collaborated and the contribution of the authors cannot be distinguished.[9] Ownership of the work generally falls to the author who is in most cases the first owner of a copyright work. A clear example of this can be seen in Griggs group v Evans (2005) where Griggs who are the manufacturers of the footwear Doc Martens they hired an ad agency to create a logo which would combine two of their existing trademarks Airwair and Dr Martens, Evans was hired by the agency to create the logo. Evans assigned copyright to a Australian company who used it on their own products. It was held that the right to use the logo and to exclude others from using it belonged to the belonged to the client and not the designer. The CDPA 1988 states that the copyright owner has the only right to copy the work, issue copies of said work, rent out or lend the work to the public, preform, show or play the work in public, communicate the work in public and to make an adaptation of the work.[10] Copying the work comprises of the reproduction of the work in any material form and storing of the work in any medium by electronical means for instance taking a picture or scanning a document or recording live music to a digital format equates to copying. On the other hand, similar works do not infringe copyright as there must be a connection that the work is derived from the claimants. In Francis Day Hunter v Bron the defendant had produced a song called Why the claimant argued that the first 8 bars in the song were reproduced from their son called in a little Spanish town. The courts held that there must be a causal connection between the works and that the similarity must be sufficient and objective. Adaptation in terms of copyright differs from copying as it only applies to the literary, dramatical and musical works. This includes dramatisations and translations. Although there is a connection with copying, it is not as specific as adaptation. In Harman pictures v Osborne the claimants argued that the film created by Osborne copied a historical book, though there were parts that were different it was held that the similarities of incidents and situations suggested that they were both based on the same historical event. Impact of internationalism of digital technologies As we know the laws on copyright are outdated and are not up to par with this time as technology grows and we approach the age of online information, where ideas are spread internationally and very quickly. It is important that the IP laws are adequate to deal with the ever-growing digital technology as there are more ways to share goods and services. For example, the effect on the film and music industry due to growing technologies is having a great impact as films and music are pirated online and are accessed very easily and shared. This is causing a great loss for the industry as much as 20% of their annual turnover[11]. This creates challenges as it will affect jobs in addition it will have a detrimental effect on the industry in the UK as it is cheaper to reproduce this work using the internet which does not require cost. An argument made by Andrew Gowers in Gowers Review of Intellectual Property is that the infringement on IP in the digital world need to be more stern as the pe nalties are softer for digital cases then civil cases[12]. This will prevent IP infringement digitally where it is most common also we can give the power to enforce IP infringements to trading standards. Since the creation of the CDPA 1988 there have been numerous technological advancements, the problems this creates for IP are that it is easier now to copy or reproduce work and share it then it has ever been making it easier for the circulation of reproduced or counterfeit goods like songs in the form of MP3 files without the owners permission. In addition, new technologies do not fit into the scope of original work that is stated by the CDPA 1988 this causes confusion as it is not alike standard definitions of work, for example genetics or medicine. Copyright for Liam Aleesha Firstly, originality and fixation must be established in the work for copyright to exist, it can be determined that Liams work is fixed as he records the music and has it uploaded to the bands website to share to his fans, it can also be determined that the work is original as Liam writes his own music and lyrics. Secondly, the work is determined by the Skill, labour and judgement test. In terms of Liam he has put his skills of writing the music and lyrics for the band and has shown that he put is the labour as well as he writes all the bands songs, only a small portion is provided by the other members which includes Aleesha. From this information, it is determined that Liam is the author of the work as he is putting in the most effort, skill, labour and judgement into it. As seen in the case of Walter v Lane (1900) where it was said that the author of a work is one who extends the necessary effort, skill, labour and judgement in the work. Aleesha would not be a joint owner as her contribution is distinguished as a small portion. From this It can easily be decided that Liam is the owner of the music and lyrics. Thirdly it must establish whether there has been a copying of the work. In this case Robbie, has copied Liams work as he has digitally sampled his music without the right of the owner (Liam) it states in the CDPA 1988 that copying of the work includes the reproduction of the work in any material form. It can be said that there is a casual connection as the music is sampled directly from Musik Dynamites work. In addition, the case of Lawson v Dundas further reinforces the argument as it was established that as little as 4 chords or notes are sufficient for copyright. Also from the information gathered it can establish that the owner (Liam) has not given consent to Robbie or Aleesha for them to use or sample his music as it doesnt state otherwise. From this information, a strong argument is made that an infringement of copyright has occurred. Conclusion In conclusion, this essay has thoroughly clarified on what copyright is in terms of the CDPA 1988 and given relevant cases to illustrate points made demonstrating legal knowledge. It has explained legal terminologies and defined them in junction with the CDPA 1988 and has clearly described what copyright infringes. Furthermore, it has discussed the growing impact of internationalism in digital technologies. In summary from the research conducted the law regarding IP needs updating in terms of new technological advancements to keep up with the protection of work as It would affect sectors such as the film and music industry negatively. Finally, the essay has examined the case of Liam v Aleesha and Robbie and has concluded that Aleesha and Robbie have infringed copyright by sampling music by Musik Dynamite without the right of Liam who is the author and owner of the music. Bibliography Books Gowers A, Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, HM Treasury 2006 MacQueen H, Contemporary Intellectual Property: 2nd edition Law and Policy 2010 Patterson, L. R., Copyright in Historic Perspective, Vanderbilt University Press, 1968 Cases Anacon Corp Ltd v Environmental Research Technology [1994] FSR 659 Francis Day Hunter v Bron [1963] Ch. 587 Griggs group v Evans [2003] EWHC 2914 (Ch) Harman pictures v Osborne [1967] 1 WLR 723 Hyperion records v Sawkins [2005] EWCA Civ 565 Lawson v Dundas [1985] The Times 13 Norowzian v Arks Ltd Anor (No. 2) [1999] EWCA Civ 3014 Walter v Lane [1900] AC 539 Legislation The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 [1] Copyright in Historical Perspective, p. 136-137, Patterson, 1968. [2] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.1(1)(a) [3] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.3 (2) [4] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.178 [5] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s. 3 [6] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s. 3(1) [7] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s. 3 [8] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.9 (1) [9] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.10 (1) [10] The Copyright, Designs and Patent act 1988 s.16 [11] Andrew Gowers, Gowers Review of Intellectual Property p.3 [12] Andrew Gowers, Gowers Review of Intellectual Property p.4

Contributions of Imam Ali to his Culture Essay -- essays research pape

The purpose of this is paper is to show how great the contributions of Ali were to his culture. Ali was born miraculously, his mother Fatima-bint-Asad, the wife of Abu Talib, was Divinely Guided with sudden labor pains to the Holy Kaaba. As her immense labor pains weighed her down, Fatima knelt before the Kaaba and began praying to Allah(GOD) to make the birth of her child comfortable and easy. Before she knew it, the walls of the Kaaba miraculously split open by the Will of Allah. Fatima entered the Kaaba, and then the Holy walls reunited and joined as one. She stayed in the Kaaba for three days, during which she gave birth to a virtuous baby boy. As the fourth day approached, the Kaaba doors reopened and Fatima walked out with her pride and joy in her arms. A few years after his birth,The Prophet asked his uncle, Abu Talib, to allow Ali to be under his care so he can raise him as if he were his own child. Ali had the honorable privilege of moving to and living with the Ho ly Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. Ali learnt a lot from the holy prophet and then contributed to his culture by his broad knowledge. He was also a great warrior and he always fought for his culture, and he also protected the prophet and saved his life two times. He is also the successor of the prophet for the shia's and the fourth successor for the Sunnis. Therefore he was a very honored person. As described by the prophet ?I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate.? Ali was very knowledgeable and he helped his culture a lot with his knowledge, he helped in making judgements, helped in answering other peoples questions and also gave advises to the people of what is right to do. Here are some examples of his knowledge. A person was about... ...overs because he wanted to see the Prophet's look before he was killed. As he removed the covers, to his surprise and the rest of the murderers with him, he discovered that it wasn't Prophet Muhammad. Instead, it was Ali, the cousin of the Prophet, the Prophet's right-hand man, the Prophet's savior. The assassin's were infuriated that there plan had failed. Therfore Ali was always ready to put his life at risk to save the Prophet's life because he knew the muslims needed the Prophet. In conclusion, it can be said that ali contributed alot to his culture and religion. he used his knowledge to improve his culture and used his strength to protect his religion. Nevertheless he saved the prophets life twice, and without the prophet Islam could not exist and therefore without Ali islam could not exist. Hence it can be said that Ali is the saviour of islam.

Free Glass Menagerie Essays: The Character of Tom Wingfield :: Glass Menagerie essays

The Character of Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie  Ã‚   Tom Wingfield is a determined young man. He has decided against everyone else in his family's wishes that he wants to leave the dismal life of a factory job, to pursue a chance in the Merchant Marines. He realizes that he would be running off like his father and this is probably the only thing that kept him from leaving this long. Amanda, Tom's mother, deep down knows the day is coming that Tom will leave. She says "But not till there's someone to take your place." She wants Laura, if not herself to be taken care of. At that moment in the play Tom is the breadwinner in the family and up to this point Tom is the underpriviledged child that wants to move on. He wants to pursue his dream, a more adventurous life. Tom was a likable character until we find out he didn't pay the electric bill with the intended money. When Jim is over and he says "I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill". At this point, Tom becomes a more selfish character. There is less sympathy given in his d irection. In fact, this is probably where we feel a little more sorry for Amanda. Amanda has probably not done everything right for her family, but her intentions have always been good. Tom has lost patience and wants to pursue his journey away now. There's no waiting to save the money for the dues. He doesn't stop going to the movies for a week or quit smoking to save money. He takes the money for the light bill. We know this is a painfully big deal and he has intentionally hurt his family at this point. He knows he has put himself in a position of no turning back. Now, he has to go. As if to make it okay in someway, he says, ""I'm like my father. The bastard son of a bastard! See how he grins? And he's been absent going on sixteen years!" Now we know, he doesn't plan to come back. He has justified his not feeling obligated to his family by saying he gets it naturally. He is his father's son. Of course we have to decide if Tom has a choice. Is Tom withering away where he is. His family is full of dysfunction and he wants to help Laura out also.

moralant Divine Law vs. Human Law in Sophocles Antigone :: Antigone essays

Antigone: Divine Law vs. Human Law The play entitled Antigone was written by a man named Sophocles, a scholarly author of philosophy and logic. The play Antigone is probably one of the most prominent interpretations of a tragic drama. The two main characters of the play are Antigone and Creon. There is much conflict between Antigone and Creon throughout the play, both of them having their own ideas and opinions regarding divine law versus human law. The theme that I am going to analyze is the conflict of divine law vs. human law. The reason for this is because this theme seems to control the whole play. It is an issue of which law is the "right" law, and if Creon's and Antigone's acts were justifiable. The play Antigone can be summarized by the following: King Creon lets it be known that Polyneices the traitor is not to be buried, but his sister Antigone defies the order because of the values she holds. She is caught, and sentenced by Creon to be buried alive - even though she is to be married to his son Haemon. After the blind prophet Tiresias proves that the gods are on Antigone's side, Creon changes his mind - but too late. He goes first to bury Polyneices, but Antigone has already hanged herself. When Creon arrives at the tomb, Haemon attacks him and then kills himself. When the news of their death is reported, Creon's wife Eurydice takes her own life. Creon ends up being all alone due to the fact that his family members took their own lives. Creon blames himself for all of these tragedies occurring, mainly because it was his wrong doings that caused them. The concept of divine law can be described as the law of God. Divine law involves morals and beliefs that are presented by God. Charles Segal describes the idea of divine law as being the "unwritten laws of the Gods" (Sophocles 64). This type of law is most likely in effect when the idea of morals are apparent, such as when a moral decision must be made. This type of decision would probably be considered right or wrong. Divine law is not only in decisions, but also in the everyday actions of people. Things that are morally "right" are in accordance with the law of God, while things that are morally "wrong" tend to be actions that go against the law of God.

Models of Organized Crime Executive Summary Essay

There are two types of organizations within the criminal justice field they are bureaucratic and patron-client organizations. The bureaucratic organization is an organization that enforces the law. However, the patron-client organization chooses to break the law. There are many differences between the groups, but there are a few things that they have in common. This paper will describe the difference between the main models of organized crimes and explain why the models are necessary for understanding crime. Models of Organized Crime Executive Summary The patron-client organization is an association of criminal clients who exchange material and assemble a successful system between the main bosses and prominent political figures. The organization is structured using its hierarchy system that contains one main boss, an underboss, an advisor, Captain, and members (Lyman and Potter, 2007). The organization has a tight bond between the members that exhibits loyalty to each other. As a result, the boss provides protection to their members. The main boss delegate duties to the underboss. The underboss then provides that information to his captains. The captains have members who carry out the tasks also known as doing their dirty work. These commands allow the bosses to stay clear of law enforcement evade apprehension and continue to conduct business as usual. (Lyman and Potter, 2007) Bureaucratic and Patron-client Organizations Bureaucratic organizations are more formal than the patron-client  organization. The bureaucratic structure consists of tougher rules and regulations, and no decisions exist without prior approval. In the patron-client organization, decisions can be made by other members as long as it benefits the organization. Bureaucratic organizations hold the administrators responsible for financial troubles. The patron-client organization holds everyone financially responsible because it involves all members of the success or failure of the organization (Lyman and Potter, 2007). Similarities and differences Criminal organizations resemble the same comparisons. The main purpose is for law enforcement to understand the development of these organizations. According to Mallory (2007) Expert psychologists, sociologist, and criminologist basis models on supporting research, statistics, facts, and information gathered. The information collected focuses on the organizational structure, purpose, cause, members, and its clientele. Each model has incorporated detail specific unique features. Why the models are necessary for understanding organized crime Models are of importance because it recognizes the organization by providing a wide-range of information. This information is very useful to law enforcement because it allows them to invent new strategies of how to deter, prevent, detect and arrest these individuals involved in these organizations. (Lyman and Potter, 2007) The patron-client and bureaucratic organization has one main purpose that is profit. This organization whether legal or illegal has similarities and differences. The structure in both primarily exists with one person in charge of monitoring the success of the organization. These models provide useful information the same as theories. (Lyman and Potter, 2007) Law enforcement uses these tools to allow them, to protect assets while detecting, preventing, apprehending, and deterring the individual’s wrongdoers or a highly developed criminal organization. (Lyman and Potter,  2007) Organized crime is considered as a legitimate institution that makes it harder for its members to be caught by law. Although these organized crime units are sworn to secrecy, police enforcement is continuously looking for ways to apprehend and take down these organizations. References: Lyman, D., & Potter, G. (2007). Understanding Organized Crime (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Mallory, S. L. (2007). Understanding Organized Crime. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Marketing and Spring Rolls Essay

Executive summary Daloon A/S, henceforth just Daloon, was formed in 1960 with the name of Van’s Product by the founder Sai-Chiu Van. Mr. Van started his business in his private cellar where he produced spring rolls that he later sold in Tivoli garden in Copenhagen. In 1964 the company changed their name to Daloon which means â€Å"the big dragon† in Chinese since dragons are known for being friendly towards humans. Daloon has continued to grow and today they have their products sold in several European countries with their main business in UK, Germany, and Scandinavia. The company also has significant export markets in France, Finland, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Daloon is a major brand throughout Europe within the frozen ethnic snacks market and is in fact the largest manufacturer of spring rolls in the world. We tried to make the requested report including updating information about the external factors which might influence the company’s market potential and the future acti vities. Our market research aims on discovering and assessing India as a new prospective and promising market for the continental European Ethnic â€Å"Ready to eat†/†Ready-to-cook† Food supplier Daloon. The final goal of the market development, thus strategy of growing, is entering the entire market of India but due to expected high cultural, macro and micro environmental differences, we will mainly deal with the market of Delhi. In the marketing part of the report you will find a definition of the market Daloon is inserted market segmentation and recommendations about relevant target groups. In the end of the marketing analysis you are going to find our suggestions and recommendations for Daloon in order to insert their product, spring rolls, in a different and international market. When we speak about National culture and Organizational culture part we assessed the main challenges that the company may face dealing with a different culture. Choosing India as a potential market for a European company requires taking some extra risks if you look at cultural differences between Europe and  Asia. India is an attractive market for investors and foreign companies, which makes it important to have an understanding of their culture. Organizational culture does not only change from country to country but it also changes from company to company, because the beliefs and values differ. Since we have chosen New Delhi (India) as the possible future market, there should definitely be some changes made, thus keeping the working conditions acceptable for their culture. So in this part will be analyzed the two cultures and compared different solutions how to adapt from one to another. 1.0 Introduction â€Å"Daloon is the Chinese word for â€Å"The Great Dragon†Ã¢â‚¬  Daloon is a major brand throughout Europe within the frozen ethnic snacks market and is in fact the largest manufacturer of spring rolls in the world. Daloon A/S, henceforth just Daloon, was formed in 1960 with the name of Van’s Product by the founder Sai-Chiu Van. Mr. Van started his business in his private cellar where he produced spring rolls that he later sold in Tivoli garden in Copenhagen. His business grew and in 1961, the company took over its first factory. In 1964 the company changed their name to Daloon which means â€Å"the big dragon† in Chinese since dragons are known for being friendly towards humans. The company chose this name because consumer experience is something that’s being valued high within the company. Daloon has continued to grow, and today they have products sold in several European countries with their main business in UK, Germany, and Scandinavia. The company also has significant export markets in France, Finland, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Spring rolls are still Daloon main product, and the group currently produces over 100 different varieties from 20-200 g for cooking in frying, oven and microwave. Daloon range in recent years been extended with a variety of oriental snack products in addition to the Danish specialties, the company has made over many years. The products are made in ‘state of the art’, EEC approved manufacturing facilities in the UK and in Denmark, the home country of Daloon A/S. Both facilities hold the prestigious, BRC Grade A and IFS higher level accreditations. This means that you can be absolutely confident in the first class technical and quality control principles, which the company applies to every aspect of their production operations and support services. Their goal is to further enhance their  position as a leading supplier in the market for ethnic convenience foods, and be the modern consumers preferred choice. While they are mostly known for their spring rolls their product line also includes Mexican and traditional Danish food. The products are made of quality materials and made with health and convenience in mind. 1.1 Problem statement The frozen ethnic food producer Daloon asked our team to develop and conduct a market research about an international market that is not yet covered by the Company in terms of supply and export. The core problem or question is, if there is a country or market that provides suitable conditions for Daloon to enter and by analyzing demographical, behavioral- and social issues, find out what would be the best way to target and position the products in that market in order to have a successful and positive market development of Daloon. So in our case we are going to analyze India, especially Delhi, in the mentioned aspects in order to evaluate the current and prospective market situation and then be able to give a counsel about if Daloon should enter that market and how it would be advisable. 1.2 Delimitations This research focuses on aspects regarding the economy, current situation and development of India; by means of the capital Delhi. Moreover the gathered information is supposed to provide insights into the cultural, behavioral and consumption decisions of potential target groups within the market. The outcome is supposed to be supportive for marketing planning and internationalization strategies. The research does not take care about Supply chain aspects or manufacturer as cooperative partners in the targeted market. Moreover the outcome will not be dealing with specific aspects of a possible marketing mix or an Integrated Marketing communication plan. 1.3 Report structure This report was structured according to the importance of each topic for a better understanding of the overall project. Introduction talks about the company and their tradition in the Danish market. Later you will find Methodology Section approaching different theories applied in our researches and analysis. During the report you will find an analysis based on marketing research and statistical analysis, organizational analysis of the company and an analysis comparing and contrasting both cultures we make reference to during the report: India and Denmark. According to the conclusion of the marketing research we were able to analyze the market we are going to recommend to Daloon in different aspects such as chosen market, target group and segmentation. In the final part of the report Discussion Section approaches the main points argued during the project leading to Conclusion Section and Appendixes. 1.4 Methodology 1. Reviewing theories and models Market research and statistics: * Desk research – it is used for gathering and sorting out secondary data relevant to the research. * Field research – for gathering primary data concerning specific information needs which cannot be met otherwise. * Test for independence – used for determining if a significant relationship exists between two survey variables. * Correlation analysis – used for evaluating the relationships strength and the direction in which two variables are dependent one on another. * Hypothesis test for proportion – used for testing two proportions, one of them based on the survey, for discovering if there is a statistically significant difference between them. Organizational culture and national culture: * Hofstede’s 5 dimensions approach – for comparing the national cultures of Denmark and India using national scores on the dimensions power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. This is done in order to be outlined the possible areas of agreement and divergence in a business context. * Schein’s layered conceptualization of culture – according to this model the organizational culture consists of 3 layers. At the heart are shared basic assumptions on which are based the next two more visible layers – values and artifacts. It helps understand the organizational culture elements and which of them can be changed in order the company to succeed in the new Indian market. * The double â€Å"S† cube, Goffe and Jones – the model  helps understand which is the prevailing culture type in the organization based on the degree of solidarity and sociability it has . Marketing: * SWOT – the model is used to be analyzed the strengths and the weaknesses the company has and the opportunities and the threats it faces in connection with entering the new Indian market * PEST – this analysis includes the political, economic, social and technological aspects of the Indian market which should be taken into account for the internationalization process of the company * Porter’s five forces – this framework gives understanding about the current situation in Indian market concerning the customers, suppliers, products substitutes, new entrants and competitors of the company. * Boston growth share matrix – used for categorizing the products and finding out on which to focus in the international Indian environment. * Ansoff matrix – gives an orientation what growth strategy is appropriate in the new Indian market 2. Source criticism Main information source for this project, besides the compulsory books for Marketing management semester 2, is the Internet. As far as it concerns governmental and statistical reports it can be considered reliable. However, there is always a possibility that companies’ websites and articles in magazines give outdated or subjective information. 3.0 Market research 3.1 Background for Research This market research aims on discovering and assessing India as a new prospective and promising market for the continental European Ethnic â€Å"Ready to eat†/†Ready-to-cook† Food supplier Daloon. The final goal of the market development, thus strategy of growing, is entering the entire market of India but due to expected high cultural, macro- and micro environmental differences, we will mainly deal with the market of Delhi. Delhi is the capital of India and therefore a suitable representative city for the entire  country. This step is made in order to lower risks and gain experience on the Indian BTC Market, as much as getting to know the national- and business culture of India. Research reason: Due to the fact that India is nowadays known for being a country with tremendous business opportunities and a constantly rising growth since 2002, makes it a bit easier to investigate and research on that topic because there is already a big mass of existing information sources which we can use in order to evaluate the market as an opportunity for Daloon. Furthermore this research should give a hint if it is really advisable to enter the Indian market or not. The economic figures of India speak for themselves and reveal India as a country with a remarkable potential. Growth is omnipresent like for example in the Gross domestic product per capita which grew in the past 3 years from 3.200$/ 18,120.10 DKK (2009) to 3.700$/20,951.36 DKK (2011). The GDP growth in 2011 was estimated with approx. 10% and was constantly growing throughout the last years as a result of India ´s development into an open-economy and the benefiting from globalization and internationalization. Furthermore Delhi has an expected household income growth of annually 10% over the next 8 years which emphasizes once again the huge potential for entering markets. These gigantic upcoming shifts in the household will have a huge impact on the general demand for everything. There are many other figures and facts that underline the potential and growth of India in terms of business occasions and market opportunities. These are the reasons why this research is about to evaluate and assess in order to find out what would be the best way to enter the food market for Daloon. Research topic: The Market development of DALOON into India ´s capital Delhi. Research Objective: To find out if the current market offers suitable conditions and how DALOON should enter the â€Å"Ready-to-Eat†/†Ready-to-cook† market in India, taking Delhi as the first step of the growth strategy. 2.2 Research questions: RQ1: What is the recent demographic situation of Delhi? – sRQ 1.1: How many citizens live in Delhi? – sRQ 1.2: How is the per capita income developing from past to prospective future? – sRQ 1.3: What are the population dynamics of Delhi? – sRQ 1.4: Which languages and religions dominate in Delhi? – sRQ 1.5: Is there a change of society’s values and lifestyle? RQ2: Which products of Daloons ´ Product Portfolio may be suitable for the market of New Delhi? * sRQ2.1.: What does the product assortment of Daloon consist of? * sRQ2.2.: What is the general food consumption/eating behavior of the Indian urban middle class/upper middle class? * sRQ2.3.: Is the product assortment attractive for the Delhi inhabitants? * sRQ2.4.: Which product/s best fit the Delhi inhabitants’ taste and lifestyle? RQ3: What role does â€Å"Ready-to-eat†/†Ready-to-cook† Food play in India? * sRQ 3.1. : Is there a growing â€Å"Ready-to-eat†/†Ready-to-cook† industry in India? * sRQ 3.2. : Is the market very competitive or still a â€Å"blue ocean†? 2.3 Information needs / Variables * Numbers of Citizens in Delhi * Delhi ´s Citizens as a percentage of the entire Indian population * Gross domestic product (PPP per capita) * Economic growth rate of Delhi * Officially spoken languages * Main religions * Percentage of religions * Change of society ´s values * Proportion of employed women (Nowadays, Past) * Product Portfolio of Daloon * Indians’ attitude toward Chinese food * Indians’ preference to eating home/outdoors * Attitude towards unknown brands for frozen food * Price preferences for the product * Special Indian food consumption * Percentage of Indian vegetarians * Vegetarianism in India * Growth rate of the â€Å"Ready-to-eat†/†Ready-to-cook† food industry * Who are the main competitors in â€Å"Ready-to-eat†/†Ready-to-cook† food Market * Market shares of the main competitors * Available niches at the RTE market 2.4 Delimitation/Scope This research focuses on aspects regarding the economy, current situation and development of India; by means of the capital Delhi. Moreover the gathered information is supposed to provide insights into the cultural, behavioral and consumption decisions of potential target groups within the market. The outcome is supposed to be supportive for marketing planning and internationalization strategies. The research does not take care about Supply chain aspects, possible supplier or manufacturer as cooperative partners in the targeted market. Moreover the outcome will not be dealing with specific aspects of a possible marketing mix or an Integrated Marketing communication plan. 2.5 Research Design Primary Data A survey will be conducted for gathering qualitative and quantitative information regarding research question 2 (mainly 2.2, 2.3, 2.4). A questionnaire will be designed and used in order to explore the food- and eating behaviour of Indians as well as the attitudes and preferences towards the product. Secondary Data The main source of information for this research will be secondary data due to the fact that there is already a massive amount of existing data and information available, both quantitative and qualitative. We will start with desk research what consists of reading articles, journals, books and other academic sources related to the topic. The Internet will be of course one of our main sources during the desk research. Description of data collection method Desk research will be conducted in order to gather external information which is relevant to the research. Various sources for this information will be mainly India’s statistics, governmental reports and analyses, online business magazines. Field research will also be carried out for providing more specific information, which is either not existent in the secondary  information sources or not accessible. This information will regard the eating habits and preferences of the modern Delhi inhabitants with a focus on the frozen fast food products. For this purpose a personal interview with the potential customers seems to be an appropriate choice. The main reasons for choosing this method for data collection is because it provides both qualitative and quantitative information, there is a direct physical contact with the potential customers, the response rate is usually high and it is typically used in the early stages of the research plan. The interviews will be carried out in supermarket/hypermarket chains or wholesale retailers located in Delhi. Firstly because these places have high potential for meeting future customers since they are used by the urban working middle class for buying consumer goods. Such chains are Carrefour, Metro Cash and Carry, Biz Bazaar and Spar. In the choice should be included both Indian domestic chains and Western ones because the aim of the survey is to explore the eating behaviour of the modern â€Å"westernized† Indians and the fact that Daloon is a European company. The prepared questionnaire includes 15 short and easy to answer questions in order to be taken less from the respondents’ private time for shopping and to be ensured higher response rate. Although this method does not guarantee representativeness of the results, it gives good understanding for the included topics.