Anti-diabetic medication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anti-diabetic medication - Research Paper Example Monotherapy with Metformin is effective in controlling the blood glucose levels in Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM), however, it can also be used in conjunction with other oral hypoglycaemic drugs such as sulfonylureas and are effective in eliminating the use of insulin therapy (Dunn & Peters, 1995). Metformin is highly recommended in NIDDM patients because of its good glycaemic control, therefore it is crucial to understand its pharmacodynamics, adverse effects, contraindications, drug interactions, dosage and basic patient education for an effective prescription. The major action of metformin is decreasing the hepatic production of glucose and also reduces the intestinal absorption of glucose after meals. The better aspect about metformin is that it does not stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreatic beta cells, like the sulfonylureas. This removes any risk of causing hypoglycaemia in the NIDDM patients. Metformin has proved to reduce the HbA1c levels by 1% to 2% (Tindal, Sedrak, & Boltri, 2014). Metformin also increases the peripheral glucose uptake and increases the insulin sensitivity of tissue to insulin. These effects are helpful in improving glucose tolerance and also reduce the basal and the post-prandial levels of blood glucose. Metformin has also shown through clinical studies that it reduces the plasma lipid levels through its action on liver. It lowers total cholesterol, serum triglycerides, low-density lipids and increases high-density lipids. It is also effective in reducing platelet aggregation and makes the blood les s viscous (Wynee, Woo, & Millard, 2002). Metformin is used in the treatment of NIDDM as a monotherapy or in combination with other oral hypoglycemic drugs. It is especially of importance in obese patients who cannot use sulfonylureas, because metformin does not cause weight gain and also reduces plasma lipids (Wynee, Woo, & Millard, 2002). Metformin has shown in studies that if it is used in

Customer Relationship Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Customer Relationship Management - Essay Example Customer relationship management also serves to evaluate the consumer as a means of providing them with the products which would be most suited to their demographic or psychographic profile (Coravue Inc., 2007). Generally this is accomplished by reviewing browsing habits stored in mass databases or reviewing comments left by customers on company websites. In the bricks-and-mortar sales environment, evaluating customer habits can sometimes be as easy as reviewing a credit card statement or sales history over a period of days or weeks. However, who really cares about customer relationship management' PepsiCo should, as there is little evidence that the company maintains a focus on CRM other than through brand-building exercises which appear to give the impression that PepsiCo products are more commodities than tools for building customer satisfaction and loyalty. Evidence suggests that PepsiCo, despite their extended, global reach and wide variety of subsidiaries and brand varieties, requires significant adjustment to existing CRM policies. This paper assesses the overall importance of customer relationship management whilst applying CRM literature to the current marketing environment at PepsiCo. Recommendations for improvements in CRM focus at the firm will also be proposed. Technological develo... elopments are generally the key to successful CRM programmes, allowing for business communications regarding CRM focus to be distributed as well as maintaining an adequate database of consumer-related information. The Internet, additionally, allows organisations to use real-time customer interaction, through a series of integrated communications messages, to support the brand's image (Turner, 2008). From the technological perspective, customer relationship management is about having the software support necessary to extend the brand/company experience into new areas of streamlined payment systems or interactive, entertaining product websites. PepsiCo is quite competent in its interactive marketing focus, developing a wide variety of contest websites, interactive product design websites (allowing consumers to interact in a virtual design environment), and countless others. For instance, the company utilised a promotional incentive by printing various codes on the tops of its Pepsi brand products, allowing customers to visit the corresponding website to win various prizes (Harwood, 2006). In this particular campaign, PepsiCo received 15 million entries, which suggests that the campaign was a tremendous success. It would be a likely assessment that much of the registration information regarding consumers was stored in a database in the event of requiring information for other promotional offers or incentives. Some might argue that promotional literature and interactive contest websites would not be included in CRM, however in terms of the successes of the Pepsi-Cola brand, these types of promotional activities are creating connection with consumer lifestyle and with the company itself. One need only visit a legitimate PepsiCo product website to witness an enormous

The American Company Kraft Foods Ltd Marketing Essay

The American Company Kraft Foods Ltd Marketing Essay In the current economic situation, companies are putting all their efforts to keep their customers loyal and present market shares. To attain these objectives they are launching new products, implementing new and more interesting marketing campaigns or releasing loyalty programmes. No matter the industry they activate in, all the companies want to build long lasting relationships with their customers, as it is easier and cheaper to keep existing customers rather than acquire new ones. This paper will focus on the operations of one giant in the food industry, the American company Kraft Foods LTD, and all the attention will be centred on the chocolate confectionery branch of the organisation and on its leading chocolate brand in Europe, Milka. After a thorough analysis of the chocolate confectionery industry in the United Kingdom, the introduction of a new product in the Milka range will be discussed. Corporate Objectives Kraft Foods is the worlds second largest food organisation with revenues over $42 billion as they state in their fact sheet published in 2008. It has operations in many subsectors of the food industry such as: snacks, beverages, cheese, convenient meals and groceries (Datamonitor, 2009a). The companys manufacturing plants are located in 70 countries all around the world and it sells its products in more than 150 countries (Kraft Foods, 2009a). Being such a big company in the industry, it has set well defined long term objectives to help its growth strategies. Firstly, the company is well aware of the new trends in its sector and is aiming to offer consumers healthy products, as people have become more health conscious. Secondly, the issue of conserving the environment is intensively discussed nowadays therefore Kraft Foods has decided to implement projects for sustainability. Also, the company wishes to expand even more and increase its world coverage (Kraft Foods, 2009b). To satisfy this last objective the company is acquiring different companies which are operating in key markets. One example could be the recent acquisition of the British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury, which offers the company to opportunity to consolidate in the UK chocolate market (Mintel Oxygen, 2010). Kraft Foods also wants to expand to Southeast Asia as the countries here present high growth rates in the food industry (Mintel Oxygen, 2008) Furthermore, since 2008 the company has decided to implement a restructuring plan designed to lower its cost structure and optimize capacity without affecting the quality of products (Kraft Foods, 2009a). Market Overview As stated before, this paper will focus on the chocolate confectionery operations of Kraft Foods in the UK market and therefore an overview of this particular market is necessary. Datamonitor (2009b) states that the chocolate confectionery industry accounts for almost 67.5% of the total value of the UK confectionery market, which also includes gums, cereal bars and sugar confectionery (Chart 1). Chart 1: Market segmentation in the UK (Datamonitor,2009b) The UK chocolate confectionery industry has been in a permanent growth from 2003 until 2008, increasing by 11.1%. (Mintel Oxygen, 2008b). This particular segment is characterised by fierce competition as some of the most well known food giants are competing here. The main players in 2007 were Cadbury, with 35.3% market share, Masterfoods, with 30%, Nestle, with 14%, Ferrero, with 4% and Kraft Foods with 1.8% as it can be seen in Chart 2. Mintels 2008b forecast on market growth states that it will grow by 17% until 2012, if the prices of chocolate would have remained at the 2007 value. In real terms and taking into consideration inflation this growth will be of just 2%. Chart 2: Manufacturers value shares in the UK chocolate market 2003-2007 (Mintel. 2008b) The report on chocolate confectionery published by Mintel Oygen (2008b) states that current trends in the market highlight the fact that more healthy foods need to be released on the market, forcing in this way companies to produce healthier chocolates. As childhood obesity is an important issue in the UK, there is an absolute need of healthy products and what now is a trend it will later become a way of living. Also, consumers tend to become more educated on chocolate and soon will demand high quality products. Moreover, the same report shows that consumer preferences have started to change and shortly they will ask for new flavoured chocolates. Marketing Audit: Internal and External After getting a brief insight on the chocolate confectionery sector in the UK, an internal and external marketing audit needs to be done in order to identify which are current problems of the company. Firstly, since it has consumer products the overall marketing mix implemented needs to be analysed. Then, the strengths and opportunities must be identified in order to overcome the companys weaknesses and threats. Also with the help of the PEST model and Porters five forces the chocolate confectionery industry will be further analysed. Marketing Mix Kraft Foods is doing business in the consumer products domain, therefore its marketing mix is specially tailored for its consumers. Its main products are food items such as chocolates, biscuits, different beverages, snacks and convenient meals. Some of the companys products have become leading brands worldwide proving that the company offers qualitative products and also knows what its customers want. The company prefers to buy its raw materials from third parties such as agricultural cooperatives and independent producers to ensure high quality of the final product. (Kraft Foods, 2009a) The pricing policy of any company has to be elaborated in such a way that it retains current customers and also attracts new ones (Brassington and Pettitt , 2006 pg.431 ). The company charges acceptable and affordable prices for its products. However these prices are affected by raises in raw materials, as was the case in 2008 when the company had to raise prices to dairy, coffee, cocoa, wheat or nut products as a result of price increases for the raw materials (Kraft Foods, 2009a) When talking about promotion, Kraft Foods invests important amounts of money into well developed marketing campaigns which are meant mainly to attract new customers but also to consolidate its image in the eyes of present consumers. The company uses some of the tools in the promotional mix such as advertising, sales promotions, public relations. The organisations products have a wide distribution, reaching many markets all around the world. The main places where the products can be fund are supermarket chains, wholesalers, convenience stores, retailers, club stores or mass merchandisers (Kraft Foods, 2009a). SWOT As it has already been stated, Kraft Foods operates in different sectors of the food industry and in many markets in the world, so for each sector the company faces particular threats and has different strengths and weaknesses. In the case of the chocolate confectionery industry in the UK, the following SWOT analysis can be elaborated based on information provided by Datamonitor (2008). Strenghts: Kraft Foods has a strong brand image worldwide Well developed distribution network Manages a variety of brands in UK such as Milka Chocolate, Oreo biscuits, Toblerone, Terrys Chocolate Orange and others; well managed brand portfolio The raw materials used for production are always of high quality Weaknesses: Over the years the company had to recall some products, action which has damaged its image Its margins have constantly decreased causing problems in the implementation of new growth plans Opportunities: The acquisition of the British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury offers access to its expertise, research and information on consumer trends in the UK Permanent growth in the demand for healthy products New technologies and developments in the industry Threats: Fierce competition in the UK Governmental laws regarding alimentation Too much divestment, having a large portfolio of brands worldwide might affect the companys cash flow PEST Kraft Foods is doing business in a constant changing environment and as a result it must always know what is happening in the UK environment. The UK business environment is continuously affected by political/legal, economical, social and technological /environmental factors. Political factors The laws in the UK regarding alimentation are quite tough with for companies, but they work in the benefit of the consumer, demanding more usage of healthy products. Any law imposed by the UK government or by the European Union can affect the companys operations and revenues. Economical factors Currently the UK has not entered the Euro Zone and it is still able to have a stronger currency then the Euro Zone. However, in the context of recession, the UK has reported a drop in GDP and in the third quarter of 2009 the GDP contracted by 0.2%, and remained 5.1% lower than in the same period of 2008 (www.statistics.gov.uk, 2010a). The recession has affected greatly this country and as a result the disposable income has decreased, affecting the populations buying habits. Consequently, companies had to reduce prices and implement different schemes to maintain their customers and lose a small percent of sales. Social factors The UK population is very affected by the recession and many of them have lost their jobs. Unemployment rate has reached 7.8% in November 2009, but however there has been registered a decrease in the number of unemployed people (www.statistics.gov.uk, 2010b). Since unemployment is quite high, not many British people afford to spend money on other things that are not of strict necessity, such as chocolates. Confectionerynews.com (2009a) states that women are more likely to have chocolate due to the fact that when they reach menopause they become more stressed and need to get relieved. Technological factors Technological advances always occur in any industry. Companies in the chocolate confectionery sector have to invest in research and development in order to come up with healthier products as customers demand these intensively. Recently, Kraft Foods and Nestle were accused of using palm oil and indirectly encouraging deforestation in Indonesia (www.confectionerynews.com, 2009b) and as a result both companies had to review operations and decided that from 2010 will use only certified palm oil. Porters 5 Forces Analysis The UK chocolate confectionery industry can also be assessed by using Porters five forces. Threat of new entrants The UK industry is quite fragmented with many companies competing within. Since some of the largest companies are present here such as Nestle, Kraft Foods, Cadbury and Mars Inc. it is very difficult for a smaller company to enter this market. However there are also niches, such as premium chocolates which could still welcome new players. This particular threat is considered to be low as it is difficult to enter the UK market. Competition It is common knowledge that the UK market presents high levels of competition. The worlds food giants are in a continuous quest for market shares and increased sales volumes. This particular force might seriously affect Kraft Food since it still doesnt have a high market share, but because of the new acquisition of Cadbury this might change. This force is considered to be high, as there are important companies battling for supremacy. Buyers bargaining power Nowadays British people choose to spend money just on the necessary products and have eliminated premium products from their daily shopping. As a result, this force is considered to be quite high and have serious impacts on the companies activating in the industry. Suppliers bargaining power Over the years companies have built lasting relationships with their suppliers, as a result suppliers work jointly with buyers to ensure productivity. Due to these relationships the suppliers bargaining power is considered to be medium, as raises in raw materials can occur and affect the final products of the company. Threat of substitutes Chocolate can have many substitutes such as gums, candy or ice cream. As new consumer trends show that there is a serious shift to healthy products chocolate could be seriously affected, unless producing companies launch healthier versions. Consequently this threat can be considered as being medium to high. Current year Competition Five years time (assumption) New entrants Power of buyers Substitutes Power of suppliers Figure 1: Porters five forces (current year and five year prediction) Assumptions The VAT has increased to 17.5% (www.hmrc.gov.uk), automatically causing increases in the prices of all products. A further increase might endanger future plans for launching new products and present product sales might be affected. Also, if the UK decides to join the Euro zone serious price changes might occur and people might think they are paying more for a product then when they were using the sterling pound. It must not be forgotten that consumers are changing their buying patterns and preferences so they might choose to replace chocolate with other sweets. Marketing Objectives and Strategies for new product Growth Strategy As it has been previously presented, Kraft Foods does not have a considerable market share on the UK confectionery industry. It should focus more on its leading European chocolate brand, Milka, and make it a preferred chocolate in the UK too. Milka chocolate is present on the UK market in just six assortments (www.milka.co.uk, 2010) while other chocolate brands have more assortments. The need for a new product has been identified, and the proposed product is Poppin Milka. This new product will be alpine milk chocolate and in the interior it will have a bounty of popping candy. Since it is a new product for the Milka brand, Ansoffs new product existing market growth strategy will be followed (Dobson and Starkey, 2002). Marketing objectives Gain more market share on the UK chocolate market Build a strong brand name and image for the Milka brand Attract new customers, while retaining current ones Identification of Alternative Plans In the worst case scenario the new product could prove to be a failure, even though prior research would show that it should have success. Since the product has already been launched Kraft Foods could enhance it by adding new flavours such as melon, strawberry or cherries, fruit flavours which make a good combination with popping candy. Confectionerynews.com (2009c) shows that nostalgia has helped boost the UK food market, and since popping candy was very popular few years back, it could make a comeback. Also, it should be noted that the new product will be targeting children, but their parents are the ones who have to be convinced to buy the product. If the product does not manage to reach forecasted sales for the first months, the marketing plan should be reviewed and changed where it went wrong. Promotional Programme Objectives of the campaign: the main objective of the campaign will be to draw attention on the new Milka product and promote it throughout the year. Also, through this campaign it is intended to raise Milkas brand awareness and help build a stronger brand image. Target audience: the main target audience is children aged 5-13, but indirect target audience is men and women aged 25-40, who have children aged 5-13, since they are the ones who will buy the products, even though they might not be the users. Message: since the product is mainly targeted to children, the message has to be appealing and funny. It will stress on the fact that it is fun to have popping candy together with chocolate, a soft and creamy chocolate like Milka. Budget: the product launch campaign could be quite expensive, but Kraft has to take the risk and invest approximately  £2 2,5 million, to develop an effective and integrated marketing campaign. Since the company is a world giant it should be able to afford such a campaign especially when aiming to gain market share. The company already has a contract with Ogilvy to make the advertisement for Milka, so it can count on the help of a well known advertising agency. (Mintel Oxygen, 2009) Promotional mix: prior to the actual launch of the product (two weeks ahead), a guerrilla marketing campaign will be conducted such as to raise interest in the new product. Teaser ads would be placed in supermarkets and short TV ads will be played on kids TV networks. After the launch, samples will be given to customers of selected supermarkets such as Tesco or Sainsbury for a period of one month. Then full length ads will be played on kids TV networks for the next three to four months. In conjunction with TV ads billboards will be posted close to supermarkets and playgrounds to make sure the target audience becomes familiar with the product. At celebration times sales promotions will run to encourage and increase the product sales. The tagline used in all the ads will be Poppin the magic with Milka and will feature the Milka symbol, the liliac cow dancing on a popping candy dance floor and in the end the dance floor will explode as fireworks, showing the properties of popping candy. Time frame: the marketing campaign is designed for a period of twelve months commencing January, 2010. Measurement, Review and Control Any marketing campaign has to be evaluated before, during and after implementation (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006). The campaign will be evaluated before implementation through focus groups. During the campaign, sales will be closely followed and on-site interviews will take place. In the end, the campaign will be assessed by evaluating sales volumes and revenues, and check if the marketing objectives have been attained. Conclusion Launching a new product in a market where Kraft does not have high market share might be very difficult, but such actions must be done in order to become known on the market. With a well designed product and marketing campaign the new product should be able to reach expectations. Poppin Milka should be a success since Milka chocolate is a European leading chocolate brand, and British people are familiar to the brand.

The Forge and the Satis House in Great Expectations Essay -- Great Exp

The Forge and the Satis House in Great Expectations   Ã‚  Ã‚   During the Victorian Age in England, individuals revealed their class and prestige by flaunting their money, yet they were only disguising their inner character with the riches. Strong relationships are a key to a fulfilled life; in Dicken's Great Expectations, the contrast of the Forge and the Satis house uncover that happiness is born through relationships with others and not through money.    The Forge's simplicity contributes to a simple existance of those who live in it. To begin Pip's journey through life, he resided in a plain wooden house that was like many of the houses around it. THe house did not contain many posessions, yet the space was filled with the love and bond between Pip and Joe. The family did not need more than the basic necessities of life to get by. Pip's imagination was forced to develop as a result of this simplicity, and he expanded his ideas in the process.    Unlike the Forge, the Satis house was frozen in time and the emotions within the walls were frozen as well. ...

Just Dessert

Just Dessert Name: ADJ/215 Date: Instructor: Just Dessert It is a normal feeling for people in our society to want someone to be punished for the crime they commit. Without any type of punishment it feels like justice was not served especially when there is a victim involved. This in many people’s eyes is a way to justify punishment and it is based on the just dessert theory. With this theory it is the belief that a person should be punished based on the harm they caused and the crime they committed. In other words the punishment should fit the crime. People who are for just dessert believe that retribution justifies punishment because it is deserving based on the crime. Where the opposing side believes that justification of punishment lies in the ability to prevent or minimize future harm. Arguments in Favor of Just Dessert When researching just dessert I found three particular arguments in favor of the just dessert theory. The first argument is that the punishment should be the same for all offenders based on the crime they committed. This is considered to be fair and justified punishment because it is deserving of the crime committed. The second argument supports that just dessert encompasses fair treatment both to the vulnerable in society and victims rather than just the offenders. This allows the victims of crimes to know what type of justice they can expect. And finally the third argument believes that the just desert theory is the best way to explain the death penalty for murder because if an offender takes a life they would understand and expect that their punishment would be a sentence of death. Arguments Against Just Dessert There are many arguments against the just desserts theory. Two significant arguments against the just dessert theory are that it gives an inadequate justification of bias or hate crimes and cannot explain the state’s democratic duty to protect the most vulnerable victims. Many opponents are concerned that the state legislatures will set unreasonably high sentences. Just dessert is also thought to be inflexible and fixed for every offender; very little if any consideration is given to the circumstances surrounding his or her crime. There is also a fear that just dessert would remove the rehabilitation aspect from prisons across the country. Those that choose to argue in favor of just dessert to support the continued use of the death penalty in the United States are missing, or choose to ignore, many fallacies with the argument of just dessert in support of the death penalty. An important point to keep in mind is that the United State is the only democracy in the world that still uses the death penalty as a possible punishment. (Foley, 2006). My Position is Against Just Dessert My position was assigned to be against just dessert. While researching just dessert and exploring both sides of the argument I can understand why people are against just dessert. It would seem that this theory would not be beneficial when it comes to certain types of crimes. â€Å"When dealing with a case of a single individual who has committed a crime, participants appeared insensitive to the factors that should drive sentencing when utilitarian goals are the motivating force; it was the factors relevant to the just deserts perspective that determined sentencing. (Carlsmith, Darley, & Robinson, 2002). The sentence at an individual level seems to come from a strictly deservingness-based stance rather than taking into consideration the circumstances surrounding the crime when it comes to deciding punishment. Although the type of crime may be similar, no crime is the same or committed for the same reason. The theory of just dessert is retrospective rather than prospective. â€Å"The punisher need not be concerned with future outcomes, only with providing punishment appropriate to the given harm. Although it is certainly preferable that the punishment serve a secondary function of inhibiting future harmdoing, its justification lies in righting a wrong, not in achieving some future benefit. † (Carlsmith, Darley, & Robinson, 2002). The belief is that the punishment should be proportionate to the harm the person caused. The problem becomes that our judicial system is not perfect and there are times when innocent people are convicted of a crime. If we utilize the just dessert theory with someone ho was convicted of murder we would sentence them to death. If the person was later found to be not guilty we would have murdered an innocent person based on this theory. References Carlsmith, K. M. , Darley, J. M. , & Robinson, P. H. (2002). Why Do We Punish? : Deterrence and just deserts as motives for punishment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(2), 284-299. doi:10. 1037/0022-3514. 83. 2. 284 Foley, M. (2006). Toward Understanding the Death Penalty Debate. Retriev ed from http://www. ala. org/ala/acrl/acrlpmbs/choice/content/essay. cfm

Computer Systems Essay

1. Introduction The purpose of this report is to survey the current state of scanner technology and to briefly discuss predicted advancements in the field. By examining a range of recently published journal articles, magazine articles and internet sites on the topic of scanners this report describes the main types of scanners in common use today and examines their performance in relation to four criteria: resolution, bit-depth, dynamic range and software. The report then considers the effect of further technological advances in these four areas, as well as the deployment of new sensor technology on the future development of scanners. The first scanner, initially referred to as a ‘reading machine’, was developed in 1960 by Jacob Rabinow, a Russian born engineer. The device could scan printed material and then compare each character to a set of standards in a matrix using, for the first time, the â€Å"best match principle† to determine the original message (Blatner, Fleishman and Roth 1998, p.3). This reading machine was to form the basis for the development of current scanning, sorting and processing machines. An early improvement on the reading machine was the drum scanner. These scanners used a type of scanning technology called photomultiplier tubes (PMT). Drum scanners are still used in industry today because of the high quality images they produce. The development of smaller, more economical scanners such as desktop scanners and scanners for domestic use followed the drum scanner as the number of computer users increased and computer technology advanced. Scanners can now capture images from a wide variety of two and three  dimensional sources. These images are converted to digitised computer files that can be stored on a hard-drive or floppy disk. With the aid of specific software, these images can then be manipulated and enhanced by the user. It is now possible to deploy electronic acquisition to create an entire layout (including all graphic elements) from the same computer. This means manual stripping is no longer required (Scanners, digital cameras and photo CDs 2000). Scanners are considered an invaluable tool for adding graphics and text to documents and have been readily adopted by both business and domestic users. 2. How scanners work A scanner is a device that uses a light source to electronically convert an image into binary data (0s and 1s). This binary data can then be used to store the scanned image on a computer. A scanner recreates an image by using small electronic components referred to as the scanner’s ‘eyes’ (Scanner tips 2000). The type of ‘eyes’ used in today’s scanners are charge-coupled devices (CCD) and photomultiplier tubes (PMT). These electronic eyes measure the amount of light reflected from individual points on the page and translate it to digital signals that correspond to the brightness of each point (Englander 2000). To create a file on the computer that represents a colour image, the scanner divides the image into a grid with many individual points called pixels or picture elements (Scanner tips 2000). A scanning head, termed a row of ‘eyes’, reads over the grid and assigns a number to each pixel based on the main colour in that pixel, u sing green, blue and red. For example an aqua pixel would be saved as a number to represent the proportion of blue, green and red which represents the colour aqua (Scanners, digital cameras and photo CDs 2000). 3. Types of scanners There are five main types of scanners in common use today: drum scanners, flatbed scanners, sheet-fed scanners, slide scanners, and hand held scanners. 3.1 Drum scanners Drum scanners were widely used in the past, however they are much less commonly used today due to advances in scanner technology. As a result of their expense, these machines are primarily used by professionals in industry, where they are considered important due to the high-end quality image they produce and because they use PMT technology which is more  sophisticated than charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and contact image sensor’s (CISs). Drum scanners are difficult to operate and technicians operate these scanners by placing the item to be scanned on a glass cylinder rotating at high speeds around the sensor (Sullivan 1996). 3.2 Flatbed scanners The most popular scanners for general use are flatbed scanners. This type of scanner is highly versatile because it is able to scan flat objects as well as small three dimensional objects. Flat-bed scanners operate by placing the item to be scanned on a glass window while scanning heads move underneath it. A transparency adapter is used to scan transparent originals such as slides or x-rays, and an automatic document feeder is available for scanning large numbers of documents (Scanner tips 2000). 3.3 Sheet-fed scanners Sheet-fed scanners have grown in popularity in recent years, particularly for small office or domestic use as they are reasonably priced, can scan full-sized documents and are compact, requiring limited desk space (Scanner tips 2000). Most models of sheet-fed scanners have an inbuilt document feeder to overcome the problem of manually feeding one sheet of paper at a time. However the actual process or scanning with a sheet-fed scanner may result in distortion as the image to be scanned moves over the scanning heads (Scanner tips 2000). A further limitation of sheet-fed scanners is that they are unable to scan three dimensional objects. 3.4 Slide scanners This type of scanner is used to scan items such as slides that need careful handling during scanning. Unlike other scanners, the scanning heads in slide scanners do not reflect light from the image, but rather pass light through it. This enables these scanners to produce superior results without distortions caused by reflective light. To be able to scan small and detailed items, these scanners have a large number of eyes on the scanning head which produces a high quality result. Slide scanners tend to be more expensive and less versatile than flatbed and sheet-fed scanners as they are limited to only scanning slides and film. These scanners, however, are well suited to users requiring high quality scans of large numbers of slides (Scanner tips 2000). 3.5 Hand held scanners Hand held scanners are compact, portable scanners which are simply dragged across a page manually to capture an image. These scanners are easy to use and economical to purchase; however, their use is limited to text of up to four inches in diameter that does not require a high resolution. For this reason, hand held scanners are unsuitable for colour images. A further disadvantage of hand held scanners is that the user must have a steady hand when scanning or the resulting image will be distorted (Scanner tips 2000). 4. Scanner specifications The performance of a scanner can be examined in relation to four main criteria: resolution, bit-depth, dynamic range and software. 4.1 Resolution Resolution is a measure of how many pixels a scanner can sample in a given image. It is used to describe the amount of detail in an image (Figeiredo, McIllree and Thomas 1996). Higher resolution scanners are generally more expensive and produce superior results as they have a greater capacity to capture detail. Scanners have two types of resolutions: optical resolution and interpolated resolution. Optical resolution, or hardware resolution, is a measure of how many pixels a scanner can actually read. A current model desktop scanner typically has a resolution of 300 x 300 dots per inch (dpi) (Anderson 1999). This means that this scanner has a scanning head with 300 sensors per inch, so it can sample 300 dpi in one direction and 300 dpi in the other direction by stopping the scanning head 300 times per inch in both directions. Some scanners stop the scanning head more frequently as it moves down the page, giving an optical resolution of 300 x 600 dpi; however, scanning more frequently in one direction does not improve the result of the scan. The basic requirement for scanning detailed images and line art from photos or other printed originals is an optical resolution of 600 dpi. When scanning slides and negatives the minimum optical resolution is 1200 dpi. Interpolated resolution measures the number of pixels a scanner is able to predict. A scanner can turn a 300 x 300 dpi scan into a 600 x 600 dpi scan by looking in-between scanned pixels and guessing what that spot would have  looked like if it had been scanned. This prediction is then used to insert new pixels in between the actual ones scanned. This technique is less precise than optical resolution; however it assists in improving the enlargement of scanned images. 4.2 Bit depth Bit depth refers to the amount of information that a scanner records for each pixel when converting an image to digital form. Scanners differ in the amount of data they record for each pixel within an image. The simplest kinds of scanners only record data related to black and white details and have a bit depth of 1 (Anderson 1999). The minimum bit depth required for scanning photographs and documents is 24-bits, while slides, negatives or transparencies need a scanner with at least 30-bits. Thus for a scanner to produce a high quality scan with colour, a higher bit depth is required. In general, current scanners have a bit depth of 24, which means that 8 bits of information can be collected for the three primary colours used in scanning; blue, red and green (Anderson 1999). This high resolution allows scanners to produce images close to photographic quality. 4.3 Dynamic range Dynamic range refers to the measurement of the range of tones a scanner can record on a scale of 0.0 to 4.0, with 0.0 being perfect white and 4.0 being perfect black. Colour flat-bed scanners usually have a dynamic range of 2.4. A range of this measurement is unable to provide high quality colour scans. A dynamic range of 2.8 and 3.2 is suited to professional purposes and can be found in high-end scanners. An even higher dynamic range of 3.0 to 3.8 can be provided by drum scanners. 4.4 Software A scanner, like any type of hardware, requires software. Typically the two most common pieces of software provided with scanners include optical character recognition (OCR) and image editing software. Optical character recognition software translates the information recorded in a scan, tiny dots, into a text file which can be edited. Image editing software allows the tones and colours of an image to be manipulated for better printing and display. Image editing also gives filters to apply special effects to scanned images 5. Future developments The quality of scanned images is constantly improving as characteristics such as resolution, bit-depth and dynamic range are enhanced and further developed. More sophisticated image editing and optical character recognition software development is also resulting in superior quality scans. Future advances are expected to result in the incorporation of specialized scanners into other types of technology such as the recently developed digital camera. This device allows the user to take pictures of three-dimensional objects much like a regular camera, except that instead of using film, the objects are scanned by the camera in a similar process to the functioning of a flatbed scanner. The relatively new area of sensor technology in the form of a contact image sensor (CIS) (see Appendix 1) is expected to improve the functionality of scanners and the quality of images as it â€Å"replaces the cumbersome optical reduction technique with a single row of sensors† (Grotta and Wiener 1998, p. 1). Developers have already been able to produce a CIS scanner which is thinner, lighter, more energy efficient and cheaper to manufacture than a traditional CCD base device. However, the quality of the scan is not as good as its counterparts. Further development of CIS technology is needed to improve image quality and colour, and to address the problem of a limited 300 or 600 dpi. 6. Conclusion This report has identified five types of scanners currently available. Some are primarily used for professional purposes such as the drum scanner; others are used more broadly in the workplace and home such as flatbed scanners and to a lesser extent sheetfed scanners. Scanners for specialized purposes have also been identified such as slide and handheld scanners. The performance of these scanners is dependent upon their resolution, bit-depth, dynamic range and software. Scanners have improved significantly in recent years in terms of weight, size, price and speed, and the replacement of CCD technology with CIS technology is anticipated to produce further benefits to these areas as well as to scan quality. The impact of these improvements is expected to increase the accessibility of scanner technology to a wider range of users and its suitability for a wider range of purposes. In  relation to this, the future of scanner technology seems to point to the convergence of different techn ologies. Specialized scanners are currently being incorporated into other types of technologies such as digital cameras, printers, and photocopiers. This can be expected to continue with other forms of technology in conjunction with further improvements to image quality, speed, price, size and weight. 7. Reference list Anderson, D. The PC Guide. [http:www.pctechguide.com/18scanners.htm]. Blatner, D., Fleishman, G. Roth, G. (1998) Real world scanning and halftones 2nd edition, Peachpit Press, USA. Englander, I (2000). The Architecture of computer hardware and systems software. John Wiley, USA, p272. Figeiredo, J. McIllree, J. Thomas, N. (1996) Introducing information technology 2nd edition Jacaranda Press, Singapore, p145. Grotta, D. and Weiner, S. What’s now †¦What’s next. [http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/features/scanners98/intro.html] PC Magazines 20 October 1998. 8/4/00 Prepress, scanners, digital cameras and photoCDs. [http://www.prepress.pps.com/mem/lib/ptr/scanners.html] 1998. 6/4/00 Scansoft scanner tips [http://www.scannercentral.com/scanners/tips/tips1.asp] 2000.6/4/00 Sullivan. M. Types of scanners. [http://hsdesign.com/scanning/types/types.html] 1996. 8/4/00

Rise Of Superpowers After WWII Essays (4206 words) - Free Essays

Rise Of Superpowers After WWII Essays (4206 words) - Free Essays Rise of Superpowers After WWII It is often wondered how the superpowers achieved their position of dominance. It seems that the maturing of the two superpowers, Russia and the United States, can be traced to World War II. To be a superpower, a nation needs to have a strong economy, an overpowering military, immense international political power and, related to this, a strong national ideology. It was this war, and its results, that caused each of these superpowers to experience such a preponderance of power. Before the war, both nations were fit to be described as great powers, but it would be erroneous to say that they were superpowers at that point. To underezd how the second World War impacted these nations so greatly, we must examine the causes of the war. The United States gained its strength in world affairs from its status as an economic power. In the years before the war, America was the world?s largest producer. In the USSR at the same time, Stalin was implementing his ?five year plans? to modernise the Soviet economy. From these situations, similar foreign policies resulted from widely divergent origins. Roosevelt?s isolationism emerged from the wide and prevalent domestic desire to remain neutral in any international conflicts. It commonly widely believed that Americans entered the first World War simply in order to save industry?s capitalist investments in Europe. Whether this is the case or not, Roosevelt was forced to work with an inherently isolationist Congress, only expanding its horizons after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. He signed the Neutrality Act of 1935, making it illegal for the United States to ship arms to the belligerents of any conflict. The act also stated that belligerents could buy only non-armaments from the US, and even these were only to be bought with cash. In contrast, Stalin was by necessity interested in European affairs, but only to the point of concern to the USSR. Russian foreign policy was fundamentally Leninist in its concern to keep the USSR out of war. Stalin wanted to consolidate Communist power and modernise the country's industry. The Soviet Union was committed to collective action for peace, as long as that commitment did not mean that the Soviet Union would take a brunt of a Nazi attack as a result. Examples of this can be seen in the Soviet Unions? attempts to achieve a mutual assiezce treaty with Britain and France. These treaties, however, were designed more to create security for the West, as opposed to keeping all three signatories from harm. At the same time, Stalin was attempting to polarise both the Anglo-French, and the Axis powers against each other. The important result of this was the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, which partitioned Poland, and allowed Hitler to start the war. Another side-effect of his policy of playing both sides was that it caused incredible distrust towards the Soviets from the Western powers after 1940. This was due in part to the fact that Stalin made several demands for both influence in the Dardanelles, and for Bulgaria to be recognised as a Soviet dependant. The seeds of superpowerdom lie here however, in the late thirties. R.J. Overy has written that ?stability in Europe might have been achieved through the existence of powers so strong that they could impose their will on the whole of the international system, as has been the case since 1945?.? At the time, there was no power in the world that could achieve such a feat. Britain and France were in imperial decline, and more concerned about colonial economics than the stability of Europe. Both imperial powers assumed that empire-building would necessarily be an inevitable feature of the world system. German aggression could have been stifled early had the imperial powers had acted in concert. The memories of World War One however, were too powerful, and the general public would not condone a military solution at that point. The aggression of Germany, and to a lesser extent that of Italy, can be explained by this decline of imperial power. They were simply attempting to fill the power vacuum in Europe that Britain and France unwittingly left. After the economic crisis of the 1930?s, Britain and France lost much of their former international ezdingas the world

The Meaning and Origin of the Last Name Ramirez

The Meaning and Origin of the Last Name Ramirez Ramirez is a patronymic name meaning son of Ramon or son of Ramiro, a given name meaning wise protector,  from the Germanic elements ragin, meaning counsel and mari, meri,  meaning fame. The name is said to have originated with the   Visigoths, a Germanic goth tribe that settled in the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Spain and Portugal) during the 5th century. Ramirez is the 42nd most popular surname in the United States, the 10th most common surname in Mexico and the 28th most common surname in Spain. Surname Origin:  Spanish, Portuguese Alternate Surname Spellings:  RAMIRES, REINMER, REMER, REIJMERS, REYMERS, REMIREZ Famous People With the Last Name Ramirez Sancho Ramà ­rez  - King of Aragon (1063–1094) and King of Navarre (1076–1094)ngel de Saavedra y Ramà ­rez de Baquedano  - Spanish poet and politicianAramis Ramà ­rez - Dominican former MLB professional baseball playerJosà © Ramà ­rez - founder of  Ramà ­rez GuitarsManny Ramirez  - Dominican American former MLB professional baseball playerLuis Ramà ­rez de Lucena - 16th-century Spanish chess grandmaster Where Do People With the Ramirez Surname Live? The surname distribution data at  Forebears  ranks Ramirez as the 140th most common surname in the world, identifying it as most prevalent in Mexico and with the highest density in Costa Rica. The Ramirez surname is the 7th most common last name found in Colombia, 8th in Costa Rica, 9th in Mexico and Guatemala, and 10th in Paraguay. The Ramires spelling is much less common, ranking 10,317th in the world, and is most prevalent in Portugal and Brazil. Within Europe, Ramirez is most frequently found in Spain, according to  WorldNames PublicProfiler, especially in the Canary Islands and the southern provinces of  Cdiz,  Mlaga,  Jaà ©n, and Sevilla in the Andalucia region. Genealogy Resources for the Surname Ramirez 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? 100 Most Common Spanish SurnamesHave you ever wondered about your Spanish last name and how it came to be? This article describes common Spanish naming patterns and explores the meaning and origins of 100 common Spanish surnames. How to Research Hispanic HeritageLearn how to get started researching  your Hispanic ancestors, including the basics of family tree research and country-specific organizations, genealogical records, and resources for Spain, Latin America, Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean and other Spanish speaking countries. Ramirez Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Ramirez family crest or coat of arms for the Ramirez surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.   Ramirez Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Ramirez surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Ramirez query. FamilySearch - RAMIREZ GenealogyAccess over 5.8 million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Ramirez surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. RAMIREZ Surname Family Mailing ListsThis free mailing list for researchers of the Ramirez surname and its variations includes subscription details and a searchable archive of past messages. DistantCousin.com - RAMIREZ Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Ramirez. The Ramirez Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Ramirez from the website of Genealogy Today. Sources Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Raising Capital as a Corporation

Raising Capital as a Corporation Large corporations could not have grown to their present size without being able to find innovative ways to raise capital to finance expansion. Corporations have five primary methods for obtaining that money. Issuing Bonds A bond is a written promise to pay back a specific amount of money at a certain date or dates in the future. In the interim, bondholders receive interest payments at fixed rates on specified dates. Holders can sell bonds to someone else before they are due. Corporations benefit by issuing bonds because the interest rates they must pay investors are generally lower than rates for most other types of borrowing and because interest paid on bonds is considered to be a tax-deductible business expense. However, corporations must make interest payments even when they are not showing profits. If investors doubt a companys ability to meet its interest obligations, they either will refuse to buy its bonds or will demand a higher rate of interest to compensate them for their increased risk. For this reason, smaller corporations can seldom raise much capital by issuing bonds. Issuing Preferred Stock A company may choose to issue new preferred stock to raise capital. Buyers of these shares have special status in the event the underlying company encounters financial trouble. If profits are limited, preferred stock owners will be paid their dividends after bondholders receive their guaranteed interest payments but before any common stock dividends are paid. Selling Common Stock If a company is in good financial health, it can raise capital by issuing common stock. Typically, investment  banks help companies issue stock, agreeing to buy any new shares issued at a set price if the public refuses to buy the stock at a certain minimum price. Although common shareholders have the exclusive right to elect a corporations board of directors, they rank behind holders of bonds and preferred stock when it comes to sharing profits. Investors are attracted to stocks in two ways. Some companies pay large dividends, offering investors a steady income. But others pay little or no dividends, hoping instead to attract shareholders by improving corporate profitability and hence, the value of the shares themselves. In general, the value of shares increases as investors come to expect corporate earnings to rise. Companies whose stock prices rise substantially often split the shares, paying each holder, say, one additional share for each share held. This does not raise any capital for the corporation, but it makes it easier for stockholders to sell shares on the open market. In a two-for-one split, for instance, the stocks price is initially cut in half, attracting investors. Borrowing Companies can also raise short-term capital usually to finance inventories by getting loans from banks or other lenders. Using Profits As noted, companies also can finance their operations by retaining their earnings. Strategies concerning retained earnings vary. Some corporations, especially electric, gas, and other utilities, pay out most of their profits as dividends to their stockholders. Others distribute, say, 50 percent of earnings to shareholders in dividends, keeping the rest to pay for operations and expansion. Still, other corporations, often the smaller ones, prefer to reinvest most or all of their net income in research and expansion, hoping to reward investors by rapidly increasing the value of their shares. This article is adapted from the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

Analyse critically how research and practice developments can be Essay - 1

Analyse critically how research and practice developments can be disseminated to enhance the quality of the student learning exp - Essay Example Various health care stakeholders have been funding research studies on various issues surrounding the nursing practices. All this is meant to achieve the much touted quality healthcare delivery in the society. Such research and practices need to be communicated to the nursing professionals to boost their performance. Acquisition of information is one of the greatest challenges that affect many nurses (Gerrish & Lacey, 2010, 490). It is therefore important that they are given sound theoretical training that is result oriented if translated to practical applications in the field. Dissemination of information during learning among the nurses significantly explain their future performance in the field when assigned duties. It is therefore imperative that the methods of imparting such concepts are taken through critical assessment and all the factors taken into consideration. Information cost is one of the most important aspects of high standard performance of the leaners when they come i nto real life situation (Bergin, 2013, pg 2000). One of the most effective ways of ensuring that there is penetration of the ideas in learners is engaging them in the research study and requesting for observable findings. Learning is more effective when observation is done since pictures and objects seen makes more sense than what is merely said. It is proper that learning is backed up with a lot of drawing diagrams so that it would stick in the brain of the students in such a way that they are able to relate the theoretical work with the real life work (Exley & Dennick, 2009, 221). Nursing requires high accuracy since it deals in human life and therefore should be practice oriented so that not a single concept is missed as this could cost a lot (Power, 2008, 21-5). Creation of a motivating and engaging learning environment is one of the most appropriate approaches that can be applied in improving the nursing students’ mastery of the concepts and how they relate to the real l ife clinical practice. This may be achieved by involving the students in group assignments where they will brainstorm. Group work assignment may also be extended to research study where the students are given a given topic which they breakdown and undertake independent research before presenting as group to share their experiences. It is important for the tutors and nursing instructors to emphasize on the significance, relevance and integration of theoretical work and the knowledge with the professional practice with the aim of developing solutions to real life global health issues. It is advisable by the NMC 2010 nursing students spend more than 50% of their time undertaking practical. This may sink better by giving individual illustration of skills that are applicable in a specific topic so that the learners can create a picture of the possible practical scene and take deeper interest in the discipline (Keele, 2011, 34-56). It is important to ensure that the research covers variou s social problems that pertains to health challenges in the society so that the can begin to understand the directions of what they are studying and relate this with some of the experiences they have had as victims and not as nurses (Masters, 2009, 22). It is advisable that the syllabus structure of the nursing discipline need to put emphasis on periodic field work which will involve interactive session of the students with patients and other clinicians in healthcare facilities (finkelman & kenner, 2013, 135). This is as part of induction to the theory and its

Metaphysical Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Metaphysical Concepts - Essay Example As seen in the research conducted by Dodds, potency simply refers to a kind of non-existence displayed by individuals2. This explains that potency is a form of an imperfect act. Potency has also been described as a force that is inhibited in action3. Individuals can, therefore, display potency in a way that displays their restrained force. In line with this thought, it is arguable that potency is a form of reality that exits between absolute nothing and the being in existence. Aristotle explains that potency exists but can be manipulated, determined and even transformed into nothing4,5,6 .This explains that from nothing, nothing can also result. Since potency is determinable, it can be indicated to be in the process of transformation. Potency can then be indicated to an imperfect actuality that is in motion and is in the process of becoming. This thought advances that of St. Thomas who differentiated the concept of passive and active potency. Passive potency as St. Thomas writes is not a mere possibility while active potency is infinite and one that is an active force. Active potency is also one that is only produced by Supreme Beings7. On the other hand, act refers to the capacity to receive some form of perfection. It is of essence to note that act is constrained by potency that is the recipient of act. Nonetheless act can either be pure and unlimited. This depends on the manner in which the act is composed by potency. Aristotle explains that act can also determines potency and can even actualize potency8. St. Thomas is of the opinion that act is a form of perfection that can only be limited by perfection9. Simply put, the limitations of act can also emanate from within or by the forces that are produces the act. Nonetheless, it is of great importance to question whether if act can be limited by other forces or solely that produces act10. In addition, act is greatly by the subject in

U.S. Intervention in Panama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U.S. Intervention in Panama - Essay Example This of course is a tapestry of stories that was later on exposed, together with the hubris of a presidency that did not want to be humiliated. Manuel Noriega swiftly came to power after a series of effective endeavors that included among other things being a confidant of no less than the United States government. He had strong ties with the government by proving himself a worthy ally and asset during the tension between the US and the then equally powerful USSR. Throughout the feud, Noriega became a trusted source that his link to the country was directly through the Central Intelligence Agency that was headed by George H. W. Bush himself. Noriega came to power with his strong U.S. support after the death of Omar Torrijos which was just in time after he no longer has the superpower’s favour. Manuel Noriega remained included in the payroll of the agency and this very influence has led him to amass the confidence of many important people that apparently included drug dealers in lieu of their exportation transactions. He â€Å"was seen as a valuable "asset," as a ruthless man whose loyalty could be bought, who would do whatever was needed to serve U.S. interests† (Revcom.us). ... The Panama Canal serves as the gateway to a greater presence in South America and directly to Asia. Originally under the control of Colombia, the United States grabbed control in the early 1900s and established bases in it. After the Second World War the SOUTHCOM, responsible for intelligence and other schemes, created its epicenter there. Led by the tyrannical government of Noriega the suffering of the people Panama and especially of American residents was used to justify the need for his deposition. Among other things, â€Å"He was involved in drug trafficking, arms smuggling, money laundering, and the ruthless oppression of his people. He also systematically violated the American-Panamanian Canal treaties and harassed U.S. forces and institutions in Panama† (Gilboa, p.539). The media played an important role in the execution of Operation Just Cause as utilized advantageously by the Bush government and it was the same venue that candidly exposed the controversies of the issu e. It is by the very image of the president as a ‘wimp’ because of his inability to deal with the Panamanian dictator despite serious allegations of drug trafficking and other oppressions that further agitated George H.W. Bush’s presidency. The final thread that validated the Panama invasion and its popular acceptance was the death of a Marine Lieutenant which was depicted as a definitive demonstration of unprovoked oppression. But this claim was soon probed by the media such as the Los Angeles Times that exposed that the marine actually belonged to a rogue group whose primary function was to rouse trouble that will ultimately provoke the PDF. This group, called ‘Hard Chargers,’ systematically engaged in acts and stratagems that will agitate the Panama

Analyse and apply the appropriate marketing strategy in the context of Essay

Analyse and apply the appropriate marketing strategy in the context of the marketing planning process - Essay Example Through study of some important brands and their respective marketing strategies the overall position and pattern have been gauged in context of marketing strategies. Toyota Motor Corporation is a big player in the world of automobiles. It manufactures various types of cars, trucks, passenger cars and minivans. Under the brand name Prius it sells hybrid vehicles. The company also has a wide range of SUV or sport utility vehicles as well as other speciality vehicles. One of the company’s primary objectives is to manufactures such vehicles which would provide safety, security and comfort to the consumers (Company Description, May 2009; Toyotas ITS vision, 2009). Toyota or for that matter any company would set up strategies to achieve its business goals or objectives. Similarly it creates marketing strategies to achieve its goals in terms of marketing objectives. Marketing strategy as a concept caters to three parts, the internal factors of the company itself, the customer and the competitors of the firm. A marketing strategy of a firm focuses on the market in terms of segmentation, targeting and positioning. Segmentation is dividing the market into groups which have similar characteristics. This is used by the companies to target their products to cater to the specific segments. The company always focuses towards creating a higher position for its products in comparison to its competitors so that it can leverage this and sell more. One of the basic and most important concepts of marketing strategy is that of the 4Ps of marketing which constitute the marketing mix of an organisation. The marketing mix or the 4Ps are; product, price, promotion and placement. Toyota offers a wide array of automobiles. It produces trucks, minivans, luxury sedans and hybrids among many other cars. The company also offers various brands for its various offerings. The Lexus brand is its luxury offering. While the Scion brand

Free Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Free Speech - Essay Example This has brought growth to countries such as Brazil, Caribbean and the Middle East. It has grown tremendously with a margin of over a billion users in the past ten years from 670 million to 1.9 billion users. In order to promote accessibility to the nation, the government has invested large amounts of dollars to breach the gap that is between people with access to the Internet and those without (Hayes 108). By providing access to the Internet, more people are able to take advantage of political, economic, social and carrier opportunities. Internet democracy should be promoted as every citizen has an equal right and say in decisions affecting their lives and development of law legislation. Oppressive regimes such as China have taken measures to squash political opposing of Internet accessibility to its citizens in order to protect their interest. The regimes arbitrary blocks and filters information make their own rules and block Internet access during political unrest. They justify th at cutting off users from accessing the Internet is a means of protecting individuals’ status, counter terrorism and national security, while it is a violation of human rights treaties. According to the U.N Internet access and human rights, all nations should ensure Internet accessibility should be maintained always including times of political unrest for individuals to be updated on the things that are unfolding in the country (Kant 105). They put emphasis on amending laws that authorizes users to have full access of the Internet, and cease the regime nations from disconnecting its citizen from the use of the Internet. Given that use of the Internet is an indispensable tool in the realization of human right, accelerating human progress and development, combating equality and ensuring Internet access should be a major priority for all nations globally. Each nation should build up a strong foundation and maintain effective policy while still consulting with citizens from all r egions of the country, including local citizens, private sectors and the government ministries, to make the Internet available all over and affordable to all sections of the population (Kant 162). A customer’s online activity is a part of the human right of accessing the Internet freely (Kant 168). One can post an article, video or any relevant material in a site of their choice. Posting of materials on the Internet needs caution depending on the material posted, and site one chooses to post it because they can either impact positively or negatively to another party leading to Internet crime or a court case. In order to avoid these conflicts, a customer identification program has been established for identification of the person who posts in the website. This helps facilitate prevention of cyber crimes, implicating other parties and financing of illegal activities. Customer identification programme helps curb crimes committed online, an example; a manufacturer with an order t o manufacture products for a recognized company may knowingly over-run the order volume and put on the market the excessive items at a throw away price in another market. The same commodity may be sold yet in another market at a different price in a parallel trading process. This encourages advertising and selling of fake products in the market through the Internet, and by creation of Customer identifi

Leadership, Learning and Development Assignment

Leadership, Learning and Development - Assignment Example The fact is that every culture in different countries have differences from one another. At the risk of stereotyping, some cultures are more traditional – they are more masculine, less inclined to accept individual differences, and more respecting of hierarchies. These societies have basic inequalities. Other cultures are the opposite of this. Some cultures are individualist, and some are collectivist. Management must know these cultural differences, and they must have the skills to overcome the differences. They also should have a pragmatic way of dealing with the differences. Moreover, there is also the issue of outsourcing. This is another implication of globalization. When this occurs, there is inevitably a challenge. The employees may feel that they are going to be next, and the atmosphere may be poisonous. A good manager must have a way of overcoming this. To this end, manager developmental models may be pinpointed to problems or management developmental models may be broader-based. There should be a combination of both types of training, for optimal effect. Competency-based training is more broad-based, giving skills that transcend different situations. Assessment and development centres give pinpointed advice and training for certain situations. Another model is the multi-rater feedback. This means that there is assessment from the people who know the manager best, and the manager also does a self-assessment. These different models have different implications for the globalization challenges, but when used in conjunction with one another, especially the competency-based model with the assessment and development centre model, the manager would have the best training possible to deal with globalization challenges. This paper will outline the management development models. Then it will be talk about globalization, explaining it, and explaining what the challenges with regards to

Free Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Free Speech - Essay Example This has brought growth to countries such as Brazil, Caribbean and the Middle East. It has grown tremendously with a margin of over a billion users in the past ten years from 670 million to 1.9 billion users. In order to promote accessibility to the nation, the government has invested large amounts of dollars to breach the gap that is between people with access to the Internet and those without (Hayes 108). By providing access to the Internet, more people are able to take advantage of political, economic, social and carrier opportunities. Internet democracy should be promoted as every citizen has an equal right and say in decisions affecting their lives and development of law legislation. Oppressive regimes such as China have taken measures to squash political opposing of Internet accessibility to its citizens in order to protect their interest. The regimes arbitrary blocks and filters information make their own rules and block Internet access during political unrest. They justify th at cutting off users from accessing the Internet is a means of protecting individuals’ status, counter terrorism and national security, while it is a violation of human rights treaties. According to the U.N Internet access and human rights, all nations should ensure Internet accessibility should be maintained always including times of political unrest for individuals to be updated on the things that are unfolding in the country (Kant 105). They put emphasis on amending laws that authorizes users to have full access of the Internet, and cease the regime nations from disconnecting its citizen from the use of the Internet. Given that use of the Internet is an indispensable tool in the realization of human right, accelerating human progress and development, combating equality and ensuring Internet access should be a major priority for all nations globally. Each nation should build up a strong foundation and maintain effective policy while still consulting with citizens from all r egions of the country, including local citizens, private sectors and the government ministries, to make the Internet available all over and affordable to all sections of the population (Kant 162). A customer’s online activity is a part of the human right of accessing the Internet freely (Kant 168). One can post an article, video or any relevant material in a site of their choice. Posting of materials on the Internet needs caution depending on the material posted, and site one chooses to post it because they can either impact positively or negatively to another party leading to Internet crime or a court case. In order to avoid these conflicts, a customer identification program has been established for identification of the person who posts in the website. This helps facilitate prevention of cyber crimes, implicating other parties and financing of illegal activities. Customer identification programme helps curb crimes committed online, an example; a manufacturer with an order t o manufacture products for a recognized company may knowingly over-run the order volume and put on the market the excessive items at a throw away price in another market. The same commodity may be sold yet in another market at a different price in a parallel trading process. This encourages advertising and selling of fake products in the market through the Internet, and by creation of Customer identifi

Loneliness and outsiders Essay Example for Free

Loneliness and outsiders Essay An outsider like crippled Crooks has no one to protect him, all he has is his American Civil Law book which defends his rights as a individual living in the U. S. A and seems to give him a certain comfort knowing that not anyone can argue against his tattered old book. Just as all of his feelings are exposed, Curleys wife threatens him and once again, he withdraws himself back to the liniment which seems to be the only thing in the world that makes Crooks feels better, even if he is ostracised from the rest. Curleys wife is one of the most significant characters to the novel because she shows loneliness on different levels. Because of being married to Curley she has a high status in the ranch, but this is exactly why she has no one but herself. Workers are afraid of getting too close to her in case innocent talking turns into more which could cost them their jobs or even lives. Nevertheless she is led to seek solace with the other men even if they are at the bottom of the social hierarchy on the ranch. And due to all the isolation, the only way to get noticed by the other men is to be a charmer, but this is what makes her so misunderstood. She expresses her true feelings about what could have been to Lennie while he sits on the hay and absorbs absolutely nothing but reflects on the poor little pup that he unintentionally killed. Curleys wife reminisces about how she could have been a Hollywood star and had all the superficial items that so many celebrities buy. Throughout her time on the ranch she has always thought her mother was the reason why Hollywood never became a reality for her, she said, I never got that letter, I always thought my old lady stole it. So I married Curley. This was her dream while on the ranch and like so many others, it shows how much of an outsider and a gullible person she was. In her life there had always been dominant figures like her mother and then Curley. So she has no real idea about how to be autonomous and become more of an independent woman. It could be said that she doesnt know how to interact correctly with people, persistently asking sympathetic rhetorical questions and also being very manipulative and discerning. These virtues are what make Curleys wife such a great character, she has no official name but is possibly one of the most complex characters to depict. Lennie is a simple person, mentally and literally. No one actually understands what he is saying most of the time because the ranch workers have never seen anyone so perplexed and bewildered as he. Without George he would be lost in life, Lennie relies on him to eat and to get him out of trouble whenever its needed most. Even though he blows arguments out of proportion by saying things like, I wouldnt eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me although he really does want the ketchup and is just playing on his own innocence. In one perspective Lennie is quite clever because if there is an opportunity where he can get George to take pity on him, then he will take it, but the majority of the time he is just retarded through no fault of his own. In the book sometimes Lennie is compared to an animal, like when he didnt want to give the mouse to George but then handed it over and started to sulk, Slowly, like a terrier who doesnt want to bring a ball back to its master, Lennie approached. And another time was when he was walking along the dusty road with George, He walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. Steinbeck chooses to describe him as an animal to symbolise the title, Of Mice and Men, maybe Lennie is the mouse and George is the man or the other way round. Thats how Lennie is an outsider, because hes an amoral animal who doesnt know his own strength, which is sometimes practical, but when he handles creatures and humans too ruthlessly, he does not know when to stop and that is when the exertion begins for George and Lennie. Lennie and George stick together through thick and thin, even when times get complicated, George seems to find a way out for the pair of them. Circular narrative is when something happens in a story and after a while it occurs again. Throughout the novel Lennie repeats phrases and quotes to George that they have already talked about previously, like the whole ketchup scenario, tending the rabbits, owning and living off the fat of the land etc. This shows that Lennie knows George so well that he assumes all there is to talk about is rabbits and land. That is what makes him a lonesome man because all the conversation is about the same thing and whatever he wants to talk about. All the characters in Of Mice and Men go through a form of loneliness and a feeling of not belonging. At times they can be self-centred which is mainly when two characters are in discussion which each other but not paying attention to the other. Maybe this is one of the reasons that loneliness strikes them, as they do not listen and are all wrapped up in their own impenetrable worlds. But this is what makes the book Of Mice and Men so fascinating to read, all the people have their own problems and dreams because they all share the strong emotions of loneliness and individuality, and even though they may think that they are all diverse, the audience can grasp that each person is more and more like the other.

Rowntree and Townsends Theories on Poverty

Rowntree and Townsends Theories on Poverty Introduction Sociologists disagree over what poverty actually is. In this essay I aim to discuss and criticise Seebohm Rowntrees theory from 1899 -1950 then I will discuss and criticise, Peter Townsend’s theory. The next section will be to discuss and criticise, Mack and Lansleys theory, and the ideas of Herbert Spencer (social Darwinism) There will then be a discussion of regressive and progressive taxation and an explanation of Marslands theory. Finally I will explain and criticise, John Wetergaard and Henrietta Resler’s arguement that there is a myth surrounding the welfare state. This myth is that the welfare state is progressive and redistributes from the rich to the poor. Poverty and Seebohm Rowntree In the time of Queen Elizabeth the first it was people’s duty to help alleviate poverty. They did this by feeding the poor and visiting the sick and trying to ensure that people were not destitute. After the Reformation things changed and laws were passed to regulate the amount that was spent on the poor. In 1601 the Elizabethan Poor Law was passed and made provision for â€Å"the setting of the poor on work†[1] The Poor Law also said that the poor were responsible for caring for each other. Overseers were appointed in every area to decide how much poor relief would be needed. In the amended Poor Law of 1834 overseers knew the circumstances of the poor in their are and those who were considered lazy would not get much help. These amendments to the Poor Law gave those in power a greater degree of control over the lives of the poor. In the 1860s, Joseph Rowntree, Seebohm Rowtree’s father conducted two studies into poverty.[2] This led Seebohm Rowntree to later conduct his own study which was published in 1901. He made an early distinction between primary and secondary poverty – a distinction which sociologists still use today. Primary poverty meant that a family did not have enough money coming in to cover the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing. Secondary poverty was where families earned enough but spent their money on things other than the basic necessities. So some spending was regarded as alright while other spending was seen as wasting money, on drink for example. He believed that wages should be increased because then people would be well fed and healthy and would be an efficient workforce. He raised the wages of workers at his own company and said that businesses who refused to do this should be closed down as they were doing the country no favours. His second study which he car ried out in the 1930s was published as â€Å"Progress and Poverty in 1941.† He argued in this study that the main cause of poverty was unemployment, the conclusions of his report influenced the founding of the welfare state. Although Seebohm Rowntree did a lot to further the cause of the poor and to point out the causes of poverty. His remarks about primary and secondary poverty, while still influential today, were typical of those in power. That is to say they carried the message that the poor were irresponsible and needed to be told how to spend the money that they had earned. Peter Townsend – Poverty as a Social Problem Townsend (1979) has defined poverty in the following way: Individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the types of diets, participate in the activities and have the living conditions which are customary, or at least widely encouraged and approved, in the societies to which they belong. Townsend(1979:31). Townsend’s work makes it quite clear that poverty is not just a lack of money but encompasses things other than strictly material needs. Those who are poor often live in poorer areas with badly performing schools and poor housing. This often results in ill health. Townsend said that there were two types of poverty, relative poverty and absolute poverty. Research undertaken for the Rowntree Foundation (Howarth et al,1999) found that in local authority housing more than two thirds of the heads of those households were not in paid work and since 1991 there has been an increase of 40% in the number of local authority areas with above average mortality rates. Absolute poverty is not really seen in the west. In underdeveloped countries people are often denied thenecessities e.g. food and shelter which maintain existence. Giddens (2001:311) argues that the idea of absolute poverty is grounded in ‘subsistence’. Anyone without sufficient food, shelter and clothing could be said to be living in absolute poverty. One of the ways in which absolute poverty is measured is by the poverty line which is based on the price of goods in a given society that humans need for survival. Those who cannot afford these goods live in poverty. Not everyone agrees with this and the idea of absolute poverty is highly contested because the use of a single criterion fails to take into account the differences between societies. Needs are not the same in all societies, or even in the same society, nutritional needs are different for people working in different jobs, a labourer for example may need more calories than a bank clerk. Drewnowski and Scott (1966)[3] argue that absolute poverty should also include a lack of cultural needs. This is often argued over because a fixed standard on such needs is bound to fail. These people are more interested in relative poverty. Relative poverty looks at peoples incomes and compares them to a national average. Relative poverty means that people are living in poverty when their life is compared to those of the average family this is because lack of income also means poorer housing. People who live in relative poverty usually live in deprived areas also. Since 1979 increased unemployment and a rise in benefit payments and earnings that are index linked to prices rather than wages, has resulted in a huge rise in the number of people living in relative poverty.[4] In a report inThe British Medical Journal (2000) the writer looked at absolute and relative child poverty in developed countries where some peoples incomes were more than fifty percent lower than the average. It also said that in the league table of relative child poverty one of the four bottom places was held by the UK. An article in the Daily Telegraph (27/08/02) says that the idea of relative poverty is a problem. The article suggests that instead of using household income as the regulator it might be better if statisticians calculated the prices of basic goods and services. Under the present system the rich were becoming richer and the poor were paying for it in increased taxes and a lack of services. Another approach to measuring relative poverty is through people’s perceptions of the necessities of life which is what Mack and Lansley did. Mack and Lansley The work of Mack and Lansley (1985, 1992) listed those things that were considered to be necessary to modern day life if a person was not living in poverty. They did two studies on relative poverty in the UK. Mack and Lansley carried out an opinion poll to find out what people thought were the necessities of modern day life. There were twenty six things that most people considered important these things included new clothes, heating, a bath and indoor toilet. Relative poverty was thus measured by the presence or absence of the things that had been listed. Mack and Lansley’s research found that the number of people living in poverty in the 1980s went up quite a bit, this poverty was defined by the lack of three or more of the basic necessities mentioned earlier. Between 1983 and 1990 when the two studies were undertaken the number of people who were living in poverty went up from 7.5 million to 11 million and the number of those living in severe poverty or who were lacking more than 7 of the items that were considered essential, went up from 2.6 to 3.5 million (Mack and Lansley, 1992). Poverty is also defined by how far people can afford to participate in social activities such as school trips. In recent years this has been called social exclusion. Social exclusion does not look at poverty just in terms of a lack of material things. It looks at the wider picture and this includes wheter people are able to participate in society. There are no clear ways of measuring poverty. Absolute and relative poverty are both complex and ways of measuring what it is to be poor, and not everyone agrees on them. Policy makers say what poverty is and then make laws for it but few of them experience what it is to be poor. A report published by the Rowntree foundation says that what the poor have to say needs to be taken into consideration in research on poverty. Taking into account the opinions of those who actually lived in poverty would provide useful information for existing organisations that might help shape policy making in the long term.[5] In all this there is a feeling that the poor are somehow to blame for the circumstances in which they find themselves. A point which Herbert Spencer writing in the nineteenth century would have agreed with. As far as Spencer was concerned people lived in poverty as a result of dissolute living. He had no sympathy at all for the poor and regarded many of them as criminals and drunks. He believed it was unnatural to help people who lived in poverty as a result of their own behaviour and irresponsibility. If people were too lazy to work then they should not be allowed to eat. He believed that the cause of poverty could be found by an examination of the moral character of an individual. The Poor Laws were wrong because they encouraged the poor to be lazy and to rely on somebody else’s hard work to provide them with the necessities of life. This allowed moral decline to spread through the population. The result would be that both society and the economy would suffer. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century thought was heavily influence by Darwins work â€Å" The Origins of the Species† and Spencer was no exception. He believed in Darwin’s idea of the survival of the fittest. Society could only evolve properly and morally if the honest and hard working members of society were allowed to keep the fruits of their labour. The week and lazy members of society should be condemned to live in poverty because that was what they deserved. Falling into poverty was a necessary evil in society because without poverty work would not exist. Although this may seem repugnant to a lot of people Spencer’s ideas are still rife in modern society. Peter Golding (1978) has said that media reporting of poverty in the nineteen seventies portrayed the poor as welfare scroungers living off the backs of others. The press portrayed people as having a comfortable existence living off social security at the expense of tax payers. The New Right The Conservative Government headed by Margaret Thatcher were voted into power in 1979. Political debates of the time were concerned with a free market economy versus the welfare state. The tory government brought in measures to roll back the welfare state and control spending. This was done through the introduction of marketing and business strategies into policy making. At the same time there was an intense process of privatization because it was thought that public ownership of companies, and the public sector worked against market forces. Introducing marketing principles into social care allowed the Governments to in theory improve services. It also enabled them to retain a greater degree of control. Giddens (2001) says that: †¦the momentum of Thatcherism in economic matters was maintained by the privatising of public companies†¦..(this)..is held to reintroduce healthy economic competition in place of unwieldy and ineffective public bureaucracies, reduce public expenditure and end political interference in managerial decisions (Giddens, 2001:434). The introduction of market forces into social care was considered the best method of Government spending because free markets were considered to be self organising (Olssen 2000).They thought this would increase productivity and improve care and be cost efficient. Government discourses, both Conservative and New Labour have revolved around the notion that the introduction of market mechanisms would result in a more equitable system benefiting all. However, Alcock (1994) says that the Conservative policies resulted in greater unemployment, a rise in the number of homeless people, and a general growth in social inequality. Marsland (1996) disagrees and says that in Britain poverty has been exaggerated. David Marsland Marsland says that the Rowntree foundation deliberately confuse poverty with inequality and that they exaggerate the amount of poverty in Britain. He says that who say poverty is increasing act out of their own self interest because the evidence is not examined impartially. He does not believe in relative poverty but says that in order to truly be poverty it has to be absolute and this is disappearing from Britain because of the increase in living standards that has come about through capitalism. He is also critical o universal welfare provision i.e. those benefits such as education which are available to everyone regardless of their income as he believes they create a dependency culture. Marsland (1989) believes that relying on the government to take care of the people results in an abdication of personal responsibility and welfare hand outs are just another reason for remaining unemployed. Jordan (1989) says that Marsland is wrong in what he says about universal welfare provision creating a dependency culture and that if such a culture exists it is targeted with means tested benefits that only the very poor get. Rather than poverty being the result of an over generous welfare system, Jordan says that it comes from one that is too mean. Westergaard and Resler (1976) argue that the welfare state does not make the distribution of wealth more equal. Poverty is not being eradicated. Any money or benefits that the working class receive will eventually be paid back in tax by themselves. They believe that the welfare state is simply another tool of capitalism and poverty exists because of that system which prevents poor people from obtaining the resources to stop being poor. In Westergaard’s view the policies of the eighties and nineties and the hold that market forces had over Britain meant that even the aim of redistributing wealth through the welfare state had been abandoned. Kincaid says that it is not just a matter of rich and poor it is the fact that some people are very rich while some are very poor. Poverty therefore is a result of the capitalist system. However, such theories do not really explain why some people become poor nor do they differentiate between poor working class and other members of that clas s. So we have plenty of theories but no real solutions. Conclusion This essay has looked at different theories of poverty. Seebohm Rowntree in the nineteenth century who wanted to improve the lives of the poor and believed that increased wages would change things. Herbert Spencer on the other hand believed the opposite. He thought it was wrong to help the poor and believed that if people were hard working and honest then they should keep all of the money they had earned. Some people were born to be richer than others, it was the survival of the fittest. Peter Townsend distinguished between absolute and relative poverty but relative poverty is not easy to define and is still being contested. Even Macky and Llansley’s work on relative poverty does not solve the problem. New Right approaches have contributed to the problems of poverty but Marxist criticisms do not provide answers as to who the poor really are or how they became that way. Clearly this is not an easy question. Howver, if we look back at the definitions of absolute poverty then we can say that this type of poverty does not really exist in Britain today. Bibliography Giddens, A. 2001. (4th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press. Haralambos, M and Heald, R. 1985 Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. London, Bell and Hyman. Howarth,C. et al 1999 Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation. http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/1210/poverty.html Mack, J. and Lansley, S. 1985. Poor Britain. London, George Allen and Unwin. Mack, J. and Lansley, S. 1992. Breadline Britain 1990s The Findings of the Television Series. London, London Weekend Television. Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 Poverty and Worklessness in Britain http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf O’Neale Roache, J. 2000. â€Å"One in Six Children Live in Relative Poverty.† BMJ 2000;320:1626 ( 17 June ). The Daily Telegraph 27th August 2002 Townsend, P. 1979. Poverty in the United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin. Giddens, A. 2001. (4th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press. Haralambos, M and Heald, R. 1985 Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. London, Bell and Hyman. Howarth,C. et al 1999 Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation. http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/1210/poverty.html Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1985. Poor Britain. London, George Allen and Unwin. Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1992. Breadline Britain 1990s The Findings of the Television Series. London, London Weekend Television. Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 Poverty and Worklessness in Britain http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf Olssen, M. 2000 â€Å"Ethical liberalism, education and the New Right† Journal of Educational Policy Vol 15No. 5 2000 pps 481-508 O’Neale Roache, J. 2000. â€Å"One in Six Children Live in Relative Poverty.† BMJ 2000;320:1626 ( 17 June ). The Daily Telegraph 27th August 2002 Townsend, P. 1979. Poverty in the United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin. Sociological Review 1 [1] http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html [2] http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RErowntreeS.htm [3] Cited in Holborn and Langley 2002 [4] http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 [5] From input to influence: Participatory approaches to research and inquiry into poverty by Fran Bennett with Moraene Roberts, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation