Individual or Issue Related to Africana Studies Essay

Individual or Issue Related to Africana Studies - Essay Example Similar to the arts of all individuals in the world, African art illustrate thought, attitudes, and values which are a result of African experiences in the past. Therefore, the study of African art gives an avenue for learning about the history of Africa. Through the study of African Art, individuals can find answers to the questions which have been engrossing the continent for long. Nonetheless, it is not only African art that can assist people get information on the past of Africa. Other elements, for example, lifestyle and stage of African development can also assist people gain additional information on the status of Africa in the globe. As individuals search information on Africa and its past, they must also take into consideration how Western view of racial and race differences has had an impact on views of the African history (Said 8). This paper will look at the impact of slavery and the slave trade era on the development of Africa. The ideas of race and racial differences ha ve always assumed, black people are inferior compared to their white counterparts. This notion begun in Western regions as the people from these regions attempted to rationalize their enslavement of Africans and the consequent colonization of the African continent. Historians and other professional studying African issues have now established that views of racial inadequacy have led to the conviction that African people in the past existed in a condition of primitive barbarism (Said 11). In addition, these professionals have also recognized that a large number of European works on the past of Africa, for example, stories by 19thcentury travelers and missionaries are stained by the similar view points of African inadequacy. This recognition has made historian and other experts studying the past of Africa to search for different sources of information that is less or not inspired by European or foreign concern with racial disparity. These different resources comprise oral traditions f ound in Africa, works by Africans, the physical evidence unearthed by archeologists, African art, and structures and vocabularies of the African language. These different sources, unlike European or foreign sources, will assist individuals comprehend the history of Africa from the African point of view.

Internet Article Review When to call the organization doctor Essay Example for Free

Internet Article Review When to call the organization doctor Essay Summary In the article, When to call the organization doctor by Robert N. Llewellyn discusses many techniques that are available for an organization and managers to use in determining how to properly identify organizational problems, or resolve current problems within the organization. Llewellyns article briefly describes eight-elements in accomplishing organizational effectiveness: Strategic Direction, Goal Alignment, Work Process and Projects, Organizational Structure, Performance Management, Rewards, Cultural Support Systems and Infrastructure. The article further points out that after a manager have identified the elements for effective organizational management than they should apply these elements to diagnosis problems within the organization. Furthermore, When a fit problem is identified one must use not only simple deductive thinking, but inferential thinking as well. (Llewellyn, p.79, 2002) Following this step puts management in charge of where the organization is going, strategically and systemically, and avoids the management-fad phenomenon. (Llewellyn, p.79, 2002) Effective Management In week, one Professor Sowunmi asked the class to explain, How does effective management impact organizational success? (Main newsgroup, February 4, 2004 DQ 2) In answering the question I stated, Effective management can have an endless impact upon the success of an organization. Interview Article 3 The main goals of any business are to make sure that its organization and its employees perform proficiently and productively. Any company can accomplish these goals if the employees are provided with appropriate guidance, enough flexibility, and supplied with the necessary information about what the organization is trying to accomplish. Moreover, a company that is successfully managed has a vision and knows how to make decisions that are consistent with the companys vision. In addition, an organization that has good management can make good decisions that not only improve the profits of the company, but also give the employees a sense of pride in their company. A company that is managed successfully recognizes and appreciates its customers and will go all the way in making sure the customer is place first. (Easter-Brown, DQ 2, February 7, 2004) This statement helps support the fact that if an organization fails to properly diagnosis problems within the organization they are most probably committing a form of organizational malpractice. In other words, thinking about the many ways organizations try to change and make themselves healthier makes it nearly impossible if they are unwilling to remember that prescription without diagnosis is malpractice, whether in medicine or management. On the other hand, the self-medication approach can sometimes have limited impact and can even lose headway. Without any external help or ideas, the side effects or self-treatment can be limited management thinking, stubborn devotion to traditional and comfortable viewpoints. Self-medication can work well, but management must be well informed about the range of effective remedies. Interview Article 4 Take the statement made by Kevin OConnell, one of my fellow classmates, Effective management uses mistakes as opportunities for learning and is able to recover and quickly adapt to changes in the business climate. Ineffective management points the blame on others and never learns nor takes ownership for mistakes. (Main newsgroup DQ2, February 5, 2004) Furthermore, preferring the self-medication approach, many organizations continually engage in various processes aimed at self-change. They may purchase current management books, videos and training materials the counterpart of over-the-counter medications but in general, they prefer to figure things out for themselves. Many firms are simply more comfortable with this do it yourself approach and have little attraction to the idea of bringing in outsiders to deal with their change agenda. Internal task forces, special initiatives, campaigns and focused training programs can be effective forms of self-treatment. If they have a core team of bright, well-qualified internal change agents, they could make great progress. Llewellyn states, managers should first correctly diagnosis organizational problems first, then, if needed, search for a consultant that has the experience needed. (pg. 79, 2002) Changes for SHS If I could make changes or recommendations for my own organization, they would defiantly be built around the guidelines of organizational effectiveness. Interview Article 5 The Stamford Health System is currently under new management and many of the guidelines stated in Llewellyns article are exceptional steps for improving the effectiveness of my companys organizational structure, for example, Performance Management, Rewards, and Cultural Support Systems are some good suggestions for improvement. In my recommendations for Performance Management, I would like to see a centralized scheduling streamlines access to the hospitals services that satisfy physicians and patients, for example, a Centralized-scheduling staff of stationed in close proximity to the Admitting office, increasing their efficiency due to the high volume of walk-in patients. The average 95 faxes and 30 calls received each day from physicians offices will be reduce to approximately 15 minutes to schedule. The training process for central scheduling staff is broader so that they can schedule all procedure/visit types Specific IT systems can now facilitate central scheduling by being smart about scheduling. If my organization wants to be competitive and increase their nurse retention, they need to provide major stimulus to restructure the hospital and organization. There needs to be an improvement in our internal reform strategy as well as a market alliance strategy. In order to be successful in the market environment of managed care and managed competition, my institution needs to expand market share through superior quality service; reduce management overhead with flat structure; increase productivity with self-directed teams; control expenses within budget; reinforce innovation and performance with incentives; and reinfuse employees and medical staff with a sense of shared optimism about the future. Interview Article 6 I believe the result will be a sweeping overhaul in organizational culture, driven by a radical shift in management philosophy and a permanent commitment to seek continuous improvements at all levels. Conclusion It is evident from my evaluation and the article When to call the organization doctor by Robert N. Llewellyn that careful evaluation and diagnosis of the central problems in an organization can help avoid expensive, disruptive, and often unnecessary intervention (pg.79, 2002) Overall, through a conservative position an organization can develop the capability to evaluate and diagnosis effective organizational skills to improve the many problems that may arise in the organizational structure. Fundamentally, as long as the organization is willing to strive for organizational effectiveness, they have a greater chance of solving problems within the company. Interview Article 7 References Easter-Brown, D. (Feb. 7, 2004). MGT 330 Main Newsgroup. How does effective management impact organizational success? Retrieved from MGT 330 Main Newsgroup on February 16, 2004 Llewellyn, R.N. (Mar. 2002). When to call the organization doctor HR Magazine. Vol. 47, Iss. 3, pg. 79. Retrieved from ProQuest database on February 2, 2004. OConnell, K. (Feb. 5, 2004). MGT 330 Main Newsgroup. How does effective management impact organizational success? Retrieved from MGT 330 Main Newsgroup on February 16, 2004 Sowumni, A. (2004). Overview of The Concepts of Management: Week I Lecture. Retrieved from MGT 330 Course Newsgroup on February 13, 2003. University of Phoenix (Ed.). (2002). Management: Theory, Practice, and Application [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Custom Publishing Retrieved February 13, 2003.

Alzheimers Disease: Biology, Etiology and Solutions

Alzheimers Disease: Biology, Etiology and Solutions Introduction Alzheimers disease (AD) is a type of dementia characterized by the progressive loss in cognitive function due to neurodegeneration that results in gradual memory loss and eventually the inability to carry out tasks of daily living. The two types of AD are distinguished by age of onset and etiologies; early-onset AD develops prior to age 65 and has strong genetic associations while late-onset AD develops after age 65 with a more complex etiology. Late-onset AD accounts for 90-95% of AD cases (Harman 2002). Aging is a strong risk factor for developing late-onset AD. Given that the global population of people ages 65 and up is expected to increase from 26.6 million in 2006 to 106.8 million by 2050 (Brookmeyer et al. 2007) AD is a growing public health concern in regards to disease management and development of innovative treatments. The prevalence of AD globally is 4.4%, with 1 in 10 people over age 65 and nearly one-third of people over age 85 affected by dementia in developed countries (Qiu et al. 2009). AD prevalence is the greatest in East Asia, followed by Western Europe, South Asia, and North America (Prince et al. 2015). Disease burden is anticipated to be the greatest in low and middle-income countries with the fastest growth in the elderly population and limited access to care (Prince et al. 2015). By 2050, the U.S. population of adults with AD is projected to increase to 13.2 million. With 43% of AD patients requiring a high level of care, the financial and healthcare burden of AD is expected to rise (Qiu et al. 2009). Given that the burden of AD will increase over the coming decades with costly impacts on health care and social services, it is necessary to continue AD research to identify a cause and develop novel therapies. Etiology Alzheimer’s disease is a multifactorial disease with several genetic, person, and lifestyle risk factors that contribute to development of disease. Although many risk factors for AD have been identified a cause has not yet been found. Of the genetic risk factors identified, apolipoprotein E alleles, with ethnic and sex variability in risk of developing AD, and TREM2 gene mutations have the strongest associations with AD. Lifestyle risk factors include hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and education. The development of AD requires a combination of these risk factors that induce the production of neurotoxic amyloid beta (Aß) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), the agents of AD. Apolipoprotein E (apoE) has been identified as playing a role in AD pathology. ApoE is naturally produced and is involved in lipid transport (Ridge et al. 2013; 2018 Feb 27).   In AD it is thought that apoE regulation of Aß is altered (Kanekiyo et al. 2014). There are three apoE alleles that differ in the risk they confer to AD; the ÃŽ µ2 and ÃŽ µ3 alleles are protective but the ÃŽ µ4 allele increases risk for AD (Ridge et al. 2013). Additionally, it appears that ethnicity modulates the risk of AD conferred by the apoE ÃŽ µ4 allele, conferring greater risk among Caucasians and Japanese than African Americans and Hispanics (Ridge et al., 2013). The apoE ÃŽ µ4 allele is an established risk factor for the development of AD however it is not causative and the risk that carrying this gene confers is likely modulated by other factors such as ethnicity and lifestyle.   Mutations in the TREM2 gene have also been implicated in AD pathology. The TREM2 gene codes for a receptor expressed in myeloid cells, the principal innate immune cell in the brain (Hickman and El Khoury 2014) and in greater abundance in the hippocampus and neocortex, brain structures affected by neurodegeneration in AD (Guerreiro et al. 2013 Jan 9). A rare missense mutation in the TREM2 gene was identified in Islanders that confers significant risk of AD (Jonsson et al. 2013 Jan 9) and a loss of function mutation increases the risk of late-onset AD in heterozygous carriers (Hickman and El Khoury 2014). This loss of function mutation promotes the production of Aß and reduces Aß phagocytosis and degradation (Hickman and El Khoury 2014). In addition to the genetic risk factors discussed above, several lifestyle risk factors for AD have been identified including cardiovascular risk factors and obesity. Cardiovascular risk factors (smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes) in mid-life are associated with a 20-40% increased risk of AD in a dose-dependent fashion (Whitmer et al. 2005). Hypertension that develops in mid-life and persists into late-life is associated with a greater risk of dementia (McGrath et al. 2017). Furthermore, the risk of hypertension for AD in late-life might be influenced by sex, with females having a 65% increased risk of developing dementia if hypertensive in mid-life but no such association among males (Gilsanz et al. 2017). Midlife insulin resistance is also a risk factor for Aß accumulation (Ekblad et al. 2018 Feb 23) and patients with diabetes and the apoE ÃŽ µ4 allele have more Aß plaques and NFTs in the brain (Peila et al. 2002). Obesity is linked to AD via several singl e-nucleotide polymorphisms (Hinney et al. 2014). In people who are obese, leptin and adiponectin lose their neuroprotective role as the brain becomes resistant to leptin and the levels of adiponectin decrease (Letra et al. 2014). Research conducted by Nuzzo et al. (2015) further supports this association, finding that obese mice fed a high-fat diet had elevated Aß accumulation. Addressing these modifiable risk factors in mid-life may help reduce the risk of developing AD in late-life. Higher educational attainment and continued cognitive stimulation in later life are protective against AD. Amieva et al. (2014) found that individuals with AD who had education beyond 6 years of primary school showed delayed cognitive decline before diagnosis compared to individuals with less education. Participating in cognitive leisure activities in late-life, like reading books, newspapers, and magazines, solving crossword puzzles, and attending courses and professional training, has a protective effect as well (Sattler et al. 2012). Higher educational attainment may be associated with reduced risk of AD and delayed cognitive decline if AD develops because of its association with increased hippocampi and amygdalae size. In individuals with AD, the hippocampi are larger in those who had 20 years of formal education compared to those with 6 years (Shpanskaya et al. 2014). The role of education in hippocampal size is further implicated by Tang, Varma, Miller, and Carlson (2017) who f ound that the left hippocampus is larger than the right, possibly due to education honing retrieval of verbal memory by the left hippocampus through increasing intellectual ability and literacy skills.   Biology   Alzheimer’s disease results in the progressive loss of neurons in the cerebrum. The first structures affected are the hippocampi followed by the amygdala (Pini et al. 2016). As the disease progresses so does neuronal loss throughout the cerebrum. In AD, Aß peptides and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) formed by tau protein cause synaptic damage that leads to apoptosis. Additionally, the innate immune system in the brain does not function properly in AD and therefore does not remove Aß peptides before they aggregate to form plaques.   Amyloid beta is naturally produced in the brain by the cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP), but when APP is cleaved by ß-secretase Aß peptides are formed that can cause synaptic and mitochondrial damage and aggregate to form plaques (Querfurth and LaFerla 2010). In healthy individuals, Aß peptides are cleared by microglia and enzymes but these mechanisms deteriorate in individuals with AD and the Aß peptides accumulate and result in neurodegeneration (Sarlus and Heneka 2017). Aß plaques cause neuronal cell death by accumulating around neurons, impairing normal function and inducing an inflammatory response. More attention recently has been given to Aß peptides, which lead to apoptosis in neurons through synaptic damage and inhibition of mitochondrial function. Aß peptides cause synaptic damage in the hippocampus by aggregating and creating pores in the cell membranes that allows calcium ion entry into the cell. Over time, these pores become non-selective and allow flux of large molecules like ATP and glucose that alters cell metabolism and disrupts homeostasis resulting in apoptosis (Sepà ºlveda et al. 2014). Aß also produces reactive oxygen species that initiate oxidative stress which leads to mitochondria in the cell releasing cytochrome C and inducing apoptosis (Querfurth and LaFerla 2010). Both Aß peptides and APP can enter the mitochondria where they disrupt the electron transport chain and ATP production (Caspersen et al. 2005; Reddy and Beal 2008). Synapses are sites of high mitochondrial activity because ATP is needed for neurotransmitter release (Reddy and Beal 2008), so inhibition of mitochondrial activity by Aß also results in synaptic damage. NFTs are intracellular aggregations of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and also cause neurodegeneration. Tau protein is a component of the cytoskeleton of neural cells but when hyperphosphorylated tau proteins have an affinity for themselves and destabilize the cytoskeleton (Iqbal et al. 2005; Spillantini and Goedert 2013). Tau protein is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase -3ß (GSK-3ß) (Rankin et al. 2007) which can be activated by Aß peptides (Takashima 2006). Tau protein mediates synaptic damage by inhibiting extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling that is key in cell survival (Sun et al. 2016). Approaches Current treatment of AD relies on two types of medications: acetylcholine esterase inhibitors (AChEIs) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists. AChEIs work by slowing the degradation of acetylcholine (ACh) by inhibiting acetylcholine esterase which allows more ACh action at the synapses (Nelson and Tabet 2015). When cholinergic neurons are lost during the course of AD, ACh synthesis and receptor signaling are reduced (Auld et al. 2002). AChEIs are most effective in slowing progression of cognitive decline in mild to moderate cases and less effective in severe AD (Gillette-Guyonnet et al. 2011). Memantine is an NMDA receptor antagonist (Tariot et al. 2004) that helps mitigate the loss of NMDA receptor function due to Aß peptides (Snyder et al. 2005). Memantine is not effective for mild cases of AD (Nelson and Tabet 2015) but it is effective in moderate to severe cases, especially when used in combination with AChEIs (Tariot et al. 2004). Although AChEIs and NMDA receptor antagonists are the current pharmacological treatments available for AD, they are only able to slow the progression of the disease and lose effectiveness as AD progresses. The challenge in designing a drug to prevent or cure AD is the multifactorial nature of the disease with genetic and lifestyle risk factors. Even when non-pharmacologic interventions (controlling blood pressure, cognitive stimulation therapy, healthy diet and exercise, and maintaining social networks) (Nelson and Tabet 2015) are used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan and initiated early in disease progression, the best that current treatments can offer is to slow the natural progression of the disease With AD prevalence expected to increase worldwide across all races and ethnicities, the culture of different populations is an important consideration when designing intervention strategies. Social and economic barriers that prevent access to health care and social services among different populations need to be understood to identify and implement the best treatment specific to that population. Cultures also differ in how they view AD-related cognitive decline and may consider the memory loss a part of normal aging and therefore delay seeking treatment. An awareness of how cognitive decline in older age is defined culturally, how cultures differ in caring for the elderly, and how barriers to AD care services impacts each culture’s choice of treatment is key to developing successful interventions. Proposed Solutions The greatest challenge in developing treatment for AD that can prevent AD development or progression is that a specific cause has not yet been identified. However, recent research has identified new pharmacologic targets involved in the production of Aß and new therapies to reduce Aß and tau pathology. Research by Hu, Das, Hou, He, and Yan (2018) identified the ß-secretase BACE1 as a potential pharmacological target for the treatment of AD. In a mouse model of AD in adults with BACE1 inhibition, it was observed that synaptic function improved and Aß plaque formation was prevented. Although some clinical trials of BACE1 inhibitors have stalled, with Merck stopping its clinical trial of verubecestat in February 2018 (Merck 2018), there is still hope of developing pharmacologic treatments targeting Aß and tau proteins (Amgen 2017). A novel therapeutic approach being researched is the use of optogenetic stimulation to reduce Aß and tau phosphorylation. Using a light flickering at 40 hertz, (Iaccarino et al. 2016) found they could stimulate brain waves called gamma oscillations in a mouse model of AD and observed reduced Aß plaque formation and tau phosphorylation. This may lead to new non-invasive AD therapies, but more research is needed to investigate its effectiveness in humans. With treatment approaches that target the production of toxic Aß and abnormal tau phosphorylation, it is conceivable that in the future we may be better able to prevent and stop the progression of AD. References Amgen. 2017 Nov 2. 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Forecasting the global burden of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Dement. J. Alzheimers Assoc. 3:186–191. Caspersen C, Wang N, Yao J, Sosunov A, Chen X, Lustbader JW, Xu HW, Stern D, McKhann G, Yan SD. 2005. Mitochondrial Abeta: a potential focal point for neuronal metabolic dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease. FASEB J. 19:2040–2041. Ekblad LL, Johansson J, Helin S, Viitanen M, Laine H, Puukka P, Jula A, Rinne JO. 2018 Feb 23. Midlife insulin resistance, APOE genotype, and late-life brain amyloid accumulation. Neurology:10.1212/WNL.0000000000005214. Gillette-Guyonnet S, Andrieu S, Nourhashemi F, Gardette V, Coley N, Cantet C, Gauthier S, Ousset P-J, Vellas B. 2011. Long-term progression of Alzheimer’s disease in patients under antidementia drugs. Alzheimers Dement J Alzheimers Assoc. 7:579–592. Gilsanz P, Mayeda ER, Glymour MM, Quesenberry CP, Mungas DM, DeCarli C, Dean A, Whitmer RA. 2017. Female sex, early-onset hypertension, and risk of dementia. Neurology 89:1886–1893. 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Amyloid beta, mitochondrial dysfunction and synaptic damage: implications for cognitive decline in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Trends Mol Med. 14:45–53. Ridge PG, Ebbert MTW, Kauwe JSK. 2013. Genetics of Alzheimer’s disease. BioMed Res Int. 2013:254-954. Sarlus H, Heneka MT. 2017. Microglia in Alzheimer’s disease. J. Clin Invest. 127:3240–3249. Sattler C, Toro P, Schà ¶nknecht P, Schrà ¶der. 2012. Cognitive activity, education and socioeconomic status as preventive factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Psychiatry Res. 196:90–95. Sepà ºlveda FJ, Fierro H, Fernandez E, Castillo C, Peoples RW, Opazo C, Aguayo LG. 2014. Nature of the neurotoxic membrane actions of amyloid-ÃŽ ² on hippocampal neurons in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging. 35:472–481. Shpanskaya KS, Choudhury KR, Hostage C, Murphy KR, Petrella JR, Doraiswamy PM. 2014. Educational attainment and hippocampal atrophy in the Alzheimer’s disease neuroimaging initiative cohort. 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History and Advantages of High Fructose Corn Syrup Essay -- Artificial

The History and Advantages of High Fructose Corn Syrup HFCS is a popular sweetener used in processed foods. It is composed of approximately 50% fructose and 50% glucose. It is made from corn starch with the use of enzymes to convert glucose to fructose. It has many advantages over cheap sugar, including, but not limited to, lower price, longer shelf life, low freezing point, and enhanced taste and texture. Corn refinement was first discovered circa 1860, and was soon followed by the development of corn syrup. Important advantages took place in the 1920’s with the use of enzymes, but it was not until the mid-1900’s when the crucial glucose isomerase enzyme was discovered. Industrial production of HFCS began in the 1970’s and today the industry is huge. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener used in many consumer products. Because it is as sweet as sugar, yet cheaper, HFCS is used in many processed food products. Like sugar, it has four calories per gram and has no added artificial or synthetic materials. HFCS is made from corn refinement. First, starch must be separated from the rest of the corn. The starch is then treated with the enzyme glucose isomerase, which converts glucose into fructose. Fructose is an isomer of glucose; both have the empirical formula C6H12O6, but in different bonding. Glucose and fructose bonded together make sucrose, commonly known as table sugar. However, they are found separately in HFCS. Supporters of HFCS claim that it causes no more harm to the body than sugar does because both HFCS and sugar have fructose and glucose in approximately one to one ratios. There are three main types of HFCS: HFCS-42, HFCS-55, HFCS-90. HFCS-42 is 42% fructose and 50% glucose. It is the least sweet of the ... ... Shaft." Freedom Daily Apr. 1998. The Future of Freedom Foundation. 25 July 2006 . Path: James Bovard; FFF articles; The Great Sugar Shaft "Corn Subsidies in United States." Environmental Working Group's Farm Subsidy Database. Nov. 2005. Environmental Working Group. 25 July 2006 . Path: Top Programs; Corn Subsidies. HFCS Facts. 25 July 2006 . "High Fructose Corn Syrup." Learn about Kosher. OU Kosher. 25 July 2006 . "Vignette 4 Bioprocess Engineering for High-Volume Products: The Case of Corn and the Wet-Milling Industry." Putting Biotechnology to Work: Bioprocess Engineering. 1992. 27-29. The National Academic Press. 25 July 2006 .

Working Memory?

Write-Up The field of memory provides excellent opportunity for research, drawing theoretical models and implementing them to check their validity. Working memory, in psychology, is a memory system that holds information to perform various verbal and non-verbal (even physical) tasks. It is very important from the viewpoint of processing information and enacting it in day-to-day life. Though a simple three stage model for memory (Encoding, storage and retrieval) was proposed initially, experts like Baddeley proposed that working memory is much beyond these three phases and memory functions of short-term memory and long-term memory are very complex in comparison to what initial chunking of memory into theoretical aspects initially suggest (Becker & Morris, 1999). He introduced a novel approach to depict working memory as a not as three-part system that temporarily holds information as people perform cognitive tasks but a perennial work-desk on which information is manipulated and assembled to help us comprehend decide, and in problem-solving (Baddeley, 1996, 2003). According to Baddeley’s view of working memory, we can pictorially imagine a managerial executive (Central executive memory) with two helpers (Phonological loop & Visuo-spatial working loop) (Hamilton, Coates & Hefferman, 2010; DeRenzi & Nischell, 1975). This theory and its fractionization have neuropsychological evidence, experimental evidence and developmental evidence. A study states that left posterior hemisphere of the brain is actively involved in working memory. Other studies show that even right posterior is actively involved but in working memory but non-visual aspects. It might be involved in spatial aspects. Despite the heavy argument, involvement of different brain regions in working memory (Phonological and visuo spatial) establishes a base for neuro-psychological evidence (Vallar & Baddeley, 1984; Hamilton, Coates Hefferman, 2010). Laboratory based experiments show how visual short-term memory task is strongly disrupted by visual as opposed to spatial interference, and also spatial memory task was simultaneously more strongly disrupted by spatial interference. This double dissociation supports the theoretically proposed fractionation of working memory (Klauer & Zhao, 2004). Developmental evidence suggests that visual subcomponent of the visuo-spatial sketchpad is distinct from the spatial subcomponent as seen in children aged 5-6, 8-9 and 11-12 (Logie & Pearson, 1997). Thus, arising from strongly evidenced studies, Logie presents a distinct model of two separate systems (Visual and Spatial) (DeRenzi & Nischell, 1975). The visual storage aspect stores information about form and colour whereas spatial control takes care of aspects pertaining to locomotion, limb movements and also rehearsal of information (or series of information in visual cache) (Logie & Pearson, 1997). The proposed study explores the topic of fractionalisation of memory in lines with the above mentioned strong theoretical and research based evidence. However, the trajectory of interest is along the lines of research done by Logie and Pearson (1997) in developmental field. This study examines the visual and spatial development in children and adults. There may be many limitations pertaining to use of methodology. The visual recall of design and Corsi blocks are two distinct materials, not only in terms of format but also in terms of material to be recalled. Thus comparison of two unequal factors may raise questions about the validity and outcomes of the studies. Logie and Pearson’s study focussed solely on children of different age groups, but since it is purported to measure visual and spatial aspects of working memory under a developmental pathway, this study will use children and adults are subjects (Logie & Pearson, 1997; Klauer & Zhao, 2004). Other arguments against the reliability and objectivity of studies in this area have been in terms of usage of participants and individual, genetic, ethnic and anthropologic differences within the patterns of development. It is not possible to outline a single or a group of factors that predict the pathway of development. Our research hypothesis is designed to measure two questions. The first part of the hypothesis seeks to inquire whether according to the fractionation; the visual and spatial systems should develop at different speeds in humans. In accordance to the first part of the hypothesis, the second part inquires whether the developmental trajectory for visual system is shallower than spatial system. MethodParticipantsThe study has 139 participants in all comprising of 65 (46.8%) children and 74 (53.2%) adults. Among these participants are 56 (40.3%) males and 83 (59.7%) are females. The mean age for boys is 15.65 years and that for girls is 18.5 years.MaterialsTwo basic materials (tests) have been utilised viz: Visual recall of designs and Corsi Blocks. The recall of design is a paper-pencil task that requires the experimenter to show a particular design on paper to participants for 5 seconds and the participant recalls it by drawing it on paper (Logie & Pearson, 1997). The Corsi test presents a blue board with nine wooden cubes. The experimenter taps out a sequence of blocks (in increasing order after each successful completion) and the participant taps out the blocks in exactly the same sequence (Fischer, 2001).DesignThe variables design in a classroom based experimental condition testing factors between subjects (Adults, Children) and within subjects (Males, females) performance of Recall of design and Corsi. The visual and spatial working memory development are the Independent variables whereas the developmental trajectory is the dependent variable. Procedure In a classroom settings, both children and adult group were individually given tasks performance on Visual recall of design and Corsi block task. The scores of recall of design and corsi test were done during task administration itself. Calculated scores for each individual in the adult and the children group are put up before conducting statistical analysis. Statistical analysis Statistical analyses used can be divided into Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. SPSS 19.0 was used for data analyses. Graphs, Histograms and Comparitive bar charts along with mean and median related data falls into descriptive statistics category. We have also conducted two unrelated t-tests; one to compare children’s recall of design with adults and the other one to compare children’s Corsi scores with that of adults. The mean score of children on visual memory is 14.17.(Mean=11.02, sd=1.727) and that of adults is 14.42 (Mean= 17.45, sd=2.765). The mean score of children on spatial memory is 11.02 (Mean=14.17,sd=2.275) and that for adults is 17.45 (Mean= 14.42, sd=2.196). The above table clearly shows that with respect to the spatial component there is a statistically significant difference between the adult mean and children’s mean (p=0.000) which is well below the 0.05 threshold. In fact from the above table it can be seen that the adult mean score is 17.45 whilst that of the children is 11.02 meaning that on average the adults scored about 6.4 more than the children. The above table clearly shows that there is a statistically significant difference between the adult mean and children’s mean on spatial component (p=0.000) which is well below the 0.05 threshold which is very highly significant The above table clearly shows that in terms of the visual component there is no statistically significant difference between adult mean and children’s mean (p>0.5) which exceeds the 0.05 threshold. It depicts how the mean difference between adults and children in relation to the visual component is very small resulting in no statistically significant difference in mean scores. Since there is high significance between the children and adult’s spatial component but no statistical significance between children and adult’s visual component, we can say that there might be a different trajectory in children and adult’s development patterns. It doesn’t however completely fulfil the hypothesis. Discussion The findings do not support the hypothesis in all earnest. There is no correlation between children and adult scores on visual component but there is a very significant relationship between children and adult scores on spatial component. It may be said that the difference has emerged because of the previously raised issue of different methods. Since, Corsi and Recall of design are two distinct tasks, it can be argued that their performance cannot be correlated. However, since the spatial component shows good correlation, it signifies that the trajectory may be well defined and that it develops more easily. However, not much light is thrown on why the results have come up the way they have. Further research may be interested in using Multiple regression to predict the possible factors that may have caused a high correlation in spatial scores and if there are any common factors in children and adults, they might as well be highlighted. However, like previous studies, this study support s the Logie -Pearson model as well as justifies the fractionation approach given by Baddeley. Memory is much beyond its’ structural and functional aspects. Though initial divisions on memory and development of theories have described functions and its’ aspects at a superficial level, this research has gone in depth to investigate difference in developmental trajectories. Since, it is a part of developmental aspect, it has many possibilities of further research (Baddeley, 2003; Logie & Pearson, 1997). References Baddeley A (2003) Working memory: looking back and looking forward, nature reviews Neuroscience, 4, 829-839 Baddeley, A (1996) The fractionation of working memory, Proceedings of national academy of sciences, 93(24), 13468-13472 Becker, J.T & Morris, R.G (1999) Working memory, Brain and cognition, 41, 1-8 DeRenzi, E & Nischell, P (1975) Verbal and non-verbal short term memory impairment following hemispheric damage, Cortex, 11, 341-353 Field, A (2007) Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (Ed:3 ), Sage Publications: London (United Kingdom) Fischer, M (2001), Probing Spatial working memory with Corsi blocks task, Brain and cognition, 45(2), 143-154 Hamilton, C; Coates, R & Hefferman, T (2010) What develops in a visuo-spatial working memory developmentEuropean journal of cognitive psychology Klauer, K.C & Zhao, Z (2004) Double dissociations in visual and spatial short term memory, Journal of experimental psychology, 133 (3), 355-381 Logie, R.H & Pearson, D.G (1997) The inner eye and the inner scribe of visuo-spatial working memory: Evidence from Developmental fractionation, European Journal of cognitive psychology, 9(3), 241-257 Vallar, G & Baddeley, A (1984) Fractionation of working memory: Neuropsychological evidence for short term store, Journal of verbal learning and verbal behaviour, 23(2), 151-161

Free Essays on Late 19th Sentury Japan

In the late 19th century Japan was â€Å"opened† up by the west. The Japanese saw the advancements of the west and sought its own modern state. The process of this modernization came during the Meiji period, thus the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Restoration completely altered the face of Japan, affecting societal, economic and political conditions. With the coming of the west and the eventual modernization of Japan, many social norms changed according to the west. In past times, formal and everyday dress was a kimono of varying niceness, depending on many variables. During the Meiji restoration, the dress changes to western formal dress, which is a suit and tie, or for the emperor and his court, Prussian military outfits. This change is in the forefront of Rough Living, Oshima’s eventual dream is to be a successful tailor with a â€Å"shop facing the main street in broad daylight† (Shusei, 138). Along with the new dress habits the structure of the army was changed as well. The new army was no longer to be dependant upon the daimyo and the samurai class, but instead the government setup a system of conscription, making it so anyone could be a warrior, which was a dramatic change from the way things had been. Without their warrior status, the samurai had no distinction nor income beyond what the government ga ve them, mostly in lump sums or bonds. This situation created much tension between the samurai and the government which eventually flowered into a rebellion, which the government was able to put down in less than a year. With the end of the feudal system and the dissolving of the Hans the central government once again placed itself in the center. Around this center huge cities grew, like Tokyo. While these cities grew with people seeking opportunities, the provinces suffered the loss of population and income, and were eventually relegated to and almost contemptible position. This is illustrated in Rough Living when Osh... Free Essays on Late 19th Sentury Japan Free Essays on Late 19th Sentury Japan In the late 19th century Japan was â€Å"opened† up by the west. The Japanese saw the advancements of the west and sought its own modern state. The process of this modernization came during the Meiji period, thus the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Restoration completely altered the face of Japan, affecting societal, economic and political conditions. With the coming of the west and the eventual modernization of Japan, many social norms changed according to the west. In past times, formal and everyday dress was a kimono of varying niceness, depending on many variables. During the Meiji restoration, the dress changes to western formal dress, which is a suit and tie, or for the emperor and his court, Prussian military outfits. This change is in the forefront of Rough Living, Oshima’s eventual dream is to be a successful tailor with a â€Å"shop facing the main street in broad daylight† (Shusei, 138). Along with the new dress habits the structure of the army was changed as well. The new army was no longer to be dependant upon the daimyo and the samurai class, but instead the government setup a system of conscription, making it so anyone could be a warrior, which was a dramatic change from the way things had been. Without their warrior status, the samurai had no distinction nor income beyond what the government ga ve them, mostly in lump sums or bonds. This situation created much tension between the samurai and the government which eventually flowered into a rebellion, which the government was able to put down in less than a year. With the end of the feudal system and the dissolving of the Hans the central government once again placed itself in the center. Around this center huge cities grew, like Tokyo. While these cities grew with people seeking opportunities, the provinces suffered the loss of population and income, and were eventually relegated to and almost contemptible position. This is illustrated in Rough Living when Osh...

Chapter 1- Kinematics Regents Physics Essays (278 words)

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Nuclear anxiety in film essays

Nuclear anxiety in film essays The aim of the paper is to discuss the issue around nuclear war and film. During the end of world war 2 Hollywood began to produce a streamline of films, which anticipated the coming of a third world war (Nuclear War). Films such as Dr. Strangelove, When the Wind Blows, Dreams, The Day after, War Games, On The Beach etc. What I will be studying is how these films tend to fall into 3 particular categories. The first category deals with The preparation for a supposed Nuclear attack or war. We will be looking at the film War Games directed by John Badham as our case study. The second category concerns the experiences of a nuclear war. We will be looking at the film When the Wind Blows directed by Jimmy T. Murakami. The third category deals with the aftermath and what happens long after a nuclear war. For this we shall be using the Japanese director Akira Kurosawas film Dreams as our case study. All in all what I will be aiming to discover in these films is how atomic bomb victims are treated within motion picture before during and after the catastrophe. How is the subject of nuclear warfare treated within motion pictures and eventually how do the Hollywood nuclear motion pictures differ to that of the Japanese. When watching the three films I was intrigued by the issue concerning trauma and how it links to the idea of repression within film. All the films I am using in my case study are bombarded with images of trauma and death. It is a talk on what the apocalypse might mean to us and it questions whether we are really prepared for such an event. Even if we were would we be able to resist. When I mention repression I mention it in terms of the fact that in viewing these films we are able to see that victims often tend to ignore the subject of nuclear war. It is often repressed within the society yet the knowledge of it is constantly being spoken of. When watching When the wind blows I was also...

Economics _ Whither the Dollar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Canadian Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Canadian Politics - Essay Example This issue has also appeared in Canada. The country’s governance has structured in such way that all key decisions are taken by parliament; however, actions that are opposed to the country’s parliamentary system have not been avoided. At this point, the following dilemma has been set: should the power of the judiciary and the executive in Canada be controlled so that the power of the country’s parliamentary system to be adequately protected? It is argued that the limitation of the power of judiciary and executive in Canada would be quite necessary in order to ensure that democracy in the country is sufficiently promoted. The above argument is justified and appropriately backed by referring to the relevant literature. Particular emphasis is given on the power of parties and the judiciary to define the terms on which parliamentary decisions in Canada are based. In the study of Charlton and Barker emphasis is given on the potential limitation of the party discipline in Canada, so that the freedom of the members of the parliament to be increased. Reference is made to two, opposite, views. Kilgour, Kirsner and McConnell, note that party discipline in Canada should be reduced, or even eliminated, since it reduces the power of the members of the parliament to vote independently in regard to the issues brought to the parliament for discussion and verification. The party discipline, as applied in the parliamentary system of Canada, means that the members of the parliament have to align their vote with the decisions of their party (Charlton and Barker 2009, p.217), a rule that has caused strong oppositions by the members of the Canadian parliament. Kilgour has been a member of the Canadian parliament since 1979 (Charlton and Barker, 2009, p.217); in 1990 he voted against a bill of his party (Conservatives) in regard to the authorization of Goods and Services Tax (Charlton and Barker 2009, p.217). As a result of the above decision, ‘he was expel led by his party’ (Charlton and Barker 2009). Due to the above fact, he decided to join the Liberal Party (Charlton and Barker 2009). In 2005 he decided to continue his career as an independent member of the parliament, especially due to a claim for ‘governmental failures in using appropriately the funds related to a sponsorship program in Quebec’ (Charlton and Barker 2009, p.217). The case of Kilgour shows that party discipline, as currently applied in Canada, prohibits MPs to criticize the decisions of their parties, even if the indications for failures related to party initiatives are many. In other words, party discipline in Canada should be significantly reduced, only applied in certain cases, or, if possible, eliminated, allowing the development of opposing views within the parliament. In this way, the quality of democracy in the specific country would be improved (Kilgour, Kirsner and McConnell, in Charlton and Barker 2009, p.218). In any case, the problem would not be whether the Canadian parliamentary system would become similar with the American Parliamentary system, where the members of the Congress have increased power to state their view (Charlton and Barker 2009, p.218), or not; instead, emphasis should be given on the level of democracy in Canada, as reflected in the country’s parliamentary system. At the next level, the following issue should be highlighted: in each current form, the party discipline

Exploration of the Mississippi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Marketing in search engines and financing Assignment

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Draft Essay Shiloh outline, body & Introduction of paragraph

Draft Shiloh outline, body & Introduction of paragraph - Essay Example To Leroy, he acknowledged that â€Å"the real inner workings of a marriage, like most of history, have escaped him† (Mason 1). To Norma Jean, the visit to this historical place made her realize that there are still a lot of things that she does not appreciate with Leroy’s staying at home. The brief and unexpected blurting of Norma Jean’s intention to leave Leroy made him realize that there are so many things he still does not know about Norma Jean. Historical places stir nostalgia where past events could haunt visitors like disturbed ghosts. In the short story written by Bobbie Ann Mason entitled â€Å"Shiloh†, the author narrated the events that transpired between the main characters, Leroy Moffitt and Norma Jean. When Leroy, a truck driver, met an accident which made him incapacitated to resume his work, Norma Jean was reported to have changed in ways that was observed to be totally new to Leroy. Norma Jean’s mother, Mabel Beasley, who intermittently visits them in their house, had been pleading for them to go to Shiloh, Tennessee to visit the Civil War battleground (Mason). The visit to Shiloh provided the impetus for revelations and realizations in both Leroy and Norma Jean’s life through experiencing nostalgic moments, supposedly instigated by Norma Jean’s mother; and the need to look more closely into their lives as a married

Quiz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Quiz - Essay Example The Third Reich’s objective, according to Hitler in 1940, was to transform the entirety of Western Europe by radically transforming it into the Nazi Herrenvolk—the living space of the Nazi Master Race. READ: http://www.dac.neu.edu/holocaust/Hitlers_Plans.htm #16: When he first became Chancellor of Germany in the early 1930’s, Hitler declared Christianity was the foundation of German society. He spent the rest of his life promoting National Socialism which was hostile towards religion, he eroded the rights of all churches, persecuted the Jewish people, gradually began to suppress the rights of evangelical Christians and Catholics—ending denominational and youth organizations, prohibiting denominational schools, and widely defaming and imprisoning clergy of the Christian church who refused to be silent about the truth. #20: Hitler solved the Jewish question with the â€Å"Final Solution†, not only in Germany, but across Western Europe. He makes this statement as if he were speaking from a table in a country that is not at war, which is not taking over other countries, with plans to take over even more. Every country occupied by the Third Reich, saw imprisonment, repression and extermination of the Jewish citizens who lived there. In a speech in 1939 he said, â€Å"Workers of all classes and of all nations, recognize your common enemy! The common enemy was the Jewish race. READ:http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitjew.html #24: The context of this statement was in relation to research remaining free of any state restrictions. In that context I agree with the statement. Taken out of context, truth can be evil; especially in relation to Hitler’s views that his was the only truth when it came to the promotion of National Socialism and the eradication of the Jewish people. #26: I find this surprising given the fact that Hitler hated America and all things American. In one conversation he ridiculed America’s reliance on

Marketing in search engines and financing Assignment

Marketing in search engines and financing - Assignment Example Similar to way spam has lowered the efficacy email marketing, the â€Å"click fraud† raised the cost of search engine marketing and lead to a reduction of its attraction to merchants. Some of the aspects surrounding paid placement are that anyone can click on the engine ads raising the costs of merchants, without making any purchase. Consumer objects this service since one can increase his or her revenue by requesting friends or relatives to click the ads Microsoft or Google place on his or site without even making any purchase (Kennedy and Kristjan 71). Purchasing a car, home, or shopping using credit card are examples of debt financing. You are receiving a loan from someone or even a business under the condition of paying the loan back with some interest (Jagpal and Shireen 525). Using debt financing to start up a small business takes a similar way. An entrepreneur can apply for a loan to start a business from banks or friend, lenders or from family members, which he must pay back with same interests. Debt financing is advantageous since the lender has no powers to control your business. After the completion of loan payment, the relationship between the debtor and the creditor ends. If one business is a local startup business, which does not require large-scale funding, then debt financing is the best option (Jagpal and Shireen 526). Equity financing unlike debt financing involves investors. An investor can decide to offer his company shares to friends, family members, or small investors. However, this form of financing involves angel investors or venture capitalists. Equity financing is advantageous since the investor incurs all the risks. If your business fails to raise the money, the investor cannot force you to pay the money (Jagpal and Shireen 526). This form of financing is appropriate for small business when they are at their very startup stages. Such investors who fund these small businesses are Angle investors who invest

Quiz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Quiz - Essay Example The Third Reich’s objective, according to Hitler in 1940, was to transform the entirety of Western Europe by radically transforming it into the Nazi Herrenvolk—the living space of the Nazi Master Race. READ: http://www.dac.neu.edu/holocaust/Hitlers_Plans.htm #16: When he first became Chancellor of Germany in the early 1930’s, Hitler declared Christianity was the foundation of German society. He spent the rest of his life promoting National Socialism which was hostile towards religion, he eroded the rights of all churches, persecuted the Jewish people, gradually began to suppress the rights of evangelical Christians and Catholics—ending denominational and youth organizations, prohibiting denominational schools, and widely defaming and imprisoning clergy of the Christian church who refused to be silent about the truth. #20: Hitler solved the Jewish question with the â€Å"Final Solution†, not only in Germany, but across Western Europe. He makes this statement as if he were speaking from a table in a country that is not at war, which is not taking over other countries, with plans to take over even more. Every country occupied by the Third Reich, saw imprisonment, repression and extermination of the Jewish citizens who lived there. In a speech in 1939 he said, â€Å"Workers of all classes and of all nations, recognize your common enemy! The common enemy was the Jewish race. READ:http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitjew.html #24: The context of this statement was in relation to research remaining free of any state restrictions. In that context I agree with the statement. Taken out of context, truth can be evil; especially in relation to Hitler’s views that his was the only truth when it came to the promotion of National Socialism and the eradication of the Jewish people. #26: I find this surprising given the fact that Hitler hated America and all things American. In one conversation he ridiculed America’s reliance on

Black Poems Essay Example for Free

Black Poems Essay In the past during apartheid being black meant you lost out in many privileges it also showed how black people where oppressed. In this poem we see that Mbongeni Khumalo uses the word black in connection to all the bad things. He highlights that there is this darkness associated with the colour black and that in the 1960’s when someone called you a black person it showed nothing good and that no one should be proud of being black. He also looks at all the words that start with â€Å"black† and if one looks deep into them then we see that there’s a deeper meaning to that particular word and that it has got something to do with wrong doing or bad happenings. The first line of the poem reads â€Å"you don’t need a BLACK-BELT to write blackpoems†, if one looks at this line and critique it then we see that he says that one doesn’t need a black belt to write black poem and the way it is written from the small letter at the beginning of the sentence to the to the black belt in a big font and black poems as one word this shows that as a black person no one really paid attention to the diction of the poem. â€Å"B/LACK† when one looks at this word and the way it has been written then you can interpret it as be lack, as if he’s trying to point out that when you are black you lack in something. He further one uses the word â€Å"prac-teasing† and instead of writing practising he uses the teasing showing that he was isolated for mocking black art but in his own right one can argue that he was not mocking it but just highlighting the points that were true and that there was a time when anything that was done by a black person was just done and not taken seriously, a black person could only go so far with their art. â€Å"Trampling my so(u)l/e/† the way he has chosen to break down the word soul in a way that one can say he is trampling the word himself and he also adds an â€Å"e† at the end which shows that he can do anything to this poem since it is a black poem. â€Å"Served sausages made from minced pork and call(ed) it BLACK PUDDING† one can say that it was called black pudding because in the black culture the only time that the families ever ate pudding which consisted of custard and fruit was during Christmas otherwise black people always feasted with meat he could also have been referring to himself as the black sheep because he did not eat meat and in that case being black and not eating meat meant that you were a different type of black person and therefore you were out casted and you were a black sheep. â€Å"I suffered a BLACK DEATH at the hands of a BLACK GUARD†, what the writer brings out in this line is how black people still killed each other regardless of the fact that they were all oppressed by the same people for the same reason. The guards were also said to be puppies for the oppressors so that the hit on them could be lighter and that they could spare them their lives. So it shows that black people were also turned against each other and killed each other just so that they can hold their own end. The language that he has chosen to use is simple but the was in which he has broken down his words and placed them in way that one could clearly see the point he is trying to make about black poems. As one carries on to read this poem you could say that this is not a black poem but a poem about black people. He uses a playful tone but at the same time the way he stresses some words to show his point and the double meanings behind them. He also used the words to show what was happening in that time to black people trying to pass on the torch of awareness so that people could stop being naive and actually know how things were done in that time. He attracts the reader by his title which is â€Å"BLAK POWEMS† which shows the way he wrote it as if he were a actually saying it in a Bantu accent, so he chose to write it the way he would say it because no one really paid close attention to the diction and the style of the way black poets wrote their poems because it always ended up being black people reading each others poems. The way this poem has been written it shows well that it is protest poem in such a sense as when one looks at the diction used in this poem and the style of writing that the poet has chosen to use. He plays with associations surrounding blackness to put his point across of how blackness is associated with bas things and in this case particularly back in the 1960’s during times of black oppression and apartheid. The tone of this poem is in a playful but honest manner, not harsh but it keeps one intrigued that there could be so many things associated with the colour black that represent a darker side of life and the poet does a good job of bringing them out and also highlighting them. This poem makes the reader see the problems that the past could add on to a simple phrase or word. The word black in this poem has been separated and put on a spectrum whereby we can all see the negatives that could and that are surrounding this one word in particular. The poet has also made us think of how history played out and he did this not by writing that in the 1960’s this is what happened but he used words that show or highlight the main events of the 60’s.

Organizational Structure Of P And G

Organizational Structure Of P And G Organizational structure refers to a framework around which group is organized with clearly defined set of duties and responsibilities. With an organizational structure, everyone knows what to do, and who is responsible for which specific task. Organizational structure helps to work in a better way. (Muscarella Vetsuypens, 2012)More formally, organizational structure is hierarchy of people and positions within organization. It is also represented as character or organization, its values and beliefs. there are many types of organizational structures and an organization follow one of these structures at one time, (Muscarella Vetsuypens, 2012) but is any exceptional case there may exists a structure different from that is adopted by that organization as whole. In this paper we will analyze different organizational structure in general and structure of Procter Gamble in particular in order has better understanding. Proctor Gamble is an American multinational. The headquarters of company are in down town Cincinnati, Ohio. The company offers a great range to consumer goods around the globe. Due to its expanded operations, PG is greatest producer of America in household products. It has almost 250 brands in categories including, beauty care, paper goods, laundry cleaning, food and beverages, health care and feminine care etc. Head Shoulder, Ariel and Pantene are most famous brands around the globe. Almost half of total revenues of P7G come from its top and well known brands. PG strive to achieve its mission to provide every day better life to its worthy customers around the globe through supply of high quality products and services. PG has 127,000 employees in almost 80 countries worldwide. PGà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s products are sold primarily through grocery stores drug stores, membership club stores and mass merchandise. PG is a publically owned company, listed on Paris and New York exchanges. Organizational Structure of PG: http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/6f9lu51w74xss1f/images/4-11c44118ed.jpg Organizational structure of Procter Gamble comprises of two Global Business Units, beauty and glooming and household care. These two Global Business Units are responsible for developing strategies for brands of PG. the main focus of these GBUs is common customer. Needs of common customers are identified through these global business units to develop, and upgrade products and services, and include innovative features in brands of PG. Initially PG had seven business units, there was a president to leads each Global business unit(Muscarella Vetsuypens, 2012) and each Business unit was completely responsible for profitability of related products and performance was measured and benchmarked against competitors of focused product category. The current structure of PG is four dimensions, front back hybrid matrix structure. There is a top leader, a coordination council, which is responsible for defining priorities and solve disputes, subordinates and matrix leaders, with need to balance and coordinate four influences structure. Global operations of Procter Gamble comprised of its MDO (Market Development organization). It is responsible of develop market entry programs for PG at local level. (Dodgson et al. 2006)Market development programs include country specific programs, trade channels and retail customers. Procter Gamble has organized MDOs along five organizational units that are situated in Latin America, North America, Western Europe, Eastern and central Europe and Asia. Procter Gamble defines North America, Western Europe and Japan as developed markets and Latin America, CEEMA, Greater china and AAIK as developing markets. Global business services part of Procter Gambleà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s structure assists the working of global business units in an effective manner. it provides processes, technology, standard data tools, make MDO and GBUs enable to understand business in better way and to better serve customers. Global business services organization of Procter Gamble has responsibility of providing world class solutions at lower cost, and minimum investment. The last component of organizational structure of PG is corporate function. This function is responsible for providing portfolio analysis, (Dodgson et al. 2006) company level strategy, human resources, external relations, treasurer, and corporate accounts, legal and centralized functional report. Analysis of organizations structure of PG reveals that it offers global scale benefits to PG, it makes it possible the local focus to be relevant to its customers in different countries, probably 180 countries around the globe. Organizational structure is present at PG as its better capability to grow; corporate structure of PG is based on a framework that enables it to strike the benefits of an international organization with efficiency and speed. PGà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s global operations always keep it in touch with its local communities. Moreover, efficient governance practices (Child,1972)help to ensure that PG conducts its operations with high standards and consistent quality improvements. PG has been utilizing this structure for more than on decade, the structure has been very helpful as it has doubled the capacity to innovate and more than $900 million for company have developed a unique partnership model allowing us to combine our best with the industryà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã ¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s best. Other types of organizational structures: Functional structure: An organization with functional structure, divides its business operations and activities into different functions. There are different departments that are specifically deal with these specific functions such as marketing, production, sales and promotion, finance, Research and development etc. In functional structure, there are well defined responsibilities and guideline to follow that helps these departments to carry their functions efficiently and effectively. Career path of organization is also Cleary defined. (Muscarella Vetsuypens, 2012)As in functional structure, tasks are segregated on the basis of specialization; there is great opportunity for individuals to excel in their respective field. For instance, if any person has specialization in Marketing, he will be part of marketing department, where he will get chance to excel in hid marketing skills while bringing improved marketing efforts for the company and contributing in its profits. In such type of organizational structure, there is chance of conflict between departments. for instance, if sales ratio is not going good, marketing and sales department may blame production department for inefficient design of product that customer do not want to purchase despite of efforts of marketing department. Divisional structure: Divisional structure also called product structure. An organization that adopts divisional structure, divides it basic functions such as marketing, finance, sales, RD, production and design into distinct, self contained units that are efficient enough to perform all basic functions(Child,1972) related to given task. Organizations with divisional structure are autonomous in nature and self contained. These organizations are more responsive as compare to other organizational structures (Muscarella Vetsuypens, 2012)as they can quickly respond to changing business environment. General Motors Company has also adopted the divisional structure. GM has separate divisions of its different products such as locomotives, SUVs and Sedans etc. each division is can perfectly perform all basic and advanced activities relating to its function. Conclusion: Different organizations adopt different organizational structures. Every organization selects structure that suits its scale and type of business. Procter Gamble has adopted hybrid matrix structure that suits its global nature best. It has applied this structure so successfully that it is able to have it as its competitive advantage. As PG is an international fortune with its business operations worldwide, unique organizational structure offers it benefits on global scale. The structure also provides local focus to be relevant for its customers in more than 180 countries around the globe. The structure of PG is also easy to understand and carry no ambiguities; it defines role and responsibilities clearly and in precise manner and encourages innovation and creativity.

Essay --

Credit Rating Check: How to Find Your Credit Score Finding out your credit score is one of the most important steps you can take towards a stronger financial future. It is extremely important for everyone to be well-informed of your credit score so that you can make smart decisions about credit and how to use it to your advantage. Luckily, finding your credit score is incredibly easy and something that everyone should do! The Fair Credit Reporting Act It’s easier than ever to check your credit rating because of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This requires the three main credit bureaus -Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion- to each offer you a credit report once every 12 months. You may choose to order these reports at different times throughout the year, or all at once. How to Order Your Free Reports Although you are entitled to yearly credit checks at no cost, there is still action required on your part. There are three different ways to request a report from each company. Online, you can visit www.annualcreditreport.com or you can call toll-free at 1-877-322-8228. Th...

Employing Internet and Networking in the 21st Century Classroom Essay

â€Å"The Internet can bring the virtual world into the walls of the classroom, thus exponentially increasing the knowledge base available for practical use in teaching and learning (Kumari, 1998, p. 365). The use of the internet and online collaboration are skills that are important to employment opportunities and for â€Å"quality of life† (McManus, 2000). Regardless of the individual student’s future profession, the 21st century job market requires the ability to apply internet, collaborative, and networking skills. According to Barbara McManus, in her article â€Å"Creative Teaching with Internet Technology†, internet skills are best learned when applied across a varied curriculum, including â€Å"reading, writing, or mathematics† (2000). Teaching Tool The internet can be applied to the curriculum in many ways, including research, publishing, and virtual interactions. Although the internet is not always the most appropriate teaching tool, in many scenarios it can supplement and enhance a standard lesson (Educational Broadcasting Corporation). Research, publishing, and virtual interactions via the internet can provide authentic, real-world learning experiences for learners. Researching essays, papers, and projects via the internet allows students to utilize a plethora of different viewpoints, primary source documents, and â€Å"conduct original research† to apply to a topic (McManus, 2000). According to Dr. Siva Kumari (1998), the internet has quickly changed the way students and teachers interact with texts and research. The Educational Broadcasting Corporation asserts that the Internet allows students and teachers access to resources for research beyond the traditional classroom setting and decreases the amount of time spent doing said researc... ...ithin a collaborative blog teaches students how to work professionally and respectfully in a group environment – an essential employability skill. Using Facebook as a means of networking has become more popular throughout the Middle East as revolutions spring up across the region. The ability to contact those outside of one’s inner circle through social networking is a skill that is not lost on this Facebook generation. â€Å"Internet technology must be thoroughly integrated into the structure of [a] course (content, learning goals, assessment); the best assignments bring the fruits of internet use into the classroom.† (McManus, 2000). It is imperative that 21st century teachers prepare 21st century learners for the 21st century workforce. This means that teachers must utilize all innovation and technological advances available to them, particularly via the internet.

Hunger Games essay Essay

The Hunger Games is a fictional book, which establishes the relationship between the protagonist Katniss, and the protagonist Peeta. Katniss is a 16 year old girl who lives in District twelve, Panem. She is the sole provider for her family and competes in the Hunger Games, a game where two people from each of the twelve districts are chosen to fight to the death. Peeta is a 16 year old boy who is also from District Twelve who competes in the Hunger Games with Katniss. Throughout the book there is great debate on whether Katniss and Peeta are in love, or not in love. Katniss pretends to be in love with Peeta because it helps her in the Games, and it is an act of survival. Peeta on the other hand is deeply in love with Katniss. Throughout the book Katniss often finds herself making multiple references back to her friend, Gale, who has been her best friend for years. She wonders what life would be like with Gale. Katniss pretends to be in love with Peeta. She sees it as her only way of survival in the Games. When she and Peeta are in an affectionate state, the Capitol audience is entertained. This results in her and Peeta getting both food and messages from their mentor Haymitch and their sponsors. Luckily, they entertain the audience enough to survive the games but towards the end of the book Peeta says to Katniss, â€Å"It was all for the games, how you acted. † (Pg. 372) This is legitimate proof that Katniss only pretended to be in love with Peeta. Based on much evidence from the book, it is revealed that Peeta is deeply in love with Katniss. Prior to the beginning of the Games, both Katniss and Peeta had to take part in a pre-game interview. In Peeta’s interview, he tells the audience how winning the games would not help his situation because he is deeply in love with Katniss. Katniss was not happy with Peeta’s statement, but later in the book calmly asks him, â€Å"Peeta, you said at the interview you’d had a crush on me forever. When did forever start? † (Pg. 300) Peeta responded, â€Å"Oh let’s see. I guess the first day of school. We were five. You had on a red plaid dress and your hair†¦ it was in two braids instead of one. My father pointed your out. † (Pg. 300) This is the most heart-felt moment between the two; however Katniss only asked Peeta the question because she knew she had to keep entertaining the audience. Her strategy to manipulate Peeta’s emotions was a great advantage to her game. Katniss often makes references back to her friend Gale, her long time best friend that is back home in District Twelve. She has mixed feelings about him because when Katniss was about to leave for the games, Gale was saying good bye to Katniss and was cut short with the slamming of a door. There are many misinterpretations about what Gale was trying to say to Katniss. Most people, including Katniss, think that he was about to say â€Å"I love you. † This unfinished sentence disturbs Katniss during the games when she has mixed feelings about Peeta. Katniss thinks to herself, â€Å"Gale’s not my boyfriend, but would he be, if I opened that door? † (Pg. 280) Any person who is truly in love would not be thinking about other men in this way. Throughout the Hunger Games there is great talk on whether Katniss and Peeta are in love, or not. Katniss pretends to be in love with Peeta because it helps her in the Games, and she uses it as an act of survival. Peeta on the other hand, is deeply in love with Katniss. During the book Katniss often finds herself making multiple mentions back to her friend, Gale, who has been her best friend and hunting buddy for years. She wonders what life would be like if she was with him. Too conclude, Katniss and Peeta are not meant to be. They have completely different individualities and although it may seem that their pretend love is mutual, it is not.

Business: Automobile and Proton Essay

This assignment contains about business environment. Business environment refers to different forces or surroundings that affect business operations. Such forces include customers, competitors, suppliers, distributors, industry trends, substitutes, regulations, government activities, the economy, and social and cultural factors. Others are innovations and technological developments. We choose Proton Holdings Berhad because we think this local company is the best company for us to do this business environment assignment because this company use this include Macro, Micro and Internal Environment. PROTON COMPANY BACKGROUND Proton Holdings Berhad (stylized PROTON) is a Malaysian automobile manufacturer. It is headquartered in Shah Alam, Selangor and operates an additional manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak. The company was founded in 1983 and was the sole vehicle manufacturer in Malaysia until the establishment of Perodua in 1993. Proton is a Malay acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sendirian Berhad. (English: National Automobile Company Private Limited). Proton was largely a manufacturer of badge engineered vehicles from Mitsubishi Motors between 1985 and the early 2000s. The company has since produced several indigenously designed vehicles and operates in at least 26 countries, of which the majority are in Asia. Proton was formerly owned by Khazanah Nasional, the investment holding arm of the government of Malaysia. In January 2012, it was taken over by DRB-HICOM, a Malaysian conglomerate in a transaction amounting RM1. 2 billion. Proton, predominantly reliant on the local industry is currently undergoing major structural and internal changes, as evident in the appointment of a new owner, partner, Chairman and the launch of various new and upcoming models in an effort to gain an international presense and increase profitability. PROTON produced Malaysia’s first car, the Proton SAGA which was commercially launched on July 9, 1985 by Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who conceived the idea of a Malaysian car. One of the reason of this achievement is due to the introduction of new models with higher profit margins, stronger sales volume, savings from group-wide cost-reduction initiatives, income from the sale of rights for use of Intellectual Property Rights relating to a vehicle platform (for the China market) as well as the R&D grant. For the year 2008, PROTON’s focus would be in the core areas of product, quality, cost efficiency and distribution network. PROTON aims to have a strong product portfolio by introducing â€Å"the right car, for the right market, at the right price and at the right time†. This was reflected in the organisation’s newly introduced Exora, Persona and Saga Models, with the latter powered by the new CamPro IAFM engine. PROTON has also continued to update and refresh existing product lines to entice and attract customers. PROTON cars are also known internationally as competitive and innovative automobiles. PROTON now is being exported to 50 countries like United Kingdom and continental European markets, thereby realizing its goal of being an internationally successful Malaysian automobile manufacturer. The first PROTON car was exported in 1986. The number has increased steadily and in 1998, Malaysia exported a total of 18,422 units to countries and areas, including Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Cyprus, Egypt, Fiji, Germany, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan Province of China, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom. The models being exported include Wira, Sedan/Aeroback, Satria and Putra. PROTON’s exports are the most successful in the United Kingdom due to its competitive pricing strategy and its buyback arrangement with car rental companies in the country. PROTON also benefited from the Generalised Preferences Scheme that made it easy for them to enter the United Kingdom market. PROTON has introduced a few upgraded models with higher engine capacity and sporty design to establish its presence internationally. PROTON is focusing to be more customer-oriented and by producing competitively priced and innovative products. It is therefore contributing to the Malaysia’s attainment of Vision 2020. Main Body. Macroenvironment a) POLITICAL FACTORS Currently, most of ASEAN region are free trade or 96% of the entire ASEAN trade. Asian Free Trade Area was established in January of 1992 in order to eliminate tariff barriers among the Southeast Asian countries. It planned to reduce tariffs to zero to 5% in 15 years among the six nations through a common effective preferential tariff (Ghani & Zainuddin 2008). If we are going to check on the high selling prices of the national cars of Malaysia because of high production costs and lack of vendor efficiency, there is a big possibility that the local market will be ruled by imported cars. In Malaysia, PROTON prices are kept comparatively lower to foreign manufacturers through protectionism. Protectionist policy has largely been blamed for PROTON ‘s stagnating performance. b) ECONOMIC FACTORS The vehicle sales in the country is expected to fall by year by year due to different economic aspect, primarily the issue of global financial crisis, which affected the local financial status of the country (AseanOneMonitoring 2009). As a result, the government of the country is expecting a slow economic growth for the country, which can affect the buying behavior of the customers. Furthermore, due to the AFTA, it had increased the competition, which will impact the performance of Proton. c) SOCIAL FACTORS The growing population in the country is one of the factors which can affect the automobile industry. Furthermore, the ratio of car ownership in the country is somewhat high or total of 1:5, which signifies that people are considering cars as important things in their lives. Furthermore, people will also set on big-ticket items or consumers are expected to put off buying different motor vehicles because of the employment market uncertainty because of the global and local financial crisis (AseanOneMonitoring 2009). d) TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Due to the increasing competition, the development in technology is growing and affecting the performance and position of each and every company in the automobile industry. It is also important to consider the maturity of technology, together with the maturity and capacity of manufacturing, which affect the innovation process of any company. Due to the different technologies, primarily the help of computer and the Internet, the potential for innovation and development is increasing. Microenvironment * Suppliers The supplier has a neutral power over the industry. This is because there are few dominant suppliers in the industry who are well known for quality and brand image. Provide the resources to produce goods and services. Treated as partners to provide customers service. Proton Supplier, AV Ventures steering, wiper and washer and window regulator systems. Ichikoh, Head lamp, mirror (also for Toyota, Nissan, and Subaru). * Other stakeholders Proton’s key stakeholders are the Environment, the Malaysian government, the Malaysian public, car owners as well as its vendors and suppliers. The Malaysia Government owns 52% of Proton shares through Khazanah, Petronas and ValueCap. ValueCap is a government investment arm. The government also heavily subsidizes the production of proton cars by giving grants and exemptions/tax credits. But despite that, Proton continues to make loses. The Malaysian public is the indirect shareholder through EPF (Employees Provident Fund), government unit trust funds Amanah Saham Bumiputera, Amanah Saham Malaysia) and Lembaga Tabung Haji. Together these funds hold around 20% of Proton shares. Additionally, it is the public that pays the tax, which then is used to provide grants and tax credits. Proton also involves in sponsorships in the area of education and sports as well as donations to the needy. Customers or car owners can’t find the exact figures of active Protons cars currently being driven all over Malaysia but I would estimate the figure to be around 3 million (assuming no cars have been fully retired). The figure is justified since I can still see many first generation Proton Saga cars on the road. Environment also externality factor to be considered by having almost 3 million proton cars on our road (most of the cars produced are sold locally in Malaysia !! ). Moreover, the earlier generations of Proton are nearing retirement and may need to be sent to scrap yard and contribute to our ever increasing waste disposal problem. Vendors and Suppliers More than 80 per cent of Proton components are currently produced or supplied by automotive component manufacturers and suppliers. Proton’s network of 287 vendors and approximately 3,000 sub-vendors currently supply more than 5,000 individual components and parts for its cars. * Intermediaries We continued to work with our distributors and dealers in a number of ways, most importantly, on programs designed to enhance the sales and service experience for our customers. The strengthening of the domestic sales and service network remain our key focus to improve customer service and maintain our market share. Proton Cars Australia recorded retail sales of 1,388 units, an increase of 55%. This was the second largest increase in percentage terms of any OEM in Australia. The higher sales were attributed to the success of the Jumbuck (Arena) which accounted for 786 units. Proton Cars UK managed to retail a total of 507 units of Jumbuck (Arena), which represented 80% of the sub one ton single cab petrol pick-up market. Total sales however, recorded a decline of 14% with the gradual phasing out of the old products. Proton has continued to achieve excellent results in the 2004 UK J. D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. Proton tied for 10th position in the Overall Top Brand Category out of 33 brands and was placed second in Dealer Service Satisfaction, just behind Lexus. Further inroad into the neighbouring Asean markets is expected in 2005 with the establishment of Proton Edar Indonesia and Proton Singapore. * Competitor The big competitor in Malaysia in term of automobile companies and affordable car is PERODUA. The competitive environment as we can see roughly in Malaysia is affordable car where all citizens in Malaysia can buy it and the car maintenances also cheap. Here, the porter four are been applied for more clearly because the competitive environment not only about the competitor. It can be about the economic recession, natural disaster and etc. i) Competitive Rivalry In Malaysia, there is not too much competitor around affordable car. The low cost car as I mentioned above (cheap maintenance) is not have a lot of competitor in generally. The affordable car in Malaysia also, gets more potential to sell compared to luxury car. The luxury car is only certain people used. As we see the environment in Malaysia, 1 family will have more than 1 car. For sure, the first car they will choose the cheaper car and affordable car. ii) Threat of New Entrant (high) The economic recession will be a big threat for PROTON. As we know, all big company will facing over budget or does not achieve the sale for that year. The government will lose a lot of money cause of policy and shareholders. By the way, economic down turn actually comes suddenly without notice. iii) Threat of Substitutes (high) Substitutes also will be a big threat for PROTON. Malaysia has to national car. The First automobile is PROTON and secondly PERODUA. The substitutes will high in term of car model (some of car model looks similar), and car spare part. iv) Buyer Power Buyer will choose the low cost car for the first car and buyer also actually are fragmented. So, it will not has much influence. * Customer Customers are the source of our income. We deliver on our promises to our customers’ satisfaction. The process in identifying the consumer target for new Proton Exora 2 is important due to the fact that consumers tend to have different brand knowledge structures and thus they will perceive differently for the products or services. Proton has successfully identified their target market, according to the segmentation bases namely behavioral, demographic and psychographic factors. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Marketing The company used to segment its market on variables such as behavioral, demographic, and geographical differences. Behavioral Segmentation: Behavioral segmentation is based on the customer’s needs and subsequent reaction to those needs or toward the purchase of intended products and/or services. Demographic Segmentation: Demographic segmentation refers to a wide study of the potential customers. Since the company is targeting its market to more economy class customers, demographic segmentation is employed by the company. Geographical Segmentation: Geographical segmentation is done by dividing people (markets) into different geographical locations. The company targets markets of different countries other than Malaysia. Production PROTON’s model products include WAJA, SATRIA, GTi, WIRA, ISWARA, ARENA, PERDANA V6, JUARA, PERSONA and EXORA. The range of 1. 3, 1. 5, 1. 6, 1. 8 and 2. 0 litre engines satisfies a wide spectrum of customers both locally and abroad. PROTON’s model products include WAJA, SATRIA, GTi, WIRA, ISWARA, ARENA, PERDANA V6, JUARA, PERSONA and EXORA. The range of 1. 3, 1. 5, 1. 6, 1. 8 and 2. 0 litre engines satisfies a wide spectrum of customers both locally and abroad. Based on technology and parts from Mitsubishi Motors, production of the first model, the Proton Saga began in September 1985 at its first manufacturing plant in Shah Alam, Selangor. The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January 1989 and latest model is Suprima S. Finance Proton maintained huge financial profit thought the 1980s till 2000 due to their high market share in Malaysia. But with the launch of an arch rival Perodua in 1993, Proton was about to have a big run for its money and this came to reality in the 2000s. Proton’s market share dropped in 2006 to 30. 4% for the Malaysian market. Their generated revenue of 7,796 ( Million in Malaysian Ringgit) in 2006 was the second lowest in the last seven years as the company have always hit the billion Ringgit mark in the previous 7 years. This fall allowed Perodua to overtake Proton as the country’s largest passenger carmaker for the first time in history, with a 41. 6% market share while Proton fell from 40% in 2005 to 32% in 2006. Their market share continued to reduce down to 23. 1% in 2010 mainly due to new government policies. For example, under AFTA, Malaysia has reduced import tariffs, admittedly after having secured a two-year deferral from ASEAN. Import tariffs on completely built-up (CBU) unites were reduced from a band of 70 – 90 percent to 20 percent at the start of 2005. However, it is important to understanding that Proton losing its market share to Perodua, another Malaysian automobile that was formed a decade after full operation of Proton could hint some gaps in their management system. In other to justify these claims, it is necessary to have a look at their in-depth financial performance since the 2000s and how they have coped with loses in relation to their internationalization project. Personnel The overall thrust of our Human Resource strategy is to recruit, reward and retain the best employees. During the year, a number of recruitment road shows were conducted in Malaysia as well as the UK among leading engineering and business universities to meet our growing requirement. The response was overwhelming and more such road shows are being planned for the coming year. An internship program for graduate trainees was implemented during the year to meet the growing needs of the business. The Human Resource Management Group has continued to be the key forum for the communication of policies and issues affecting the employees. The Group comprising representatives from the Senior Management and the Proton Workers Union meet on a monthly basis to discuss strategic human resource issues affecting employees. It is a unique program that allows regular communication and prompt resolution of issues as well as participation by the Union in the development of policies affecting the employees. Research & Development The Group continues to research new technologies with the ultimate aim to put these innovations into production through partnerships with Tier One Suppliers or OEM customers. Two such advancements likely to see production are engine technology AVT (Active Valve Train) and chassis technology VVA (Versatile Vehicle Architecture). The Group has also invested significantly on the development of new innovative products to meet the challenges of the market place. During the financial year, the Group invested RM542. 9 million (2003: RM413 million) in research and development. For 2004, total development expenditure increased significantly with work focused on the development of new models on a number of platforms including the leading edge Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA). The VVA reduces the time it takes to bring a new product to market and helps meet changing demand more quickly. Globally, we are moving towards shared technologies so that vehicles can be differentiated while using common components. The reduction in development time will create greater efficiency and the standardisation will also lead to greater economies of scale in purchasing components. Development has also begun on an aluminium-bodied vehicle built on the VVA platform. Increased fuel efficiency and power through weight reduction and material recyclability are key factors that have conspired together to promote the use of aluminium in vehicle body structures for high volume production. CONCLUSION Proton is aiming to become one of the strong competitors of the automobile companies in market. So, as other existed competitors challenge the other proton company, they were inspired by them to develop a quality business for the customers. Competitive advantage is what they are targeting for company and there are business motivational is about the capabilities in automobile companies . Even they are realizing that there are some existed competitors have their own abilities in the automobile, they are also have the buyer Power. The buyer will choose the cheap car for the first car and buyer also actually are fragmented. Therefore, it will not have much affecting. Besides that, they are always finds a way to make the market being effective with their strong distribution network. However, the companies of proton is the most famous company in Malaysia as we know and they will try the best to ensure that damage will occur. Moreover, proton also is one of the companies which give a inspiration on all people and race in Malaysia irrespective early age or that old. Everyone knows, that Proton has various product automobile with the design distinctive. Some, from revenue scooped the great of benefits had rival that high with others automobile company. Even though, it still will ensure that Proton companies will always stable with economy and in terms of from product aspect is that best and high quality.