A Case Study Related To Risk & Value Management

A Related To Risk & Value Management - Case Study Example The major risks of the company may arise to decrease in sales of plastic products, reduction in per unit price of plastic products, difficulty in coping up with the competition in the market, economic scenario, regulation and intervention of authorities, political intervention, social climate, competitive technology, environmental surroundings and legal issues. Let us consider each of these categories of risk separately for AutoPlast Ltd (Jones, 2010, p.19). Considering the present scenario of chemical leakage from the storage plant of AutoPlast Ltd. and contamination of water of River Cruze and subsequent outbreak of fire leading to the health problem of the surrounding housing estates, village and fish market, there is a dominant upheaval from the local community against the operation of AutoPlast Ltd. It is evident that there would be political intervention due to mismatch and fulfilment of interest of the political parties leading to several agitations and discussion between the management of AutoPlast Ltd. and the political entities. Political intervention would lead to demand of hefty compensations for the health-affected people and any disagreement on mutual points would lead to unplanned expenditures of the company that is likely to affect the profit margin of AutoPlast Ltd (Coleman, 1988, p.11). Economic Although AutoPlast Ltd. is considered to be a major player in the local economy employing several local people surrounding the river Cruze, the present scenario of fire outbreak due to the operations of the company leading to respiratory and health issues of local mass would generate a sense of disloyalty and hatred towards the brand of AutoPlast Ltd. and hence they would have a tendency to reject its products leading to the fall in production and price of AutoPlast Ltd. Thus, the economic risk of AutoPlast Ltd. in the present scenario needs to deal with in a strategic manner by the management of the company (Shapiro and  Glicksman, 2004, p.106). Soc ial Considering the present scenario of AutoPlast Ltd., the society has shown some tolerance to the company as it employs a majority of the workers in the local community. But considering the extent of damage in terms of life and death and the psychological impact on the society due to presence of stimulants, the extent of risk that AutoPlast Ltd. is going to bear in terms of goodwill and subsequent volume and value of sales is considerable. Technological Considering the present scenario, AutoPlast Ltd. would run the risk of devaluation and distrust of the technologies used in its industrial operation and process of manufacturing plastic products. The company would need to reconsider its cost on research and development of the technologies used. The up-gradation of technologies would need to be looked upon by the management so that there is no further chemical leakage from its storage during operation. The decisions of the management would ensure that AutoPlast Ltd. adheres to its c orporate social responsibility. Legal Due to the present scena

Sustainable tourism management in Spain, Benidorm Literature review

Sustainable tourism management in Spain, Benidorm - Literature review Example Before delving deeper into the nuances of sustainable development in the region of South of Spain, there is the question of an appropriate research design that will fit the criteria of the thesis statement. For relevant research and evaluation techniques, it is imperative to study the means and methods of the formulation of sustainable tourism aids through a purely business point of view. For this purpose, the two basic research design methods chosen were epistemology and ontology. Sustainable Tourism is the most important element of the dissertation. The most important piece of literature used in this regard is the book titled Sustainable Tourism Management. (Swarbrooke, 1999). This book has important notes on globalisation and a perspective on tourism management that can be applied to various parts of the world. It has developed a case in favour of sustainable tourism development through the conception of sustainable cultural tourism. This is in direct context with the model that will be developed for the South of Spain region on which the dissertation is based. The book also has relevant information on the European Union legislations as well as tourism behaviour and planning in context of foreign tourist operators and other smaller details. Another important piece of literature that has helped draw a more globally acceptable model for the South of Spain region of Benidorm is the paper titled Sustainable Tourism, Environmental Protection, and Natural resource Management: Paradise on Earth? (Neto, 2002). In this paper for the UN, the author has criteria for a sustainable tourism management model that will take the pressure off resources besides putting cultures in perspective.

Effect of Curcumin on Periodontis

Effect of Curcumin on Periodontis INTRODUCTION Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by destruction of the soft and hard tissues supporting the tooth. This tissue destruction appears to result from complex interaction between the bacteria and the host’s immune and inflammatory system. The host immune response identifies these invading pathogens and tries to neutralize or kill these microorganisms. During this process the host response elaborates a variety of mediators such as pro-inflammatory mediators, cytokines and proteolytic enzymes such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). It is now believed that the major component of the soft and hard tissue destruction seen in periodontitis occurs as a result of activation of these mediators.1 Thus this host response which is essentially protective by intent paradoxically can also result in tissue damage. Hence recent therapeutic efforts are now focusing on altering or modulating this host response. This lead to emergence of a new comprehensive treatment str ategy for periodontitis which involves Host modulatory therapy (HMT) which can be combined with traditional periodontal therapies.2 To date, there is one FDA approved, systemic therapy that is prescribed as a host response modifier in the treatment of periodontal disease and that is adjunctive subantimicrobial dose doxycycline (SDD), which down-regulates the activity of MMPs.3 These MMPs are considered to be primary proteinases involved in periodontal tissue destruction synthesized by a variety of infiltrating inflammatory cells (i.e. neutrophils and macrophages), resident cells and some bacteria. Numerous studies have substantiated the relationship between MMPs and periodontal diseases, with findings of significantly higher MMP-9 (neutrophil derived MMPs) levels in patients with periodontitis compared to healthy controls.4, 5 Doxycycline is the most potent tetracycline for inhibition of these MMPs.6 However long term tetracycline therapy has certain disadvantages, the most important being the development of microbial resistance to this drug.7 At present a health care system exists in India where different types of diseases are being treated by Ayurvedic method. Since ancient times Ayurvedic drugs are being used for the treatment of various diseases, including periodontal and other oral diseases.8 They are widely acclaimed for their minimal side-effects and cost-effectiveness. Use of herbal extracts in treating periodontal diseases does not produce side effects of tetracycline compounds as well as other synthetic drugs. Curcuma longa (Turmeric) is a widely used herb which is distributed throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world and widely cultivated in India, China and Indonesia.9 It has also long been used in both Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent.9 The active constituent in turmeric is Curcumin.9, 10 Curcumin is known to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Studies show that Curcumin limits the activity of two enzymes, lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase-2 that are involved in promoting and maintaining inflammation.11, 12 Studies have also shown that Curcumin down-regulates the MMP-9 activity.13, 14 Thus it may have a potential role in the treatment of inflammatory periodontal disease. Its anti-inflammatory activity in periodontal diseases has not been extensively investigated. With this background, the study was conducted to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of Curcumin by its inhibitory effect on MMP-9 activity and compare the same with Doxycycline, which is known to have an anticollagenase activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS Subjects: A total of 30 sites from 30 subjects (males and females), above 35 yrs of age, diagnosed clinically as having Chronic Periodontitis with pocket depths ranging from 5-8mm were selected for the study. The patients had no history of pervious dental treatment, antibiotic or anti-inflammatory drug therapy for the past 6 months. Patients with any history of systemic diseases / conditions, pregnant patients and smokers were excluded from the study. An informed consent was obtained from the patients prior to their enrollment into the study, and the study has been independently reviewed and approved by the institutional ethical board. Post collection of samples, the patients who participated in this study received the standard treatment protocol for Chronic Periodontitis. Method of Collection of Samples: Gingival tissue samples were obtained under aseptic conditions after administration of local anesthesia from patients who were diagnosed with Chronic Periodontitis. Gingival tissue samples were obtained from sites with pocket depths ranging from 5-8mm. Immediately following excision, these tissue specimens were briefly washed under cold distilled water and blotted dry. Then the specimens were transferred into sterile plastic vials which contained Phosphate Buffer Solution (PBS), pH 7.2, that acted as the transport medium. Specimens were then immediately carried to the laboratory where they were stored at -80à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °C until use. IN-VITRO STUDY Chemicals Used: Pure extract of Curcumin in powder form (Samy Labs, Bangalore, India) and Doxycycline i.e. pure doxycycline hyclate in powder form (Aristo Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bangalore, India) was used for the purpose of the study. The Curcumin solution was prepared by dissolving 15mg of Curcumin in 10ml of distilled water (1500 ÃŽ ¼g/ml). Preparation of Doxycycline solution was by dissolving 3mg of Doxycycline in 10ml of distilled water (300 ÃŽ ¼g/ml). Extraction of MMP-9: The frozen gingival tissue samples were allowed to thaw to room temperature. Then each tissue sample was homogenized with 2.5% Triton X-100. This was followed by centrifugation of the homogenized samples for 30 mins at 6000 rpm, at 4à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °C. The resulting supernatant was separated and used for analysis. Detecting the Optimal Curcumin and Doxycycline Concentration: To determine the optimal inhibition of MMP-9 by Curcumin, different concentrations of Curcumin i.e. 300, 500, 1000, 1500 ÃŽ ¼g/ml were added to 50ÃŽ ¼l of gingival tissue extract and incubated at room temperature for 60mins.The addition of increasing concentrations of Curcumin to the gingival tissue extract resulted in decreased MMP-9 activity as shown in Figure 1. Assessing the MMP-9 activity by Densitometric Analysis demonstrated that the concentration of Curcumin required to inhibit more than 50% of MMP-9 activity was 1500 ÃŽ ¼g/ml. Since Curcumin showed more than 50% inhibition of MMP-9 activity at a concentration of 1500 ÃŽ ¼g/ml as compared to the control (without drug), this concentration was used to pretreat the gingival tissue extract in the study. The Curcumin solution with a concentration of 1500 ÃŽ ¼g/ml was freshly prepared prior to processing of each sample of gingival tissue extract. Similarly increasing concentrations of Doxycycline ie 50, 100, 200, 300ÃŽ ¼g/ml were added to 50ÃŽ ¼l of gingival tissue extract and incubated at room temperature for 60mins. Assessing the MMP-9 activity by Densitometric Analysis demonstrated that the concentration of Doxycycline required to inhibit more than 50% of MMP-9 activity was 300ÃŽ ¼g/ml and thus this concentration was used to pretreat the gingival tissue extract in the study. The Doxycycline solution with a concentration of 300ÃŽ ¼g/ml was freshly prepared prior to processing of each sample of gingival tissue extract. Pretreatment of Gingival Tissue Extract with Curcumin and Doxycycline: To compare the inhibition of MMP-9 activity, 50ÃŽ ¼l of gingival tissue extract was preincubated with freshly prepared solution of 50ÃŽ ¼l of Curcumin (1500ÃŽ ¼l/ml) and 50ÃŽ ¼l of Doxycycline (300ÃŽ ¼l/ml) solution for 60mins at room temperature in separate vials. In addition, 50ÃŽ ¼l of extract was also incubated with 50ÃŽ ¼l of distilled water which was used as the control. Assay for MMP-9 Activity: The presence of MMP-9 activity in collected samples was studied by gelatin zymography. Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate-Poly Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) on 10% polyacrylamide containing 10% SDS copolymerized with 1g/l gelatin was used to pretreated tissue extracts under non reducing conditions without prior boiling. After electrophoresis, in order to regain the enzyme activity, the gels were rinsed with 2.5% Triton X-100 for 1hr to remove SDS thus allowing the protein to denature. The gels were then immersed in a proteolysis buffer containing Tris- HCl 50 m M/l (pH 7.6) and CaCl2 20mM/l and incubated at 37  ºC for 16 hours. The gels were subsequently stained Coomassie Blue (0.25% Coomassie Brilliant Blue R250, 40% methanol, 10% acetic acid). Gels were destained (30% methanol, 10% acetic acid and 60% water) until white bands appeared clearly from the blue background. These bands of gelatin lysis detected against the blue background as seen in Figure 2, represented enzymatic act ivities. RESULTS The presence of MMP-9 was studied. The enzymatic activities were detected as unstained bands on gelatin gel by zymography technique. In order to measure the relative MMP-9 levels, multi-image gel documentation systems were used to scan the clear zones and the percentage of inhibition was analyzed. Significant differences were found in the MMP activity in treated groups compared to the control. Figure 3 illustrates the reduction in the MMP-9 activity of each sample of gingival tissue extract when incubated with Doxycycline and Curcumin, expressed as percentage of reduction from the control. Table 1 shows the range, mean values and the standard deviation (S.D.) values for Curcumin and Doxycycline. The mean values show 59.58 % reduction in the MMP-9 activity with the addition of Doxycycline and 61.01% reduction in the MMP-9 activity with addition of Curcumin to the gingival tissue extract under identical conditions. Table 2 shows comparison of MMP-9 inhibitory effect between Doxycycline and Curcumin. The results obtained were analysed statistically using students paired t- test. DISCUSSION Periodontal diseases are the result of destruction of the soft and hard connective tissues surrounding and supporting the teeth. Inflammation is the basic cause of initiation of this breakdown. Research in the field of pathogenesis of periodontal disease has shown that various enzymatic activities which are directed towards the destruction of the pathogen also result in destruction of the periodontal connective tissue. Research has shown that, Matrix metelloproteinases (MMP’s) are one group of enzymes which are responsible for this destruction to a large extent. MMPs are involved in a number of physiological events including, tissue remodeling and pathological diseases such as periodontal disease and are the major players in collagen breakdown during periodontal destruction. MMPs are normally tightly regulated and disruption of this regulation leads to the pathologic breakdown of connective tissues. Higher levels of MMPs in the periodontal tissues provoke an imbalance between the production and degradation of collagen, causing tooth attachment loss. Especially, PMN derived MMPs (MMP-8 MMP-9) are the main proteinases related to tissue destruction and remodeling events in periodontal diseases. Numerous studies have substantiated the relationship between MMPs and periodontal diseases, with findings of significantly higher MMP-9 levels in patients with periodontitis as compared to healthy controls.4, 5, 15 With this understanding of the role of host immune response in periodontal destruction the possibility of host modulation so as to reduce the destructive aspects of the host response and hence reduce the damage to the periodontium was investigated. First group of drugs that showed this host modulation activity were Tetracyclines. Studies have demonstrated that tetracycline could significantly inhibit collagenase activity in GCF and gingival tissue, even at lower dosage than traditional antimicrobial dosages ie sub antimicrobial dosage.3 Tetracyclines inhibit collagenases by binding to the Ca2+ or Zn2+ (cations) required for the activation of MMPs such as collagenases and gelatinases.16 It is also possible that tetracyclines can inhibit synthesis of neutrophil-derived oxygen radicals, suppressing neutrophil migration and degranulation.17 However, microbial resistance to tetracyclines has been reported.7 In addition, long term treatment can result in other side- effects such as anorexi a, nausea, epigastric distress and fatty liver. A few recent studies on collagenase inhibition suggested that, like tetracyclines, herbal extracts are also potent inhibitors of pathologically elevated collagenases and hence they may be used as an alternative adjunct in the management of periodontal diseases.18, 19 Ayurvedic drugs like Neem, Triphala, Bakul etc have been used therapeutically since ancient times to treat diseases, including periodontal diseases. With the advent of modern synthetic drugs their convenience of standardized dosage form, dramatic efficacy in acute conditions and most of all simplicity of usage, there was a decline in the use of the plant medicines. But a long term treatment, with these synthetic drugs, has many adverse effects and they are also not cost effective. As Ayurvedic drugs, are widely acclaimed for their minimal side-effects and cost-effectiveness in India, they are now again being used extensively in treatment. Use of herbal extracts in treating periodontal diseases does not produce side effects of tetracycline compounds as well as other synthetic drugs. It has been shown that certain ayurvedic medicines also have the host modulation effect, similar to that of tetracyclines. A few recent studies conducted on collagenase inhibition by herbal extracts suggest that, like tetracyclines, herbal extracts are also potent inhibitors of pathogenically elevated collagenase and hence may be used as an alternative adjunct in the management of periodontal diseases.18, 19, 20 Turmeric which has Curcumin as its active constituent has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti- bacterial, anti- viral activities etc.10 Its anti- inflammatory activity has not been investigated in periodontal diseases. With the above details in mind the present study was conducted to evaluate the anti-inflammatory property of Turmeric. In the present study the anti-collagenase activity of Curcumin was compared with that of Doxycycline which has proven anti-collagenase activity. In the present study we chose Doxycycline because it has been proved that it is a more potent collagenase inhibitor as compared to minocycline and tetracycline.6 Studies have shown that Curcumin down-regulates MMP-9 activity13, 14, 21 and thus, in the present study we chose Curcumin to find out its anti-collagenase activity by checking its effect on MMP-9 activity. Research has shown that the predominant MMPs in inflamed gingival and periodontal tissues are PMN- type MMPs (MMP-8 MMP-9). Elevated activity of gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) has also been found in inflamed gingival tissues from chronic periodontitis patients.5, 22 The activity of PMN- type MMPs has been found not only to positively correlate to the severity of inflammation and pocket depth but also the amount of these enzymes recovered in an active rather than latent form appears to increase with greater severity of periodontal disease in the gingival tissue.20 Thus, since the above studies have shown that activity of PMN- type MMPs is increased in inflamed gingival tissues, in the present study we decided to use gingival tissue samples that were obtained from the patients diagnosed clinically with chronic periodontitis. The reduction in the MMP-9 activity of each sample of gingival tissue extract when incubated with the drugs .i.e. Doxycycline and Curcumin, was expressed as percentage of reduction from the control (without drug). The mean values showed 59.58% reduction in the MMP-9 activity with the addition of Doxycycline and 61.01 % reduction in the MMP-9 activity with addition of Curcumin to the gingival tissue extract under identical conditions. These results show that Curcumin has a significant inhibitory effect on PMN-type MMP-9, and this inhibitory effect of Curcumin is comparable to that of Doxycycline when the percentage of inhibition as compared to control was analysed. Curcumin also showed a significant reduction in the MMP-9 activity with an average inhibition of about 61% which is also statistically highly significant (p 23 and 12 g per day.24 But the overall results show that Curcumin has the ability to significantly inhibit the MMP-9 activity. The present study suggested that Curcumin could produce significant inhibition of MMPs at 1500 ÃŽ ¼g/ml concentration, which is well under the safe drug profile confirmed by toxicological studies.23, 24 Thus this study shows that Doxycycline and Curcumin possess anticollagenase activity in vitro. The finding of the present study is significant and confirms the use of Curcumin in treating periodontal diseases. A recent in vivo study showed that Curcumin modulates periodontal disease and had potent anti-inflammatory effects when it was systemically-administered in ligature-induced periodontitis in rats.25 Studies have shown that one of main mechanisms for the anti-inflammatory effects of Curcumin may be the inhibition of NF-ÃŽ ºB (nuclear factor kappa B).13, 25 The Curcumin-mediated inhibition of MMP-9 gene expression appears to occur via NF-ÃŽ ºB and AP-1 (Activator Protein-1) because their DNA binding activities were suppressed by Curcumin.14, 21 When compared to tetracycline, Curcumin has better anti-inflammatory effect, is more cost effective and has minimal side effects and thus can be tried as a substitute for Tetracycline as an anticollagenase agent. Curcumin also allows suppression of collagenase activity well within the safe dosage profile confirmed by toxicological studies. The in vivo environment is substantially different, and inherent limitations of an in vitro replication may constrain our understanding of the systemic effects of Curcumin. Further in vivo studies of Curcumin are needed to define its toxicological profile before making it a part of the therapeutic regimen in periodontal treatment. CONCLUSION In the light of observations from the current study it can be concluded that Doxycycline and Curcumin possess anticollagenase activity in vitro. Since Curcumin has better anti-inflammatory effect compared to Tetracycline, Curcumin being more cost effective and with no side effects can be tried as a substitute for Tetracycline as an anticollagenase agent. Thus Curcumin may have therapeutic potential as a host modulation agent in periodontal diseases.

responsiblity of the media :: essays research papers

The Media  · an agency, means, or instrument to disseminate information  · defines our shared perceptions of the world, society, and politics  · selects what information is directed to us  · media presents views of an issue  · influences on media coverage o producers of the news o sources of the news o audience for the news Power and Responsibility of the Media  · investigate wrong doing  · publicize and explain government action  · evaluate programs and politicians  · bring matters to the public attention that might otherwise by hidden by government  · reconcile campaign promises with government action  · media shapes our perceptions of the government through reporting Media rests upon the First Amendment  · "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press." o instrumental to a free society o if people are given full information of their affairs they will exercise sound judgment (Jefferson)  · American media may openly oppose the government o Near v. Minnesota (1931) extended free press to states  § "complexity of government and opportunity for corruption increases the need for a vigilant press" Organization of the Media  · local orientation o learn about what is around us  · nationalization of the news o same sets of events, presented in a similar way  § wire services supply local newspapers with national and international stories  § cost effective  § every newspaper can not have a media corespondent in Beijing  · network news o national program carried by local affiliates o national newspapers (elite papers influence the influential people)  · national nagazines (Time, Newsweek, US News) o very similar in coverage o middle of the road  · nationalization of media contributed to the nationalization of politics Impact of Private Ownership of Media  · profit motivated o attract large, diverse audiences o programming appeals to certain advertisers o subscribers are consumers of advertising Preferences of Mass Media  · entertainment  · personalized stories about familiar people  · short, simple stories Distates of Public  · political stories  · repetition Media Regulation  · broadcast media is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) o electromagnetic spectrum is publicly owned and it should benefit all  · equal time rule o broadcasters must provide candidates for the same office an equal opportunity to buy commercial time  · right of rebuttal - individuals must be given time to respond to personal attacks o Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. FCC  § upheld right of rebuttal  § allowed a liberal author an opportunity to respond to an attack by a conservative  § "the views expressed in the program are not necessarily those of the producers of the program"  · fairness doctrine o broadcasters were required to air programs with opposing views o made obsolete in 1985 by FCC o diversity of media presented different views

Computer Viruses

A computer virus is an illegal and potentially damaging computer program designed to infect other software by attaching itself to any software it contacts. In many cases, virus programs are designed to damage computer systems maliciously by destroying or corrupting data. If the infected software is transferred to or accessed by another computer system, the virus spreads to the other system. Viruses have become a serious problem in recent years, and currently, thousands of known virus programs exist (Reed 85-102).Three types of viruses are a boot sector viruses, file virus, and Trojan horse virus. A boot sector virus infects the boot program used to start the system. When the infected boot program executes, the virus is loaded into the computer’s memory. Once a virus is in memory, it can spread to any floppy disk inserted into the computer. A file virus inserts virus code into program files. The virus then spreads to any program that accesses the infected file. A Trojan horse v irus (named after the Greek myth) hides within or is designed to look like a legitimate program.Some viruses interrupt processing by freezing a computer system temporarily and then displaying sounds or messages. Other viruses contain time bombs or logic bombs. A time bomb is a program that performs an activity on a particular date. A logic bomb is a program that performs an activity when a certain action occurs, such as an employee being terminated. A worm, which is similar to a virus, copies itself repeatedly until no memory or disk space remains. To detect computer viruses, antivirus programs have been developed.Besides the detecting of the viruses, antivirus programs also have utilities to remove or repair infected programs or files. Some damaged files cannot be repaired and must be replaced with uninfected backup files. The table below outlines some techniques used to protect computer systems. Table Techniques for Virus Protection and System Backup Using Virus Protection Softwar e Backing Up Your System Install virus protection software on every computer system.Develop a regular plan for copying and storing important data and program files. Before use, scan every floppy disk with a virus scan program to check for viruses. Implement a backup plan and adhere to its guidelines. Check all programs downloaded from the Internet or bulletin boards for viruses. Keep backup copies of files in fireproof safes or vaults or off-site If your system becomes virus infected and you have questions, contact the National Computer Security Association (NCSA) for low-cost assistance (Elmhurst, 6 Nov. 1998).

Crystals Research Paper Essay

Crystals form in the depths of the Earth to the extension of the clouds in sky. Some think that crystals elude the sight of people’s eyes everyday in life, but they are everywhere including ingredients for food, construction materials, and even in ice-cold weather. The crystals in this experiment are ammonia-generated crystals that can be created right in a home. The experiment will be testing the different effects and products on crystals in different temperatures and forms of light. Different measurements will be recorded throughout the experiment such as mass and length. But first the crystals must grow. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is called crystallography. All over the world, though the different ages of man, crystals have been found to take their place throughout different cultures, countries, and religions. Not only were crystals used for a part in the currency of some ancient economies, but also they date back as far as 1500 BC as a source of healing and medicinal uses. â€Å"The ancient Egyptians strongly believed in the healing and protective power of crystals. Many pharaohs wore crystals on their headdresses and many crystal amulets have been found in their tombs.† Pharaohs of ancient Egypt often believed that the use of crystals in the masks and jewelry gave them the effect of bettering their rule. Amazonite and Lapis were reoccurring crystals found in the tombs found in Egypt, particularly King Tut where Lapis was actually apiece in the famous mask he wore. Cleopatra’s favorite jewelry was supposed to be a ring made of the crystal am ethyst. The ancient Chinese are also found to be users of the healing purposes of crystals. In two hundred different occasions, crystals are referred to in the bible. New Jerusalem, God’s heavenly city, was said to be built on top of crystals. â€Å"And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.† Tibetan monks also viewed quartz crystal spheres as holy objects and worshiped them. The monks often referred to quartz as the â€Å"crystal of enlightenment†. Alexander The Great included a large emerald crystal encrusted in his battle helmet to insure a victory in the battle. The Shah Jahan, monks who built the Taj Mahal, wore talismans similar to Alexander The Great. Overall, There is a reoccurrence of crystals used for different purposes such as healing, sacred items, and fine jewelry. There are many different structures of crystals based on the formation of them. The different forms are Cubic, Isometric, Tetragonal, Orthorhombic, Hexagonal, Trigonal, Triclinic, and Monoclinic. Cubic and Isometric are similar but don’t always have to be cubes. They can be found in forms of octahedrons and dodecahedrons as well as cubes. Tetragonal form double prisms and double pyramids due to one axis being longer than the other. Orthorhombic form dipyramids and rhombic prisms. Hexagonal are six-sided prisms and when viewed from a certain angle, the cross section is a hexagon. Trigonal, instead of having a 6-fold axis like the hexagonal, it has a 3-fold, thus making it trigonal. Triclinic has no set shape so these kinds of crystals can come in any shape and strange ones as well. Monoclinic are very similar to tetragonal crystals except they are skewed a bit so they don’t form good angles. These formations of the atoms and molecules in a crystal are all part of what is called the crystal lattice. The crystal lattice is the repetition of a pattern in three dimensions. The atoms and molecules of crystals form in such a way that in all three dimensions, they are repeating a certain pattern. The shapes of the microscopic atoms can determine the shape of the macroscopic crystal. So, Cubic, Isometric, Tetragonal, Orthorhombic, Hexagonal, Trigonal, Triclinic, and Monoclinic atom formations repeat in different crystals to make them the shape they are. Crystals can also be grouped by their properties. The property arrangements include covalent, metallic, ionic, and molecular crystals. Covalent crystals have many true covalent bonds connecting all the atoms in the crystal. Covalent crystals tend to have very high melting points. Some covalent crystals include zinc sulfide and diamonds. Metallic crystal’s atoms sit on a lattice, therefore the outer electrons of the atoms in the crystal are free to move around and float whichever way they want. Metallic crystals have a high melting point like covalent crystals but just not as high. Ionic crystals are bonded together by ionic bonds just as covalent crystals are held together by covalent bonds. Ionic crystals have high melting points like the other crystals and are usually very hard. An example of an ionic crystal is salt (NaCl). Molecular crystals are very recognizable in terms of their molecular structure. They are bonding by hydrogen bonds or non-covalent bonding. Molecular crystals are usually soft and have lower melting points compared to the other crystals. Relating the properties of crystals to the atom structure (crystal lattice) will allow one to realize how the structure correlates to the property. They’re ere 2 different types of structure in the crystal lattice, crystalline and non-crystalline. Crystalline structures are the atom structures that contain the repeating patterns. While non-crystalline structures contain miniscule faults in the patterns and are not perfect. Ionic crystals contain a crystalline structure and therefore are very hard and dense. The more crystalline the structure, the more compact the atoms are arranged. And the more the compact the atoms are, the more dense and hard the crystal becomes. Molecular crystals tend to have a weak, non-crystalline structure of the atoms. This results in the Molecular crystals being weak with low boiling points. The atoms in Molecular crystal tend to be spread out over farther distances in contrast to ionic crystal’s structure. Different wavelengths and colors of light can affect the color of the crystal itself and the wavelength output of the crystal. Different crystals are different colors due to the different chemicals in each one and how each one absorbs light. Many crystals reflect a certain color of light depending on the chemicals. So, crystals absorb one color of light or wavelength of light, and reflect a different color of light. So the idea of complimentary colors comes into play. Complimentary colors are the colors that the crystals absorb to then reflect a different color of light. There are many examples such as if a crystal is yellow, it is reflecting yellow light but the light it absorbs is blue. Also, if a crystal is red, it is reflecting red light but it is absorbing green light. Normally, crystals will grow much faster in the light, but these crystals will be much weaker than crystals grown in the dark. This is due to the time it takes for each to grow. In dark rooms crystals grow at a much slower rate but are significantly stronger than crystals grown in light. Crystals are found all over and all inside the Earth. In some rock cavities, whether it is close to the surface or deep and closer to the core of the Earth, mineral-rich solutions contain the essential elements to grow crystals. Thus, in these rock cavities, many different crystals can be found, and some are very old. Crystals can also be found around volcanoes and past eruption areas because after a volcano erupts, the cooled magma forms crystals. In many caves, rock walls contain similar solutions as rock cavities and form similar crystals. Crystals can also be found where there are mineral-rich vapors present, such as deep caves and rock formations. Many different crystals can form in various environments. Such as the location of turbulent water such as pipes and quick paced streams. Also, crystals can be found in the presence of evaporating salt water, where salt crystals will form. Crystals are also formed in the process of condensation, or in clouds for that matter. Every time it snows, the water has frozen into microscopic ice crystals that are the snowflakes. Also, Crystals can form under water and many on the Earth have not been seen because of this. Crystals grow and form in different and various ways. Crystals begin growing in a process called nucleation, which contains 2 different types, unassisted and assisted. Unassisted nucleation occurs when a â€Å"proto-crystal† forms in the solution that has been added to a solute. The solute is the solid and the solution is the liquid surrounding the solute. When molecules in the solution begin to attract to one another they combine and sometimes are separated by intermolecular forces but sometimes they stay together. When these molecules stay together they begin to attract different molecules of the solution to join and this is the â€Å"proto-crystal†. The â€Å"proto-crystal† then attaches itself to a couple other molecules or other â€Å"proto-crystals† in the solution and the actual crystal begins to form. In assisted nucleation, the solution is provided with a solute that the molecules of the solution can attach or adsorb to. When this occurs it attracts molecules just as in unassisted nucleation and the crystals begin to form. Because of the ability for crystals to grow from the build up of the solute molecules in the solution, crystals are able to grow at their highest when the solution being used is saturated with the solute being use. The more material to build up, the more the crystals are going to be able to grow and grow to full extent. Crystal formation is very slow, so it must be given a long geological process to form. Depending on the kind of crystal, the times of formation vary, so some form faster than others. This is where super saturation comes into play. Super saturation is the presence of more dissolved material in the solvent that could be dissolved in normal conditions. When a solution is supersaturated, it contains many particles and molecules of material to begin the nucleation process. When the supersaturated solution is under the correct conditions, crystallization begins to occur more rapidly. But this is not the case for all liquids or solutions. Some solutions may be saturated at one temperature but supersaturated at another so temperature is able to affect this as well. Temperature plays a huge part in the growth and the rate in which crystals grow. The growth rate of crystals changes depending on the temperature they are in. But some crystals grow faster in warm temperatures than in cold temperatures. This is because of the process of evaporation. When a saturated solution is in a warm environment it begins to evaporate. When the liquid begins to evaporate, overtime the material that was once dissolved in the solution will begin to bunch up and crystallize the more the liquid evaporates. But this process is a lot quicker than in cold environments so this leads to less stability and weaker crystal strength. In colder environments, the opposite process is used to begin the crystallization process. The process of precipitation is used. This process takes a much longer time than the evaporation process. Since this process takes a much longer time, it has the ability to create well formed and high quality crystals that are much stronger than crystals formed in hotter temperatures. Mainly crystals grown in the dark take much longer to grow. Because of the absence of light, there is not as much heat than crystals in light. Crystals in light receive much more heat. But this is not the case for all types of crystals; in some cases the rules for temperature are switched. For example Borax, these are crystals that usually generate faster in colder temperatures. If the Borax solution is saturated at room temperature or at any temperature higher than room temperature, the crystals grow faster in colder temperatures. This is due to the molecular structure of the Borax solution and the movement of the molecules causes the saturated solution at room temperature to become a supersaturated solution at colder temperatures. And the super saturation leads to faster crystal growth. So growth rates vary depending on temperature, kind of crystal, and kind of solution being used in the experiment. Bibliography 1.†Crystal.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 2.†History of Crystals.† History of Crystals. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 3. â€Å"A Brief History of Crystals and Healing.† History of Crystals and Healing. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 4.†Basic History of Crystals.† Holistic Apothecary. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 5.†Types Of Crystals.† About.com Chemistry. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 6.†The Structure of Crystals.† The Structure of Crystals. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 7.ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 8.†Temperature and Crystal Growth.† Temperature and Crystal Growth. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. 9.†UCSB Science Line Sqtest.† UCSB Science Line Sqtest. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

Saying to in German With Nach and Zu

Saying 'to' in German With 'Nach' and 'Zu' There are at least  half a dozen ways  to say to in German. But one of the biggest sources of to confusion comes from just two prepositions:  nach  and  zu. Fortunately, there are clear distinctions between the two. The preposition  nach, except in the idiomatic phrase nach Hause ([to] home, homeward), is used exclusively with geographic place names and points of the compass (including left and right). Most other uses of  nach  are in its meaning of after (nach der Schule   after school) or according to (ihm nach   according to him). Here are some examples of  nach  when it means to:  nach Berlin  (to Berlin),  nach rechts  (to the right),  nach Ãâ€"sterreich  (to Austria). Note, however, that plural or feminine countries, such as die Schweiz, usually use  in  instead of  nach:  in die Schweiz, to Switzerland.   The preposition  zu  is used in most other cases and is always used for to with people:  Geh zu Mutti!, Go to (your) mom! Note that  zu  can also mean too, functioning as an adverb:  zu viel, too much. Another difference between the two is that  nach  is rarely used with an article, while  zu  is often combined with an article or even contracted into a one-word compound, as in  zur Kirche  (zu der Kirche, to the church) or  zum Bahnhof  (zu dem Bahnhof, to the train station). Nach Hause  and  zu Hause Both of these prepositions are used with  Haus(e), but only  nach  means to when used with  Haus. The phrase  zu Hause  means at home, just as  zu Rom  means at/in Rome in that poetic, old-fashioned type of construction. Note that if you want to say to my house/place in German, you say  zu mir  (zu dative pronoun) and the word  Haus  is not used at all! The idiomatic expressions ​nach Hause and zu Hause follow the rules for nach  and zu  given above. Here are some more examples of the uses of  nach  and  zu  (as to): Wir fliegen  nach  Frankfurt.Were flying to Frankfurt. (geographic)Der Wind weht von Westen  nach  Osten.The wind is blowing from west to east. (compass)Wie komme ich  zum  Stadtzentrum?How to I get to the city center? (non-geographic)Ich fahre  nach  Frankreich.Im going to France. (geographic)Gehst du  zur  Kirche?Are you going to church? (non-geographic)Kommt doch  zu  uns!Why dont you guys come over to our place [to us]. (non-geographic)Wir gehen  zur  Bckerei.Were going to the bakery. (non-geographic) Direction/Destination The preposition  zu  expresses the idea of heading in a direction and going to a destination. It is the opposite of  von  (from):  von Haus zu Haus  (from house to house). Although both of the following sentences can be translated as He is going to the university, there is a difference in the German meanings: Er geht  zur  Universitt. (The university is his current destination.)Er geht  an  die Universitt. (Hes a student. He attends the university.) Those Tricky Prepositions Prepositions in any language can be tricky to deal with. They are particularly susceptible to cross-language interference. Just because a phrase is said a certain way in English, does not mean it will be the same in German. As we have seen, both  zu  and  nach  can be used in many ways, and to in German is not always expressed with these two words. Look at these to examples in  English and  German: ten to four  (score)   zehn zu vierten to four  (time)   zehn vor vierI dont want to  Ã‚  ich will nichtto my delight  Ã‚  zu meiner Freudeto my knowledge  Ã‚  meines Wissensbumper to bumper  Ã‚  Stoßstange an Stoßstangeto town  Ã‚  in die Stadtto the office  Ã‚  ins Bà ¼roto a great extent  Ã‚  in hohem Grad/Maße However, if you follow the simple rules on this page for  nach  and  zu, you can avoid making obvious mistakes with those two prepositions when you want to say to. German Prepositions That Can Mean To All of the following prepositions mean several other things besides to: an, auf, bis, in, nach, vor, zu; hin und her  (adverb,  to and fro) Note that German also uses nouns or pronouns in the  dative case  to express to:  mir  (to me),  meiner Mutter  (to my mother),  ihm  (to him).

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buy custom Mini Car Case Study essay Global Control is a strategy whereby a firm controls all the processes of production, sales, advertisement and promotion in the international market. Local autonomy, on the other hand, is a strategy whereby the producer company controls all the processes of production, sale, promotion and advertisement of a product. A Mini is a small car. It is a product of the British Motor Corporation. This company has used a promotion strategy that comprises of a mixture of global control and local autonomy. This mixture of strategies has its advantages and its disadvantages. Advantages of adopting a mixture of global control and local autonomy strategies It enables the manufacturer to edge money market fluctuations. Here, the company avoids countries that have high foreign currency exchange rates. It does business with countries that have low exchange rates to ensure it does not lose profits. This strategy also promotes revenue stability. Different countries are experiencing different economic challenges. When there is a recession in one market, the other one could be experiencing a boom. Therefore, the company in question has a choice to trade in the performing countries, thus promoting sales. It enables producers to satisfy a wide variety of customers. This is because the firm reaches out to both the local and the international markets. Thus, it can tell the countries and, or areas where they make most sales. The producer is also able to satisfy the consumer niche. This refers to tastes and preferences of consumers. The producer gets a chance to interact with various consumers both locally and internationally. The mixture of policy promotes international integration. This is extremely crucial to a company like this one that manufactures vehicles, as it does not target local markets alone. This is because they are unusually small and easily get saturated. International integration prevents the possibility of rivalry among countries in question. It also promotes the stability of the balance of payment. The Mini car manufacturing company benefits from the ability to practice transfer pricing. It also gains from the benefits that come with large-scale production and promotion. These are the economies of scale. This is the case, since a unit cost o promoting their commodity translates in to a large geographical coverage of the market, there by resulting in too much sales. The manufacturing company is prone to effects of differences in tax regimes. Different countries have different tax rates that they levy on imports and exports. When undertaking the Global control strategy, this company will have to encounter these different tax regimes. There is also the disadvantage of fluctuating exchange rates. These exchange rates change because different countries enact different policies to control their imports and exports. (Claire, 2002) The Mini manufacturing company will also encounter challenges caused by social-economic factors such as per capita income. This differs from country to country. It also differs with time in I given country. It refers to the total income that every citizen earns in that country. It dictates the ability of people in a given country, to buy the commodity. In this case, it is a car. One may find out that,in some countries, people earn too little and that only few people can manage to buy luxurious commodities such as cars. This would mean that no matter the degree of product promotion, remarkably few sales could be made. (Cappellin Giuliani, 2004) The company might also be faced with the enemy character situation. If the destination country is at war with the exporting country, then, the importing country could chose not to import from them again. The final consumers may also decline to buy those products. In such a case, the Mini car manufacturing company would be on the losing end. When we consider the merits and demerits of using a mixture of the two strategies, I would recommend that the Mini manufacturing company continue using that mixture. The company must exploit the local market to the fullest. This is because it does not have many legal formalities, as is the case with international market. However, the firm must target international markets too. The local market is likely to be too small for it to consume all their cars. It is also likely to be easily saturated. These two reasons, therefore, would limit the company to manufacture lower than the capacity it has. (Fisher, 1991) Methods of guerilla marketing This refers to inconsiistent advertisement marketing. The company should use product re-launch strategy. Here, a company conducts innovative car improvement, and then it launches the improved car. The company could also use product re-branding strategy. In this case, the car brand name may be changed, and then the same car gets back to the market. The Mini car manufacturing company could also employ group-marketing strategy. For example, it may offer after sale services such as free car repair for may be one year. (Claire, 2002) Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability These are the strategies that the company can put in place in order to give back to the society. The company may achieve this by manufacturing an environmental friendly car that emits less carbon. The ANSOFF model is a strategic marketing plan, where a company decides on whether to launch a product in a new market or to re-launch it in a pre-existing market. The BMW Company should adopt the existing market to existing market strategy as it always has the highest pay off. Brand extension and franchising of the brand to other companies In order for BMW Company to extend the brand name of the E-model, it may re-launch the Mini as a personalized car. It may also re-launch it as a luxury vehicle. The other option is to re-launch the Mini car as a rally car. Franchising is the act of allowing a company to produce a product and then it uses the brand name of another prominent company. The BMW Company cannot franchise the brand to other companies, as the brand is not yet popular in the market. Therefore, an attempt to franchise the brand name may cause the dependent company to make poor sales. After the launching of the E-car model, the BMW Company can extend the brand away from cars. This could be quite wise since an advertisement of one of the products bearing the brand could end up promoting every other commodity that has that brand. Rallies are quite popular in the field of sports. Therefore, rallying the new brand would act as an advertisement for the brand. The rallying car should be customized to be exceptionally fast, so that it can be outstanding in the rally. This could create a positive impression of the brand. 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The Rise and Fall of the Borgia Family

The Rise and Fall of the Borgia Family The Borgias are the most infamous family of Renaissance Italy, and their history normally hinges around four key individuals: Pope Calixtus III, his nephew Pope Alexander IV, his son Cesare and daughter Lucrezia. Thanks to the actions of the middle pair, the family name is associated with greed, power, lust, and murder. The Rise of the Borgias The most famous branch of the Borgia family originated with Alfons Borja from Valencia in Spain, the son of a middling family. Alfons went to university and studied canon and civil law, where he demonstrated talent and after graduation began to rise through the local church. After representing his diocese in national matters, Alfons was appointed secretary to King Alfonso V of Aragon and became deeply involved in politics, sometimes acting as envoy for the monarch. Soon Alfons became Vice-Chancellor, a trusted and relied upon aide, and then regent when the king went to conquer Naples. While demonstrating skills as an administrator, he also promoted his family, even interfering with a murder trial to secure his kin’s safety. When the king returned, Alfons led negotiations over a rival pope who was living in Aragon. He secured a delicate success which impressed Rome and became both a priest and a bishop. A few years later Alfons went to Naples - now ruled by the King of Aragon – and reorganized the government. In 1439 Alfons represented Aragon at a council to try and unite the eastern and western churches. It failed, but he impressed. When the king finally negotiated papal approval for his hold of Naples (in return for defending Rome against central Italian rivals), Alfons did the work  and was appointed a cardinal in 1444 as a reward. He thus moved to Rome in 1445, aged 67, and changed his name to Borgia. Oddly for the age, Alfons was not a pluralist, keeping only one church appointment, and was also honest and sober. The next generation of Borgia would be very different, and Alfons’s nephews now arrived in Rome. The youngest, Rodrigo, was destined for the church and studied canon law in Italy, where he established a reputation as a ladies man. An elder nephew, Pedro Luis, was destined for military command. Calixtus III: The First Borgia Pope Hulton Archive / Getty Images On April 8th, 1455, a brief time after being made a cardinal, Alfons was elected as Pope, largely because he belonged to no major factions and seemed destined for a short reign due to age. He took the name Calixtus III. As a Spaniard, Calixtus had many ready-made enemies in Rome, and he began his rule carefully, keen to avoid Rome’s factions, even though his first ceremony was interrupted by a riot. However, Calixtus also broke with his former king, Alfonso, after the former ignored the latter’s request for a crusade. While Calixtus refused to promote King Alfonso’s sons as a punishment, he was busy promoting his own family: nepotism was not unusual in the papacy. Indeed, it allowed the Popes to create a base of supporters. Rodrigo was made a cardinal at 25, and a slightly older brother the same, acts which scandalized Rome because of their youth, and ensuing debauchery. But Rodrigo, sent to a difficult region as a papal legate, was skilled and successful. Pedro was given an army command, and the promotions and wealth flowed in: Rodrigo became second in command of the church, and Pedro a Duke and Prefect, while other family took a range of positions. Indeed, when King Alfonso died, Pedro was sent to seize Naples which had defaulted back to Rome. Critics believed Calixtus intended to give it to Pedro. However, matters came to a head between Pedro and his rivals over this, and he had to flee enemies, although he died shortly after of Malaria. In aiding him, Rodrigo demonstrated a physical bra very  and was with Calixtus when he too died in 1458. Rodrigo: Journey to the Papacy German School / Getty Images In the conclave following Calixtus’s death, Rodrigo was the most junior cardinal. He played a key role in electing the new Pope – Pius II – a role that required courage and gambling his career. The move worked, and for a young foreign outsider who had lost his patron, Rodrigo found himself a key ally of the new pope and confirmed Vice-Chancellor. To be fair, Rodrigo was a man of great ability and was perfectly capable in this role, but he also loved women, wealth, and glory. He thus abandoned the example of his uncle Calixtus and set about acquiring benefices and land to secure his position: castles, bishoprics, and money flowed in. Rodrigo also earned official reprimands from the Pope for his licentiousness. Rodrigo’s response was to cover his tracks more. However, he had many children, including a son called Cesare in 1475 and a daughter called Lucrezia in 1480, and Rodrigo would give them key positions. Rodrigo then survived a plague and welcomed a friend as Pope, and stayed on as Vice-Chancellor. By the next conclave, Rodrigo was powerful enough to influence the election, and was sent as a papal legate to Spain with permission to approve or deny the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, and thus the union of Aragon and Castile. In approving the match, and working to get Spain to accept them, Rodrigo earned the support of King Ferdinand. On returning to Rome, Rodrigo kept his head down as the new pope became the center of plotting and intrigue in Italy. His children were given routes to success: his eldest son became a Duke, while daughters were married to secure alliances. A papal conclave in 1484 demurred from making Rodrigo pope, but the Borgia leader had his eye on the throne, and worked hard to secure allies for what he considered his last chance, and was aided by the current pope causing violence and chaos. In 1492, with the death of the Pope, Rodrigo put all his work together with a huge amount of bribes and was elected Alexander VI. It has been said, not without validity, that he bought the papacy. Alexander VI: The Second Borgia Pope Hulton Archive / Getty Images Alexander had widespread public support  and was capable, diplomatic and skilled, as well as rich, hedonistic and concerned with ostentatious displays. While Alexander at first tried to keep his role separate from family, his children soon benefited from his election, and received huge wealth; Cesare became a cardinal in 1493.  Relatives arrived in Rome and were rewarded, and the Borgias were soon endemic in Italy. While many other Popes had been nepotists, Alexander was promoting his own children and had a range of mistresses, something that further fuelled a growing and negative reputation. At this point, some of the Borgia children also began to cause problems, as they annoyed their new families, and at one point Alexander appears to have threatened to excommunicate a mistress for returning to her husband. Alexander soon had to navigate a way through the warring states and families which surrounded him, and at first, he tried negotiation, including the marriage of a twelve-year-old Lucrezia to Giovanni Sforza. He had some success with diplomacy, but it was short-lived. Meanwhile, Lucrezia’s husband proved a poor soldier, and he fled in opposition to the pope, who then had him divorced. We don’t know why he fled, but accounts claim he believed rumors of incest between Alexander and Lucrezia that persist to this day. France then entered the arena, competing for Italian land, and in 1494 King Charles VIII invaded Italy. His advance was barely stopped, and as Charles entered Rome, Alexander retired to a palace. He could have  fled  but stayed to use his ability against the neurotic Charles. He negotiated both his own survival and a compromise which ensured an independent papacy, but which left Cesare as both a papal legate and a hostage†¦ until he escaped. France took Naples, but the rest of Italy came together in a Holy League in which Alexander played a key role. However, when Charles retreated back through Rome, Alexander thought it best to leave this second time. Juan Borgia Alexander now turned on a  Roman family  who stayed loyal to France: the Orsini. The command was given to Alexander’s son Duke Juan, who was recalled from Spain, where he had earned a reputation for womanizing. Meanwhile, Rome echoed to the rumors of the excesses of the Borgia children. Alexander meant to give Juan first the vital Orsini land, and then strategic papal lands, but Juan was assassinated and his corpse thrown into the Tiber. He was 20. No one knows who did it. The Rise of Cesare Borgia Mondadori / Getty Images Juan had been Alexander’s  favorite  and his commander; that  honor  (and the rewards) were now diverted to Cesare, who wished to resign his cardinal’s hat and marry. Cesare seemed the future to Alexander, partly because the other male  Borgia  children were dying or weak. Cesare secularized himself fully in 1498. He was immediately given replacement wealth as the Duke of Valence through an alliance Alexander brokered with the new French King Louis XIII, in return for papal acts and aiding him in gaining Milan. Cesare also married into Louis’ family and was given an army. His wife became pregnant before he left for Italy, but neither she nor the child ever saw Cesare again. Louis was successful and Cesare, who was only 23 but with an iron will and strong drive, began a remarkable military career. The Wars of Cesare Borgia Alexander looked at the condition of the Papal States, left in disarray after the first French invasion, and decided military action was needed. He thus ordered Cesare, who was in Milan with his army, to pacify large areas of central Italy for the Borgias. Cesare had early success, although when his large French contingent returned to France, he needed a new army and returned to Rome. Cesare seemed to have control over his father now, and people after papal appointments and acts found it more profitable to seek out the son instead of Alexander. Cesare also became Captain-General of the churches armies  and a dominant figure in central Italy. Lucrezia’s husband was also killed, possibly on the orders of an angry Cesare, who also was rumored to be acting against those who badmouthed him in Rome by assassinations. Murder was common in Rome, and many of the unsolved deaths were attributed to the Borgias, and usually Cesare. With a substantial war chest from Alexander, Cesare conquered., and at one point marched to remove Naples from the control of the dynasty who had given the Borgias their start. When Alexander went south to oversee the division of land, Lucrezia was left behind in Rome as regent. The Borgia family gained great amounts of land in the  Papal States, which were now concentrated in the hands of one family more than ever before, and Lucrezia was packed off to marry Alfonso d’Este to secure a flank of Cesare’s conquests. The Fall of the Borgias As the alliance with France now seemed to be holding Cesare back, plans were made, deals struck, wealth acquired and enemies murdered to take a change of direction, but in mid-1503 Alexander died of malaria. Cesare found his benefactor gone, his realm not yet consolidated, large foreign armies in the north and south, and himself also deeply ill. Furthermore, with Cesare weak, his enemies rushed back from exile to threaten his lands, and when Cesare failed to coerce the papal conclave, he retreated from Rome. He persuaded the new pope to re-admit him safely, but that pontiff died after  twenty-six  days and Cesare had to flee. He supported a great Borgia rival, Cardinal  della  Rovere, as Pope Julius III, but with his lands conquered and his diplomacy rebuffed an annoyed Julius arrested Cesare. Borgias were now thrown out of their positions, or forced into keeping quiet. Developments allowed Cesare to be released, and he went to Naples, but he was arrested by Ferdinand of Arag on and locked up again. Cesare did escape after two years  but was killed in a skirmish in 1507. He was just 31. Lucrezia the Patron and the End of the Borgias Print Collector / Getty Images Lucrezia also survived  malaria and the loss of her father and brother. Her personality reconciled her to her husband, his  family, and her state, and she took up court positions, acting as regent. She  organized  the state, saw it through war, and created a court of great culture through her patronage. She was popular with her  subjects  and died in 1519. No Borgias ever rose to become as powerful as Alexander, but there were plenty of minor figures who held religious and political positions, and Francis Borgia (d. 1572) was made a saint. By Francis’ time the family was declining in importance, and by the end of the eighteenth century it had died out. The Borgia Legend Alexander and the Borgias have become infamous for corruption,  cruelty,  and murder. Yet what Alexander did as pope was rarely original, he just took things to a new extreme. Cesare was perhaps the supreme intersection of secular power wielded to spiritual power in Europe’s history, and the Borgias were renaissance  princes  no worse than many of their contemporaries. Indeed, Cesare was given the dubious distinction of Machiavelli, who knew Cesare, saying the Borgia general was a grand example of how to tackle power.

Chapter 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Chapter 5 - Essay Example Then proceed to the actual purchase. The decision to purchase and the selection will be based on the features of the product, the perceived value and its capabilities. Then proceed with post purchase analysis. From the onset, the marketers should know that purchasing only exists because there exists are need. It therefore follows that the strategy to generate or reinforce a need in the consumers mind is absolutely significant in stimulating the consumer purchasing behaviour. This can be done through thorough marketing campaigns such as advertisements. The marketers should create brand awareness among consumers. Consumers normally select products that they know by name or those in their mind, this is called Top-of –mind awareness or TOPA. The marketers also need to improve customer relations and the general shopping experience for the consumers. This will go a long way in forging strong relations and improving reputation of the marketer’s product hence creating customer

Changes in our culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Changes in our culture - Essay Example It reminds of a simpler time in history when one has to catch food in order to eat or plant crops to be harvested for sustenance. That time of having the familiarity of building a house with one’s own hands or with the help of neighbors. All of these virtues and values are at a lost in today’s world where we open cans, lids, pouches, or any of other similar make for our so-called nourishment. But this is what our evolution has come to be. This is the era of conveniences and expediency. The availability of all modernity does not impose relentless clutch on all that it offers but it provides for a choice, because ultimately how one lives is according to how he desires to. I have to admit that I was born in a time where I can no longer imagine having to live without all of the tools that are easily available to me. There is no question that I am thrilled and relieved even that I only have to pop something in the microwave for a couple of minutes in order to satisfy my hunger. There is no hesitancy that my laptop is most cherished and adored of all the tools that great minds have invented. This is especially true because of the internet which has now been declared a basic human right by the United Nations, raising its rank along the same level as food, clothing, shelter and education (as cited by Chipchase, par. 5). Google is a dear old friend who virtually knows everything I need to know when I have to finish an assignment. Email is especially welcome in how it has made communication such a breeze. Losing my mobile phone feels almost like losing an arm. But in all the exigencies that this state of constant sprint that we are in, the choice remains ours in whether to follow the flow of the current, go against it or simply remain still. In however positive or negative opinion we have of these changes in our culture, we cannot deny the fact that this is actually where our

Euglena Gracilis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Euglena Gracilis - Essay Example Euglena Gracilis, the name comes from the Greek words eus and glne, i.e. good eyeball, which refers to the light-sensitive eyespot. Euglena gracilis uses its eyespot to locate light. This is a minute single-celled nutrient-rich freshwater organism of the genus Euglena, having the presence of chlorophyll, a reddish eyespot, and a single anterior flagellum. Euglena gracilis is just one of the many species of Euglena. Euglenas have spindle-shaped bodies, ranging in size from 1/1000 to 1/100 of an inch (0.025 to 0.254 millimeter) long. Most of the species are green in colour as they contain chlorophyll. Euglena produce food through photosynthesis for themselves, and also serve as primary producers for aquatic ecosystems. Some of the species also eat tiny particles of living matter. Euglena are interesting because they are a sort of combination of plant and animal. One the one hand they can make their own food like a plant, but they can also eat other things, like an animal. They can also swim and move. Scientists argued for years about which Kingdom to put them in, Animal or Plant Right now they are in neither; most scientists put them in the Protist Kingdom with other microscopic organisms, such as amoeba and paramecium. Three membranes surround the complex chloroplasts of Euglena. This is unlike chloroplasts of higher plants and most green algae, which are surrounded by two membranes. The additional membranes present a barrier to the import of chloroplast precursor proteins. Traditionally, the genus Euglena has been divided into several groups or subgenera depending mainly on morphological features of the chloroplast and paramylon and on cell rigidity. Euglena Gracilis also has a flagellum, a long hair-like thing, which is used by Euglena to swim. In this experiment we studied the growth of Euglena over a three week period. We took three jars and put the Euglena in each of them. We put rice in one jar and kept it in the dark. So this Euglena got its nutrients solely from the rice. Euglena in another jar was placed in the light with no rice, and this Euglena got its nutrients solely from the light. In the third jar we put rice and also placed this one in the light, so that this Euglena could get nutrients from both light and rice. Each week we checked on the Euglena jars to see which had the greatest exponential growth; From the experiment, we found that the Euglena in the light only did the best (results are summarized in table-1). Table-1: Growth pattern of Euglena over a three week period Jar-1 Euglena with Rice only (growth-cells per field) Jar-2 Euglena with Light only (growth-cells per field) Jar-3 Euglena with Rice and Light (growth-cells per field) Week-1 28 20 40 Week-2 22 31 35 Week-3 24 44 21 Conclusion It is amply clear that Euglena gracilis do behave like plants as well as animals, because when Euglena gracilis doesn't have enough light to make its own food, it looks for other things to eat. In this case rice supported the growth of Euglena. References: 1. Euglena, available online at http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/euglena.htm (Oct 24, 2006). 2. Woongghi Shin and Richard E. Triemer, "Phylogenetic analysis of the genus euglena (euglenophyceae) with particular reference to the type species euglena viridis", 759-770, available online

Risk Management Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Risk Management Paper - Assignment Example The institution has a bed capacity of 112 and a home care program. Currently, MedWest has identified catheter associated urinary infections as their most significant hospital acquired infection even though other infections are also under review. Steps that have been put in place to address the issue The hospice has dealt with this problem by first tackling patient identification. Samples and specimens from and for patients must be labeled correctly. This ensures that if they are eligible for blood transfusions, they get the correct ones. Furthermore, identification is done in the patient’s presence in order to ensure accuracy. MedWest Haywood also has a communication policy for caregivers. This means that test results and other documentations must be delivered to the right medical personnel within the appropriate time. Furthermore documentation of that communication ought to be recorded. The institution has also established a standardized communication format that members of t he institution are supposed to follow. These formats include SBAR and Ticket Ride (MedWest Carolinas Health Care, 2011). Aside from communication and patient labeling, the company has also worked on medicine administration. MedWest has procedures for labeling all medications. Persons under anticoagulant therapy are more likely than others to be harmed. Therefore, specific procedures must be adhered to when dealing with these patients. The institution has standards and procedures for reducing the quantity of drug concentrations in its environs. It strictly adheres to the five principles of medical administration that focus on giving patients the right medication at the right time, to the right person, in the correct dosage, using the appropriate route. Particular emphasis is given on medicines that sound or look alike as these are likely to cause errors. Medication containers with syringes or other apparatus are labeled. Care is taken during preoperative settings as well as other pro cedural environments. A protocol for reconciling medication throughout the care continuum exists in the Hospice. Direct infections brought on by medical practitioners are controlled through adherence to national standards for hand hygiene. Medical professionals must wash hands prior to and after contact with patients. They are also expected to follow rules for isolation of patients who may be at risk of infecting others. MedWest expects its staff to adhere to national guidelines concerning difficult to treat infections. It also follows similar procedures for control of infections after surgery as well as prevention of catheter associated urinary tract infections. In surgery, MedWest Haywood prevents infections by having a time out procedure. Here, all the professionals involved in the surgery will identity the correct time out. Additionally, they must mark the surgical site but do this in accordance to preset rules. They are also supposed to surgically pause before starting the proc edure in order to ensure that the right patient, site and procedure have been identified. How the agency developed a path to remedy the problem First, the organization identified the impact of health problems and the amount of risk that patients are exposed. By showing these challenges, it would be possible to get buy in from the professionals responsible for risk exposure as well as risk mitigation. This would also ensure that management and other stakeholders of the

The Cosby Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Cosby Show - Essay Example This study looks into The Cosby Show that would be best categorized under the conflict area of sociological theory. The sitcom challenged negative ideas of African Americans that have been embedded in American society for far too long. On the surface, The Cosby Show may have seemed like a simple television show, but the series had a far-reaching impact on American pop-culture and society. The show made people rethink how African Americans were perceived in the United States. Because of The Cosby Show, it was possible for other African American shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Matters to be successful on television. Even though African American shows like Good Times preceded The Cosby Show, Bill Cosby’s series was the first to present black people as having esteemed professions and living an upper-middle class life. In the show, Cosby’s character was Heathcliff Huxtable, a prominent obstetrician, and his wife, Clair Huxtable, was an attorney. Even tho ugh the show premiered in the middle of the eighties, there was still widespread prejudice and racial fears of black people. In the minds of many Americans, professions such as a doctors and lawyers were traditionally reserved for whites. In previous years, not only were blacks not qualified for these jobs but also they were deemed inept and unable to be successful in these professions according to the widespread notion of racial superiority. The Cosby Show had proved this assertion wrong. Not only did the show have a positive, successful black male, but the inclusion of a professional, black woman on television was groundbreaking within its own right. In America’s history, black women could only attain jobs as wash-maids or domestic servants. To see a woman of color doing neither of those jobs and being a successful lawyer was also a monumental shift in the way black women have been categorized and stereotyped. For far too long, black women have had to face hurdles and obsta cles of their own. Within the confines of America’s racial and patriarchal history, black women have had to carry the extra burdens of being black and female. Black women have had to contend with their own stereotypes, including the mammy role, the sensual mulatto woman, and the docile domestic servant. The image of Clair Huxtable contradicted assumed roles of not only black women but also women as a whole. The image of a black, professional woman who was not dependent on her husband challenged established racial bias and female and gender roles within American society. The show pushed back and made people question gender norms and racial categorization. The series defied not only established assumptions of gender but also of class. Because of America’s racial caste system, African Americans were thought to remain forever at the bottom of the social ladder. One of the main selling points for coming to America has been the typical rags to riches story, the idea of comin g to the land of opportunity and moving beyond one’s social station. However, the reality was that where a person was born and what skin color he or she had determined a person’s social status in life and still does to this day. With the odds stacked against non-white people, however, there have been ethnic groups that have managed to move within the American class structure, including African Americans. The Cosby Show was an example of African Americans being able to become successful and not remaining at the bottom of the class scale as prescribed by many white Americans. The series also created conflict by defying who could rise above class and who could become wealthy. The Cosby Show revealed the fact that the

His 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

His 7 - Essay Example These trading outposts later served the Chinese and Arab markets as well. There were several Indian ports from where large ships sailed towards east to Khruse. In the sixteen and seventeenth century pepper became the main South East Asian cash crop and by 1510 Sumatra and Malaya were producing about 2500 tones of pepper a year in contrast to 3600 tones exported by Kerala in South India (Tarling, 122). As time passed the need for other spices along with pepper kept on increasing. The increase in South East Asian production all went almost to fill the growing demands of Europe, and then the Portuguese intervened via the Indian Ocean. When the English and Dutch arrived South East Asia became the major source of world spices and the centre of competition for Portuguese, English, Dutch, Chinese and Indian buyers. The price levels were high throughout the period. The period since 1570-1630 was a prosperous time for Japan when the country unified and it increased its trade license to a numb er of countries. In order to improve economic activities in the region few associations were formed including Asian Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC) and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). It has signed different trade agreements in order to boost the South East Asia's economy. As early as 13th century globalization was carried out in South East Asia via the l

The Cosby Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Cosby Show - Essay Example This study looks into The Cosby Show that would be best categorized under the conflict area of sociological theory. The sitcom challenged negative ideas of African Americans that have been embedded in American society for far too long. On the surface, The Cosby Show may have seemed like a simple television show, but the series had a far-reaching impact on American pop-culture and society. The show made people rethink how African Americans were perceived in the United States. Because of The Cosby Show, it was possible for other African American shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Matters to be successful on television. Even though African American shows like Good Times preceded The Cosby Show, Bill Cosby’s series was the first to present black people as having esteemed professions and living an upper-middle class life. In the show, Cosby’s character was Heathcliff Huxtable, a prominent obstetrician, and his wife, Clair Huxtable, was an attorney. Even tho ugh the show premiered in the middle of the eighties, there was still widespread prejudice and racial fears of black people. In the minds of many Americans, professions such as a doctors and lawyers were traditionally reserved for whites. In previous years, not only were blacks not qualified for these jobs but also they were deemed inept and unable to be successful in these professions according to the widespread notion of racial superiority. The Cosby Show had proved this assertion wrong. Not only did the show have a positive, successful black male, but the inclusion of a professional, black woman on television was groundbreaking within its own right. In America’s history, black women could only attain jobs as wash-maids or domestic servants. To see a woman of color doing neither of those jobs and being a successful lawyer was also a monumental shift in the way black women have been categorized and stereotyped. For far too long, black women have had to face hurdles and obsta cles of their own. Within the confines of America’s racial and patriarchal history, black women have had to carry the extra burdens of being black and female. Black women have had to contend with their own stereotypes, including the mammy role, the sensual mulatto woman, and the docile domestic servant. The image of Clair Huxtable contradicted assumed roles of not only black women but also women as a whole. The image of a black, professional woman who was not dependent on her husband challenged established racial bias and female and gender roles within American society. The show pushed back and made people question gender norms and racial categorization. The series defied not only established assumptions of gender but also of class. Because of America’s racial caste system, African Americans were thought to remain forever at the bottom of the social ladder. One of the main selling points for coming to America has been the typical rags to riches story, the idea of comin g to the land of opportunity and moving beyond one’s social station. However, the reality was that where a person was born and what skin color he or she had determined a person’s social status in life and still does to this day. With the odds stacked against non-white people, however, there have been ethnic groups that have managed to move within the American class structure, including African Americans. The Cosby Show was an example of African Americans being able to become successful and not remaining at the bottom of the class scale as prescribed by many white Americans. The series also created conflict by defying who could rise above class and who could become wealthy. The Cosby Show revealed the fact that the

The Cable News Network Essay Example for Free

The Cable News Network Essay The Cable News Network (CNN) is considered as one of the most respectable institutions in the field of news reporting. The CNN is a television network owned by the Time Warner as the news division of the Turner Broadcasting System. It is a television network that renders a 24-hour news coverage which includes the events that are taking place in other countries. According to Nielsen, a statistical organization measuring TV ratings, CNN ranked number two in America, trailing behind Fox News in terms of total audience (Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2007). Due to its respectable position in its chosen field, its reportage should be characterized by honesty and accuracy. To stress further the importance of news reportage, it is better to present it with statistics and statements. For instance, a news report that pertains to business utilizes mostly statistics, while some news reports that are politics-related quote the various officials pertinent to the news story. One of the recent news today which is widely debated and deliberated is the $700 billion bail-out fund intended to help out the troubled institutions due to the financial crisis that the nation is experiencing. Poppy Harlow, one of the CNN’s newscasters, made a report about the bail-out proposal. The main objective of Harlow’s reporting is to explain the meaning and the intention of the rescue bill and why the government is wiling to release such funds for it (â€Å"Heres the plan,† 2008). The 110-page bail-out proposal has been finally approved by the Congress. The minor legislative wing released the bill last Sunday evening. It is expected that the bill will take fast-track motions up to the Senate by Wednesday. The bill is based on the proposal of the Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, who requested the government to acquire troubled businesses so the banks can start lending money and perform properly (Sahadi, 2008). The bill mainly features the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Through this program, the government will buy assets that are experiencing financial crisis. The fund released is equal to the fund Paulson requested, but the first $250 billion will be allocated to save the U. S. economy. The members of the prevailing political parties in the U. S. are concerned with the possibility that the taxpayers will pay for the bail-out proposal. Thus, they added several conditions to protect the taxpayers (Sahadi, 2008). Poppy Harlow reported the facts in a straight and concise manner. She did not exaggerate nor make the story light. She made the story sensible to every American and delivered it in such a way that every American would be concerned with the prevailing issue. Though the news report lacks direct quotation, she included the previous statements of Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, about his proposal and his plans before it was approved as a bill. This supports the news story, feeding the public with information that they might miss. The statements are also utilized as an explanation or additional information for the news being reported. The news report also provides an example of what might happen if the plan will be carried out (â€Å"Heres the plan,† 2008). Poppy Harlow reported with fairness. She rendered the news without much difficulty. In this way, people coming from various sectors will be able to understand the news. The words are not highly-technical, and if there are words that are relevant for the public to know, Harlow provided an explanation or a working definition of the concept (â€Å"Heres the plan,† 2008). In news reporting, the statistical data, testimonials, and the examples play important roles in the news report, for they further expound the topic or the news reported for the better understanding of the audiences. References Heres the plan: Congressional leaders reach a tentative agreement on a $700 billion economic bailout plan. (2008, September 28). CNNMoney. com [Webcast Transcript]. Retrieved September 28, 2008 from http://money. cnn. com/video/#/video/news/2008/09/28/news. harlow. bailout. 092808. cnnmoney Project for Excellence in Journalism (2007). Economics. The State of the News Media 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2008 from http://www. stateofthenewsmedia. org/2007/narrative_cabletv_audience. asp? cat=3media=6. Sahadi, J. (2008, September 28). Rescue bill unveiled. CNNMoney. com. BigCharts. com. Retrieved September 29, 2008 from http://money. cnn. com/2008/09/28/news/economy/Sunday_talks_bailout/index. htm? cnn=yes.

Future Trends in Operations Management

Future Trends in Operations Management A key feature of the current business environment is the idea that supply chains compete, not companies It has become commonly recognized that a companys survival is primarily a question of its competitiveness. At the heart of it is the constant need to rapidly grow and capture the leading market positions. Modern economic conditions force businesses to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction by performing perfect consumer service, delivering a wide variety of quality products in shorter lead time and at a reasonable cost. This creates incredible opportunities for individual consumers and puts great pressures on companies to seek for the new ways to appeal consumers. Other that that, contemporary business environment brings a huge level of uncertainty to managers of all levels and urges them to be able to sense all the changes and implement the right and timely measures to be successful. This uncertainty may come from government decisions, customers and consumers, shareholders that demand increased return from what they invest into business. This is how Dennis McCarthy and D r. Nick Rich describe current business situation in their book on business-led changes called Lean TPM: The new competitive conditions are far removed from those of the past and challenge strategies such that we can no longer assume that: Past business success is a guarantee of future survival; Product patens will protect a manufacturer from competition; Buying the latest technology will provide a means of defense against competition. Technology or products by themselves are not enough to guarantee survival (McCarthy and Rich, 2004). Clearly, as a result of the new trends and new economic realities managing operations and supply chain has become extremely complex and challenging. We believe that the list of the key pressures that these authors outline in their book to describe modern economic conditions not only perfectly well describes challenges facing the world today, but also gives a good insight into how these may effect supply chain in particular, including its design, management and future business integration. According to McCarthy and Rich they include: 1. New and emerging manufacturing economies with low labour costs are  attracted to mature Western markets where they can exploit their cost  advantage. The power of the internet in purchasing materials and components on a global scale and therefore access to alternative suppliers has increased exponentially. As such, power has shifted to the customer/consumer. Deregulation of world markets has resulted from international trading agreements and this has liberated trade and increased competition for manufacturers. Corporations have the ability to switch production. Pressure groups and lobbyists seeking to lower prices or convince the manufacturer to improve their performance in areas such as environmental management. Shareholders who expect a year on year improvement in the returns on their money invested and constantly compare these returns with what their money could earn elsewhere. Customers expect product variety, continuously improving quality levels, lead time reduction and want their stocks reduced (McCarthy and Rich, 2004). Benita M. Beamon also adds to this list extreme climate change as one of the essential factors that will also effect future world business configuration since its change would threaten transportation infrastructures, natural resources supply including the constrained supply of natural energy and raw materials as such, and would change overall human behavior patterns which as a result will drastically influence the ability to supply worldwide (Beamon, 2008). Although operations and supply chain management is often seen as merely routine activities, it is indeed very sensitive to almost all business changes and, therefore, fairy regarded now as one of the critical business concerns and has the priority in managing the organization. This is why we chose to reflect on the above mentioned trends to study their effect on the supply chain and operations and, thus, track current and future challenges in this area. 1. It is now obvious that the world economy has faced large structural changes in recent years on the way to bring businesses to more international basis. There can hardly be found now any operation that does not sell to or buy from foreign markets. Globalization of businesses has significantly accelerated, resulting in new challenges for companies on the global market. Sixth annual survey performed by PRTM Management Consultants showed that respondents consistently rank acceleration of supply chain globalization as a top priority over the next several years concluding that the primary shift of manufacturing and assembly operations has been to low cost country destinations including China, India and Eastern Europe (2008). It can be summarized that expansion of operations supply chain to cover the whole world still stays number one trend due to its cost reduction opportunities and, therefore, puts additional challenges to cope with these increased pressures. With that in mind, product quality and safety as well as supply chain delivery and security become the main concern for organizations globalizing their supply chains, thus, providing additional business risks. 2. Number two trend logically follows from the business expansion to improve global performance and flexibility companies seek for the alternative ways to control operations, fasten processes, and simplify procedures. Increased pressures are also put on them to improve coordination and achieve overall integration with suppliers and customers. Internet, e-commerce, e-procurement and other web-based applications offer major cost savings and advantages. Simon R. Croom studied the positive effects of e-business strategy implementation on supply chain management. In his research Supply Chain Management in the E-Business Era the following advantages were outlined: New e-business infrastructures offer a wider range of activities within supply chain, e.g. electronic marketplaces including larger numbers of buyers and sellers; Increased use of electronic methods for searching and sourcing which reduces coordination costs and increase the proportion of economic activities coordinated by markets, companies are encouraged to use more out-sourcing, low coordination costs will also enable companies to buy goods and services less expensively; Information processing is reduced; Additional opportunities provided by the use of E-procurement. Its advantages include: greater visibility of the procurement process, improved management of maintenance, repair and operating supplies, improved stock management, better information for purchasing decision-making, supply base reduction followed by the change of the supply chains structure, significant efficiency gains with the attention to the role and development of purchasing as a core capability of the organization, it also provides a powerful platform from which to exploit the organizations strategic leverage and undertake major total supply chain cost improvements (Croom, 2001). 3. Number three trend, we believe, is another logical result of the two mentioned above rapid growth of new information technologies raised the issue of accumulated information and knowledge management. Accumulation of knowledge relates to both customer relationship formation and product innovation process. At the heart of this concept is the recognition of the fact that knowledge is the key driver of the value-adding processes. It has been fairly noted by the theorists of operations management that the way in which products or services were created was not random; they were the product of a whole collection of decisions and actions based on an even larger collection of knowledge (Slack, Chambers, Johnston, 2007). So, it is obvious that the concept of knowledge management will significantly influence the future development of operations and supply chain management as it provides the expertise that underpins companys competitive advantage. 4. Trend number four, that needs to be discussed in more detail, from our point of view, and should be grouped into a separate trend is that of the future integration of the supply chain and future development in such areas as business-to-business, business-to-customer and customer-to-customer relationships. It is indeed evident now, in the new era that the supply chain has become more connected and integrated that ever before due to the rapid growth of new information technologies, web-based applications and other alternative communication means. Companies constantly seek for developing new creative ways to communicate with suppliers, customers and consumers. It especially relates to service-based and product-based supply chain. On-line ordering, availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week, great variety of products and services, no issues with transportation and so on, all this has drastically improved the efficiency of the supply chain. Customers are also encouraged to communic ate with each other by means of widespread social networks: blogs, forums, portals which allows instant information sharing. All this, we believe, will keep on changing the way in which the supply chain operates towards increased capacities and efficiencies of the supply chain. 5. Another trend that can not be mentioned with all reflected earlier is the problem of environmental responsibility and sustainability or green supply chain. Opinions of researchers differ here in weather it will be the result of the state legislation compliance and customer requirements or it will be one of the effective ways to improve companys image and reputation. Our consideration is that it will be both. No need to deny that the pressures from the legislation are increasing which urges almost all companies to put in place relevant environmental management. The concept of waste management has also gained popularity in recent years as it implies waste reduction that in all its forms significantly saves cost for the organization which conventionally coincides here with environmental responsibility. We can already see that companies have started large campaigns towards recyclable materials application, new product design to consider their life cycle beyond their traditional shelf- life to extract more value from precious natural resources, reduction of energy and water consumption, use of alternative fuels and many other. It is obvious that the concept of environmental responsibility will take the key role in day-to-day operations management decisions and every day practices due to its great economic potential for the firm. We think that this list can be continued with more and more trends and business challenges, however, from our point of view these 5 give the fullest picture of what to expect from the environment in which we exist. It reflects the key processes that both companies and each of us as a consumer is involved on the daily basis. We have identified some of the challenges and complexities that are characteristic of operations and supply chain today and have attempted to analyze these to possibly see their future development. It is obvious that uncertainty and complexity will still be the main characteristics of the global business environment in the future. However, managers will have the advantage of the emerging information and communication technologies that will provide real time data to support operational decision-making and will help to improve efficiency of processes in the area of the use of resources, materials handling and product design. Question 2 In the second part of the assignment I will compare the company that I work for with the performed literature review and based on this comparison will outline its main competitive advantages. I have been working for Nestlà © for 6 years, starting from the small water factory just acquired by the Company. I worked as an Interpreter then, being heavily involved in the translation of the Group policies, specifications, guidelines and instructions, which the factory was going to implement to meet worldwide Nestlà © standards. I believe it is an excellent example that reflects all challenges and perplexities of the modern business conditions. With its headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland Nestlà © was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlà © and is today the worlds leading nutrition, health and wellness  company. It employs around 280  000 people and have factories or operations in almost every country in the world. The list of products includes over 127000 items of different types and sizes. This complexity, therefore, is the main characteristic of its supply chain. Managing thousands of supply chains in many countries, controlling invoicing of customers and collecting payments, predicting demand and tracking stocks all this at some point put the Company in a very risky situation which required such a solution that would put order in all this variety. So, the Company, had undertaken steps towards the implementation of GLOBE, or the Global Business Excellence model aimed at creating a single system to simplify and unify the way to manage supply chain and operate such functions, like purchasing and invoicing. The imp lementation of this model has provided not only an excellent tool to optimize operational cost, but also has served as a key driver for generating business value by creating a culture of continuous excellence, collaboration and support both cross functionally and between various operations worldwide. It is indeed true that the implementation of GLOBE taught the Company to operate as a global market player. Another thing that the Company claims that has helped it to sustain in the times of turbulence and uncertainty is its strict compliance with the Company Corporate Business Principles that say: Nestlà ©s existing products grow through innovation and renovation while maintaining a balance in geographic activities and product lines. Long-term potential is never sacrificed for short-term performance. The Companys priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people, wherever they are, whatever their needs, throughout their lives (Appendix, 4). It is always stressed, however, that the Companys main business principle is the conviction that to have long-term success for their shareholders, all the operations not only have to comply with all applicable legal requirements and ensure that all the activities are sustainable, but additionally have to create significant valu e for society(Appendix, 2). Other things that the Company claims to be the basis of its culture and is considered to be the essential part of its long-term established reputation are of course its quality assurance and product safety. The quality policy says: Nestlà © strives to create value that can be sustained over the long term by meeting consumer needs for nutrition, enjoyment and Quality they can trust (Appendix, 7). This is achieved through no waste attitude and continuous improvement of the quality standards delivered to consumers. Adequate recourses, equipment, procedures and systems, trainings and teamwork play the major role in the implementation of high standards and achievement of excellence and competitiveness. All functions across the Value Chain are fully responsible for observing mandatory principles, norms and instructions, for maintaining agreed Quality standards and for constantly improving them is another essential postulate of the Quality Policy (Appendix, 7). Consumer communication is also considered within the Company as the key indicator of all ongoing activities. All opinions, complaints and shortcomings are analyzed and serve as a tool for immediate correction and improvement if needed. Nestlà © Consumer Communications Principles state the Companys commitment to responsible, reliable consumer communication that empowers consumers to exercise their right to informed choice and promotes healthier diets (Appendix, 3). It is fair to note that supplier and consumer relations are an important part of the Companys vision on creating shared value. Doing business in the way that requires from the Companys contractors, subcontractors and their employees to demonstrate honesty, integrity and fairness; in the same way that the Company itself is demonstrating its commitment to its consumers. Supplier Code specifies these principles and helps their implementation within all suppliers and their community. By accepting these, suppliers take the responsibility of being compliant with the core principles of business integrity, sustainability, labor standards, safety and health, environment and other. Implementation of the vendor data base has helped to track and manage its suppliers in accordance with the Company principles and values. One other concept that has been in focus in recent years is that of environmental management and sustainability aimed at improvement of environmental performance, operations activities in this area, risk and cost reduction, long-term availability of raw materials and water. In its Environmental Policy the Company states: At all stages of the product life cycle we strive to use natural resources efficiently, favour the use of sustainably-managed renewable resources, and target zero waste(Appendix, 6). Target areas for improvement initiatives include: application of a life cycle approach with systematic assessments of all activities across the Value Chain, effective water resources management to provide a common mythology to measure water footprint of products, processes and organizations, reduction of gas omissions from its operations through proper energy consumption management, switching to renewable sources and transport and distribution initiatives with focus on green fleet and op timization of the distributions schemes and packaging, elimination of wastes in all operations through the Value Chain with the goal of zero waste and full recovery of unavoidable by products (Appendix, 6). The list of initiatives that Nestlà © has undertaken can be much longer that these. However, we believe that these are the main ones that reflect the Companys vision on doing business and on the way it adds value to all its activities to finally sustain and prosper in times of uncertainty and risk. As it is seen from our study it closely coincides with the literature review that we performed to define the major challenges and future trends in operations and supply chain management. This study proves the fact that constant development and applications of advanced information and communication technologies, focus on the development of relationships with both consumers and suppliers, expansion of the social responsibility with attention to environmental issues, social activities will be the main value-adding factors and efficient tools against business risks and uncertainties. REFERENCES Beamon B.M.(2008). Sustainability and the Future of Supply Chain Management. Industrial Engineering, University of Washington. Christopher M. (1992) Logistics and Supply Chain Management. First edition. London: Financial Times Croom S.R. (2001) Supply Chain Management in the E-Business Era. An investigation into Supply Chain Strategies, Practices and Progress in E-Business Adoption. McCarthy D., Rich N. (2004) Lean TPM. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Sixth Annual Survey (2008). Global Supply Chain Trends 2008-2010. Driving Global Supply Chain Flexibility through Innovation. Available at http://www.prtm.com (Accessed: September 2010). Slack N., Chambers S., Johnston. (2007) Operations Management. Fifth edition. Pearson Education Limited. Steinert-Threlkeld T. (2006) Nestlà © Pieces Together Its Global Supply Chain. Available at http://www.baselinemag.com (Accessed: December 8, 2010)