Saturday, August 31, 2019

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg, who at present enacts different roles such as entrepreneur, politician, and philanthropist, occupies an important position in the present American society. As the mayor of New York he has established his reputation as a shrewd politician.(Boyd 2006) As the founder of Bloomberg companies, he has exhibited his talent of building a great business enterprise though innovation and patience. As philanthropist, Bloomberg has donated huge amounts of money to the deserving people and institutions.These different qualities have enhanced, to a great extent, the prestige of Bloomberg as one of the great figures in the modern United States of America. In spite of the fact that Democrats dominate New York political scene, the Republican candidate Bloomberg was able to obtain reelection as the city’s mayor. This exhibits and proves the popularity of the man. Based on this popularity, one can expect that Bloomberg’s domination in the New York political scene would co ntinue for a few more years.After emerging as one of the important personalities of the USA, Bloomberg has showed his interest in charitable and philanthropic pursuits. Bloomberg showed interest in donating funds to the deserving educational institutions, and he donated millions of dollars to educational institutions in order to improve the financial condition of the educational institutions. Bloomberg’s father inspired Bloomberg to keep aside a particular potion of his income for charity purposes. Bloomberg states that: â€Å"†¦my family taught me private philanthropy when I was very young. Every year, my father received a publication listing contributors to his favorite charity.† (Bloomberg 2001, p. 240)   Bloomberg belonged to the American Jewish family, and he supported the Jewish establishments through charity.In the year 2003, Bloomberg gave away $136 million to nearly 650 groups. In the year 2004, Bloomberg contributed $139 million to nearly 840 groups. T hese details show that over the years, Bloomberg has not reduced his philanthropic interest. It is also important to note that he has distributed donation fund to different institutions. The donation recipient groups belonged to various categories such as: arts, museums, parks, ethnic minorities, children, medical research, schools, abortion rights, and gays. This detail shows that Bloomberg has been trying to help different sections of the population.Many of these groups had to face financial crisis due to the political policy of the New York administration headed by Bloomberg. In order to solve the problems of these different groups, Bloomberg has donated huge amount of money, from his personal financial reserves, to the deserving institutions. (Noon 2004)   Although one can argue that these donations helped Bloomberg to obtain reelection, one cannot question the sincerity of the man while assisting the people and institutions to overcome their financial problems.The charitable interest of the man indicate that he has been following the examples of other business magnates such as Bill Gates and others who have established philanthropic trusts. The newspapers have reported that Bloomberg can be considered as one the top philanthropist who has already donated millions of dollars to the various institutions. Bloomberg has taken special interest in developing educational institutions such as Johns Hopkins University.   (Noon 2004)Michael Bloomberg was born in the year 1942 in Medford, Massachusetts. His father was an accountant, and one can notice the influence of the father on Bloomberg’s interest as the latter showed interest in mathematics and study of technological advancements. He became the president of High School Slide rule club. While he acted as the president of this club, Bloomberg acquired the leadership qualities essential for him to emerge as a great entrepreneur in his later days. He went to Johns Hopkins University to study engineering . He was able to obtain his degree in engineering in the year 1964.Later, he went to Harvard Business School. In Harvard, he obtained the important lessons of becoming a great businessman, and it seems that he implemented most of these lessons when he established his own company a few years later. He obtained his MBA degree in the year 1966. These details indicate that his childhood experience and high quality of education which he obtained from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School inspired him to achieve great things in his life and this eventually resulted in the emergence of the Bloomberg companies. After obtaining his MBA degree, he moved to New York to obtain gainful employment. (Pearson 2006)Bloomberg’s father was working in a dairy as an accountant, and he was working all the seven days per week. This shows that Bloomberg belonged to the family of middle class hard working parents. Obviously, Bloomberg might have contemplated concerning his future. The family value of hard work is found in Bloomberg, as it is due to his hard work that he was able to emerge as one of the great personalities of the USA. (Bloomberg 2001, p. 210) Bloomberg mentions in his autobiography that he enjoyed the company of his sister Majorie.His interaction with his sister also played an important role in determining the character of Bloomberg’s personality. Bloomberg mentions that: â€Å"Majorie, and I would sit across from each other, with my parents at the opposite ends of the table. My father described what he did at work that day†.(Bloomberg 2001,   p. 211) This statement shows that the family members regularly discussed personal and official issues. Since Bloomberg was the eldest son of his father, Bloomberg was inspired to imbibe the workaholic nature of his father. Concerning his father and sister, Bloomberg makes the statement that: â€Å"†¦my sister is focused and deliberate. My father was direct and to the point as well.† (Bloomberg 2001, p. 215)  Through his hard work Bloomberg was able to excel in his education and business, and eventually he was able to emerge as one of the richest persons in the world. In Johns Hopkins University and B School he obtained necessary education which was assisted him in establishing reputation as a shrewd businessman. Through his hard work he was able to reach one of the top positions in the Wall Street.Through his innovative business strategy, Bloomberg has been able to emerge as one of the most successful American businessmen. He is the founder of different companies which provide service in different sectors such as: securities, journalism, media, marketing, and so on. These companies have established their own reputation as representing the business strategy of Bloomberg.Bloomberg was able to learn the tricks of his trade when he worked for the Solomon Brothers which ultimately requested Bloomberg to leave the company after paying handsome compensation of $1 0 million. After this event, Bloomberg established his own group of companies. He found that the traders of securities needed a system wherein all the data would be available to them at a single place. Bloomberg used his technological and business knowledge in order to discover a system called ‘Bloomberg’, and this system provided all relevant information required by the securities’ traders and other businessmen.(Elstein 2005)Bloomberg has established a competitive business organization based on his appetite for taking risk and grasping market opportunities. Bloomberg has been able to establish a global financial news organization which has been able to give competition to the companies such as Reuters and Dow Jones. Bloomberg believes in providing service to the elite classes in the society, and consequently, he has not concentrated on providing service to the common people by using the internet medium. He does not believe that internet-based companies would be able to give competition to the Bloomberg boxes.Bloomberg also argues that branding of a product plays an important role in its sale.   For example, the Bloomberg brand has been responsible for the increased sale of the goods and services produced by the Bloomberg group of companies. These details show that Bloomberg believes in the use of a particular market strategy which is the combination of technological innovation, customer service, and branding. Using these strategies, he has been able to considerably improve the fortunes of his company. (Schrage 1998)During the course of long years of entrepreneurship, Bloomberg has evolved his own set of philosophy of life. Bloomberg believes in setting broad targets or goals, and he does not bother about the functioning of his subordinates as long as they delver the goods. He believed in the result rather than the method of achieving a particular goal. Bloomberg is a great workaholic and believes that one who works more than others can a chieve success in his life. Bloomberg believes in the principle that one should never look back after taking a particular decision.For example, after he decided to leave the Democratic Party and join the Republicans, he did not reflect on this decision. He believed in the philosophy of going into any contest after obtaining the advantage when compared to the competitors. Using this principle, he has been able to obtain success in his business and political life.Bloomberg also argued that the principle of loyalty is very important particularly in the business arena as the different companies always compete with each other. He believed that a company or an organization requires the direction of the leader, who, through his vision and mission can inspire the subordinates to achieve greater success in their lives. By following these different principles, Bloomberg has been able to improve his personality. His life can act as model for the younger generation entrepreneurs who wish to emu late him and establish their own successful business organizations. (Avlon 2005)ReferencesAvlon, John. (2005)   New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg: Warrior, philosopher†¦leader?Radical Middle Newsletter. 2 July 2006. Bloomberg, Michael. (2001) Bloomberg by Bloomberg. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Boyd, Herb. (2006). New York Amsterdam News. 97(2), 1-2.Elstein, Aaron. (2005). New York Mayor has a Plum in the Financial News Pie. Crain’s NewYork Business. 12(8), 19.Noon, Chris. (2004). Bloomberg Extends Philanthropy List in 2004. Forbes.com. 2 July 2006.Pearson, John. (2006). Michael Bloomberg. Our States. New York.Schrage, Michael. (1998). Michael Bloomberg. Adweek Western Edition. 48(46), 8-9.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Development of intelligence test performance Essay

Intelligence can be defined in several ways, ranging from broader definitions such as the ability to cope with life, to more specific definitions such as skill in problem-solving and reasoning. Intelligence tests are implemented by psychologists in order to assess such skills, and a quantitative measure of this intelligence is usually presented in the form of an IQ (intelligence quotient). IQ scores are the basis of much research into the development of intelligence test performance. One cultural factor which may have an affect on a child’s measured intelligence is mother love; attachments may play a part in children’s cognitive development. This hypothesis can be tested by studying children who have been separated from an attachment object (i.e. a parent), and Skeels & Dye found evidence to suggest that the formation of an attachment improves intelligence test performance. In their study, 13 of the most mentally retarded infants in an orphanage were moved to an institution for mentally retarded women, where they would form an attachment with a mildly retarded woman. Over the next four years, those who had moved had an average IQ gain of 32 points, compared with an average reduction of 21 IQ points for those who remained in the orphanage; this difference was still evident 27 years later. This study can be commended for its implications: at the time the accepted view was that IQ was constant throughout life, but the study showed that, with the right treatment, IQ can be significantly improved. Another factor in IQ development is quality of education. Schweinhart et al.’s Perry Preschool Project provides evidence for this; compared to children given no pre-school education, those who had been given quality pre-school education appeared not only to have improved IQs later in life, but they were also less likely to commit crime and drop out of high school. This finding is duplicated by Operation Headstart, which provided children from disadvantaged homes with pre-school programs. There was an average IQ gain of 10 points in the first year and, although the IQ scores returned to average levels, subsequent progress such as high school graduation was higher in those who had taken part in the project. This indicates that an increased quality of education may lead to an increase in IQ. Another cultural factor that may influence the development of measured intelligence is a child’s home environment. Bradley et al. Identified six factors, including parental involvement and the provision of play materials, which were significant in a child’s development of intelligence, and called it the HOME inventory. If the HOME score of a child was low, a child’s IQ may have declined between 10 and 20 points between the ages 1 and 3, whereas the opposite was true for those with high HOME inventory scores. This theory would be supported by Piaget and Vygotsky, the theories of both of whom suggest that the provision of age-appropriate play materials are likely to improve cognitive development. In addition, Vygotsky emphasises the role of culture in cognitive development, which is very much in line with the HOME inventory study. It may even be that diet is a cultural factor which has an influence on a child’s development of intelligence. In a study by Schà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½nthaler & Bier, children who had been given vitamin-mineral supplements performed better on a non-verbal IQ test than those who had been given a placebo. This supports the idea that diet has an influence on intelligence, but it it not necessarily the case that supplements improve IQ; the researchers suggested that it was a poor diet that diminished IQ, and the improved diet restored the cognitive abilities of the children who previously had a poor diet. The idea that it is environmental cultural factors, rather than race and genetic cultural factors, that have an effect on a child’s intelligence test performance is supported by Scarr& Weinberg, who found that both white and black children, when adopted by middle-class white families, performed better on IQ tests at age 7 than the average for their respective ethnic groups. They attributed this improvement to growing up in a culture of tests and schools, and exposure to better healthcare and socialisation. However, in a follow-up study ten years later, it was found that the black children’s IQs were not notably higher than the average for their group, indicating that an upbringing in a white, middle-class home had little or no influence on their intelligence. However, this does not necessarily indicate that it is a genetic cause, since skin colour and intelligence are believed to have very different genetic structures. It may be in indirect genetic influence, in that black children raised in a white home have lower self-expectation, or that they socialise with other black children at school (which may have more of an influence than their white, middle-class home). IQ tests have, however, been heavily criticised for lacking reliability, as an IQ result from one test can vary dramatically with an IQ result from another. Additionally, they have been criticised for being culturally biased; there are many different types of thought (e.g. language, problem-solving, pattern recognition, reasoning), and some types of thought are more valued in some cultures than in others. This may extend to sub-cultural differences between people of different socioeconomic status. For example, it has often been found that black American children perform less well on IQ tests than white children, however, Serpell (1979) found that white children performed significantly less well than black children on an IQ test aimed at black Americans. This brings into question the use of IQ tests as a valid method of measuring intelligence.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Abortion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Abortion - Research Paper Example It is well supported by a few religions including the Christianity. Abortion has been debated since ancient times, Aristotle presented his views about the issue as "delayed ensoulment". According to Ted Lockhart, "perform actions that we are maximally confident are morally permissible". This argument is known as the "moral certainty" argument. Every mother has the right to decide upon the birth of the child and therefore Ted Lockharts suggestion served to deal abortion as a practical solution in contrast to the moral issues ("Introduction to the abortion debate"). Women is the choice maker as under a given circumstances women is the best judge to nurture the fetus and later the child with utmost care and devotion, lacking to do so could culminate into psychological problems in the child. In the present situation where women are contributing equally to the economic growth and development, continuing with the pregnancy may hamper career growth. It is essential to understand that the personal ethics of women are imperative to pursue the pregnancy. Moreover, the anatomy of the body should also allow the continuity of the pregnancy, especially at the later stages of life when the female cannot afford to continue with the pregnancy and hence termination of pregnancy should be allowed. It is not moral to give birth to the unwanted child and nurture the child with least botheration. In certain cases conception could be the result of contraceptive failure or a woman may not be prepared for; such cases demand legalization of abortion ("Ethics of Aborti on: Is it Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion"). Any pregnancy cannot occur without the male partner, consent of the father is essential before aborting the child. If the father agrees to take up the responsibility of the child, women gains confidence. In the present era where relationships are fragile, women do not want to have any binding to forgo her

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

UnitedHealth Group Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UnitedHealth Group - Assignment Example The paper tells that through its sub-branches, the UnitedHealth group serves about 70 million individuals across the United States. In 2011, the company had net earnings of $5.142billion. UnitedHealth Group is the mother of United Healthcare founded in 1977 as unites healthcare cooperation. The firm has two foundations, namely, the United Healthcare Children Foundation and the United Healthcare Foundation that were announced in 1999. The foundations are heavily involved in providing information that helps in decision-making within the US that promote better health outcomes and healthy populations, like in their partnership with the America’s Health Rankings. In addition, the foundations are involved in supporting activities that sponsor quality health care for the less fortunate through collaborations with other counterpart organizations. United Healthcare, through its human resource department, maintains a sustainable working environment. The department, through collaboration s with outside occupational health service providers, conducts an annual assessment of the workforce management activities. The United Healthcare foundations, through their human resource department, conduct research on workers’ welfare, patient facilities, and conducts workforce analyses. The firm analyzes its databases, and the physician supply and demand models to understand current issues and forecast future possible outcomes ascribed to the delivery of healthcare.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Social Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Technology - Essay Example She later conceives this idea, perhaps that person view himself absent and hence never minding to talk his personal business in public. The attachment human kinds have with their electronic gadgets had â€Å"turned them cyborgs† (35-36), she writes. It has the ability to make us feel alone, secure and reminiscing about happy moments. It gives solace in the kindest ways human beings have never invented. â€Å"With it†, Sherry observes, referring to collections of his connectivity, â€Å"it is not just that I keep remembering people or I have more ideas†, I feel sociable, invisible. It’s like I’m naked without it. (35-36). People would always prefer to be connected to their â€Å"world† as it provides solace. There is no room for feeling unhappy about anything and have nostalgic feeling. We are always called to multitask with the invention of the new technology. Most people hardly get sleep or wake up in their right foot before being engaged with their gadgets. Sherry observes an interesting point, â€Å"I have discovered that informing myself about daily profession demands is not a healthy way to start or end my day, but state has been unhappily continuing† (36- 37). The connected world have provided so much solace to us such we are already entangled to it and despite persistent efforts to sway away from such behaviors, it is evidently hard to stop. It seems we have irreversibly changed to be robots. At adolescent stage, it is all about finding identity. Most of us at that stage hardly know what to settles on and the mind is always in constant struggle deliberating on matters of life. That the past, with the current trends in communication technology, young people find space that they cherish on being â€Å"online†. They find that desirable space that seems to bring one’s identity as Sherry notes, â€Å"connectivity has the potential to offer new dimension on identity, and particularly in adolescence, it brings the sense of free space

Monday, August 26, 2019

Assess the extent to which the cold war involved the nationas of the Essay

Assess the extent to which the cold war involved the nationas of the middle east and africa - Essay Example This is because of the suspicious relationship that developed between these two nations at the time, whereby nations split into two with some supporting the US, and the others remained in support the USSR. Thus, even within these nations, leaders acted in a divided manner with some supporting the ideologies of the USSR communism, while other countries supported the capitalistic view of the US, and this propagated the social and political division of nations.4 Cold war involvement in Africa Because of its endowment with resources, Africa was a battleground for Cold War for quite a long period that led to many wars, which both sides of the conflict, namely the United States and the Soviet Union blamed on each other. The harassment that was conducted by the Americans and the UK on Mugabe and Al-Bashir of Sudan was heaped on China and Russia with the aim of making the west to appear friendly and clean to Africa.5This has proved to be the new stage being set for fresh crop of Cold War in the African soil, as at the time USSR and US were engaged in Cold War, Africa was still involved in it, as some of the African states were surrogates of the two. Africa is a rich provider of the world’s major raw material for the production of goods for the industries in the west because a country is only able to engage in war if it has enough economic power and political influence for the purpose of protecting its interests.6 Therefore, surrogate African States provide support to one of the side in the cold war for their own interests and for their leaders selfish interest; such support normally involved the use of their state resources, which involved workforce in form of soldiers when they are required. As a result of the Cold War, Zimbabwe being a surrogate to one of the main two countries involved in Cold War, their leader Robert Mugabe murdered and violently overthrew the opposition to the side that supported the Britons, Americans and the western powers.7Moreover, beca use of the Cold War, nationalists and African leaders were frequently overthrown when they did not support the nations in such warfare. For instance, famous leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba or Eduardo Mondlane among others were victims of claims that they were supporters of the Chinese or Russians and the East policies. In these cases, other African leaders have more often than not found themselves behind bars without the hope of ever being freed.8 In addition, the involvement of Africa in the Cold War has greatly affected the continent in terms of its human, society and economy; these impacts are still very fresh with the slow growth of the African continent attributed to the Cold War. Furthermore, African resources that involved agricultural outputs and minerals were

Sunday, August 25, 2019

An investigation into how enterprise and entrepreneurship can be Dissertation - 2

An investigation into how enterprise and entrepreneurship can be embedded into art & design curriculum in Saudi Arabian universi - Dissertation Example Second, these programmes should be made job to meet the increasing student expectations. However, since the job markets are contracting almost all over the world in all sectors, the options of self employment should be considered as important and entrepreneurship development is particularly critical in this regard. Third, students who actually set up their business in the creative and design industries should be consulted and surveyed to identify the problem areas. It is difficult to model the educational techniques of KSA universities on the basis of the UK experience, since KSA is a conservative Islamic monarchy and UK is a multicultural mixed economy capitalism and democracy. However, from the perspective of management studies which essentially entail enterprise and entrepreneurship research and development, it is not impossible to exploit the UK experience for improving the design education system in KSA. The recent works of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development a im at establishing a global framework for entrepreneurship development, particularly with the help of the higher education institutions (LEED and OECD, 2008). Elaborate literature review and secondary research powered by primary investigation through surveys and interviews can enhance the quality of the present research and get useful results and data. Statement of Research Objectives The research study is aimed at an investigation into how enterprise and entrepreneurship can be embedded into art and design curriculum in Saudi Arabian universities based on the UK experience. Objectives: 1. What do we mean by the concept of enterprise and entrepreneurship and what role does it play in design education? 2. How is design taught in KSA universities? 3. How does the UK approach to teaching design compare with the approach in KSA? 4. What are the key differences in the two approaches? 5. How can design education be improved in KSA by incorporating enterprise and entrepreneurship teaching into design education? Rationale for Undertaking the Study In comparison to UK, the teaching methods in Saudi Arabia lack creativity, therefore, this is becomes a barrier in developing in the skills of the students. This study will investigate new ways to improve the curriculum by incorporating enterprise and entrepreneurship to generate a more beneficial outcome for the student. Also, it is aimed to identify what are the requirements for needs, materials, and facilities in design universities in KSA, with focus on theoretical approach. It will consider wealth creation process by encouraging and generating new start-up businesses in the creative and design industries in KSA. The intention is to make student more creative, innovative, and motivated in Saudi Arabia. The new business can be based on advertising sector, calligraphy and Islamic education. However, the study will mainly address the research objectives stated above. Research Procedures and Methodologies The research proced ures and methodologies will be based on a qualitative approach. Secondary research through different academic and business resources will create a strong information framework. Primary research will practically analyse the behavioural and entrepreneurial arrangements of the teachers and

Saturday, August 24, 2019

An Analysis of How Several EU Policies Influence (Have Influenced) The Essay

An Analysis of How Several EU Policies Influence (Have Influenced) The Operations of Carrefour - Essay Example Through these centres the company has spread up its operations based along 9,500 outlets whether managed by company or by franchises. Other than European countries the company has also spread its operations in areas belonging to Latin America and other Asian countries like China (Carrefour-a, n.d.). It is found that the maximum of the revenues of the firm is generated from its operation outside the European countries which is found to generate around 57 percent of the total revenue of the Carrefour group. The retail company also specialises in meeting the demands of both the internal and external set of consumers. Focusing on the internal aspects the company works in highly motivating and encouraging the staffs to take quality decisions and also enhances the knowledge base of the people through encouraging them to take part in group activities. Similarly focusing on the external consumer base the company works in generating quality products at affordable prices to the consumers. Carr efour also works in carving and enhancing the loyalty relationship with the consumer bases (Carrefour, 2009). Carrefour thus based in an European country the paper endeavours to evaluate the impacts of the policies formulated by the European Union on the operations and internal policies of the company. The Policies of the European Union Three significant areas are highlighted on which the European Commission has issued separate policies. In regards to bring about harmony in the economic and financial sector the European Union has generated the Euro currency which would tend to bring about unity in the trade and economic activities pertaining to the European Countries. The generation of Euro as the common currency of the European nations has helped the financial institutions belonging to such countries to effectively tackle the financial emergency emanating out of the event of the credit crunch. Moreover the issue of Euro has helped in reducing the cost of transferring or converting currencies while travelling from one European country to another. Similarly the uniformity brought in the price tags of the products helps in safeguarding the consumers from being cheated by the different retailers. Moreover the introduction of the Euro has helped in reducing the cost of money transfers among banks and financial institutions thus encouraging the consumers of such organisations to go about with the money transfers without subjecting to any hazard (Europa, 2011). The introduction of the Euro thus is found to bring about economic, social and political stability among the European nations. It helps in the extension of trade and commerce and thereby creates ample opportunities for jobs and employment. Retail consumerism has also gained newer dimensions owing to the introduction of Euro where the retail firms are bound to tag the prices of the products uniformly thus enhancing transparency (Agraa and Ardy, 2011, p.182). The second policy of the European Union which comes into light is regarding directions in order to sustain the hygiene and freshness of the food products for both humans and animals. Maintenance of high hygiene standards is being regulated for the several European nations through the introduction

Social Psychology - The Stanley Milgram - psychological experiments Essay

Social Psychology - The Stanley Milgram - psychological experiments - Essay Example The case was taken as the punishment given to a victim member by giving some shocks by a member in a group. This shows his harsh obedience to his leader. But the member stopped the shocks when the victim refused to give answer further. The member showed tension in the member's mind. This study showed many behavioral aspects which were observed in this study of obedience. One real life example is when the police torture the criminals. But still when some police person shows the behavioral aspects showed by the study by Milgram. The police person also shows some tension in their mind when they are ordered to beat the criminals. The two studies which will be used to reduction of prejudice are contact and education. These two factors will cause a reduction of the prejudice as the contacts increase the knowledge about the world. The person who is in contact of different person will know about the things happening in the world and thus might able to distinguish the between the right and wrong. features about the facts. The books thus give the reality based knowledge. This lead the person to reduce prejudice as the books imparts the right knowledge. The teachers have given the top most places in the world as lead the students to the right area. They give accurate direction to the students. Thus they know what is right and what is wrong. The theory and study of contact has been evaluated as the best study for reducing the prejudice as cont

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Diverse Nature of Psychology Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Diverse Nature of Psychology - Term Paper Example Social psychology tries to understand people as social animals in social environments and contexts. As the below diagram by McAndrew (2011) indicates, social psychology is a combination of cognitive psychology, sociolinguistics, social anthropology and individual psychology. What is the difference between microsociology and social psychology? Thoits (1995) argues, â€Å"[S]ociologists generally devote their efforts to identifying which social phenomena have effects on individuals while psychologists generally specialize in identifying the mechanisms or processes through which social phenomena have their effects on individuals†. The distinction is between dyadic and monadic analysis. Social psychology tries to analyze people as they are effected by social factors. They look at people qua people and see the social factors as the next level of analysis. But microsociology looks at people as units in a dyadic relationship: They form dyads but the analysis is of the dyads. Social p sychology looks at Katrina, Bob and Joe individually; microsociology looks at Katrina-Bob, Bob-Joe and Katrina-Joe. Social psychology is immensely applicable to my sociological focus. To understand the dyads, it's important to understand the monads.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Luxury Goods in Hong Kong, China Essay Example for Free

Luxury Goods in Hong Kong, China Essay Luxury goods experienced a slowdown in current value growth for 2012 against 2011, largely attributed by the unstable economic conditions brought about by the 2011 Euro crisis as well as the slowing down of the Chinese economy. While consumers’ sentiments were still relatively strong, spending continued to tilt towards a more cautious end. Depreciation of Euros also saw more consumers heading to Hong Kong for holidays and in turn purchasing luxury goods from there to take advantage of the. Euromonitor International’s Luxury Goods in Hong Kong, China report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the Luxury Goods market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market and their effects on Luxury Goods retailing along with the development of consumers’ shopping patterns. Forecasts to 2017 illustrate how the market is set to change. Buy a Report Copy @ http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/contacts/purchase?rname=88087. Product coverage: Designer Apparel (Ready-to-Wear), Fine Wines/Champagne and Spirits, Luxury Accessories, Luxury Cigars, Luxury Electronic Gadgets, Luxury Jewellery and Timepieces, Luxury Travel Goods, Luxury Writing Instruments and Stationery, Super Premium Beauty and Personal Care.Data coverage: market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data. Why buy this report? Get a detailed picture of the Luxury Goods market; Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change; Understand the competitive environment, the market’s major players and leading brands;

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Darknet And The Future Information Technology Essay

The Darknet And The Future Information Technology Essay People have always copied things. In the past, most items of value were physical objects. Patent law and economies of scale meant that small scale copying of physical objects was usually uneconomic, and large-scale copying (if it infringed) was stoppable using policemen and courts. Today, things of value are increasingly less tangible: often they are just bits and bytes or can be accurately represented as bits and bytes. The widespread deployment of packet-switched networks and the huge advances in computers and codec-technologies has made it feasible (and indeed attractive) to deliver such digital works over the Internet. This presents great opportunities and great challenges. The opportunity is low-cost delivery of personalized, desirable high-quality content. The challenge is that such content can be distributed illegally. Copyright law governs the legality of copying and distribution of such valuable data, but copyright protection is increasingly strained in a world of programmab le computers and high-speed networks. The dramatic rise in the efficiency of the darknet can be traced back to the general technological improvements in these infrastructure areas. At the same time, most attempts to fight the darknet can be viewed as efforts to deprive it of one or more of the infrastructure items. Legal action has traditionally targeted search engines and, to a lesser extent, the distribution network. As we will describe later in the paper, this has been partially successful. The drive for legislation on mandatory watermarking aims to deprive the darknet of rendering devices. We will argue that watermarking approaches are technically flawed and unlikely to have any material impact on the darknet. Finally, most content protection systems are meant to prevent or delay the injection of new objects into the darknet. Based on our first assumption, no such system constitutes an impenetrable barrier, and we will discuss the merits of some popular systems. We see no technical impediments to the darknet becoming increasingly efficient (measured by aggregate library size and available bandwidth). However, the darknet, in all its transport-layer embodiments, is under legal attack. In this paper, we speculate on the technical and legal future of the darknet, concentrating particularly, but not exclusively, on peer-to-peer networks. The rest of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2 analyzes different manifestations of the darknet with respect to their robustness to attacks on the infrastructure requirements described above and speculates on the future development of the darknet. Section 3 describes content protection mechanisms, their probable effect on the darknet, and the impact of the darknet upon them. In sections 4 and 5, we speculate on the scenarios in which the darknet will be effective, and how businesses may need to behave to compete effectively with it. 2 The Evolution of the Darknet We classify the different manifestations of the darknet that have come into existence in recent years with respect to the five infrastructure requirements described and analyze weaknesses and points of attack. As a system, the darknet is subject to a variety of attacks. Legal action continues to be the most powerful challenge to the darknet. However, the darknet is also subject to a variety of other common threats (e.g. viruses, spamming) that, in the past, have lead to minor disruptions of the darknet, but could be considerably more damaging. In this section we consider the potential impact of legal developments on the darknet. Most of our analysis focuses on system robustness, rather than on detailed legal questions. We regard legal questions only with respect to their possible effect: the failure of certain nodes or links (vertices and edges of the graph defined above). In this sense, we are investigating a well known problem in distributed systems. 2.1 Early Small-Worlds Networks Prior to the mid 1990s, copying was organized around groups of friends and acquaintances. The copied objects were music on cassette tapes and computer programs. The rendering devices were widely-available tape players and the computers of the time see Fig. 1. Content injection was trivial, since most objects were either not copy protected or, if they were equipped with copy protection mechanisms, the mechanisms were easily defeated. The distribution network was a sneaker net of floppy disks and tapes (storage), which were handed in person between members of a group or were sent by postal mail. The bandwidth of this network albeit small by todays standards was sufficient for the objects of the time. The main limitation of the sneaker net with its mechanical transport layer was latency. It could take days or weeks to obtain a copy of an object. Another serious limitation of these networks was the lack of a sophisticated search engine. There were limited attempts to prosecute individuals who were trying to sell copyrighted objects they had obtained from the darknet (commercial piracy). However, the darknet as a whole was never under significant legal threat. Reasons may have included its limited commercial impact and the protection from legal surveillance afforded by sharing amongst friends. The sizes of object libraries available on such networks are strongly influenced by the interconnections between the networks. For example, schoolchildren may copy content from their family network to their school network and thereby increase the size of the darknet object library available to each. Such networks have been studied extensively and are classified as interconnected small-worlds networks. [24] There are several popular examples of the characteristics of such systems. For example, most people have a social group of a few score of people. Each of these people has a group of friends that partly overlap with their friends friends, and also introduces more people. It is estimated that, on average, each person is connected to every other person in the world by a chain of about six people from which arises the term six degrees of separation. These findings are remarkably broadly applicable (e.g. [20],[3]). The chains are on average so short because certain super-peers have many links. In our example, some people are gregarious and have lots of friends from different social or geographical circles.. We suspect that these findings have implications for sharing on darknets, and we will return to this point when we discuss the darknets of the future later in this paper. The small-worlds darknet continues to exist. However, a number of technological advances have given rise to new forms of the darknet that have superseded the small-worlds for some object types (e.g. audio). 2.2 Central Internet Servers By 1998, a new form of the darknet began to emerge from technological advances in several areas. The internet had become mainstream, and as such its protocols and infrastructure could now be relied upon by anyone seeking to connect users with a centralized service or with each other. The continuing fall in the price of storage together with advances in compression technology had also crossed the threshold at which storing large numbers of audio files was no longer an obstacle to mainstream users. Additionally, the power of computers had crossed the point at which they could be used as rendering devices for multimedia content. Finally, CD ripping became a trivial method for content injection. The first embodiments of this new darknet were central internet servers with large collections of MP3 audio files. A fundamental change that came with these servers was the use of a new distribution network: The internet displaced the sneaker net at least for audio content. This solved several problems of the old darknet. First, latency was reduced drastically. Secondly, and more importantly, discovery of objects became much easier because of simple and powerful search mechanisms most importantly the general-purpose world-wide-web search engine. The local view of the small world was replaced by a global view of the entire collection accessible by all users. The main characteristic of this form of the darknet was centralized storage and search a simple architecture that mirrored mainstream internet servers. Centralized or quasi-centralized distribution and service networks make sense for legal online commerce. Bandwidth and infrastructure costs tend to be low, and having customers visit a commerce site means the merchant can display adverts, collect profiles, and bill efficiently. Additionally, management, auditing, and accountability are much easier in a centralized model. However, centralized schemes work poorly for illegal object distribution because large, central servers are large single points of failure: If the distributor is breaking the law, it is relatively easy to force him to stop. Early MP3 Web and FTP sites were commonly hosted by universities, corporations, and ISPs. Copyright-holders or their representatives sent cease and desist letters to these web-site operators and web-owners citing copyright infringement and in a few cases followed up with legal action [15]. The threats of legal action were successful attacks on those centralized networks, and MP3 web and FTP sites disappeared from the mainstream shortly after they appeared. 2.3 Peer-to-Peer Networks The realization that centralized networks are not robust to attack (be it legal or technical) has spurred much of the innovation in peer-to-peer networking and file sharing technologies. In this section, we examine architectures that have evolved. Early systems were flawed because critical components remained centralized (Napster) or because of inefficiencies and lack of scalability of the protocol (gnutella) [17]. It should be noted that the problem of object location in a massively distributed, rapidly changing, heterogeneous system was new at the time peer-to-peer systems emerged. Efficient and highly scalable protocols have been proposed since then [9],[23]. 2.3.1. Napster Napster was the service that ignited peer-to-peer file sharing in 1999 [14]. There should be little doubt that a major portion of the massive (for the time) traffic on Napster was of copyrighted objects being transferred in a peer-to-peer model in violation of copyright law. Napster succeeded where central servers had failed by relying on the distributed storage of objects not under the control of Napster. This moved the injection, storage, network distribution, and consumption of objects to users. However, Napster retained a centralized database  [1]  with a searchable index on the file name. The centralized database itself became a legal target [15]. Napster was first enjoined to deny certain queries (e.g. Metallica) and then to police its network for all copyrighted content. As the size of the darknet indexed by Napster shrank, so did the number of users. This illustrates a general characteristic of darknets: there is positive feedback between the size of the object library and aggregate bandwidth and the appeal of the network for its users. 2.3.2. Gnutella The next technology that sparked public interest in peer-to-peer file sharing was Gnutella. In addition to distributed object storage, Gnutella uses a fully distributed database described more fully in [13]. Gnutella does not rely upon any centralized server or service a peer just needs the IP address of one or a few participating peers to (in principle) reach any host on the Gnutella darknet. Second, Gnutella is not really run by anyone: it is an open protocol and anyone can write a Gnutella client application. Finally, Gnutella and its descendants go beyond sharing audio and have substantial non-infringing uses. This changes its legal standing markedly and puts it in a similar category to email. That is, email has substantial non-infringing use, and so email itself is not under legal threat even though it may be used to transfer copyrighted material unlawfully. 2.4 Robustness of Fully Distributed Darknets Fully distributed peer-to-peer systems do not present the single points of failure that led to the demise of central MP3 servers and Napster. It is natural to ask how robust these systems are and what form potential attacks could take. We observe the following weaknesses in Gnutella-like systems: Free riding Lack of anonymity 2.4.1 Free Riding Peer-to-peer systems are often thought of as fully decentralized networks with copies of objects uniformly distributed among the hosts. While this is possible in principle, in practice, it is not the case. Recent measurements of libraries shared by gnutella peers indicate that the majority of content is provided by a tiny fraction of the hosts [1]. In effect, although gnutella appears to be a peer-to-peer network of cooperating hosts, in actual fact it has evolved to effectively be another largely centralized system see Fig. 2. Free riding (i.e. downloading objects without sharing them) by many gnutella users appears to be main cause of this development. Widespread free riding removes much of the power of network dynamics and may reduce a peer-to-peer network into a simple unidirectional distribution system from a small number of sources to a large number of destinations. Of course, if this is the case, then the vulnerabilities that we observed in centralized systems (e.g. FTP-serve rs) are present again. Free riding and the emergence of super-peers have several causes: Peer-to-peer file sharing assumes that a significant fraction of users adhere to the somewhat post-capitalist idea of sacrificing their own resources for the common good of the network. Most free-riders do not seem to adopt this idea. For example, with 56 kbps modems still being the network connection for most users, allowing uploads constitutes a tangible bandwidth sacrifice. One approach is to make collaboration mandatory. For example, Freenet [6] clients are required to contribute some disk space. However, enforcing such requirements without a central infrastructure is difficult. Existing infrastructure is another reason for the existence of super-peers. There are vast differences in the resources available to different types of hosts. For example, a T3 connection provides the combined bandwidth of about one thousand 56 kbps telephone connections. 2.4.2 Lack of Anonymity Users of gnutella who share objects they have stored are not anonymous. Current peer-to-peer networks permit the server endpoints to be determined, and if a peer-client can determine the IP address and affiliation of a peer, then so can a lawyer or government agency. This means that users who share copyrighted objects face some threat of legal action. This appears to be yet another explanation for free riding. There are some possible technological workarounds to the absence of endpoint anonymity. We could imagine anonymizing routers, overseas routers, object fragmentation, or some other means to complicate the effort required by law-enforcement to determine the original source of the copyrighted bits. For example, Freenet tries to hide the identity of the hosts storing any given object by means of a variety of heuristics, including routing the object through intermediate hosts and providing mechanisms for easy migration of objects to other hosts. Similarly, Mnemosyne [10] tries to organize object storage, such that individual hosts may not know what objects are stored on them. It is conjectured in [10] that this may amount to common-carrier status for the host. A detailed analysis of the legal or technical robustness of these systems is beyond the scope of this paper. 2.4.3 Attacks In light of these weaknesses, attacks on gnutella-style darknets focus on their object storage and search infrastructures. Because of the prevalence of super-peers, the gnutella darknet depends on a relatively small set of powerful hosts, and these hosts are promising targets for attackers. Darknet hosts owned by corporations are typically easily removed. Often, these hosts are set up by individual employees without the knowledge of corporate management. Generally corporations respect intellectual property laws. This together with their reluctance to become targets of lawsuits, and their centralized network of hierarchical management makes it relatively easy to remove darknet hosts in the corporate domain. While the structures at universities are typically less hierarchical and strict than those of corporations, ultimately, similar rules apply. If the .com and .edu T1 and T3 lines were pulled from under a darknet, the usefulness of the network would suffer drastically. This would leave DSL, ISDN, and cable-modem users as the high-bandwidth servers of objects. We believe limiting hosts to this class would present a far less effective piracy network today from the perspective of acquisition because of the relative rarity of high-bandwidth consumer connections, and hence users would abandon this darknet. However, consumer broadband is becoming more popular, so in the long run it is probable that there will be adequate consumer bandwidth to support an effective consumer darknet. The obvious next legal escalation is to bring direct or indirect (through the affiliation) challenges against users who share large libraries of copyrighted material. This is already happening and the legal threats or actions appear to be successful [7]. This requires the collaboration of ISPs in identifying their customers, which appears to be forthcoming due to requirements that the carrier must take to avoid liability  [2]  and, in some cases, because of corporate ties between ISPs and content providers. Once again, free riding makes this attack strategy far more tractable. It is hard to predict further legal escalation, but we note that the DMCA (digital millennium copyright act) is a far-reaching (although not fully tested) example of a law that is potentially quite powerful. We believe it probable that there will be a few more rounds of technical innovations to sidestep existing laws, followed by new laws, or new interpretations of old laws, in the next few years. 2.4.4 Conclusions All attacks we have identified exploit the lack of endpoint anonymity and are aided by the effects of free riding. We have seen effective legal measures on all peer-to-peer technologies that are used to provide effectively global access to copyrighted material. Centralized web servers were effectively closed down. Napster was effectively closed down. Gnutella and Kazaa are under threat because of free rider weaknesses and lack of endpoint anonymity. Lack of endpoint anonymity is a direct result of the globally accessible global object database, and it is the existence of the global database that most distinguishes the newer darknets from the earlier small worlds. At this point, it is hard to judge whether the darknet will be able to retain this global database in the long term, but it seems seems clear that legal setbacks to global-index peer-to-peer will continue to be severe. However, should Gnutella-style systems become unviable as darknets, systems, such as Freenet or Mnemosyne might take their place. Peer-to-peer networking and file sharing does seem to be entering into the mainstream both for illegal and legal uses. If we couple this with the rapid build-out of consumer broadband, the dropping price of storage, and the fact that personal computers are effectively establishing themselves as centers of home-entertainment, we suspect that peer-to-peer functionality will remain popular and become more widespread. 2.5 Small Worlds Networks Revisited In this section we try to predict the evolution of the darknet should global peer-to-peer networks be effectively stopped by legal means. The globally accessible global database is the only infrastructure component of the darknet that can be disabled in this way. The other enabling technologies of the darknet (injection, distribution networks, rendering devices, storage) will not only remain available, but rapidly increase in power, based on general technological advances and the possible incorporation of cryptography. We stress that the networks described in this section (in most cases) provide poorer services than global network, and would only arise in the absence of a global database. In the absence of a global database, small-worlds networks could again become the prevalent form of the darknet. However, these small-worlds will be more powerful than they were in the past. With the widespread availability of cheap CD and DVD readers and writers as well as large hard disks, the bandwidth of the sneaker net has increased dramatically, the cost of object storage has become negligible and object injection tools have become ubiquitous. Furthermore, the internet is available as a distribution mechanism that is adequate for audio for most users, and is becoming increasingly adequate for video and computer programs. In light of strong cryptography, it is hard to imagine how sharing could be observed and prosecuted as long as users do not share with strangers. In concrete terms, students in dorms will establish darknets to share content in their social group. These darknets may be based on simple file sharing, DVD-copying, or may use special application programs or servers: for example, a chat or instant-messenger client enhanced to share content with members of your buddy-list. Each student will be a member of other darknets: for example, their family, various special interest groups, friends from high-school, and colleagues in part-time jobs (Fig. 3). If there are a few active super-peers users that locate and share objects with zeal then we can anticipate that content will rapidly diffuse between darknets, and relatively small darknets arranged around social groups will approach the aggregate libraries that are provided by the global darknets of today. Since the legal exposure of such sharing is quite limited, we believe that sharing amongst socially oriented groups will increase unabated. Small-worlds networks suffer somewhat from the lack of a global database; each user can only see the objects stored by his small world neighbors. This raises a number of interesting questions about the network structure and object flow: What graph structure will the network have? For example, will it be connected? What will be the average distance between two nodes? Given a graph structure, how will objects propagate through the graph? In particular, what fraction of objects will be available at a given node? How long does it take for objects to propagate (diffuse) through the network? Questions of this type have been studied in different contexts in a variety of fields (mathematics, computer science, economics, and physics). A number of empirical studies seek to establish structural properties of different types of small world networks, such as social networks [20] and the world-wide web [3]. These works conclude that the diameter of the examined networks is small, and observe further structural properties, such as a power law of the degree distribution [5], A number of authors seek to model these networks by means of random graphs, in order to perform more detailed mathematical analysis on the models [2],[8],[21],[22] and, in particular, study the possibility of efficient search under different random graph distributions [18],[19]. We will present a quantitative study of the structure and dynamics of small-worlds networks in an upcoming paper, but to summarize, small-worlds darknets can be extremely efficient for popular titles: very few peers are needed to satis fy requests for top-20 books, songs, movies or computer programs. If darknets are interconnected, we expect the effective introduction rate to be large. Finally, if darknet clients are enhanced to actively seek out new popular content, as opposed to the user-demand based schemes of today, small-worlds darknets will be very efficient. 3 Introducing Content into the Darknet Our analysis and intuition have led us to believe that efficient darknets in global or small-worlds form will remain a fact of life. In this section we examine rights-management technologies that are being deployed to limit the introduction rate or decrease the rate of diffusion of content into the darknet. 3.1 Conditional Access Systems A conditional-access system is a simple form of rights-management system in which subscribers are given access to objects based (typically) on a service contract. Digital rights management systems often perform the same function, but typically impose restrictions on the use of objects after unlocking. Conditional access systems such as cable, satellite TV, and satellite radio offer little or no protection against objects being introduced into the darknet from subscribing hosts. A conditional-access system customer has no access to channels or titles to which they are not entitled, and has essentially free use of channels that he has subscribed or paid for. This means that an investment of ~$100 (at time of writing) on an analog video-capture card is sufficient to obtain and share TV programs and movies. Some CA systems provide post-unlock protections but they are generally cheap and easy to circumvent. Thus, conditional access systems provide a widely deployed, high-bandwidth source of video material for the darknet. In practice, the large size and low cost of CA-provided video content will limit the exploitation of the darknet for distributing video in the near-term. The same can not be said of the use of the darknet to distribute conditional-access system broadcast keys. At some level, each head-end (satellite or cable TV head-end) uses an encryption key that must be made available to each customer (it is a broadcast), and in the case of a satellite system this could be millions of homes. CA-system providers take measures to limit the usefulness of exploited session keys (for example, they are changed every few seconds), but if darknet latencies are low, or if encrypted broadcast data is cached, then the darknet could threaten CA-system revenues. We observe that the exposure of the conditional access provider to losses due to piracy is proportional to the number of customers that share a session key. In this regard, cable-operators are in a safer position than satellite operators because a cable operator can narrowcast more cheaply. 3.2 DRM Systems A classical-DRM system is one in which a client obtains content in protected (typically encrypted) form, with a license that specifies the uses to which the content may be put. Examples of licensing terms that are being explored by the industry are play on these three hosts, play once, use computer program for one hour, etc. The license and the wrapped content are presented to the DRM system whose responsibility is to ensure that: The client cannot remove the encryption from the file and send it to a peer, The client cannot clone its DRM system to make it run on another host, The client obeys the rules set out in the DRM license, and, The client cannot separate the rules from the payload. Advanced DRM systems may go further. Some such technologies have been commercially very successful the content scrambling system used in DVDs, and (broadly interpreted) the protection schemes used by conditional access system providers fall into this category, as do newer DRM systems that use the internet as a distribution channel and computers as rendering devices. These technologies are appealing because they promote the establishment of new businesses, and can reduce distribution costs. If costs and licensing terms are appealing to producers and consumers, then the vendor thrives. If the licensing terms are unappealing or inconvenient, the costs are too high, or competing systems exist, then the business will fail. The DivX DVD rental model failed on most or all of these metrics, but CSS-protected DVDs succeeded beyond the wildest expectations of the industry. On personal computers, current DRM systems are software-only systems using a variety of tricks to make them hard to subvert. DRM enabled consumer electronics devices are also beginning to emerge. In the absence of the darknet, the goal of such systems is to have comparable security to competing distribution systems notably the CD and DVD so that programmable computers can play an increasing role in home entertainment. We will speculate whether these strategies will be successful in the Sect. 5. DRM systems strive to be BOBE (break-once, break everywhere)-resistant. That is, suppliers anticipate (and the assumptions of the darknet predict) that individual instances (clients) of all security-systems, whether based on hardware or software, will be subverted. If a client of a system is subverted, then all content protected by that DRM client can be unprotected. If the break can be applied to any other DRM client of that class so that all of those users can break their systems, then the DRM-scheme is BOBE-weak. If, on the other hand, knowledge gained breaking one client cannot be applied elsewhere, then the DRM system is BOBE-strong. Most commercial DRM-systems have BOBE-exploits, and we note that the darknet applies to DRM-hacks as well. The CSS system is an exemplary BOBE-weak system. The knowledge and code that comprised the De-CSS exploit spread uncontrolled around the world on web-sites, newsgroups, and even T-shirts, in spite of the fact that, in principle, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it a crime to develop these exploits. A final characteristic of existing DRM-systems is renewability. Vendors recognize the possibility of exploits, and build systems that can be field-updated. It is hard to quantify the effectiveness of DRM-systems for restricting the introduction of content into the darknet from experience with existing systems. Existing DRM-systems typically provide protection for months to years; however, the content available to such systems has to date been of minimal interest, and the content that is protected is also available in unprotected form. The one system that was protecting valuable content (DVD video) was broken very soon after compression technology and increased storage capacities and bandwidth enabled the darknet to carry video content. 3.3 Software The DRM-systems described above can be used to provide protection for software, in addition other objects (e.g. audio and video). Alternatively, copy protection systems for computer programs may embed the copy protection code in the software itself. The most important copy-protection primitive for computer programs is for the software to be bound to a host in such a way that the program will not work on an unlicensed machine. Binding requires a machine ID: this can be a unique number on a machine (e.g. a network card MAC address), or can be provided by an external dongle. For such schemes to be strong, two things must be true. First, the machine ID must not be virtualizable. For instance, if it is trivial to modify a NIC driver to return an invalid MAC address, then the software-host binding is easily broken. Second, the code that performs the binding checks must not be easy to patch. A variety of technologies that revolve around software tamper-re

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Attitudes Towards Implementation of Evidence Based Practice

Attitudes Towards Implementation of Evidence Based Practice Introduction The term of evidence based practice (EBP) was firstly used in medicine as evidence based medicine, after that the term developed and being used in nursing with purpose of build up scientific database to improve nursing as science (Colyer and Kamath, 1999). Evidence based practice was passed through three stages; in which the EBP was appeared in Old Testament which was the first form and appearance of EBP; after that the EBP was developed in different form in middle ages, in which the period of middle ages was considered a stage of renaissance of the EBP which characterized by beliefs-related methods of treatment; the third stage of EBP was the modern stage, in which the modern stage considered the last version of EBP that began at 1972; in which the modern version of EBP was the EBP that widely known form among highly educated and professional nurses (Claridge and Fabian, 2005). The Bible was the oldest known source in EBP documentation, in which the Bible contains a story that was represented as an interventional research that progress for ten days (Weingarten, 2003); the story in the Bible said Then Daniel said to the guard whom the master of the eunuchs had put in charge of Hananiah, Miscael and Azariah and himself .Submet us lo this rest for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink: then compare our looks with those of the young men who have lived on the food assigned by the king and be guided in your treatment of us by what you see. The guard listened to what they said and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days they looked healthier and were better nourished than all the young men (Claridge and Fabian, 2005, P. 548). During the second stage of EBP (1700s-1900s), the EBP was restricted to believes-related methods of treatment; in which Blood-letting was the main treatment for many diseases in middle age period (Klar and Donner, 2002). Physicians and priests were used Blood-letting; in which Physicians and priests were believed that diseases caused by wicked souls; in which the diseased patients should be injured to expel the wicked souls with blood outside of patients bodies (Klar and Donner, 2002). During the last four decades, the EBP was featured in a modern form; in which the borderline for modern period of EBP was began in 1972 by Archie Cochrane (Klar and Donner, 2002). Cochrane (1972) published a paper with title of Effectiveness and efficiency: random reflections on health services; in which the paper was discuss and evaluate the effect of randomization (the randomization was regard to patients and regard to intervention) on the outcomes of the patients health. The Cochranes paper was the first paper reflects the importance of randomized clinical trials; in which Cochrane was found that the randomization of the sample and intervention will exhibit evidence with high quality which improve the quality of health care provided and improve health outcomes of the patients (Cochrane, 1972). Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2005) defined EBP as a knowledge-based conflict-resolving strategy that performed by adapting best available evidence to provide best possible care for patients and their families. Furthermore, Evidence Based Practice is a process of integration of research-based results which contribute to achieve best practice (Institute of Medicine, 2001). In addition, Sackett, Rosenberg, Gray (1996) estimated that evidence based practice is synchronous combination of professional nursing experience and research with high level of evidence under patients believes and values consideration. Besides that, Ingersoll (2000) documented that evidence based practice is meticulous, unambiguous, and well-judged theoretical information and reliable research-findings to provide effective decisions about patients care regard to patients and organizational needs (P. 152). Furthermore, evidence based practice defined as Explicit and judicious decision making about health care deliver y for individuals or groups of patients based on the consensus of the most relevant and supported evidence derived from theory-derived research and data-based information to respond to consumers preferences and societal expectations (Driever, 2002, p. 593). Evidence based practice is considered as a magical solution for complicated health problems (Institute of Medicine, 2001). Furthermore, evidence based practice considered wide discipline term used as a solution to clinical-related problems which began to provide findings and basics of clinical decision on best reliable and evident researches with purpose of improving health care provided (Sackett, Strauss, Richardson, Rosenberg, and Haynes, 2000). The Institute of Medicine (2001) was illustrated that EBP process provide intensive care to patients, using effective recent researches to achieve desired outcomes, and provide cost effective standard care. In addition, another study found that EBP enhance nurses professions by improving nurses knowledge and skills to analyze, understand and develop research (Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt, 2005). Evidence Based Practice improves nurses ability to be excellence profession in areas of practice, and improves patients health outcomes by providing high qualified nurses (Institute of Medicine, 2001). Evidence based practice improve patients outcomes within four dimensions; clinical dimension (improve signs and symptoms of patients diseases), life quality dimension (improve patient satisfaction upon to life), functional dimension (improve patients ability to achieve daily living activity), and economic dimension (using EBP was prove ensure of cost effectiveness for patient and hospital) (Weaver, Warren, and Delaney, 2005). In addition, Newhouse, Dearholt, Poe, Pugh, and White (2005) demonstrated that the evidence based practice improve efficacy of health care provided to achieve pleasurable patients outcomes, save patients/nurse time, and use of EBP considered cost effective for patients, families, and hospitals. Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Sadler, and Green-Hernandez (2008) documented that implementation of evidence based practice can be achieved by improving nurses knowledge and skills about research and evidence based practice, improve and strengthening nurses beliefs to reinforce nurses to be integrated within evidence based practice environment. Evidence based practice education allow nurses to formulate and answer any research question raised from clinical area by recent and reliable researches, allow nurses to critique and evaluate any research according to level of evidence, allow nurses to conduct researches according to patients needs; family; nurse; and hospital needs, and allow nurses to share research findings as journal club activity (Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Sadler, and Green-Hernandez, 2008). Another study conducted by Wolf and Greenhouse (2007) documented that using of EBP is significantly needed in clinical practice, in which EBP pleasured to achieve improvement in patientfamilynurse education regard to condition and treatment, improve quality of health care provided by nurse and hospital, improve using new technology in clinical setting as computers, and build nurses community prepared with recent scientific information. Most of health care provided by nurses nowadays is based on traditional practice with observable lacking in evidence-based practice (Mariano, Caley, Eschberger, Woloszyn, Volker, Leonard, et, al. 2009). Furthermore, an Iranian study was conducted to identify the Iranian nurses perception toward EBP, the Iranian study was conducted by using convenience sample of 21 nurses who undergone within qualitative research design; in which the Iranian study was documented that 21 participants from nurses did not listen about the concept of evidence based practice before and they did not implement EBP in clinical area (Adib-Hajbaghery, 2009). American and Netherlandic studies conducted at 1998 and 2001 respectively; was estimated that about 35% of hospitalized patients do not receive evidence based care (the nurses treat patients according to traditional care that was not based on researches) (Schuster, McGlynn and Brook, 1998; Grol, 2001); in which Estrada (2009) conducted a descriptive study to assess nurses knowledge and attitudes toward EBP, in which the Estradas study was founded that 25% of sample did not hear about EBP previously. Moreover, Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2007) was conducted a study to develop two scales; attitude toward EBP scale and implementation of EBP scale, in which Melnyks and Fineout-Overholts study was estimated that 40% of collected sample did not listen and dealt with the concept of EBP previously. Evidence based practice improve patients outcome; in contrast, lack of nurses prepared evidence based practice will affect patients outcomes negatively (Institution of Medicine, 2001); in which, about 25% of health care provided was not sufficient to meet patients needs and the health care provided was not safe for hospitalized patients (Schuster, McGlynn and Brook, 1998; Grol, 2001). Furthermore, Pravikoff, Pierce, and Tanner (2005) conducted a study to evaluate nurses perception to integrate within EBP which conducted by random sample of 1,097 nurses, the researchers were found that more than half of the sample did not listened about EBP previously, more than half of the sample had a negative attitudes toward EBP and those nurses was not integrated within EBP activities, 73% of the nurses had not ability to use electronic database, and all 1,097 nurses had not sufficient information about choosing best researches. The problems that impede of EBP for nursing and medical societies has been reported by Institution of Medicine (2001) in which around 45% of patient did not received professional health care; the implementation of new discovered evidence needs about two decades at least to let the recent of evident researches to be handled and public with nurses and medical stuff worldwide, and health care providers were not adequately prepared to translate recent researches in clinical practice. Hunt (1996) concluded that there is a wide whole between using the findings of researches and clinical practice; in which an interventional study was conducted to evaluate the effect of educational intervention on nurses knowledge and attitudes toward EBP, the pre- test of these educational study was showed that 50% of 49 convenience sample of nurses did not listen about EBP and professional health care provided previously (Varnell, Haas, Duke, and Hudson, 2007). In addition, Melnyk (2006) concluded that the implementation of evidence based practice was little in nursing that explained by Hunt (1996) who documented that there are several factors prevent evidence based practice implementation as: disorientation toward research, lack of beliefs (attitudes) exhibited toward using research, and lack of understanding of research elements. There are some barriers to EBP were appeared; these barriers limit nurses engagement within evidence based practice (Weaver and Sorrells-Jones, 1999). Funk, Champagne, Wiese, and Tornquist (1991) estimated that these barriers had been originated from different sources and organized within four categorical origins; characteristic of the nurse, characteristic of setting, characteristic of research and characteristic of presentation of research. Furthermore, Funk, Champagne, Wiese, and Tornquist (1991) documented that nurse can be considered as a barrier to implement EBP; in which nurses were unaware about principles of research and research process, and nurses had not sufficient time to implement EBP . Moreover, Funk, Champagne, Wiese, and Tornquist (1991) concluded that practice setting can be considered as a barrier to implement EBP; in which hospitals were not provided sufficient facilitation to implement EBP activity within clinical setting, and nurses had not ability to change pat ient-care procedure without getting permission from hospitals authority to change guidelines. Indeed, Funk, Champagne, Wiese, and Tornquist (1991) documented that research and research presentation can be considered as barrier to implement EBP; in which nurses were believed that research elements as introduction, literature review, methodology, statistical analysis, and conclusion were not understandable clearly within articles. Melnyk (2006) concluded that nurses need applicable teaching strategies to provide nurses with adequate evidence based practice knowledge and skills and provide nurses with positive beliefs (attitudes) toward integration within evidence based practice activity. Di Leonardi (2007) documented that lecture presentation for educational intervention was considered most effective and appropriate teaching strategy; lectures were widely-spread and known perfectly to all universitiescolleges-certificated persons. In addition, Hart, Eaton, Buckner, Morrow, Barrett, Fraser, et, al. (2008) were conducted an educational intervention to teach nurses about nursing research and evidence based practice by using computer-based modules strategy; in which the result was exhibit that the educational intervention improve nurses knowledge and skills about using research and evidence based practice, and improve nurses attitude toward evidence based practice. Lacey (1996) was evaluated 870 courses of the English National Board which contain materials enable student nurses to understand research and evidence based practice, with convenience sample of 30 nurses student; 65% of the students were demonstrated that knowledge, skills about research and evidence based practice were significantly improved after the educational intervention. Furthermore, Hundley, Milne, Leighton-Beck, Graham, Fitzmaurice (2000) compared between long term research course (six months) and short term research course (one month); the study conducted by convenience sample of 481 nurses and midwives; the result showed that nurses who integrated within long term research course were exhibited more knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward evidence based practice than respondent received short term research course. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effect of educational intervention about evidence based practice and nursing research lectures on the beliefs toward using evidence based practice, to evaluate the effect of educational intervention about evidence based practice and nursing research lectures on the frequency of the implementation of evidence based practice, to determine any differences between two groups (experimental and control group) regard to variables (age, gender, level of education, the experience in clinical area, and the effect of educational intervention that will be implemented), to investigate the variation among socio-demographic variables in response to evidence based practice beliefs and frequency of evidence based practice implementation, and to fixing first block in building EBP team in King Abdulla University Hospital.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Borges, the Apologist for Idealism :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Borges, the Apologist for Idealism ABSTRACT: In Nueva refutacià ³n del tiempo, Borges explicitly interprets both Berkeley and Hume as genuine exponents and "apologists" of idealism. We may not owe Berkeley the discovery of a doctrine which according to Borges is practically as "ancient" and "popular" as metaphysics itself. However, his arguments connote a unique philosophical achievement. Borges himself adheres to these arguments and goes beyond them. He makes Berkeley's doctrine flow into Hume's which in turn flows into the uniform ocean of pantheistic idealism as envisioned by Schopenhauer and by Oriental philosophy. A close reading of the story "Tlà ¶n, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" shows how the epistemology inherent in the language descriptions of this planet leads its metaphysicians to move from the underlying Berkeleian-Humean principles to the acceptance of pantheistic idealism. This story is not only a subtle, imaginative fantasy; it is also a work of intellectual elegance reading deep into the problem of knowledge of the external world. Berkeley and Hume devoted their whole attention to this issue and developed views that could adequately address the problem. Borges avoids arguing whether their doctrine falls under the denomination of "immaterialism," "phenomenalism" or "idealism." He seems either to deliberately ignore this scholarly dispute or to go beyond it in an effort to let the texts speak for themselves. Thus, Berkeley's Principles, and Hume's Treatise and first Enquiry show a common fact: the world is mind-dependent. Noli foras ire, in te ipsum redi, St. Augustine, De vera religione, XXXIX, 72. The first person narrative voice in "El Zahir," one of the stories included in El Aleph, states that according to the idealist doctrine the verbs "vivir" y "soà ±ar" son rigurosamente sinà ³nimos ("living and dreaming are rigorously synonymous," OC I 595). Borges portrays himself as a fictional character — a common narrative device used in many of his stories — and talks with a voice that seems to echo other voices. The attentive listener will detect many. Only a few, such as Schopenhauer, Hume, and Berkeley, have a distinctive recurrence in Borges' writings, but they also echo other voices in this our infinite "Library of Babel." In volume II of Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung we read that the world must be recognized as "akin to a dream," a mental creation (vol II, 4).For Schopenhauer, no truth is more certain than this: everything that exists for knowledge is only object in relation to the subject, perception of the perceiver, or "representation" (vol. Borges, the Apologist for Idealism :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers Borges, the Apologist for Idealism ABSTRACT: In Nueva refutacià ³n del tiempo, Borges explicitly interprets both Berkeley and Hume as genuine exponents and "apologists" of idealism. We may not owe Berkeley the discovery of a doctrine which according to Borges is practically as "ancient" and "popular" as metaphysics itself. However, his arguments connote a unique philosophical achievement. Borges himself adheres to these arguments and goes beyond them. He makes Berkeley's doctrine flow into Hume's which in turn flows into the uniform ocean of pantheistic idealism as envisioned by Schopenhauer and by Oriental philosophy. A close reading of the story "Tlà ¶n, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" shows how the epistemology inherent in the language descriptions of this planet leads its metaphysicians to move from the underlying Berkeleian-Humean principles to the acceptance of pantheistic idealism. This story is not only a subtle, imaginative fantasy; it is also a work of intellectual elegance reading deep into the problem of knowledge of the external world. Berkeley and Hume devoted their whole attention to this issue and developed views that could adequately address the problem. Borges avoids arguing whether their doctrine falls under the denomination of "immaterialism," "phenomenalism" or "idealism." He seems either to deliberately ignore this scholarly dispute or to go beyond it in an effort to let the texts speak for themselves. Thus, Berkeley's Principles, and Hume's Treatise and first Enquiry show a common fact: the world is mind-dependent. Noli foras ire, in te ipsum redi, St. Augustine, De vera religione, XXXIX, 72. The first person narrative voice in "El Zahir," one of the stories included in El Aleph, states that according to the idealist doctrine the verbs "vivir" y "soà ±ar" son rigurosamente sinà ³nimos ("living and dreaming are rigorously synonymous," OC I 595). Borges portrays himself as a fictional character — a common narrative device used in many of his stories — and talks with a voice that seems to echo other voices. The attentive listener will detect many. Only a few, such as Schopenhauer, Hume, and Berkeley, have a distinctive recurrence in Borges' writings, but they also echo other voices in this our infinite "Library of Babel." In volume II of Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung we read that the world must be recognized as "akin to a dream," a mental creation (vol II, 4).For Schopenhauer, no truth is more certain than this: everything that exists for knowledge is only object in relation to the subject, perception of the perceiver, or "representation" (vol.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Importance of Stress Management Essay -- Exploratory Essays Resear

The Importance of Stress Management   Ã‚     Stress today can be described as "that which disturbs a person's mental and physical well-being" (Morrison 1).   Common symptoms of stress include chronic fatigue, changes in appetite, drug and/or alcohol abuse,   difficulty sleeping, body aches, and changes in emotions (Cooper 1-2).   And although stress is something that is inevitable, it can be controlled.   Just about everything we do today creates stress, both good and bad.   In the face paced and technological world we live in, stress management is key to survival as well as sanity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stress can be caused from numerous things for example, a death in the family, divorce, or loss of a job.   But stress is also attributed to smaller things such as bouncing a check or sitting in a line of traffic.   Though most people refer to stress as the negative things, stress can also be positive.   Marriages or births are just two examples of the many positives that contribute to our stress levels (Morrison 2).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Morrison, "7 out of 10 people surveyed said they felt stressed in a typical workday" (Morrison 1).   On-going stress can result in many problems be it physically, mentally, socially, and intellectually.   Morrison also reports "70-80% of all visits to the doctor are for stress-related illnesses" (Morrison 1).   Approximately 50% of all illnesses today can be attributed to stress (Morrison 1).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stress management is becoming a very important factor in today's society as well as in the business world.   $200 billion dollars is spent every year by North American businesses on account of stress.   Employees that are frequently absent cost companies money.   The unreliable help and the lack ... ... of stress.   The better we can adapt to life changes and stressful situations, the better off we will be emotionally, behaviorally, physically, and mentally. Works Cited Carter, Carol, Joyce Bishop, and Sarah Lyman Kravits.   Keys to Success. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ; 2001. Cooper, Phyllis G.   Stress Management.ClinicalReferenceSystems.<http://galenet.Galegroup.com/servlet/HWRC/hits?rlt=1&c=3&year2=&year1=&tcit=1_1_0_0. p.1497; 2000.  Ã‚   In Brief-How Women Handle Stress: Is There A Difference? Harvard Mental Health   Letter.   Aprv17i10pNA:<http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HWRC/hits?rlt=2&c=104&year2=&year1=&tcit=1_1_0_...> 2001. Morrison, Deborah.   Get a Grip on Stress.   Healthy & Natural Journal. Feb v8 i1 p50:<http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HWRC/hits?rlt=2&c= 40&year2=&year1=&tcit=1_1_0...> 2001.

Violence in Sports :: Sports Violence

Violence is defined as the use of excessive physical force, which causes or has obvious potential to cause harm or destruction to an individual. Violence in sports comes in many forms, and divides into social and cultural factors related to the sport ethic, gender ideology, the dynamics of social class and race, and the tactics used in sports. Violence in sports has gone too far because sports violence has become so severe in sports, that players are injured each years. However, in sports some violence has become entertaining for the fans and fans would begin their own violence around with other fans that support opposing teams to win. The violence in sports can cause severe casualties from collisions to concussions that may result in long-term mental or physical damage. There are many casualties of violence and collisions/concussions in professional sports. The first common type of violence is body contact. The brutal body contact includes physical practices common in certain sports and accepted by athletes as part of sport participation. Examples of brutal body contacts in sports are collisions, hits, tackles, blocks, body checks, and other forms of physical contact that can produce injuries. In the NHL a hockey player on the Vancouver Canucks named Todd Bertuzzi hit unexpectedly a player on the Colorado Avalanche named Steve Moore from behind and then fell on him and pushed his head into the ice. Steve Moore received a concussion and he was motionless for ten minutes, and also fractured three vertebrates and facial cuts on Steve Moore’s face. The commissioner suspended Todd Bertuzzi for giving a blind-side hit to Steve Moore. He was suspended for 20 games and forfeited his salary which was approximately $500,000. Steve’s injury was a career-ending injury which ruined his opportunity to play in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche. Another type violence in sports which is the quasi-criminal violence this includes practices that violate the formal rules of the game, public laws, and even informal norm between players. Examples of quasi-criminal violence are cheap shots, blind-side hit, and flagrant fouls that endanger player body and reject the norm calling for dedication to the game above all else. In the NFL, a linebacker in Pittsburgh Steelers named Jerome Harrison; he made a tackle that is a great example of brutal body contact. His tackling towards other football players sometimes involves cheap hits like the head to head contact. The football players could be injured on the field and the result could lead to a concussion. Violence in Sports :: Sports Violence Violence is defined as the use of excessive physical force, which causes or has obvious potential to cause harm or destruction to an individual. Violence in sports comes in many forms, and divides into social and cultural factors related to the sport ethic, gender ideology, the dynamics of social class and race, and the tactics used in sports. Violence in sports has gone too far because sports violence has become so severe in sports, that players are injured each years. However, in sports some violence has become entertaining for the fans and fans would begin their own violence around with other fans that support opposing teams to win. The violence in sports can cause severe casualties from collisions to concussions that may result in long-term mental or physical damage. There are many casualties of violence and collisions/concussions in professional sports. The first common type of violence is body contact. The brutal body contact includes physical practices common in certain sports and accepted by athletes as part of sport participation. Examples of brutal body contacts in sports are collisions, hits, tackles, blocks, body checks, and other forms of physical contact that can produce injuries. In the NHL a hockey player on the Vancouver Canucks named Todd Bertuzzi hit unexpectedly a player on the Colorado Avalanche named Steve Moore from behind and then fell on him and pushed his head into the ice. Steve Moore received a concussion and he was motionless for ten minutes, and also fractured three vertebrates and facial cuts on Steve Moore’s face. The commissioner suspended Todd Bertuzzi for giving a blind-side hit to Steve Moore. He was suspended for 20 games and forfeited his salary which was approximately $500,000. Steve’s injury was a career-ending injury which ruined his opportunity to play in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche. Another type violence in sports which is the quasi-criminal violence this includes practices that violate the formal rules of the game, public laws, and even informal norm between players. Examples of quasi-criminal violence are cheap shots, blind-side hit, and flagrant fouls that endanger player body and reject the norm calling for dedication to the game above all else. In the NFL, a linebacker in Pittsburgh Steelers named Jerome Harrison; he made a tackle that is a great example of brutal body contact. His tackling towards other football players sometimes involves cheap hits like the head to head contact. The football players could be injured on the field and the result could lead to a concussion.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

How Do I Spend Long Summer Vacation Essay

Examinations are over the long summer vacation has begun. How do you feel? How do you want to spend your long holiday? Many of you may spend hours playing ICQ or computer games. Others will sleep through the days. Indeed we deserve some rest and relaxation. But how about some other interesting and meaningful options? Let’s begin with taking care of our physical well-being. Choose an exercise or a game that you would like to learn. Joining a swimming or judo class, or learning to ride a bike with friends can all be good fun. Just remember, you need patience and discipline to master a skill. Reading is fun too. It helps improve your language skills. Why not make a trip to the big central library in Causeway Bay or visit a nice bookstore? Find a sear, relax and read. Set yourself a goal of reading at least one book this summer. There are also a variety of activities and camps on offer for young people leadership training and adventure-based activities are all appealing. Do you know what A.Q. and E.Q. stand for? Adversity quotient and emotional quotient respectively. You can find out more about them through those activities. It may be difficult for you to make up your mind. Consult your teachers or family. There is a saying: â€Å"Helpfulness is the source of happiness.† You are a powerful and practical source of help to those in need. There are various organizations that recruit and offer training for voluntary workers. Voluntary work can be a challenging and rewarding experience. Years ago, when I was still at school, I enjoyed my time serving physically disabled children at a special school. The experience later inspired me to pursue a career in helping others. No matter what, enjoy a meaningful and fruitful summer vacation.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Mercado Agua de Mesa

METODOLOGIA Y MUESTRA El estudio que se llevara a cavo por medio del metodo de la encuesta, empleando la tecnica de la entrevista personal cara a cara, cumpliendo con la recopilacion de informacion necesaria, tal es el precio, la competencia y los productos que ofrece. Tomamos como universo de personas, de los 37 distritos de la Gran Lima, Brena y el Cercado de Lima con un NSE B y C Esta muestra esta conformada por 50 lugares de venta en su mayoria bodegas. PUBLICO OBJETIVO †¢ La investigacion se concentro en los distritos de Brena y Cercado de Lima. El principal objetivo fueron lugares de ventas minoristas, tales como bodegas y kioscos. †¢ El nivel socio-economico en estos distritos es de B y C. †¢ Son lugares en los que la gente implementa parte de su hogar para mostrarlo como bodega, o bien es un local especial. Las personas que trabajan en esta clase de negocios se preocupan por tener en venta productos con mas acogida, se pueden agrupar en productos de convenienci a y/o relacionados con el desayuno. Suelen encontrarse en una calle o avenidas y pueden tener mas de una competencia. Sus clientes tienen un conocimiento de su existencia y acuden a estas de acuerdo a sus necesidades. GIRO DE NEGOCIO †¢ En el caso de los productos de consumo personal, los que se compran con mayor frecuencia son los llamados productos de conveniencia, llamados asi por el minimo esfuerzo que requiere el consumidor al momento de la compra. †¢ Por ello, se eligio hacer esta auditoria en bodegas, ya que a diferencia del supermercado, suelen ser compras que se realizan en cantidades pequenas y con mayor frecuencia. Tambien se diferencia del mercado, ya que son productos de primera necesidad. En lo que respecta a los lugares de venta, como las bodegas, se considera que un producto es consumido habitualmente, por lo menos una vez al mes. Segun este criterio, los alimentos mas consumidos habitualmente por los lugares de Lima Metropolitana son los que productos de consumo personal con porcentajes significativos que son: yogurt (73%), galletas (66%), agua mineral (62%), helados (60%) y cafe (56%). Con menores porcentajes aparecen los jugos envasados (47%), bocaditos (41%), mayonesa (40%), chocolates (33%), bebidas rehidratantes (32%), caramelos (32%) y gomas de mascar (29%). CATEGORIA DEL PRODUCTO Agua Embotellada †¢ En el 2008, el mayor consumo de agua embotellada ha sido impulsado por la mejora del poder adquisitivo de la poblacion. †¢ La preferencia se registra en el alto consumo del envase personal y sin gas. Desde el 2002 crecio en un 18% por encima de la produccion de gaseosas. [pic] †¢ La produccion se concentra en pocas empresas; su mayor distribucion se origina en Lima y en la temporada de verano. †¢ El 98% de su produccion esta dirigida al mercado interno a traves de los canales de comercializacion tradicionales, las bodegas, en formatos de 600 o 625 ml. Aunque en la actualidad el incremento de formato grande 1. 5 o 2 Litros tambien esta ingresando a las bodegas, ya que su distribucion principal es supermercados. †¢ En el mercado existen 3 tipos de agua embotellada: la mineral, de manantial y de mesa. Principales embotelladoras: Ajeper, Corporacion JR Lindley, Backys y Johnson, Embotelladora Don Jorge y Ambev †¢ Su precio accesible se debe al descenso de los insumos en el mercado internacional, principalmente a causa del petroleo. †¢ La gran utilidad se invierte con fuerza en el marketing y la publicidad, donde se da enfasis a la ‘‘pureza’’, ‘‘salud’’ y ‘‘estilo de vida’’ COMPETENCIA: De acuerdo a un estudio realizado por IPSOS-APOYO durante el 2009, se ponen en manifiesto los principales competidores dentro de la categoria de aguas minerales. Estos son: Cielo, San Luis y San Mateo, siendo la de principal participacion agua Cielo manteniendo un 45% de liderazgo en el sector. â€Å"(†¦) la preferencia por una determinada marca se sustenta en la calidad del producto, la pureza, ser conocida y el precio, es por ello que Cielo se mantiene como lider, incluso en la encuesta de recordacion espontanea de marcas de agua de mesa realizada se tuvo que Cielo tiene el 85%† (Marcadeo y Opinion 2009) Lo antes mencionado confirma que es Cielo quien es el lider en el sector y se apoya en un gran sector de nivel socioeconomico C y D como lo afirma tambien APOYO. AUDITORIA Tabla 1: Recoleccion de datos |   |Marca | |Bodega/Kiosco |San Luis |Cielo |Vida |San Mateo | |1 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |- | |2 |- |1. 00 |- |- | |3 |1. 0 |1. 00 |- |- | |4 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |5 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |6 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |7 |1. 20 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- | |8 |- |1. 20 |1. 20 |- | |9 |1. 0 |1. 20 |- |- | |10 |1. 50 |1. 20 |- |- | |11 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |- | |12 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |- | |13 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |- | |14 |1. 50 |1. 20 |1. 20 |1. 50 | |15 |1. 0 |1. 20 |- |- | |16 |1. 50 |1. 50 |- |- | |17 |1. 50 |1. 50 |- |- | |18 |- |1. 20 |1. 20 |- | |19 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |- | |20 |1. 20 |1. 00 |- |- | |21 |1. 20 |1. 0 |- |- | |22 |1. 20 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |23 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |24 |1. 50 |1. 30 |- |- | |25 |1. 50 |1. 30 |- |- | |26 |1. 20 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- | |27 |- |1. 0 |1. 20 |- | |28 |1. 5 0 |1. 20 |- |- | |29 |- |1. 20 |1. 20 |1. 50 | |30 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |- | |31 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- |- | |32 |1. 20 |1. 00 |- |1. 50 | |33 |1. 20 |1. 0 |1. 20 |1. 50 | |34 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- |1. 50 | |35 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 50 | |36 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- |- | |37 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- |- | |38 |1. 20 |1. 00 |- |1. 50 | |39 |   |1. 0 |1. 00 |- | |40 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |41 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |1. 50 | |42 |1. 20 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 50 | |43 |- |1. 00 |- |1. 50 | |44 |- |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |45 |- |1. 00 |1. 0 |- | |46 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |47 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |1. 50 | |48 |- |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | |49 |1. 20 |1. 20 |- |1. 50 | |50 |1. 00 |1. 00 |1. 00 |- | Tabla 2: Precio recurrente de cada marca dentro de las bodegas/kioscos    |Marca | |Precio |San Luis |Cielo |Vida |San Mateo | |1. 00 |13 |24 |14 |- | |1. 20 |18 |20 |8 |- | |1. 30 |1 |2 |- |- | |1. 50 |8 |2 |- |12 | Tabla 3: Presencia de las marcas en bodegas/kioscos encuestados    |Marca | |Bodega/Kiosco |San Luis |Cielo |Vida |San Ma teo | |1 |P |P |- |- | |2 |- |P |- |- | |3 |P |P |- |- | |4 |P |P |P |- | |5 |P |P |P |- | |6 |P |P |P |- | |7 |P |P |P |- | |8 |- |P |P |- | |9 |P P |- |- | |10 |P |P |- |- | |11 |P |P |- |- | |12 |P |P |- |- | |13 |P |P |- |- | |14 |P |P |P |P | |15 |P |P |- |- | |16 |P |P |- |- | |17 |P |P |- |- | |18 |- |P |P |- | |19 |P |P |- |- | |20 |P |P |- |- | |21 |P |P |- |- | |22 |P |P |P |- | |23 |P |P |P |- | |24 |P |P |- |- | |25 |P |P |- |- | |26 |P |P |P |- | |27 |- |P |P |- | |28 |P |P |- |- | |29 |- |P |P |P | |30 |P |P |- |- | |31 |P |P |- |- | |32 |P |P |- |P | |33 |P |P |P |P | |34 |P |P |- |P | |35 |P |P |P |P | |36 |P |P |- |- | |37 |P |P |- |- |38 |P |P |- |P | |39 |- |P |P |- | |40 |P |P |P |- | |41 |P |P |- |P | |42 |P |P |P |P | |43 |- |P |- |P | |44 |- |P |P |- | |45 |- |P |P |- | |46 |P |P |P |- | |47 |P |P |- |P | |48 |- |P |P |- | |49 |P |P |- |P | |50 |P |P |P |- | |TOTAL |40 |50 |22 |12 | Tabla 5: Marca mas vendida en bodegas/kioscos encuestados    |Marca | |Bodeg a/Kiosco |San Luis |Cielo |Vida |San Mateo | |1 |- |1 |- |- | |2 |- |1 |- |- | |3 |1 |- |- |- | |4 |- |- |1 |- | |5 |- |- |1 |- | |6 |- |- |1 |- | |7 |- |- |1 |- | |8 |- |- |1 |- | |9 |1 |- |- |- |10 |- |1 |- |- | |11 |- |1 |- |- | |12 |- |1 |- |- | |13 |- |1 |- |- | |14 |- |- |1 |- | |15 |1 |- |- |- | |16 |1 |- |- |- | |17 |1 |- |- |- | |18 |- |1 |- |- | |19 |- |1 |- |- | |20 |- |1 |- |- | |21 |- |1 |- |- | |22 |- |- |1 |- | |23 |- |- |1 |- | |24 |- |1 |- |- | |25 |- |1 |- |- | |26 |- |- |1 |- | |27 |- |- |1 |- | |28 |- |1 |- |- | |29 |- |1 |- |- | |30 |- |1 |- |- | |31 |1 |- |- |- | |32 |- |1 |- |- | |33 |- |1 |- |- | |34 |1 |- |- |- | |35 |- |1 |- |- | |36 |- |1 |- |- | |37 |1 |- – |- | |38 |- |1 |- |- | |39 |1 |- |- |- | |40 |- |1 |- |- | |41 |- |1 |- |- | |42 |- |1 |- |- | |43 |- |1 |- |- | |44 |1 |- |- |- | |45 |- |1 |- |- | |46 |- |- |1 |- | |47 |- |1 |- |- | |48 |1 |- |- |- | |49 |- |1 |- |- | |50 |- |1 |- |- | |TOTAL |11 |28 |11 |0 | Grafica 1: [pic] Grafica 2: [pic] Grafica 3: [pic] Grafica 4: [pic] FUENTES BIBLIOGRAFICAS TIRONI ASOCIADOS (2009) Peru: Agua Cielo Mantiene Liderazgo en Sector con 45%. http://www. alimentariaonline. com/desplegar_nota. asp? did=2075 IPSOS APOYO Opinion y Mercado (2009)