Thursday, December 26, 2019

Business Plan For Lululemon Athletica Essay - 1170 Words

Business Plan Lululemon Athletica (Slogan or catchy phrase) The business plan is intended solely for informational purposes to assist you with a due-diligence investigation of this project. The information contained herein is believed to be reliable, but the management team makes no representations or warranties with respect to this information. The financial projects that are part of this plan represent estimates based on extensive research and on assumptions considered reasonable, but they are of course, not guaranteed. The contents of this plan are confidential and are not to be reproduced without express written consent. Proposed By: Chelsea Anhorn Erin Kampen Lyndon Lipinski Bryce Lipinski 500 University Ave W Minot ND 58707 701.858.3000 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Page 1 Company History Product Description Marketing and Sales Development Operations Management Goals and Strategies Financial Summary COMPANY HISTORY Page ### Country Profile Business Customs Product Preferences Buying Habits Prices Disposable Income Competitors Types of Retail Outlets Country’s Economic Profile Consumer Behavior Business Relationship with United States Restrictions for the Country Export and Import Prospects History and Current Statues Markets and Products Objectives PRODUCTShow MoreRelatedLULULEMON Ethical BehaviourSocial Responsibility1467 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY lululemon athletica There are many ways to measure the success of a business. A financial analysis of lululemon athletica, a Vancouver-based company, would show that it is valued at more than $220 million. Would looking at an improved level of health in its community be another way to measure the success of this company? lululemon athletica founder Chip Wilson would welcome your investigation of the improved health and well-being of people in the communitiesRead MoreLululemon Athletica Analytic Essay1633 Words   |  7 PagesCase Analysis #1 Problem Essay Lululemon Athletica Inc Samuel Ellison Presented for: Professor Kannangara Sunday, March 6th, 2016 BUSI4003 Introduction Lululemon Athletica Inc., founded in 1998 in Vancouver by Chip Wilson, is a company which designs and produces high-end yoga and technical athletic clothing. They have operated primarily in North America and Australia; their initial target customer was an educated woman who lives an active and healthy lifestyle. They opened their firstRead MoreQuestions On The Marketing Strategy1021 Words   |  5 PagesCritical Issues – Andrew Deihl (1) Luluemon Athletica Inc. has done well to get into the yoga market and maintain their leading role in the market. However, they have also struggled in a few key areas of their business model. These areas are important to for lululemon athletica inc. to address in order to improve their stand in the market. Marketing A major issue with Lululemon Athletica Inc. is their marketing strategy. Currently, they are following a marketing strategy similar to word-of-mouthRead MoreLululemon Athletica Inc. Case Analysis1506 Words   |  7 Pagespaper commences by defining the problems that were faced by Lululemon Athletica Inc in 2013. After, the author explores the causes of the issues that the company was experiencing and the effects that they had on Lululemon Athletica Inc. The next step is to look at ways in which the issues could have been addressed both for the short-term and long-term. When all is said and done, the audience will fully appreciate why â€Å"Lululemon Athletica Inc should revert to its fundamentals – that is, to concentrateRead MoreLululemon Case Study1306 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment 1 Case Study Lululemon 1. Considering the five forces of competition and how they direct the profit potential for a given industry, discuss how the forces help explain Lululemon’s performance. 2. The resource-based model assumes that each organization is a collection of resources and capabilities, which provide the basis for a firm‘s strategy and its primary source of above-average returns. Use this this model to outline Lululemon‘s core competencies and how their capabilitiesRead MoreLululemon Case Essay examples8018 Words   |  33 PagesConfirming Pages CASE 6 lululemon athletica, Inc. Arthur A. Thompson The University of Alabama I n early 2012, investor interest in lululemon athletica— a designer and retailer of high-end, yoga-inspired athletic apparel under the lululemon athletica and ivivva athletica brand names—was surging. Over the past 30 months, growing numbers of female shoppers were patronizing the company’s stores to pay premium prices for lululemon-branded items that offered performance, fit, and comfort and wereRead MoreThe Problem Of Defective Yoga Pants1297 Words   |  6 Pagesthe problem of defective yoga pants products, corporate corruption, and the growing media conflict of â€Å"weigh shaming† in the sizes-2-12 limits on Lululemon yoga pants. Lululemon has seen a fall in the price of stock market shares due to these major defects of yoga pants products and corporate unethical decision making processes. The Problem: Lululemon has a growing reputation for making defective yoga pants (due to sheerness and â€Å"see-through†), which has made it necessary tore call these productsRead MoreLululemon Case Study1609 Words   |  7 PagesCase Study- lululemon Ethics and Social Responsibility Executive Summary Founded in 1998, lululemon has become an extremely successful company. Over the last 12 years of operation, its mission is to improve health, make a difference in all the communities it is located in, and provide guests with quality products to help them live healthy lives. Currently, lululemon still strives to make a difference in each community through the Community Legacies Program. Plans for expansion are also in effectRead MoreSystems Theory : A Business Analysis Essay1352 Words   |  6 PagesSystems Theory: A Business Analysis of Lululemon Athletica Inc. Introduction: This business analysis will define the various problems related to the manufacture of the Luon Pants made by Lululemon Atheltica Inc. The Luon product was pulled because of a higher ration of sheerness, which made the pants. Lululemon Inc. has also been negligent with handling customer service at local retail outlets. A More so, the corporate leadership at Lululemon Inc. has been negligent in acknowledging heavier weightRead MoreLululemon Case Analysis Essay4336 Words   |  18 Pagesï » ¿ Lululemon Athletica, Inc. Created by: Kelsey Davis GBA 490-901 March 21, 2014 Table of Contents Executive Summary To: Laurent Potdiven Chief Executive Officer Lululemon Athletica Inc. This report has been created with the intent to analyze the athletic apparel industry with a specific focus on Lululemon Athletica, Inc., further refered to as Lululemon. In this report you will find that the strengths and weaknesses of Lululemon’s current strategies and future goals are

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Summary Of The Dragon - 1400 Words

The dragon took two more steps, and with each step, he snorted a short burst of flames out of both sides of his nose. Hearing the crunching of the bushes and twigs under the dragons weight sent a cold chill run up Titus‘s back. His hand holding the wand began to shake ever-so-lightly, then his arm dropped to his side. Replanting his right foot in front of him, Titus again raised his arm pointing the wand at the green monster. The dragon paused. It looked as if he was taking a deep breath, getting ready to let out another burst of flames. Titus again aimed the wand at the dragons heart. In a loud and demanding voice, shouted, Stop! The dragon moved his large head up and down and then took another step forward. Titus’s hand had stopped shaking, but his mouth was dry, and he had a lump in his throat that will not go away. Taking a deep breath and with both eyes open, Titus looked at the dragon and sang out the words. â€Å"Oatmeal, Sauerkraut, Green Beans, And Cheese , Turn into a Butterfly and fly away please! Stopping the dragon sat back on his haunches. He put his small front feet next to his body, about where his waist would be. He cocked his head to one side and let out a funny noise. It sounded like he said, Saaaaaay - Whaaaaaat? Bending over to get on all four feet, the dragon started toward the boy, suddenly, there was a Poof, and a cloud of white and silver smoke. In the place of the dragon is a butterfly, a big green butterfly, but a butterflyShow MoreRelatedSummary Of The Dragons Of Inaction 1172 Words   |  5 PagesSummary of â€Å"The Dragons of Inaction† In the article, The Dragons of Inaction: Psychological Barriers That Limit Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption, Robert Gifford explores and elaborates upon the psychological mechanisms that impede proenvironmental behavior. Gifford introduces seven groups that encompass the 29 â€Å"dragons of inaction†. The seven groups include limited cognition, ideologies, social comparison, sunk costs, discredence, perceived risks, and limited behavior (Gifford, 2011). GiffordRead MoreBeowulf s Last Battle Of The Epic Hero954 Words   |  4 Pages Fifty years after killing the evil Grendel and his mother, the epic hero, Beowulf, faces his third and final monster, a dragon that has been attacking Geatland. But this last battle will be completely different than the ones before, and spells the end for our epic hero. !!!Beowulf s Last Battle Starting around line 2200 of the great epic poem __ Beowulf __, we have the entrance of the last of the monsters that Beowulf must overcome as part of the epic hero cycle. But this battle is unlikeRead MoreBeowulf, The Epic Hero1373 Words   |  6 Pagesmet a man whose hands were harder; His mind was flooded with fear- but nothing could take his talons and himself from that tight Hard grip.† (Beowulf. : A Summary in English Prose). Beowulf ends up ripping Grendel’s arm off and Grendel runs off eventually bleeding to death. Beowulf hangs Grendel’s arm up as a trophy(Beowulf. : A Summary in English Prose). The second major fight that considers Beowulf an epic hero is the battle with Grendel’s mother. Grendel’s mother came to Heorot to get revengeRead Morehe Plot of Eragon is that Galbatorix wanted to kill Eragon because he was the dragon rider. Eragon600 Words   |  3 Pageshe Plot of Eragon is that Galbatorix wanted to kill Eragon because he was the dragon rider. Eragon had to kill Galbatorix and his evil army because they are going around killing and destroying peoples homes. Eragon has to keep his Dragon and himself safe because if he die his Dragon will die and that will be the last of the Dragon riders. The setting of my story takes place around like 1350’s in a village leading into a forest. They travel through the forest and fight throughout the villagesRead MoreMeg Murry Should Be Granted Summary Judgment1685 Words   |  7 PagesMEG MURRY SHOULD BE GRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT BECAUSE THE DISCERNING OBSERVER TEST DEMONSTRATES THAT THERE ARE NO SUBSTANTIAL SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE PROTECTIBLE ELEMENTS OF THE TWO BOOKS. A motion for summary judgment is granted when the similarities concern only non-copyrightable elements of an allegedly infringed work or when no reasonable trier of fact could find the works substantially similar. Boisson v. Banian, Ltd., 273 F.3d 273 (2d Cir. 2001); Castle Rock Entm t, Inc. v. Carol Publ g GrpRead MoreAnalysis Of Beowulf And The Three Battles 725 Words   |  3 Pagesbragged often and although battling certain enemies seemed grueling, he kept his confidence high and went forward. People saw him as a hero for he never gave up. Beowulf proves his heroism through the defeat of Grendel, Grendel s mother, and the dragon. The fight with Grendel shows both Beowulf s power and strength. Although anyone who ever fought Grendel wore armor and used weapons, Beowulf showed bravery by using absolutely nothing. Ultimately, he was characterized as the strongest man everRead MoreThe Downfall Of Roaring Dragon Hotel774 Words   |  4 Pages The Roaring Dragon Hotel Ravi Kolawar Sullivan University MGT 510 Executive Summary This case study describes the downfall of Roaring Dragon Hotel (RDH) when it handed over to Hotel International (HI), is a well known for its brand name and that failed to make the Roaring Dragon Hotel become a five star hotel due to lack of communication and some other reasons(Grainger, 2008). Failed to maintain good relationship with employees, customers Read MoreHuman Resources Organisational Development Case Study: Golden Dragon Group1427 Words   |  6 PagesExecutive Summary The report is based on the case study on the Golden Dragon Group. The Golden Dragon Group had a number of problems with the way things were run in the company. Since GDG is a traditional family owned business, it posed more issues to the company. Mr Wilson Lim, the next in line to take charge of the company wanted to make amendments to certain procedures and the ways things are done. The main aim of the report is to help GDG undergo the necessary changes in the best way possibleRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Roaring Dragon Hotel 857 Words   |  4 Pages Roaring Dragon Hotel Keerthi Thatavarthy Sullivan University MGT 510 â€Æ' Executive Summary: This proposal provides the history of Roaring Dragon Hotel (RDH) and consequences faced by Hotel International Management and RDH employees to sustain in competitive business environment. It is one of the original three-star hotels in southwest China and a state owned enterprise (Grainger, 2008). Failure to recognize cultural normsRead MoreHow To Implement The Dragon Medical Voice Recognition System984 Words   |  4 Pagestranscriptionist has been requiring an increase in working hours when completing duties. As a result, overtime costs are now being incurred, satisfying the transcriptionist workload. As an administrative support tool, I would like to implement the Dragon Medical voice recognition software into our clinic, as a methodology to alleviate this situation. After extensive research on the available software, the captured data which was presented had been analyzed and interpreted, supporting the decision

Monday, December 9, 2019

How to tame a wild tounge free essay sample

In the essay, â€Å"How to Tame a wild Tongue,† Gloria Anzaldua the author, states the importance of maintaining one’s native tongue. She believes that people should speak whenever or however they please given that it does not harm anyone. Anzaldua does not want to escape her Mexican ways such as speaking Spanish. It is a vital part of her life because she communicates with her family members speaking a variety of Spanish dialects. Since she has no other way to show her Mexican ways, it is key that she speaks Spanish to maintain her Mexican pride. People take pride in the languages that they speak and its not right for others to tell them they are not allowed to express themselves in those foreign languages. On the other hand, it is important that to speak English in order to communicate with her classmates, teachers, and anyone around her. English is fast becoming the dominant means by which the world is able to communicate. We will write a custom essay sample on How to tame a wild tounge or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is being referred to as the global language as it is seen as a common means for interaction between different countries. This new phenomena can be seen in a positive light because the use of English as a common language brings efficiency and greater understanding. Nevertheless there some people who believe that this fact has changed and that now it is more important to learn Spanish and Mandarin than the English language. Anzaldua dealt with this issue on a consistent basis in her school life. Though she was not told to lose her Spanish ways, she felt that speaking English would not allow her to express herself. Especially in the American culture, it was necessary for her to learn English to communicate with her peers. Furthermore, the English language is the number one lingua franca no other comes close. At the moment about 1. 113 million people speak Chinese as their mother tongue, whereas about 372 million speak English. Following this criterion Chinese must be the world’s global tongue; and yet analysts considered English to be the global language of the century. Imagine if China’s economy takes flight in the coming few years, enabling the country to replace the United States as the greatest economical power, there would be a possibility that China could take over in the next couple decades. In fact, reports have shown that the number of Chinese learners is increasing dramatically. Chinese learners in Africa, for example, have increased to 8,000 in the year 2005. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation published the statistic in a 2005 report. The report also says that â€Å"in Sudan alone, Chinese learners have amounted to 450, and many have come to China to learn on Chinese government scholarships, according to Peter Nyot Kok, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Sudan. † According to the U. S. Bureau of the Census, ten years ago about one in seven people in this country spoke a language other than English at home. Since then the proportion of immigrants in the population has grown and grown. Ever-wider swaths of Florida, California, and the Southwest are heavily Spanish speaking. Hispanic people make up 30 percent of the population of New York City, and a television station there that is affiliated with a Spanish-language network has been known to draw a larger daily audience than at least one of the citys English-language network affiliates. According to the census, from 1980 to 1990 the number of Spanish-speakers in the United States grew by 50 percent. Statistically, more people in the world speak Mandarin than English, but Mandarin is not spoken much outside Asia. A global language is a language spoken internationally. A global language is not only a majority people spoken, but also use in international organization or international event. It’s a well-known fact that there is huge demand for English speaking professionals in China who can facilitate international business. There is also acute demand for English teachers who can make the Chinese students better equipped for modern-day business and life. Chinese has more native speakers, however, it also has simplistic grammar, and it lacks articles, prepositions, verb conjugation and tense, singularity and plurality of nouns making it less effective than English at expressing complex meanings. It is also tonal, which limits the speakers use of tone for emotional and conceptual expression. Furthermore most Westerners find the Chinese writing system difficult to grasp. So from emerging trends, it seems evident that Chinese is not more popular than English as a global language. English is widespread largely due to the fact that it is used so heavily in television, film and music. Hollywoods global spread has contributed strongly to the international popularity of English. It is also the predominant language on the Internet. Web pages in other languages often tend to have an English translation. The British Empire and the dominant nature of American popular culture have contributed overall to the spread of English across the planet. Because of this many young Hispanics have favored adopting the English language into their culture. In South East Asia, as a result of English becoming a kind of global currency, there is a large turn towards acquiring language skills not in any language but most specifically in English. As the world becomes more â€Å"globalized† or as corners of the planet open up for trade relations with other countries and tourism booms, the need for English increases. Hotels, shops and schools have a desperate desire to sell their services and make a living. People’s ability to survive is strongly linked to their ability to communicate in English. Consequently native languages become redundant and even endangered. People focus on learning English over learning other languages and also in many cases need to use their individual languages to a lesser degree. In fact more Asians speak English than anyone else. One of them is that it facilitates the exchange of information from one part of the world the other with ease. It is through the existence of a global language like English that peace and trade has been enhanced between dissimilar countries. It has also facilitated the mobility of people both in their physical terms and also electronically. Sufficient statistics indicate that most trade is done electronically and this is greatly facilitated by English as a global language. Finally, there are economic advantages connected with a global language. Crystal claims that the â€Å"more a community is linguistically mixed; the less it can rely on individuals to ensure communication between different groups† (Crystal 2003:11). Consequently linguistically mixed communities, as well as the global community, are spending large sums of money on translations and interpretations in order to reach its citizens. A global language known and spoken by everybody would undoubtedly lower these costs, and the spared money could be used in other important areas instead, for example in humanitarian aid. In fact, during the last decades the need of interpretation and translation in international organizations has progressively has been decreasing thanks to the expansion of English. Many international organizations find it necessary that all people involved speak English, since the translation expenses would be too high. According to Crystal â€Å"half the budget of an international organization could easily get swallowed up in translation costs if there was a lack of a common language† (Crystal 2003: 12). Mutual intelligibility, great career opportunities and reduced administrative costs are some of the advantages a global language would give. We are in need of an international language for communication, politics, trade and security, but at the same time we are worried about language death, the advantages native speakers will have and all the disadvantages non-native speakers will face. English is growing, it is a strong language, and its future seems bright. My opinion is that if there will ever be an official international language English is the best option. It is a strong, well-developed language with millions of speakers. Even if a global language might be important, different languages are of importance for their culture and for the development of their native speakers. Anzaldua wants to maintain her heritage by speaking her language constantly. She is in fear that speaking English will lead to the death of her heritage, but the integration of her heritage with English will only allow her to have communication with more people around her. Languages make the world more interesting and more alive.

Monday, December 2, 2019

With No Direction Home Homeless Youth on the Road Essay Example

With No Direction Home: Homeless Youth on the Road Paper People who are homeless are not social inadequate. They are people without homes. -Sheila McKenzie Agency is the capacity for human beings to make choices and act in the world. Free will, according to Wisped Is putative ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. Do Finitenesss Informants have agency? I believe they do have agency, just because they do not have one specific place to call home, does not mean they are not capable of making choices and imposing those choices on the world. As stated in the quote about, Just because they are without a home does not mean they are social inadequate. The majority of these youth came from volatile home and family environments and made the choice to leave. Others were desperate for freedom. These young people were able to make the decision to leave home for the search of something better, but without the means to provide better for themselves they end up on the streets. As discussed in the text, adolescence is a time of emerging independence (p. 7), this is when kids are starting to take control of their life choices, so saying these kids have no agency is absurd. Chapter four of his text focuses heavily in on the homeless youth community and family. We will write a custom essay sample on With No Direction Home: Homeless Youth on the Road specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on With No Direction Home: Homeless Youth on the Road specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on With No Direction Home: Homeless Youth on the Road specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In order to survive, the street kids that are new to the streets must learn the ropes of life on the streets. The best way of doing that Is by socializing with the members of the community/family that are already familiar with the ways of survival. The new street kids become uncultured to the street life societys culture. They learn from other street kids how to survive and fit in the street kid community/family. The street kids bond on a personal level and become family mainly because of their shared traumatic experiences. Be that of volatile home environments or family lives, or other traumatic life experiences. Other street kids that left home in search of freedom and Independence bonded and became family because of their shared experiences In life, on the road and their Minimal pulling away from a dull existence (p. 37). The kids teach each other skills, like panhandling and train hopping, to take care of each other. Their relationships are much more intense than those relationships of a typical adolescent, but on the same hand they are also much shorter lived. The street kids also have a much larger social network due to their nomadic lifestyle. They often know several street kids where ever they may travel to. A benefit of this is having that sense of family when they arrive too new place. The street kid community operates as a family not only by uncalculating new street kids but by watching out for each other and providing help and support. They recognize that a family is a group of people who take care of each other, make sure each other is k and that everyone has food to eat. Because the street kid communicability is so close knit, they often know what is going on with one another even If they are on en toner sloe AT ten country. I nee Nell street Kilos out Tanat are struggling. I nee all communicate and know each other. The communication spreads quickly as well, if something happened to someone on the East Coast, the street kids on the West Coast would know about it in a few days much like news travels through a typical family. Some would question the validity of these relationships, but these fictive kinship take on the role of a family that these youths may not have ever known. In short, they have each others backs and in most cases, have been more like family than their real implies were. In some cases, these kids were tossed out of their homes, in which they were typically abused and neglected, so the kids on the street accepting them and taking care of them, may very well be the first time theyve had someone looking out for them. A lot of these kids come to the street looking for freedom; freedom from abuse, freedom from rejection, freedom from situations they could not handle or the freedom to do what they wanted to and when they wanted. A lot of them felt that leaving home and living on the streets was their only solution, and would allow them he freedom that they so desired. Living on the streets and traveling extensively like the street kids do, may be a coping mechanism for some of these kids. Living on the street is their way of dealing, or not dealing, with their lives at home. Whatever their reason may be, many of them left home in the search of something better or for adventure. They expect their life to be better and it some ways it may be better for them. They develop close relationships and fictive kinship with their street kid family and may finally receive the close relationships that they were lacking in their mom lives. There does not seem to be any division of labor by gender in the street kid community, mainly because they all do the same thing to survive panhandle, steal, sexual favors, steal, boost, and work odd Jobs mainly day labor or seasonal Jobs. In a community such as this, where most of the dont have the identification required to pick up any kind of real Job, there is no competition for Jobs and no separation of labor by gender. I dont feel there to be any kind of separate gender roles in this community at all, this community appears to be very egalitarian in social relations, such like the food-foraging societies. Some of the subsistence and livelihood strategies of the street kid community include: ways of finding food; how to find shelter; ways of making money; sexual favors; dealing drugs; stealing, boosting, and scams; getting a Job. In regards to finding food, the street kids have discovered and taken full advantage of the fact that Americans are a wasteful culture. They know that when they look in a trash can or a dumpster, the food isnt really going to bad, Just no longer wanted and therefore considered trash by the person who disposed of it. The street kids also will find hurt feedings, soup kitchens and take handouts. These characteristics very much remind me of food foraging societies granted the street kids are not hunting wild animals, but they are hunting and gathering food, from where ever they can find it. Like the foragers, the street kids are very mobile they usually are constantly moving. Another common, shared trait of a food foraging group and the street kids is small group size. Street kids do not travel in big groups most street kids travel alone or maybe with a few other kids. In regards to finding shelter, most street kids stay outdoors, In places Like parks, Deanna Dulling, or near analogs. Allowably, SKI would gather together in certain areas to sleep, much like the Net people and their co-sleeping/group sleeping habits. This can be considered an adaptation in the Western world, because co-sleeping allows the street kids to protect one another and perhaps allows for some sort of comfort and bonding time with one another. According to the book, the street kids typically do not stay at homeless shelters because they feel unsafe in them. One of the things I found the most interesting was n regards to squatting. This is where I see many of the normative and rules come in to play with the street kid community. According to the informants, you have to know someone to get into the squat, you have to know the people you bring back with you if you do have a room at the squat and if you dont follow the rules of the squat youre going to get tossed out. Because most of these street kids left home to break away from the rules of their parents, they avoid the squats and the rules of the squats. You would think that the kids would want to have a dry and warmer place to ATA in than sleep on the streets, but their dislike of authority and rules leaves them on the streets. I see the squats as an adaptation in this community mainly because, street kids dont like rules, but the kids that live in these squats realize that they need to have some order so they dont draw attention to the squat and lose their shelter. Subculture, according to the Havilland text, is a distinctive set of standards and behavior patterns by which a group within a larger society operates, while still sharing common standards with that larger society. Reading that definition, I would have to question if the street kid community is really a valid subculture, mainly because there arent a lot of standards that appear to be upheld in this community. These kids go where the wind blows them and Just do what it takes to survive. However, when I look at the definition on Wisped, In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture (whether distinct or hidden) which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong, I tend to believe that they are a valid subculture. Although they may not have many standards, they do have their own culture and behavioral patterns that are apparent to an outsider looking in. They take care of one another, they teach one another, the develop close bonds they do most of this in ways different then we would and I do believe that this makes them a valid subculture. Reticence Finniest, M. (2005). With no direction home: homeless youth on the road and in the streets. Belmont, CA: Headwords Pub Co. A. , W, E. , H, Walworth, D. (2007). Cultural anthropology: the human challenge. Belmont, CA: Headwords Pub Co.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Ambition for Success Essays

Ambition for Success Essays Ambition for Success Essay Ambition for Success Essay We all wanted to be successful in whatever we do, whether it is in education, in working, or in our everyday living. But what is it that drives every man to succeed or to pursue success? I believe that ambition plays a very important role in pursuing and achieving success. It is an admirable quality for a person to possess. An anonymous person once said that a heightened sense of ambition gives a person the strength to tear down the obstacles and keep on towards the goal. Even the author Peter Verinder admits that ambition is part of the human condition. More often, ambition lets us choose between our priorities to achieve our dreams. Because of ambition, people love their work and their actions reflect that. Examples of the people who succeeded because of ambition were Jack Welch, Cyrus McCormick, James J. Hill and John D. Rockefeller. Jack Welch, who works for GE, had a â€Å"million-dollar† ambition during high school and he exceeded it. Cyrus McCormick, on the other hand, ambitioned to be a millionaire. He became one when he was 57. Jack Hill was the builder of the Great Northern Railroad, and he set his financial goal during his 20s. John Rockefeller wanted to be worth $100,000 someday. When he grew up, he was worth 10,000 times that much. See what ambition can do to a person? Ambition comes from desiring to do great and to explore other things that we can do. As Brim says, â€Å"†¦we want action and growth†¦we want to be challenged. We want to shape, form, and build our own lives.† We continue to live everyday and face the many challenges that come with our endeavors. People need more of these challenges to be able to â€Å"test their powers† and therefore see more into their hidden skills and capabilities. However, ambition alone will not work. It needs action. Jack Hill wouldn’t have become a millionaire if he just sat in his corner all day. He wouldn’t be known for the Great Northern Railroad if he didn’t put in work. Corrigan (1999) says that ambition leads to action. In the corporate world, a person may exert effort to achieve personal recognition, power, or bigger salary. Or he may want to be ambitious to make the company more progressive. Corrigan also adds that ambition drives a person to change and develop within an organization. The employees in the lower level also want to improve their position, that’s why they put the values of the organization to their heart. As a whole, the organization relies upon individual ambition to achieve success. When we aspire for something, we also think of the better ways how we can achieve them. We consider the people around us, the circumstances, ourselves. This never happens when it comes to luck. More often than not, luck does not happen to all successful or unsuccessful people at all times, just like in Helzberg`s situation. We do not anticipate luck because we cannot tell when it befalls us, therefore we do not work harder just to be worthy of that. On the other hand, the case of envy is different. Mild envy could result to something more serious because a person is not content with what he has and still wanted something that other people have or own. I think that envious people do not have a healthy outlook in life.   Envy makes you resent that person who has the top position, the money, the great house, and the many opportunities. You become more frustrated with your job and your accomplishments because you compare them with others’. A person pursuing success needs to focus on what can be improved. And as Warren Harding says, â€Å"Ambition is a commendable attribute, without which no man succeeds. Only inconsiderate ambition imperils.† REFERENCES Corrigan, Paul. Shakespeare on Management: Leadership Lessons for Today’s Managers. London: Dover, N.H. Kogan Page, 1999. Krieger, Richard Alan. Civilization’s Quotations: Life’s Ideal. New York: Algora Publishing, 2002. Locke, Edwin A. The Prime Movers: Traits of the Great Wealth Creators. New York, AMACOM Books, 2000.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

21 Plutonium Facts (Pu or Atomic Number 94)

21 Plutonium Facts (Pu or Atomic Number 94) You probably know that plutonium is an element and that plutonium is radioactive, but what else do you know about it? Learn more with these fascinating facts about plutonium. Fast Facts: Plutonium Name: PlutoniumElement Symbol: PuAtomic Number: 94Atomic Mass: 244 (for the most stable isotope)Appearance: A silvery-white solid metal at room temperature, which quickly oxidizes to dark gray in airElement Type: ActinideElectron Configuration:  [Rn] 5f6  7s2 Facts About Plutonium Here are 21 useful and interesting facts about plutonium: The element symbol for plutonium is Pu, rather than Pl, because this was a more amusing, easily remembered symbol.  The element was synthetically produced by Glenn T. Seaborg, Edwin M. McMillan, J.W. Kennedy, and A.C. Wahl at the University of California at Berkeley in 1940–1941. The researchers submitted news of the discovery and the proposed name and symbol to the journal Physical Review but withdrew it when it became apparent plutonium could be used for an atomic bomb. The elements discovery was kept secret until after World War II.Pure plutonium is a silvery-white metal, although it quickly oxidizes in air to a dull finish.The atomic number of plutonium is 94, meaning all atoms of plutonium have 94 protons.  It has an atomic weight around 244, a melting point of  640 C (1183 F), and a boiling point of  3228 C (5842 F).Plutonium oxide forms on the surface of plutonium exposed to air. The oxide is pyrophoric, so pieces of plutonium might glow like embers as the outer coating burns. Plutonium is one of a handful of radioactive elements that glows in the dark, although the glow is from heat. Ordinarily, there are six allotropes, or forms, of plutonium. A seventh allotrope exists at high temperatures. These allotropes have different crystal structures and densities. Changes in environmental conditions readily cause plutonium to shift from one allotrope to another, making plutonium a difficult metal to machine. Alloying the element with other metals (e.g., aluminum, cerium, gallium) helps make it possible to work and weld the material.Plutonium displays colorful oxidation states in aqueous solution. These states tend not to be stable, so plutonium solutions may spontaneously change oxidation states and colors.  The colors of the oxidation states are as follows:Pu(III) is lavender or violet.​Pu(IV) is golden brown.Pu(V) is pale pink.Pu(VI) is orange-pink.Pu(VII) is green. Note this oxidation state is uncommon. The 2 oxidation state also occurs in complexes.Unlike most substances, plutonium increases in density as it melts. The increase in density is about 2.5%. Nea r its melting point, liquid plutonium also exhibits higher-than-usual viscosity and surface tension for a metal. Plutonium is used in radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which are used to power spacecraft. The element has been used in nuclear weapons, including the Trinity test and the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. Plutonium-238 was once used to power heart pacemakers.Plutonium and its compounds are toxic and accumulate in bone marrow. Inhalation of plutonium and its compounds increases the risk of lung cancer, although many people have inhaled substantial amounts of plutonium yet didnt develop lung cancer. Inhaled plutonium is said to have a metallic taste.Criticality accidents involving plutonium have occurred. The amount of plutonium required for critical mass is about one-third that necessary for uranium-235. Plutonium in solution is more likely to form critical mass than solid plutonium because the hydrogen in water acts as a moderator.Plutonium is not magnetic. Other members of the element group stick to magnets, but plutonium can have a variable number of electrons in its valenc e shell, which makes it difficult for the unpaired electrons to align in a magnetic field. The element name follows the trend of uranium and neptunium being named for planets outward from the Sun. Plutonium is named for the dwarf planet Pluto.Plutonium is not a good conductor of electricity or heat, unlike some metals.The alpha form of plutonium is hard and brittle, while the delta form is soft and ductile.Plutonium occurs naturally in the Earths crust in uranium ores, but it is very rare. The main source of the element is synthesis in reactors from uranium-238.Plutonium is a member of the actinide element group, which makes it a type of transition metal.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Analysis a movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis a movie - Essay Example Alice is a star in the game but it is hard to say the same for the movie. The initial 3D scenes have been repetitive and are hardly impressive, a weak beginning was not well received by the audience and as a result of which the movie failed to live up to the expectations of the fans. The paper will expansively present the other important aspects of the movie. 2. â€Å"In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice (Milla Jovovich), continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety.† (After Life) The materials used in the movie are quite unique and one of its kind, the movie is a 3D movie and it involves animation and special effects. The effects however have not been presented as the fans expected it to be. 3. The artist is trying to present a world in which Zombies grow by leaps and bounds, a virus is affecting the human race and annihilation has been portrayed in the movie. B. Visual Arts 1. The movie bears no resemblance to reality; it is purely a fictitious flick. It is based on human beings turning into Zombies because of a virus and it has nothing to do with reality. 2. The artists is portraying the future in the movie, a virus which would affect our human race might end up making us all Zombies as shown in the movie. It represents the future. 3. The work of the artists is without a doubt good but the movie is purely a fictitious movie and bears no resemblance to reality so the work can never be believed. C. Artistic Concept 1. â€Å"The movie contains strong bloody violence and language.† (British Board of Film Classification) Being a 3D movie the visual artists have done a good job, Alice stood out for her performance; she is much more adored by the fans in the game than in the movie. Nevertheless her performance was a tour de force, she loses her supernatural powers when she is injected in the movie, she becomes human again but she single handedly carries the movie, the movie would hav e done very badly had it not been for her. Other characters were merely present in the movie but had no effect whatsoever. The performance of the characters is fine but being a fictitious movie it is hard to believe the scenes in the movie, it is fair to say that the movie is entirely fictitious. 2. Viewer interaction fails in this movie and as an inevitable result of which the movie also fails, the movie does not present enough opportunities to the viewers to interact and get involved in the movie. 3. The work does not appeal to the emotions because it is fictitious, it would have appealed to the emotions of the audience had it had any resemblance to the reality, on top of that it is not a job well done. D. Use of Lighting in Creative Designs 1. â€Å"The movie was written by Paul W.S. Anderson.† (Writer) The use of lighting has been good in the movie; the character of Alice has been presented very vividly in the movie. The presentation has been certainly special because the movie is a 3D movie, being a third dimensional movie it had nothing stunning in it, several other 3D movies are way better than this movie. The opening scene in which Alice and her entourage enter into Umbrella’s headquarters is good, it resembles the opening scene of the game and this made the fans happy and they also

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Intro to Rel Dbase Mgts Syst Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intro to Rel Dbase Mgts Syst - Assignment Example De-normalization process is applied for the creation of data warehouse or sometimes used for revival of the dying online transaction processing (OLTP) applications, which shows the dreadful performance. De-normalization process applied to those tables, which results during the normalization. De-normalization does not alter the basic form or structure of the schema, but adjusts the basic structure or database design. Response 2: Business rules are enforced by applying the triggers or stored procedures. Business rules are used for handling the referential integrity. Using stored procedures for achieving the referential integrity does not involve the application development outside of data. Response 1: Queries like select, create, update, delete, and alter are used to perform the various business functions from a relational database management system. These queries can be used to access the column or rows of relations. Response 2: Under specification of data translation is another issue. Data from multiple tables becomes an issue because no simple way is there to validate the cross references from different files. It becomes the integrity issue of cross-referencing. Response 1: Initial deficiencies of information flow assessed during the Database Initial Study phase causes the modification of the existing system. This modification is also derived from the increased size of the organization. Increased number of wants and needs of the system also modify the initial study phase of database life cycle. Response 2: If the current system fails to meet the required functionality then system designer examines the ways the existing system failed. Lot of time is spent in talking with end-users of the database (Rob, Coronel and Crocket

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis Essay Example for Free

Effect of Unethical Behavior Article Analysis Essay The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed in congress in 2002 is designed to protect investors from the potential of fraudulent corporate accounting activities. This act strictly mandates reform, aimed directly to prevent fraud and improve corporate financial disclosures (INVESTOPEDIA, 2012). As a result of several confidence shaking investor accounting scandals that occurred during the late 90s which involved high profile corporations such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco, a much required overhaul regarding financial statements and regulatory standards laid the foundation for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This act is making the accounting world more accessible to others for auditors to come in and help in checking the books. It will hold the executives and directors accountable for the internal controls of the company especially with the threat of imprisonment if the internal controls are not maintained. The act ensures that a â€Å"checks and balance† internal auditing of the accounting cycle for the company and investors to keep their assets in check. The role of internal audits is to ensure that Institute of Internal Auditor’s Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing Standard 300 Scope of Work be followed. The scope of the internal audit should encompass the examination and evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of the organizations system of internal control and the quality of performance in carrying out assigned responsibilities (M. Wood Company, 2012). The internal audit standards are to review the dependability and integrity of financial and operating information and the resource being used to identify measure and classify those reports. The standard requires the system be reviewed to ensure compliance with those policies, plans, procedure, laws and regulations which may have a huge impact on operations and reporting. The standard is used to review the methods in place to safeguarding assets and verify that the assets protected exist. The final purpose of the standard is to appraise the economy and the efficiency with the means that are employed by a corporation. It is important to note that policies and rules are also enforced to uphold the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Sections 302, 401, 404 and 805 in particular address key requirements as it pertains to effecting financial statements. Section 302 requires senior managers to certify the accuracy of the reports along with establishing internal controls are set in place for the purpose of increasing report accuracy, ensuring honesty and ultimately providing financial protection for the investors. Section 401 ensures that statements may not contain fraudulent information. Section 404 provides for the necessary rules for annual reporting as well as addresses management auditing structures. Lastly, section 805 provides the guidelines for federal sentencing relating to criminal fraud and obstruction of justice. (Hazels, Nov/Dec) A very important question that should be asked is how well main stream America understands the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and how it has effected them? Another pressing area to uncover is how it has affected the US economy over the past ten years? Lastly, it would be interesting to understand how US companies interface globally with countries not held to the same standards. References Hazels, B. (Nov/Dec 2010). Eight Years After The Fact Is SOX Working? A Look At The Brooke Corporation. Journal of Business Case Studies, 6(6.6), 19-29. Invesotopedia. (2012). Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002 SOX. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sarbanesoxleyact.asp#axzz2BCoqABsQ M. Wood Company. (2012, November 1). The role of Internal Audit in Complying with Sarbanes- Oxley. Retrieved from http://www.mwoodco.com/value/Internal_Audit_7-03.pdf

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Both Sides of Stem Cell Research Essay -- essays research papers

Stem Cell Research Paper Stem cell research has been quite a controversial topic since its origin in the 1960s by Gopal Das and Joseph Altman. Of course, anything that uses a human embryo would be. Stem cell research could open a vast number of new doors for modern science, it could let us test new drugs, one of which could be the unfound cure for AIDS or Alzheimer’s disease. However, this branch of science comes at a high price, the price of a human life that is only five to six days old (NIH). It is quite nearly impossible to take a stand in this argument from an unbiased viewpoint. What is a stem cell? A stem cell is an unspecialized cell, meaning it is not a heart, brain, or any other type of cell that has a special purpose, so it can take the form of any other type of cell. In other words, the fate of these cells has not been determined yet! This means that once inserted and given the right signal or trigger, the stem cell can adapt and divide like all of the cells in the area. Many leading Health Institutes are actively trying to find another way of getting such unspecialized cells. One way that many scientists are supporting is the freezing of the Placenta (Wikipedia). The Placenta is the mother’s tissue to the umbilical cord of the fetus is attached. If frozen, placenta can later help the baby that the female gave birth to by providing unspecialized stem cells. The major drawback of this method is that the Placental stem cells will only work for the baby that was attached to it through the umbilical cord (Wikipedia). There are four types of stem ce lls, Totipotent, Pluripotent, Multipotent, and Unipotent. Totipotent cells can become any type of tissue in the body (including the Placenta) and are only found in the ... ...ls it takes, to treat a patch or maybe even a microscopic patch (CNN). Researchers, Religious figures, and political figures opposing stem cell research hotly argue if killing a baby for some stem cells is a void reason. Right now, no one side has gained favor over the other. Stem cell research has been an extremely notorious topic of debate in today’s world. Both sides have been trying to gain the edge for many years, but it is still hard to tell who is winning this debate. Those in favor of stem cell research believe that stem cells will help open doors in modern science to cures, ideas, and new methods. On the opposing side, however, the people believe that killing a baby is a inhumane act, and will only hurt humankind. All in all, the balance in this debate seems to be even, however, this might change if one side brings forward convincing piece of evidence. Both Sides of Stem Cell Research Essay -- essays research papers Stem Cell Research Paper Stem cell research has been quite a controversial topic since its origin in the 1960s by Gopal Das and Joseph Altman. Of course, anything that uses a human embryo would be. Stem cell research could open a vast number of new doors for modern science, it could let us test new drugs, one of which could be the unfound cure for AIDS or Alzheimer’s disease. However, this branch of science comes at a high price, the price of a human life that is only five to six days old (NIH). It is quite nearly impossible to take a stand in this argument from an unbiased viewpoint. What is a stem cell? A stem cell is an unspecialized cell, meaning it is not a heart, brain, or any other type of cell that has a special purpose, so it can take the form of any other type of cell. In other words, the fate of these cells has not been determined yet! This means that once inserted and given the right signal or trigger, the stem cell can adapt and divide like all of the cells in the area. Many leading Health Institutes are actively trying to find another way of getting such unspecialized cells. One way that many scientists are supporting is the freezing of the Placenta (Wikipedia). The Placenta is the mother’s tissue to the umbilical cord of the fetus is attached. If frozen, placenta can later help the baby that the female gave birth to by providing unspecialized stem cells. The major drawback of this method is that the Placental stem cells will only work for the baby that was attached to it through the umbilical cord (Wikipedia). There are four types of stem ce lls, Totipotent, Pluripotent, Multipotent, and Unipotent. Totipotent cells can become any type of tissue in the body (including the Placenta) and are only found in the ... ...ls it takes, to treat a patch or maybe even a microscopic patch (CNN). Researchers, Religious figures, and political figures opposing stem cell research hotly argue if killing a baby for some stem cells is a void reason. Right now, no one side has gained favor over the other. Stem cell research has been an extremely notorious topic of debate in today’s world. Both sides have been trying to gain the edge for many years, but it is still hard to tell who is winning this debate. Those in favor of stem cell research believe that stem cells will help open doors in modern science to cures, ideas, and new methods. On the opposing side, however, the people believe that killing a baby is a inhumane act, and will only hurt humankind. All in all, the balance in this debate seems to be even, however, this might change if one side brings forward convincing piece of evidence.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Spatial Filtering Fundamentals

4/28/2008 Spatial filtering fundamentals by  Gleb  V. Tcheslavski:  [email  protected] lamar. edu http://ee. lamar. edu/gleb/dip/index. htm Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 1 Mechanics of spatial filtering Considering frequency domain filtering, the effect of LPF applied to an image is to blur (smooth) it. Similar smoothing effect can be achieved by using spatial filters (spatial masks, kernels, templates, or windows). We discussed that a spatial filter consists of a neighborhood and a pre-defined operation performed on the image pixels defining the neighborhood.The result of filtering – a new pixel with coordinated of the neighborhood’s center and the value defined by the operation. g y p If the operation is linear, the filter is said to be a linear spatial filter. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 2 1 4/28/2008 Mechanics of spatial filtering Assuming a 3 x 3 neighborhood, at any point (x,y) in the image, the response of the spatial filter is g ( x, y ) = w(? 1, ? 1 ) f ( x ? 1, y ? 1) + w(? 1, 0) f ( x ? 1, y ) + †¦ + w(0, 0) f ( x, y ) + †¦ + w(1,1) f ( x + 1, y + 1) Filter coefficient Pixel intensity In general: g ( x, y ) = s =? a t =? b ? ? w(s, t ) f ( x + s, y + t ) a bSpring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 3 Mechanics of spatial filtering Here a mask size is m x n. m = 2a + 1 n = 2b + 1 Where a and b are some integers. For a 3 x 3 mask Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 4 2 4/28/2008 Spatial correlation and convolution Correlation is a process of moving the filter mask over the image and computing the sum of products at each location as previously described. Convolution is the same except that the filter is first rotated by 1800. For a 1D case, we first zeropad f by m-1 zeros on each size. We compute a sum of products in both cases†¦ Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 5 Spatial correlation and convolutionCorrelation is a function of displacement of the filter. A function containing a single 1 with the rest being zeros is g g g called a d iscrete unit impulse. Correlation of a function with a discrete unit impulse yields a rotated version of a function at the location of the impulse. To perform a convolution, we need to pre-rotate the filter by 1800 and perform the same operation as in correlation. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 6 3 4/28/2008 Spatial correlation and convolution In a 2D case, for a filter of size m x n, we pad the image with m-1 rows of zeros at the top and bottom and n-1 columns of zeros on the left and right.For convolution, we pre-rotate the mask and perform the sliding sum of products. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 7 Spatial correlation and convolution Correlation of a filter w(x,y) of size m x n with an image f(x,y) is w( x, y ) f ( x, y ) = s =? a t =? b ? ? w(s, t ) f ( x + s, y + t ) ? ? w(s, t ) f ( x ? s, y ? t ) a b a b Convolution of a filter w(x,y) of size m x n with an image f(x,y) is w( x, y ) ? f ( x, y) = s =? a t =? b Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 8 4 4/28/2008 Vector representatio n of linear filtering It is convenient sometimes to represent a sum of products asR = ? wk zk = w T z k =1 Filter coeffs Image intensities mn For example, for a 3 x 3 filter: p , R = ? wk zk = w T z k =1 Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 9 9 Generating spatial filter masks Generating an m x n linear spatial filter requires specification of mn mask coefficients. These coefficients are selected based on what the filter is supposed to do keeping in mind that all we can do with linear filtering is to implement a sum of products. Assuming that we need to replace the pixels in an image with the average pixel intensities of a 3Ãâ€"3 neighborhood centered on those pixels.If zi are the intensities, the average is R= 9 1 9 ? zi 9 i =1 Which is: R = ? wi zi = w T z; i =1 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP wi = 1 9 10 Spring 2008 5 4/28/2008 Smoothing spatial filters Smoothing filters are used for blurring and noise reduction. Blurring may be implemented in preprocessing tasks to remove small details from an ima ge prior to large object extraction. The output of a smoothing (averaging or lowpass) linear spatial filter is the average of the pixels contained in the neighborhood of the filter mask.By replacing the value of every pixel in an image by the average of the intensity levels in the neighborhood defined by a filter mask, the resulting image will have reduced â€Å"sharp† transitions in intensities. Since random noise typically corresponds to such transitions, we can achieve denoising. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 11 Smoothing spatial filters However, edges (characterized by sharp intensity transitions) will be blurred. Examples of such masks: 1) A box filter – spatial averaging filter 3Ãâ€"3; 2) Weighted average filter – attempt to reduce blurring: g a g ( x, y ) = s =? a t =? b ? ? (s, t ) f ( x + s, y + t ) s =? a t =? b b ? ? w(s, t ) 12 a b Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 6 4/28/2008 Smoothing spatial filters The effect of filter size. The original 500Ãâ€"5 00 image And the results of smoothing with a square averaging filter of sizes m = 3, 5, 9, 15, 25, and 35 pixels. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 13 Smoothing spatial filters Frequently, blurring is desired for ease of object detection: an original Hubble image, the result of applying a 15Ãâ€"15 averaging mask to it and the result of thresholding with a threshold of 25% of the highest intensity. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 14 7 4/28/2008Order-statistic (nonlinear) filters Order-statistic filter are nonlinear spatial filters whose response is based on ordering (Ranking) the pixels in the neighborhood and then replacing the value of the center pixel by the value determined by the ranking result. The median filters are quite effective against the impulse noise (salt-and-pepper noise). The median of a set of values is such that half the values in the set are greater than the median and half is lesser than it: Ex: the 3Ãâ€"3 neighborhood has values (10, 20, 20, 20,15, 20, 100, 25, 20 ). These values are ranked as (10, 15, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 25, 100).The median will be 20. There are also max and min filters. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 15 Order-statistic (nonlinear) filters Original image with salt-andpepper noise Spring 2008 Noise reduction with a 3Ãâ€"3 averaging mask ELEN 4304/5365 DIP Noise reduction with a 3Ãâ€"3 median mask 16 8 4/28/2008 Sharpening spatial filters: foundations The main objective of sharpening is to highlight transitions in intensity. Since averaging is analogous to spatial integration, we y g g g p g can assume that sharpening is analogous to differentiation in space. The derivatives of a digital function are defined in differences.The first derivative must be: 1) Zero in areas of constant intensity; 2) Non-zero at the onset and end of an intensity step or ramp; 3) Non-zero along ramps of constant slope. The second derivative must be: 1) Zero in areas of constant intensity; 2) Non-zero at the onset and end of an intensity step or ram p; 3) Zero along ramps of constant slope. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 17 Sharpening spatial filters: foundations The first-order derivative: ?f = f ( x + 1) ? f ( x) ? x The second-order derivative: ?2 f = f ( x + 1) + f ( x ? 1) ? 2 f ( x) ? x 2 It can be verified that these definitions satisfy the conditions for derivatives.Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 18 9 4/28/2008 Sharpening spatial filters: foundations The circles indicate the onset or end of intensity transitions. The sign of the second derivative changes at the onset and end of a step of ramp. The second derivative enhances fine details much better than the first derivative. This is suitable for sharpening. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 19 Using the second derivative for image sharpening – the Laplacian We consider isotropic filters – the response is independent of the direction of the discontinuity in the image Such filters are image. rotation invariant.The simplest isotropic derivative operator is the L aplacian: ?2 f ? 2 f ? f = 2 + 2 ? x ? y 2 Therefore: ? 2 f = f ( x + 1, y ) + f ( x ? 1, y ) + f ( x, y + 1) + f ( x, y ? 1) ? 4 f ( x, y ) The Laplacian is a linear operator since derivatives are linear operators. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 20 10 4/28/2008 Using the second derivative for image sharpening – the Laplacian The Laplacian can be implemented by these filter masks Since the Laplacian is a derivative operator, its use highlights intensity discontinuities in the image and deemphasize regions with slow varying intensity levels levels.It tends to produce images having grayish edge lines and other discontinuities, and a dark, feature-less background. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 21 Using the second derivative for image sharpening – the Laplacian Background features can be preserved together with the sharpening effect of the Laplacian by adding the Laplacian image to the original. If the definition of the Laplacian has a negative central coefficient, the La placian image must be subtracted rather than added to obtain a sharpening result. In general: g ( x, y ) = f ( x, y ) + c 2 f ( x, y ) ? ? ?Output intensity Input intensity -1 – if the center is negative; +1 otherwise Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 22 11 4/28/2008 Using the second derivative for image sharpening – the Laplacian The Laplacian Laplacian with scaling The original (blurred) image The image sharpened with mask 2 The image sharpened with mask 1 Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 23 Unsharp masking and highboost filtering An approach used for many years to sharpen images is: 1. Blur the original image; 2. Subtract the blurred image from the original (the result is called the mask): g mask ( x, y ) = f ( x, y ) ? f ( x, y ) Original Blurred image 3.Add the mask to the original: g ( x, y ) = f ( x, y ) + k ? g mask ( x, y ) Here k is a weight. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 24 12 4/28/2008 Unsharp masking and highboost filtering When k = 1 – unsharp masking ; k > 1 – highboost filtering; k < 1 – de-emphasize the contribution of a mask. The shown intensity profile can be viewed as a horizontal scan through a vertical edge transition from a dark to li ht t a light region. i This approach is similar to Laplacian method. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 25 Unsharp masking and highboost filtering Original ( slightly blurred) image Smoothed with a Gaussian smoothing filter 5Ãâ€"5 Unsharp maskResult of using unshapr mask (k = 1) Result of using highboost filtering with k = 4. 5 Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 26 13 4/28/2008 Gradient method First derivatives can be implemented for nonlinear image sharpening using the magnitude of the gradient: ? ? f ? g x ? ? ? x ? ? ? f ? grad ( f ) ? ? ? = ? ? ? g y ? ? ? f ? ? ? y ? ? ? The gradient vector points in the direction of the greatest rate of g (x,y). g (length) gradient change of f at location ( y) The magnitude ( g ) of g 2 2 M ( x, y ) = ? f = g x + g y Is the value of rate of cha nge at (x,y) in the direction of gradient. Spring 2008ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 27 Gradient method M(x,y) is an image of the same size as the original and is called the gradient image. Magnitude makes M(x,y) non-linear. It is more s itable in some applications to use: suitable se M ( x, y ) ? g x + g y For an image where z5 represent the pixel f(x,y) and z1 represent the pixel f(x-1,y-1), the simplest (Roberts) definitions for gradients are: M ( x, y ) = ( z9 ? z5 ) + ( z8 ? z6 ) 2 2 M ( x, y ) ? z9 ? z5 + z8 ? z6 However, Roberts cross-gradient operators lead to masks of even sizes, which is inconvenient. ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 28 Spring 2008 14 4/28/2008 Gradient methodThe smallest masks with central symmetry (ones we are interested in) are 3Ãâ€"3. The gradient can be approximated for such masks as following: ?f = ( z7 + 2 z8 + z9 ) ? ( z1 + 2 z2 + z3 ) ? x ? f gy = = ( z3 + 2 z6 + z9 ) ? ( z1 + 2 z4 + z7 ) ? y Therefore, the mask could be: gx = M ( x, y ) ? ( z7 + 2 z8 + z9 ) ? ( z1 + 2 z2 + z3 ) + ( z3 + 2 z6 + z9 ) ? ( z1 + 2 z4 + z7 ) Roberts operators They are Sobel operators. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 29 Gradient method The coefficients in all masks shown sum to zero. This indicates that mask will give a zero response in an area of constant intensity as expected of a derivative operator operator.Original image of contact lens Sobel gradient Defect Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 30 15 4/28/2008 Combining spatial enhancement techniques Frequently, Frequently a combination of several methods is used to enhance an image†¦ 1) Original image – 2) Laplacian – 3) image sharpened by Laplacian – 4) Sobel gradient of the original image – 5) Sobel image smoothed with a 5Ãâ€"5 averaging filter – 6) product of Sobel image with its smoothed version – 7) sharpened image (a sum of the original and 6) – 8) power-law transformation. Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 31 Spring 2008 ELEN 4304/5365 DIP 32 16

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Effects of world economic politics to Australia Essay

World political economy can be defined as a political process of interaction between countries in world transform local phenomena in to global perspective. Mostly, this interaction comes up as integration of sovereign state for economic benefit based on trade and commerce. In Australian context, world political economics is interaction between Australian-nation and the rest of world. World political economy is the transformation of the Australia-nation phenomenon into global perspective. This interaction has been promoted in rationale of giving Australian-nationals a form of interaction with the world which in most cases in commercial, foreign investment, migration of man power, capital flow as well as sharing of technology. On other hand, world political economy interactions allow Australia partners in trade to be able to get in Australia and do business freely. These have been achieved through liberalization of market which has been achieved through Australian authorities negotiating with its trade partners for a more regulated trade. In a nutshell World political economy to Australia can be viewed in perspective of globalisation which has positive and negative impact in Australian economy. Globalisation is world political economics which seeks for integration of the whole world in commerce, communication as well as transport networks across the world. Theoretically, globalisation has been viewed as a way of economic empowerment but its aftermath is marked with economic crisis. In Australia, unemployment crisis is a good example of result of world political economics in the name of globalisation. World political economic has been in existence for long time but it major impact can be traced after the Second World War. This was after realisation of importance of world peace giving reasons to have international integrations. Integration took economic perspective where countries would interact in commerce an aspect which resulted to concept of globalization. This was supported by many countries, where Australia became to part of this economic integration. Bretton Wood conference after World War II came up with institutions which would oversee the world political economic and Australia government became a member of these institutions. These institutions included; International monetary fund (IMF) and World Bank designed to foresee development in world. Other organisations on basis of world political economy which Australia-nation is members are; General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and World Trade Organisation (WTO). These organisations influence world political economics through trade negotiations, pushing for market liberation, aimed at reducing the cost of doing business and promotion of a more integrated economic growth in world. World political economy championing for globalization has resulted to a lot of change in Australia-nation hurting the economy and the welfare of the common man. Adoption of globalisation policies by Australian government has resulted to rapid change in technology making education system not to meet employment requirement and fleeing of employment through cheap imports among others (Krisztina 2006). World political economy base on globalisation has not resulted well for Australia. Globalisation in the world economic has winner and losers. It can be said that Australia has come out of globalisation crusade as a loser, getting to the current unemployment crisis. The negative side of globalisation as a result of world political economies had led Australia to be in more problem than before. Before embracing in totality the world political concept of globalisation, Australia was rich country endowed with a lot of natural resources but freed them as per globalization concept of mobility of natural resources. Losing of resources in the name of mobility of resources has resulted to the current problem of unemployment. Unemployment problem facing Australia today can be blamed on world political economy policy of globalisation which has squeezed people of Australia employment through liberated market. World political economics championed opening country’s borders allowing other countries to trade freely. This has resulted to Australia opening to imports resulting to loss of employments and promoting employment of foreign countries through consuming their products. Rationale behind implementation of globalisation in the Australian economy as influence by the world political economics was the purported ‘advantages’ of market liberalisation. Proponent of world integrated economy argued that globalisation would result to increase welfare to the consumer in world. Integration of world trade would result to increase range of choice for good and service. Elimination of trade barriers means allowing imports in the country giving local people a chance to be able to choice from local manufactured commodities a well import. Local producer would have a chance to trade their commodities in the export market with ease hence promotion of employment and development in the country. Aftermath of this would be specialization since the trading partners will only be able to produce and compete efficiently. â€Å"The trade policy breakthrough started to take place in 1973, when the government executed its 25 percent across-the-board tarrif reduction. Even though general reductions in protection were precluded in 1982, the ‘opening process’ was continued in the late 1980s, when a four-year program in nominal tariff rates was introduced for most imports. This four year program was extended until 1991: by this time general tariffs were to be phased down to 5 percent† (Krisztina, 2006 pp. 13). World political economy would provide world wide financial markets. Australia being member of world political institution meant it could be able to source for finance for government projects. It also gave citizen a chance of participating and trading in world foreign exchange and speculative markets. Globalisation would result to a major global market where there would be freedom in exchange of good as well as capital. This was seen as a benefit by the policy maker and proponents of integration of world economy. World political economics viewed integration as important vehicles to bring governments together through trade and be able to regulate each other to avert any threat to world peace and abuse of human rights. Exchange of expatriates and technology would be very easy through integrated economy and political world. It would as help countries to be able to share telecommunication infrastructures reaping advantages resulting from free flow of information. These are the rationale behind adoption of globalisation concept in Australian nation. This concept has injured the country’s welfare through loss of employments greatly (Davidson, 2004). Although there may be economic benefit of world economic integration, globalisation always has taker and loser. Market liberalisation has resulted to be problematic to Australian economy. Australia-nation has come out of world political economies like a loser instead of gaining. In the wake of globalisation resulting from world political economy has influenced changes in Government export Promotion Policy (GEPP) adjusting various policies on exports and imports. â€Å"GEPP is generally considered as variably significance part of the government’s overall trade policy. There are a number of GEPP definitions describing GEPP from fairly different perspectives, ranging from the GEPP describing of the Organisational for Economic co-operation and development (OECD) focusing only on the extra-cost-bring nature of export promotion tools† (Krisztina 2006 pp. 3). Changes in export as well as import policies have impacted negatively to Australian employment structures. GEPP mainly deals with promotion of the exports through strategising on improvement of export market support instruments. It also brings policies to promote export through giving tax incentives to export so as to influence flow of goods and services for export. GEPP policies results to formation of job opportunities since increase export mean increase in production of real goods which need human resource effort. This means that increase export means creation of more employment. On the other hand when the country experiences an influx of imports the employment opportunities as well as growth are at risk. Imports compete with locally manufactured good making the local production to reduce. Low production translates to reduced need of man power for production of real good hence reduced employment.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Writers Can Learn from Middlebrow Masters

Writers Can Learn from Middlebrow Masters Writers Can Learn from Middlebrow Masters Writers Can Learn from Middlebrow Masters By Mark Nichol After several years of intending to read through Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series of seafaring novels, I’ve finally embarked on that voyage, and I’m delighted to note that O’Brian proves that writers can draw lessons in technique from fiction that doesn’t necessarily make it onto too many Great Literature reading lists. O’Brian wrote twenty novels featuring fictional early nineteenth-century Royal Navy officer Jack Aubrey and his friend, naval surgeon Stephen Maturin, over the course of several decades, leaving another one unfinished when he died in 1999. (It was later published in its incomplete form.) After completing the first installment, Master and Commander, I suspect that they’re all ripping good yarns but not (despite some comparisons to the works of Jane Austen and other literary giants) classics for the ages. Yet they’re instructive in how to write and, in one respect, how not to write. First, the bad news: O’Brian, facing the significant challenge of explaining the naval terminology, traditions, and hierarchy of the Napoleonic era to the many readers unfamiliar with such matters, solved it by having various characters explain nautical concepts to Maturin, a landlubber. Unfortunately, though this technique is reasonable in moderation, here it’s employed to extremes. At times, it’s no more subtle than the satirically excessive exposition in the Austin Powers movie series, with the character Basil Exposition laboriously providing background information to the protagonist (and the audience). But the author’s successful avoidance of narrative exposition (that is, other than in dialogue) is related to his great strength: O’Brian rarely employs attribution; the reader usually knows who is talking. But even more remarkable, he rarely has to describe his masterfully well-developed characters. Aubrey and Maturin are an odd couple; the officer is a big and brash yet charismatic leader, while his friend is a quiet, studious surgeon/naturalist/philosopher. The author subtly signals the doctor’s initial unease with shipboard life (he gets in sailors’ way or hits his head on the low beams belowdecks) and his preoccupation with surgical procedures and natural phenomena by indirect reference. Among the best small moments are those in which Maturin tries to engage the practical and intelligent but unschooled Aubrey in intellectual discussion. I did not take advantage of opportunities to work my way through the literary-classics canon during my own schooling, and I am at sea when it comes to lit crit. (If I were asked to analyze the subtext of a cornerstone of the literary tradition, I would probably blithely blink without comprehension much like Aubrey does when confronted with a Latin expression.) But I found myself very much impressed (without being very much distracted) by the mastery with which O’Brian conveys character without describing his characters. I am certain that such lessons in narrative technique can be drawn from many novelists great and small (and in between), and you likely can relate your favorite epiphany of this type. This point only proves that wisdom and inspiration are to be found in unexpected places. Enjoy your pulp fiction, airport novels, beach books, light reading in whatever form your leisure reading takes (including enjoying Great Literature) but be receptive to such insights. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Grammar Mistakes You Should Avoid55 Boxing IdiomsPassed vs Past

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Resume and LinkedIn Trends - Brenda Bernstein Radio Blog!

Resume and LinkedIn Trends - Brenda Bernstein Radio Blog! In part due to my hiring a publicist a couple of months ago, I have been appearing frequently on radio programs around Wisconsin and Chicago. I was also interviewed by a program out in Massachusetts. I thought that rather than write an article this week, I would offer you the opportunity to listen in on some of my interviews. They cover topics ranging from resumes to LinkedIn profiles to college essays. Enjoy! And dont forget I will be interviewed for a full hour on December 10 on Wisconsin Public Radio! The Digital Insider (Topic: LinkedIn) document.createElement('audio'); https://theessayexpert.com/media/the_digital_insider.mp3 WGN (Chicago) Bill Leff Show (Topic: Resume Trends) I really like this one! https://media.wgnradio.com/media/mp3file/2012-10/wgnam-leff-tips-to-make-your-resume-and-cover-letter-stand-out-theessayexpert-222230740-02031552.mp3 Milwaukee Public Radio Lake Effect (Topics: Resumes, Cover Letters, LinkedIn and More!) https://www.wuwm.com/media/lake_effect/le_110212170354_1.mp3 Outside the Box with Mitch Henck (Topic: LinkedIn) (Starts at 2:34.)

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Fashion as a Culture and Identity Expression Tool Essay

Fashion as a Culture and Identity Expression Tool - Essay Example The essay "Fashion as a Culture and Identity Expression Tool" discovers the culture and identity expression tool of fashion. Travelling and interacting with the outside world exposes individuals to the multicultural nature of the world and the way different people in the globe dress. Through fashion, a Vietnamese is presented with an opportunity to represent his culture through construct and expressive identities in bigger cities across the world where they mingle with strangers. Through fashion, expressive statement about one’s individual culture and identities is enhanced as the accessories and nature of the clothing can only be directly associated with their clothing type. In this essay, the impacts of traditional and cultural wear in representing the identity and culture of a given group of people will be discussed. One example of a traditional wear that has been used to represent identities and make expressive statements about identities is the Indian women swear. Indian women have specific traditional wears such as the sari that is known and associated with the Indian women across the globe. This fashion has enabled the Indian women to make expressive statements about their individual identities and personality. The development of the world fashion can be described as a contemporary and cosmopolitan fashion that is exposed to the dynamics of changes blended by the different cultures. As a result, different new dresses and fashions are created daily and these include the use of the trench coats.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Must Internet purchases be subject to sales tax Essay

Must Internet purchases be subject to sales tax - Essay Example According to Engler and Cellucci, "Ernst & Young concluded that 63% of total e-commerce sales to consumers are sales not taxable in most states". As for the taxable sales, "that same study also found that 60% of the taxable business-to-consumer Internet sales are substitutes for other types of sales, such as mail-order catalog sales by out-of state vendors, that do not currently generate sales or use tax revenue". Proponents for Internet tax also argue that "it is not a new tax" but the enforcement of existing laws that give mail order stores the right to collect sales tax (Senate Nixes Sales Tax on Catalogue, Internet Sales 1). Moreover, sales of the brick and mortar store continue to grow despite the flourishing of online stores (Engler and Cellucci 1-3). A brick-and-mortar store is able to provide consumers with service that the online store is unable to offer, such as getting to try the goods or see it physically before deciding to buy it. Furthermore, Internet taxes would require the electronic tracking of purchases (Engler and Cellucci 3).

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Physical Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Physical Environment - Essay Example A child being in his early stage of life and mostly in learning phase is affected by the kind of environment where he spends most of his time, if the physical environment is attractive and nicely presentable then it helps the child in building his confidence and develop a taste for neatness and a systematic approach towards any thing that he comes across. If the physical environment is shabby and not presentable enough, it can have negative impact on child's psychology and can thus invoke negative thoughts in him. It can hinder his overall growth as an individual. So the physical environment in the classroom should be designed appropriately so as to cater to needs of teachers as well as students and should have a fruitful impact on the student's mentality and overall growth. Through observation, description, and reflection on their own and P-12 students' prior experience, learning styles, strengths, and needs, the preliminary candidate recognizes that students differ in their approaches to learning. It was a kindergarten class of 10 studen... Do you think that the physical environment is important to student success Why or why not. Definitely the physical environment is one of the basic ingredients of student's success; it is this physical environment only which helps a student To develop his psychology negative or positive, depending upon the type of physical environment he is having in his class. A child being in his early stage of life and mostly in learning phase is affected by the kind of environment where he spends most of his time, if the physical environment is attractive and nicely presentable then it helps the child in building his confidence and develop a taste for neatness and a systematic approach towards any thing that he comes across. If the physical environment is shabby and not presentable enough, it can have negative impact on child's psychology and can thus invoke negative thoughts in him. It can hinder his overall growth as an individual. So the physical environment in the classroom should be designed appropriately so as to cater to needs of teachers as well as students and should have a fruitful impact on the student's mentality and overall growth. Step 3: Learners Mid-Preparation Benchmark 1.2.2 Human Development Mid-Preparation Benchmark 1.2.3 Through observation, description, and reflection on their own and P-12 students' prior experience, learning styles, strengths, and needs, the preliminary candidate recognizes that students differ in their approaches to learning. Objective Description Give an over-all description of the students in the classroom: number, gender, diversity, culture, race, exceptionalities, special needs, socio-economic status, etc. It was a kindergarten class

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Marketing Issues Facing the HSBC Bank in the UK

Marketing Issues Facing the HSBC Bank in the UK Key marketing issues facing HSBC Bank in the United Kingdom and globally: How it can be improved for entering in to 2011 Abstract Todays global banking environment is highly volatile, but this does not hinder competition from being intense. Consequently, organisations such as HSBC Bank plc, the worlds local bank, need to align their marketing strategies to improve on their brand value and positioning. To enter into the year 2011, they need to address both internal and external environment(s) which inevitably affect their competitive advantage, positioning and performance. In the following, the researcher aims to explore these avenues with the view to propose an extended study on new strategies to improve upon HSBCs current standing. Table of contents Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Methodology Chapter 3: Literature Review Chapter 4: Evidence Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations References Appendices Introduction In the last few years, the banking industry has undergone tremendous change in the face of global transformation. As a result, executives are finding it difficult to meet competitive challenges as the pressure to become global intensifies. HSBC Bank plc, headquartered in United Kingdom, is a global business which faces the same challenge and is being investigated in the following dissertation. The aim is to survey the key marketing issues that challenge the bank, in the UK and globally so that the researcher could further its study in developing solutions for the same. Some of the objectives that the researcher aims to achieve in this dissertation proposal are as follows: Objectives 1. To explore key external and internal environments to address major issues that plague HSBC to function successfully as a global bank. 2. To identify the marketing mix that should be adopted to be integrated in the banks marketing and competitive strategies. 3. To investigate organisational functions like MIS (Management Information System) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to align them with the market structure. 4. To evaluate the brand value at HSBC, and perhaps identify new strategies for improving its global positioning. Background Today, change catalysts are being integrated by major consolidated organisations to adapt and become flexible to the changing needs of consumers. The banking industry, likewise, has been following the same trend of consolidation through mergers and acquisitions (MA), despite the fact that these MAs are creating even more complex organisations. This can be gauged from HSBCs organisational spread. HSBC has over 100 million customer base, spread across the globe through its Customer and Global businesses. With 9,500 offices and 335,000 staff in 85 countries and territories, it is considered to be one of the worlds top financial brands by The Banker Magazine (HSBC Official Web site 2008). While it is regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK, the global nature of its operation subjects it to be regulated by 510 central banks and authorities around the world as well (HSBC Official Web site 2008). To ensure that HSBC meets global challenges, the bank has been constantly evolv ing its strategy. For the past decade, it has focussed on being the worlds local bank with a wide network spread to mostly international emerging markets to develop unique cosmopolitan customer base to strengthen its financial standing. The four key business areas private banking, commercial banking, personal financial services and global banking markets help HSBC to align its presence with global trends such as fast growing emerging markets, world trade, and longevity in business (See Appendix 1). In line with this focus, is the strategy to leverage brand and network to increase revenues and maximise efficiency (HSBC Official Web site 2008). This conservative positioning strategy had been adopted for the past decade and has paid off in terms of higher earnings, and improved performance (BBC 2001). However, recently there has been a fall in profit earning (UK Annual Report 2007)(See Appendix 2), which has been translated to low performance. Some of the factors that have afflicted the bank include inflation in developed markets; slow down in emerging economies; and the ongoing credit crunch, especially in the UK and neighbouring Europe (HSBC Annual Results 2007; Toxic Shock 2008). The growing importance of globalisation only emphasises on the need for integrating marketing strategies within competitive strategies to leverage future performance. According to a Deloitte report (2007), banks like HSBC, with a global focus, need to understand external and internal factors that affect them, in order to devise comprehensive competitive strategy. While experts (Dietz, Reibestein, and Walter 2008) predict growth in global banking revenues estimated at 7 to 8 percent from 2006 to 2016, how to harness this forecast is dependent on the individual firms strategy. For this purpose, HSBC need to revise its strategic orientation. The purpose of research is to gain new knowledge through logical and systematic methods. According to Smith (1981 qt. Gliner and Morgan 2000), research is a broad discipline which must be carefully examined before adopting methods for evaluation. Whether the researcher chooses the naturalistic, experimental, survey or historical methods, the choice should be consistent with the inquiry defined. Accordingly, research approaches in the social science discipline can be divided into the positivist or quantitative, and constructivist or qualitative approach (Mangan, Lalwani and Gardner 2004). Depending on the quantitative or qualitative paradigm, a researcher must choose the approach of research. A quantitative paradigm is associated with scientific methods in acquiring research results and identifies causal relationships (Phillips 1992; Lincoln and Guba 1985 qt. Gliner and Morgan 2000). On the other hand, the qualitative approach is a constructivist approach that studies humans and physi cal objects with the meanings inherent in their social roles and symbolism. Considering the qualitative nature of the topic, the researcher proposes to adopt a constructivist approach which would be more appropriate in exploring the issues that affect HSBC. This is a logical proposition as it would allow the researcher to predict the causes and market behaviour based on theoretical frameworks studied through comprehensive literature review, a gist of which shall be explored in the next section. Furthermore, the researcher proposes this choice of research approach based on the premise that social science researches often seek to predict and control (Bryman 1995). Research questions raised are often open-ended and encompass extensive avenues before decisions can be made. Therefore, a qualitative method shall be suitable for the study of key issues challenging HSBC in the future. To take a brief overview of banking, the researcher has carried out a brief literature review to study the issues that surround the organisation. In the following section, the researcher shall explore the current market environment, as well as attempt to understand it through theoretical frameworks. Banking Industry As the worlds banking industry globalises and consolidates, cross border investment barriers have fallen to give way to new and volatile markets. To serve evolving markets, banks have been observed to develop new competitive strategies that capitalise on operations, resources and functionality, and serve new types of customers. The challenge for banks today is the geopolitical risks and structural market challenges which they need to adapt to, for addressing international compliance of standards, demographic shifts, and developing relationships with customers. The diversified nature of the banking environment makes it difficult for global organisations, like HSBC, to focus. A global bank can be defined as having the widest reach in providing services to affiliates, while a local bank has narrower reach in provision of services to institutions in the country. Some of the challenges that affect these organizations are explored below: 1) External Environment The basic premise for gaining competitive advantage in a global environment according to experts like Porter (1990) and Weihrich (1982), is through formulation of strategies that reflect the conceptual framework of the TOWS Matrix (See Appendix 3). The TOWS (Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses and Strengths) Matrix is a systematic analysis model which identifies factors that surround the industry, and, thereafter, help identify solutions by maximising opportunities and strengths. By identifying the competitive advantage against competitors, the industry or firm can maximise the attributes it posses at the international level. These competitive advantages can be factor conditions such as skilled labour or infrastructure; demand conditions such as demand of the product or service; related and supporting industries; and firm strategy, structure and rivalry (Porter 1990). However, critics are of the view that Porters formula does not provide the key to success (O’Shaughnessy 1996) as it does not address operational and environmental issues like culture, competitive advantage in emerging markets; political and national history; or role of government. In todays global banking environment, these issues play critical roles (Jones 2005). These are evident from the Deloitte report (2007) on key issues challenging the banking industry, which include off-shoring; local insights for global branching; cost-reduction; emergence of hedge funds; and complex anti-money laundering regulations (Deloitte 2007). Not only is the global business environment of today strived with uncertainty due to emerging markets participation (Fahy 1993; Bansal and Penza 2000), but also the technological, political and regulatory environments have heightened competition. In the past decade, HSBC has focussed its competitive strategy on Europe after the slow down in Asia-Pacific region. Europe is an ideal setting for international integration based on a single market program (Berger, Smith, and Judge 2003; HSBC 2008). There are, however, issues that hinder development and competition including loyalty to local banks, regulatory restrictions, demand for global banking services, and technological advancement of banks. As a result, HSBC needs to rethink its current strategy. 2) Internal Environment As a result of the above factors, the internal environment of global banks has to be revolutionised. At the forefront is the adage the customer is king. Global banks are changing their strategies to alter banking environment congruent to customers needs, rights and choices. Services and products are tailored to the living conditions and customer patterns of banking use. These conditions set off alternative marketing strategies that emphasise on individuality and relationship building. Investment in technology, skills and branch networks, for example, has helped traditional banks to grow and profit from new sources of income (Jayawardhena and Foley 2000). In the UK, especially, the scale of investment in knowledge management and technology has helped transform the banking industry to succinctly harness potential businesses and create advantage for organisations. Learning organisations, however, is still a relatively new concept for many to understand and appreciate its implications (H arris 2002). Besides the above, global banks are also undergoing structural changes. As more and more banks become global, the traditional role of retail banking has to be revisited. (Bansal and Penza 2000).Issues that affect HSBC like credit and market risks, competence and expertise have come to the forefront, as banks diversify their businesses. For these reasons HSBC needs to be prepared for change management in its internal environment. 3) The Marketing Mix Given the diversified nature of the global banking industry, Jagersmas report (2006) suggests that banks need to rethink marketing strategies to meet the challenges in the future by improving customer focus, innovating products, pricing products competitively and organising product information for its strategic positioning. The challenge that awaits organisations is to rethink strategic objectives that would align with the new environment. One approach is to develop a visual identity and develop a communication network to establish relationships with customers. The communication strategy would be the life line for the organisations strategy in adapting or changing its market context or other environmental alterations, according to Melewar, Bassett, and Simoes (2006). Similarly, Gummesson (2002) is of the view that relationship marketing is the new approach to marketing that focuses on customer, suppliers and organisations in a complex network environment or society. It is only throug h these new communication frameworks that the banking sector can address the core and brand values it has to develop for successful marketing mix. (See Appendix 4) HSBC needs to re-evaluate its marketing mix in order to generate newer ones. 4) Market Segmentation and Targeting Indeed, the nature of the marketing mix is no longer simply the 4 Ps of Price, Product, Position and Promotion but involves complex analysis of the target market and its segments. In fact, Papasolomou and Vrontis (2006) are of the view that todays banking organisations have different sets of customers and expectations. Customers are no longer limited to the walk-in type, but extend to internal customers such as employees, stakeholders and shareholders; service delivery is not limited to providing service, but extends to standards and expectations; development involves training and development in motivation, and inspiration; and employee incentives. To be successful, organisations must adopt alternative strategies. Market segmentation in the banking industry has changed from niche segments to accumulated customer base of corporate, private or commercial customers, although the principles for targeting them remain the same customer relationship building; ease of access; delivery of se rvice through diverse workforce; and collaborative banking strategies. As a result, banks like HSBC would need to improve upon customer focus, introduce new ideas to customers and drive aggressive campaigns (Wells Fargo and First Direct 2007) using a strong communication network (Berner and Kiley 2005) to build brand image. 5) MIS and CRM What differentiates and establishes brands depends on the power of the brand to communicate its value to the market. According to Sinek (2008), successful communication is dependent on the banks ability to offer different products and services reflective of the customers needs. Hence, branding alone would not differentiate banks, but the humanness of the banks philosophy would. Thus, Umpqua Bank and FirstDirects popularity with customers is due to their understanding of the need for convenient banking, need for alternative products and services, and their understanding of the ever-changing world of banking. By harnessing the online banking technology, direct banking has become possible to their customers. The attractiveness of these banks to their customers is inherent in the shift away from traditional transaction-based to customer based banking (Branching out 2007). Furthermore, banks have also capitalised on technological networks to expand globally to bring customers closer to their banks by defying geographical dispersion (Lefton 1997; Branching out 2007). However, in the process, issues like outsourcing labour to foreign regions, which are alien to the customers, and low quality service delivery compromise the overall expectations. Banks, especially, rely on outsourcing companies for their customer service which constitutes a major part of their service/product delivery (Gottfredson and Phillips 2005). This reliance on external organisations for the banks success is volatile and, at times, detrimental to its relationship with customers. Whether HSBC should rely on these systems or not shall determine its performance in the future. 6) Brand Positioning The objective of competitive advantage is dependent on positioning of the product. A firms communication strategy and its effectiveness depend on the positioning strategies. In marketing strategies for service-oriented brands, positioning is even more critical as it modifies the intangible perceptions of the service in relation to the competition (Blankson and Kalafatis 2007). For these reasons, strategic implications of brand positioning are critical for the organisations competitive strategy. Service positioning differs from tangible product positioning as its characteristics are different from physical goods. Customers differentiate the service from goods through communication, standard of service delivery, and the quality of the benefits reaped. Thus, marketing communication plays a vital role in establishing the marketing positioning of brands. Consequently, Papasolomou and Vrantis (2006) emphasise on the importance of internal marketing throughout branch network to strengthen r elationship marketing and the brand. In banking, this could be achieved by launching internal marketing campaigns to sustain the brand through employees and their experiences such as brand proposition, overcoming internal barriers, continual improvement and expansion. These HSBC needs to explore in to incorporate into its future strategies. From the above brief literature review, the researcher is of the view that HSBC, as a global bank, faces tremendous challenges in the near future to improve upon its marketing strategy. The above literature also suggests that, while the current marketing strategy has been successful in launching the HSBC in the international market, the bank needs to revise and develop its marketing strategies which would sustain HSBC in global environment. Issues that plague the worlds global banking industry need to be evaluated in the future study to understand the extent and breadth to which HSBC has complied with, before competitive strategies can be evaluated. The brief literature review also indicates that todays marketing strategies are different from traditional methods adopted, especially for a service-oriented organisation. Consequently, marketing strategies for HSBC needs to be re-valuated to gauge its future performance, and perhaps devise new ones to address current and future issues. Issues like MIS, CRM, brand positioning and marketing mix shall be revisited in this extended dissertation in order to tackle the issues that plague its internal and external environment. From the above evidence, the researcher proposes an extended study in the form of a dissertation to review HSBC’s performance and how it can improve upon its current marketing strategy in order to develop an integrative competitive strategy for the future. Considering the fast-paced and highly volatile banking environment of the UK and globally, HSBC needs to improve its performance in order to sustain competition. With the extended study, the researcher hopes to achieve the following objectives: a. A detailed investigation of the external and internal environment of HSBC in order to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. b. Identify the marketing mix that it should adopt and integrate within its organizational strategies to enter into 2011. c. To study the current organisational function such as MIS and CRM to the advantage of HSBC and integrate into its future marketing strategies. d. Improve on its current brand value and global positioning. Author not available (2008) Toxic shock: how the banking industry created a global crisis, Guardian [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/08/creditcrunch.banking Author not available, (2007) Wells Fargo and First Direct lead the way in the banking sector. Strategic Direction, Vol. 23, No. 6, pp. 29-31. Author not available, (June 2007) Branching out. Economist, Vol. 383, Issue 8533. Bansal, V. and Penza, P. (2000) Measuring Market Risk with Value at Risk, John Wiley and Sons. BBC (August 2001) HSBC confounds doomsayers, BBC [Online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1475589.stm Berger, A.N.; Smith, D. C.; and Judge, J. (November 2003) Global integration in the banking industry. Federal Reserve Bulletin. Berner, R. and Kiley, D. (August 2005) Special Report: The Best Global Brands. Business Week [Online] Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_31/b3945098.htm Blankson, C. and Kalafatis, S. P. (2007) Positioning strategies of international and multicultural-oriented service brands. Journal of Services Marketing, 21/6 pp. 435–450 Bryman, A. (1995) Research Methods and Organization Studies. Routledge: London. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (2006) Global Banking Industry Outlook: Growth Solutions in a Changing World 2006. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu [Online] Available at: http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/research/0,1015,cid%3D116421,00.html Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (2007) Global Banking Industry Outlook: Issues on the horizon 2007. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, [Online] Available at: http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/research/0,1015,cid%3D116421,00.htm Dietz, M., Reibestein, R. and Walter, C. (January 2008) What’s in store for global banking, The McKinsey Quarterly. Fahy, J. (1993) An Analysis of Competition in the New Europe, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 27, No. 5, pp. 27, Gliner, J. A. and Morgan, G. A. (2000) Research Methods in Applied Settings: An Integrated Approach to Design and Analysis. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ. Gottfredson, M. and Phillips, S. (2005) A sourcing strategy for enhancing core capabilities. Strategy Leadership, VOL. 33 NO. 6, pp. 48-49. Gummesson, Evert. (2002) Total relationship marketing 2nd ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Harris, L. (2002) The learning organization myth or reality? The Learning Organization, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 78-88 HSBC Official Website [Online] Available at: http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/investor-relations/strategy Jagersma, P. K. (2006) Strategic marketing and the global banking industry: elements of excellence, Journal of Business Strategy. Vol. 27 Issue: 4 pp. 50 59 Jayawardhena, C. and Foley, P. (2000) Changes in the banking sector the case of Internet banking in the UK. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, Volume 10 . Number 1 pp. 19Â ±30 Jones, G. (2005) Multinationals and Global Capitalism: From the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century. Oxford University Press: Oxford pp. 137. Lefton, T. March 1997) Spending global, acting local. Brandweek, Vol. 38, Issue 13. Lincoln Y. S., Guba E. G. (1985) Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Mangan, J.; Lalwani, C. and Gardner, B. (2004) Combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies in logistics research. International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, Vol. 34 No. 7, pp. 565-578 Melewar, T.C.; Bassett, K. and Simoes, C. (2006) The role of communication and visual identity in modern organisations. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 138-147. O’Shaughnessy, N. J. (1996) Michael Porter’s Competitive Advantage revisited. Management Decision, 34/6 pp. 12–20 Papasolomou, I. and Vrontis, D. (2006) Building corporate branding through internal marketing: the case of the UK retail bank industry. Journal of Product Brand Management, 15/1 pp. 37–47 Phillips D. C. (1992) The social scientists bestiary. Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press. Sinek, S. (January 2008) Chase Campaign Good for Banks For the Brand? Not So Much. Brandweek, Vol. 49, Issue 3. Smith M. L. ( 1981) Naturalistic research. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 59, 585-589. Weihrich, H. (1999) Analyzing the competitive advantages and disadvantages of Germany with the TOWS Matrix – an alternative to Porter’s Model. European Business Review, Volume 99 Number 1 pp. 9–22 Weihrich, H. (2008) The TOWS Matrix A Tool for Situational Analysis. Long Range Planning, [Online] Available at: http://www.usfca.edu/fac_staff/weihrichh/docs/tows.pdf Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4