Human Resources Planning and Development (Hilton Hotels) Essay

HR Planning and Development (Hilton Hotels) - Essay Example In this manner there are no providing food offices consequently no staff to man such administrations aside from breakfast. The purpose for this reasoning is that their clients include visitor families who are more into adventuring and investigating the encompassing territories and less inclined to utilize the lodging offices. 3 As an outcome the HR practice at Travelodge is confined to employing staff absent a lot of whine and at the most minimal rate conceivable. There is no space for motivating forces and compensations for better execution. Subsequently preparing isn't viewed as a need for improving staff execution. Since Travelodge is a spending lodging, the administration feels that it will consistently get newcomers to go along with it all the more without any problem. Enlistment implies that the determination procedure of representatives must be very much characterized by prerequisite for the activity. Preparing of the representatives, the two newcomers and existing ones, is a consistent exercise that must be attempted to hone the presentation levels of the staff. The most troublesome part is maintenance of staff. For this it is proposed that the workers be remunerated. Be that as it may, the degree of execution of representatives isn't only a consequence of their aptitudes yet additionally the aftereffect of inspiration every individual displays. There are two wellsprings of inspiration, characteristic and outward. Since it isn't generally conceivable to possess outside remunerations all the energy for all exercises the administration needs to advance natural inspiration that is simply the result of inside variables like fulfillment or the joy of good execution (Hagedoorn and Van Yperen 2003). The inherent inspiration is likewise best as in this condition the worker creates fondness with the association and believes the government assistance of the association to be his prosperity. This improves his efficiency and execution since it will oblige his own fulfillment. Such representatives are likewise faithful to the company’s cause. Conversely the worker who searches for

Effects of Drug Abuse essays

Impacts of Drug Abuse expositions Numerous individuals don't get why or how others become dependent on drugs. It very well may be improperly accepted that tranquilize abusers need moral standards or self control and that they could quit utilizing drugs essentially by deciding to change their conduct. As a general rule, chronic drug use is a perplexing illness, and stopping takes more than well meaning goals. Indeed, on the grounds that medications change the cerebrum in manners that cultivate impulsive medication misuse, stopping is troublesome, in any event, for the individuals who are prepared to do as such. Through logical advances, we find out about how medications work in the mind than any time in recent memory, and we likewise realize that illicit drug use can be effectively treated to assist individuals with halting manhandling medications and have profitable existences. Today, on account of science, our perspectives and reactions to medicate misuse has changed drastically. Earth shattering disclosures about t he cerebrum have reformed our comprehension of chronic drug use, empowering us to react adequately to the issue, (Volkow). Dependence is a formative illness that starts in outset and puberty and is impacted by a blend of components including qualities, condition, and a people age from the start tranquilize use. The qualities that individuals are brought into the world with in mix natural impacts of their enslavement lack of protection. To expansion that, sex, ethnicity, and the psychological issue may impact hazard for sedate maltreatment and habit. Researchers gauge that hereditary variables represent somewhere in the range of 40 and 60 percent of a people defenselessness to enslavement, remembering the impacts of condition for quality articulation and capacity. Youths and people with mental scatters are at more serious danger of medication misuse and enslavement than everyone, (Volkow). Barely any shortcoming qualities have been found for liquor reliance and nicotine enslavement. Liquor abuse is a hereditarily acquired infection. There are a few confirmations demonstrating that Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine cond... <!

The Five Trademarks of Agile Organizations

The Five Trademarks of Agile Organizations Is your company agile?The agile framework is revolutionizing how departments and entire organizations are run in today’s highly dynamic business environment, and if you want your business to remain competitive, you should also start thinking about making your organization agile.With 20% of organizations around the United States such as Google, IBM, and Amazon already implementing some form of agile, and 65% of non-agile marketers already considering the shift, it might be time for you to do the same.Companies that have adopted agile are already seeing the benefits of the agile approach. 67% of agile companies report that they have seen in an increase in revenue and profits after adopting agile practices.And according to a research report by Korn Ferry titled The Agile Enterprise, companies with agile executives are reporting 25% higher profit margins compared to companies that are not agile.So, how can you take advantage of agile so that you can also reap these benefits?In this art icle, we are going to take a look at the five trademarks that characterize all successful agile organizations.Before we get to that, however, let’s take a minute to understand what is necessitating the shift to agile.A SHIFT FROM THE TRADITIONAL PARADIGMThe current business environment is rapidly and constantly changing, and organizations can no longer survive and succeed with the application of outdated methodologies.Agile provides the dynamic and stable framework for organizations to prosper in the current business environment.Specialized and hierarchical organizations worked in the past for many companies and enabled them to outperform their rivals, amass the greatest talents and dominate their markets. A good example is the Ford Motor Company.By applying the specialized and hierarchical approach, the Ford Motor Company was able to operate with the efficiency of a machine, and in so doing, it was able to transform itself from a small automobile company to a juggernaut controlli ng a huge portion of the automobile market share.Today, the internet revolution â€" disruptive innovation and digitization â€" is currently transforming every sector. Information is becoming more democratized and competition is on the rise.What worked in the past is no longer applicable today, calling for new ways of doing things.Some of the factors contributing to the need for a new approach include:The environment is rapidly changing for both customers and other key stakeholder’s, which calls for restructuring and collaboration in order to quickly respond to these rapidly changing priorities.The constant launch of disruptive innovations is displacing and/or commoditizing established businesses and replacing them with automation or new advancements such as robotics, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and so on.The increase in transparency, volume and dissemination of information (as a result of information democratization and digitization) necessitates multidirectio nal interaction, and engagement with partners, colleagues and customers.With the boom in creative knowledge, it has become even harder to attract and retain the best talent. In order for organizations to do this, there has been a need to come up with new value propositions, leading to a new war for talent among organizations.With these factors shaping the new environment, it has not been smooth sailing for organizations that have held on to the same specialized and hierarchical models that worked in the past.Of the non-financial organizations that were part of the SP 500 in 1983, only 10% were still part of the SP 500 three decades later.This is more than enough evidence that holding onto the outdated approaches is a recipe for disaster.Ask Kodak, who ended up in bankruptcy because they were too slow in adapting to changes in their industry.The key, therefore, is to adopt the agile approach which makes it easier to deal with the changes in the business environment. Success rates of agile vs waterfall organizations. Source: Vitality ChicagoAt the same time, it is good to note that going agile is not a walk in the park. Organizations that have adopted agile methodologies have reported some challenges and difficulties with implementing agile within the organization.Some reported insufficient knowledge and experience with agile methodology.Others said that they did not know how to fuse the methodology with the broader organizational context.Still others complained of a cultural clash of agile with their organizations.To make sure that your organization is headed in the right direction, let’s now take a look at the five trademarks that characterize successful agile organizations.Keeping these trademarks in mind will ease your transformation into an agile organization that will be better placed to deal with changes and disruptions.THE FIVE TRADEMARKS OF AGILE ORGANIZATIONS The five trademarks of agile marketing revolve around strategy, structure, p rocess, people and technology.While every component is separate, the success of an organization’s adoption of agile is dependent on a combination of all five.1. A Shared Mission and Vision Within the OrganizationThe traditional model is focused on the belief that the shareholders are the most important people within the organization, and therefore, in terms of scarcity, these companies focus only on delivering value to the shareholders, often at the expense of customers, suppliers, competitors, employees, and other stakeholders.Agile organizations, on the other hand, have a different approach in regards to how they create value and who they do it for.Rather than treat scarcity as a threat, they see it as an opportunity to create value for all stakeholders â€" and especially the customers â€" and not just the shareholders.In addition, they make all their stakeholders part of the value creation process.Agile organizations are highly customer centric, seeking to satisfactorily meet d iverse customer needs during all stages of the customer life cycle.This focus on the customer is usually included as part of the organization’s shared mission and vision.This shared mission and vision guides all the organization’s undertakings, and combined with a flexible approach to value creation, it allows these organizations to quickly identify and take advantage of opportunities.Since the main focus of such organization is on its customers, the organization is always on the lookout for changes in customer needs and across the entire business environment, as well as new opportunities to serve the customers and other stakeholders better.This is usually done by employing various tools of collecting stakeholder input and feedback and gathering customer insights, such as forums, product reviews, customer journey maps, and so on.Once changes and opportunities have been identified, the organization quickly responds to these changes to ensure that the customer and other stakeholde rs are satisfied at all times.Resources can be quickly and flexibly allocated to drive campaigns that will help the organization in its mission of providing maximum value for the customers.The campaigns are also regularly monitored to determine whether they are working and should therefore be ramped up, or whether they need to be modified or shut down altogether.2. Network of Empowered TeamsA common view of the traditional model is that people need to be told what to do as autonomy was thought to produce self-centeredness.In the agile model, as long as task are delegated effectively, employees will care about each other and work together to deliver excellent results.Agile teams retain the top-level design but replace the bureaucracy with a scalable and flexible network. Networks are an efficient organizational method as they combine autonomy with teamwork.Creating such empowered teams calls for knowledge in human networks, specifically how to build and structure them as well as nurt uring and sustaining them.The agile teams are a skilled and empowered team that have high alignment standard, expertise, collaboration and transparency.A stable environment is necessary to ensure that the teams operate effectively in a conducive environment.Several elements are required to create such teams. These include:Flat and clear designs that support and reflect the organization’s value creation. The teams can be designed into focused groups who have a similar mission. These can vary in size, with some reaching up to 150 people. This, according to Researcher Robin Dunbar is the maximum number of people with whom a person can maintain a close relationship with. Beyond this number, the relationships between the group members will become stretched and they might not be able to effectively work together.Roles should be clearly spelled out. This ensures accountability and can additionally ensure that people can put all their focus into working and completing deadlines. With clea rly defined roles, there will be less time wastage as people wait for manager approvals or role clarifications. The ideal agile team also separates individuals from their roles, which means that people can share roles or hold multiple roles if need be.Decision making should be pushed as close to the relevant as possible teams. This will not only empower the teams and speed up the decision making process, but will also free up senior leaders and allow them to pay greater attention to providing guidance and overseeing the overall performance of the team.Functions should be transformed into networks of practice and knowledge which are meant to foster learning, talents and skills development and the sharing of experience and information. This provides continuity and stability as people will be rotating across different teams.The partnership and ecosystem within the team should not be limited to within the organization. Instead, the team should also foster relationships with an external network of other stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, industry regulators, academics, and other partners. This gives the team access to new ideas, insights and feedback that will help them develop better products and services, as well as a wide pool from which the team can attract the best talents.The physical environment in which the team works, as well as the virtual environments where the team interacts and collaborates should be designed to empower the members to perform their jobs as effectively as possible by promoting and enhancing communication, transparency, goodwill, collaboration and serendipity.Companies that have successfully implemented the agile framework prescribe three types of fit-for-purpose performance cells that form the building blocks of an agile team:Cross functional teams: These comprise members from different levels of the organization and with different skills. They work in a collaborative manner and bring together their different skills to work o n specific projects, such as product development or launch. Such teams are usually dissolved after the project is completed. Such teams are typically led by a project owner to provide guidance on project vision and prioritization of work, though it is up to the team to define the best way to deliver.Self-managing teams: These teams are more stable in nature and work together on continuous, repetitive tasks, such as sales, customer service, and so on. They are given goals and then coordinate within themselves on how to prioritize their work and focus their efforts in order to achieve these goals. Their performance is measured against predetermined KPIs.Flow-to-work pools: These are teams that are assigned different tasks at different times depending on the tasks with the highest priority. In most cases, members of these teams work individually rather than as a team. These teams usually handle corporate services, such as legal, HR, and so on.While these are the main building blocks of agile teams, other models continue to emerge as agile companies experiment with the design of agile teams and adjust to see which one best serves their business design.3. Fast Decision and Learning CyclesThe traditional model specified a top-down kind of management. The senior and most experienced people defined the direction, detailed the plans on how to arrive there and mitigated risks as they went forward.Agile companies, on the other hand, are cognizant of the rapidly evolving market and the uncertainty of the future.They understand that success and risk mitigation come through embracing this environment and constantly trying out new and productive methods.Agile companies are fast in the way they act and behave.Speed is closely aligned with their creative process and achievement.This kind of integration and iteration forms the building blocks of innovation and the agile framework.Rather than focusing on long term plans formulated by the top management, they focus on quickly dep loying initiatives, monitoring their performance, collecting feedback and making rapid iterations to improve the initiatives based on the feedback. Agile is driven by constant and rapid iterations. Source: SalesforceThese speedy decision cycles have ripple effects across departments and functions. Agile teams quickly reimagine project management models that deviate from waterfall approaches.They use these fast cycles to enhance strategic thinking, implementation and execution at the business level.For instance, some companies are shifting from annual planning, review and budgeting to quarterly cycles and other dynamic management designs.One global bank abandoned its traditional waterfall approach and instead opted for a process based on minimal viable products (MVPs).They moved from less than five release cycles every year to a thousand plus product change cycles in a month.Following these changes, the bank saw a 30% increase in product development, deployment and maintenance.The rapid cycle model is characterized by:Rapid experimentation and iteration, where the team first works on a single minimal viable product within short p eriods of time referred to as sprints, which usually last about a week or two. In between the sprints, the team seeks feedback on the MVP, plans and sets new goals, and then holds another sprint to make iterations and improvements to the existing MVP. This approach reduces the work that needs to be done and saves time.Leveraging of standardized ways of working to promote communication and interaction among team members. This is done through the use of common language, meeting formats, process, and online platforms during the sprints. The aim of this is to foster input, creativity, and rapid iteration.A performance-driven approach. All activities undertaken by agile organizations are measured based on their impact on the business. They are constantly looking for new ways of doing things that will help improve performance.Information transparency. Rapid cycles necessitate transparency so that members can easily and quickly receive and share information with other members. Sharing info rmation keeps everyone in the know, and makes it easier for different members to work together, discuss and find opportunities to improve the product. Transparency also ensures that all members of the team are given opportunities to give their suggestions and ideas.Continuous learning. Agile organizations must make constant learning a part of their culture. In teams, members should be able to easily learn from each other’s mistakes, achievements and knowledge, and build on them to become better. Learning and adjustments become part of their lived experiences which enable them to deliver quickly.A critical feature of these rapid cycle is the emphasis on fast, efficient and ongoing decision making. Agile organization believe that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Rapid decision cycles encourage making decisions now, even if the outcome is not certain, rather than delaying the decision until you can be certain of the outcome. The idea here is to make small bets, test them and then quickly adjust them as needed based on the outcome. This leads to faster product development compared to having to wait until everything has been figured out.4. A Dynamic People ModelWhile the traditional model views leaders as controllers who have to direct work and steer employees and determine what tasks they should be doing at what time, agile leaders empower their employees with confidence in their autonomy and organizational goal alignment.The people are at the center of the organizational culture of agile companies, and therefore the culture is designed to promote employee engagement and empowerment.This in turn encourages collaboration and effectiveness in creating value.Agile organizations are based on transformational leadership that is committed to developing its stakeholders and building a community whose commitment to the culture and goals are unquestionable.These organizations are also committed to the skill building and entrepreneurial development in their employ ees.Rather than being directors and controllers, leaders in agile organizations are more of servant leaders whose focus is developing and empowering their teams. They act as coaches who train, teach and encourage their teams.They are visionaries who share their ambitions with their teams and give them the push to achieve the team’s goals. They boost their team’s morale and help uncover their employees’ hidden talents and skills. They have complete trust the competence of their employees.This dynamic people model results in employees developing an entrepreneurial drive. They are confident in their abilities and the autonomy vested on them, and are motivated to own the team goals, to make choices and to improve their skills.They also have the freedom to find greener pastures and spread their wings.Such conditions create a conducive environment for employees to thrive and become passionate about their work, and also helps attract the best talent.Apart from talent development, agi le organizations also contribute to skills development through rotation and different experiences.Rotation and role mobility allows the employees to take on varied roles, which in turn gives them a wide range of skills and experience as they face new challenges, make mistakes, achieve and learn. Agile organizations report this as an effective way of reducing employee churn.5. Integrated TechnologyIn the past, technology was seen as a supporting asset dedicated to serving specific parts of the organization. Currently, technology is at the core of every sector and plays a huge role in unlocking opportunities, value and success.In order for organizations to embrace agile, they must rethink how technology supports their processes and products, as well as how it can make them faster and more flexible.The goal for companies embracing agile should be to use technology to meet changing customer demands and preferences and make their products and services more competitive.This means evolving their operational processes and making their products and services digital or digital-enabled.To come up with and implement new technologies that support their processes and products, agile organizations create cross-functional teams that are tasked with designing, building, testing, deploying and maintaining next-gen technologies, using tools like virtual collaboration, crowd sourcing and hackathons to gather insights on customer preferences and then quickly coming up with solutions.This, couple with rapid cycles, allows improved iterations of the solutions to be continuously released to the market.WRAPPING UPIn a highly dynamic and rapidly evolving business environment, the only way for businesses to survive and thrive is by being agile.While organizations cannot be certain what the future holds, agile organizations have the capability to adjust, adapt and respond to any unexpected changes in the market and therefore remain competitive.All successfully agile organizations exhibit the five trademarks discussed above, which focus on strategy, structure, process, people, and technology.The key to embracing agile is to start by applying these five trademarks to your organization.

Financial Report on Abans Electrical PLC - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1465 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Level High school Did you like this example? Table of Contents 1.Executive summary 2.Abbreviations included in the Report 3. Sri Lanka Electricals Industry at Overview 4. Introduction of Abans Electricals PLC 5. Profitability Analysis 6.Efficiency / Underwriting Analysis 7.Solvency Analysis 8.Market Base Ratio Analysis 9.Recommendations and Conclusion 10. Reference 11.Annexures Executive summary Public listed companies prepare and present their annual reports included of the financial statements in order to persuade the diversified information and regulatory requirements of different stakeholders and you can divide the into two user groups (The Investor group / Preference share holders), The Investor group look for mainly in a financial statement is Profitability ( especially future profitability ), management efficiency ( effective utilization of assets ), Return on Investment-ROI (Within the firm / Alternatives), Risk taken ( Financial risks and business risk), Return to owners (Dividends/Drawings) and the Preference share holders look for mainly Future profitability, Net realization value of assets and extent to which dividends are covered by profit, This reports analyses the reported performance of the market leader of the Sri Lankan Electricals Industry, Abans Electricals PLC covering the profitability, efficiency, solvency and market based ratios. The report ha s been prepared highlighting the fact that the above aspects of an electrical company are being measured and evaluated using industry specific measures where applicable, which are not common to other industries. Recommendations have been made for improvement based on the analysis, in the areas which has room for improvement and better performance. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Financial Report on Abans Electrical PLC" essay for you Create order 2. Abbreviations Included in the report Sri Lanka Ports Authority market Intelligence report Abans Electricals PLC ROE à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Return on Equity (Profit) ROA à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Return on Assets ROR à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Return on Revenue EPS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Earnings per share 3. Sri Lanka Electricals Industry at a Overview Sri Lanka Ports Authority market Intelligence report as below given report there are mainly 9 key electricalcompany dominating the market, as per the two of companies are registered members of Chamber of commerce Sri lanka Import section and main two significant players are given in below chat hold 75% share of the total market, with government tax of imported electronics goods revision to embark of the vision of Sri lanaka current government president vision make Sri lanka also like Dubai, Singapore, Hong kong a hub for duty free and duty paid competitive electronic goods seller to attract tourism industry, Industry Player as 2013 CATEGORY CONSIGNEE CONTAINERS ELECTRICAL GOODS IMPORTERS ABANS ELECTRICALS PLC 2534 SINGER SRI LANKA PLC 1219 UNI WALKERS LTD,,,,. 443 EVEREST INDL LANKA CO LTD 161 RICH WORLD INTL. 151 TELESONIC LANKA, 148 SINGHAGIRI PVT LTD 147 DAMRO ELECTRONICS PVT LTD. 140 4. Introduction of Abans Electricals PLC Incorporated in 1981, Abans PLC is the vital trading arm of the Abans Group, representing world famous brands of electric and electronic home appliances, crockery and cookware, sanitary and light fittings and a host of other household items that make Sri Lankan peoples lives easier and better,Abans PLC have a network of over 230 showrooms throughout Sri Lanka with their main showrooms located in three floors of their group head office on the main thoroughfare in the heart of the Colombo City, with 14 more elite showrooms in Liberty Plaza, Rajagiriya, Mt Lavinia, Welisara, Dehiwala, Katunayaka, Anuradhapura, Peliyagoda, Malabe, Maharagama, Kalutara, Kandy etc. Abans also have more than 400 authorized dealers representing them in the remotest rural areas bringing their products within reach of each family and every household in the country. All products sold by Abans carry a trusted guarantee of quality and reliable after sales service. 5. Profitability Analysis Profitability analysis is very important for management and the investors as it gives an indication whether the company has performed up to the expectations and whether to invest in a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stocks. According to Abans Electrical PLC annual report the share holder and investor information profitability measure on selling of goods compare to previous year, It clear shows a growth on sales 2013/2012 compare to 2011/2012 grown by 13% and The profit however, increase by over 97%, Source: Statement of Comprehensive Income For the Year Ended 31st March 2013 Source: Statement of Comprehensive Income For the Year Ended 31st March 2013 5.1 ROR This is the profit after deducting all expenses and taxes, which determines the profitability of the company. ROR = Net Operating Income / Total Revenues For Year 2013 = 128, 301, 134 / 2892, 337,763 = 4.4% For Year 2012 =62390871 / 2546,449, 683 = 2.4 % Accordingly the company has increase ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ROR 2% during the year increasing profitability. 5.2 ROE à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" This showcase the net profits that are earned and returned to equity shareholders. ROE = (Net Operating Income ( less preferred stock dividends / Average common equity ) For year 2013 = 128,301,134- 0 / 551, 054920 = 23% For year 2012 = 62390871 / 429,967, 401 = 14% ROE has been increased by 9% promising higher returns to the shareholders of the company. 5.3 ROA The profitability on existing investment securities and premiums are measured using this ratio. ROA = ( Net Operating Income / Mean Average Assets ) For year 2013 = 128, 301, 134 + 48,086,865 / 198, 845, 7597 = 8.8% For year 2012= 639,0871 + 27046510 / 120 8902, 531 = 7.3 % There is a slight decrease in the ROA due to the rapid increase of assets during the financial year 2013, compare to 2012. 5.4 Share base Earnings à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" These ratios measures the share based profitability and earnings of the company. The relevant ratios are follows, Source: Statement of Comprehensive Income For the Year Ended 31st March 2013 6. Efficiency / Underwriting Analysis Efficiency Ratio mainly use to aims the access of management efficiency of the business following will few analysis self made to analysis efficiency level of Abans Electrical PLC, 6.1 Debtorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Turnover = Sales / Debtors For year 2013 = 289,233, 776,3 / 59,588,576 = 48.5 times For year 2012 = 2546,449, 683 / 40196076 = 63.3 times Debtorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s collection period = 365 days / Debtors Turn over For year 2013 = 365 days / 48.5 times = 7.5 days For year 2012 = 365 days / 63.3 times = 6 days Abans PLC have been maintain 1 days difference on outstanding collection days compare to 2013/2012, 7. Solvency Analysis Solvency is again another area where industry specific measurement are in place to measure the solvency of industry, solvency is a very important and essential for customer to maintain consistence level of solvency margins and you can define Solvency in two groups one is short term solvency / long term solvency ratios, Abans Electrical PLC short terms Solvency Ratios as follows, Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities For 2013 = 1547035 / 1355743 = 1.14 times For 2012 = 951146 / 735746 = 1.29 times Quick Ratio = Share Capital / Current Liabilities For 2013 = 4258800 / 1355743 = 3.14 times For 212 = 122,850, 000/ 735740 = 166 times Abans Electrical PLC Long Term Solvency Ratios as follows, Depth Equity = Total Liabilities / Total Share holdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ equity For 2013 = 1437402 / 551,055 = 2.60 times For 2012 = 778935 / 429,967 = 1.81 times Leverage ratio = Total Assets / Total Share holdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ equity For 20 13 = 1988457 / 551,055 = 3.60 times For 2012 = 1,208, 902 / 429,967 = 2.81 times Compare with short term Solvency Ratios and Long term Solvency Ratios the shows Abans Electrical PLC has been able to maintain very healthy solvency margin, which is 0.79 times an increase compare to previous year. 8. Market base Ratio Analysis Market base ratio Analysis means primary focus on performance and value of the company shares in stock market. Below table represent a comprehensive summary of all market base ratios of Abans Electrical PLC, Given the below table shows a positive growth during the finical year 2011, further we can see Abans Electrical PLC have executing set goalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and strategic objectives are met will attack more and more investors. Source: Statement of Comprehensive Income For the Year Ended 31st March 2013 9. Recommendation and Conclusion Profitability à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Abans Electrical PLC shown 14.43 % increase on Earning per Share and Comprehensive income for the year incremental by 61,429,945 which double income compare with previous year, this records company is moving forward solid growth under blue ocean strategy earning supreme profitability, below table explain by recommendation supported by numbers, Source: Statement of Comprehensive Income For the Year Ended 31st March 2013 Market Ranking How to continue the achievement in the coming financial year is due to introduction of new product manufacturing and contribution of the Service Division which has enhanced the share value to stake holders and provided an opportunity to the company for expansion into new lines of manufacture. Despite global and domestic challenges, the company has introduced products of world renowned brands to increase revenue and enhance customer confidence. The management continuously negotiates terms and conditions with suppliers in order to bring down costs and be competitive in pricing while maintaining high standards of quality, this should be key Abans Electrical should maintain to have a edge over competitors Financial risk management However the negative side to notice is the main factors influence the financial risk of the organization links with its credit risk and market risk. Under the market, risk, interest rate risk and exchange rate risk are prominent. Credit risk of the organization has been mitigated with the evaluation of proper credit term for credit worthy customers and obtaining extended credit terms with supplier. The frequent changes in interest rates are negotiated in line with the intended cost of capital of the organization. Exchange rates are managed with proper negotiation and absorbed to cost structure in advance In conclusion Abans Electrical PLC is a comprehensive performance driven company reach supreme profitability to be one step ahead than competito r to strive for market leadership among the local competitors and it should good impression attract new investors / new share holders to delivery greater return on shares purchase. References Abans Group , Profile (2013) available at https://www.abansgroup.com Accessed on 24 May 2014 Annual Report of 2013/2-13 Abans Electrical PLC ( A copy submitted along with the assignment ) 1 | Page

Mark Twains Humorous Satire in Running for Governor

zwwx@overseaen.com http://www.overseaen.com 2012 Ã¥ ¹ ´ 02 æÅ"ˆ Tel:+86-551-5690811 5690812 ISSN 1009-5039 Overseas English æ µ · Ã¥ ¤â€" è‹ ± è ¯ ­ Overseas English æ µ · Ã¥ ¤â€" è‹ ± è ¯ ­ Mark Twains Humorous Satire in Running for Governor ç” °Ã¥â‚¬ © ï ¼Ë†Ã¥ ® Ã¥ ¤ Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¥ ­ ¦ Ã¥ ¤â€"å› ½Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã©â„¢ ¢Ã¯ ¼Å' Ã¥ ® Ã¥ ¤  é“ ¶Ã¥ ·  750021ï ¼â€° Abstract: Mark Twain, a mastermind of humor and realism, is seen as a giant in world literature. His humorous satire had great impact on the following men of letters; critics also attached significant importance to it and put forward various interpretations. Noticeably, his humor⠁Æ' ous satire finds full expression in his famous short story, Running for Governor. In it, with humor and satire, he exposed the true features and hypocrisy of American democracy. The paper tries to analyze the basic elements which†¦show more content†¦Twain owes it to himself, as well as to the great people whose suffrages he asks, to clear this matter up. Will he do it? These three words the great people are full of localism, also with humor to demonstrate my rivals extraordinary skills2. His words are colloquial, concrete and direct in effect, and his sentence structures are simple such as will he do it, but humorously sati⠁Æ' rize officialdoms true features. His humor is not only of witty remarks mocking at small things or of farcical elements making people laugh, but a kind of artistic style used to criticize the social injustice and satirize the decayed romanticism. 3 Influences of Mark Twains Humorous Satire Twains works, both in content and form, with more American characteristics, demonstrate Americans thoughts and feelings and reflect the manifold movements of American society by using their own language and telling their own stories. Twains life is difficult, but he wrote a large number of literary works. From the spiritually empty and nothing-to-do people, to the unscrupulous politicians, æ” ¶Ã§ ¨ ¿Ã¦â€" ¥Ã¦Å"Ÿï ¼Å¡ -12-05 2011 ä ¿ ®Ã¥â€ºÅ¾Ã¦â€" ¥Ã¦Å"Ÿï ¼Å¡ -01-05 2012 ä ½Å"者ç ®â‚¬Ã¤ »â€¹Ã¯ ¼Å¡ ï ¼Å' ç” °Ã¥â‚¬ © Ã¥ ® Ã¥ ¤ Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¥ ¤â€"è ¯ ­Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã©â„¢ ¢Ã§ ¡â€¢Ã¥ £ «Ã§  â€Ã§ © ¶Ã§â€Å¸Ã¯ ¼Å' ä ¸ »Ã¨ ¦ Ã§  â€Ã§ © ¶Ã¦â€" ¹Ã¥ â€˜Ã¤ ¸ ºÃ¨â€¹ ±Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¨ ¯ ­Ã¨ ¨â‚¬Ã¦â€"‡å ­ ¦Ã£â‚¬â€š 206 ä ¸ ­Ã¥ ¤â€"æâ€"‡å ­ ¦Ã¦â€"‡åÅ'â€"ç  â€Ã§ © ¶ æÅ" ¬Ã¦   Ã§â€º ®Ã¨ ´ £Ã¤ » »Ã§ ¼â€"è ¾â€˜Ã¯ ¼Å¡ æ  ¨Ã¨  ²Ã¨  ² 2012 Ã¥ ¹ ´ 02 æÅ"ˆ to the rulers of money and the rulers of spiritual morality became the objects of Twains ruthless ridicule, biting satire and criticism. As a distinguished master of humor and irony, Twains humor with his unique style, a

The Future Energy Systems Environmental Sciences Essay Free Essays

The resources of biomass are limited and a deficiency of adequate available cultivated lands may be the major ground to curtail biofuel development in the long term [ 12 ] . Guaranting nutrient security has been and will ever be a national scheme for China, sing China has a monolithic population but a cultivated country per capita which is even less than half of the universe norm. China has set the biomass development rule that â€Å" developments of biomass are non allowed to vie with nutrient supply every bit good as lands, on which nutrients are supposed to be cultivated † [ 19 ] . We will write a custom essay sample on The Future Energy Systems Environmental Sciences Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, the potency of available fringy land resources is one of the influential factors to find the possible production of purpose-grown energy harvests. Agricultural and forestry wastes in China will play a important function in the future biomass development, in which the usage of biofuels in conveyance will hold to vie with the biomass usage of other sectors, such as electricity and heat coevals [ 20 ] . Electricity is another AVF which drives vehicles to travel by utilizing electric motors. The application of electricity in vehicles greatly improves the vehicles ‘ energy efficiency and reduces vehicle fumes emanations, which is peculiarly of import in urban countries. Today, many trains and urban rail theodolite systems have been electrified. Electricity is provided straight from a public grid, where energy storage is by and large non a concern [ 21 ] . BEVs have drawbacks of a limited drive distance, comparatively long recharging clip, a high initial vehicle monetary value, low constituent continuances every bit good as demands of a to the full developed reloading substructure, etc. [ 22,23 ] . Plug-in intercrossed electric vehicles ( PHEVs ) emerged as a possible intermediate measure towards a to the full electric manner. Most obstructions which BEVs have to get the better of now are related to the battery engineering. This engineering is expected to optimize the bing Li bat teries in the short term and to develop new battery chemical science with significantly higher energy densenesss to enable the usage of BEVs and PHEVs with a longer all-electric scope in the long term [ 24 ] . If discoveries of the battery engineering can be obtained in the hereafter, electricity may be the most promising AVF in conveyance, due to the bear downing substructure is non basically different from the substructure of the current conveyance system. Hydrogen, an energy bearer, serves as another opportunity to replace the oil usage in conveyance. Combined with fuel cell engineering, H is transformed to electricity which is so used by electric motors to impel wheels. Advantages of a H fuel cell vehicle ( HFCV ) are observed, such as a long drive scope and zero emanation in a tank-to-wheels point of position provided H is stored on-board and produced off-board. There is another type of HFCV with on-board transforming of fuels, such as methyl alcohol, to hydrogen but with emanations from transforming fuels and a more complex on-board transforming system [ 23 ] . Today, the commercial degree of HFCVs is far behind the degree of biofuels, PHEVs and BEVs [ 25 ] . Many challenges of developing HFCVs demand to be overcome in the hereafter including efficiency betterments of fuel cell engineering and cut downing the high initial monetary value of the vehicles by maturating their on-board power system, in which batteries are besides needed today to gaining control and shop electricity, etc. However, the most ambitious issue of developing HFCVs is the deployment of the H substructure due to both the diverseness of the H production tract and dearly-won H distribution processes [ 26 ] . Replacement of oil usage, decrease of fuel ingestion every bit good as a lessening of CO2 emanations from the tank-to-wheels position are three direct benefits of utilizing electricity and H in conveyance. However, the last two benefits may lose in the electricity and H production procedure sing most current energy systems are dominated by fossil fuels. For case, electricity from the mean Chinese grid has the CO2 emanation strength ( measured as the CO2 emanation divided by the energy demand ) similar to that of a gasolene tract although a comparatively lower dodo energy ingestion strength ( measured as the dodo energy ingestion divided by the energy demand ) [ 27,28 ] . Another survey indicates that if H is produced with U.S. mean electricity ( more than 50 % of which is generated from coal-burning power workss ) , its usage, even in efficient HFCVs, can still ensue in increased CO2 emanations ; in contrast, if renewable electricity, such as air current power, is used for H producti on, the usage of H in any vehicle engineering will ensue in riddance of green house gas ( GHG ) emanations [ 29 ] . It has been shown that benefits of the oil usage replacing and the limited GHG emanation decrease can be obtained in the conveyance sector by using AVFs which are produced from dodo fuel dominated energy systems [ 30,31 ] . However, those benefits are non sufficient and current dodo fuel energy systems can non prolong the development of sustainable conveyance. It is necessary to place engineerings and schemes in conveyance, by which the oil usage can be replaced and options can be produced based on renewable energy beginnings. Consequences of implementing such engineerings and schemes in conveyance should be analysed in the context of the energy system. Future energy systems As discussed above, the development of sustainable conveyance with a large-scale decrease of GHG emanations and an use of oil independent options demands solutions from an overall renewable energy system. It can non be seen as an isolate development mark as the resources of biomass are limited and other options, electricity and H, are strongly connected with the remainder of the energy system. Most current energy systems are dominated by fossil fuels. This has posed many known challenges chiefly caused by the burning of these fossil fuels, such as clime alteration, insecure energy supply every bit good as environmental taint [ 32 ] . Those challenges will go terrible along with the addition of the dodo fuel monetary value and the growing of the energy demand in the universe. As an option, a suited substructure for the execution of renewable energy may function as a long-run sustainable solution. Future energy systems may hold at least three features compared to current dodo fuel dominated energy systems in footings of energy supply, energy transition every bit good as energy demand ( see Fig. 1-2 and Fig. 1-3 ) . Fossil Fuel 1 Power Plant Fossil Fuel 2 CHP Oil aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦ Heat Boiler Electricity Heat Conveyance Energy supply Energy transition Energy demand Fig. 1. A simplified illustration of a current dodo fuel dominated energy system. Abbreviations used in the figure: CHP, combined heat and power. RE 1 Intermittent Plant RE 2 CHP Rhenium aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦ Intermittent Heat Electricity Heat Conveyance Energy supply Energy transition Energy transition and demand POLY RE 3 aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦ Fig. 1. A simplified illustration of a hereafter energy system. Abbreviations used in the figure: RE, renewable energy ; POLY, poly-generation works for bio-transport fuel, heat and electricity coevals ; CHP, combined heat and power. On the energy supply side, large-scale renewable energy beginnings are expected to be utilised as primary energy in future energy systems. Renewable energy beginnings consist of renewable beginnings of electric power, such as air current power, solar power and hydropower, etc. ; renewable beginnings of thermic power, such as geothermal, solar thermal, etc. ; and biomass resources which can be converted into many signifiers including liquid fuels, bio-gas every bit good as solid fuels. Bio-energy can be utilised in assorted energy transition processes to bring forth electricity, to provide heat every bit good as to bring forth fuels for conveyance energy usage [ 3 ] . With regard to energy transition, more efficient transition and storage engineerings will be widely needed in future energy systems in which the energy transition procedure becomes more diversified and complex. One energy demand, such as electricity, can be converted from primary energy by utilizing engineerings for illustration intermittent power workss, CHPs ( in footings of steam turbines, fuel cells, etc. ) and poly-generation workss [ 33 ] . One energy demand can be converted into another such as change overing electricity to heat by utilizing heat pumps and electric boilers, etc. [ 34 ] . One signifier of the energy demand can be converted into other signifiers, such as change overing solid fuels into gas or liquid fuels by the usage of electrolysers or biogas and biofuel workss [ 35 ] . Energy storage engineerings serve as the necessary addendum through which benefits of the efficiency betterment of the transition procedure in the energy system may be reached [ 36,37 ] . On the energy demand side, the function of a concluding energy user may alter due to the execution of alternate engineerings, which respond to the demand of bettering energy efficiency in future energy systems. One illustration could be the conveyance sector which used to be the concluding oil user in the current dodo fuel dominated energy system ; nevertheless, in future energy systems it connects to the remainder of the energy system and likely starts to play functions as both nomadic energy storage and a new power beginning by implementing engineerings of EVs and vehicle-to-grid ( V2G ) [ 38,39 ] . Renewable energy engineerings, more efficient energy transition engineerings and energy economy engineerings are three cardinal elements for the hereafter sustainable energy development. Two major challenges of renewable energy schemes for sustainable energy development have been identified [ 40,41 ] . One challenge is to incorporate a high portion of intermittent renewable energy beginnings into the energy system, particularly the electricity supply. The other is to include the conveyance sector in the schemes. The intermittence of renewable energy gives rise to jobs of run intoing the uninterrupted energy demand, procuring the transmittal grid stabilization every bit good as avoiding extra electricity production, etc. [ 32,35 ] . Flexible engineerings and equal storage are both needed to ease integrating of intermittent renewable energy every bit much as possible in order to extenuate the force per unit area on the biomass use and accordingly cut down the competition for land and H 2O usage between biomass and nutrient supply. The high dependance on oil merchandises and the deficiency of mature options based on renewable energy make the conveyance sector one of the most hard sectors to be included in the renewable energy schemes. The sustainable conveyance development is an of import and necessary portion of implementing a hereafter renewable energy system. How to cite The Future Energy Systems Environmental Sciences Essay, Essay examples

Words of Wisdom Essay Example For Students

Words of Wisdom Essay Words of WisdomSometimes the strangest situations turn out to be miracles in disguise. That iswhat happened to me. Who thought that someone who did not like English thatmuch would pick a career that deals with it every day? I sure did not. It must havebeen something in the air at Kossuth High School, maybe the teachers, it could havebeen my friends, or it could just be a young boy maturing in to a man trying todecide his future. Journalism consists of many types of jobs build into one. Some people do notknow this but a journalist has to be an editor, a writer, a public relations officer, anexpert in English, a proofreader, and many more jobs. No, a person who majors injournalism does not have to be perfect in every way. Reference books are at thedisposal of journalist and writers at all times. The main reference book is called TheAssociated Press Writing Manual, and it contains all the writing lay-outs that awriter/journalist needs to know. There are many jobs available to journalist. The top job a journalist canachieve is to be an editor. This means more responsibility, more time put in at theoffice, and being able to proofread other peoples work. A news reporter can coverany news event at any time of the day. A news reporting job is a 24-hour job. Afree-lance reporter can work for many newspapers, magazines, or just work for oneof them. A free-lance reporter covers anything and everything that is happening . Asa free-lance reporter, the salary is either on a contract or is based on a price-per-wordbasis. The most interesting job, in my opinion, is the job of sports reporter. A sportsreporter must love the outdoors and the sports that he/she covers to be successful athis/her job. The hours of a sports reporter are sporadic, and it can range any wherefrom coming to cover someones lunch break to pulling an 18-hour shift just to makethe deadline. We will write a custom essay on Words of Wisdom specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Daily Corinthian sports writer Steve Beavers said in an interview on March16, 2001:Journalism is a deadline driven job. If it is not in by the deadline, it does notmake it to print. Also, if you plan on a 9-5 job, sports writing is not a job foryou. Often, you are out on a story when another story comes in. That iswhen you need to have more than one reporter handy. I have seen many timewhen I am on the phone with a person calling a score in when we are pagedto answer another line. I am very thankful I have someone like Lee (H. LeeSmith III, Sports editor for the Daily Corinthian)around. The education requirements for a journalist vary on what field of journalist aperson is persueing(Careers in Focus 133). All a person needs to have is a degree inEnglish(Online Journalist). Someone looking to go into the field of journalism needsto prepare themselves to get ready to write like crazy(Smith interview). The basic salary for someone going into a journalism career is anywherebetween $15,000 to $30,000. Reporters can earn more money by working for apaper with a larger circulation. As experience is gained in the job, the money forthe salary is also gained. Reporters for nationally recognized magazines andnewspapers can earn upwards of $100,000 + per year(Enhanced OccupationalOutlook Handbook 344). The average salary for someone in journalism for 5 years issomewhere in the range of $ 30,000 and $ 50,000 per year(Online Journalist). A reporter must know that when he/she enters this job, they are not in for themoney. They have to love their job. A person who is in for the money has chosenthe wrong profession(Smith interview).Also, a person who does not enjoy whatthey do, does not need to be in the business. They only give the good ones badraps. As the saying goes, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the whole batch. Aperson who enters journalism is a person who is willing to dedicate their life tosomething that they love( Beavers interview). The scenario for the ideal job really depends on the person. Some may wantthe job to be quiet and uneventful day. Others may want the thrill and abzillerenceof the action. My ideal job would just be a regular day. A regular day would consistof covering

Financial Management Essay Example

Financial Management Essay Example Financial Management Essay Financial Management Essay Financial Management Name: Course: Instructor: : Instructor: Date: Financial Management A stock split happens when a company decides to multiply its number of shares by a certain number in order to bring down the market price of its shares (Kimmel, Weygandt Kieso, 2008). For instance, if a company wants to have its shares of stock selling at below $50, but the market price rises for the shares to around $100, the company could approve a 2-for-1-split, which would mean that the number of shares would be doubled. However, the size of the assets, liabilities and retained earnings will not change, as well as the number of shareholders. Therefore, this will not mean that shareholders wealth will be doubles as the shares are doubled. Rather, the number of their shares will double, but the value will remain the same since the price will be reduced by the same proportion (Kimmel, Weygandt Kieso, 2008). In the example provided, it the company declared a 2-for-1 split, a shareholder with 1000 shares will have 2000 shares. 1000 shares will go at $100 before the split, making it $100,000 worth of stock. After the split, the shareholder will have 2000 shares, going for $50, thus, the value will remain the same, at $100,000 worth of stock. The point is usually to reduce the price of shares (Accounting Coach, 2012). For XYZ Company, the split of 5-for-1 will result in the following way. The price for common stock currently at par is $5. Value of total shares $20,000,000 Number of shares == $20,000,000 $5 == 4,000,000 shares of common stock In a split of 5-for-1, the number of shares will be multiplied by 5. Resulting number of shares after the split == 4, 000, 000 ? 5 == 20, 000,000 shares. The price for each share after the split == $ 20,000,000 20,000,000 == $1 The resulting stockholders’ equity section will look as shown below Common stock ($ 1 par) == $20,000,000 Retained earnings == $ 176,000,000 Total equity ==$ 196,000,000 After the split, the value of equity does not change, since the price of shares drops to $1, to maintain the value of shares even after the split. For a shareholder with 10,000, before the split they had a total value of $50,000. After the split, his number of shares multiplied by 5 to 50,000 shares. Their price dropped to $1, thus, keeping the value of his shares at $50,000. References Accounting Coach. (2012). Stock Splits and Stock Dividends. Retrieved from accountingcoach.com/online-accounting-course/17Xpg05.html#stock-splits-dividends Kimmel, P.D., Weygandt, J.J. Kieso, D.E. (2008). Accounting. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley and Sons.

Writing Topics for an Essay Developed With Analogies

Writing Topics for an Essay Developed With Analogies An analogy is a kind of comparison that explains the unknown in terms of the known, the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar. A good analogy can help your readers understand a complicated subject or view a common experience in a new way. Analogies can be used with other methods of development to explain a process, define a concept, narrate an event, or describe a person or place. Analogy isnt a single form of writing. Rather, its a tool for thinking about a subject, as these brief examples demonstrate: Do you ever feel that getting up in the morning is like pulling yourself out of quicksand? . . .(Jean Betschart, In Control, 2001)Sailing a ship through a storm is . . . a good analogy for the conditions inside an organization during turbulent times, since not only will there be the external turbulence to deal with, but internal turbulence as well . . ..(Peter Lorange, Leading in Turbulent Times, 2010)For some people, reading a good book is like a Calgon bubble bathit takes you away. . . .(Kris Carr, Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor, 2008)Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into wars, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves. . . .(Lewis Thomas, On Societies as Organisms, 1971)To me, patching up a heart thatd had an attack was like changing out bald tires. They were worn and tired, just like an attack made the heart, but you couldnt just switch out one heart for another. . . .(C. E. Murphy, Coyote Dreams, 2007) Falling in love is like waking up with a coldor more fittingly, like waking up with a fever. . . .(William B. Irvine, On Desire, 2006) British author Dorothy Sayers observed that analogous thinking is a key aspect of the writing process. A composition professor explains: Analogy illustrates easily and to almost everyone how an event can become an experience through the adoption of what Miss [Dorothy] Sayers called an as if attitude. That is, by arbitrarily looking at an event in several different ways, as if if it were this sort of thing, a student can actually experience transformation from the inside. . . . The analogy functions both as a focus and a catalyst for conversion of event into experience. It also provides, in some instances not merely the To discover original analogies that can be explored in a paragraph, essay, or speech, apply the as if attitude to any one of the 30 topics listed below. In each case, ask yourself, What is it like? Thirty Topic Suggestions: Analogy Working at a fast-food restaurantMoving to a new neighborhoodStarting a new jobQuitting a jobWatching an exciting movieReading a good bookGoing into debtGetting out of debtLosing a close friendLeaving home for the first timeTaking a difficult examMaking a speechLearning a new skillGaining a new friendResponding to bad newsResponding to good newsAttending a new place of worshipDealing with successDealing with failureBeing in a car accidentFalling in loveGetting marriedFalling out of loveExperiencing griefExperiencing joyOvercoming an addiction to drugsWatching a friend destroy himself (or herself)Getting up in the morningResisting peer pressureDiscovering a major in college

Discussion for online Economics class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion for online Economics class - Essay Example In this case, the value of currency in circulation surpassed the market value of American products. In addition, inflation may have occurred due to economic stimulus programs initiated by the government. The stimulus program compels people to spend, hence creating short-term inflation. The CIP index could also have increased due to external forces or forces in the international market. Increase in prices of capital goods such as oil and automobiles could have resulted from competition in the international market. China is overtaking the US as the largest global importer of crude oil and iron ore. Aggressive measures taken by china are causing an increase in prices of consumer goods around the world. These strategies make imports expensive for the US and other developed countries. As the country continues to pay more for its import’s, the price of the dollar has fallen sharply causing an increase in prices of consumer

Interdisciplinary views, interventions& effectiveness Research Paper

Interdisciplinary views, interventions& effectiveness - Research Paper Example It affects how a person feels, think and act as they live daily. Furthermore, it helps in determination of how a person relates to others, handle stress and make choices (Kinnear, 1995). On the psychological perspective, child abuse and mental health portrays behavior problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder and separation anxiety. The abused children undergo difficult time in their lives in addition to parental substance abuse. The aftermath of sexual abuse can form the start of a child’s negative behaviors and negative experiences. According to Sgroi (1982), sexual abuse to a child is a mental disaster as it can cause a child to become an irreversible, unforgettable, pain in the subconscious mind. Psychologically, mental illness can affect mood, thinking and behavior. MacFarlane et al (1986) observed mental health is important but the disorder can arise due to family history, history of sexual abuse, life experiences. On the sociological perspective, Desai (2010) elaborates how social changes have affected child abuse problems. The children welfare and women’s movements has made the problem to rapidly rise in the public attention. Furthermore, patriarchal authority and socialization has resulted to the problems of mental health and child sexual abuse. The rising rate of divorce globally put the children at risk of these problems. However, Kinnear (1995) also suggest that it also assists the children to escape from intolerable and oppressive family situations. External controls erosion on sexual behavior and sexual revolution are also singled out as factors that have aggravated children sexual abuse and mental health. Childs sexual abuse treatment is a complex process. One of the challenges is its occurrence in the larger intervention contexts. Treatment which forms part of intervention should be handled by a team of professionals. A treatment approach as an intervention employed in a child sexual abuse should address the prerequisite

Zebrafish in Toxicology Research: Advantages and Limitations

Zebrafish in Toxicology Research: Advantages and Limitations The abuse of psychoactive substances is a serious public health problem and understands the brain disorder induced by psychoactive substances is an important challenge in biomedical research that requires extensive clinical and preclinical investigation (Neelkantan et al. 2013; Stewart et al. 2011). Recreate the complex network of neurochemical interactions in organisms in vitro is not possible, especially for psychotropic drugs (Riehl et al. 2010). In this way, experimental animal models is a important tool for investigation of the toxicology and chemistry of the drugs of abuse. Animal models in toxicological and pharmacological research using mammals present high cost, consumes large amounts of chemical compounds and are laborious to perform the tests and maintenance of animals. In this context, animal models such as the zebrafish, which outweigh these disadvantages, are an interesting and promising alternative in research. Since the 1970s, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is used in research in neuroscience and developmental biology (Serra et al. 1999). In the 1990’s, zebrafish were used for the first vertebrate large scale mutagenesis screen. In last few years, the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in scientific research has increased rapidly in other science fields, including Pharmacology and Toxicology (Chakhaborty et al. 2009). The zebrafish represents an interasting model for integration of research of genetic, neural and behavioral aspects (Miklà ³si and Andrew, 2006). The coupling between behavioral assays and analytical and molecular techniques permits the elucidation of mechanisms of toxicity, the test of new drugs for therapeutic treatments and the study of new drugs (Tierney et al. 2011). The aim of this paper is to outline recent developments and futures perspectives in drugs of abuse research with zebrafish, in Experimental and Analytical Toxicology. Zebrafish as a new animal model in Toxicology: advantages and limitations The zebrafish is a small tropical fish native of northern India and adjacent countries. Many factors and animal characteristics make zebrafish an attractive and efficient model to analyze the mechanisms of action and effects of drugs in general (Chakhaborty et al. 2009). Zebrafish and humans share about 75% of their genome and have physiological similarity (Chakhaborty et al. 2009, Zhu et al. 2014). Genome, transcriptome and proteome of zebrafish have been widely studied and described (Maximino et al. 2010). The similarity level between zebrafish and humans is also observed in the nervous system (Mathur and Guo, 2010). Zebrafish are small (at adulthood, 2.5 – 4.0 cm) and maintenance costs of this fish in laboratory are considerably low, permitting logistical and economical advantages over rodent models (Key and Devine, 2003). The fertility rate and the number of embryos generated are higher those in mammalian models (Chakhaborty et al. 2009). In general, an adult female can produce 200-300 eggs and reproduce 2 or 3 times per week (Blaser and Gerlai, 2006; Gerlai 2003; Patton and Zon, 2001; Zon and Peterson, 2005). The zebrafish cycle of life and development period is well-characterized and short (3 to 4 months) (Cadet, 2009; Hill et al. 2005). The body is formed in the first 24 hours post fertilization (hpf) and the internal organs are fully developed at 96 hpf (Chakhaborty et al. 2009; De Esch et al. 2012b; Ninkovic and Bally-Cuif, 2006b; Parng et al. 2002; Patton and Zon, 2001). The development outside of the uterus and the optical transparency of eggs and tissues during embryogenesis allows the visualization of tissues and organs in vivo, making possible the visual analyses in real time of early developmental processes, organ morphology and dysfunctions caused by drugs of abuse and quantification of cell proliferation and cell death in specific tissues (Chakhaborty et al. 2009; Friedrich et al. 2010; Hill et al. 2002; Ingham 2009; Miklà ³si and Andrew, 2006;; Mathur and Guo, 2010; Ninkovic et al. 2006b; Parng et al. 2002; Patton and Zon, 2001; Peterson and MacRae, 2012; Xu et al. 2011). In addition, blastomeres of zebrafish are large and stable for biophysical and electrophysiological assays (Zhu et al. 2014). The zebrafish has become a widely utilized model organism in pharmacological and toxicological research, particularly due to evidence that they may share with humans and other mammals some key receptors targeted by drugs of abuse (Miller et al. 2014). In addition, zebrafish are highly social animals which enables them to display robust behavioral responses, such as shoaling, aggression and social preference, and emerge as a sensitive alternative model to investigation of drugs of abuse-evoked states (Cachat et al. 2013; Pham et al. 2012). Another advantage is that the size of zebrafish provides a rapid absorption of drugs via the gills and leads to bioaccumulation in Central Nervous System (CNS) and other tissues (Echevarria et al. 2008). Zebrafish is amenable to molecular and genetic analysis (Bailey et al. 2013; Chakhaborty et al. 2009; Miklà ³si and Andrew, 2006; Parng et al. 2002). Since genetic mutations can interfere in brain function, the use of molecular and biochemical techniques in zebrafish allows the identification of molecular substrates for drugs in brain and the analysis of function and regulation of the genes, the production of transgenic strains and the induction of specific mutations, inducing overexpressing of the genes or decreasing genes expression (Cadet 2009; Goldsmith 2004; Key and Devine, 2003). Use of zebrafish mutant strains has allowed the understanding of mechanisms and pathways and neural expression of specific genes. Due to the increasing progress in this area, studies of mutant zebrafish have investigated specific behaviors, diseases, deformities and functional processes (Spitsbergen and Kent, 2003). The performance of point mutations in zebrafish, generating mutant lines, enables the molecular investigation of the mechanism of action of drugs of abuse, determining specific receptors and target molecules. Although the model advantages are numerous, some limitations should be considered in the use of zebrafish in toxicological, pharmacological and neuroscience research. The normal or defective functioning of the human brain is complex to be fully modeled in zebrafish brain. Some areas do not have the same degree of development of the mammalian brain, making it difficult to map for mammalian counterparts (Kalueff et al. 2014; Rinkwitz et al. 2011; Stewart et al. 2014). Moreover, the social behavior is not clearly defined in fish larvae (Kalueff et al. 2014; Stewart et al. 2014). Zebrafish has a genome 30-40% tetraploid due to an genome duplication with some of their genes having two copies instead of one as in mammals – and one of these two genes are not represented in the human genome (Alestrà ¶m et al. 2006; Klee et al. 2011; Stewart et al. 2014). One disadvantage associated with the zebrafish model is the fact that some drugs are not soluble in water, making it difficult to administration by immersion. This potential problem can be solved by using organic solvents or other routes of administration (Stewart et al. 2014). In other hand, exposition to drug by immersion reduces the stress-induced by injection (Stewart et al. 2011b). Finally, although the barrier between brain and blood presents development similar to humans, the distribution of some drugs in organism may be different in different species (Stewart et al. 2014). Although the pattern has some limitations, the advantages over conventional models mammals make zebrafish a very interesting alternative in research. In this sense, the use of zebrafish in research involving drugs of abuse, in order to characterize drugs of abuse effects and to quantify these compounds in a biological fluid from the animal is increasing and represents a great target for research. Zebrafish research to study the drugs of abuse The conduct of toxicology research in laboratory animals has become a well-established and essential practice and chemical and toxicological information on chemical compounds and drugs are obtained from the results of these studies (Gad 2007; Olson et al. 2000). The use of animals in research has several advantages: low cost, easily use and functional homology with humans (Gerlai et al. 2010).The animal experiments to predict the action, metabolism and effects of drugs of abuse in humans are extremely important in Toxicology. Introduced as a model for neural development by George Streisinger in the 1960’s, zebrafish has become a promising aquatic model for study of drugs. The zebrafish is an efficient alternative model of drug delivery via the gills, by direct application of drugs in water and posterior submersion of the animal. Between 12 and 14 days after fertilization (dpf), molecular oxygen is mainly absorbed by the skin, suggesting that this is the main route of uptake for small molecules, and after 72 h the embryos begin to swallow indicating the availability of the oral route for absorption of chemical compounds (Goldsmith 2004). Exogenous compounds, such as ethanol, have been shown to rapidly enter in systemic circulation of the fish, demonstrating the high sensitivity of the zebrafish to various psychotropic agents (Dlugos and Rabin, 2003; Echevarria et al 2006; Kyzar et al. 2012). In the larval and embryonic stage, the performance of rapid and high-throughput analysis of multiple behavior s and screening of chemical compounds is possible and suitable (De Esch et al. 2012b; Guo 2009; Richendrfer et al. 2012). The first response to the action of a psychoactive substance is the behavior. In this sense, the zebrafish has been widely used in the development and validation of behavioral assays to different drugs of abuse, due to its sensitivity to drugs and their robust responses. Locomotor activity, learning, sleep, aggression, social and antipredator behavior are some of the observed and well-characterized behavioral parameters in zebrafish (Bailey et al. 2013;Cachat et al. 2013; Guo 2004; Pham et al. 2012; Spitsbergen and Kent, 2003). Endocrine responses to stress in zebrafish are also an important tool for toxicological effects induced by drugs of abuse. In zebrafish, the hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal axis (HPI) is homologous to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), found in mammals and humans, and cortisol is involved in physiological responses to stress situations (Stewart et al. 2010). Another interesting pattern of physiological change for toxicological investigation of drug in zebrafish is the color of the skin. As mammals, fish have cells containing pigments in the collagen layer of the dermis and these cells have hormonal and nervous regulation (Nguyen et al. 2013). In this sense, effects on skin color may contribute in part of the elucidation of the mechanism of action of many drugs of abuse. The toxicity induced by abuse of drugs in the digestive and cardiovascular systems of zebrafish can also be determined. These systems are developed and become fully functional in the first days after fertilization (Patton and Zon, 2001). The characterization and monitoring of blood vessels in embryos is easily achievable (Rubinstein 2003). The heart rate is an indicator of cardiac toxicity widely used. Morphological examination of the heart and digestive organs can be performed to identify organ-specific toxicity of drugs of abuse (Rubinstein 2006). For example, the effects of environmental toxin tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD) on heart rate (Henry et al. 1997), the functional lipid metabolism (Farber et al. 2001), the effects of fungicide riphenyltin acetate (APTT) in hepatocytes (Strmac and Braunbeck, 1999) were investigated using histological and immunochemical analysis. The development of analytical techniques to determine compounds of interest in biological fluids zebrafish also plays an important role in the elucidation of mechanisms of action and toxicity of drugs of abuse. Moreover, it is extremely important to develop methods of extraction and concentration of analytes and biomarkers that make possible dosages required to understanding toxicological aspects of these drugs of abuse. The main analytical methods developed to study the drugs of abuse in zebrafish are listed in Table 1. The new psychoactive substances (NPS) that have emerged in recent years have action and effect mechanisms partially or totally unknown. According to UNODC, the number of NPS significantly increased between 2009 and 2013 (UNODC 2014). In many poisoning deaths caused by these unknown substances, the lack of information makes it difficult to identify the cause of death. Therefore, the use of zebrafish in research represents an important tool to scan and evaluate the chemical and toxicological properties of both known and unknown drugs of abuse. Marketing Design and Innovation: Wrigley Marketing Design and Innovation: Wrigley Wrigley is a well-known global brand dealing in wide range of confectionery products such as chewing gums, chewy and hard candies, mints, and lollipops. It is operating in nearly 50 countries and distributing its products in more than 180 countries. The company is based in Chicago, Illinois and was founded in 1891. Some of its brands i.e. Juicy Fruit, Wrigleys Spearmint and Altoids have heritage of more than hundred years. Wrigley is famous for its innovative products that are introduced into its product line from time to time. Wrigley uses best ingredients and packaging materials for its products and the core principles on which it operates include quality, freedom, efficiency, responsibility and mutuality (Wrigley.com, 2017). Late in 2014, Wrigley merged its Orbit and Extra brand but it launched Extra with new improved taste in 2015. As per the new market trends for health and taste, Extra is a new sugar-free gum available in single packs, multipacks and bottles introduced in more than five different tastes. The product is launched for Australian and New Zealand market. One of the best attributes of Wrigleys product is innovation and the concern for consumers health. Wrigley continuously update the flavors of its Extra brand to please the palate of its valued customers. UK confectionery market have been observed to have a high volume consumption and it stands as the sixth largest in terms of confectionery consumption. The confectionery market is driven by pleasure, convenience, drug replacement, snacking and innovation in products (Globaldata, 2016). Consumers are becoming health conscious due to the increasing issues like diabetes and obesity. Dentists are also increasing the awareness among people about oral health and the tooth related diseases such as plaque and saliva generation etc. dentists are making the consumers aware of the benefits of chewing. Due to the increased health consciousness, people are likely to take more products for treatment and prevention of such issues. Wrigley has launched Extra and Extra Active in association with The Australian Dental Association (ADA), New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) and the FDI World Dental Federation. According to Country Report Wrigleys Extra marked the growth in 2016 because of its sugar-free and oral care features (Country Report, 2016). Now, Extra is involved in cause-related marketing and is making associations with the dental professional to educate the families about the significance of oral health. This brand contributed about one third of the percentage of total value shares of the Wrigley Company and is expected to continue to gain highest share because of its uncountable benefits (Country Report, 2016). Maslow Hierarchy of Needs theory   Ã‚   According to the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory, Wrigleys product Extra attempts to satiate the physiological needs of an individual. Although its not basic necessity for life but oral health and refreshment are necessary for an individual and Extra` is capable of meeting these needs. It also satisfies the social needs of an individual because it boosts the confidence and reduces pressure and anxiety according to the research conducted by psychologists (Smith, 2012). Refreshing breath and sweet smell is necessary if an individual is attending a social gathering or event which is satiated by Extra i.e. to meet the love and belonging needs. People with high level of income usually buy Wrigleys Extra which also satisfy esteem needs because it represents the status quo of the individuals consuming this brand. The self-actualization needs of an individual can be satiated by Extra because it gives a new touch to the lifestyle of an individual i.e. a refreshing breath and increased confid ence. Diffusion of Innovation Model Diffusion is defined as the process by which an innovation product is passed on to the members of a social system with the help of different channels over a specified time period. There are five types of people involved in the diffusion of innovation process i.e. innovators who are adventurous and are ready to the test the product as soon as possible; early adopters adopt the idea and are aware of the benefits associated with change; early majority adopts the idea before an average person does; late majority adopts the idea once a greater majority has tested it, and laggards are cynical to change and do not adopt the idea usually (Smith and Song, 2004). Due to increased awareness among consumers about oral health, the percentage of people using Extra brand is increasing. Wrigleys Extra has been rated 8.9 out of 10 by the consumers which means that they are early adopters who have adopted the product within a time span of two to three years (infoscout.co, 2017). The other reason for product adaptability is the range of tastes available i.e. the consumers consume different tastes of the products to please their palates. Consumers prefer products which are healthy and Extra is healthy in terms of oral care and its sugar-free as well. Extra is clinically proved by the professional dental associations and it also stimulates the saliva by 10 times. It is very important to identify the needs of consumers and become aware of the market trends before launching a new product. Because the consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious, Wrigley has identified recent trends in the market and launched Extra into the market. Kano model Customers needs change over the period of time due to the changing market trends and in the recent business environment, customer is considered as the king of a business. According to the Kano model, a product must be developed considering the basic needs of customers, performance needs and excitement needs i.e. basic needs are hygiene needs while excitement needs are delighting needs and these delight needs later one become basic needs and then customers need something new (Wang and Ji, 2010). Wrigleys Extra is a product that can satisfy the fun and pleasure needs along with the health needs of an individual. The hygiene needs of Wrigleys Extra are the promotion of oral health, prevention of teeth caries, and plaque reduction etc. while the fun and pleasure attributes of Extra satisfy the delight needs. With the innovation of brand these delight needs will become the basic needs of an individual. The bottom line is that the product should have the attractive and must-be attributes that can fulfill the needs of customers for which they are using the product. These attributes of Extra are health and bacteria prevention ingredients. Product anatomy During the product development, the anatomy of product is important to analyze in terms of the benefit it will offer (Blythe, 2017). The product anatomy is conducted to match the consumer trends with the product offered by a particular brand. The core product of Wrigleys Extra is the oral health and its sugar free i.e. cleans food debris, neutralizes plaque acids, strengthens teeth, reduces dental caries, prevents tooth decay, and stains. The generic product of Wrigleys Extra is that its available in wide range of flavors i.e. strawberry, peppermint, spearmint, white lemon lime, bubble mint, water melon, berry and orange cream etc. The expected product is that it stimulates saliva and refreshes individuals breath. And the augmented product of Wrigleys Extra is that it is available in different types of packaging i.e. 14 pieces and 10 pieces single pack, 28 and 42 pieces multipack, and 46 pieces bottle (Desfosse, 2017). This product has delighted the palate of numerous customers which is reflected in the increased sales figure of Wrigley. A report showed that one third of Wrigleys sales of 2016 were contributed by Extra (Country Report, 2016). It shows that people are continuously using the Wrigleys Extra for their oral health. The development of Wrigleys Extra has shaped the overall gum market and has proved to be a market leader in 2016 by increasing the overall sales of Wrigley. The prime cause for increased value of Extra is its association with the professional dental associations and being a sugar-free chewing gum. The brand awareness is created by educating the families and general public through the use of creative and educative advertisements (Schultz, 2015). According to statistics of 2015, the sugarless and breath fresheners has seen considerable increase in dollar and unit terms. The sales of Wrigleys Extra increased to 9.3% from 8.6% a year ago. This is because consumers are adopting the more socially acceptable mint and refreshment gums for refreshing themselves. The sales of Wrigley Extra are expected to grow in the near future because the dental care specialists are positioning the oral care and sugar free gums as more important for the consumers to chew after and between the meals (CSP Daily News, 2015). It will be easy for Wrigley to retain its customers for Extra because of the cause-related marketing and its association with the professional dental associations. Due to the increased consciousness and awareness among the people about obesity, they are reducing more and more on the snacks and this is the best alternative that can be replaced for snacks. This trend of marketing is likely to increase the sales figure for Extra chew ing gum. Another important marketing milestone of Extra is that its associated with the Action for Children charity donations from sales of Extra packs. Balanced scorecard Business scorecard is the metric used for the purpose of aligning different strategies with the vision and mission of an organization. It undertakes the newly formed strategy of a particular business and transforms it into marching order on daily basis. A newly developed product can be seen from four perspectives according to the balanced scorecard. These four perspectives are learning and growth perspective, business process perspective, customer perspective and financial perspective (Violet and Josiah, 2011). Learning and growth perspective: According to the recent statistics for Extra gum, it can be evaluated that the consumers percentage using this product is increased a certain extent during 2016 and is expected to grow further (Country Report, 2016). Although Extra gum was once merged with the Orbit brand of Wrigley but later on it was relaunched with improved taste and packaging that attracted a whole new lot of consumers and increased the market share by 71%. Customer are satisfied with Extra and Extra Active brand of Wrigley due to its string oral care positioning and sugar-free attribute. Business process perspective: Extra gum was launched with new taste and packaging and it was brought back to the market due to its increased demand from the customers. Management has launched the product after conducting complete market research and clinical importance of the product. It is made with best possible ingredients i.e. real sugar and no artificial colors are added into it. The unit sales of Extra gum are increased from 8.6% to 9.3% that shows the efficient procurement and distribution capabilities of Wrigleys Extra (CSP Daily News, 2015). Customer perspective: Extra is available in different tastes, different packets size and is suitable for customers of any age. The product is best for chewing before and after the meals and is mainly targeting the oral care of children and aged people. It is the best replacement for the customers who want to quit smoking and it can also be used after smoking. Customers are satisfied about this product which is evident from the increased sales figure and the reviews of customers for this product (Wrigley.com, 2017). Financial perspective: Extra gum has contributed one third of the total sales of Wrigleys overall sales figure. The Country Report (2016) quotes that The company is expected to edge up by around a third of a percentage point overall to reach close to 89% value share. The companys share gain in 2016 will be solely due to its Extra brand, which alone will gain over a percentage point in the year and dominate sales with over 71%. It means that the brand is also performing well in terms of finance. The overall position and performance of Extra gum suggest that due to the oral care positioning and cause related production and marketing of the product, Extra will be put as an important element for the oral care regimes. The competitive advantage of the product is that it is available in different sizes, flavors, packets, is nutritional and perfect for all age users and is available in more than 180 countries. Extra gum is one of the best products designed by Wrigley for oral care and is sugar-free which was once kicked out of the market due to the other brands offering same product. Based on the heritage of more than hundred years and the best quality, Extra reclaimed its leadership and innovative place in the market after its launch with new tastes and packaging. The innovation and leadership attributes of Wrigley are renowned in the market. The company should strive its best and keep an eye on the market to continuously upgrade the brand in terms of packaging and tastes so that it may not lose the market share. References Blythe, J. (2017). Product Anatomy. [Online] SAGE Books. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446221617.n17 [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017]. CSP Daily News. (2017). Candy: Mints/Gum/Breath Fresheners 2016. [Online] Available at: http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-data/cmh/candy/candy-mintsgumbreath-fresheners-2016 [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017]. Country Report, (2016). Confectionery in the United Kingdom. Country Report. Euromonitor international, p.57. Desfosse, R. (2017). Chewing Sugarless Gum Can Prevent Tooth Decay. [Online] Colgate. Available at: http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/basics/nutrition-and-oral-health/article/chewing-sugarless-gum-can-prevent-tooth-decay-0213 [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017]. Globaldata, (2016). Consumer and Market Insights: Confectionery in the UK. Market Research report. Global data, p.167. Infoscout.co. (2017). Survey Wrigleys Extra Consumers in Our Research Panel. [Online] Available at: http://infoscout.co/brand/extra/survey [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017]. Schultz, E. (2015). Something Exhilarating Happening in Your Life? Chew Gum. [Online] Advertising Age. Available at: http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/wrigley-5-gum-ends-stimulate-senses-campaign/297690/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017]. Smith, A. (2012). Effects of Chewing Gum on Stress and Health: A Replication and Investigation of Dose-Response. Stress and Health, 29(2), pp.172-174. Smith, T. and Song, S. (2004). A Spatial Mixture Model of Innovation Diffusion. Geographical Analysis, 36(2), pp.119-145. Violet, J. and Josiah, H. (2011). Performance Management Using Balanced Scorecard. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(4), pp.1-3. Wang, T. and Ji, P. (2010). Understanding customer needs through quantitative analysis of Kanos model. International Journal of Quality Reliability Management, 27(2), pp.173-184. Wrigley, (2016). Wrigley Highlights New Product Lines. [Online] Prepared Foods. Available at: http://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/119062-wrigley-highlights-new-product-lines [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017]. Wrigley.com. (2017). Wrigley.com: The Story of Wrigley. [Online] Available at: http://www.wrigley.com/global/about-us/the-story-of-wrigley.aspx [Accessed 18 Mar. 2017].

Hypatia and the Role of Women in Hellenistic Society Essay

From Ancient Greece to the traditions of Hellenistic society, gender stereotypes have been considered as one of the main characteristics present within these civilizations. Most significantly for Hellenistic society, it was the rule of patriarchs that best described the gender orientation of their society. In fact, the role of patriarchs or males were very much emphasized in philosophical arguments, such as Sirach’s Jewish apocryphal literature stating, â€Å"There is wrath and impudence and great disgrace when a wife supports her husband† (Sirach 21-23; cited in Sawyer 40). As far as Hellenistic society was concerned, the roles of women were limited to being wives who provide services to men, home manager, and the weak gender. The perspectives of Hellenism considered females as subordinates to men, which somehow raised men’s role in the society in the pedestal considering that females were deprived with the opportunity to learn and to gain knowledge from subjects like science and philosophy. However, this societal stereotype was thwarted by Hypatia (370 – 415 C. E.) who initiated her efforts to learn the subjects that were previously exclusive to men alone. She became one of the most regarded female scholars in the history of Greece, specifically in Alexandria. Hypatia was one of the earliest gender rights petitioners who focused mainly on education and learning. Within the study, the discussion provides significant emphasis on the life of Hypatia and the various encounters she had during her struggle for her education. With this, the study covers the role of women within the Hellenistic society and the means these women thrive with men. Furthermore, a critical argument between gender roles of the earlier periods of Hellenistic era is incorporated within the study in order to provide substantial evidence on women’s societal significance back in the Hellenistic society. The study also considers the implications and contributions made by Hypatia towards the feminine roles in the society. Discussion Overview on Hypatia Hypatia was born in Alexandria where she spent most of her childhood and adolescence that influenced her identity. According to scholars, the early education of Hypatia came from her experience within the Museums of Alexandria. She was able to convince her father to let her obtain her primary education in Athens where she obtained an award of laurel wreath for her outstanding scholastic performances. According to O’Grady (2005), Hypatia was noted to possess a dynamic personality that was legendary and a riveting, ultimately tragic, biography (235). Hypatia of Alexandria was considered the first woman mathematician who obtained positive inclinations in the subjects of philosophy and mathematics. Considering Hypatia’s father, Theon, was also a well-respected mathematician and astronomer of their time, Hypatia must have acquired her significant skills in numbers through her patriarchal lineage. However, Hypatia was not only limited in these subjects, but she also expanded her reach within the context of philosophy and astronomical studies. The fundamental idealisms that greatly influenced her perspectives were the ideas from Hellenism and Neo-Platonism. From the book of Anderson, Katz and Wilson (2004), they pointed Suidas and Socrates description towards Hypatia’s physical features. According to them, Hypatia possessed a body of rare beauty and grace (47). Ogilvie (1986) mentioned in her book that according to Socrates Scholasticus, Hypatia was not only famed because of her intellect and skill, but also with her beauty, which captivated Synesius, later bishop of Prolemais (104). However, there is a clear agreement between historians that Hypatia never married during her lifetime. Aside from her physique, her intellectual capacity obtained recognition from various fields of sciences. At about 400 A. D, Hypatia became the head of the Platonist school of Alexandria where she taught her expertise, mathematics and philosophy (O’Grady 235). Her Neo-Platonist philosophy was influenced by classical Greek logic and idealism from Plato that was merged with the concepts of Oriental mysticism, which she obtained after she studied at Egypt. Hence, the philosophical teachings of Hypatia revolved in an intensive reasoning through Neo-Platonist perspective. With the vast diversity of culture and religious backgrounds present in Alexandria, the complexities of the political and economic climate did not stop the philosophical ideations of Hypatia. On the other hand, one of the most controversial points in Hypatia’s legacy was her death, which became the point of arguments on whether it contributed to the end of Hellenistic society or triggered the disruption of patriarchal domination (Anderson, Katz and Wilson 48). There had been different theories that explain the death of Hypatia, such as her conflict with Cyril, Alexandrian’s stampede, etc. However, Hypatia’s death can be considered worthwhile due to her contribution to the feminine society. Role of Women in Hellenistic Society Within the patriarchal context of Greece’s city-states and colonies during the Hellenistic era, women had indeed experienced diversity in their roles and views towards their society. Significantly, the women of their time considered being more sheltered and subordinate in their existence before men. Added by Witherington (1990), by Hellenistic and Roman times these views were still in existence, though less strongly held because of the liberalizing influence of Macedonian and Roman occupations (11). Despite of their weak presence within the Hellenistic society, women were still treated with respect and regards from the male society. Although, their fate as wives or married Hellenistic women was not viewed entirely appropriate. The primary roles of women during this era were either for being the males’ wives or concubines. Athenian-citizen women were married usually at fifteen or sixteen years of age, and from this time, their understanding and coherence of the world and their surroundings was not yet established. After the marriage, these women were separated through a guarded chamber, but their freedom was always retained. During this era, concubines were the least feminine class looked upon between legal wives and prostitutes. The role of concubines was even recognized by Athenian law, which comprised the legitimacy and freedom of lineage produced through her. However, with a clear picture, the Athenian law towards these concubines was much more inclined to the benefits of patriarchal society by having their sexual needs filled (Witherington 11). Despite of these limited atmosphere and role diversion provided by the male society to the females, these women were still able to foster their interest in expanding their capacity and placement within the society. In the Hellenistic sense, one of the most historically significant events brought by the feminine gender was their interest for liberation. As supported by Swidler (1979), the conditions of women greatly improved to the point where a woman could in general marry and divorce on her own initiative and even choose her own name (18). From this point, the placement of women exceeded their previous condition of their societal function. They even attained significant minor roles within the realm of education and political affairs. Hellenistic period marked the era of feminine role expansion wherein various opportunities within the society became available for them. With the opportunity to study and educate themselves, the profession that became the greatest threat to male poetic body was women poets. During the Hellenistic period, women, such as Hypatia, obtained honorary recognition for their skills in expressing their thoughts and opinions through poetry. Most of the time, the contents of their literature were related to their desire to possess equal outlook on both genders. The presence of Hellenistic monarchies provided the new outlook played by monarchical wives – the Hellenistic queens. The upper-class women society enjoyed the vast newly opened opportunities since they were the ones who can avail the new places in society, such as education, political career, etc. Spielgovel (2005) mentioned that there had been documents indicating the increased numbers of women involved in managing slaves, selling property, and making loans (93). The immense expansion of women’s role did not only consider careers and personal developments, but rather, they were also given the chance to acquire ownership of their own lands, wealth and significant placement within the quarters of men. However, the expansion did not consider full equality for both genders but only the increase of feminine roles. Hypatia and her Contribution the Hellenistic Regime Hypatia of Alexandria was an example of a pre-historic figure that fought the society’s stereotype for gender discrimination. From her biography, she was able to surpass even the best scholars of her time, a woman of legendary Athene-like beauty and virtue, and a woman who possessed distinct features of martyrdom. Hypatia can be considered as one of the famed personalities in Alexandria during the Hellenistic era. Her contribution to the society paved an example of feminine capacity to acquire development in the fields of education. She was considered as one of the famed Alexandrian poets that contributed to the modern sense of literature. Despite of her womanhood and society’s stereotypes against feminine gender, she was still able to make substantial contributions in the fields of philosophy, mathematics and astronomy. In the fields of science, she was able to discover the early forms of astrolabe and hydrometer; although, this was not taken in regards by the male scientific society and regarded it as lacking of scientific studies (Anderson, Katz and Wilson 387). He provided her commentaries with Diophantus’s Arithmetica, on Apollonius’s Conics, and on Ptolemy’s works but all of her works was lost in time. IN the fields of philosophy, she was able to merge the concept of oriental perspectives to Platonistic views. One of her commendable disciples to this teaching was Synesius who moved within the context of religious philosophy (Kahlos 40). She was able to prove to the patriarchal society that females can also stand their ground and contribute to the society’s welfare if only they can obtain the sense of rightful placement. Her philosophical views under the teachings of Neo-Platonist were considered by the Christian orthodox as an opposition to their beliefs. The Christian society branded her teachings as Paganistic and even considered her as the Pagan martyr. According to Forrest (2001), the Christian orthodox had seen the influence of her philosophical views and, since this threatens the Christianity of Alexandrian society, Hypatia was murdered by an angry Christian mob, which ended the teachings of her neo-platonic views (127). The roles of women within the Hellenistic society expanded giving them various opportunities to acquire proper placement in the society; however, this did not eliminate the gender discrimination and inferior sense towards feminine society. The trademark of Hellenistic era did open the new quarters for female society, but still, the last opinion came from the patriarchal society; hence, limiting the expansion of feminine career and roles in the society. Conclusion In the conclusion of the study, the life of Hypatia was used in order to analyze the systems and the social conditions of feminine roles during the Hellenistic era. Indeed, the functionalities and placement of women expanded during this era, although it did not consider full equality between the two genders. Females were given the chance of education, political participation, material and wealth possession, and significant position in the fields of philosophy and sciences. Hypatia portrayed the Hellenistic woman of their time wherein she established a remarkable educational background and contribution to the fields of sciences and philosophy. However, most of these were either hindered or rejected by the male society. Hypatia was a victim of society’s stigma against Christian Orthodox in which she somehow contradicted with he Neo-Platonic teachings; hence, she was murdered in order to end her influence. Still, with Hypatia’s life portrayal, the Hellenistic women did achieve role expansion but still under societal limitations brought by male society.