Monday, September 30, 2019

Janamashtmi

Krishna Janmashtami (Devanagari ami), also known as Krishnashtami, Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami, Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna Jayanti, Sree Jayanthi or sometimes merely as Janmashtami, is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Krishna, an Avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. [1] Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the Ashtami tithi, the eighth day of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhadrapada in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra is ascendant. The festival always falls within mid-August to mid-September in the Gregorian calendar. In 2010, for example, the festival was celebrated on 2nd September, while in 2011, the festival will be celebrated on 22nd August. Rasa lila, dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna, are a special feature in regions of Mathura and Vrindavan, and regions following Vaishnavism in Manipur. While the Rasa lila re-creates the flirtatious aspects of Krishna's youthful days, the Dahi Handi celebrate God's playful and mischievous side, where teams of young men form human pyramids to reach a high-hanging pot of butter and break it. This tradition, also known as uriadi, is a major event in Tamil Nadu on Gokulashtami. Significance Statue of baby Krishna being carried in a basket, protected by seven hooded serpent, by Vasudeva across the Yamuna river at midnight The ritual is to fast the previous day (Saptami, seventh day), which is followed by a night-long vigil commemorating the birth of Krishna at midnight in the jail where his maternal uncle Kansa was keeping them captive, and his immediate removal by his father Vasudeva to a foster-home for safe-keeping. At midnight, the idol of the infant Krishna is bathed, adorned in new clothes and jewellery, placed in a cradle and worshiped. The fast is completed after aarti, a special prayer. At day break, ladies draw patterns of little children's footprints outside the house with rice-flour paste, walking towards the house. This symbolizes the entry of the infant Krishna into his foster-home i. e. their homes. In South India Celebration of Lord Krishna's birthday as Srijayanthi in an Iyengar's house in South India In the south, the festival is celebrated as Sri Krishnajanmashtami, Janmashtami or Gokulashtami. In Tamil Nadu, Brahmins (Iyers & Iyengars), Yadhavars, Chettiars and Pillais celebrate the festival. Uriadi or climbing a stick containing a pot of sweet curds is also a major event in Varahur and other parts of Tamil Nadu. The pooja is performed late in the evening, timed according to the Hindu calendar to coincide with the birth of Krishna at midnight. Generally, most of the sweets and savouries are prepared on that day. Normally, a kolam (rice flour drawings on ground), also known as rangoli, drawn specially for the occasion, called ezhakoolam, decorates the front yard. Footprints representing those of Krishna are drawn from the front yard to the pooja room, representing the god entering the devotee's home. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu In Karnataka, Madhwas (Vaishnavas) (followers of saint Madhwacharya), Iyengars and Srivaishnavas, (followers of saint Ramanujacharya) and Smarthas (followers of Adi Shankara) make elaborate preparations for the festival. The idol of Lord Krishna is placed in a decorated mantapa. Bhakshanam (snacks and sweets in Sanskrit), that are specially prepared for the festival, are offered to Lord Krishna along with fruits and are considered to be his favourites. In some parts of Karnataka, chakli, avalakki and bellada panaka are prepared especially for the festival. Hand made avalakki is prepared in memory of Krishna's friend Sudhama. Legend has it that Sudhama had once offered avalakki to Krishna, as it was considered to be one of his favourite snacks. Gamaka vachana and other devotional activities are held in the evening. Divergent traditions among Srivaishnavas Within the Sri Vaishnava(Iyengar) brahmins (who are mostly found in the Tamil Nadu state, and a considerable number in Karnataka as well), there have developed slight differences as to when to observe Sri Jayanti. There is also disagreement as to how exactly to observe the day. Should one observe upavAsa through the night, ceremonially breaking the fast the next morning, or should one eat immediately after the midnight pooja and aradhana? Broadly, there are five different opinions within the Sri Vaishnava tradition concerning this matter. The different sub-traditions are Pancaratra, Munitraya, Mannar, Tozhappar and Vaikhanasa. In a nutshell, the difference stems from lunar vs. solar month and whether to take sunrise or moonrise into consideration for determining jayanti. Among Vadakalai Iyengars – The Pancaratra tradition is followed by Shri Ahobila Mutt, Munitraya tradition by Srirangam Srimadh Andavan Ashramam along with some other acharya purusha families, and the Mannar tradition is followed by Sri Parakala Mutt. It is named after one mannAr svAmi of unknown date who is the first extant authority arguing for this calculation. The tozhappar tradition is named after Sri Vaidika Sarvabhauma Swami, also known as Kidambi Thozhappar, who wrote a detailed text establishing the reasoning behind his tradition. [2] The Thenkalai iyengars adhere to the Vaikhanasa tradition. In Maharashtra Jay Bharat Seva Sangh (Lower Parel)forming human tower to break the Dahi handi Govinda Pathaks forming human tower to break the Dahi handi Janmaashtami, popularly known in Mumbai and Pune as Dahi Handi, is celebrated with enormous zeal and enthusiasm. The handi is a clay pot filled with buttermilk that was positioned at a convenient height prior to the event. The topmost person on the human pyramid tries to break the handi by hitting it with a blunt object. When that happens the buttermilk is spilled over the entire group, symbolizing their achievement through unity. Various handis are set up locally in several parts of the city, and groups of youngsters, called govinda, travel around in trucks trying to break as many handis as possible during the day. Many such Govinda Pathaks compete with each other, especially for the handis that dole out hefty rewards. The event, in recent times, has gathered a political flavor, and it is not uncommon for political parties, and rich community groups to offer prizes amounting to lakhs of rupees. Some of the most famous handis are at ,Dadar,Lower Parel, Worli, Mazgaon, Lalbaug, Thane and Babu Genu, Mandai in Pune. 3] Cash and gifts are offered for Govinda troops to participate; for over 4,000 handis in Mumbai, 2000 Govinda troops compete for the prizes. In Manipur Janmaashtami, popularly known in Manipur as Krishna Janma, is a significant festival celebrated at two temples in Imphal, the capital city of Manipur. The first festival is at the Govindaji temple and the second is at the International Society for Kri shna Consciousness temple. Devotees of Lord Krishna gather mostly at the ISKCON temple. In North India In Uttar Pradesh where the lord was born in Mathura, his play ground Gokul and Vrindavan become more crowded and celebrations go up to a week. In Gujarat where the city Dwarka has Dwarkadhish temple celebrates it with pomp and joy. In the eastern state of Orissa, around Puri and West Bengal in Nabadwip, people celebrate it with fasting and doing puja at midnight. Purana Pravachana from Bhagavata Purana are done from the 10th Skandha which deals with pasttimes of Lord Krishna. The next day is called Nanda Utsav or the joyous celebration of Nanda Maharaj and Yashoda Maharaani. On that day people break their fast and offer various cooked sweets during the early hour.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

AIDS Controversy

The problem of AIDS in poor countries in Africa had been one of the major health problems the world is facing.   Needless to say, many have died without even having undergone medication.Perhaps one of the most pressing issues involving this problem is the commitment of big pharmaceutical companies in the United States to give away free AIDS treatments to poor African countries ridden with AIDS in exchange for its continued patent protection.The question now arises on whether this scheme of giving away free AIDS treatment would strike a balance in its continued patent protection vis-à  -vis the continuing problem of AIDS in poor African countries.A number of international non-governmental organizations have launched campaigns against pharmaceutical giants engaging in a long term endeavor to widen the access of poor people to essential medicines, to attain significant reductions on the prices of brand medicines from big pharmaceutical companies, and to support the sale and productio n of generic drugs (Poku, Whiteside, and Sandkjaer, 2007).The issue of patents on pharmaceutical products have started in the negotiations ate the World Trade Organization.   The WTO’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights that took effect in 1995 compels countries to include pharmaceutical products and practices in patent protection after a phase-in period associated to the level of development (Newfarmer, 2003).International intellectual property patents assure a 20-year market monopoly for new products and processes (Finkel, 2007).   Given this, no other company can enter the same market, limiting the market competition to those who have patents.â€Å"The protection of intellectual property in the biosciences on a global level has to deal with very different contexts and situations.† (Lenk, Hoppe, and Andorno, 2007).At first glance, it seems that the pharmaceutical companies are doing an altruistic effort in providing free access to AIDS treatment in poor African countries, which are ridden with AIDS epidemic in spite of the fact that they were only compelled to do so by the United States government.The main question here is not whether it is proper for the United States government to compel these pharmaceutical companies but rather on whose interests are better served with this scheme of giving away free AIDS treatment in exchange for continued patent protection.The continued patent protection of drugs relating to AIDS, in spite of the efforts to distribute free medications on AIDS in poor African countries, has detrimental effects to the victims themselves.Aside from the victims, the market itself for pharmaceutical products and processes will also suffer as they will be ruled by a monopoly of patent-holding pharmaceutical companies.The continued patent protection would further limit the access of people to AIDS treatment.If the patent protection for pharmaceutical companies is to continue, this will limit th e opportunities for other pharmaceutical companies to develop their own medication for AIDS treatment.If there will be no other pharmaceutical company that will come up with a treatment for AIDS, those infected with the disease will have no other option but to buy the only product in the market despite its high price.If the patents will be lifted, this will benefit not only those in the poor nations but everyone who has been infected with the disease as they will enjoy the benefits market competition will bring.The absence of patent protection will give other pharmaceutical companies the opportunity to develop their own products and processes aimed at treating AIDS infection.   If this happens, there will be more products available in the market.   More similar products in the market will compel pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Intercultural communication( this is the course I'm studying, not the Term Paper

Intercultural communication( this is the course I'm studying, not the topic) - Term Paper Example The country attained independence from the British in 1963 but still holds some of the customs that they were assimilated by the British during colonization. This is the reason that despite it being an African country with the usual stereotypes surrounding African nations; it is a modernized country in terms of its culture as it represents a blend of the Western and African culture (Sobania 129). Traveling to Kenya requires a passport but there are no other major restrictions other than the usual security restrictions against terrorism and drug trafficking (Martin & Chaney 26). Immunizations and especially against malaria and flu which are prevalent in the nation as it lies along the equator hence temperate weather conditions are necessary. Due to the warm weather and especially between January and April, packing should be restricted to light clothes that are comfortable and decent. Medication should be carried as long as the necessary paperwork and stamps are indicated for the medication to avoid them being confused as hard drugs. Health cards should also be carried in case of any accidents or illnesses. There are a lot of taxis on the airport which can take the passenger to the best hotels in the city. Tokens of appreciation are encouraged as a way to appreciate but not bribe individuals for their services. Conformity to the local customs is easy as it needs just observation and interaction with the local people. The country houses a lot of international headquarters and hence foreigners are many making one cope easily and quickly and get over any cultural shock one might meet as well as adjust properly to the laws of the land which are similar to the UK laws. The national languages are English and Kiswahili and making communication easier. The Swahili language is easy to learn the basic greeting phrases to show effort to the hosts. Business greetings should be formal and so should addressing the titles of the

Friday, September 27, 2019

Social policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Social policy - Essay Example Many books and articles were written based on these crises. The most notified is that of W.Hutton’s â€Å"The State We Are in†. Certain arguments made by Hutton were welcomed by historians and analysts and certain gave way to a number of controversies. The main points which Hutton wants to emphasize are the shor-termism existing in Britain’s economy, The factors leading to that and what could be the solution to eradicate the short-termism. Before going deep into the arguments the existing situation of Britain’s state ant the relationship of the state with the individual and the range of activities of the state should be looked out. During the course of years Britain had been witnessing a series of crises they are o unemployment problem, housing for the slums, fall of export rates in the economic field etc. The 1920’s saw more industries such as motor and electrical industries but then failed to cater to the standards expected in the world market. On the other side the percentage of unemployment was also gradually increasing. The rate of exports has come down by 50%. But by 1980’s with the intrusion of Margret Thatcher the United Kingdom has become the place of leading trade and financial power. The various state enterprises were given the status of nationalized enterprises. But Britain seemed to have had an imbalanced relationship between its state and citizens. The best illustration could be of the worst housing conditions for the poor and the unfulfilled desires of the state to renew their locality and buildup of houses. There was definitely a failure faced by Britain in the housing matters as a result there was only an increase in the slum houses could be seen. Many political writers and reviewers were of the opinion that a strong and active participation of the citizens in the social and the political activities will turn the state a

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Shop lifting in the store Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Shop lifting in the store - Essay Example It may be again emphasized that problem formulation is not possible unless there is good communication between the decision makers and the research team. At this point to the decision makers, whether research results could help in solving the problem. It would also help the researcher in understanding the nature of the decision that a manager plans to make and the type of research information which would contribute to improving his judgment. The research team also tries to understand environment influencing the problems of the research sponsoring agency. The research team can play a better role if they are able to feel and observe the environment, where decision maker would eventually apply the information and the findings of the study.Formulation of the research plan is possible only when the purpose of the research is clear. In research studies, unless the purpose of the study or project has been clearly explained by the sponsoring agency.The given research was short on a lot of gr ounds. It did not have a proper problem statement. The problem statement failed to present the problem effectively. The objectives statement was loosely put forth. This research paper throws light on the importance of putting objectives effectively and completely. The research also did not follow data collection stage appropriately and immaculately. There was no data compilation and data presented was loosely put forward. The raw data was given. The questions in the questionnaire couldn’t relate to the objective of the research too.... Social scientists from different fields have defined have defined research design from their point of view.. Methodology is given greater importance in the overall planning of the research work and has defined research design as the creative part of the research methodology. Prior to explaining research methodology and the research process, some activities of the research process would be elaborated over.Research process includes a number of stages. The process initiates from the need to conduct research in an area of interest for both the sponsors and the researchers to obtaining information for solving a managerial or a social problem or for making decisions to accomplish set goals or objectives. The step of problem formulation requires deep understanding of the researcher as well as the sponsor, manager or user of the research comprehending the problem. A study of the related information is essential as also the observation or analysis of the situation causing problem prior to ini tiating the research. The urge and curiosity to know stimulates the researcher to convert the managerial problem into a research problem leading further into the subsequent activities incorporated in the research design. After the formulation of the problem, the process of the research methodology for data generation and its measurement techniques are initiated. Any step of the research sequence has to be re adjusted to suit the requirements of the research study. Research process takes over from the process from the stage of problem formulation. There are yet others who would explain research process from the step of initiation of the research activity till completion of the research in the form of its findings

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Discussion Forum #7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion Forum #7 - Essay Example miologists should entail gathering information on the people in the workplace such as their occupations and stations, and recognizing the demographic group that is mostly exposed; typically, this can lead to primary prevention as more information is gathered (NIOSH 2001). Nonetheless, secluding and recognizing the primary cases may not necessarily be a basis of preventing the disease. Chemical hazards have become very common, especially in working environments and they are big barrier to comprehensive hazard surveillance (NIOSH 2014). For instance, employees working at ports and other factory depots are familiar with chemical exposures from the shipping containers that produce residual gases especially prior to opening for unpacking. These situations call for evaluation of the exposures in order to identify the different breaks that epidemiologists can intervene and follow up for a solution that reduces or eliminates the exposures. The best method for countering chemical hazards should entail the specialist gathering information on acceptable limits of exposure, properties of the different chemicals and other related health factors that could be collaborating with a certain chemical (Barry 2011). Secondly, the epidemiologists need to device ways to use for medical surveillance, ensure personal and respiratory protection for the workers; additionally, it is significant that the sanitation practices are also included as part of the precautions. There are challenges experienced when dealing with chemical exposures as a hazard for disease surveillance; such as establishing places where there is critical exposure, and how to counter certain chemicals, most of which are not common. Nonetheless, it is advisable that the epidemiologists apply criteria from the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Regulations that entail how to deal with a vast range of chemicals such as asbestos, acetic acid, bromine among others that are not common (SWA 2014). People argue that there

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

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

Assignment - Term Paper Example To ensure this, medical professionals have to understand the role and importance of informed consent, and apply it in their treatment and research processes. Informed consent is important as it helps patients to make their independent decisions about their treatment, and helps research participants to decide independently whether to participate in a research, without being coerced (Carmen and Joffe WEB). This paper discusses the importance of informed consent in medical treatment and research, as well as the different ethical issues arising in the course of informed consent in medical treatment and research. The concept of informed consent can be traced to different disciplines, including law, medicine, and philosophy. Consent to treatment is traced to law, while consent to research can be traced to ethical codes and administrative regulations. Informed consent has important moral and practical influence on the practice of medical treatment. This draws on the principle of autonomy, a nd the fact that a patient must be availed the opportunity to make their own independent decisions about the treatment offered to them. Similarly, in medical research, the participants are not coerced to participate. Medical treatment is therapeutic, unlike medical research, which is non-therapeutic, therefore, research participants are expected to participate voluntarily, since the research findings might not benefit them directly, but the patients in future. This is different from medical treatment, where the treatment benefits the patients directly. Nonetheless, in both cases, it is important to employ informed consent as a sign of respect for the individuals involved (Carmen and Joffe WEB). According to the Evans (WEB), the physician must avail all necessary information concerning the treatment procedure in order for this to be regarded as informed consent. This information will help the patient to make their judgement and settle for a right decision. In medical treatment, the i nformation must include the risks the patient is exposed to by the specific medical procedure, as well as the outcome of the medical procedure and the other alternatives, which might be useful to the patient. In medical research, the participants must be informed about the purpose of the research and its usefulness to the discipline. This information leads to an informed decision by the patients and research participants. In addition, before pronouncing the informed consent, a physician must ensure that he or she understands the concerns of their patient, before starting to act on the patient’s decision. Physicians should not assume and make decisions for these patients, instead, a physician should take the necessary steps to ensure that those patients, who are poor communicators or those with speaking inabilities get to understand the consent information in order to participate wholly in decision-making concerning their treatment (Caroline 417). This applies to medical resea rch too, where coercion is considered unethical. On the other hand, informed consent in medical research and experimentation is equally important for both the medical researcher and the subject, who might be the patients or other healthy individuals. In some cases, a patient might require an innovative kind of treatment, which goes beyond the normal diagnosis and prescription. Such innovative or experimental treatment

Monday, September 23, 2019

The impact of anti-abortion laws on women in North America Essay

The impact of anti-abortion laws on women in North America - Essay Example No society, religion, government or group has the right to push any woman into motherhood, unless one voluntarily and willingly intends to do so (Trib 14). Denying a woman the right to have an abortion is akin to pressurizing a woman into accepting a submissive and subservient role in the society. In such a scenario, the dominant ideologies and influences resort to exploiting pregnancy and motherhood as a tool to accord women a second class status (Trib 16). In case of the women, access to legal and safe abortion facilities is recognition of one’s fundamental right to have a control over one’s body. No individual or society has the right to control what happens to the body of an individual or what an individual chooses to do to one’s body to assure personal well being (Trib 17). In North American and especially in Canada and the US, the struggle against anti-abortion laws has been long and unrelenting, accompanied by both favorable and adverse impacts on the wome n in North America. Canada- Abortion Laws In the year 1869, the Canadian legislature passed strict anti-abortion laws (Tatalovich 23). ... The women who most suffered were the ones from small towns or rural areas (Tatalovich 29). In the year 1988, in a ruling famously known as the â€Å"Morgentaler decision†, the Supreme Court of Canada, repealed the harsh and draconian anti-abortion laws and declared them to be null and void (Tatalovich 53). The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that such anti-abortion laws amounted to an inequitable treatment towards women and interfered with the rights extended to them under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Tatalovich 56). The Court observed that abortion constituted a Charter right of women, guaranteed under the right to life, right to liberty and the right to freedom of conscience (Tatalovich 56). The Canadian government tried to pass strict anti- abortion laws in 1990, but was forestalled by massive public protests and media outrage (Tatalovich 58). So, today Canada is the only country with no anti-abortion laws. The Canadian Experience In a post 1869 scenario, t he strict Canadian anti-abortion laws directly translated into untold and multifarious emotional and medical turmoil for women. Women having no access to safe and legal abortion resorted to unsafe and bothersome options. Not to say, a great proportion of the women having no option of a safe and legal abortion, willy-nilly reconciled with a forced and undesired motherhood (Faur 312). Things stood to be worse for those who owing to a lack of legal and safe abortion facilities, resorted to risky and unsafe abortion procedures, resulting in sever medical complications and many a times in death (Faur 314). Unsafe and botched abortions performed by quacks were the only option left to many, and this option was mostly loaded with severe

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Paraphrase - Essay Example The photoelectric smoke detectors have special features that allow them to be efficient. This encompasses use of an LED lens and a photodiode that is specifically placed to act as a light detector. In the occurrence of a fire, when the particles of smoke rise and enter the photoelectric chamber, the smoke particles distort the light beam and this triggers the alarm. This technique seems technologically enhanced and effective. The mechanism of ionization smoke detectors is however different from that of photoelectric detectors. It utilizes radioactive elements, for instance, americium-241 which can emit radiations through the ionization chambers. The ionization chamber has two electrodes through which the radiations pass causing constant generation of current. The photoelectric smoke detectors are more preferable since they are dependable and less likely to trigger false alarms. In fact, the utilization of radioactive components by the ionization smoke detectors can be injurious to individuals who come close to it since it constantly emits radiations. In contrast, the photoelectric detector alarms are not radioactive and quick ion indicating any signs of smoke, especially in open flame fires. There are two chief requirements for detector placement in residential occupancies. One includes informing the residents on fire prevention, maintenance and escape plans. Secondly, is to ensure full documentation of the installed smoke detector. Finally, few considerations are necessary during the placement of smoke detectors. First, the smoke detector should not be installed in areas such as fireplaces. It should be installed near the cooking areas in the kitchen since it will be prone to indicate false alarms. The non-insulated attic and outside walls are also not good ideas. It can be tricky since the smoke could emanate externally and initiate false alarms when put near windows and

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson Essay Example for Free

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson Essay The lives and works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson may be different in many ways, but there are existential treads that bind these two people together by similarities. Elizabeth Browning became famous while she was alive and was very influential opposed to Emily Dickinson who became famous for her poems after she died. In the eighteenth century two of the finest poets; Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson are two people who are close in certain aspects but completely different individuals. Thus, looking deeper into each individual’s lives and works will give us a better perception on these two poets. The Victorian poet â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in 1806, March 6th Durham, England, and was the oldest child out of twelve children† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"Elizabeth’s father, Edward Barrett, was a businessman who was very wealthy from many sugar plantations in Jamaica† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). As a child, Elizabeth wrote her first earliest known poem for her mother’s birthday and for her fifteenth birthday; her father had one of her poems privately printed. This poem was â€Å"The Battle of Marathon† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"Elizabeth experienced her first sorrow in 1828 when her mother Mary suddenly died† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"By the time Elizabeth had moved to London, her health was poor and she suffered from a spinal injury and shown signs of a lung condition but was never diagnosed† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). However in these conditions Elizabeth never seemed to give up her love for poetry. Shortly after Elizabeth’s brother, Edward, drowned in a boating accident on his way back to London (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"Feeling responsible for his death, Elizabeth became a recluse and practically an invalid rarely leaving her room† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). This characteristic made Elizabeth similar to Emily Dickinson in the way that they are both easily affected by a tragic incident in their lives, resulting in the act of isolating themselves from others. â€Å"Elizabeth’s work brought her the man that would eventually woo, win, and marry her: Robert Browning† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"Robert became so impressed with Elizabeth’s work that he wrote to her and over the course of the next few months, he and Elizabeth wrote to each other almost every day until they finally met on May 20, 1845, where they discovered that they were already in love† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"More letters (over 500 in all) and visits continued until the two were secretly married on September 12, 1846† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). â€Å"The newlyweds fled to Florence, her father never forgave her, and she found herself disinherited. She and her father never reconciled† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). Elizabeth and Robert remained in Italy for the remainder of their lives and had a baby boy, Penini in 1849 (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). In 1850, Elizabeth’s â€Å"Sonnets from the Portuguese† were published. â€Å"Although they had been written as a private gift to Robert, her husband was so moved by the forty-four sonnets the he felt they should not be hidden from the world and published them, making the collection stand as her greatest well-known achievement† (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). Elizabeth died on June, 29, 1861, and was buried in Florence (â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†). Likewise, Emily Dickinson’s writing was similar to Browning in the way that she crafted a new type of first person persona (Wider). â€Å"Like the speakers in Browning’s works, Dickinson’s are sharp-sighted observers who see the inescapable limitations of their societies as well as their imagined and imaginable escapes† (Wider). â€Å"In 1890, four years after Dickinson’s death, the first volume of her poetry appeared† (Wider). â€Å"Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts† (Wider). â€Å"Emily’s father at the time of her birth was an ambitious young lawyer, and was educated at Amherst and Yale. He returned to his hometown and joined the ailing law practice of his father, Samuel Fowler Dickinson† (Wider). â€Å"Edward joined his father in the family home, built by Samuel in 1813† (Wider). â€Å"Active in the Whig Party, Edward was elected to the Massachusetts Start Legislature (1837-1839) and the Massachusetts State Senate (1842-1843)† (Wider). â€Å"Little was known of Emily’s mother† (Wider). â€Å"She often represented as a passive wife of a domineering husband† (Wider). â€Å"Emily wasn’t the only child of Edward and Emily Dickinson; she also had a brother William Austin Dickinson and a sister Livinia Norcross Dickinson† (Wider). â€Å"All three children attended the one-room primary school in Amherst and then moved on to Amherst Academy, the school out of which Amherst College had grown† (Wider). Futhermore, â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning was the most respected woman poet of the Victorian age† (Burlinson). â€Å"By 1900, she was better known as the heroine of a turbulent love story than as a prolific and successful writer† (Burlinson). â€Å"Browning was an experimental writer who felt sufficiently comfortable working within poetic convention to disrupt and revise it to her own ends† (Burlinson). â€Å"Elizabeth was known for writing sonnets, allegories, ballads, political odes, love poems, occasional verses, poetic dramas, and an epic, as well as essays in literary criticism and a translation of Aeschylus† (Burlinson). Her greatest poetic success was in the sonnets from the Portuguese as stated above in Elizabeth’s biography. Elizabeth poured all her profound thoughts into these sonnets and yet the exquisiteness if the mould has compelled a rigorous pruning alike of superabundant imagery, which has had the happiest affect (Arnold). â€Å"One of her best known poems from 1850 is â€Å"The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point,† an impassioned protest against slavery in which a black woman; the rape victim of her white master, murders her child† (Burlinson). â€Å"The rage and grief of the woman chillingly conveyed in the first-person narrative† (Burlinson). Elizabeth held a deep belief that poetry could change attitudes toward the world, and indeed it did. â€Å"Her poem â€Å"The Cry of the Children† caused a sensational reaction that caused public reform in a protest against the working conditions of children† (Burlinson). â€Å"In fact, Elizabeth is one of the greatest sonnet writers in our language, and she is worthy enough to be ranked side by side with Milton and Wordsworth† (Arnold). Elizabeth has managed to touch all the chief human relationships and when she touched them, it was always in a noble manner and severe simplicity which is greatly preferred to be her most luscious and copious versification (Arnold). Unlike Elizabeth, Emily seemed to be more reclusive with her life and at a young age Emily went into seclusion, resulting in her not socially maturing. Emily also avoided doing routine house work or other normal daily activities because she like being alone to dream and use her imagination (Southworth). Many readers believe that by shunning the realities of everyday life, Emily was able to find the greater reality in the realm of imagination (Southworth). Despite being lonely and frustrated she never out grew adolescence and this seemed to show in her poetry (Southworth). Her writings showed that she was not capable of grasping the joy of reality and that she really didn’t have a true understanding of life challenges (Southworth). Like Elizabeth, â€Å"Emily’s poems were meant to be and experience, to render experiences as well as refer to it† (Ryan). â€Å"For Emily the living presence is the poem itself. If it is not intermediately between the poet and the reader, it is the thing alive the reader experiences† (Ryan). â€Å"Dickinson was a master at grammar, rhythm, rhetoric, and narrative. A master of the inextricable, intricate, intimate and constantly shifting, interrelationship’s among them† (Ryan). â€Å"Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1800 poems, but only seven were published in her lifetime. When the first posthumous collection of her work appeared in 1890, she was regarded as an interesting but idiosyncratic minor poet. As the twentieth century has progressed, however, her poetic achievement has won interesting recognition† (Tredell). â€Å"Dickinson nonetheless engages in an original and vibrant way with love, eroticism, nature, death, immortality and eternity. Her work is notable for its power and compression and complexity, its precise and startling phrasing, its inventiveness of rhythm and rhyme, and the exploratory daring which belies its apparent decorum† (Tredell). Emily said to Higginson that poetry is something that makes the body feel so cold that no fire could warm it, that if the reader physically feels as if the top of their head were taken off that its poetry. She claims that this is the only way she knows its poetry (Ryan). Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem â€Å"The Cry of the Children† is about child labor. In this poem Elizabeth is trying to show us how the children feel about working and how it makes them sad and exhausted. They suffer as they work with trembling knees and heavy eyelids. The children are demanded to keep working no matter how tired and weak they are. I know that this is the theme because the speaker says â€Å"Do ye hear the children weeping,† (â€Å"The Cry of the Children†). This means that the children were weeping in sorrow because in the playtime of others they are working. Another detail that supports my idea for the theme is the lines â€Å"For oh, say the children, we are weary, / and we cannot run or leap;† (â€Å"The Cry of the Children†). This detail shows that the children are suffering that they are tired and weak. When Elizabeth describes how the children look she is using imagery by saying, â€Å"we are weary, / and we cannot run or leap; / if we cared for any meadows, it were merely / to drop down in them and sleep. / our knees tremble sorely in the stooping, / we fall upon our faces, trying to go; / and, underneath our heavy eyelids drooping, / the reddest flower would look as pale as snow† (â€Å"The Cry of the Children†). This connotation is showing how the children are looking and feeling this verse is not only using imagery but it also uses a simile to show how the children’s eyes are so tired and heavy that the reddest flower would look as pale as snow for them. Emily Dickinson’s poem â€Å"Heart, we will forget him† talks about how Emily is trying to forget the man that hurt her and her heart. In the poem Emily is instructing her heart â€Å"to forget the warmth† and that she will forget â€Å"the light†. â€Å"But Emily is scared that if her heart takes too long to forget, then it will give her time to remember, thus causing her to not be able to carry out her self-given assignment† (â€Å"Heart, we will forget him†). I know that the theme of the poem is getting over someone you love by the line â€Å"Heart, we will forget him† (â€Å"Heart, we will forget him†). This line is referring to Emily’s heart trying to forget the man that hurt both her and her heart. Another detail supporting my thought for the theme is the line â€Å"you may forget the warmth he gave / I will forget the light† (â€Å"Heart, we will forget him†). This line is trying to demonstrate that the heart is trying to forget the warmth that the man gave it and that Emily will try to forget the light he brought to her world. In this poem Emily tells the heart what do to by commands making the hearts seem as if it can act, think and follow orders like a brain. By making the heart have a human characteristic Emily is using the literary device personification. Emily also uses a literary device called tautology which is use when there is a repetition of words, and in the first stanza of â€Å"Heart, we will forget him† Emily uses the word forget three times to emphases that she and her heart will forget the one that broke them. Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson were two poets that works were very similar in structure despite being born in different ears. The two poets depicted similar first person’s personas in their writings and became famous for it. Although Elizabeth became famous while she was alive, Emily Dickinson did not. Each poet however had their work published and found by someone else. Elizabeth’s husband was the person who made her forty-four sonnets one of her well-known achievements and for Emily her sister Livinia was the founder of many poems left from her death. By comparing the works and lives of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson, we can conclude that the inner life of an artist has more impact on their literary output than the external factors that shaped their lives. Works Cited Arnold, William T. â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861).† The English Poets: The Nineteenth Century, Wordswort to Rossetti. Ed. Thomas Humphry Ward. Vol. 4. Macmillan and Co., 1893. 562-567. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. Burlinson, Kathryn. â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Overview.† Reference Guide to English Literature. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick. 2nd ed. Chicago: St. James Press, 1991. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning.† LitFinder Contemporary Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2007. LitFinder. Wed. 6 Dec. 2011. Ryan, Michael (American College Teacher). â€Å"Dickinson’s Stories.† The American Poetry Review Mar.-Apr. 2009: 5+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 15 Dec. 2011. Southworth, James Granville. â€Å"Emily Dickinson.† Some Modern American Poets. James Granville Southworth. Blackwell, 1950. 14. LitFinder. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. Tredell, Nicholas. â€Å"Emily Dickinson: Overview.† Gay and Lesbian Biography. Ed. Michael J. Tyrkus and Michael Bronski. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. Wider, Sarah Ann. â€Å"Emily (Elizabeth) Dickinson.† The American Renaissance in New England: Fourth Series. Ed. Wesley T. Mott. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 243. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Effect of the Media on Consumers

Effect of the Media on Consumers Do consumers shape media spaces or do they shape consumers. Discuss this notion alongside the concept of mobile lives. Introduction Nowadays, media spaces play an increasingly important role in shaping consumers in the digital age with the rapid development of media and advanced science and technology. This paper includes an exploration of how media space shape consumers in a modern way of life which is called mobile live. Technological revolution has hit the media industry in the world. During the past decade, the form of media has changed a lot. It is no longer confined to the traditional media like television and newspapers just unilateral transmit message to the public. The rise of new media provides the multiple media forms and the fast growing of media space. It is an undeniable fact that the advent of the mobile phone is a turning point for the development of media space. Especially media space brings a huge impact on the attitude or behavior of consumers, when mobile technologies and digital create a new kind of mobile life. Media spaces and the concept of mobile live Media spaces define new methods of communication, with novel and unforeseen uses and potentialities. Communication through a media space is more than an approximation of face-to-face communication — it has a richness and complexity all its own. Media is the most significant element of the information transmission. Media spaces can be seen as information spaces which can unlimited expansion. Media spaces including material spaces that shaped by traditional media and material conditions like schools, libraries, homes and so on, and also including the virtual spaces that shaped by multiple digital media forms. Nevertheless, traditional media were not meeting consumers’s need any more. Now the media space mainly developed by the virtual cyberspaces. Media spaces are established on the interactive connection between public and information of the new media. Electronic settings in which groups of people can work together, even when they are not present in the same place and ti me. In a media space, people can create real-time visual and acoustic environments that span physically separate areas (Stults 1986). In some ways, media spaces make people have new understanding toward time and space, which can across the distance between time and space. In the new media age, media more like a carrier in the virtual spaces to transmit information to the public. In fact, the virtual cyberspaces shapes the everyday life of people and real life with the mobile lives more than the traditional media in material spaces. According to Urry and Sheller (2003) â€Å"All forms of communication have been reconfigured by new technologies and the new spatio-temporal patterns of social life through which they are made effective.† Discuss the concept of mobile lives with media spaces, the development of mobile technologies influenced spatial and temporal distance and the boundary of private space and public space to create a new mobile life. Mobile lives are built on the advent of mobile phone, laptops or other latest digital technologies. Then the advent of wireless networks also pushed the development of networks and mobile technologies forward greatly. The good thing is Wi-Fi make computers no longer need to rely on cable broadband network and the phones also no longer need to spend lots of cost to supply network. Consumers are able to use the Internet become more convenient on the mobile phone and laptops because of Wi-Fi. Technology is implied as bringing modernity to any place and to anyone, no m atter how remote, serving as an equalizer of opportunities in an emerging and peaceful global civil society (Caletrà ­o 2012). In the digital mobile lives, the places have no longer as a reason to limit the use or search of the information in media spaces to public, whether you are at home, at school or on the way. Also people can get everything they want from the Internet in the current era of big data. Mobile technologies more yield the greatest effects on investment with the Internet. How media spaces shape consumers Mobile technologies have an intimate relationship with media spaces in everyday life. People can consider every smart phone as a media space and every smart phone has a consumer to some extent. Nowadays, it is incredible that how fast the messages transmit to consumers with cyberspaces. 1.0 Advertising and consumer behaviors Advertising is an indispensable part of media space, which is a propaganda to constantly transmit the messages to the public. Generally, advertising will impact or even change the behavior and attitude of consumers for the products or brands. Many consumers can feel that advertising is ubiquitous to occupy their space any time and anywhere, whether while they using any social Apps at home, play mobile games on the ways or surfacing the websites in working places. Although maybe sometimes you just ignore the advertising when you saw them. Nevertheless, advertising is the most important element to shape consumers in media spaces. 1.1 The encoding and decoding theory of Stuart Hall Stuart Hall is a sociologist and pioneer in the field of cultural studies whose work explored the concept of Britishness. Some people address him â€Å"godfather of multiculturalism†respectfully. In his notion of a mass communication theory Encoding and Decoding, encoding is the process of creating a meaningful message according to a particular code, while decoding is the process of using a code to decipher a message and formulate meaning (Brian Robert 2014). Hall define that encoder is the sender that can be seen as producer and the decoder is the receiver that can be seen as consumer. Every consumer maybe will have the different thinking with the same message which send from the same producer. According to Hall (1980) â€Å"The process in terms of a structure produced and sustained through the articulation of linked but distinctive moments production, circulation, distribution/consumption, reproduction †. This theory is appropriate for advertising. The occur of an advertising is able to shape the behavior of consumers. HM can be a good example to explain it. Production is the first step to create the advertising for the public. HM company start using many super model over the world to advertise their new style products in the world market, such as world-famous Chinese model Liu Wen. Circulation is how people receive the message. HM put the advertising on subway, Internet, television, billboards and many other media places to communicate the consumers. Also HM company will release some information about the new style products on the social media. The HM ads spread across the world market via those advertisements. And for distribution and consumption, individuals will have different understanding for the same information or advertisement. Hall suggested three hypothetical interpretative codes or positions for the reader of a text (Chandler 2014). Dominant readings are produced by those whose social situation favours the preferred reading. Negotiated readings are produced by those who inflect the preferred reading to take account of their social position. Oppositional readings are produced by those whose social position puts them into direct conflict with the preferred reading (Northumbria university n.d.). Linked to the example of HM, dominant is that some consumers will have interested in those HM new products and have a strong desire to buy them. Negotiated is that some consumers will maybe think those new products are looking good, but they should consider the price and if they have free time to shopping. And oppositional is that maybe some consumers will hate the design of those new produc t and they do not want to buy them. The last step is reproduction which is about the consumer’s action after they receive the message. Reproduction for HM is their advertising related to the sale of new products that decide consumers will take action to go to store browse and purchase or not. Consequently, this theory is described how advertising impact consumers behavior step by step. 1.2 Consumer capitalism Moreover, consumer capitalism is also an essential factor why advertising can affect the consumer behavior. Most commonly, consumer capitalism refers to the idea that consumption drives the capitalist economy through corporate manipulation of the consumer to purchase (and continue purchasing) material goods. The entire consumer capitalist framework is predicated on the idea that the value of a product is determined by the desire of the individual, regardless of the actual need of the product (Schrader n.d.). Propaganda means of Apple Inc is a very successful case as consumer capitalism. Apple enhanced their awareness through bombard users with advertising and word of mouth. It is made consumers believe the products of Apple are representing the top-class electronic products and top digital technologies. Apple succeed to lead a spending spree over the world to buy their IPhone, IPod and Macbook because of the consumer capitalism. Apple let most consumers believe that if you are use Ap ple’s products, you are the most fashionable people. It is certain that always media lead fashion instead of consumers lead fashion. 1.3 Dual coding theory Dual coding refers to information retained as conjoined being and words. This creates a stronger impression upon the reader of such information (Northumbria university n.d.). Generally for most people a product has images and slogans simultaneously are more help consumers to remember. For instance, the biggest Chinese micro-blogging Weibo typically use the dual coding theory. Every time if you close the app in the background on the phone, you will see the image and slogan of Weibo when you reopen this app. The image of Weibo is a icon represent people’s eyes and the slogan of Weibo translate to English is â€Å"find something new anytime and anywhere†. Although there are thousands of Apps on the smart phone now. But not too much Apps trying to do this. Weibo use the creative image and slogan simultaneously can catch up some consumers attention to some extent. 2.0 Mobile Lifestyle In the digital age, today’s society have already emerged a mobile life in the world. Most people even cannot imagine a life without mobile and the Internet. In the Educause Center for Applied Research (ECAR) conducts annual surveys and interviews in 2008, a student respondent illustrated the broader trends borne out of the data: I dont look at it as getting on the Internet. The Internet is a part of life. Its a lifestyle. Mobile lifestyle influences the everyday life of consumers in many ways in media spaces. 2.1 Relationships Media spaces have great influences to the interpersonal relationship. Particularly the mobile media spaces totally change the development of relationships between people. The interpersonal relationship can better develop and communicate through multiple media forms for mobile lifestyle, such as social media, email, phone call, SMS, video call and so on. It makes you keep in touch with your friends have no more need of face-to-face communication. Facebook always let you find some people who you have long time no see or long lost, even you can find your primary school classmates. It is good that Facebook build a more close connection with you and your friends or just people we know. Also the new media create many new interpersonal relationship. Some people are trying to date online, some people maybe have many online friend but never meet. Now the human relationships become more diversification because of media space. 2.2 Globalized Communication ways The advanced mobile technologies make the media spaces coming to globalization, which is a goal traditional media cannot accomplish. The almost all functions that consumers’ needs have included in a smart phone. Because media space is no longer have the distance of time and space, and the media communication ways remove the restriction of the region. For consumers, they can communicate everywhere over the world. Undoubtedly, media space is a space without borders that similar to the theory of cosmopolitanism. Cosmopolitanism is a western notion that epitomizes the need social agents have to conceive of a political and cultural entity, larger than their own homeland, that would encompass all human beings on a global scale. The Internet has brought about the possibility of a transnational imagined virtual community: a decentered cosmopolitan crowd, synchronized by cyberspace, interacting on real-time, and engaging in global commercial, cultural and political exchanges (Ribeiro 2001). If media spaces combine with the theory of cosmopolitanism, It will be different with the reality space that every consumer is equal and there is no nationality, regional or social class limitations. For instance, consumers of smart phone can use multiple social media to connect with the people in almost any countries in the world if they want. The lat est figures from Facebook suggest that the number of people actively using social media each month has now passed the 2 billion mark over the world (Kemp 2014). Those social media support a huge number of globalized social media users to exchange and transmit the information in media spaces. Furthermore, languages no longer be the biggest barrier of communication if you go to an unfamiliar environment with different language. The use of translation software is a good global communication ways. There was a report said an elderly Chinese couple, which cannot understand and say English, immigrate to Canada. They nearly have not felt any communication barriers. Because they said if they have some troubles when they going out, they always use the translation software to communicate with local people. It is a great example that the communication of consumers getting more simple and easy under the digital media space influences. 2.3 Online Shopping and Travel Online shopping also is a main activity for consumers in media spaces. The total monthly amount of trade on the large shopping website like Amazon, Ebay and Taobao is an incredible number cannot imagined. Consumers can buy everything you want in those shopping website whether clothes or any electronic products, new or old. Online shopping satisfies whatever needs of consumers. Sometimes It is spend too much time and cost shopping in the shopping mall. Online shopping is cheaper and fast than go window shopping. Online shopping has become a habit for many consumers and maybe it will become the mainstream way for consumption. In additions, the mobile lifestyle of consumers cannot be without travel.For many consumers, travel is a way to enjoy life. Media spaces make traveling more and more easy because of mobile lifestyle. Today travelers can finish it just use the computers or smart phone at home. Some traveling websites not only have traveling party services, but also provide the reservation for air tickets, railway tickets and hotel accommodation. And almost every airline has their own official website and official App to allow people booking online. Also if you use the smart phone, you can find many apps are providing travel strategies for each country. Media spaces offer lots of convenience for consumers. 3.0 Thoughts of consumers 3.1 Celebrity effects Companies usually use the media to shape the thoughts of consumers to achieve their goals. Celebrity effects are famous marketing tools in media spaces, which companies use the social influence of celebrity to promote their popularity and brand awareness. Celebrities also have an effect on the charity events and public service advertising. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a successful example take advantage of celebrity effects in 2014. This example can describe through the mass communication model of Lasswell. Lasswell was a well-known American political scientist and communications theorist. Lasswell’s model, one of the first communication models, is summed up in five questions: Who, Says what, In which Channel, To Whom, With what effect. Who: the person who formulates the message What: the content of the message Channel: the medium by which the message is being communicated Whom: the person or persons who receive the message Effect: the outcome of the message. The initiator of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates who is a disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patient. The content is this activity is ALS Ice Bucket Challenge promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encourage donations to research. The rules of the Ice Bucket Challenge are either donate $100 to an ALS charity, or dump a bucket of ice water on your head or both. After, you can challenge a few people to join in too (Lecher 2014). For in which channel, Pete Frates post the video first and it through the social media spreed very rapidly. Then many world-famous celebrities, athletes, and tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Kobe Bryant, Taylor Swift and even President Obama all taking part in this activity to post their video on Facebook, Youtube and Twitter or donate the money for the ALS association. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is reported by various media forms and lots of countries. This activity became globalization and had a huge impact that the receivers are the people around the world. The outcome of this challenge is raising millions of dollars and let ma ny people pay attention to the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 3.2 hyperreality Baudrillard believed that a contemporary society, founded on media and technology, would see the spaces of imagery and reality merge. What follows is a world where the real is not layered with the imaginary. Rather that the world becomes a ‘simulation’ of imagery where the world favours the ‘more real, than real’ (Northumbia university n.d.). Media images, the Internet, online games, mobile games and virtual spaces are taking people usually spend time communicating with a hyper-real world. Many online games and mobile games use hyperreality enable people to be the characters they want to be. When consumers see the world through media spaces under the screen, they usually integrate the real world with the hyper-real world in their mind. Advertising sells the public through strong, desirable images, and many consumers buy into the brands point of view and products. The objective of hyperreality in the media is to shape the thoughts of consumers. Conclusion In conclusions, this paper explored that how media spaces shape consumers in mobile lives. Some theories show that advertising is constantly transmit the new information to consumers for shaping their behaviors and attitudes of consumption. Also the thoughts of consumers will influenced by the media. Definitely, media spaces changed the lifestyle of people. The exchange between people through mobilities become more and more fast and simple. And consumers have new lifestyles like online shopping and online dating. The rise of an intensively mobile society reshapes the self – its everyday activities, interpersonal relations with others, as well as connections with the wider world (ElliottUrry 2010). Media spaces always express as different forms all around us, make people feel like being a part of them, and mixed itself with social realities. In the future, media spaces will sustainable growth and keep playing the significant role to shape consumers in the society.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Shortage of Physicians In Canada Essay -- Canadian Health Care System

In the past decade, Canada’s population has grown from 5,301,000 in 1900 to over 34,030,589 in 2011, driven mainly by immigration (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). By 2056 it is expected, one in four Canadians will be 65 years or older, compared to 13 per cent currently. This will put a huge strain on the country’s health care system (Macleans, 2008 p.2). The future of Canada’s health care system is at great risk due to its escalating and aging population. This is triggering a shortage of physicians, particularly anesthesiologists, in some provinces of Canada (Canadian Medicine Journal, 2007). Anesthesiologists are specialist physicians who provide critical care to patients in a number of health programs: operative anesthesia for patients in all surgical subspecialties, acute pain management, procedural anesthesia, obstetrical care, and high-risk medical management, chronic pain management, resuscitation, advanced airway management, and critical care (Intermou ntain Healthcare, 2011). The current shortage of anesthesiologists is highly impacting access to care in each of these areas. Due to the lack of foresight in government policies, the shortage of anesthesiologists in Canada is increasing and becoming more critical. The Canadian government has failed to train, hire, and retain enough anesthesiologists/assistants for the needs of Canada’s rising population. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) estimates it would take 26,000 more physicians, presently, in order to bring Canada up to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average (Macleans, 2008 p.2). The Canadian health care system promises universality, portability, and accessibility; unfortunately, it faces political challenges of meeting pub... ...ortant role in this shortage because if they reconstruct and formulate policies to accept and graduate more students specializing in anesthesiology, it will significantly reduce the shortfall of anesthesiologists. Lastly, the Canadian government needs to recruit more and retain enough anesthesiologists to meet the needs of its population. Instead of the government ignoring the issue, it should see this as an opportunity to dedicate its efforts to construct a good health care system which will result in healthier Canadians. This will not take only the efforts of the government but also the efforts of hospitals, maternity care providers, healthcare and professional liability insurers, consumers, and policymakers. With the use of future-planning in government policies it will mitigate this short-fall of anesthesiologists and prevent it from occurring in the long-run.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Eternal Life Essays -- Essays Papers

Eternal Life 1 Is there life after death? In Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† Mrs. Mallard â€Å"is drinking the elixir of life through her open window.† It is possible that this very elixir provides Mrs. Mallard with her freedom through eternal life. Through Chopin’s use of characterization, conflict, and symbols, the author reveals the theme that like Mrs. Mallard, some people can achieve freedom through eternal life. [Does "eternal life" here mean life after death, or, as in "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," life without death? The basic problem with this essay is that it overlooks the primary point of the story -- Louise glimpses freedom as a result of the death of her husband, and then loses that freedom with the realization that he is still alive. It is a story of "an hour" because Louise has only an hour of freedom. Although the writer of this essay makes a valiant attempt to support the thesis, there really is not enough religious (or moral) symbol ism, etc. to support it.] 2 Chopin’s physical and emotional characterization of Louise suggests the woman is experiencing a spiritual encounter that includes the possibility of eternal life. Early in the story, Chopin uses characterization to describe Mrs. Mallard’s physical condition, noting that she has â€Å"heart trouble† (12); this description foreshadows her death, [i.e. not eternal life] which will take place later in the store [story]. [Isn't it also symbolic?] The author illustrates that Mrs. Mallard is physically exhausted by writing that when she hears the news of her husband’s supposed death, she sinks into a â€Å"comfortable, roomy armchair . . . quite motionless with her head thrown back† (12). Chopin goes on to write that Louise experiences â€Å"physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her a soul† (12), which allows the reader to see that something is taking place within her both physically and emotionally. [This paragr aph demosntrates that "something is taking place," but not that it relates to eternal life.] 3 The author also describes Mrs. Mallard as feeling â€Å"young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength† (12)-- the strength of God. [What suggests that it is the strength of God, and not just a personal strength of her own?] From the statement â€Å"now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously† (12), the reader can sens... ...new freedom?] Her â€Å"moment of illumination† (the true light) signifies her soul is now saved. She even breathes a â€Å"quick prayer† (13), which is symbolic of her quest for a divine intervention and repentance[.] (s[S]he is totally and completely engulfed with the presence of God). [No, what was she praying for? A long (not eternal) life.] One of Mrs. Mallard’s last actions is to rise (resurrection action) â€Å"at length and [open] the door† (the gateway to her salvation). In addition, the author provides the reader with the words â€Å"joy that kills† (13), the joy is symbolic of her freedom and â€Å"that kills† is symbolic of her eternal life. [CS -1] [Why would "that kills" be symbolic of "eternal life"?] These words provide the reader with an understanding that a human being must experience death to receive eternal life. Louise has found her freedom through eternal life. 9 Louise’s figurative elixir of life is the foreshadowing [?] that Chopin uses in the story to express Louise’s freedom through eternal life. In regards to past readings, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, [Title] the elixir is both literally and symbolically a recipe for immortality or eternal life.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Wormholes Essay -- essays research papers

Wormholes Throughout the ages, outstanding physicists, to the movies, to some of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, have pondered the idea of time-travel. The thought of actually being able to travel to another time or universe has long since enthralled, enveloped, and overwhelmed some of the greatest minds in the history of physics. No one person can actually prove any of their theories, but a few actually make sense. Meaning that they do not violate the laws of physics. One of the main theories suggested, are wormholes. Wormholes are considered to connect two regions of flat space-time, two universes, or two parts of the same universe. There is a lot of theoretical evidence that wormholes exist, with an equal amount of evidence that they do not exist. However, no matter what one’s belief is, the existence of wormholes still makes you wonder†¦ What is a Wormhole? Basically a wormhole is an approach to time travel, involving black holes. The equations of relativity suggest that pairs of black holes may be connected by â€Å"tunnels† that make a short cut through space-time. These tunnels are known as wormholes. It is postulated that for all forces, there is an equal, yet opposite force. So, a black hole’s equal but opposite force would be a white hole. White holes expel light and matter, rather than pulling it in. A wormhole is the connection between a black hole and a white hole. Einstein himself, working at Princeton with Nathan Rosen had discovered that the equations of relativity actually represent a black hole as a bridge between two regions of flat space-time, a phenomenon known as the â€Å"Einstein-Rosen Bridge†. Later on, in 1963, the New Zealand mathematician Roy Kerr found that if a black hole is rotating, a singularity still forms, but in the form of a ring, not a point. It was believed that in principle, a particle may be able to fall towards the singularity, but if at some point moved through the hole instead of the ring, the particle may not be lost forever. Therefore, with these theories in mind, a particle falling into a black hole will fall through the ring that the singularity has become, then going through the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, eventually being spewed out of the white hole into another space-time continuum. Problems with White Holes In relativity, a white hole can exist, however it conflicts with the second law of thermo... ...from the future has given us the secrets to do so? Is it because the future has not been acted out yet? Or has it been, and we are simply the past, seeing it as the present? Time travel has been a long debated subject. One such debate is, can it even be done? Many models of the big bang suggest that it can, while the theory of relativity says that it cannot be done. We see the universe because we are who we are, and where we are. That is the only reason we can question the facts of our existence. Sometimes we answer questions that were never supposed to be addressed. Space-time has always been in question. Time travel would give mad unlimited powers. One could act as god, change the world the way He wanted. If the outcome did not meet satisfaction, then travel back in time and re-work the problem until satisfaction. With our primitive ways and violent acts, why would we give ourselves this weapon of infinite power? Maybe that is why we have not been told of how to build a time machine. However, the people in the future didn’t think. If they have created a time machine and are hiding it from us, then eventually we will stumble upon this discovery, since we are their past! -A.R.G.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb was formed in 1887 when McLaren Bristol and John Ripley Myers bought the Clinton pharmaceutical Company in Clinton New York. In 1900 Bristol-Myers broke through into the black — it has remained there ever since. In 1924, gross profits topped $1 million for the first time in Bristol-Myers’ history. The company’s products were then sold in 26 countries. At this point, the shares held by John Myers’s heirs became available for sale, triggering a series of moves that in 1929 turned Bristol-Myers into a publicly held company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.The postwar depression prompted Bristol-Myers to jettison its pharmaceutical business and devote itself entirely to its specialties: Sal Hepatica and Ipana, its two big winners, and a dozen or so assorted toiletries, antiseptics and cough syrups. By the end of the war, it was clear that penicillin and other antibiotics represented an immense opportunity for Bristol-Myers. In 1921 t he Squibb Company coined its slogan: â€Å"The priceless ingredient in every product is the honor and integrity of its maker†, which is now the corporate slogan of Bristol Myers Squibb.In 1989 Bristol-Myers merged with Squibb, creating a global leader in the health care industry. The merger created what was then the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical enterprise. BMS is now ranked #8 in the pharma sector. Current Drugs, Issues and Interests The Company operates in three segments: Pharmaceuticals, Nutritionals and Other Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment is made up of the global pharmaceutical and international consumer medicines business. The Nutritionals segment consists of Mead Johnson Nutritionals (Mead Johnson), primarily an infant formula and children's nutritional business.The Other Healthcare segment consists of ConvaTec, Medical Imaging and Consumer Medicines (United States and Canada) businesses. In 1991, the company received U. S. Food and Drug Adminis tration (FDA) approval in the U. S. for Videx ® (didanosine) also known as ddI, making it the second medicine available for treating HIV infection (the other being AZT). Other approvals that year included an antibiotic, Cefzil ® (cefprozil); two cardiovascular agents, Pravachol ® (pravastatin sodium) Tablets and Monopril ® (fosinopril sodium) Tablets; and a central nervous system drug, Stadol NS ® (butorphanol tartrate) C-IV.In that same year, the companies signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Cancer Institute to research and develop a new compound for treating certain types of cancer. This compound, TAXOL ® (paclitaxel) Injection, immediately was established as the company’s top research priority. Bristol-Myers Squibb invested hundreds of millions of dollars to supply TAXOL in sufficient quantities for clinical trials, to prepare data for regulatory submission and to develop alternative sources of TAXOL (which originally was d erived from the bark of an endangered tree, the Pacific Yew).TAXOL launched in 1993 and quickly became one of the world’s most widely used cancer treatments. For a few years BMS held the exclusive rights to harvest the bark of the endangered yew trees on US soil, the tree’s bark is used in making TAXOL. By the end of 1995, the company had over 60 product lines with $50 million or more in annual sales worldwide. At the beginning of 1998, the FDA granted clearance to market Excedrin ® Migraine for the relief of migraine headache pain and associated symptoms. Excedrin Migraine became the first migraine headache medication available to consumers without a prescription.In 1999, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced SECURE THE FUTUREâ„ ¢, a $100 million commitment to advance HIV/AIDS research and community outreach programs in five southern African countries: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. And in 2000, Bristol-Myers Squibb, together with four other pha rmaceutical companies and international agencies, joined the UNAIDS Drug ACCESS Initiative. The ACCESS program aims to make antiretroviral medicines and therapies to treat opportunistic infections more widely available in African countries that have developed a coherent national AIDS strategy.As part of the program, the company offered to lower the prices of HIV/AIDS medicines in those countries by 90 percent. More recently, Bristol-Myers Squibb took its access efforts a step further, offering HIV/AIDS drugs below cost in Africa and committing an additional $15 million for extending SECURE THE FUTURE to four Western African countries — Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal. The company is also ensuring that its patents do not prevent inexpensive HIV/AIDS therapy in Africa.The patent for Zerit, rights to which are owned by Yale University and Bristol-Myers Squibb, is now available at no cost to treat AIDS in southern Africa. However, issues like losing patents l ike this and a few more in South Africa has caused many problems for drug companies and BMS is not immune to them. In September 2000, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced a new strategy that includes a sharpened focus on medicines and an aggressive external development program. As part of this new strategy, the company announced its intention to divest its Clairol and Zimmer businesses.The company announced in June 2001 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company for $7. 8 billion; an acquisition intended to further strengthen Bristol-Myers Squibb’s medicines business. With the DuPont acquisition, Bristol-Myers Squibb added Sustiva ® (efavirenz) Capsules to its HIV portfolio and also gained products such as Coumadin ® (warfarin sodium tablets, USP) Crystalline, the U. S. leading prescribed anti-coagulant and Cardiolite ® (Kit for the preparation of Technetium Tc99m Sestamibi for Injection), a medical imaging agent.In November 2002, the FDA approved Abilify ® (aripiprazole) for the treatment of schizophrenia. In 2003, the company teamed up with cancer survivor and Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong to sponsor the Bristol-Myers Squibb TOUR OF HOPEâ„ ¢, an unprecedented week-long coast-to-coast cycling event. En route, the 26-member team of cancer survivors, caregivers, physicians, nurses and researchers raised awareness of cancer research and the importance of clinical trials in developing new treatments.Reyataz ® (atazanavir sulfate), the first protease inhibitor for the treatment of HIV/AIDS with once-a-day dosing, was introduced in the U. S. in July 2003 and approved for marketing in Europe in March 2004. On March 29, 2005, the FDA approved Baraclude ® (entecavir). Baraclude, discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb scientists, is indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection. Bristol-Myers Squibb announced the FDA approval of Orencia ® (abatacept) for the treatment of rheumatoi d arthritis on December 23, 2005. Orencia is the first in a new class of medications for this disease.On February 28, 2006, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Somerset Pharmaceuticals announced FDA approval of EMSAM ® (selegiline trasdermal system), the first transdermal patch for the treatment of major depressive disorder. SPRYCEL ® (dasatinib), discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb scientists, was approved by the FDA on June 28, 2006, for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences announced the FDA approval of ATRIPLAâ„ ¢ (efavirenz 600 mg/ emtricitabine 200 mg/ tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) on July 12, 2006. ATRIPLA is the first-ever once-daily single tablet regimen for HIV.As a strategy they are focusing on ten diseases, these are affective (psychiatric) disorders, Alzheimer’s/dementia, atherosclerosis/thrombosis, diabetes, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, obesity, oncology, rheumatoid arthritis and related diseases, and solid organ transpla nt. Current Financials The current financial information of the company from MSN Central is as below. The revenues have not been growing in spite of all the successful products that have been launched and that is an area for change. The company needs to improve its revenues and have a positive trend in profits too.The profits are almost 16%, however, that looks pale when compared to GSK and Merck – both in the 20- 22% range (Fortune 500 list). In fact at 15%, the company is ranked 10 out of 12 in the pharma sector and the revenues are 8 out of 12. That for a company that is going to be 120 years in 2007 is poor. As discussed in the current drugs, issues and interests section, the company is focusing on some key diseases and getting some fantastic drugs in the market. However, all this is somehow not improving the revenue. In fact in the last 5 years, revenue has grown at less than 2% year on year.On the current price ($24), the share gives a 6% return on investment (EPS is $1 . 43). Currently, they are benefiting from the effects of letting go of their CEO Peter Dolan and the company is touted as a takeover target. Their major problem is the failure to prevent Apotex from manufacturing Plavix. Although BMS tried to stop Apotex by getting into a deal that would give Apotex $40 million for not manufacturing the drug, the US State Attorney Generals however didn’t let the deal go through and instead the company got into an investigation because of the whole mess that the deal created.From the BMS perspective, they were doing the right thing; Plavix generates revenues of $5. 9 Billion. $3. 8 Billion are BMS and the rest is Sanofi-Aventis. $3. 8Billion is almost 20% of BMS’s revenue and Plavix gives approximately 40% of the profits in their US business. All this has a big impact on the dividend given by the company and most analysts have suggested that the dividend payout will have to be cut by almost 30-40 cents; it was $1. 12 the previous year. BMS has a good line up of drugs that are in the pipeline and would be a good takeover for any pharma company that has strong cash flow but weak pipeline. These are rumors but looking at the current scenario, it is a good possibility. The interim CEO James Cornelius headed Guidant and helped its sell-off. Vision, Mission and Goals The current vision mission and goals of BMS are referred as a pledge. The pledges are to different stakeholders and are as follows: The BMS Pledge Our company’s mission is to extend and enhance human life by providing the highest-quality pharmaceutical and related health care products.We pledge — to our patients and customers, to our employees and partners, to our shareholders and neighbors, and to the world we serve — to act on our belief that the priceless ingredient of every product is the honor and integrity of its maker. To Customers We pledge excellence in everything we make and market, providing the safest, most effective and hig hest-quality medicines and health care products. We promise to continually improve our products through innovation, diligent research and development, and an unyielding commitment to be the very best. To ShareholdersWe pledge our dedication to responsibly increasing the shareholder value of your company based upon continued growth, strong finances, productive collaborations and innovation in research and development. To Communities We pledge conscientious citizenship, a helping hand for worthwhile causes and constructive action that supports a clean and healthy environment. We pledge Bristol-Myers Squibb to the highest standard of moral and ethical behavior and to policies and practices that fully embody the responsibility, integrity and decency required of free enterprise if it is to merit and maintain the confidence of our society.The new era for BMS must ensure that the pledge to the shareholders is held more firmly than it has been in the last few years. The company must improve revenues and margins. The stagnant revenues and profits are a cause for worry in the longer run. All pharma companies are fighting against smaller companies that want to make generics and Pfizer itself has been fighting for the patent of Lipitor, the world’s best selling drug with $12. 9 Billion in revenues. BMS needs to ensure that the scandals that have been hitting it in the last 5 years never happen again and the company needs to have a higher standard of governance.Shareholder value erodes very quickly for many reasons, but off the last 3-5 years, corporate governance has been a major issue. Companies with tens of billions of dollars of revenue have disappeared and stockholders have suddenly seen their investment disappear with them. BMS has serious corporate governance issues. The company was hit by financial scandals when it was caught pushing inventories and showing them as sales. They have a court appointed overseer because of showing higher revenues and now with th e Plavix issue they are in an even bigger mess as far as corporate governance goes.Apart from that, according to IMS health, a pharmaceutical information and consulting company, sales of prescription medicines worldwide rose 7% to $602 billion,. The United States still accounts for the lion's share of that, with $252 billion in annual sales, but sales in it and the other nine biggest markets grew by only 5. 7%. But emerging markets such as China, Russia, South Korea and Mexico outpaced those markets, growing a whopping 81%. However, when we look at the overall picture 10 -20 years from now we see that the population of the developed world is going to fall and there will be more and more people who will be retired.This also means there will be more medicines required. I do not see myself dying at the age of 70 in the year 2040; medical technology will be so advanced in the next 30 years that it will probably keep me alive till I reach 80 or 90. This is great news for the pharma compa nies. However, the question beckons that the people who can afford expensive medicines for diseases that BMS is targeting are only in the developed countries where the growth has stagnated or is less than 10%. The growth is in the developing world, but the diseases that BMS is targeting are all that need lots of medicines and very expensive medicines.Taxol for example, is used for cancer patients. The medicine is now made by other companies too, and yet the prices for Taxol in the developing world are really high and people find it hard to afford Taxol. In my opinion, BMS has to handle 2 issues: First is Corporate Governance and the second is to crack the developing markets and increase market share in those countries, this will automatically increase its stagnant revenues and breathe some life into its ailing business. The markets are stagnant in the developed world.New Vision Statement I am making a few changes to the current pledges that BMS has to customers and shareholders. The changes reflect what the company needs to do in order to transform itself. To Customers We pledge excellence in everything we make and market, providing the safest, most effective, and cost effective and highest-quality medicines and health care products. We promise to continually improve our products through innovation, diligent research and development, and an unyielding commitment to be the very best. To ShareholdersWe pledge our dedication to responsibly increasing the shareholder value of your company based upon continued growth, strong finances, productive collaborations and innovation in research and development. We pledge to be extremely careful in all governance issues and not succumb to the pressures of the market. We pledge to conduct our business with utmost fairness. Key Change Issues Lack of Corporate Governance is something that no company will admit, but that is the major problem facing BMS right now. Having an overseer is a bad indicator. The key change issues that we will face while changing the attitude towards corporate governance are:1. The first issue is to change the behavior of bosses who force employees to act in ways that will be against any corporate governance policy. 2. The second change will be to create an atmosphere where an employee can raise an integrity or corporate governance concern. This is critical right now as it seems that over the last few years many things were not raised. 3. The third change will be in terms of managing the markets and expectations of all stakeholders, ultimately it is the expectations of the markets or other stakeholders that push the employees to cover up things or show a bright picture when there is none.It is important to manage the expectations. The next key change after corporate governance is to ensure that we can capture the growing markets. To capture the new markets, we will have to make a couple of changes in the way we do business. These changes are likely to be as follows: 1. Lower the cost of drugs – most of the money goes into research. The drugs that conquer markets cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make. So the cost of developing drugs has to be lowered, once this cost is lowered, the cost of the drug per se can also be lowered accordingly.2. Come with products that cater to the growing segments there – it is likely that the people in the developing countries will be using medicines that are generic. For a branded product to conquer that market, the companies have to give an added value to their product. This might mean, reworking some of the old compounds and coming up with ‘extra strong versions’ or other versions that would differentiate the medicines BMS could come up with a line of medication aimed at women with PMS or aimed at people over 70.This might be the normal medicines, but with a different potency or properties so that they would be ‘better suited’ to a different age group. 3. Newer gene types  œ this might mean that there will be opportunities as people from different races might have different problems or might need different treatments. It is possible that the genes or body types in different races might respond differently to different molecules and thus would require modifications to the current molecules. Depending on the cost of doing this modification, BMS can decide to modify certain molecules to better suit different races.How will these areas be changed? What are the broad sets of proposals for change? The Critical Change requirement is Corporate Governance. Corporate Governance is something that every company talks and boasts about but as we can see in case of BMS, this has failed grossly. The company actively needs to change the situation within its departments and especially in the higher ranks to improve the Corporate Governance scenario and educate people about the problems that are caused because of bad governance.Before I dwell into how to combat corporat e governance, I would like to talk about why officials higher up in the ranks and even some in the lower ranks resort to concealing information that might be damaging to the company. The first reason is to ensure that their jobs are secure. If a person conceals information it is because they feel that the particular piece of information will be damaging to their job, their department or their interest. This is the basic level and it is very individualistic. However, it is this same thing that drives even the bigger corporate information scandals.The second reason for concealing information or reporting wrong figures is to ensure that the company meets its goals. To take an example from an IT company, it is one thing to not report a data theft because it might compromise the jobs of the IT security personnel, but quite another not to report the bugs that might exist in the new software that a company is making. Different projects have different timelines and it is critical for compan ies to meet those timelines as revenues and profits are based on the sales of that new product.If we take windows Vista for example, vista has been delayed numerous times and because of that many partners of Microsoft are suffering, especially Intel. Microsoft has in public announced about the delays; however a smaller company might choose to not mention a delay in their quarterly update. For the officials in the company it is something that protects the shareholders and other partners from the value perspective, but what they fail to see is the long term damage that their actions are causing.Concealing information today will have its repercussions in the next two quarters and eventually if someone finds out the true picture, the stock market will kill the script and the valuation will suffer enormously. However, a public announcement about the delay will cause temporary drop in the stock valuation (till the product is back on track or launched in the market) but on a personal level , it will affect the persons’ bonus (for sure) and the growth prospects of the higher ranks who were responsible for not delivering the results.The cost of revealing the truth means jobs and immediate losses in the stock markets. Many of the higher ranking officials have stock options and this makes it even more lucrative from a personal perspective to ensure that the company is shown in good light and seen as an entity that meets its goals and beats the market predictions. The corporate governance scenario gets worse because of the stock options but it can be much better if every one looked at the picture from a long term perspective. In the longer term, the company will deliver the products and make the profits.What every individual must realize is that a company will survive beyond every employee and every leader. One employee or a leader cannot make the company, there is always a team. However, a leader can easily break the company and corporate governance is one way of d oing it with much ease. Coming to ways on how BMS can change the corporate governance culture within the organization; I would recommend the following 3 changes: 1. Top down pressure to conceal information 2. Protective climate for whistle blowers 3. Managing the expectations of the stock market and other stakeholdersTop down pressure to conceal information Driving the first one seems to be the toughest one, but this is where the board members have to set the rules and deal facts with an iron hand. All directors and Country Heads must be responsible towards Corporate Governance and the Finance people especially should run their reports through the board. The board must appoint an independent third party evaluator and auditor to ensure that the reports being presented are correct and any discrepancy must be dealt by terminating the country head and seizing all stock options that the person may have.Termination with seizure of stock options at all levels will mean that the lure of a h igh stock price will not be a motivating factor in concealing information and we can expect people to take a long term view of the situation instead of a short term view based on when their stock options might be due. With a personal lure of money gone, the top management would be forced to look at share value in the longer term and hence won’t be pushing their direct reports to fudge information.In addition to this, I recommend that one board member be assigned the task of being an auditor and also the point of contact for all kind of tip-offs or corporate governance whistle blowers. This will give the employees all over the company more faith in the system. The biggest problem for whistle blowers or people who have issues with corporate governance is that they fear for their jobs and they fear that if they still have their jobs, they will be treated will disgust in the office for going against what might be termed as ‘normal practice’ in that division.The prese nce of a board member as a person who can look into corporate governance issues ensures that people can raise concerns in confidence without the fear or being outcastes at their jobs. This board member of course needs to have a team of people who will investigate the issues that are raised. At the middle management level or at the level where people head departments at country levels, the country head must tighten the leash and implement all corporate policies.The country heads must have audits from outside parties to ensure the authenticity of the financial statements and the systems within the company. At the lower management levels the managers should be responsible for their business. However; the ultimate responsibility would be with the middle management. The board member however, should be contactable by everyone within the organization. The organization change needed is to re-align the salary packages of the people who have stock options.This would entail the compensation an d benefits team to look at the packages again and set up a new corporate policy about rewarding and retaining employees. The major change is only for the upper management to ensure that they don’t abuse their power to increase the value of their shares. The stock option change will also weed out the people who do not have a longing for working with BMS. It is very important for a company to ensure that their top management is a group of people who take the company close to their heart, and of course these people are there for the long term.Protective climate for whistle blowers The next issue we need to cover is about protecting the whistle blowers. The appointment of a board member to look after the corporate governance issues should quell any fears that a person might have about corporate governance. In addition to this, a very small step that might go a long way is to bring up issues with a pseudo identity, where people can write in and give information without being oblig ated to divulge their identity even to the board member.The whistle blowers biggest fear is that their job and career gets jeopardized if it is found out that they were the ones who raised concerns that brought down the whole unit and the jobs of several people. People take it against them and they are outcaste. I also recommend that these people have help from outside sources such as counseling etc that may be needed as they grapple with the effects of being whistle blowers or as they continue to live without talking to anyone about being the whistle blowers.In addition to this, the company should actually owe these people an incentive for doing the company a favor by helping it exposing thing internally and managing the fall out and taking corrective actions. Such revelations by outsiders can be far more damaging and bring the company into disrepute apart from all the lawsuits and the hassles of the law. The board is always responsible for ensuring that things are going on smoothl y within the company and ultimate beneficiary of having an internal system that exposes the corporate governance problems within the company actually helps the board save the company and their own reputations.