ANALYSIS PAPERS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ANALYSIS PAPERS - Essay Example The moral ground on which the imperialists base their stand is founded on the unequivocal assumption of U.S. racial superiority. The Filipinos are considered to be â€Å"a race which civilization demands shall be improved† (Beveridge, Paragraph 6). It is therefore the moral duty of America to â€Å"uplift and civilize and Christianize them† (McKinley). This so-called moral duty, connoted to be â€Å"the White Man’s Burden† by Kipling, does not stand scrutiny, especially in the light of the letters from the soldiers fighting in the Philippines, which confirm U.S. atrocities, such as arbitrary executions, torture, a scorched earth campaign and the establishment of concentration camps. As James L. Blair rightly asserts, the moral responsibility cited by the imperialists is based on the â€Å"very tenuous assumption† (P. 12) that U.S. withdrawal would inevitably lead to anarchy. The anti-imperialists’ stand that moral duty requires the U.S. to fr ee the Filipinos is more convincing than the imperialist’s mantel of racial superiority. Legally, the imperialists justify their stand on the presumption that the Filipinos â€Å"are not capable of self-government† (Beveridge, P. 16). Lack of experience in government, Spanish misrule and, yet again, the assumed inferiority of Orientals, are cited as reasons for circumventing the â€Å"consent of the governed,† which the American Declaration of Independence holds to be mandatory. According to the imperialists, as the Filipinos are too uncivilized to understand the concept of government, their consent is not legally required. The anti-imperialists question the constitutional right of the U.S. to forcibly annex any territory and caution that the constitutional guarantee of citizenship and the vote will lead to future legal complexities. Soldiers Davis and Fetterly reiterate the Filipinos right to independence, and the

Fasting in hinduism and islam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Fasting in hinduism and islam - Research Paper Example Fasting is mostly used as a religious term to describe an act of willingly abstaining (Adlakha, 2005) from some or all types of drink, food or both of them for a given period. Some people or religions fast for 24 hours while others for many days. Some types of fasting are only partial merely restricting some types of food, sub substances or drinks (Desika, 1997). Some people’s fasting culture or practice prohibits sexual intercourse alongside other activities that are not food or drink related (Kittler and Sucher, 2007). Particularly, both Hinduism and Islam embrace fasting to certain limits as part of their religion practices. Fasting in Hinduism is embraced as quite an integral component of the Hindu’s religious practices. However, local customs and personal beliefs determine the different kinds of fasts individuals undertake. This is to say that fasting in Hindu is done differently based on individual factors. On the other hand, fasting in Islam is also viewed as one of the most (Adlakha, 2005) valuable parts of the religious practices. Five pillars of religion to which fasting are observed as the fourth one among these pillars guides Islam. In Islam, unlike Hinduism, there are specific periods in which every Muslim is expected to first. For instance, during the month of Ramadan; notably the period in which most Muslims fast (Desika, 1997). Comparing Fasting in Hinduism and Islam Both religions might share a number of similarities in the way they undertake their fasting. However, there are significant differences. These differences emanate from the way it has practiced, the days and the purpose that make every religion to fast. In Hindu, fasting is done differently in that some sections of the Hindus fast on a number of days of the month such as the Ekadasi, pradosha, and Purnima. Some people fast on certain weekdays as dependent on the favorite deity or personal beliefs. For instance, there are those who fast on Monday. These are known as the Shiva devotees (Kittler and Sucher, 2007). Those who fast on Thursdays are known to devote to Vishnu while those who fast on Saturdays are known to be devotees of Ayyappa. Fasting is also done differently in different regions. For example, the southern Indians who fast on Tuesday are said to be the devotees of the goddess Mariamman, in which those who fast eat before sunrise and are only allowed to drink liquids from sunrise to sunset. The northern Indians fast on Tuesday to honor lord Hanuman, in which the devotees can only take fruits and milk between sunrise and sunset. They are also known to fast majorly on Thursday during which they worship Vrihaspati Mahadeva  while they are dressed in yellow clothes (Kittler and Sucher, 2007). The meals they eat are also colored in yellow. It is also dedicated to guru, which makes the followers of guru to fast on Thursday. On the other hand fasting in Islam can also be done in a number of days. Despite the fact that Ramadan is the most notable fasting period, there are also days referred to as non-obligatory days in which members can voluntarily fast. These days include every Monday and Thursday of a week, the 13th, 14th and 15th of each lunar month. In the month, that follows Ramadan; known as Shawwal, there are also non-obligatory six days of fasting. The fast of Prophet David, among the calendar of Islam, is sup posed to be done each other. The tenth day of Muharram; also referred to as Day of Ashura is also a non-obligatory fasting day. It can also be done a day after or before the tenth day (Desika, 1997). Despite this large fasting calendar, Islam forbids fasting on a number of days. First, no one is to fast during Eid Fitr and Eid Adha, which are the 1st Shawwal and 10th Dhulhijjah respectively. Suni Islam prohibits fasting on Tashriq that is on 11th, 12th, and 13th Dhulhijjah. There is also no fasting during Eid Al Adha, the 10th day of Dhu Al-Hijjah in the calendar of I

Overview and Analysis of Red Bull, Its Successes and Controversies

Overview and Analysis of Red Bull, Its Successes and Controversies When we first started, we said there is no existing market for Red Bull but Red Bull will create it. And this is what finally came true. Dietrich Mateschitz (Dolan 2005 p.1) Red Bull ®s 1987 launch established an energy drinks market. In 2009 they continue to dominate the globally. How did they achieve? How do they plan to maintain their stronghold? In 1987, revolutionary marketing and advertising techniques coupled with fortunate circumstances enabled Red Bull to create the energy drink market. In todays diverse and ever-expanding market of 228 competitors, Red Bull is likely to lose overall global market share. Ever optimistic, Red Bull continues with extreme sports sponsorship, creating events, nurturing the Red Bull ® lifestyle, a strategic business plan including expanding into emerging markets and developing products and plans to include multi-million dollar resorts and theme parks. Red Bull ® has every reason to be confident of its future. In 2008, the worldwide Functional Drinks market was worth $26.9 billion. Relatively new and still developing, by 2013 the market is expected to expand by 64.3% to a value of $44.3 billion (Datamonitor PLC 2008), spread over three different categories: Sports, Energy, and Nutraceutical. These products aim to improve users, physically and mentally or just improve well-being (Moosa 2002; Datamonitor PLC 2008). With energy drinks being the largest sector at 47.3%, Red Bull ®, was first of its kind, holding a 29% global market share in 2008. (Datamonitor PLC 2008). Spreading its wings internationally since its birth in 1987, 2008 saw Red Bull ® GmbH worth à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬10.9 billion, selling over four billion cans worldwide in 70 countries (Mà ¼ller 2009). History Red Bull ® was the brainchild of Austrian, Dietrich Mateschitz, ex-managing director of toothpaste manufacturer Blendex, where he travelled widely, experiencing different cultures (Gschwandtner 2004). On one business trip , Mateschitz read that one of Japans highest taxpayers was Mr. Taisho, manufacturer of an energy giving drink. Later in Thailand, he learned that taxi drivers use these drinks to counter fatigue. Mateschitz also noted that the drinks ingredients lacked a patent (Gschwandtner 2004). Armed with this information, in 1984 he approached Chaleo Yoovidhya, owner of Thai company TC pharmaceuticals, producer of the Kratindang energy drink (Gschwandtner 2004). Mateschitzs concept was to form a company selling its own energy drink worldwide at a premium price (Keller 2004). Chaleo agreed, each took a 49% stake, investing half a million dollars. Chaleos son took the remaining 2%, and Mateschitz agreed to run Red Bull ® (Dolan 2005). Red Bull ® was first established in Austria. Initially wary of the products unusual ingredients, Austrias government insisted on stringent scientific safety testing. Thus, Red Bull ® was not licensed until 1987. Subsequently, this regulatory procedure proved a mixed blessing for Red Bull ® (Gschwandtner 2004). (Kratin Daeng The iconic eye-catching logo and slogan red bull gives you wings were then designed (Gschwandtner 2004). By 1990, despite high sales figures, and a lot of promotion, Red Bull ®s finances were in the black. To this point, funding had been 90% equity from the two partners and 10% bank loans (Gschwandtner 2004; Dolan 2005). Ambitious Mateschitz now believed Austria too small a market for Red Bull ®. In 1993, Red Bull ® moved into such countries as Hungary and Germany, planning to pre-market the little 250ml can by word of mouth across Europe (Gschwandtner 2004). Red Bull ®s Kraihamer commented, We do not market the product to the consumer, we let the consumer discover the product first (Keller 2004, p.119). This Buzz marketing proved highly successful, and inexpensive. Red Bull ®s controversial ingredients made it a cool fashion icon. Its mixability with vodka, coupled with extreme sports sponsorship, helped the drink tap into the young hip market (Cooney 2007; Gschwandtner 20 04). By 1997, Red Bull ® had conquered most of Europe including the UK. It then moved onto the USA, working state by state with a similar buzz technique (Hein 2001). Today Red Bull ® is now Austrias most successful brand, worth more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬10.9 billion, with diamond producer, Swartzkopf being worth half as much (Muller 2009). 3.0 Does Red Bull ® Revitalise the Body and Mind? Red Bull ® is billed as a drink which: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improves physical endurance, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Stimulates metabolism and helps eliminate waste substances, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improves overall feeling of well-being, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improves reaction speed and concentration, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increases mental alertness (Keller 2004). Red Bull ® is best consumed:, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ At times of increased mental and physical strain, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ On long sleep-inducing motorways, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ During intensive working days, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Prior to demanding athletic activities, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Before tests and exams, (Redbull.com (a) [ca. 2009]). Some consumers are easily convinced of Red Bull ®s effectiveness. Nicknames such as liquid speed and liquid cocaine along with peer pressure build hype around the product (Kumar, et al. 2004). American college student Kaytie Pickett illustrates this: Maybe I think it works just because they say it works Im a slave to peer pressure (Walker [ca. 2009]). Other consumers are more sceptical. Brandweek reported in 2008 that Red Bull ® was one of the UKs lowest ranked companies in a survey of perceived brand value (Brandweek 2008). Despite the odds, studies proved the drinks effectiveness. One such study was on ten individual graduate students, five of which were given a placebo, the rest Red Bull ®. Conducted before and several hours after consumption, the results proved conclusively that: the mixture of three key ingredients of Red Bull Energy Drink used in the study (caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone) have positive effects upon human mental performance and mood (Seidl, et al. 2000). Whereas most products spell out exactly what they do, Red Bull ® uses vague terms, Vitalizes Body and Mind (Walker [ca. 2009] p.2) relying on consumers to purchase the drink and discover its effects themselves. (Walker [ca. 2009]) 3.1 What are the ingredients in Red Bull ®? Red Bull ® 250ml cans contain; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 80mg of caffeine, à ¢Ã¢ ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ Taurine, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Glucuronolactone, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sugars, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Vitamins (Keller, 2004 p.117). Taurine is Red Bull ®s most controversial ingredient. In organic form, it was discovered in the bile of a bull (Irving Sax, et al. 1987). This is the likely source of not only the name, but also rumours that it is made from Bull Testes or that it contains Bull Semen. In the drink, taurine comes in synthetic form (Redbull.com (c) [ca. 2009]; Walker [ca. 2009]). Human beings produce taurine in a form similar to that of an amino acid. During extreme physical activity, the body may require more taurine than is produced. Taurines metabolic stimulatory effects help the body work harder. (Keller 2004; Healingdaily.com 2009). Equally, its detoxifying effect helps counter fat build-up on the liver caused for example by excess binge drinking (Healingdaily.com 2009; McCall 2005). Glucuronolactone is a naturally occurring amino acid in human beings, produced by glucose b reaking down in the liver. It also removes toxins from the body and is a metabolic stimulator, fighting fatigue, and producing a feeling of well being (Keller 2004). Theoretically, these supplements should help the body to perform better, when under stress, fatigue, or performing physical exercise. Red Bull in suspected link to deaths (BBC News Online 2001) Despite Red Bull ®s beneficial effects, some users have had adverse effects from consuming it, and as many as five people have died. A 16-year-old volleyball player would faint during games, and gain a heart rate increase of 30bpm. Diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome, she told the doctor that during the week she would drink four to five cans of Red Bull ® daily. Returning to normal a month later having stopped drinking Red Bull ®, doctors believed that high concentrations of taurine in the brain might have interfered with her cardiovascular system (Terlizzi et al. 2008).1 In 2001, an 18-year-old basketball player shared four cans of Red Bull ® with friends, played a game, then later died of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. An investigation was recommended into high caffeine content drinks (Medicalnewstoday.com 2004). Two clubbers died in 2001 after drinking Red Bull ® with vodka, a third died after drinking it after extreme physical exercise. No results were published into the relationship between Red Bull ® and their deaths (BBC News Online 2001). A WalMart shelf stacker with a heart condition would drink four cans of Red Bull ® a night. He later died of a heart attack. The coroner had insufficient evidence to link the death with Red Bull ® (Clarke 2008). Most major brands will open up to consumers if there is a health scare or death related to their products, in an effort to safeguard brand loyalty (Dunne 2005). Red Bull ® prefers to take the offensive; No one anywhere has ever shown any link between Red Bull energy drink and harmful effects (Medicalnewstoday.com 2004). This makes them appear edgy, flaunting their dont mess with us attitude. 3.3 Has Red Bull ® profited from controversy? Debate surrounding Red Bull ® has been a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they loose some customers due to health fears, as countries such as Denmark, France, and Australia ban the drink. On the other hand, along with the bans, negative press rel ated to the ingredients, nicknames, adverse affects and deaths, has not only made Red Bull ® a talking point, giving them free publicity, it has also allowed the drink to keep its edge, and remain cool. As Mateschitz himself points out; Without the old high school teacher telling his students Red Bull is evil probably even a drug it wouldnt seem interesting and therefore would loose its edge (Kumar, et al. 2004). This edge was proved during Red Bull ®s launch in New Zealand. The distributor was selling a version of the drink with a UK health warning that the government did not recognise. To get round this, they re-labelled each of the 70,000 cans. When consumers found out that the authorities disapproved, demand went through the roof punters would buy Red Bull and immediately pull off the sticker. Theyd tell their mates: this stuff is illegal, everyone wanted to be drinking from the forbidden tin (Cooney 2007). 4.0 Red Bull ®, a non-descript market? Mateschitz believed consumers would take Red Bull ®s benefits seriously only if the product cost more than an average soft drink. Therefore from the outset, the cost per can was set 10% above the most expensive competitor, regardless of country. This is why a single can of Red Bull ® can cost up to 300% more than a traditional soft drink (Keller 2004). Conducting initial market research in 1987, Red Bull ® had failed miserably; people sa id its colour and taste were disgusting (Johnson 2002). However, this was not all bad news, further research revealed; 50% of our test group were crazy about Red Bull, and 50% said it tasted terrible (Johnson 2002). Ambivalence, as Mateschitz later says, was great for Red Bull ®, creating discussion, controversy and giving Red Bull ® the edge it needed to start a new market. Some thought it had a medicinal taste, persuading consumers of its functional properties and added value (Keller 2004 p117). The drinks extra cost would not deter them (Keller, 2004). Red Bull ® describes its market as; more than just a hot secret for the night owl and the non-stop party-animal. It is appreciated by a wide range of people, such as the overworked taxi driver, the stressed manager, the exam-anxious student and the pressured journalist It is used by surfers in the summer and snowboarders in the winter (Redbull.com (d), [ca. 2009]). Companies typically select their consumer group by specifying such target elements as age, job, sport, or occupation. Red Bull ® does the contrary. Whilst talking generally about their consumers, stressed student, taxi driver, stressed manager etc, they manage to keep their market relatively vague (Walker, [ca. 2009]). So the question is, who buys such a strange tasting, expensive product, with benefits deliberately not spelled out in black and white? Rob Walker [ca. 2009] argues what Red Bull drinkers have in common is a taste for the edgy and faintly dangerous. Keeping a question mark over the specific consumer allows drinkers to fit into the Red Bull ® clique. Despite the young hip image, Red Bull ®s non-descript credentials allow it to be consumed by just about anyone, creating access to wider markets and competitive advantage (Walker [ca. 2009]). 5.0 How is Red Bull Marketed? Red Bull ® presents an image of a small, friendly enterprise. We dont want to be seen as having lots of money to spend (Walker [ca. 2009]). The truth however is quite the contrary. The company spent $600 million, or 30% of its revenue on marketing in 2004, Coke spends 9% (Dolan 2005). This huge sum is spent on extreme sport sponsorship, live events, and eye-catching design, with less emphasis on media advertising (Gschwandtner 2004). This section asks how and why they use these techniques. 5.1 Sponsorship Red Bull ® sponsors over 500 extreme sports athletes worldwide. Examples include Formula 1 Freestyle Skiing, Break Dancing, and Free Climbing (Gschwandtner 2004). Additionally, Red Bull ® creates events filling every niche, from DJ battles, Whacky Races, Air Shows through to Festivals. (Gschwandtner, 2004; see page 10) In 2003, 200 million people watched worldwide as B.A.S.E. jumper Felix Baumgartner leapt from a plane at 30,000ft above Dover with a carbon wing strapped to his back. He flew the 22 miles across the English Channel to Calais at an average of 135mph, setting a new world record (Wyatt 2003). The stunt was not only a dig at the outlawing of Red Bull ® in France, but also a pre-marketing strategy to create brand recognition and a buzz about the product (Gschwandtner 2004). Red Bull ® has tapped into the market of the rich and famous by purchasing Jaguar and Minardi Formula One teams in 2004 and 2005 (World Advertising Research Center 2009). Costing over $100 millio n a year and competing around the world, they race under the names Redbullracing and Torro Rosso (Forbes.com [ca. 2009]; World Advertising Research Center 2009). With constant media coverage, and cans of Red Bull ® spotted in the hands of celebrities and the logo splashed all over their cars, Red Bull ® wins even if the two teams lose! The 5500m2 Hangar-7 in Austria diversified Red Bull ®s influence. It is home to the 15 Flying Bull show planes, a chic eatery, and art exhibition. By night, it transforms into a nightclub, with Vodka Red Bull ® on tap (Redbull.com (b) [ca. 2009]). Dedicated pre-market research allows Red Bull ® to tailor events and sponsorship specifically to each consumer group, state by state, country by country, seamlessly. 5.2 Advertising Simple, playful, nonsensical cartoons help market the product at anyone with a sense of humour, regardless of language, reaffirming Red Bull ®s nebulous marketing strategy (see bottom of page) (Keller, 2004). Coupled with the tagline Red Bull gives you wiiings (Keller 2004, p119) a deliberate exaggeration, adding intrigue, it makes the consumer eager to find out for themselves (Walker [ca. 2009]). 5.3 Brand Image Two red coloured bulls charging towards one another. The small size of the can. These could not be better connotations of strength (Keller 2004). The package says it is a serious product, not to be taken lightly. The Red Bull ® cut-out in the pull-ring adds class and interest, whilst the cans mixture of blue and silver portrays refreshment. The cans simple tagline Revitalises body and mind effectively explains the contents function in four simple words, whilst remaining non-specific (Keller 2004, p.118; Keller, 2004). With its fingers in every pie, Red Bu ll ® combines well thoughtout brand image, playful advertising, media-rich events and sponsorship not only to cultivate their edgy image, but also to ensure every consumer can relate to the product in some way. Mateschitz admits,we dont bring the product to the people, we bring people to the product (Gschwandtner 2004). Red Bull ® wants consumers to embrace the product and all its ideals, as he points out Red Bull isnt a drink, its a way of life (Kumar, et al. 2004). 5.4 Some of Red Bulls extreme sports athletes and events in picture Figure 1 Top to bottom, from left to right; Surfing Amazon tidal bore (Gschwandtner 2004), Red bull Playstreets (Hagena 2008), Felix Baumgartner B.A.S.E. Jump Christ Redeemer (Gschwandtner 2004), Redbullracing F1 Getty (G.M., [2009]), Red Bull Storm Chase (Hollmann [ca. 2004 ]) Hangar-7 (Gschwandtner 2004), Felix Baumgartner Channel Crossing (Gschwandtner 2004), The Dolomite Man competition (Gschwandtner 2004), Flà ¼taag flying day (Stone 2008), Red Bull cliff diving (Keller 2004)., Red Bull air race (Larson 2008), Mysteryland festival (Mysteryland 2009). Page | 10 6.0 Revolutionary Marketing This section explores the revolutionary marketing techniques Red Bull ® uses to establish its brand. The techniques developed out of a demand. In 1987, Red Bull ® could not be exported from Austria, as it was not a European Union member state. EU law states that if one country agrees to the sale of a foodstuff, it can be sold in all EU countries. Each EU member state has a list of allowable ingredients, and to Red Bull ®s dismay, taurine was on none of them. Scotlands allowed list did include taurine, so Red Bull ®s first EU market entry was in 1992 in the UK via Scotland (Keller 2004). During the EU ban, with demand high, individuals bootlegged the drink across borders. Red Bull ® was not actually on the black market, but bootlegging did help their semi-legal image (Keller 2004). Red Bull ®s entry to the UK market was rocky. It was not until 1995 that they made profit (see Figure 2). Long established Lucozade led the energy drink sector. 15 20 Figure 2 Red Bull ® UK Finances (millions) (Red Bull Company Ltd 2009) Containing energy boosting minerals and vitamins much like Red Bull ®, Lucozades use of energy as part of its tagline obliged Red Bull ® to change to stimulant instead of energy, thus targeting a completely new consumer 2002). Red Bull ® was sold as a sports drink, not the holistic product seen in Austria. Instead of using the known buzz marketing, Red Bull ® sold through supermarket chains and billboard advertising with a new tagline: you should never underestimate what red bull can do for you (Johnson 2002, p.5). (Gschwandtner 2004; Johnson Profit/loss after tax Expenditure on Promotional Equipment GBP By 1996, Red Bull ® UK had an astronomical debt of  £2.5 million (see Figure 2). Their share of the market only stood at 2% (Johnson 2002). As global director Kraihamer portrays; The UK team started from the wrong end they were wrong, they totally misunderstood how to create a customer base (Johnson 2002, p.5). (Red Bull Mini 2008) Firing the entire sales team, Mateschitz appointed an Austrian director who increased marketing spending (see Figure 2). The slogan was changed back, and Buzz marketing was introduced. Teams of students were hired to tap into the younger markets. Driving Minis with big Red Bull ® cans attached, they attended parties, and social gatherings. These alpha bees would be the popular ones of friendship groups. If they liked the product, so would their friends, creating a buzz about Red Bull ® (Gschwandtner 2004). This coupled with sponsorship of extreme sports meant that between 1998 and 1999 profits after tax went from  £85,000 to  £16 million (see Figure 2) (Red Bull Company Ltd 2009). A similar success story was of Kiwi, Joseph Roberts, who, when on holiday in Slovenia, saw the opportunity to market and sell Red Bull ® back home. Out partying, he decided he wanted a soft drink and stumbled upon a can of Red Bull ®. When the bar man refused to sell it claiming it to be illegal , it made him want it even more. Eventually, he spent no less than $150 on three cans! Drinking just one, he realised its potential. A year on he met with Red Bull ® in Austria. On persisting, he gained rights to sell the drink. Back in New Zealand, his marketing strategy ensured Red Bull ® turned up at the right parties, bars, and shops. By playing the drinks illegal credentials, he used opinion leaders to create a buzz about the product (Cooney 2007). Before he knew it, he was rushed off his feet: We were delivering products from the back of our cars at two three in the morning everybody had to do whatever it took (Cooney 2007, P.5). Buzz marketing evolved during Red Bull ®s USA launch in 1997. Organising sales, marketing, and distribution from the Red Bull ® North American California HQ was impractical. Instead, a structure similar to that of Red Bull ® GmbH split the USA into eight units covering a set amount of states (see Appendix Figure 3). Each unit organised sale s, distribution, and pre-marketing. This meant the buzz was created even before Red Bull ® arrived. The alpha bees would poll consumers interests, for Red Bull ® to promote the drink in the right places and sponsor the right events (Hein 2001). 7.0 Maintaining market share Red Bull ® dominated the global market in 1987. By 2008 however, they still led with 29%, but energy drink company Monster was catching up with 23% (The Nielson Company 2009). The next section explains how and why, it changed. In 1987, UK Lucozade and USA Gatorade, although not specifically energy drinks, crossed over into Red Bull ®s territory, having already been on sale for many years. Equally, Kratin Daneng held a market share in Asia, although not in carbonated form (Gschwandtner 2004; Kumar, et al. 2004). With over 228 brands listed in 2008, the picture had become very different. Energy drinks were an extremely complex market area. In can or re-sealable bottled format, the sizes varied from the slim original 250ml, to the new 300ml and 680ml varieties. Products now ranged from regular carbonated energy drinks through to Energy Shots with 25 new versions in 2008, natural organic non-carbonated forms, and aphrodisiac drinks (The Nielson Company 20 09). In 1997, Hansen Natural brought out Monster Energy, using similar marketing techniques as Red Bull ®. Its tagline Unleash the Beast evokes a certain type of consumer, together with its Monster Army of extreme Figure 4 Global Energy Drink Market Share 1987 (Various sources) Red Bull Other Figure 5 Global Energy Drinks sales 2008 (The Nielson Company 2009) 1 RED BULL 3 ROCKSTAR 5AMP 7 NOS 9 SOBE Next 90 brands (Monsterenergy [ca. 2009]) 2 MONSTER 4 FULL THROTTLE 6 NO FEAR 8 ADRENALINE 10 BOOKOO sports athletes and promotion through events strives to put Monster on a level footing with Red Bull ®. With a similar calorie count, and blend of ingredients it resembles Red Bull ®, yet is double the size and half the price, it was bound to sell well (Johnson 2002; Monster energy [ca. 2009]). Coffee energy drinks recently entered the market, such as SHOCK coffee (Johnson 2002; SHOCK coffee [ca. 2009]). However companies including Red Bull ® had already tried similar products without success, Fair Trade energy drinks are likely to be a popular new market entrant (The Nielson Company 2009). 8.0 Competition and Intellectual property Energy drink companies have ridden the wave of Red Bull ®s success bringing out similar looking products. No patent on the drink means even their taste could be the same allowing competitors to undercut Red Bull ® and take some of their market share. How has Red Bull ® protected its brand image in the now turbulent functional drinks market? Red Bull ® is a registered trademark. Extremely protective of its brand image, strict guidelines govern the ways Red Bull ® portrays itself in advertising; from use of colour to font size, they cover it all. These measures deter copycat brands but it does not always work; (Keller 2004) In 2007, Red Bull ® took rival energy drink Boost to court, saying their cans use of silver and blue infringed the Red Bull ® trademark. The images on the right hint that Red Bull ® won. (Irish Independent 2007). Red Bull ® took Music Festival organiser Mean Fiddler to court in 2004, claiming firstly that t heir energy drink Synergy had infringed their trademark with silver and blue patched cans of similar size. Additionally they believed Synergy had been switch selling. Losing the court case, Red Bull ® paid out  £20,000 in court costs (Sweeny 2004). Australian wine company Reschke Wines bid to register the trademark Bull Traders in 1999 featuring the outline of a bull. The two companies went to court over the issue (Ainslie 2008). 9.0 Discussion Selling over four billion cans worldwide last year and with global sales figures up on 2007 by 13.2% Red Bull ® remains optimistic of its future. 2009s plans to expand into new and emerging markets such as Africa, Russia, India, and Japan remain unchanged (Mà ¼ller, 2009). However Red Bull ® is not the only energy drink company weathering the economic crisis so well. Reports predict an increase in global energy drink sales by more than two thirds in 2014, at over 8 billion litres annually (Canadean Ltd 2009). What are Red Bull ®s p lans to maintain dominance in the energy drink sector and increase revenue, especially in these times of economic downturn? (Reschke Wines [ca. 2009]) (Boost [ca. 2009]) Page | 14 9.1 Diversification of product range When companies start out with one product, they later diversify or update the existing range to keep consumer interest, ensuring their product does not reach maturity too soon. Red Bull ®s sales figures are still growing, even after 22 years. Their uniqueness on entry into the drinks market as an energy drink has given them 16 long years before they felt the need to diversify (see Figure 5). Successes and failures of products Red Bull ® has brought out are described below. With over one in four adults in the UK trying to loose weight most of the time (Talking Retail 2008, p.1), Sugar Free Red Bull ® was launched in 2003. It contains only 8 calories when compared to the 110 of standard Red Bull ®, so taps into the emerging health conscious (Moosa 2002, p.32) market (Caloriecount.about.com [ca. 2009]). With 25% of new buyers in the UK purchasing Sugar Free Red Bull ®, it accounted for 15% of 2008 sales, Red Bull ® intends to increase spe nding on advertising its sugar free variant (Talking Retail 2008). (Sabai [ca. 2009]) (Redbull.com (a) [ca. 2009]) Global Red Bull can sales (Billions) (Kumar 2004 and Various Sources) 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Sabai is a wine spritzer originating from Red Bull ® co-founders son, Charlerm Yoovidyas Siam Winery in Thailand. Launched in 2005, its flavours Hibiscus and Pomegranate complement Thai foods. Although not sold under the Red Bull ® name, business decisions regarding the drink are taken by Red Bull ®s UK marketing team. Sabai meaning take it easy (Centaur Communications Ltd 2007, p.1) fits their marketing ethic, being a bespoke wine, it is sold using point of sale promotion and consumer sampling at events with celebrities to create a Sabai buzz (Forbes.com [ca. 2009]; CentaurCommunications Ltd 2007). Lunaqua was a failed Red Bull ® attempt to enter the bottled water market. First seen in 2001, the drink was bottled from a previously undiscovered Alpine Source (Lunaqua [ca. 2003]) at full moon giving the water bio-energetic (Lunaqua [ca. 2003]) properties. Suffice to say, it did not sell well and was withdrawn (World Advertising Research Centre 2009). Page | 15 For 2009, Red Bull ® plans to bring out an Energy shot to oppose the 25 competing products brought out in 2008 (BevNET.com 2008). 9.2 Drinks for the Health Conscious consumer Led by the increasingly health conscious (Moosa 2002, p.32) consumer, the market is still developing. With sales volume doubling from 25 million in 2000 to 50 million litres in 2002, Red Bull ®s entry into this niche had to be profitable. Relatively fragmented, it covers a wide variety of products, from vitamin and mineral enriched herbal drinks though to pro-biotic yogurt and fruit drinks, to fruit enriched smoothies (Hillam 2003). Owned by Red Bull ®, Carpe Diem sells a range of five drinks. Kombucha developed in 1997 and Ginkgo 2000 are modern-day carbonated versions of ancient Asian herbal teas. Kombuchas influences stem from the ancient philosophies of Zen, which aims to harmonise body and soul. Ginko has origins in myth and legend, containing leaves from Asias sacred tree, the Ginkgo Biloba aids conc entration. (CarpeDiem.com (a+b) [ca. 2009]. Homeopathic drinks, made with spring water, herbs and plants were launched in 2003. Drawing on Greek physician Hippocrates theories, they have relaxing, harmonising, or vitalising effects and are 100% natural with no added sugar, flavours, colouring or preservatives (CarpeDiem.com (c) [ca. 2009]). Carpe Diems elusive nature echoes Red Bull ®s marketing strategies. By using very little promotion such as point of sale in Selfridges, collaborating with masseurs, offering holistic solutions to weary shoppers, they let consumers find the product, re-creating that Red Bull ® buzz (CarpeDiem.com (d) [ca.2009]). The Wellbeing Zone on the Carpe Diem website details participatory events like urban Yoga, and an Osteopathic self-treatment programme run by experts (CarpeDiem.com (d) [ca.2009]). Like Red Bull Carpe Diem are securing income by creating a way of life, ensuring consumers buy into a philosophy: an appeal to the people of our time to li ve consciously and seize the day (CarpeDiem.com (e) [ca.2009]). (CarpeDiem.com (d) [ca.2009]) (CarpeDiem.com (b+c) [ca. 2009]) Page | 16 The Red Bull simply COLA ® 2008 launch was extremely controversial. Including ingredients such as the Kola nut and Coca leaf, the drink is sold as the only cola to be organic, taking the drink back to its roots. Adding diversity, the drink is available in 250ml and 330ml can sizes (World Advertising Research Centre 2009). In contrast to Red Bull ®s Buzz marketing technique, the launch covered eight markets worldwide including Austria, UK, Ireland, USA, Russia, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland (Redbullcola [ca. 2003]; World Advertising Research Centre 2009). 9.3 New Marketing Ideas (Redbullcola [ca. 2003]) In 2008, Red Bull ® invested only  £50,000 of its  £7.6 million budget in digital marketing, a number set to increase in 2009 (Revolutionmagazine.com 2009). Below are some examples: Red Bull ® entered the gaming industry in 2008 as the first advertiser on Playstations virtual world. Playing an online version of the Red Bull ® Air Race, users interact and share gaming experiences, adding publicity (Revolutionmagazine.com 2009). The Facebook Red Bull ® partnership in launching the new Facebook Connect site enables users to access all their social networking sites using just one login and password. With Facebook being visited by 3 in 10 people online across the world and social networking sites capturing 67% of the global online population, this partnership offers a low-cost way to advertise to hundreds of millions more consumers (The Nielson Company 2009) 9.4 Expanding the business model Red Bull ® purchased the paradise island of Laucala in 2003 for $10 million. Matesch itz association with the rich and famous will ensure a steady flow of customers for the seven star resort, furthering the drink companys credibility with consumers (Fijilive.com [ca. 2009]). In 2004, Selling Power reported Red Bull ®s intention to create a $1 billion motorsport and aviation theme park in Styria, Austria. Open-air arenas holding 100,000 onlookers, F1 racetracks, as well as a motorsport and aviation academy, are just some of the features. Visitors will be able to drive go-carts, high-powered sports cars, motorbikes or planes. Two hotels will provide accommodation, whilst a shopping pla

Urban Legend of Cry Baby Bridge :: Urban Legends Ghost Stories

Cry Baby Bridge In April I sat down with a friend at my house and asked about any urban legends or ghost stories he had encountered. After a couple legends he had seen in movies, he mentioned a haunted bridge about ten minutes away from downtown. He is a twenty-one year-old White male; his father owns an appliance store and his mother helps out with the books. He first heard this story in the ninth grade from a couple of friends. Supposedly, they had heard from kids who had actually been to the bridge and heard strange things at night. The bridge is located off of Uniontown road, between a couple old farms. He has not encountered the bridge first hand but still remembers the story surrounding it: About thirty years ago there was a young girl in love with her boyfriend. One day, he convinced her to take their relationship to the next level, telling her how deeply he cared. A couple weeks later, she found out that she had become pregnant, and decided it was best to hide it from him. They kept in close contact over the next few months, and he told her that they would be together forever. When her father realized that she was having a baby without marriage, he made her leave the house until she came back with a husband. When the baby girl was born, she decided to tell the boyfriend about the child, by bringing her to his house. He lived on a small farm right outside town and you had to pass over a small river on a bridge to get back to his house. As she opened the door, she walked in on him with another girl. Filled with anger, (pause) she gets in her car and speeds off. Now she could not return home unmarried and had lost her only love because of this one child. As she looked over at the baby, she is only reminded of her boyfriend and the image of him with the other girl. (tone increases) Finally, she reached the bridge, then slammed on the breaks. She got out and in a moment of rage threw the baby over the bridge to rid her of the baby girl’s troubles. Later that night, the police were tipped off about a murder at the bridge and came to find the girl hanging from the bridge. Urban Legend of Cry Baby Bridge :: Urban Legends Ghost Stories Cry Baby Bridge In April I sat down with a friend at my house and asked about any urban legends or ghost stories he had encountered. After a couple legends he had seen in movies, he mentioned a haunted bridge about ten minutes away from downtown. He is a twenty-one year-old White male; his father owns an appliance store and his mother helps out with the books. He first heard this story in the ninth grade from a couple of friends. Supposedly, they had heard from kids who had actually been to the bridge and heard strange things at night. The bridge is located off of Uniontown road, between a couple old farms. He has not encountered the bridge first hand but still remembers the story surrounding it: About thirty years ago there was a young girl in love with her boyfriend. One day, he convinced her to take their relationship to the next level, telling her how deeply he cared. A couple weeks later, she found out that she had become pregnant, and decided it was best to hide it from him. They kept in close contact over the next few months, and he told her that they would be together forever. When her father realized that she was having a baby without marriage, he made her leave the house until she came back with a husband. When the baby girl was born, she decided to tell the boyfriend about the child, by bringing her to his house. He lived on a small farm right outside town and you had to pass over a small river on a bridge to get back to his house. As she opened the door, she walked in on him with another girl. Filled with anger, (pause) she gets in her car and speeds off. Now she could not return home unmarried and had lost her only love because of this one child. As she looked over at the baby, she is only reminded of her boyfriend and the image of him with the other girl. (tone increases) Finally, she reached the bridge, then slammed on the breaks. She got out and in a moment of rage threw the baby over the bridge to rid her of the baby girl’s troubles. Later that night, the police were tipped off about a murder at the bridge and came to find the girl hanging from the bridge.

Nucor at Crossroads Essay

In 1986, three distinct segments defined the U.S. steel industry; integrated steel mills, mini-mills, and specialty steel makers. The integrated mills have the capacity to produce a maximum of 107 million tons of steel per year, mini-mills produced a maximum of 21 million tons of capacity a year, and the nation’s specialty steel makers could produce a maximum capacity of 5 million tons of stainless and specialty grades of steel. This leads to a total capacity of 133 million tons of production per year. In 1986, the market consumed only 70 million tons of steel, leaving 33 million tons unused. Nucor is at a crossroads. It faces a saturated market suffering from significant overcapacity. Nucor’s only opportunity for growth seems to be to expand into the production of flat sheet metal. However, to compete in that area, Nucor would need to invest in a very risky new technology, a thin-slab casting plant that, if successful, would allow Nucor to manufacture flat sheet metal with a low minimum efficient scale and a low marginal cost of production. This case will examine Nucor’s history, the impacts of entering the thin-slab casting business, the advantages Nucor would reap, and whether they should build the new thin-slab casting plant. Looking at the business landscape of the steel industry, it is amazing to see how well Nucor has done considering the industry is so competitive and has relatively low profitability. Using Porter’s model, the threat of rivalry is high due to weak domestic demand, excess global capacity, a maturing industry, low switching costs, high exit barriers, rising operating costs (increasing raw material prices), and more than 5 comparable competitors. The threat of entry is low due to high barriers to entry (economies of scale have been achieved and high capital requirements), growth and profitability are modest at best, and most viable candidates are already present in the industry and are looking to expand into other markets. The threat of substitutes is moderate because buyers have the option of choosing other materials (aluminum, plastics, ceramics, etc.), and new materials technologies are currently being developed and sought after. The threat of suppliers is moderate because iron ore and scrap metal prices are currently high, energy prices are increasing, Nucor pays for transportation of its raw materials to its plants, there is no easy substitute to take the place of iron ore/scrap metal, and there is currently an overabundance of buyers of scrap metal and iron ore. Lastly, the threat of buyers is weak to moderate, because there is excess capacity, low switching costs, few high volume buyers, many low volume customers, strong demand from China, and rising feedstock prices. With the difficult business landscape in the steel industry, Nucor had to develop competitive advantages over its rivals to achieve its success. These advantages included differentiating itself by being an early adopter of computerized order tracking and allowing customers to make short time orders thus reducing their inventory. Second, it invested in modernization of its plants at an average of 2.9 times its depreciation expenses vs. an ave raged of 1.6 of its competitors through the 1970s and 1980s, and refurbished on average a plant a year. Third, Nucor strategically located its plants closer together to share orders for minimal cost and maximum sales, and building new plants in smaller rural areas with access to railroads, low energy costs, and a plentiful water source allowed Nucor to keep labor costs relatively low and made sure that COGS remained competitive. Fourth, base wages were lower but incentives were higher than average, and direct communication on expectation vs. performance provided feedback on compensation. Also, during down times, officers and CEO pay dropped dramatically while average workers did not. This led to lower employee turnover 1-5% vs. 5-10% for competitors. Fifth, Nucor’s hiring practices focused on making sure that they focused on hiring people based on potential, not experience. Finally, Nucor’s business hierarchy was different- mostly flat, resulting in less bureaucracy and more productivity per worker. In short, many of these advantages led to Nucor becoming the second most productive steel maker per employee in the world due by 1985. Thin-slab casting was a proposed technique for mini-mills to fill orders for flat sheet steel, a segment that accounted for approximately half of the U.S. steel industry. To expand its steel market share, Nucor needed to enter the flat sheet segment. In the thin-slab casting business, Nucor would initially compete with international firms from Canada and Japan that provided high quality flat sheet steel, and cheap flat sheet steel providers in newly industrialized nations. Barriers to entry would include large capital expenditures making new entrants cost prohibitive, but not impossible as the barrier is small comparative to the overall costs for steel manufacturing. While new rivals may not pop up immediately, new entrants from existing rivals will dilute Nucor’s competitive advantage. Nucor needed an innovative technology to be profitable in this segment as a new entrant. However, innovative technologies are risky due to development costs, unknown long-term operating costs, and the unknown quality of future products. Also, as a first mover, increased costs will be realized. Increased maintenance above forecasts, the risk that production will not keep pace with the small-scale model, the risk that the new tech will not be fully understood by the employees and harder to run. Also, an increased likelihood that other companies will benefit from their mistakes as SMS has not made any offer to keep information gleaned from a large-scale operation confidential. However, the benefits of being a first time mover would be realized as well. The expected profit from the thin slab minimill would be $81.50 per ton, which is 26% higher than from a modernized hot rolled sheet produced in an integrated mill and 226% higher than the margin from an unmodernized integrated mill. For cold rolled sheet, the expected profit advantage remains with minimills, with an expected profit of $107.50 per ton, which 1.9% greater than a modernized integrated mill and 115% higher than an unmodernized integrated mill. If Nucor enters the thin-slab casting business the lasting advantages may be reduced over time as others in the industry may imitate them so long as the model is proven to deliver the targeted results. If Nucor works out the kinks, then other companies will join up and the competitive advantage window will shrink, making the overall scheme too costly. If the program does not work, it is likely the other companies will not follow suit, while Nucor pays the cost for other companies â€Å"R&D† offsite. However, if the investment into the new technology proves successful, Nucor would have a significant cost savings over integrated mills initially, both in terms of entry costs and in terms of operating costs and profit margin. This will provide Nucor with a significant competitive advantage over the integrated mills, which already provide flat-rolled steel products, but will not provide sustainable competitive advantage over the long term, as it will be easy for competitors to duplicate this technology. Many of the companies that do steel would imitate the path that Nucor is taking. They have done an excellent job of lowering cost while leveraging their competitive advantages. Furthermore, CSP is a step in the ultimate industry goal of direct casting of sheet at strip. However, it seems as though Nucor would only gain a head start of two to three years since SMS held the CSP technology and Nucor couldn’t block others from using it. This head start doesn’t seem very advantageous as it would require almost 5 years to break (see attached chart) even and the other companies would be able to use lessons learned from Nucor’s first mover and apply it to lower their breakeven point. Overall this would be a very risky undertaking for Nucor to undertake at this time as the technology is not at an adequate tech readiness level, the initial cost to implement, as well as it could move Nucor away from its competitive advantages.

Cultural Effects on English Language Collocation as Foreign Language

In English language, there are many fixed, identifiable, non-idiomatic phrases and construction. Such groups of words are called recurrent combinations, fixed combination or collocation. Collocation fall into two major groups: grammatical collocation and lexical collocation. For people who regard the English language as a foreign language or second language, it’s so difficult to express it as perfect. This â€Å"mini research paper† talks about â€Å"Cultural Effect on English Language Collocation as Foreign Language† to help them more understanding in how to mastering English.Keywords: Collocation, English as a second language, Cultural effects Introduction Learners of English as a foreign or second language, like learners of any language, have traditionally devoted themselves to mastering words – their pronunciations, forms, and meanings. However, if they wish to acquire active mastery of English. That is, if they wish to be able to express themselves fl uently and accurately in speech and writing, they must learn to cope with the combination of words into phrases, sentences and texts. Students must learn how words combine or ‘collocate’ with each other.In any language, certain words regularly combine with certain other words or grammatical constructions. Collocations are important to language learners. When learners use collocations, they will be better understood. Native speakers unconsciously predict what is going to be said based on the use of phrases. If a non-native speaker uses frequently-used patterns (collocations), it will be easier for native speakers to guess what the non-native speaker is saying and may help compensate for other language issues, such as pronunciation.When learners write and speak, if they use collocations central to their topic, their readers are more likely to understand their message. The importance of vocabulary acquisition has always been recognized, although, at times, vocabulary was t reated as separate from grammar and skills. However, the communicative and natural approach emphasized the importance of vocabulary development. Vocabulary knowledge involves considerably more than just knowing the meanings of given words in isolation; it involves knowing the words that tend to co-occur with it.Hoey (2005) in Shokouhi (2010), for example, argues that non-native speakers behave differently with collocations than native speakers, in that the former group learns them in very restricted contexts. Compounding this problem is the fact that the frequency of particular combinations depends upon the genre in which each occurs. Grammatical and lexical collocations, like the accompaniments of nouns with other nouns, adjectives with nouns, verbs with other parts of speech, or many other such combinations, may all show different behaviour. Literature ReviewCollocation Collocation is a tendency of words in a language to occur in close proximity to each other (based on logical and meaningful relationships between then, patterns of association and usage, etc). Collocation can be ascertained by experience, reading, and study of dictionaries that give multiple examples in the form of quotations, such as the Oxford English Dictionary) Chandler (1998). Students must learn how words combine or ‘collocate’ with each other. In any language, certain words regularly combine with certain other words or grammatical constructions.These recurrent, semi-fixed combinations or collocations can be divided into group (BBI dictionary): 1. Grammatical collocation Grammatical collocation is a phrase consisting of a dominant word (noun, adjective, verb) and preposition or grammatical structure such as an infinitive or clause. Example : account for, advantage over, adjacent to, by accident, to be afraid that. 2. Lexical collocation Lexical collocations consist of various combinations of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Lexical collocations, in contrast to grammati cal collocations, do not contain prepositions, infinitives or clauses.Example: a crushing defeat, storms rage, a world capital. Lewis (1998) proposes the following categories for collocations: 1. Strong: A large number of collocations are strong or very strong. For example, we most commonly talk of rancid butter, but that does not mean that other things cannot be rancid. 2. Weak: These are words which co-occur with a greater than random frequency. Many things can be long or short, cheap or expensive, good or bad. However, some things are more predictable, which could be alled collocation; for example, white wine or red wine. 3. Medium strength: These are words that go together with a greater frequency than weak collocations. Some examples are: hold a meeting; carry out a study. The context in which a collocation is used is important. Certain collocations or expressions are appropriate for certain contexts. Factors such as a difference in status or a social distance between the speak er and the hearer can affect the choice of collocational phrases. For example, we would not greet our boss by saying â€Å"How’s it going? ; however, it is all right to greet a friend that way. This example suggests that knowledge of connotation and formality is important in deciding which collocation to use. (Deveci, 2003). Language and culture There are many ways in which the phenomena of language and culture are intimately related. Both phenomena are unique to humans and have therefore been the subject of a great deal of anthropological and sociological study. Language, of course, is determined by culture, though the extent to which this is true is now under debate.The converse is also true to some degree: culture is determined by language – or rather, by the replicators that created both. 1)Language as Determined by Culture Early anthropologists, following the theory that words determine thought, believed that language and its structure were entirely dependent on the cultural context in which they existed. This was a logical extension of what is termed the Standard Social Science Model, which views the human mind as an indefinitely malleable structure capable of absorbing any sort of culture without constraints from genetic or neurological factors.In this vein, anthropologist Verne Ray conducted a study in the 1950's, giving color samples to different American Indian tribes and asking them to give the names of the colors. He concluded that the spectrum we see as â€Å"green†, â€Å"yellow†, etc. was an entirely arbitrary division, and each culture divided the spectrum separately. According to this hypothesis, the divisions seen between colors are a consequence of the language we learn, and do not correspond to divisions in the natural world. A similar hypothesis is upheld in the extremely popular meme of Eskimo words for snow – common stories vary from fifty to upwards of two hundred. )Language as Part of Culture For man y people, language is not just the medium of culture but also is a part of culture. It is quite common for immigrants to a new country to retain their old customs and to speak their first language amid fellow immigrants, even if all present are comfortable in their new language. This occurs because the immigrants are eager to preserve their own heritage, which includes not only customs and traditions but also language. A good example of this is in Canada, where French-speaking natives of Quebec clash with the English-speaking majority.This sort of conflict is also common in areas with a great deal of tribal warfare. It is even becoming an issue in America as speakers of standard American English – mainly whites and educated minorities – observe the growing number of speakers of black English vernacular. Debates are common over whether it is proper to use â€Å"Ebonics† in schools, while its speakers continue to assert that the dialect is a fundamental part of th e â€Å"black culture†. Hossein Shokouhi (2010) found in his research that vocabulary in general and collocation in particular are important to language learning.If collocational associations are not properly taught and learned, the resulting irregularities will immediately mark the learners’ speech or writing as problematic and non-native. Tanju Deveci (2003) said that many cultures, including the Turkish culture, encourage rote learning, where students memorise lists of words in isolation and when they saw the words in phrases, they could not understand them. Such surface level knowledge inhibits meaningful learning and creates collocation-related problems such as the following: 1.Learners may have intra-lingual problems. For example, instead of many thanks, they might incorrectly use several thanks. 2. Learners may make negative transfer from their mother tongue. For example, some Turkish learners tend to say become lovers instead of fall in love. 3. Learners may lo ok for general rules for collocations that do not work for all collocations. For example, they might over-generalize rules of collocation, for example, the use of prepositions in phrasal verbs. They could think that put off your coat is the opposite of put on your coat. 4.When students learn words through definitions or in isolation, their chances of using appropriate collocations or remembering the words decrease. 5. Students may fail to make sense of an idiom. To illustrate, the English idiom It is raining cats and dogs does not make sense to Turkish learners of English because this idiom does not exist in their culture. To communicate the same idea, Turkish learners would say It is raining out of the glass, which does not make sense in English. 6. When students read texts, they may not recognize collocations as meaningful phrases, which would inhibit their understanding of the text. Findings of researchIn this study, the authors take 30 students of Unnes form several majors wheth er they’re English students or not English students as a sample. The participants were given some questions about collocation. This is representing how the Indonesian students make a word combination From 30 respondents. Only 13 students or 44% of students who make a correct answer and it’s not only students from Language and Art Faculty but also from the others. It means that the origin culture has influenced the Indonesian students in expressing English. On the other hand, Based on the tests, respondents have failed to place the right words.That is the fact that a culture has an influence to students in making a word combination well. When the Indonesian wants to say â€Å" Seseorang harus percaya diri dengan kemampuannya† or One should have confidence with his own ability, whereas in English the truth is â€Å"One should have confidence in his own ability†. Conclusion Collocation is very important in English language because with collocation language w ill be more natural and more easily understood, learners will have alternative and richer ways of expressing themselves and it is easier to remember and use language in chunks or blocks rather than as single words.This mini research found that the Indonesian students are still influenced by the Indonesian language in expressing English especially in choosing the words to make a word combination well or good-collocation. To make a good word combination or right-collocation, the Author advises to readers especially to Indonesian students to use a BBI dictionary written by Benson, M. , E. Benson and R. F. Ilson.References Daniel Chandler, 1998 Semiotics for Beginners: a more complex semiotic explanation of denotation/connotation and paradigmatic/syntagmatic analysis. Deveci, Tanju, 2003 teaches English for Academic Purposes at Sabanci University in Istanbul. Hossein Shokouhi, 2010 Collocational Knowledge versus General Linguistic Knowledge among Iranian EFL Learners. , Shahid Chamran U niversity, Iran Lewis, M. 1998. Implementing the lexical approach. London: Language Teaching Publications. Benson, M. , E. Benson and R. F. Ilson. 1997. The BBI dictionary of English word combinations. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co. Appendix Collocation Test i. Fill in the blank the questions below . What is the usual way of describing someone who eats a lot? a)a big eater b)a strong eater c)a hard eater d)a heavy eater e)a furious eater 2. Which is the truth the following phrases? a)a solid tea b)a powerful tea c)a strong tea d)an iron tea e) a stiff tea 3. The high walls give the garden protection †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. the wind. a)From b)To c)Against d)Of e)At 4. Nobody refused for fear †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. losing their job. a)From b)Of c)Over d)On e)to 5. One should have confidence †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. his own ability. a)On b)At c)Over d)In e)With

buy custom Tourism essay

buy custom Tourism essay Tourism is the travelling from one place to the other usually outside the normal environment either for recreational, leisure or business reasons. Tourism is currently a widespread global leisure activity and practice with millions of people touring different destinations yearly around the world to view heritage sites or even for vacation. In 2010, over 940 million international tourist arrivals were reported, representing 6.6% growth as compared to 2009. There is also local tourism where the local tourists from a country visit a tourist site within the same confines of the country. For tourism to grow, adequate plans need to be put in place with clear framework, visionary leadership and right resources. Executive Summary This essay paper discusses tourism as vibrant economic sector in the world earning several countries billions of money. The policy examines the importance of policy formulation and implementation, the critical factors required to ensure success of this sector, the input of both the public and private sectors, sustainability of tourism in the world, the challenges faced by the tourism industry both in the local and international markets, the impacts of tourism economies, communities and environments. This paper also analyses case studies Philippines, Kenya and Ghana discussing their general performance in relation to the international market. It also analyses the goals of tourism and how tourism contributes to economic development and broader regeneration process in the post-industrial cities. Part A Q.1 The rational effective policy development is through Tourism Planning that involves the methods the policy makers embrace to achieve tourism development objectives. Planning can be physical or organizational and can be at national, regional or local levels, integrating several stages that include, analysis of availability and quality of tourist assets , analysis of demand, forecast of visitor demand, marketing, human resource and cost and financing of the tourism plan, development issues and marketing. Clear implementation plans must be in place leading to actualization of the plan (Cooper Shepherd 1998). Q. 2 Some of the critical factors that need to be taken care of to ensure success of tourism include; soundly-based interventions measures in tourism involving achievable techniques to promote control and manage tourism (Hinch Higham 2004).There is also need to promote a sector that can play an important catalytic role like the hotel industry with necessary components and basics of a successful tourism expansion. Reference point is another factor that need to be considered and can be used to evaluate the performance of the industry. In case there is underperformance, then mechanisms are put in place immediately to correct the mess. It is also very important to borrow vital lessons from developing tourism around the world that is, from countries that have experienced the same conditions to be able to foresee possible future occurrence. These factors assist in the national and local tourism development and regeneration in instances that the industry is performing below economic levels. Q. 3 In Kenyan tourism, the roles of Public Sector are; formulating governing legislation, planning, coordination, policy making and financing. Some of the influences that have effects on the duties of this sector are the changing trends in the expectation s of tourists. Government can only provide legislation depending on the needs and expectations of the customers who in this case the tourists. International standards also influence the policy making since international tourists who are usually the majority would like to have standard way of operation as far as the legislation is concerned to make their entry procedures uniform. (Jafari 2000). Q. 4 Sustainability is a principle that ensures that tourism resources are not depleted but used in a way that conservers the resources. It includes; making optimum use of environmental resources that makes a key component in tourism development, upholding vital ecological processes while promoting conservation of culture and biodiversity. It also promotes socio-cultural legitimacy of host communities, conserves and protects their distinguished and cherished cultural heritage and traditional values with a view of contributing to inter-cultural acceptance, understanding and tolerance (Jafari 2000).Sustainability also ensures that feasible long-term economic operations that provides adequate socio-economic benefits like reliable employment and income-earning opportunities, community services to host populations and participating in poverty mitigation activities. Sustainable tourism development is a continuous process that requires close monitoring to check the impacts of the performance to be able to timely generate preventive measures. It therefore requires informed contribution of the stakeholders, including the political leadership for consensus building and to ensure that tourist needs are satisfied. Q. 5 Ghanas tourism sector faces a number of challenges ranging from, poor marketing of Ghana as a tourist destination, low alertness of the potential of tourism as a feasible economic sector; lack of Tourism Brand, poor infrastructure particularly poor access roads to tourist heritage sites, insufficient skilled manpower, Inadequate government funding and lack of professionalism to improve service delivery. Other challenges include; lack of logistics, poor waste management, and inadequate corporate support, lack of favourable credit facilities developers who would want to venture in this sector, substandard quality of products and services, and the opinion that tourism is a high risk sector and inadequate marketing of tourism image abroad. There are also widespread road accidents on the Ghanaian roads. [1] Q. 6 Policy making is an intense process that requires adequate planning, thus needs to be closely monitored. Implementation of the policies may face challenges especially when the proposed objectives are vague, lack of commitment from all stakeholders, inclusion of stakeholders who are an impediment to the operation of the key actors, the use of centralization of the implementation process and incomplete information regarding some goals. It must therefore be very clear on what source is needed, when to be accomplished, desired outcome, who is involved and finally the evaluation criteria for the implementation to be complete. Q. 7 Cultural Tourism is a sustainable style of tourism that include the use of Historical sites, Museums, Theatres, Parks, Art Galleries and Architectural treasures. It involves the encouragement of local tourists to seek genuine experience with a distinguished and distinctive cultural and ethnic history, for example structures that point at the cultures of a people with historical significance in the museums and historical sites and identified with special characteristics. These special cultures create rejuvenation of the tourism drive among the locals, and stagnant tourism destinations to create employment and improve economic development including for Postindustrial cities that were abandoned. This regeneration will encourage local pride, foster greater understanding from the diversity, enhance entrepreneurial spirit, and reconstructs old assets leading to increased volumes of trade. Q. 8 Foreign exchange earnings that include;the leakage of foreign exchange, gross earnings of foreign exchange used to attract more international tourists usually from the total holiday price, collection of that foreign exchange spent in the country. Government Revenue can earn a substantial amount of revenues from tourism, majorly improved by employing positive measures to encourage like use of selective taxes, sales tax, which eventually encourages wider tourism sector, leading to expanded tax base, and therefore high revenues. Occasionally, the government canoperate a dual tax structure where citizens pay a lower charge to that charged on foreign tourists. Other impacts include; employment local people, added demand for local food and crafts, destruction to the landscape: reduced vandalism, erosion, fires, disturbance to livestock, Tourists majorly visit to see the scenery and wildlife leading to more pressure to safeguard habitats. It also leads, increase of local cost of goods expensive because tourists will pay more, shops also stock products for tourists and not everyday goods needed by locals, demand for more shops and hotels, jobs are mainly seasonal. Q. 9 In Kenya tourism organizational arrangement has a lot of influence on the policy development. The traditional and religious beliefs of the nation determine the level of social relations and the type of policies to be developed (Nyeki 1993). The availability of infrastructure also determines the amount of funding for further development. Availability of natural resources also dictates the number of visitors that can be accommodated within a region at a time. Q. 10. Tourism promotes infrastructure development like extension of electricity power lines, communication networks, improved roads network and development of expertise the rural areas as a result of tourism. Increase in money circulation lead to improved economic activities. The tourism also offer employment opportunities to the locals and encourage exchange of cultures. Q. 11 The political class in the world usually tries to make policies governing tourism in the countries having that they are discharged with the legislative responsibilities in making ministry policies that govern tourism. Q. 12 Local participation encourages environmental conservation of the local heritage sights by reducing pollution, erosion and the biodiversity. It is therefore very important to educate the locals to protect their sources of livelihood which are the local tourist sites that offer them employment and revenues generated from the sale of goods to the tourists. Q. 13 Tourism attracts many people from diverse cultural backgrounds with different skills and abilities. It also attracts housing, hotel development due to the high demand of accommodation in such areas and government project development like construction of roads to open up the rural areas. This diversification results into knowledge synchronization and improved revenue collection for the government and the locals leading to improved life standards for the locals. Q. 14 Tourism Policy formulation is an important process that requires stable leadership, adequate planning, thus needs to be well coordinated to ensure far reaching policies are stipulated. Implementation of the policies may face challenges especially when the proposed objectives are vague leaving rooms for speculation, lack of commitment from all the tourism stakeholders, inclusion of stakeholders who are an impediment to the operation of the key actors, the use of centralization of the implementation process that may result into some aspects overlooked and issue of incomplete information regarding some goals. It must therefore be very clear on what source is required, when the task is to be accomplished, desired outcome, who is involved and the evaluation criteria for the implementation process to be complete Q.15 Philippines in 1986, under Executive Order Numbers 120 and 120-A signed by President currently Department of Tourism was reorganized and renamed as Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation. In 2002, the introduced one of its most successful tourism promotion under the platform Visit Philippines 2003, under Secretary Richard J. Gordon and the passage of the Tourism Act of 2009. The law offers a new structure for tourism administration through restructuring of the Department and its affiliate agencies like Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA, putting in place of a Tourism Development Fund, and the establishment of several specialized tourism zones all over the country (The Philippines 1995). The department also includes; Office of Product Development, office of tourism standards, tourism coordination, Internal audit service among others. Q. 16 The major goals of tourism policy include become a leader in attracting tourists to this region, improve the quality of life, tourism to be the principal development factor in our community, develop an ecologically viable tourism program and major economic growth of the region. Some of the major difficulties experienced by include; negative representations of the country by foreign media like BBC, Aljazeera CNN since the Asian financial crisis of 1997 (The Philippines 1995).This has seriously barred many tourists from visiting the country. Transportation is a problem without elaborate cab system leaving tourist settle for unreliable taxis that inflate fares up when experiencing tourists influx. Government has also not improved the transport system Again, the government's lack of precaution and stress on improving means of transport and dealing with these Taxi drivers are also to blame. There is also insecurity for the pedestrians and occasionally the local administration and Tourist leaders could thus be accused for failing to notifying tourists of the non-pedestrian culture and for not disbanding these gangs. Q. 17 This shows interdisciplinary analyses of how tourism, leisure, sport, and the border cultural segment play key roles in the regeneration of urban and rural environments. The chapters relates policy making and urban planning to sociology, geography and business economics planning in urban studies and depend on the use of leisure, cultural values and tourism to regenerate the initially diminishing industrial cities and regions (Mak 2008). Q. 18 This statement is not valid because communities usually depend on the politically influential progress, where ideas are shared and involve community participation, which immediately produce direct returns to the community residents and positively impacts of local economy. There are several factors demystifying this statement one being; community members usually willing to collaborate with each other, as a basic principle for community integration and as a unit participates in the tourism development that profit all equally. The second reason is that community members can achieve equal sharing of revenues and employment tasks, making work easier for all of them. Since the individual ownership is limited, many progress resolutions are made by the tourism enterprises local residents, having comparatively high degree of control and management to develop collective economy. Lastly, community participation promotes integration of traditional culture with heterogeneous culture. Community in tegration between the locals with common mutual drives to improve their earning and life standards will always come together and trust participatory process. On the other hand the tourism industry in many regions of the world usually have human and environmental costs like displacement of a peoples to create more space for the wildlife, thus undermining rights to land ownership and livelihoods, the generation of waste and pollution, and the unsustainable use of water. Q. 19. European Union Involvement into tourism champion Framework policy that encourages community policy where tourism policies are centrally generated and applies to all the member countries. This is because in their view, distinctive policies across the EU region without proper coordination functioned against the competitiveness of the sector. The Union also advocates Common Promotion and marketing of the several tourism destinations in the international market. Q. 20 Event- led tourism involves the movement of individuals from one area to the other majorly during the common events like during world sport calendar days. Currently, athletes are in Daegu for the world athletics championship where some may take the opportunity to tour the heritage site areas. When such event are hosted in the urban centers it assists regenerate tourism in that area and improve economic activities since the visitors will need accommodation, food and other products. This will eventually improve the lifestyle of the people. Q. 21 Tourism planning that involves the methods the policy makers embrace to achieve tourism development objectives. Planning can be physical or organizational and can be at national, regional or local levels, integrating several stages that include, analysis of availability and quality of tourist assets, analysis of demand, forecast of visitor demand, marketing, human resource and cost and financing of the tourism plan, development issues and marketing, clear implementation plans must be in place leading to actualization of the plan. Q. 22 Maldives Third tourism Master plan 2007-2011 emphasizes on the development of tourism industry along the areas of sustainability, socially responsibility and embracing environmentally friendly tourism practices. The plan also emphasizes establishment of tourism coherent with nature, facilitating and improving private sector investment, forming greater employment opportunities, developing human resources and diversifying markets and products. [2]This plan is also formulated as a living document for it to be able to respond to prompt variations in the Maldivian economy and worldwide trends in the industry.it as well stipulates strategies and actions in relation to the performance procedures in attaining the goals as Plan (Veal 2000). All these strategies respond to the criticisms of traditional tourism master planning. Q. 23 Economic challenges with inconsistent tourist flow. Public resources is in most cases viewed as being more than the likely long-term joint losses that end up from the decline of such resources, which means that there is minimal incentive for single actors irrespective of whether they are governments, voted officials, or single operators, to invest or involve in safeguarding or preservation for more sustainable development (Mak 2008). Part B Q. 1 Customer service is at the centre of service delivery being that this service industry. The service must be timely, neat, quality with value added service. This ensures that no customer stays unattended to, to receive value for money. The customer needs to be in a position of communicating well in all the major foreign languages to be able to handle international customers with ease to make them feel relaxed while being sure that their needs will be fully attended to. Q. 2 Prior Information gives the management a chance to prepare in advance for the international arrivals. This makes the organizations to avail all the required items according to the prior specifications of the customer ranging from cab services, accommodation, meals plus any other additional information and to be able to effectively communicate with the subordinates. Q. 3 Some of the challenges faced by the offices managing tourist information include; challenges associated with the management of organizations information operating globally with interconnection issues, how to effectively communicate corporate in their own independent direction and challenges related to constant innovations that is attained through inventive problem solving. These challenges occasionally slow down the operation process. Q. 4 The challenges include, the need for comprehensive research to understand the prospects of tourists, more organized marketing and advertising campaigns while mentioning international truths, diversity and development of native tourism, human resource approaches for attracting and retaining qualified staff, tourism infrastructure, efficient transportation systems and widening and embracing sustainable tourism (Middleton 1994). Conflict of interest involves providing all the additional demand and still maintains productivity. Q. 5 One challenging role for managers of cultural attractions is the ability to impress and attract the international tourist to choose their sites as the destination points majorly if it in a region not well known of with bad name due to the fallen initial venture. In the management of museums, many managers face the challenge of completion since there are several cultural tourism centres stocking almost the same items and sceneries. Q. 6 Tourism industry is about customer service since it deals with people who want value for their money. The customers must therefore be accorded quality work and with value added service. The human resource needs to be well selected and strained, skilled with necessary zeal to make a difference in the tourist life. This will ensure that the current customers are retained and in turn attract more tourists. Q. 7 More visitors are getting concerned on the local transportation system, shopping opportunities, cleanliness, sports activities, conformity to hygiene rules, accessibility of the destination from the city and tourist information, cultural and artistic activities (Middleton 1994). Accommodation services, food and beverage services, cultural values, historic sites, nature, appropriateness for family holidays, personal safety and hospitality of the local population had higher satisfaction, communication with the local population. Q. 9 Accommodation is a key sector of tourism that need close attention. The entrepreneur will automatically face competition challenge from the more established service providers. They must intensely market the facility while striving to meet the standards set in the market. Inadequate capital may hamper expansion for the business premises. Q. 10 Sustainable development will ensure that the tourism resources within the EU are fully utilized to perform to optimal level. This will make the common policy making be diversified for every member to customize the policies relevant to the in their specific niche and not to use common marketing techniques that may sideline one area. Q. 11 Flagship visitor attraction is the construction of buildings in the urban centres hosting events for the attraction of the tourists. It is becoming very popular in the current world for art presentations, music films and is used as catalyst to tourism. Flagship benefits a lot on the local market thus giving it strength even at the times of low international arrivals. The entry prizes are also affordable even to the locals. Flagship provides leisure opportunities for programs that are best aired in an enclosed room like the movies. Q. 12 Public sector can support flagship by offering financial services from the financial institutions like the banks, provision of security by the government security arms, the IT technical knowhow by IT experts and medical services. The public transport sector also supports flagship by moving people to such venues. Conclusion Tourism is very important global economic sector that earns millions of cash to the economy of the world. It is currently a widespread global leisure activity and practice with millions of people touring different destinations yearly around the world to view heritage sites or even to vacation with very diverse attractive activities ranging from the cultural heritage, national parks, public beaches, museums, cultural activities and events from the local tourism sector among others. For this sector to fully develop and be successful, international and local tourism policies need to be developed and be well implemented among other several critical factors affecting both private and public sectors. Currently there are a lot of changes in the trends of tourism in the whole world, bring about challenges thus every tourism organization need to adopt the new changes so that they can remain afloat. Buy custom Tourism essay

Comparison of Eisenhower, Johnson and Kennedy essays

Comparison of Eisenhower, Johnson and Kennedy essays Dwight Eisenhower demonstrated the least amount of leadership when it came to civil rights. He did appoint Earl Warren as Chief Justice and did not support the decision and believed that changing the law could not change the hearts of men. (Davidson 1146) He is probably remembered most for his support of Orval Faubus in the Little Rock Central High crisis. Eisenhower was forced to call in the National Guard to control the angry John Kennedy appointed several African Americans to federal courts but many of his hopes for civil rights were never achieved. After trying to settle an integration issue at the University of Mississippi by appealing to people, Kennedy had to send in federal troops to settle the rioting. However, by then two individuals had been killed. Things became more complicated with Martin Luther King defended civil disobedience. (1169) When King announced a march on Washington, Kennedy tried to dissuade him from it. When that proved impossible, Kennedy "made the march his own" (1170). His support did win him favor among African Americans but at the same time it distanced Kennedy from southern whites and other races in the north. Kennedy was in Dallas rallying support from southerners when he was Lyndon Johnson was the most successful when it came to legislation concerning civil rights. He was responsible for passing the Civil Right's Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in public places. This bill has been noted as one of the greatest moments in the history of American reform. (1171). In 1965, he sent the National Guard to protect a group of demonstrators who were gathered to walk from Selena to Montgomery, Alabama with Martin Luther King. In addition, the Voting Rights Act was passed in ...

American Colege of Rheumatology Management

Old age is a phase in life that is quite sensitive; elderly people require comfort and care to enable them lead healthy lives without the unnecessary anxiety and worries. (AgeUK, 2015). Old age, adulthood, adolescence, childhood, and birth are the critical stages in every person's life. Each stage is characterized by its own challenges and issues. As one proceeds from one stage to another, it reaches a point when physical strength deteriorates and so too the mental stability (Bragen, 2013). As age progresses, several medical issues occur the most common being osteoarthritis, dementia, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, visual impairment, kidney infections, and other geriatric medical conditions. Besides disease, other issues are interlinked with old age. A major concern among the elderly is loneliness and depression. As one ages, the relationships that one had begin to sever; children grow up and move out, souses die, friends and family move away and soon an elderly person finds that they are all alone. Depression begins to manifest even as the elderly person starts to visualize a different life from what they have been accustomed too (Mental Health America, 2017). In this paper, the patient, Barbara Green is an 89 year old widow who has reported at the health center with multiple complaints.   The patient complains of swollen feet and enlarged joints; painful joint pains in the knees, fingers, hip, and back; joint stiffness, minimal joint movement; visual impairment; constipation; weight loss; and dizziness that occur on and off (Levett-Jones, 2013). The decrease in physical functionality has caused her to cut off socializing with her friends at the German Association, her eating habits have deteriorated; and her house keeping has reduced causing her to live in poor condition. The physical conditions that the patient in this case has complained about and which are geriatric in nature include constipation, the visual impairment, and stiff painful joint   (Siamak, 2016, Levett-Jones, 2013). The risk factors associated with constipation include use of multiple pharmacological drugs, poor diet that is deficient in roughage and fluids; and reduced amount of physical activity (Hunter, 2016). In addition, the fact that Barbara has a visual impairment renders her at risk of physical injury. The visual impairment is most likely caused by macular degeneration (WebMd, 2016) a condition that is common among the elderly and also among the Caucasian community (Haddrill, 2016). In addition, reduced amount of activity as well as poor eating habits have been known to exacerbate the condition among the elderly (WebMd, 2016). In this scenario, the three major illnesses that will be addressed are Osteoarthritis/Rheumatoid arthritis, Constipation, and Macular degeneration. Although Barbara is currently living a solitude life, the underlying reason behind it is not depression, rather it is as a result of reduced activity resulting from joint pain (Hunter, 2016). The inactivity has resulted in the patient developing constipation (also caused by her prescribed medication) and exacerbated macular degeneration (also caused by age) (Hunter , 2016). Based on the presentation of facts and by utilizing clinical reasoning, the optimal patient outcomes will be achieved when Barbara is able to manage her pain   (Bullock, & Hales 2013) which will in turn help her achieve her ADLs, eat healthier, become more active, and resume her normal life and restore severed relations with her German Association friends as well as her family. Eating healthier will reduce incidences of constipation and   will slow down macular deg eneration. To manage her pain, Barbara will need to adhere to her medication regimen. Barbara reported that she lives alone in a one-storey building. She said that she experiences joint pain especially on the hip and knees which could result in limited movement. Although she did not mention it, it is probable that her housekeeping as well as other ADLs is below par because of the physical pain in her joints. It is also possible that she has resulted in eating poorly because of her inability to make healthier food purchases at the grocery due to her reduced mobility caused by her painful joints. Other than not being able to go to the grocery, her weight loss could be attributed to depression as she reported that she no longer visits with her friends at the German Association and that she is widowed. Visual impairment is caused by macular degeneration in older patients. Macular degeneration occurs when the retinal macular wears out from ageing which causes one to lose central vision (WebMd, 2016). However, a patient is able to see using the peripheral vision. Macular degeneration can either be dry or wet with the most common being the dry macular degeneration among the elderly. (WebMd, 2016) Constipation is a common occurrence among the elderly. There is a distinction between hospital environment constipation and that which is influenced by other external environments. The occurrence of constipation among the elderly increases with age, the older one gets the more incidences one experiences (Gandell, Straus, & Bundookwala et al., 2013). In addition, constipation can be as a result of drug interactions in the body (Hunter, 2016). Barbra is currently prescribed on slow release Paracetamol which causes slow bowel movement. Another common medical condition among the elderly is Rheumatoid arthritis and/or osteoarthritis (Hunter, 2016). The medical condition is as a result of bone cartilage wearing out with age which causes joints to rub off against each other. The friction between the joints causes stiffness, mild to acute pain, as well as development of swollen nodes (Udell, 2017). Assessment of the patient showed blurred vision and a centralized blind spot in the visual filed. In addition, Hydroxychloroquine can also cause impaired vision ((Tiziani, 2014). The patient has visual impairment and is at risk of injury from poor vision. The patient may also experience challenges in her ADLs because of minimal vision. To manage the condition, the patient will be advised to wear sunglasses and avoid direct light or sunlight once she has undergone photodynamic therapy (Arnold J, Heriot W , 2007; WebMd, 2016). The patient will be required to give details on the time of day and frequency of constipation. Symptoms to look out for include confusion, diarrhea, nausea, urinary retention, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain (Mandal, 2016). The patient is already on multiple drugs which predisposes her to constipation.(Hunter, 2016). The limited physical activity that is caused by her painful joints is another risk factor that contributes to the patient's constipated condition. The patient will be advised on increasing her fluid and roughage intake (Orenstein, 2016). In addition, she will be advised to adhere to her pain management medication for her joint aches. Once she is able to manage her joint pain, the patient will be able to increase her physical activity which will help ease the constipation that she is experiencing. Assessment of the patient shows joint swelling and deformity with Heberden and Bouchad nodes in the distal and proximal joints respectively. The pain in the joints intensifies with physical activity such as walking, exercising or basic ADLs. Patient also indicated that the pain intensifies during the night when the room temperatures are low, and upon getting up after sitting or lying down. The diagnosis is chronic pain that results from joint deterioration. Evaluation using x-rays shows joint narrowing and sclerosis in the knee, hip, and finger joints. The synovial fluid analysis showed the occurrence of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in the affected joints. The patient will be advised to manage the pain through strict adherence to medication. She will also be advised to avoid strenuous activities that can trigger painful joint episodes. Heat application will be done on the affected joints. A terry clothe will be placed under the patient's neck to relieve any pain on the cervical area as she sleeps. Simple exercises will be taught to the patient that will help reduce joint stiffness. The patient will also be advised to wear foot pain relieving shoes and support. In addition, calcium supplements will be included in her medication. The four main goals that need to be met with regard to taking care of Barbara include: The first issue that needs to be resolved is medication non-adherence. The first step is o have a conversation with the patient and educate her on the need to stick to her medication regimen, the health benefits she stands to gain from her medications, any side effects she should be on the look-out for, and how to use a medicine chart (Jimy, & Jose, 2011). Barbara's medication will be packaged in different colored bottles and placed in easy to reach areas. This will allow Barbra to be engaged in her own therapy. As she is suffering from visual impairment, placing the medications in places she uses often will help her in adherence. For the drugs that are to be taken before she sleeps, the bottles will be placed on her nightstand. Those that need to be taken in the morning will be placed in the toothbrush stand and those that need to be taken during or after meals will be placed on top of her refrigerator. A medication chart will also be created to enable the patient take her medicines at the right time (Jimmy et al., 2011) Tracy will be informed on the action plan so that she is able to discuss with Barbara about her daily goals when she calls her. Barbara will be required to purchase a water bottle and advised to fill it with water which she will be expected to drink during the course of the day. A meal plan will be drafted by the healthcare nutritionist to help Barbra make healthier meal choices and also enable her regain her weight. After three weeks: Barbara has gained weight of 1-2kgs The patient has rejoined her friends in the regular meetings at the German association As people become older, I not excluded, the things that we value become lesser and we are left with that which is most precious. The key is to expand our horizons, value more relationships, and more variety in what makes our lives rosier. When a person spends his early years establishing and strengthening many good relationships, it pays off in the sunset years as such a person will always have people around them to laugh, share, and confide in. In addition to people investment, health investment is critical. I have resolved to live healthier now so that I do not have to struggle with some of the geriatric conditions n the future. For the overall wellness and enhanced productivity, Barbra's care will include taking care of her physical needs through pain management and medication adherence; healthier eating and consumption of daily fluids; and regular mild exercises. For her socio-psychological health, Barbra will be able to socialize with her friends and family and get out more as she makes visits to the grocery store. Health eating and exercising will improve her mental health and decrease chances of depression occurring AgeUK. (2015). Protecting yourself and others from abuse. Retrieved 03 09, 2017, from https://www.ageuk.org.uk/health-wellbeing/relationships-and-family/protecting-yourself/what-is-elder-abuse/ Bragen, J. (2013). The Berkley Daily Planet. Retrieved 03 09, 2017, from https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2013-01-03/article/40630 Bullock, S & Hales, M. (2013). Principles of Pathophysiology. NSW: Pearson Australia. Gandell, D; Straus, S; & Bundookwala et al., (2013). Treatment of constipation in older people. CMAJ , 663-670. Haddrill, M. (2016). What Is Age-Related Macular Degeneration? Retrieved 04 09, 2017, from All About Vision: https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/amd.htm Hunter, S. (2016). Miller's Nursing for wellness in older adults. North Ryde: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. Jimmy, B & Jose, J. (2011). Patient Medication Adherance: Measures in Daily Practice. Oman Medical Journal , 155-159. Levett-Jones. (2013). Clinical reasoning: Learning to think like a nurse. NSW: Pearson. Mandal, A. (2016). Constipation in the Elderly. Retrieved 04 09, 2017, from News Medical : https://www.news-medical.net/health/Constipation-in-the-Elderly.aspx Mental Health America (2017). Depression In Older Adults: More Facts. Retrieved 04 09, 2017, from Mental Health America: https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/depression-older-adults-more-facts Orenstein, B. (2016). How Fiber Helps Ease Constipation. Retrieved 04 09, 2017, from Everyday heakth.com: https://www.everydayhealth.com/digestive-health/fiber-and-constipation.aspx Siamak, N. (2016). Senior Health. Retrieved 04 09, 2017, from eMedicine: https://www.emedicinehealth.com/senior_health/article_em.htm Tiziani, A. (2014). Havard Nursing Guide to Drugs. (9th ed.). Chatswood.NSW; Mosby Elsevier. Udell, J. (2017). Osteoarthritis. Retrieved 04 09, 2017, from American Colege of Rheumatology: https://www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/Osteoarthritis WebMd. (2016). Age-Related Macular Degeneration Overview. Retrieved 04 09, 2017, from WebMd: https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/macular-degeneration/age-related-macular-degeneration-overview#1