Sunday, October 13, 2019

Lessons of Equality, Understanding, and Tolerance in Disney’s Pocahontas :: Movie Film Essays

Lessons of Equality, Understanding, and Tolerance in Disney’s Pocahontas Introduction [1] The children’s movie Pocahontas is an attempt by Disney to promote racial tolerance, equality, and understanding. Most of this movie is not historically accurate, yet an important message can still be learned using the characters from long ago. The first contact scene between Pocahontas and John Smith (0:28.34) demonstrates the importance of racial tolerance by showing strengths and weaknesses in both characters. By making neither character the sole initiator in this scene, there is no favoritism towards one culture or the other. Disney also uses symbolism in the surrounding environment and music to help support this point. The Exchange of Roles [2] Pocahontas and John Smith exchange the task of being the initiator in the first contact scene. After viewing this portion many times, it is clear that Disney wanted to create a first contact that demonstrates equality among the two cultures. Pocahontas and John Smith both show weaknesses and strengths, which deems neither character to be the superior race. Also, by exchanging the roles, each character is given a chance to show understanding and the desire to create a peaceful contact situation. An important message to children is that understanding is an essential element in creating a peaceful and communicative relationship between cultures and within cultures. [3] The scene begins with Pocahontas in the forest looking down at Smith drinking water at the waterfall. She shows interest in the different looking man and wants a better view. She begins a tiger-like creep towards a new lookout spot at which he catches her reflection in the water. Smith quickly hides and loads his gun so that he can be ready when the Native appears. This situation demonstrates curiosity in both characters as they seemingly â€Å"hunt† each other out. She is portrayed as an animal-like figure, trying to blend in with the surroundings. Disney is trying to show the strong relationship between Native Americans and the environment. Pocahontas’s creep also deems her as being the initial predator and Smith the prey. [4] The next exchanging of roles occurs when Smith jumps out from behind the waterfall to protect himself from any threatening forces. He is perceived as being very aggressive until he sees Pocahontas through the parting fog.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

A Human Transporter Protein that Mediates the Final Excretion Step for

Introduction The kidney is an excretory organ that filters wastes from blood and excretes them as urine. Blood plasma filtration occurs at the glomerulus, which is a network of capillaries. Transporters are specialized proteins located in the membranes of the nephron. There are different concentrations of transporters located at various regions of the nephron. For instance, the proximal tubule retains most of the sodium transporters. Some transporters require adenosine triphosphate while others perform passive transport. The method of excretion of toxic organic compounds in mammals is mainly through the kidney and liver. Toxic organic compounds are absorbed by the basolateral membranes and later excreted by brush border membranes that absorb nutrients from the small intestine. These toxic organic compounds are also absorbed by hepatocytes at the sinusoidal membranes and excreted through the bile canaliculi. The objective of this research is to identify the transporter involved with the final step of excretion of toxic organic chemicals. Based on biochemical and physiological studies of the organic compound exporter, the tentative hypothesis proposed is that mammalian orthologues of bacterial multidrug are involved with the excretion of organic compounds. These multidrug transporters include the ?major facilitator superfamily, the small multidrug resistance family, the resistance nodulation cell division family, the ATP binding cassette family, and the multidrug and toxin extrusion (M ATE) family (8?10)?. The MATE family proteins facilitate the coupled export between hydrogen and sodium ions of cationic drugs in bacteria. In this experiment, MATE1 is revealed as the transporter involved with the final... ... locations fit the description of a H+ coupled organic cation transporter. Does hMATE have the correct physiological fingerprint for a toxic organic cation exporter? Yes! Even before they discovered this protein transporter, physiologists had a set of characteristics that this unknown transport protein would display. This protein would be pH sensitive, use H+ as the active step in secondary active transport, and saturable of course. In addition, this protein is found just where it should be, in the apical regions of tubes in the kidney and liver. Since hMATE fits the description, it is a convincing suspect for exporting toxic organic cations. Sources Article: A human transporter protein that mediates the final excretion step for toxic organic cations. By: Masato Otsuka, Takuya Matsumoto, Riyo Morimoto, Shigeo Arioka, Hiroshi Omote, and Yoshinori Moriyama

Friday, October 11, 2019

Promote person centred approaches Essay

Person centred values must influence all aspects of health and social care. The individual is at the centre of the care and are involved in every aspect of it. This ensures that their support, activities, care plans and support plans are tailored to the individual and meet their needs in a way that is appropriate to them. There are person-centred values which must be used to underpin the above. These are respect, partnership, individuality, rights, choice, privacy, independence and dignity. In following the values, people are then empowered to live their lives and achieve their potential. A care plan details a persons needs and wishes, what is being done to meet them and who is involved in doing so. If a care plan is person-centred it reflects their individuality and will contain their own views and wishes, inform you about what they think is important and how they feel about their circumstances and tell; you how they want to live their life. By knowing this, it means you can support them to live how they want and achieve their dreams, recognising their choices and ideas. Read more: Define person centred values essay There are factors which influence the capacity of an individual to give consent. Having the capacity means having the physical or mental ability to do something, and consent means having the ability to give informed permission for something to happen. It also implies the individual understands what their decision means. The ability to give consent comes from being able to understand complex and abstract ideas or concepts without the need for evidence. You have to be able to weigh up the pros and cons and make a decision. Therefore you need to be able to understand the risks and benefits of a situation, be able to freely express your thoughts, ask questions and have the time to process the situation. Personal values and beliefs, the level of education and a person’s communication skills impact on their ability to make a decision. As does, having their thoughts and opiuons respected, treated with dignity and knowing theywont be judged for the decisions they do make. If consent can not be readily established you need to adapt your approach to  the individual. For example if a person needs time to process information and go over it time and time again, then you do that till they are ready. Some people are unable to consent due to their learning disability or medical condition. In this case, the individual will have a representative will act in their best interests. Any decisions already given consent too would be found in their care plan. Family members are a great point of contact. Active participation is about working in a way which respects the individual’s right to participate in life as independently as possible. They are seen as active participant or partner. To apply active participation to an individuals needs you would make sure you are aware of their likes, dislikes, wishes and also their abilities. You would then use this knowledge to come up with a plan that best suits the individual. This ensures a happy outcome for everyone. It is person-centred and put the individual in control and living an independent life where possible. Sometimes an individual needs support to challenge or question a decision about them which is made by others. You can do this by supporting the individual to decide what they want to do and how they will do it, ensuring they understand the decision that has been made and help them think through why they want to challenge the decision. You can identify who else you might be able to get involved to help out and consider if an advocate would be necessary. Arranging a meeting to address their concerns can also be done. Identity, self-image and self-esteem are all linked. Self-image is all about how we see ourselves, and our opinions of our won worth. Self-esteem is all about being confident in who we are and out sense of value. Identity is knowing who you are, what makes you unique, your personality and characteristics. If you don’t know who you are as an individual then you are more likely to struggle with a low sense of value which creates a negative self-image and low self-esteem. This can manifest in individuals behaviour, ability to make simple decisions, express themselves and make choices. Wellbeing is a feeling that you are feeling well and doing well. There are  many factors that influence this. The practical aspects of life factors are income, employment, quality of living environment, physical and mental health and access to services and amenities. There are also factors in relation to personal and social relationships which are support networks, loving and intimate relationships and relationships with the wider community. Values and attitudes also contribute to wellbeing. These are an individual’s sense of purpose and value, their hopes, dreams and fears, their satisfaction with life, what they think and feel about themselves and any moral or spiritual codes of behaviour. How people are treated by society and their life experiences play a part in how they see themselves and therefore affect their sense of wellbeing. Risk taking and risk assessments relate to rights and responsibilities. The exercise of individual rights goes side by side with the individual taking responsibility for the outcomes of their decision. Therefore, you need to be sure that the individuals have the capacity to make an informed decision and fully understand any potential consequences. Risk assessments need to be regularly reviewed as peoples needs and abilities change, especially if their health deteriorates as they may be expected to do more than they can manage. Also, if an activity was agreed to develop skills and confidence, by not reviewing the risk assessment, your are undermining everything they have achieved and they won’t be able to continue to progress.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Battling Boycotts Essay

1) Question: What type of boycotts the article is addressing? Answer: The type for the boycott is the company’s nationality, it would seem that nothing could be done. The business is boycotted through no fault of its own. And a growing class of boycotts has very little to do with the actions or policies of an individual company. Instead they are related to the company’s country of origin. After all, it is neither easy nor desirable to change the nationality of a company to shield it from a boycott attempt. 2) Question: What are the two dimensions along which the four strategies are developed? Explain? Answer: The two dimensions along which the four strategies are developed are: the visibility of the brand and the intensity of the boycott. Brand visibility is defined as an extent to a brand which is related to a country in its customers’ minds all over the world. The more visible the brand, the more likely it is to be targeted by boycotters. In people’s eyes, visibility is very important. For example, the brand is very popular in a given country where the customers don’t strongly consider about its original country. However, another situation is that, the foreign brand is associated with a country in customers’ minds. Intensity can be measured in terms of size, duration and aggressiveness. Size which means how many people are boycotting the brand or product. Duration refers to how long the boycott is likely to continue. And aggressiveness takes into account whether, in addition to boycotting products, violent acts are conducted against the outlets or offices of the company being boycotted. 3) Question: What strategies does the article suggest for businesses to adopt to handle boycotts of this type? Answer: The strategies that the article suggest for businesses to adopt to handle boycotts of this type are: emphasizing their connections to the local community, to countering misinformation with advertising and public-relations campaigns, to simply adopting a low profile. McDonald’s is a high-visibility U.S. brand that has faced boycotts in different parts of the world. An anti-U.S. boycott was initiated in Egypt in recent years and has spread to other Arab countries. This action was because of the supporting to Israel by U.S.. Thus, local McDonald established some management to connect with their communities including tailoring menus to local tastes, including the introduction by McDonald’s Egypt of the McFalafel sandwich, which was launched with the help of an ad jingle by a famous Egyptian singer. McDonald’s franchisees in the Middle East and elsewhere also have long made contributions to local charities. What’s more, McDonald’s franchisees also presented a local face in Islamic countries, Argentina, and the Philippines, such as launched TV ads, wore traditional clothing, changed slogan and set charitable programs. For P&G, they also changed logo and set some slogans to respond quickly to the rumors. In the case of a high-visibility brand facing a low-intensity boycott we suggest a strategy of monitoring and blending in. in a high-intensity boycott environment, a company with low visibility may be better off adopting a strategy of lowering its profile, rather than actively trying to offset any potential damage by touting its local connections. For example, a Saudi furniture store in Khobar that sells American furniture has tried lowering its visibility by changing its name from the Saudi-American Furniture Store to the Saudi Furniture Store. Because furniture isn’t often distinctly associated with countries in the public mind, at least in the Middle East. A low-visibility company in a low-intensity boycott environment can simply maintain the status quo. But, they still must pay attention to the potential threats. 4) Question: In your opinion, what can companies do to influence their home governments policies that may affect their success in international markets? Answer: In my point of view, I think we can not leave our own national interests in dealing with foreign affairs of other countries. Of course, we are not only talking about the national interests, but also the fact of reason in a rational and favorable circumstances to select the struggle strategy. In addition, we must also realize that, in today’s globalization economic, countries in economic are interdependent which is extremely popular. To be successful, there are some factors. First, they must make sure they have an appropriate team, such as the CEO, the CFO, legal counsel, auditors, accounting. Then, they have to fit the actual schedule and the host countries’ customs. Secondly, they need to know some of the weaknesses in their own businesses, identify problems that may arise in other countries, employ a high-quality team, and improve operational efficiency. Finally, there is a high level of management support.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue ocean strategy is a book of business strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renà ©e Mauborgne. The blue ocean strategy explains how to move your business into new markets with less competition and greater profitability. The book is basically divided into three main parts. The first part covers some important concepts of blue ocean strategy such as value innovation, differentiation and low cost and key analytical tools and frameworks used in this strategy. The second part explains the four steps of blue ocean strategy formulation. The main idea behind this book is to present an organized framework for identifying and implementing out of the box and never been thought before blue ocean strategies. If one is capable of thinking out of the box, something other than a traditional strategy then it will enable us in formulating a blue ocean. The basic idea of blue ocean strategy is to reconstruct market boundaries to break from the competition and create blue oceans. The main idea behind consisted of two parts: first was to discover whether systematic patterns existed in reconstructing market boundaries and secondly whether r not these applied to all kinds of businesses and industry sectors. The researchers found six basic approaches also called six paths framework for reconstructing market boundaries. These six approaches challenge the traditional six assumptions involved in formulating strategies which lead to creating red oceans. They proceed by emphasizing on the fact that the companies should break out of these boundaries which they define by themselves on how to compete. Path One: Look across alternative industries The first path for a company is not only to compete with firms in its own industry but it should also consider the firms in alternative industries offering such products and services which have different functions and forms but serve the same purpose. One such example is that of Net Jets which came up with the idea of fractional jet ownership. Net Jets created a multi billion dollar Blue Ocean of private jets and commercial travel which offered low variable and fixed costs as compared to commercial airline travelling and thus it created a entirely new market and was the only  survivor and market leader of all the 57 new entrants. Similar example is that of NTT DoCoMo which broke out of Red Ocean of intense competition by breaking the tradeoff between the alternatives. Path Two: Look across different strategic groups within industries The second path given by Blue Ocean is to get out of the competition by looking across different strategic groups. In this context the different companies in an industry working on a similar strategy fall under one strategic group and others in different strategic groups. And in this highly intense and competitive market the key to creating a Blue Ocean across different strategic groups is to break out of these by creating a better understanding of the factors that determine customers’ decision to trade up or down from one group to another. A very good example given here is that of Curves which is a women fitness company, broke out of the completion by building on the advantages of both the traditional health clubs and the home exercise programs. Other examples are that of Ralph Lauren, Toyota Lexus, Sony Walkman and Champion Enterprises which created Blue Oceans by breaking out of their strategic groups by offering the advantages of both the strategic groups of their industries that resulted in their success. Path Three: Look across Chain of Buyers In most of the industries it has been a trend to target only a single type of buyer. However there is a chain of buyers which includes the purchasers, the actual users and some times also the influencers. Each of these three groups of buyers may seem similar to the seller but actually they are different as they provide different value. Conventionally different industries focus only on a single customer segment and think that they are the only possible target customers, however it is a wrong approach and they need to think out of the box which can lead to creating new Blue Oceans. Novo Nordisk a Danish insulin producing company created a Blue Ocean in the insulin industry. Previously Nordisk like all other pharmaceuticals focused only on doctors which are the influencers. But Novo Nordisk came up with the idea of Novo Pen which was easy to use and was targeted directly at the end users that is the diabetes patients. This helped them in creating a blue ocean and continuous improvement and advancement in their offering resulted in  maintaining their Blue Ocean success. Path Four: Look across complementary product and service offerings This path explains that the importance of complementary products and services should never be overlooked as the untapped value is often hidden in them. Providing the facilities of baby sitting and car parking are complementary to movie theatres. NABI made use of the fiberglass instead of steel body buses and had a huge impact on lowering the maintenance and other costs and created a Blue Ocean in the bus industry. Philips created the kettle with a mouth filter and Barns and Noble came up with knowledgeable staff in their lounging were such complementary products and service which were revolutionary. Path Five: Look across functional or emotional appeal to buyers There are different types of appealing strategies that are adopted by companies to appeal the customers. Some of these are functional while others are emotional. The different examples discussed in this case are the Cemex (Mexican Cement Company) and QB house (Japanese Barber shop) which created Blue Oceans by appealing their customers through different functional and emotional offerings. Path Six: Look across time This path illustrates that how important it is to have foresight and keep in mind the changes that are to take place with passage of time. This can be done by looking across the time in terms of the value a market delivers today to the value it may deliver tomorrow. Apple capitalized on the changing trend in the music industry and came up with ITunes music store for its IPod which also helped it in stopping illegal selling of music and creating a Blue Ocean. Cisco Systems also looked ahead of time and accounted for the growing demand of high speed data exchange with its routers, switches and other networking devices. 2. Focus on the Big Picture, Not the Numbers Traditionally what most of the strategies lack is that they don’t think out of the box and thus lack the view of the big picture and thus they key is to create a strategy canvas to arrive at a Blue Ocean. Drawing Your Strategy Canvas Drawing a strategy canvas has never been an easy to do job. It involves  identifying the key factors of competition which can be done by assessing that to what extent your company and its competitors offer the most competing factors and what are the actions that are being taken by you and your competitors. This process after the implementation of six step model involves steps in visualizing strategy which are as follows: Step One: Visual Awakening The process of visual awakening is very important to change the mind set of such people especially the executives who are resistant to change and like the status quo. However this problem can be overcome by asking such people to draw the value curve of their company’s strategy which will trigger the need for change in their minds and thus they will be inclined towards change and will come up with new and different strategies. Step Two: Visual Exploration The wakeup call was just the first step. The next step is to send team it to field, putting managers face to face with customers and experiencing by themselves what problems they have with their products and services and what are their perceptions. This task should not be outsourced as it is very important to see these things by your self rather than letting others do the work of your eyes. They should observe their customers (existing, lost and new ones) as well the customers of their competitors and then come back and analyze their strategies. Step Three: Visual Strategy fair In the third step of visualizing strategy the teams are asked to draw six new curves of strategy and create a compelling tagline which can emphasize the strategy in a better way. After that the teams are asked to present them and on the basis of feedback and discussion the new curves for strategy are formulated. Step Four: Visual Communication The last step is to communicate the newly formulated future strategy to employees in an easy and understandable manner. This can be done by distributing one pager showing old and the new strategies to the employees and then can be discussed with every one. 3. Reach beyond Existing Demand The third principle for creating Blue Ocean is to reach beyond the existing demand. This to increase the demand for a new offering and two strategies are followed by companies to achieve this goal. One is to focus on existing markets and customers and the other is to target finer markets or customer segments to accommodate buyer differences. Another important concept explained here is to maximize the size of Blue Ocean, which says that once the Blue Ocean has been created the next step is to maximize its size. For this purpose companies instead of focusing on their customers try to focus on the non-customers by taking the reverse approach which allows the companies to unlock mass of customers and demand which did not exist before. Callaway Golf is one such company which created demand for its offering by focusing on its non-customers. The Three Tiers of Non-Customers According to Blue Ocean strategy there are three different tiers of non-customers that can be converted in to customers which are as follows: i. The first tier of non-customers is closest to market sitting on its edge waiting to jump ship and shift to another industry as soon as the opportunity knocks. ii. The second tier is of customers who refuse to use you offerings. These are buyers who have used your industry offerings just as an option to fulfill their needs but have often voted against them. iii. The third tier is of non-customers who are farthest from your market and have never thought or considered of using you industry offerings as an option and can only be attracted by focusing on commonalities. 4. Get the Strategic Sequence Right The fourth principle of formulating the Blue Ocean strategy is to get the strategic sequence right. This principle focuses on building robust business models to ensure healthy profits based on Blue Ocean strategy.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

CMI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

CMI - Essay Example What can be seen in practice is various firms achieving competitive advantage in different ways. There is evidence, for example, that in industries where scale is considered to be very important, small-scale innovations have completely opened up the competition, This became clear in the stagnating steel industry, where mini-mills grew rapidly in answer to the demand for all kinds ÃŽ ¿f specialist products. In the Netherlands, large-scale shipyards were engaged in a struggle for survival--with all eyes focused on the government for subsidies--while at the same time specialist firms were successful in the fields ÃŽ ¿f yacht-building and dredging. The great differences in profitability between firms within the same industry are difficult to explain by resorting to neoclassical theory. (Rumelt 169-185) For these differences lie in the introduction ÃŽ ¿f innovative concepts, new combinations ÃŽ ¿f production factors and the smart use ÃŽ ¿f technologies. The internal side ÃŽ ¿f the firm pl ays a crucial part in this. Firms like Primark and McDonalds, for example, have developed specific routines and skills which are difficult for competitors to imitate. The existence ÃŽ ¿f this sort ÃŽ ¿f firm-specific competencies does not fit in very well with the cookbook metaphor ÃŽ ¿f neoclassical economics. The new insights indicate that a sustainable competitive advantage can only be attained by creating new organization-specific knowledge. On the cutting edge ÃŽ ¿f strategic management and evolutionary economics, a debate is currently taking place about new theories ÃŽ ¿f the firm in which the special qualities ÃŽ ¿f knowledge are incorporated. In these theories, static thinking is replaced by a more realistic process perspective. Concepts like limited rationality (or even trial and error), path dependency and heterogeneity are all embraced. The role ÃŽ ¿f soft variables like knowledge, culture and network relations is

Monday, October 7, 2019

Lescol XL for Reduction of Cholesterol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lescol XL for Reduction of Cholesterol - Essay Example More frequently, however, this condition is better termed as hyperlipidemia or high serum lipid levels. Hyperlipidemia is a major cause of atherosclerosis and atherosclerosis-associated conditions, such as coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease, where excess lipid is deposited in the arterial walls of different parts of the body, and this lipid is peroxidized to form atherosclerotic plaques. The anatomic narrowing of the arterial lumen compromises the blood flow in the area distal to the location of the plaque buildup, and if the artery happens to be a major end artery, there is always a chance of critical ischemia leading to adverse clinical events such as myocardial infarction, such as occurs in heart. However, in general this drug is indicated for hyperlipidemia and heterozygous familial high cholesterol levels in the serum. High levels of cholesterol in the blood have been long acknowledged as the prime pathophysiological c ulprit that causes atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease. ... One of the major functions of the liver in lipid metabolism is lipoprotein synthesis. The four major classes of circulating plasma lipoproteins are chylomicrons, very low density lipoproteins (VLDLs), low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). Dyslipidemia, including hyperlipidemia or hypercholesterolemia and low levels of high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), are major causes of increased atherogenic risk. It has been observed that both genetic disorders and lifestyle associated problems, such as, sedentary behavior and diets high in calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol, contribute to the dyslipidemias. The disease process is known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a process of progressive lipid accumulation and calcification of the inner arterial walls in the abdominal aorta, lower extremities and the arteries of the heart, brain and kidneys. These lipid depositions contain and the most important single factor for their development is a high plasma concentration of total cholesterol, in particular a high concentration of LDL (Canto, J.G., and Iskandrian, A.E., 2003). It is very typical for these patients to have a high total cholesterol concentration in the blood plasma, a dangerously high LDL, and a low HDL fraction in fasting plasma. The atherosclerotic patient often also has a high total triglyceride concentration. Large atherosclerotic plaques narrow the arterial lumen and produce arterial stenosis with reduced blood flow. Insufficient oxygen delivery to the tissue is called ischaemic hypoxia, and hypoxic pains develop as in angina pectoris and intermittent claudication. Total occlusion of the arterial lumen is caused by a thrombus