Literature Review on Autism Spectrum Disorders Essay

Abstract Autism has become an increasing subject of interest, especially to researchers and medical professionals. This increase in interest is most likely due to the fact that autism is becoming an increasing problem in children, with the number of diagnoses doubling in just a four year period. In order to discover what may cause this disorder as well as finding effective ways to treat it, people must be informed and knowledgeable about autism. The current study discusses what ASD is, symptoms of this disorder, possible causes and risk factors, and methods of treatments and therapy, such as early intervention and sensory integration therapy. This study hypothesizes that sensory integration therapy will significantly improve grades and school performance in children with autism. Recently, it seems as if autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been receiving a great deal of attention by those who work in the medical field, researchers, education providers, and parents as well. This is due to the fact that the number of diagnoses has increased significantly. In just a four year period, the number of recorded diagnoses for these types of disorders has doubled (Keen & Ward, 2004). This substantial increase in the diagnoses of ASDs could be due to the fact that doctors and other health professionals are becoming more aware of the criteria for these disorders, and are beginning to have greater recognition of ASD in more able, high functioning children. In the past, there have been several cases where high functioning children were first diagnosed with ADHD, and later received an ASD diagnoses (Keen & Ward, 2004). With the recent awareness of autism spectrum disorders, a more clear criteria has developed for the diagnoses of these disorders. In broad terms, autism spectrum disorders is a group of developmental brain disorders, collectively called ASD. It is called autism spectrum disorder because the symptoms and levels of impairment for these disorders ranges  widely in each individual with an ASD. (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2011). In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2011), some higher functioning children may only be mildly impaired by his or hers symptoms, while other children who are low functioning may have more severely impaired by his or hers symptoms, causing them to be severely disabled. To diagnose an individual with ASD, one must meet the criteria listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition – Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Currently, there are five defined disorders that fall under the category of ASD. These disorders include autistic disorder (classic autism), Asperger’s disorder (Asperger’s syndrome), pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), Rett’s disorder (Rett’s syndrome), and childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) (NIMH, 2011). However, this review will focus mostly on the more common disorders, classic autism and Asperger’s syndrome. The NIMH (2011) has identified some key symptoms seen in individuals with ASD. While symptoms do vary from one child to the next, the symptoms tend to fall into three main areas. These three areas include social impairment, communication difficulties, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. Children with autism have trouble with social interactions and find it difficult to engage in everyday social interactions. Some of these problems with social interactions may include having trouble with making eye contact, have trouble listening to and responding to other people in their environment, and having trouble picking up on social cues and reading peoples emotions. Children with ASD may respond unusually or inappropriately when others show feelings of anger, sadness, distress, or affection (Kamps, Leonard, Vernon, Dugan, & Delquadri, 1992). Children with autism also suffer from several communication issues, such as failing or being slow to respond to verbal attempts to get their attention, developing language at a slower pace than others, repeating words or phrases that they hear, and using words that are strange or out of place, that do not really make sense to people other than the child and those close to the child whom are familiar with the child’s communication style. The last important symptom seen in children  with ASD is repetitive and stereotyped behavior. Many children with ASD tend to have odd, repetitive actions and behaviors that may be referred to as stereotyped behaviors. An example of a stereotyped behavior might be a simple gesture of the arm that is repeatedly done by the child. Children with autism often have one subject or interest that they tend to overly focus on. They tend to become obsessed with one particular subject, and will learn everything they can about the subject of interest. Because autistic children seem to display several repetitive behaviors and thoughts, a set routine is usually the best environment for a child with ASD (NIMH, 2011). While there have been many theories and suggestions of what may cause autism spectrum disorders, there is not one particular known cause of these disorders. A great deal of research has been done to examine possible causes of and risk factors for this disorder. Recently, there has been research on the hypotheses that maternal early life factors associated with hormone levels may have some correlation with being at risk of having a child with ASD. Ascherio, Lyall, Pauls, Santangelo, and Spiegelman (2011) conducted a study to see if they could find any relationships between certain maternal early life factors associated with hormone levels and the risk of having a child with an ASD. This study focuses on maternal early life factors, and how some of these reproductive and hormonal factors of mothers could put them at risk of having a child with ASD (Ascherio, Lyall, Pauls, Santangelo, & Spiegelman, 2011). The methods of this study included a cohort study with 61,596 women. Data was collected from these women, which included age of menarche (first menstrual cycle), characteristics of menstrual cycle during adolescence, use of birth control, specifically oral contraceptives, prior to have given birth, body shape, and body mass index (BMI). The results of this study showed relationships between higher BMI’s at age 18, early age at menarche, and longer use of oral contraceptives prior to first birth, and being at risk for having a child with ASD (Ascherio et al., 2011). Other risk factors for having a child with an ASD that have been studied include prenatal, or the period of time before the child is born, perinatal, or the period of delivery and immediately before and after delivery, and parental, or characteristics of the parents, factors. In a study done by  Hertz-Piccottio et al. (2010), the authors examine possible parental, prenatal and perinatal factors associated with ASD. The methods of this study was a case-control study, using a cohort of children in China. Cases came from six special education schools and two Preschool Autistic Children Special Education Institutions in Tianjin, China (Hertz-Piccottio et al., 2010). The parental risk factors that were studied included parental ages at delivery, ethnicity, occupation, education, marriage of a close relative, exposure to toxins, personality, and family medical history of different illnesses (Hertz-Piccottio et al., 2010, p. 1313). The prenatal risk factors that were examined in this study included maternal characteristics and behaviors during pregnancy, alcohol consumption, smoking and second hand smoke exposure, exposure to X-rays, attempt to terminate pregnancy, contact with toxins, emotional state, disease history, and medication history (Hertz-Piccottio et al., 2010, p. 1313). Some perinatal factors that were examined include infant gestational age at birth, fetal nuchal chord (umbilical chord wrapped around neck), cesarean delivery, and breech birth. Also included were newborn complications such as birth weight, delayed crying, and abnormal skin color due to an array of conditions such a hypoxia, apnoea, neonatal jaundice, and several other conditions (Hertz-Piccottio et al., 2010, p. 1313). The results of this study showed relationships between several of the factors examined and the risk of having a child with ASD. In relation to the prenatal risk factors studied, seven conditions during gestation were significantly associated with the risk of having a child with ASD, four of which showed the strongest relationship. The four prenatal risk factors that showed the strongest relationship included frequent maternal second-hand smoke exposure, chronic and acute medical conditions unrelated to pregnancy, maternal unhappy emotional state, and one or more gestational complications (Hertz-Piccottio et al., 2010, p. 1314). For the perinatal risk factors that were studied, seven characteristics at the time of delivery were significantly associated with autism. These characteristics include abnormal gestational age, including preterm and post-term, nuchal chord, cesarean delivery, delayed crying, newborn complications, apnoea, and neonatal jaundice (Hertz-Piccottio et al., 2010, p. 1314). For the parental characteristics studied, results showed that gravidity > 1 and advanced paternal age at delivery were  significantly associated with autism (Hertz-Piccottio et al., 2010, p. 1314). Other studies have also done research on possible perinatal, prenatal, and parental risk factors for autism. In a study done by Agerbo et al. (2005), the authors created a study in Denmark of children with ASD. This study focused on possible perinatal risk factors for autism, as well as the associations between parental psychiatric history and socioeconomic status and the risk of having a child with autism. The following perinatal factors were investigated in this study: birth weight, gestational at birth, weight for gestational age, birth weight, Apgar score at 5 minutes, fetal presentation, mode of delivery, pregnancy characteristics such as multiple gestation, and parental characteristics such as maternal smoking, maternal and paternal ages, maternal citizenship, and number of previous pregnancies. Other factors considered were parental psychiatric history, that is, if the parent had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder prior to the date the child was diagnosed with autism, and socioeconomic factors, including maternal education and parental wealth (Agerbo et al., 2005). As we begin to understand more about what exactly autism spectrum disorders are, what may cause these disorders, and how to diagnose children more accurately and sooner, the next step in being proactive with ASD is studying different treatment methods and developing new methods of treatment that may be more effective. The biggest impairment for most children with ASD is the social impairments caused by these disorders. Developing treatments that may help children with an ASD learn how to better interact in social situations could possibly be the most useful type of treatment for these children. Researchers have been working on several different treatment methods for children with autism, especially treatments to help develop and improve social skills. In a study done by Koegel, Koegel, Hurley, and Frea (1992), the authors seek out to find a treatment to improve social skills in children with an ASD. This study assessed whether self-management could be used as a technique to improve extended responsiveness to verbal initiations from others, without the presence of a treatment provider. The methods of this study included four children, all of whom were diagnosed with autism.  The results of the study showed that children with autism who displayed severe deficits in social skills could learn to self-manage responsivity to others in multiple community settings (Koegel, Koegel, Hurley, & Frea, 1992). Another method of treatment that is being explored is the use of social robots for the therapy of children with ASD. In a study done by Werry, Dautenhahn, Ogden, and Harwin (2001) , the researchers developed a robotic agent that could help with therapy in children with autism. This study was called the AURORA project, which started in 1998. The results so far have been quite promising, and the social robot has proven to be a very useful tool for children with autism. It gives them the opportunity to practice social interactions and serves as a social mediator (Werry, Dautenhan, Ogden, & Harwin, 2001). The treatment of autism is not a simple process. There is no single therapy or method of treatment that can completely cure an individual with autism. However, there are an assortment of treatments and therapies that have proven to be effective in treating children with autism. Quite often, children with autism combine different treatment methods and therapies to improve different skills. Some of the more common approaches at treating autism in children include behavioral procedures, such as early intervention and discrete trial trainings, speech therapy, dietary approaches, and occupational therapy ( Watling, Deitz, Kanny, & McLaughlin, 1999). Early intervention, a behavioral analytic treatment for autism, is an intensive behavioral therapy that is started as soon as a child is diagnosed with autism, usually before age 5. This type of therapy is based on the principles of operant conditioning. In this type of treatment, therapists simplify children’s environment in order to maximize successes and minimize failures. For example, the therapist might break a behavior down into smaller units and teach each unit individually, eventually linking all of the units together, which may also be called chaining. Another method of simplification that a therapist may use is discrete trial format. Discrete trial format involves a one on one interaction with a therapist that is carefully planned out, in which the child receives short and clear instructions from the therapist, and is immediately reinforced for every  correct response. Another type of treatment for children with autism that is becoming more popular is occupational therapy. Occupational therapists are trained in teaching every day skills to help the individual being treated live as independently as possible. These skills can be very helpful to children with an ASD. One of the most well-known types of therapy occupational therapists use to help treat autism is sensory integration therapy. Those who practice this type of therapy hypothesize that the primary symptoms of autism are disturbances in sensory modulation. Consequently, children with autism have difficulties in social relating, communication, and language. Because children with autism have these disturbances in regulating sensory input appropriately, they suffer from several social and communication problems (Case-Smith & Bryan, 1999). The sensory integration approach attempts to stimulate and challenge the senses of the individual being treated (Cohn, 2001). A common symptom in individuals w ith autism is being either over stimulated under-stimulated by their environment. They often have trouble learning to combine and integrating their different senses. These sensory difficulties may be a cause of communication problems and social interaction problems in children with autism. Because they have such difficulty regulating their sensory systems, they tend to have trouble socializing and interacting with others. Some individuals with autism practice certain stereotyped behaviors, such as lining up toys or moving a toy back and forth on a table. This may be an attempt to try and regulate their sensory systems. The sensory integration approach aims to help children with autism improve their sensory processing and modulation. There are three elements typically included in this approach: helping parents better understand their child’s behavior, helping parents/teachers modify the child’s environment in order to meet his or hers sensory needs, and helping children organize responses to sensory input. However, each sensory integration therapy session is unique to the individual being treated. Occupational therapists must conside r different individuals’ unique needs and goals (Case-Smith & Bryan, 1999). Sensory integration therapy is the most used technique in occupational  therapy for the treatment of children with autism, with 95% of occupational therapists using this approach at least some of the time. The reason for its popularity in the treatment of autism is because of its proven efficacy in helping improve social interactions and communications. In a study done by Case-Smith and Bryan (1999) the authors found that sensory integration therapy can significantly increase mastery play, or the child’s interactions with the physical environment. They also found that sensory integration therapy significantly decreases non-engaged behaviors, or behaviors where the child is not interacting or minimally interacting with their environment. Examples of these behaviors include unfocused staring or aimless wandering. In a study by Cohn (2001), the author is concerned with parents’ perspectives of the sensory integration approach used in the treatment of their children. In t his study, the author found that sensory integration was successful in helping parents understand their children’s problems. While there is a great deal of research that has been done on the sensory integration approach as a treatment for children with autism and the efficacy of this treatment in improving certain social behaviors, there is not much literature on the effects of sensory integration therapy on grades and school performance of children with autism. In consideration to prior research in relation to autism and the treatment methods, the current study hypothesizes that sensory integration therapy will significantly improves grades and school performance in children with autism. Methods Participants Participants of this study will consist of young children with autism or another type of ASD, attending some type of day care or school for children with disabilities. Participants will be in the age group of 3 years old to 7 years old. There will be about 10-15 total participants. Materials This study will be a single-subject design, where each participant serves as his or hers own control group. The study will be conducted right after a break in school, such as winter break or summer break. When the students return from the break in school, they will attend school for three to four weeks without receiving any therapy or treatment. At the end of this period, grades will be assessed as well as general school performance such has  participation and behavior. After the three week period of no therapy, intervention will be initiated and children will all receive sensory integration therapy. Children will receive this therapy within the school for six to eight weeks. At the end of this intervention period, grades and school performance will be assessed again. Procedure The therapy sessions will take place in the day care or school building. Observations of the participants will be made in the classroom, both before the intervention period and during the intervention period. These observations will assess each child’s individual school performance, including things such as participation and class behaviors. Grades will also be assessed both before the intervention and during the intervention period. Students will return to school after their break and will not receive any therapy for three weeks. After the first three weeks, the intervention will be initiated and the children will each participate individually in a form of sensory integration therapy under the supervision of a trained occupational therapist. Each therapy session will be unique to the individual and his or hers unique needs or goals. At the end of the intervention period, grades will be assessed again. The grades and school performance of each child before the therapy was star ted will be compared with the grades and school performance assessed during and at the end of the therapy, using SPSS or some sort of statistical analysis program, to determine whether or not sensory integration therapy significantly improves grades and school performance in children with autism. References Agerbo, E., Eaton, W. W., Larsson, H. J., Madsen, K. M., Mortensen, P. B., Oleson, A. V., †¦Vestergaard, M. (2005). Risk factors for autism: Perinatal factors, parental psychiatric history, and socioeconomic status. American Journal of Epidemiology. 161(10), 916-925. doi:10.1093/aje/kwi123 Ascherio, A., Lyall, K., Pauls, D. L., Santangelo, S., & Spiegelman, D. (2011). Maternal early life factors associated with hormone levels and the risk of having a child with an autism spectrum disorder in the nurses health study II. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,41, 618- 627. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1079-7 Case – Smith, J., & Bryan, T. (1999). The effects of occupational therapy with sensory integration emphasis on preschool-age children with autism. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 53, 489 – 497. Cohn, E. S. (2001). Parent perspectives of occupational therapy using a sensory integration approach. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55, 285-294. Hertz- Picciotto, I., Lv, C. C., Miao, R. J., Qi, L., Tian, J., Xi, W., & Zhang, X. (2010) Prenatal and perinatal risk factors for autism in china. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 1311-1321. doi: 10.1007/s10803-010-0992-0 Kamps, D. M., Leonard, B. R., Vernon, S., Dugan, E. P., Delquadri, J. C., Gershon, B.,†¦Folk, L. (1992). Journal of Applied and Behavior Analysis, 25 (2), 281-288. Keen, D. & Ward, S. (2004). Autistic spectrum disorder a child population profile. The National Autistic Society, 8 (1), 39-48. Koegel, L. K., Koegel, R. L., Hurley, C., & Frea, W. (1992). Improving social skills and disruptive behavior in children with autism through self-management. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 341-353. Smith, Tristram. (1999). Outcome of early intervention for children with autism. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,6, (1), 33-49. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health. (2011). A parent’s guide to autism spectrum disorder (NIH Publication No. 11-5511). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/a-parents-guide-to-autism-spectrum-disorder/complete-index.shtml#pub6 Watling, R., Deitz, J., Kanny, E. M., & McLaughlin, J. F. (1999). Current practice of occupational therapy for children with autism. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 53, 498–505. Werry, I., Dautenhahn, K., Ogden, B., & Harwin, W. (2001). Can social interaction skills be taught by a social agent? The role of a robotic mediator in autism therapy.

Perception of Organized Crime Essay

Organized crime has been defined as illegal acts committed by a criminal organization or group. The NCIS (2005) described organized crime as having 4 salient attributes: (1) organized crime group contains at least three people; (2) the criminal activity the group engages in is ongoing and indefinite in duration; (3) the group is motivated by a desire for profit or power; and, (4) the group commits serious criminal offenses (Lynman & Potter, 2007). There are different categories of organized criminal behavior. They include the provision of illicit services, provision of illicit goods, conspiracy to commit crime, penetration of legitimate business, extortion, and corruption. Illicit services are services that legitimate business do not provide. These services include but are not limited to gambling that is illegal, protection rackets, loan sharking, and prostitution. Illicit goods are also not available not available from legitimate businesses. Illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin are examples of illicit goods. Unregistered guns and stolen property are also examples of illicit goods. Conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to violate the law. Conspiracy is a vital category of organized criminal behavior. Organized crime members often work together for the purpose of making money. They work together to sell drugs, stolen property, loan sharking, gambling, prostitution and other illegal activities they have going on within their organization. Organized crime organizations have no legal way to spend their profits so they must hide their revenue. They do this by penetrating legal businesses. Many of these crime organizations have businesses such as construction and contractors. Extortion is another category of organized crime. Many organized crime organizations use extortion to infiltrate legitimate businesses. Extortion is the use or threatened use of violence or force to achieve a criminal end (Lynman & Potter, 2007). Corruption is also a category of organized crime. Many of these organized crime groups could not  flourish if it wasn’t for for the aid of pubic and private figures such as police officers, judges, prosecutors, mayors, bankers, attorneys, and elected and appointed officials. Organized crime groups have different hierarchies. There is the standard hierarchy in which there is a single organized crime group which is led by a single powerful individual. These organizations have clearly defined roles, a readily identified chain of command, and a hierarchy that is designed to provide a strong system of internal discipline. Then there is the regional hierarchy. These hierarchies are tightly controlled groups with strong systems of internal discipline and clearly defined roles and lines of authority. Next there’s the clustered hierarchy. This is an organized crime group that involves a number of smaller organized crime groups that coordinate their activities and enterprises. There is also a core group. This is an unstructured group of organized criminal surrounded by a larger network of individuals engaged in serious criminal activity. Finally, there’s the criminal network. Criminal networks are loosely organized, highly adaptable, very fluid of networks of individual participants who organize themselves around ongoing criminal enterprise (Lynman & Potter, 2007). The perception I had of organized crime is different from what I read in week one. Before this week, I always associated the Mob or the Mafia with organized crime. I think this comes from the movies and television shows that I have watched. I described organized crime as a group of people working for a â€Å"boss† to break the law. I thought that there was one head and people reported to him. I did not know that there were different categories of organized crime. I always associated drug trafficking and murder for hire as organized crimes. The readings have helped me to understand what organized crime really is and who is or can be involved. Before now, I would have never associated corruption or extortion with organized crime. I ultimately believed that this was something that was made up for movies and TV shows such as The Godfather, Scarface, The Sopranos, and The Wire. Before watching The Wire, I only associated Italians with organized crime. The characteristics I believe are associated  with organized criminal behavior varies. First, all members of the organization are expected to live by a certain set of rules or a code. They should protect the organization and do what is asked of them by the leaders. I thought the characteristics of organized criminal behavior were similar to that of a gang. The people involved in organized crime may not wear a certain color or live in a certain area but they have the same goal in mind. Protect the group by any means necessary. They have to be loyal to the group, do what they are told by someone else, and do what it takes to make money or a profit for the group. After this first week of class my views on organized crime has changed drastically. I now have a better understanding of what organized crime is and a more knowledge on organized criminal groups. I can let go of all of the stereotypes I may have had and now understand that organized criminal organizations have one goal in mind, make a profit for the organization no matter if it is financial or political. References Lyman, M., & Potter, G. (2007). Understanding Organized Crime. Organized Crime (Fourth ed., pp. 1-38). New York: Pearson Education.

Is college For Everyone Essay

Since the first GI Bill was passed after World War II universities have been steadily increasing. Currently there are more than 4000 college like institutions in the United States. Public policy has been making higher education more reachable for example by creating federal student loan programs so everyone has a chance to attend college. But recently we have seen the cost of a four year degree drastically increase because Americans are seeing college as an obligation. â€Å"On â€Å"Real Education†Ã¢â‚¬  Robert T. Perry argues that we need more university and community college graduates. â€Å"Is College for Everyone† Pharinet is arguing that college is not for everyone. He states that there is too many students enrolled in school that don’t belong there. Roberts’s essay â€Å"On â€Å"Real Education†Ã¢â‚¬  is more persuasive because, not only did his writing appear on InsideHigherEd. com making him a more credible author but also because he argues his stance on college is for everyone using statistics and a believable explanation to back them up. The US Department of Labor has reported that America needs more college graduates to keep up with all the other nations in the global economy. Robert states that by the end of the presidents first term, which is already over, that The US will have 3 million more jobs that require bachelor’s degree and we don’t have enough college graduates to fill them. We need more health care workers, teachers, software engineers and manufacturing jobs, all of which require college. Those whom choose not to go to college have much fewer employment options. Robert makes a strong point when he says that American companies are looking for new ways to compete, and because of this without some sort of secondary degree you will have consistent struggle to pay for just the basic to live. Robert grabs the reader’s consideration through the use of pathos, saying that additionally people with postsecondary degrees tend to be more healthy, more engaged in their community, a decreased chance of being involved in crime, more productive throughout there working life, and even more philanthropic. Pharinet thinks that the most common issue with college is that students are not yet ready for the academic and financial challenges. He claims that students find themselves trying to work full time and do to school full time and before long students decide they need to work and drop their status to a part time student. Through the use of pathos Pharinet asks his readers to consider a very valid point, if college is for everyone then why do we rely on SAT scores and high school transcripts? And why doesn’t every school have an admissions policy? Then followed those questions with the answer that college is not for everyone. There is no real desire for learning. Individuals just go to college to earn a degree to settle down into a job with decent pay. Using pathos again Pharinet explains that when this kind of person enters the work force are they going to lack motivation in there career because of the only reason for wanting the career was for the money. When comparing these to essays, you can clearly see that there are two completely different beliefs. Robert believes that college is for everyone where Pharinet believes that college is not for everyone. Robert had a more persuasive argument because he established a good ethos, Robert uses facts and professional opinions to back his argument, whereas Pharinet uses his own personal opinions to create his blog. Robert uses much more logos then he does pathos, Pharinet used much more pathos then he did logos. Neither of the writings use firsthand experience, we don’t know whether or not Pharinet and Robert went to college. I found both the organization and use of evidence effective in both essays. Both essays use good strong points to back up their arguments and both essays were persuasive.

Lilly and company Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Lilly and company Marketing Plan - Assignment Example A drug named Zyprexa, which is product name of Olanzapine is anti psychotic and helps in treating in acute bi polar mania.2 It is used to treat mental disorders like dementia in young and middle aged persons. The terms of reference in marketing of anti psychotic drug Olanzapine are the psychotic disorders, alcohol mania, tobacco edicts and other bi polar mania. The different mania that the drug can treat and the specialists in treating those disorders can be mentioned. The company should refer the drug to the specialists and experts in treating these disorders. Their references can help in marketing plan of the drug. First the experts and distributors must be made familiar with the product name of the drug. The marketing plan constitutes the reference of the drug to the Drug certifying authority in UK and taking their no objections certificate. After that the experts in the field of mental disorders can be consulted and they must be informed about the launching of the drug in UK. After that the company should arrange a meeting of the distributors in its network to inform about the cost of the drug and the percentage of the profit for the distributors and wholesalers. The publicity campaign also can be discussed with them and necessary changes can be done if they want any. As this is not the drug, which a common man can use the publicity will only expert oriented. The business mission of Lilly pharmaceutic... The company wants to ensure good mental health to the citizens of UK by offering the drug at a reasonable price. The strategy is to take the efficiency of the drug to the specialist doctors and psychologists in UK and make them understand the efficacy of the drug in treating the mental disorders and bi polar mania. 4. External Marketing Audit The drug containing Olanzapine is a drug that must be prescribed by specialists. A common man cannot prescribe its dose and course on his own. The advertisement and publicity regarding it must be addressed to Wholesalers, distributors, specialist doctors and psychologists. 1 The amount of money to be spent by the company can be concentrated on the websites regarding the mental and psychological disorders. The company can post advertisement on those websites. The magazines regarding mental and psychological disorders and Television programmes about these disorders can be targeted for posing advertisements. The budget for making of posters, broachers, articles that can be given as presents for the promotion of the drug must be calculated and incorporated in the marketing plan of the drug. While conducting the external market audit, not only the advertisement budget but also the macro environment, competition and the potential in the market must be estimated. For this purpose the following details can help in estimating the budge regarding the above three issues. The environment in UK that consists of specialist doctors for mental disorders and psychologists who treat bi polar mania must be recognised. After that operation, the drugs of the competitors must be taken into account and the means of publicity of them must be considered to overcome their strategies. Before having these above two estimations the potential of the

Businness Continuity Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Businness Continuity Plan - Assignment Example The managerial strategy is shaped according to the internal environment of the organization. In the modern era, every business organization performs in a dynamic environment where the external factors are constantly changing and unpredictable. The primary goal of all companies is to achieve their set goals and objectives, and all strategies pertaining to this attainment is subjected to situations both internal and external to the organization. The external factors include political and economic conditions of the country along with customers, competition and technology. The concerned print shop is connected to the internet by satellite link. In this case, the external threats can be in the form of viruses or worms that are generally spread through the internet. Internal threats may occur when an employee steals any information. In many cases external threats may happen due to internal factors. For instance, if an employee, knowingly or unknowingly passes on business information in soc ial media sites then any foreign entity can send an innocent looking email to employee’s profile which if the employee opens can infect the entire system and compromise the shop’s network (Cole, 2012, p.88). Therefore, the need is to keep track of all kinds of threats and adopt protection accordingly. It is important for any manager to identify risks of the concerned business and take practical steps not only for daily activities but also for the future of the company. Managing risks can become extremely difficult if the manager does not take into confidence the owner of the shop. As a manager it is my duty to remind the owner the significance of an effective risk management tool. Communication is another important aspect of risk management. Therefore, my principle focus is on communication to the employees about the current events that can affect the smooth operation of the shop. It is not possible for a manager to work along without

Nationality and international judicial process Essay

Nationality and international judicial process - Essay Example There should be no limitation into individual efforts in acquiring nationality or properly too while changing it. It is designed to be an easy task when a person applies for nationality in a country more so by law. Equally, when one intends to forfeit/forego accorded nationality, then simple procedures should be followed. On the other hand, international law confines are configured around the individual state supremacy and thus the judicial administration is designed to serve the international community. It is therefore formulated for and by the cooperation of individual states that consent onto alike ideals of governance and justice procedures. However, for the interest of the common good of all humanity, there are obligations to the international community to oversee justice and lawful governance even to the countries that are non partisans to the international treaties that bind member countries to the common international justice. This is because human beings have been â€Å"soc ialized† in conflict resolution through amicable manners. Nevertheless, supremacy of the state often holds the mandate to establish solution giving mechanisms to cases requiring legal arbitration. In the event of arbitrations that are beyond a state scope, especially those involving other states, arbitration is done centrally by a central tribunal under the watch of international community. Certain basics hold as pertains to these procedures. The tribunals are formed by consent of many states who also give guidelines on the operations. The associates of the states are by default linked to the tribunal. All the procedures are well monitored under commonly accepted codes of operations. This essay therefore intends to evaluate the ways in which nationality aspect is relevant into the confines of international law. We intend to show how nationality holds when it comes to the judicial field beyond the borders of supreme state. Are there provisions that explain the levels of soverei gnty of nationals of particular states as opposed to others? What is the jurisdiction provision on the matter that pertains to statelessness or refugees? What are the relationship spheres of a sovereign state and her nationals when it comes to crime against humanity or any other international crime committed either within the respective country’s borders or the international scene? Discussion We start by evaluating nationality and its meaning. It started with the states forming the basic blocks of the international law but later on a relationship between the states and individual persons led to reconsideration of nationals as regards to the international law. Through this then, international law encompassed an individual and state. Sloane, say that inclusion of nationality in â€Å"international law† mediated accompanying obligations and persona rights. The initial intention was towards offering diplomatic protection, state responsibility, war, extradition and jurisdic tion (2009, 1-2). Therefore, the best way to understand nationality is in terms of the legal bundles of protection or individual duties and rights to an individual person accustomed to at state or at international level. Though an individual has a formal entitlement of sense of belonging to either one or more states through the single or dual nationality procedures, everyone is bound to the terms espoused to by the country’s legal framework. However, the basic significance legal consequence of nationality remains in individual state to which a

Imaging Informatics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Imaging Informatics - Essay Example egrated with a number of clinical data systems such as the HIS and the RIS which is used in the medical images distribution all over the image centred bases and in electronic archiving (Samei, 2004). The flow of work in departments of radiology has been enhanced in the current age due to the PACS installation progressive development alongside significant reductions in the costs of healthcare which have in combination had positive impacts on the care of the sick (Samei, 2004). The proliferation of more technical features maybe sustainably enhanced, according to Lemke (2011), and since such features in order to meet the requirements of medical personnel and systems of healthcare need new avenues/ approaches, a number of obstacles may be experienced. Compared to other choices such as film, PACS installations though costly may in the long run lead to reduced expenditure. However, there is the necessity for medical services after evaluating the overall features that can assist in meeting all requirements to use the PACS that are appropriate in order to reduce the significance of the effect of the effectiveness of cost of medical institutions that welcome huge numbers of patients yearly (Robertson and Saveraid, 2008). Along the same vein, the proceeding deliberation focuses on PACS’ general and technical characteristics/ features according to two various manufacturers. Apart from discussing the PACS’ advantages and disadvantages, this analysis wi ll additionally delve into the similarities and differences of the PACS. In addition, the discussion offers recommendations concerning the most appropriate systems for different clinical situations. In general, the two main PACS looked at in this issue, which are the most relevant in this debate because of their presence and popularity in the markets such as in Saudi Arabia, are the Agfa IMPAX 6 and the Fujifilm’s Synapse (Samei et al, 2004). According to Agfa Healthcare (2012), Agfa has installed over 200 PACS in over

History TMA04 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History TMA04 - Essay Example In the year between 1526 and 1867 Sub Saharan Africa lost more than 12.5 million people. Slavery is the universal phenomena which have existed from the early history of the human being. Even though the ideologies and the culture have influence on the system of slavery the industrialization and the capitalist development boosted up slavery. The cultural and ideological features of the society acted as the catalyst for the system of slavery. Along with the development of the human society, the nature and complexity of the slave system also developed. Robin Black burn points out that slavery is the dark side of human progress. â€Å"Robin Blackburn suggests that it points us towards the "dark side of progress" (p5) in that the inhumanity of the system developed side by side with huge steps forward in knowledge and technique, such as the exploration of the Atlantic and the development of new navigational techniques.† (Blackburn & Verso 1998). Europeans are not sold as chattel slav es. There are many reasons for this. The cultural background may be one reason. During the middle ages, the white Christians were not bought as slaves because they belong to an implicit community. The law enforced a clear distinction between the punitive and chattel slavery. Due to this, the chattel slavery has virtually disappeared from northern Europe by about1400. The basis of the implicit community was ethnicity rather than religion. Galley slavery - Theologians could cite unambiguous scriptural authority for hereditary slavery for outsiders which many be a punishment for original sin. Baptism does not redeem a black skin from slavery. In the book of Genesis in Bible, we cannot find out any proof from the Bible that the nations of Ham are black. But, the genealogies and apocryphal remarks imply that the nations of Ham are migrated to other lands notably to Ethiopia. The Ethiopia came to be inhabited by black people. The

Biological Determinism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biological Determinism - Essay Example Biological determinism is an invalid theory that is maintained in the popular culture to serve various extremist political ends. Biological determinism contends that our genetic makeup is responsible for our appearance, mental condition and abilities, our destiny, and the choices that we make in our day-to-day life. In addition, the theory argues that our environment and social interactions have at most only a minimal effect on shaping our social being. For example, advocates of the theory believe that genetics controls our predisposition to use alcohol, exhibit violent behavior, or become aggressively greedy. The theory makes it easy to place the responsibility for academic achievement differences among the races on biology, rather than confront an educational system that disadvantages many minority students (Naiman 31). The theory states that the role of genetics is so pronounced that the person will have no choice but to act on these forces and become the product of their DNA. Most modern thinking has discounted the effects of biological determinism and though they acknowledge its existence, they limit its inevitability.

Becoming a Teacher Essay Example for Free

Becoming a Teacher Essay Becoming a teacher means much more to me then just a paycheck or just another job I have to go to everyday. I want to make the difference in a student’s life, I want them to feel as if they can achieve the world and that each and everyone of them are important in one way or another. My vocation or calling to become a teacher has been with me for some time now. When I was little I use to play school with my little girlfriends all the time and I would always be the teacher. I love to learn and have always wanted to share that love of learning. Community impact and the commitment to my students tie together. As teachers we have tons of impact on the community, we help shape the younger generations within our community with the help of parents of course. I will strive to become that role model to my students and I will commit to them that they will succeed and learn new things each and every day. Being a role model to me as for any teacher I am sure is very important. Being a role model is not only a great feeling to have but is also a great tool to gain student’s respect. There will be extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to me as a teacher and to my students. For me extrinsic rewards will be seeing my students smiling faces and seeing them succeed in what they set their hearts to. An added bonus might be a teaching award at some point in my career. As for my students their extrinsic rewards for one is to always have a smiling teacher to greet them everyday, but also there can be multiple extrinsic rewards such as free days, homework coupons, or just to pick something fun to do at the end of the day. Intrinsic rewards I think are pretty similar to a teacher and a student. For us to have that joy of success or the fulfillment to teach and learn is a great intrinsic reward in my eyes. There are many resource books available for teachers of any grade, which is a great learning tool for teachers to have. As teacher we can have a major impact on families rather it is a safe haven for children to go to everyday, or a place where students know that they matter and are there to learn and succeed. Succeeding is a great feeling for any child of any age. There is nothing better for a teacher or a family member to see that look in a child’s eye when they have accomplished or learned something new; that is absolute wonderful! Some useful information I like to keep in mind is five reasons for becoming a teacher. Time commitment things will be done on my own time such as grading papers, activities, and lessons plans. Pay is not the best I know lots of teachers that have to get summer jobs to help out with income, so no one should be a teacher for pay or for the summer vacations. Respect is a big one, some people within the community you work in may have negative things to say about teachers due to a bad experience, so I must prove myself to be trustworthy and a great educator. Community expectations the community will always have an opinion on what their teachers should be doing, this is when the phrase â€Å"grin and bare it† comes into play, this is challenging but rewarding. Last emotional commitment this is by far not a desk job I will commit myself to my students and job, again challenging but rewarding. (Melissa Kelly, 2011, pg. 1) This is my passion and I will strive to be the best teacher I can be.

Industrial Analysis For The Candy Store Marketing Essay

Industrial Analysis For The Candy Store Marketing Essay Our business plan is to design an on campus candy store which provides a wide range of candies to students and the staff at a cheaper rate. We hope to provide a new sweet experience to our customers to sweeten their most memorable days with our candies. To the students who like sweets our store will be a paradise of candies. And we will ensure the 100% customer satisfaction. Our mission statement. Our mission is to introduce a new era in the sweet industry by innovating new products, to give a totally different experience to our customers who step on to our store and to inject freshness in the sweet industry such as candies with different flavours, wide range of party packages, seasonal offers and many more. Market forecast Sales value of sweets were slightly in pace between 2005 and 2006 but sales has being increased because of gum and jellies. Sources suggests that the sugar confectionery market will increase by 9% at current prices over the 2007-12 period, rising to an estimated  £1.3 billion by 2012. C:UsersSubnet1Desktopid=273283name=figure6-1-1185370514.jpgmaxWidth=851maxHeight=450.jpg Sales of sugar confectionery in the UK have followed a modest upward trend over the review period. Some industry commentators estimate even flatter trends and a minor growth of 3-3.5% between 2005-2007. Health concerns as well affected for the sales growth because more concern about balance diets. The sugar confectionery market will increase by 9% at current prices over the 2007-12 periods, rising to an estimated  £1.3 billion by 2012. However, removing the effects of inflation reveals a much more growth equating to just 1% in real-terms. The market increasing at a similar rate to that seen over the 2002-07 period, growing 6% over the next five years. With volume growth behind value in current terms, this is indicative of a rise in spend per unit on sugar confectionery over the forecast period. SWOT analysis Following are the strengths and opportunities of our business which we possess to bring a better range of candies to satisfy the customers we will minimize our weaknesses and threats while finding solutions to overcome them. Strengths are, The logo which speaks to the customer and attract them. Especially youngsters will be keener on the logo. Main concern will be on more natural colours and flavours will help to attract more customers. Since consumers are focus on health, gum and jellies have taken more priority as they made up of natural fruit juices. Novelty products such as party bags, seasonal products and surprise gifts help to drag more customers as well customized range of party packages. Attractive price range so that everyone willing to buy. Strong management team to organize plans for future and for past. As well developing good skills, sales strategies to attract more customers and also to maintain good faith with the retailers. Weaknesses are, Higher innovation cost has to occur to invent new candies to attract the customers. Efficiency is less as incapable of paying higher salary to staff. Less exposure to the wider market to attract more customers. Opportunities can be, Young generation looking for more diverse product range. On campus is a good location as there are no specific candy shops which provide variety of candies. Event coverage with discounted packages. Even in higher economic crisiss people will are willing to buy candies. Threats can be, Competition with other supermarkets which are based on campus. Economic slowdown. Price wars. Trend for discounts. Higher labour cost. PEST control analysis Political: The government would have to collect taxes from the shop therefore the candy store would have to pay the normal tax rates. The business doesnt need to be privatised because the property that they are going to use is in Brunel University. They have to follow the health and safety regulation due to being in the packed food industry. The business would not have control on the spending of the public funds however since they would pay tax they would want to know where the government is using the tax that they pay. Economical: The store will be less likely to be affected with the interest and inflation rate because the products are not very expensive therefore there would be minimal effect on the sales of the shop. If the store keeps the service friendly, helpful and has policies to deal with situations like sales return these factors would help create consumer confidence. The rate of unemployment would affect the business due to the reason that the people would be less likely to spend their disposable income on things like candy therefore they should develop a strategy that would help them keep going at the time of recession. The labour cost would be how much money they would spend on recruitment and the recruitment process. Socio- culture: the trend, consumers taste and preferences, change in lifestyle would affect the store the occupation wouldnt matter because all age groups would have it. Mainly it is targeted to the students and staff of the university. Also including things like organic candy that would also be ethnic and healthy to would attract many consumers. Technological: there would be a balanced effect of this factor on the business. They need software that would help them to innovate thing for the business so that they can maintain their consumers however they may also use it to increase the number of consumers for the business. The business can discover something new or improve the way they serve the consumers. If they have any way of doing the accounts and also to keep track on the financial side of the business. Legal: the business would need to follow all the employment laws and company laws. The business would need to find out what are the regulations of the business their type they may do this by going to the food department of the location where they are going to start and find out what sort of licence is needed to start up the store the business would also need to get employees identification number, resale permit and a food handler permit. Environmental: the store will not be affected a lot with the climatic changes because you can have candy anytime. The business may make more profits around Halloween and Christmas however it may remain popular throughout the season. Water resources wouldnt affect the business because the business wouldnt need water to serve the consumers however they would need it to remain hygienic however they may also use anti-bacterial gels. Energy supply would affect the business because they would not be able to use the computers, they may use the fridge that keeps the stock of the candy at a certain temperature if the electricity is not there that might differ the taste of the candy. Porters five forces The threats of new entrants Usually there will be more threats to a candy store as it can be initiate with lesser amount capital, can start up as a home industry, no investors needed etc. But since our candy store located on campus there will be less threats of new entrants so the competition will be low. The buyer power The consumers will compare the prices of other candy stores with us, and choose which one they can get more benefit and which one is cheaper, which one is delicious, in this case, we maybe reduce the price then get less profit or enhance the quality of candy then more and more consumers like our candy. So it can be stated that buyer power is high since the students and willing to buy a candy as a snack after a lecture. The supplier power In production of candies the primary raw materials we need are the coco beans, milk, sugar etc. When finding manufacturers, there are many but it is more important to find one which has quality products at a reasonable price. Sometimes the manufacturers may use financial techniques such as hedging in order to reduce the price impact of price rises on their own margins. However since the fine grade of coco production shows small part of world supply, the bargaining power of suppliers will increase. Overall it can say that suppliers power is high as we are buying raw materials from suppliers and preparing our sweets. The threat of substitution Some substitutes for a candy shop could be traditional chocolates, snacks and other confectionary products which customers used to satisfy their sweet tooth. So its clear that the candy industry should face numerous types of other substitutes such as peanut butter, yoghurts, ice creams, cookies etc. Therefore there is a good variety of substitutes available for the consumers which make the threat of substitution high. The competitive rivalry The intensity among rivalry among competitors in a business can lead to price wars, advertising battles, new product lines and high quality customer service. On campus our main rivalry party will be the supermarkets and shops which sell candies but as we selling variety of candies such as jaw breakers. Gummies, candy cane etc the competition will be less. So as we based on campus the competitors threat will be less to our candy store. SWOT analysis for our competitors Strengths Firms brand name and resources. Experience of being in the industry for longer time. Highly skilled labour. Weaknesses Low product awareness. Lack of variety of candies. Poor facility location. Lack of innovations. Opportunities Easy access to market. Even in inflationary situations people will tend to buy the candies. Special seasoning offers. Threats Since it is easy to start up more competitors will be there. As customers are more health conscious it will affect the sales volume. Imposing new regulations by government towards the sweet industry. Market segmentation Geography Segmentation strategy will allow the company to determine whether the segment is large enough to sustain the product or if there is no viable market for the product. If the company decides that the strategy is a viable one, than the company can implement and design a marketing mix strategy to implement for each of their individual segments. The candy shop we are going to open will be on campus in which our target customers will be mainly the students and the staff. The first task important to our candy shop is to understand the relationship between consumers and products in order to understand the environment and those involved in the consumer process. Once we evaluates the environment then must investigate the segmentation bases. Our segment will be students and the staff to whom we will be bound to serve according to their preferences like what candies they like most, what flavours they need etc. Determining the segmentation of the marketing process identifies useful categories in specific segments in which to target. Soft confectionery: the sweet of choice NPD and advertising support have helped drive sales of soft confectionery, which exceeded  £700 million in 2011. This segment represents just under half of the total market, with steady growth expected to continue in the coming years. Consumer tastes appear to be shifting from traditional hard to soft confectionery as static sales of hard sweets have seen the segment lose market share despite a recent rise in NPD. Gum represents just under 20% of the total market, and although the segment posted growth in 2011, its share fell slightly due to the growth rate falling behind that of the overall market. Figure 30: UK retail value sales of sugar confectionery and gum, by type, 2009-11 2009 % 2010 % 2011 (est) % % change 2010-11 % change 2009-11  £m  £m  £m Soft confectionery 681 44 690 44 704 45 +2.0 +3.4 Mint confectionery 215 14 219 14 220 14 +0.5 +2.3 Hard confectionery 181 12 182 12 183 11 +0.5 +1.1 Functional confectionery* 130 8 128 8 129 8 +0.8 -0.8 Other confectionery 40 2 42 3 42 3 +0.0 +5.0 pricing strategy for the candy store: Our business would be using a combination of pricing strategy. We believe that Psychological pricing would help the consumers set a boundary and realise that the one pence makes a difference in the way they think about the price. for example when the price is  £10 pounds the consumer may not buy it but if it is written as  £9.99 then they may be attracted to it. We would also concentrate on the consumer based pricing because this may boost the sales of our shop and if the consumers find that we have a reasonable prices for our product of better promotional strategy. We think that the more offers we keep on the candies the more consumers we will get. This sort of pricing strategy can also sometimes keep us in line with our consumer because we will always know what sort of pricing most attracts them and do they think that our price for the candy is reasonable. We will also be using popular pricing: is when the shop would know how much are the consumers willing to pay for the product and then we will put an offer for example two bags of candy normally would cost  £10 but we would sell two bags less than  £9.50. Organisational structure: Organizational structure refers to the way that an organization arranges people and jobs so that its work can be performed and its goals can be met. When a work group is very small and face-to-face communication is frequent, formal structure may be unnecessary, but in a larger organization decisions have to be made about the delegation of various tasks. Thus, procedures are established that assign responsibilities for various functions. It is these decisions that determine the organizational structure. Candy store organisational structure: Director of marketing in candy store A marketing director is a person responsible for the overall marketing operations of an organization or business. The job requires not only having skill in the creative aspect of advertising, but also having the budgetary knowledge needed to plan appropriately. Thus, the marketing director must be an effective manager in terms of both budget, and the creative process. Time at the job will often be split between these two primary functions. In our candy store, there are two people manage advertising and budget. Our advertising should always be aesthetically pleasing so student will think happy thoughts when they think of candy. And use the Internet and traditional advertising to market your candy store, including writing your own press releases to disseminate to your local newspapers. Another idea is to visit local condominiums and leave samples and literature in the clubhouse, or take samples along with business cards to office buildings and give them to receptionists to hand out And budget our money so we have the resources to do what we want , for example: more advertising to attract student; more kinds of candy; more activity. Director of sales in candy store An individual employed by a business to manage the activities of subordinate salespeople, and to develop and implement an effective selling strategy for the business in general. The sales director typically has full control over the sales function and staff within the budget allocated by a business and is often part of its higher management. The director of our candy shop should presents a summary of his visits to the director of sales and marketing on a weekly basis prior and after the week is completed and conduct monthly competitor market survey on their new candy, promotion and pricing tactics and to report to director of sales for proactive strategic planning. Director of operations in candy store The manager of our candy store, who is responsible for the overall day-to-day operations. We divide our candy store to two parts, one of them is shop A, including zone A-D, and another one is shop B, including zone E-G, in this case, the student in campus can buy candy easily. Opportunities and treats There are many opportunities for new businesses to enter the sweet confectionary market. It is predicted that the sale figures of this market has increased by 9.6 percent in the UK. This is the only business that is not threatened by the inflation, because consumers still buy confectionary sweet even when they are on a tight budget. The graph below supports the statement. sugar sales 2006 to 2016.JPG Marketing strategy The market strategy for the company is to sell products that are organic, with no artificial flavours and colours. The business will also have an ethical approach towards their consumers and employees. The market offers the business to be potentially successful due to the consistent increase in the sales on sugar confectionary. It has grown so much that all of the supermarket must have an aisle where they dont sell sweets. As long as we keep our prices reasonable consumers are likely to be loyal and they would defiantly repurchase again and again. Figure 13:  Consumer Confidence Index,  monthly, January 2007-October 2011 C:UsersThe HarsMusicid=599844seq=11maxWidth=851maxHeight=450.jpeg