King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

King - Essay Example He addresses the anxiety of those who criticize his ‘direct action’ as illegal, by distinguishing between the â€Å"two types of laws: just and unjust† (King, 8). Individuals have the moral responsibility not only to obey just laws, but also to disobey unjust laws. King agrees â€Å"with St. Augustine that â€Å"an unjust law is no law at all†Ã¢â‚¬  (King, 8). He holds that a just law is one which is in accordance with morality, uplifts human personality and is equally applicable to the majority and the minority. King categorically asserts that â€Å"law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice† (King, 9). King’s position justifies government action which would be immoral from the perspective of an individual. A government is morally within its rights to strike back at any threat to national security, regardless of the geographical location of the perceived enemy. The government’s foremost duty is to ensure the security of its citizens and preserve the sovereignty of the nation. Although King’s â€Å"inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny† is based on the United States of his era, changing times and vast technological advances in communication and transport have made his position applicable on a global scale (King, 5). Actions in one part of the globe have instant repercussions on distant parts. The interconnectedness of global networks of terror justifies government strikes anywhere in the world. Such strikes cannot be construed as contravention of another nation’s sovereignty. The use of drones in Pakistan in making preemptive strikes against Al Quaeda is justified. Critics cite this as extreme action, but, as King asserts, being â€Å"extremists -- for the extension of justice† King, 11) is acceptable. This validates the Obama government’s action against Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. King acclaims â€Å"the vision to see that inj ustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action† (King, 12). Governments can resort to extreme actions, resulting in the loss of lives, in the cause of national security. Government intervention in the cause of global justice is also justified. King strongly declares that â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere† King,  5). It is not possible to insulate America from the rest of the world. Although the role of a ‘global policeman’ may not be acceptable to everyone, responsibility cannot be shirked. Isolationism is a policy which belongs to the past. Intervention on humanitarian grounds, and on the grounds of protection of self-interest, is justified by King’s definition of justice. American intervention in Bosnia stopped the carnage which decimated the land. Again, intervention in Libya struck a blow for democracy. Of course, intervention carries great risks, as is clearly seen in the quagmire of Iraq. In the case of Syria, the escalating casualties call out for intervention. The government continues to restrict its action to the provision of humanitarian and logistical aid to the rebels. This stand is largely based on the perception that Assad is a secular ruler who holds back the surge of Islamic extremism in the Arab world. It is time to realize that, in King’s words, it is wrong â€Å"

Alternative Recycling Materials For Bricks Production Construction Essay

Alternative Recycling Materials For Bricks Production Construction Essay 2.1 Introduction In this chapter, it will discuss and study into the commonly used which is conventional and traditional materials for bricks production in current construction industry, as according to Thomas (1996), currently in over the world, there got multiple types of choice in bricks manufactured from wide range of material, but yet in western world, bricks are usually produced by these common material such as fired clay, calcium silicate which known as sand lime and flint lime or concrete. Hence 3 types of commonly traditional material in term of properties and details will be highlighted in this chapter which is calcium silicate bricks, concrete bricks and clay bricks. Moreover, this chapter will also further discuss and look into several types of recycling materials which is potential for bricks production such as bottom ash and fly ash, recycled fine aggregates and sea sand and etc. In accordance to that, comparison in all aspect between the traditional and alternative recycling materials used to produce bricks will be discuss and describe in order to find out the difference in between their characteristic. 2.2 Conventional and traditional materials for bricks production 2.2.1 Clay Bricks According to Yvonne (1996), she mentioned that these clay bricks are consider as one and only most efficient materials which has been widely used in terms of their energy consumption. Clay brick can be consider as the one of the type that are most commonly used bricks and application by contractors in construction industry nowadays, in Malaysia construction these type of clay bricks in term of usage and application has to be refer to BS 3921:1895. By referring regard with BS 3921:1895, the work size dimension of clay brick had been set to 215102.5x65mm while coordination size is 225112.5x75mm, work size is consider as the actual size of brick that should conform within specified permissible deviation while coordination size provide the meaning of the size of coordinating space allocated and specified to a brick including allowances for joints and tolerances (Horng 2010). Clay bricks are mainly produced from the natural material which is fired clay that consist a wide range of different colour and textures. They can be manufactured in many different shapes, sizes and strengths, in fact in term of properties such as water absorption, suction rate and compressive strength also can be control and produce. These properties are determined mainly by the kiln, method of forming the bricks in specific shape whether by manually moulding or extrusion and also type of clay used (Thomas 1996). Basically there are three varieties of clay bricks available which are Common bricks, Facing bricks and Engineering bricks. According to Taylor (1994), common bricks are ordinary bricks which have no special claim and design to give an attractive good finished appearance and high strength, which in fact in general also consider as the cheapest bricks available. While for facing bricks are specially designed and made to give an attractive appearance which was free from imper fection that require extra rendering or plaster to the surface such as cracks. Whereas engineering bricks was consist the most highest density and well fire which are designed primarily with strong vitreous body for strength and durability, due to the more complicated process to produce these bricks hence it price also cost higher than the other types. Figure 2.1: Common bricks Common Brick Product Code: Mbc2002Common Brick Product Code: Mbc2011Common Brick Product Code: Mbc2024Source: The Matching Brick Company (1991) , viewed 15 July 2012, Figure 2.2: Facing bricks Stock Facing Brick Product Code: Mbc4006Waterstruck Facing Brick Product Code: Mbc5001Waterstruck Facing Brick Product Code: Mbc5016Source: The Matching Brick Company (1991), viewed 15 July 2012, Figure 2.3: Engineering bricks Engineering Brick Product Code: Mbc1001 Engineering Brick Product Code: Mbc1002 Engineering Brick Product Code: Mbc1008Source: The Matching Brick Company (1991), viewed 15 July 2012, Manufacturing technique for the production of clay bricks have been evolving from initially which is by hand moulded processes to modern mechanization. At present according to Bas (1999), brick productions consist of five basic stages that can be found and allocate everywhere around the world, each of the operations are interdependent and brick will follow through these stages in a way designed specifically to suit raw material used and the final product. Figure 2.4 illustrate the main stages in clay brick manufacture. Figure 2.4 General flow of materials in brick production Source: (Bas 1999, p. 5) As show in Figure 2.4, the first stage is clay preparation, during this stage when clay are being digging out, it is prepare by crushing and mixing until uniform consistency and in order to make clay suitable for brick making, it must be mixed with water so that to increase plasticity, before it is transfer toward brick moulding machine, few day resting and left alone is necessary. Bricks moulding technique is designed to suit the moisture content of clay, bricks can either be moulding through hand or machine, normally the usually used method used to increase moisture content as stated by Taylor (1994) are semi-dry process, stiff plastic process, wire cut process and soft mud process. After moulding, the brick will undergo the second stages which is Drying stages, it is carried out to let the humidity or moisture content inside the bricks to run free or escape in order to prevent the wet brick cracks inside when temperature is rapidly increase during fire, in fact the process also en ables and assist the firing temperature rises and increased smoothly without problem such gases and vapour are trapped within the bricks that are namely Bloating. Then following stage is pre-heating where the bricks are heated constantly but slowly mainly to avoid cracking, during the firing stages, the purpose is to let the brick increase in strength and decrease the soluble salt content by ensure localized melting sintering of the clay, there are 4 main processes which are clamps, continuous kilns and tunnel kilns. The last stage which is cooling stages, the bricks are stack and cooled down in kiln after fired, this stages is necessary because bricks can result in crack inside which will indirectly cause loss of strength when temperature is rapid rise and then rapidly cool down. According to Richard and Kreh (1990), all properties of structural clay product such as brick are affected by the composition of the raw material use and the manufacturing process. The important properties are strength, durability, colour, texture and absorption. In fact, each brick used in construction are required to be tested first before proceed to the next stage in masonry construction. Sadek and Roslan (2011) stated that compressive strength of brick is important as an indicator of masonry strength and indirectly brick strength become an important requirement in brickwork design. Strength is known as resistance of brick needed to increase in term of load when stress constantly appeared on it before it breaks. For the properties of durability of clay brick is much more likely to be a problem than its strength since in most situation, clay bricks are very much stronger than is required structurally (Taylor 1994). Colour and finished of the clay brick are determine by the chemical composition of natural clay and mineral which added to the natural clay, another factor that influences or affect it colour is depends on how well the temperature during firing being control in kiln clay burned period (Richard and Kreh 1990). Whereas for texture properties in bricks, it is the arrangement of particles of raw materials in brick such as hard and smooth finish should had fine f inish or texture, normally many textures can be achieve or obtained during the stiff mud process. Lastly for absorption, it may be an important property of clay bricks, since bricks that have very low absorption are invariably of high durability, Richard and Kreh (1990) argues that the water content of bricks must be correct to obtain the best result from combining of brick and mortar to form a wall. It is frequently ignored and forgot in construction which indirectly cause the strength and durability of the wall are affected. According to William (2001) Fire Bricks which is also one of the clay mould bricks which using the refractory clay to produce is consider as a special bricks which can withstand and resist much more higher of heat and temperature. The bricks are mainly application for builder to construct lining chimney shafts, boilers and kilns or for those work activities or building which require excessive resistance toward heat. Eeydzah (2010) mentioned that even though these bricks are much weaker, but compare to other the advantage is much lighter, easier to form and produce and also insulation properties is way much better than dense bricks. 2.2.2 Concrete Bricks According to Hafiz (2010), the concrete bricks are usually and one of the most used in the construction industry as wall panel and partially drains. Concrete brick are produced from a controlled mixture of Portland cement and aggregates in sizes, colours, and proportions which are similar to clay bricks that can be served as a purpose of loadbearing or non load bearing (Beall 1993). Normally these concrete bricks production need to fulfill and comply with all the appropriate requirements as stated in BS6073: Part 2 1981 specification for precast concrete masonry unit (Thomas 1996). Horng (2010) stated that the concrete is hardened by conventional water curing process or special compression method whereas BS 1180 mentioned that the minimum requirements and the classification of these types of bricks are common with sand-lime bricks. William (2001) stated there have another type of concrete brick which is different in term of material of production, instead of cement and sand, it is actually made with cement and furnace clinker or fly ash. These bricks are built into various positions in walling mainly to help and allow those especially internal housing decoration such as picture rails, skirting, serving hatches and door frame can be secured by using nailing and nailed into them. Normally the natural colour of concrete bricks are cement colour which is greyish, but nowadays pigments are allowable which then give a range of colour such as of brown and reds are produced (Yvonne 1996). Taylor (1994) also mentioned that concrete bricks BS 6073 are relatively one of the concrete brick that are recently introduced, these bricks are comprising well compacted, low workability concrete mixes of appropriate aggregates size, leading to products of high strength and durability. In fact the properties such as colour and textures can be control which can give a final appearance very similar to clay bricks, and are most important are it is free from efflorescence but due to different movement characteristic, these type of bricks are suggested not to bond with other brick types as it will affect their structural strength and dulability. 2.2.3 Calcium Silicate (Sand-Lime) Bricks According to Taylor (1994), these bricks are made by combine and blending the finely ground sand or flint and lime together uniformly in the approximate ratio of 10:1. After that the semi dry mixture is then pressed into mould in shape and cured in an autoclave for two or three hour to speed the chemical hardening. The finished of these bricks are quite natural and uniform, the colour of the bricks is darker when wet than when dry. Thomas (1996) specified that all these bricks requirements are required to comply to BS 187:1978. Beall (1993) defines that calcium silicate brick are the most widely and extensively used by contractors in industrialized countries such as Europe, Russia, Australia and United States, the main reason is because the suitable siliceous sands are more readily available compare to clay in their country, in fact it has been broadly manufactured and produces in United States in the early year of 1900s. Taylor (1994) stated that the main properties of calcium silicate bricks are: A high degree of regularity, with a choice of surface texture ranging from smooth to rustic. A wide range of colour as pigment can be added which then available to produced various type of colour Very low soluble salt content, hence is fine with efflorescence Relatively higher moisture movement compare to other bricks Compressive strength with range 7-50 N/mm2 (BS187) Good overall durability in clean atmosphere, but they may deteriorate slowly in polluted sulphur containing atmosphere. 2.3 Recycling materials for bricks production 2.3.1 Bottom ash and fly ash According to Safiuddin (2010), Fly ash (FA) and bottom ash (BA) are produces as a by-product from municipal solid waste incinerators and coal fuelled power stations, it is a highly dispersible powder which contain mainly aluminosilicare and derriferrous glassy spherical particle and irregularly shaped grains of amorphous clay, mullite quartz and unburned metamorphic fuel whereas BA consists of irregular particles that can be add up to 10-15mm in size. The chemical compositions of both ashes from same power plant are similar. Fly ash which obtained from coal combustion is frequently used in add into concrete due to cost saving by substitute the material of portland cement, the pozzolanic properties of fly ash can improve the strength of concrete which can be found during curing at 38 Degree Celsius that it greatly accelerates its contribution to the strength of concrete (Orchard 1979). Lingling, Wei, Tao and Nanru (2005) found out that fly ash can actually improves the compressive strength of bricks and increase their resistant toward frost attack whereas Cicek and Tanriverdi (2007) also realized the positive effect of fly ash on the compressive strength of bricks during his studies research. According to Kumar (2002), he clearly stated that sufficient strength which comply to the minimum requirement of bricks can be achieve in produce brick by using these fly ash hence it have potential to use as substitute of conventional clay bricks and blocks. Naganathan et al (2012) also defined that the strength of bricks increase with the increase in fly ash, in fact he conclude that bricks of good quality can be made by using bottom ash and fly ash whereby contributing to sustainable building. Figure 2.5 clearly illustrate that the evidence and application of both of fly ash and bottom ash in real construction, from here we tend to believe that both fly ash and bottom ash since years ago already is one of the waste materials that can be trusted and widely apply by other country to recycled and apply back to construction to produce various type of material such as bricks. Figure 2.5: Application of waste material in real construction. Souce : (Safiudin 2010, p. 1960) According to Naganathan (2012), there got a lot of advantages of using bottom ash and fly ash in brick making, mainly can consuming large volume of waste which then indirectly reduced the environmental problem which cause by dumping these waste in landfill and ash pond, moreover it also help enhance the properties and performance of bricks, in fact it do contribute to sustainable development and assist developers to get green building index points. 2.3.2 Recycled fine aggregates According to Ismail and Yaacob (2010), the initially and inventive use of recycled fine aggregates began and start at the end of World war II during the time when the nation of European fed problem in rubble material disposal. Which then the RILEM Technical Committee take an important steps of publishing in promoting the recycling aggregates which finally end up followed by several number of researchers around the world. In the studies research of Ismail and Yaacob (2010), it stated that brick dimension is influenced by material content and the density of constituent materials, their study focus on average brick dimension which was calculate and evaluated from 10 samples each group regarding length, width, depth, area and volume. Figure 2.6 show the summarized of average brick dimension and clearly stated and summarized that bricks with recycled fine aggregates had an uniform size and surface area similar to bricks with conventional materials. Figure 2.6 The dimensions of brick specimens Source : (Ismail and Yaacob 2010, p. 880) 2.3.2.2 Brick Density The density of brick specimen was calculated by dividing the weight with volume. In figure 2.7 stated that the density of control bricks was 2032.3 kg/m3 which mean the result of the density for brick content 50% recycled fine aggregate slightly increase 1.7% if compared with control brick. Conclusion in the figure show average density of brick by using recycled fine aggregates are much lower compare to control brick, even the most lower can be observed in brick with 100% content of recycled aggregates which reduce 3.5 % ( Ismail and Yaacob 2010). Figure 2.7 The average density of bricks with recycled fine aggregates Source : (Ismail and Yaacob 2010, p. 880) 2.3.2.3 Compressive strength The compressive strength of a material determines its load carrying capacity before stress apply on it and become failure. British Standard Institution states that the compressive of bricks should not be less than 7N/mm2 (Ismail and Yaacob 2010). The figure 2.8 illustrated the detailed result of compressive strength of all bricks types Figure 2.8 The average compressive strength of bricks with recycled fine aggregate Source : (Ismail and Yaacob 2010, p. 881) It can be seen from the figure, the result of compression strength of control brick is 12.32N/mm2 which mean the overall finding reveal that with additional of recycled fine aggregate can instantly increase the compressive strength. In the report, (Ismail and Yaacob) conclude that based on the test result, the bricks produced with recycled fine aggregates show positive result in each test and some even similar to brick with conventional natural material hence overall it can be utilized in brick mixture as good substitute for natural sand. 2.3.3 Sea Sand According to Hafiz (2010), use of river sand in Malaysia is very widespread in construction industry, in order to protect the environment of river and prevent erosion or flooding, seas sand are suggested to be one of the substitutions to replace river sand. The composition of sand varies from place to place depends in the sources and condition of the local rocks. Sand is classified as a unique raw material for construction industry due to allocation for obtaining bulk loads of sand for construction work. Sea sand has become a potential resource yet also consider as waste material which are capable to supply fine aggregates for domestic construction usage, in accordance to that, applications of sea sand is more economic by using river sand. Sea sand mostly contain more content of salinity or sodium chloride which may directly cause or affected the durability of structural if being ignored and without treated which then result in swilling, precipitation, sulfating and other adverse consequences. Hence precautions must be taken to eliminate to avoid unwanted hazard (Hafiz 2010). Rahman (2010) argues found out that sea sand contains significant à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“impuritiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  such as magnesium and sodium chlorides which lead to corrosion in iron, in fact in past research, sea sand is considered unsuitable for construction industry because of its small size and unless the chloride content that caused rusting is extract or reduced. 2.3.3.1 Sieve Analysis Sea Sand The sieve analysis of sea sand is to determine the gradation of sea sand such as the distribution of aggregates particles, by size within a given sample. There are many types of sieves depends on different sieve size. The figure 2.9 show the analysis of sea sand that use as concrete aggregate. Figure 2.9 Average Granulometric Curve of typical sea sand used as concrete Source: (Hafiz 2010, p. 8) The figure show that percentage of passing sea sand to get 100% on sieve analysis and sieve size is quicker than other material. This happen due to sea sand is a fine aggregate that less retain in sieve size. As a basic material in brick mixture, a classification of aggregate is very important as it will affect the strength of brick, the advantages of this process ensure the size of apertures decrease in logarithmic fashion. 2.5 Summary During current situation, enormous quantities of domestic, industrial and construction waste are generated annually throughout the country, instead disposing all of them, this research and chapter is actually give an further detail and look into several types of potential recycling material which able to used as substitution or replacement of natural resources in brick productions. After go through this chapter, it can be noticed that even though many alternative potential recycling waste solid has been introduced but yet the awareness of public toward scarcity of natural resources is still very low, it proved by most of the traditional material such clay brick, calcium silicate bricks and concrete bricks are still among the favourite choices of construction industry, bulk by bulk quantities of these material are being produced which indirectly caused depletion of related natural resources. This chapter not only showed many advantages such as avoid negative impact toward environment by using the recycling waste solid to produce bricks instead of dumping them in open fields,in fact it also prove that the result and properties of brick manufactured by recycling material is comparative, some even prove more better in term of economic and strength, so why still hesitate on the choice ?

Management Internal/External Factors Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Internal/External Factors of Management – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s world management must consider a wide variety of factors in order to establish an effective management plan. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world’s largest company and number one retailer, with this success a company this large needs to not only to look internally for solutions to their management objectives, they must also look outside of their business for additional resources. With the increase of technology and the easy access to virtually any information, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. must be prepared to react to the multitude of demands made by consumers and suppliers. The rapid change of the retail industry from brick and mortar stores to Internet purchases Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been able to stay attractive to the buying public. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has accomplished this through a highly sophisticated inventory tracking system that enables the stores, including the Internet, to have in stock exactly what the consumers are looking for. Ac cording to Hoover’s Online Wal-Mart Stores, Inc has expanded to about 4,700 stores including about 1,500 discount stores, 1,650 combination discount and grocery stores (Wal-Mart Supercenters in the US and ASDA in the UK) and 532 membership-only warehouse stores (Sam’s Club) (2003). With the introduction of a foreign market their management plan must encompass the rules and regulations of doing business in a foreign country. With the invention of their tracking and identification system, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has exerted control over their entire inventory and enables the workers to identify and locate merchandise more readily for the customers. E-Commerce has increased the ease of purchasing for consumers; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a web site that allows for the ease and convenience of purchasing almost every item in the store over the Internet. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been very innovative in meeting the needs of their cl ientele, with the Supercenters, it is basically one stop shopping for all of your household and grocery needs, without the hassles of stopping at two stores when you run your errands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a highly respected private employer, Wal-Mart is committed to uphold diversity. Wal-Mart is fully committed to respect their employees... ...er innovation that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has adopted is its frame delay data network. This allows for Wal-Mart stores to catalog and examine every transaction that is made so that they will be able to keep their finger on the pulse of the customers’ buying patterns. With this they can tract how much of a certain item customers buy and then relay that information on to the supplier. For example, if customers are buying four of the same item, then Wal-Mart can advise the supplier of this information and then the supplier can package the item in groups of four. Through innovation Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has redefined the basic dimension of the retail Industry. Works Cited About Wal-Mart. â€Å"Wal-Mart International.† 8 November 2003. http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstore/Mainabout.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@ Aisner, James E. â€Å"Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution.† Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on the Web. Winter 1999. http://www.e-proximity.com/cream/HBS%20retail.htm Biesada, A. (2003) Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Hoover’s Online. Retrieved November 8, 2003 from: http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/factsheet.xhtml Dash30. Wal-Mart Takes on The Web. 8 Oct. 2003 . Management Internal/External Factors Essay -- essays research papers fc The Internal/External Factors of Management – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s world management must consider a wide variety of factors in order to establish an effective management plan. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world’s largest company and number one retailer, with this success a company this large needs to not only to look internally for solutions to their management objectives, they must also look outside of their business for additional resources. With the increase of technology and the easy access to virtually any information, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. must be prepared to react to the multitude of demands made by consumers and suppliers. The rapid change of the retail industry from brick and mortar stores to Internet purchases Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been able to stay attractive to the buying public. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has accomplished this through a highly sophisticated inventory tracking system that enables the stores, including the Internet, to have in stock exactly what the consumers are looking for. Ac cording to Hoover’s Online Wal-Mart Stores, Inc has expanded to about 4,700 stores including about 1,500 discount stores, 1,650 combination discount and grocery stores (Wal-Mart Supercenters in the US and ASDA in the UK) and 532 membership-only warehouse stores (Sam’s Club) (2003). With the introduction of a foreign market their management plan must encompass the rules and regulations of doing business in a foreign country. With the invention of their tracking and identification system, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has exerted control over their entire inventory and enables the workers to identify and locate merchandise more readily for the customers. E-Commerce has increased the ease of purchasing for consumers; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a web site that allows for the ease and convenience of purchasing almost every item in the store over the Internet. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been very innovative in meeting the needs of their cl ientele, with the Supercenters, it is basically one stop shopping for all of your household and grocery needs, without the hassles of stopping at two stores when you run your errands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a highly respected private employer, Wal-Mart is committed to uphold diversity. Wal-Mart is fully committed to respect their employees... ...er innovation that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has adopted is its frame delay data network. This allows for Wal-Mart stores to catalog and examine every transaction that is made so that they will be able to keep their finger on the pulse of the customers’ buying patterns. With this they can tract how much of a certain item customers buy and then relay that information on to the supplier. For example, if customers are buying four of the same item, then Wal-Mart can advise the supplier of this information and then the supplier can package the item in groups of four. Through innovation Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has redefined the basic dimension of the retail Industry. Works Cited About Wal-Mart. â€Å"Wal-Mart International.† 8 November 2003. http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstore/Mainabout.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@ Aisner, James E. â€Å"Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution.† Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on the Web. Winter 1999. http://www.e-proximity.com/cream/HBS%20retail.htm Biesada, A. (2003) Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Hoover’s Online. Retrieved November 8, 2003 from: http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/factsheet.xhtml Dash30. Wal-Mart Takes on The Web. 8 Oct. 2003 . Management Internal/External Factors Essay -- essays research papers fc The Internal/External Factors of Management – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s world management must consider a wide variety of factors in order to establish an effective management plan. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world’s largest company and number one retailer, with this success a company this large needs to not only to look internally for solutions to their management objectives, they must also look outside of their business for additional resources. With the increase of technology and the easy access to virtually any information, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. must be prepared to react to the multitude of demands made by consumers and suppliers. The rapid change of the retail industry from brick and mortar stores to Internet purchases Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been able to stay attractive to the buying public. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has accomplished this through a highly sophisticated inventory tracking system that enables the stores, including the Internet, to have in stock exactly what the consumers are looking for. Ac cording to Hoover’s Online Wal-Mart Stores, Inc has expanded to about 4,700 stores including about 1,500 discount stores, 1,650 combination discount and grocery stores (Wal-Mart Supercenters in the US and ASDA in the UK) and 532 membership-only warehouse stores (Sam’s Club) (2003). With the introduction of a foreign market their management plan must encompass the rules and regulations of doing business in a foreign country. With the invention of their tracking and identification system, called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has exerted control over their entire inventory and enables the workers to identify and locate merchandise more readily for the customers. E-Commerce has increased the ease of purchasing for consumers; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a web site that allows for the ease and convenience of purchasing almost every item in the store over the Internet. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has been very innovative in meeting the needs of their cl ientele, with the Supercenters, it is basically one stop shopping for all of your household and grocery needs, without the hassles of stopping at two stores when you run your errands.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a highly respected private employer, Wal-Mart is committed to uphold diversity. Wal-Mart is fully committed to respect their employees... ...er innovation that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has adopted is its frame delay data network. This allows for Wal-Mart stores to catalog and examine every transaction that is made so that they will be able to keep their finger on the pulse of the customers’ buying patterns. With this they can tract how much of a certain item customers buy and then relay that information on to the supplier. For example, if customers are buying four of the same item, then Wal-Mart can advise the supplier of this information and then the supplier can package the item in groups of four. Through innovation Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has redefined the basic dimension of the retail Industry. Works Cited About Wal-Mart. â€Å"Wal-Mart International.† 8 November 2003. http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstore/Mainabout.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@ Aisner, James E. â€Å"Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution.† Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on the Web. Winter 1999. http://www.e-proximity.com/cream/HBS%20retail.htm Biesada, A. (2003) Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Hoover’s Online. Retrieved November 8, 2003 from: http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/factsheet.xhtml Dash30. Wal-Mart Takes on The Web. 8 Oct. 2003 .

Equality, Diversity and Rights Essay

Diversity overall is what makes everyone a unique human being, for example the human race is incredibly diverse. There are different aspects of diversity in a contemporary British Society, which could be skin colour, religion, heritage, hair colour, education, gender, social class, race, political opinion, marital status and family structure could be some for example. It is important to be open to differences and celebrate it because that way you can take advantage of everyone’s talent. You need to be prepared for changes as things are changing within the whole of Britain and working population, for example people from ethnic minorities make up 7.9% of the UK population and in London its 31%. It is an advantage living in a diverse society as everyone is different and everyone has their own opinions. Equality overall is about fairness which means making judgements from discrimination it is also about natural justice which is basic/fundamental judicial extended to a person with rights at issue, it is also about being impartial and reasonable which means showing lack of favourism and being liable to give a account of one’s actions. The British society is viewed as one that tolerates the beliefs and values of others; tolerance means to tolerate unfavourable conditions. Although there are those who are intolerant to others, our laws and the way we live in society means that we are a society tolerant to others differences and we are open-minded. There are people within society that pre-judge which means that you judge without knowing the facts, they may also generalise which means having a general overview of something, there is also attitude which people may do which is a mental state involving beliefs and feeling, all these three things are negative to society as this could l ead to discrimination towards some-one. We all have the right to be respected, treated equally and also not discriminated against, treated in a dignified way, allowed privacy, protected from danger or harm, allowed access to personal information (confidentiality), allowed to communicate using preferred methods and cared for in such ways that means our needs and takes account for our choices. We also need to have respect this is being polite, having open body language, being an active listener, being honest, by asking them if they are ok, addressing the person with their preferred name, give them a choice, and most of all give them dignity and privacy. Everybody as a British citizen has their own right, which could be to be the religion you want to be, the right to be free from discrimination, a freedom of speech, a right to education, the right to choice your lifestyle and your clothing, the right to work, the right to be in a relationship and to get married, right to have children, right to be treated medically, and the right to have the right trial. You also have the right to be protected from danger and harm. Care Value Base The care value base is a range of standards for health and social care. It is designed to guide the practice of professionals working in the area. The aim of the standards is to improve client’s quality of life, by ensuring that each person gets the care that is appropriate for them as an individual. This care value base offers guidance in three main areas of health and social care it also sets standards, these three areas are: * Fostering equality and diversity – which is recognising and supporting people’s individual needs. * Fostering people’s rights and responsibilities – which means supporting a client’s right to choose their own life style and helping them to accept their responsibilities. * Maintaining confidentiality of information – which means that any information client’s give you is private and confidential whether it is verbal, written or electronic. You have to avoid a lot of things on the Care Value Base which are: * Stereotyping because you may make assumptions on them based on their sex, race, age nationality or sexuality for example. * Prejudice because you can’t not like some-one just on how they live or their personal background and carers have to ensure prejudice doesn’t affect the quality of care given to service users/clients * Discrimination because there are so many ways of discriminating against some-one as there are so many different types of people. Discrimination is overall the result of prejudice and stereotyping but worse and it also means providing poorer or better care to some people. * Race Discrimination because you can’t treat some-one differently because of the colour of their skin or their racial background * Sex Discrimination because you can’t treat different genders (male or female) differently you have to treat them in the same way. * Age Discrimination because you can’t treat some-one less favourably because of their age. * Disabili ty Discrimination because if some-one has a disability it doesn’t mean they are any different to us therefore you have to treat them the same. You also need to make sure that service users/clients are aware of their rights and responsibilities in care setting, which are: Clients have the right to: Clients have a responsibility to: * Not discriminate against others * Respect the confidentiality of others * Do no harm to others * Not be discriminated against * Confidentiality * Their own beliefs and values There is also a legal requirement to keep all personal records confidential. The 1998 Data Protection Act states that date has to be secure, accurate, and that it can only be used for limited purposes. Potential Affects on Service Users when Discriminated Against If a service user has been discriminated against or not been able to their right or not been treated equally to all the other service users then the service users may feel a lot of feelings and may not want to be there, there are many emotions the service users may feel such as: * Distress because they are not getting the full attention they could be getting from their carer’s, and they might need the attention they require which they are not getting. * Not want to be there, this is because they are not being treated as though they deserve to be there; therefore they will feel like they shouldn’t be there like every other service user is. * Embarrassed because other service users may be always looking at them and they may be thinking that they are getting treated probably whereas they aren’t. * Scared because something might be wrong with them, however the service user is not being told because they are not being treated equally. * Might bring back previous exper iences this is because they may have been through this experience before at another occasion. * Be out of his/her comfort zone, this might be because they are used to being treated equally and right by family/friends however where the service user is now they are not. * Worried because the service user is not getting totally cared for therefore he has got no-one to talk to about things such as things he worries about therefore the service user is going to worry more. * Cry for help, this might be because they may have got that worried, stressed, angry etc. that they need to cry and plead for their attention from carer’s. * May be in pain, this may because the service user hasn’t been checked out by carers and they wouldn’t have access to pain killers etc. * May even be scared of dieing, this is because they haven’t been comforted by carers/friends in the care home, hospital etc. * Upset because they don’t know why they are being treated differently to everyone else and why they are not getting the right service they should be getting. * Angry because they are not getting the professional service that should be given to them. There will be many other emotions the service user will be feeling and this would but the service user in a very awkward way of feeling and may start to not eat, or not take part in any activities or may make him just want to sit down all day and do nothing which is not good for the service user. The service user would expect a lot of things from the carer such as: *Respect towards them- because they this is what they expect from the carer and this is the way they would like to be treated as they treat the carer with respect * Politeness- because if the carer is not polite it wouldn’t be a professional attitude towards the service user. * To be told what or what’s going to happen to them- this would be rude and the service user would want to know what is going on and what they are going to do or what they are doing to them. The service user would also need to give consent that they are willing to do this. * To be reassured- if the service user is upset, angry, scared etc, the carer would be expected to reassure them, and tell them everything will be okay and to talk to them politely and not to make them more upset. * A clean bed- the service user will expect a clean bed, if this is not done then the service user could be laid in their own soil/sick etc. * Clean equipment- should be used as cross contamination could happen between certain services users, clean equipment should also be used because one of the service users may have something contagious therefore it would pass onto another service user. * Appropriate language- because this would be unprofessional if the carer was talking to a service user with inappropriate language therefore appropriate language should be used at all times. * Treated with profession- because the service user expects this. * Privacy- because the service user may feel embarrassed other service users/carers watching them being treated or getting changed for example therefore when privacy is need by the service user the carer should always give them it. Privacy may be letting the service user have some time to themselves. * To be informed- this should be done to every service user because the service user needs to know what is wrong with them, what is going to happen, when they may be able to leave if they are in a hospital for example. * Given a choice- the service needs to be given a choice because what they may need to happen may be against their religion, they also may not want this to happen, they may be allergic to what they need to do, however these are only a few examples of why service users need to be given a choice. It is also known as discriminated if this does not happen. * Basic needs- the service users needs to have basic needs such as clean water for them to shower/bath in, they also need basic facilities such as a clean toilet/wash basin. The service user will also expect drinks/food to eat. * Trust- the service user will also expect trust from the carer because the service user will tell their carer things, that may be private or they may not but whether they are or not the carer should not tell any-one else unless it could cause harm to other service users or anybody else. * Equal opportunities- the service user will also expect to be treated equally to every other service user as the service user will be discriminated against. * Good hygiene- the service users will expect the carers and the surrounding to be hygienic. * Dignity- the service user will expect the carer to treat them with dignity because they expect respect, politeness etc. * Confidentiality- the service user will expect their individual files to be kept confidential, they will also expect their carers to be confidential about them out of work therefore they shouldn’t say to anyone out of work who they are and what’s wrong with them. The Importance of Promoting Equal and recognising Diversity & Respecting Rights Promoting equality is a very important issue in the health and social care sector; this is because equality in a health and social care setting means the right for all staff and patients to be treated as equals. This also means that you should treat some-one the way you would like to be treated however as a carer this can not apply to you because if a service user was speaking to you impolite, this doesn’t mean you can talk to them rudely aswell as you are a professional. The main reason inequality exists is the misunderstanding by today’s society towards diversity. Diversity can be a lot of things it can be from the classic norms, and can be used in the form of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation aswell as many other equal unfair reasons. Also by promoting equality you are allowing growth and freedom of an expression for each person.

Minute Clinic Essay

1) There are four promotion strategies for the intangible services. The first one is stressing tangible cues. A tangible cue is a concrete symbol of the service offering. The facilities that customers visit or from which services are delivered, are a critical tangible part of the total service offering. Minute Clinic healthcare centers are open seven days a week with later hours than traditional doctors have. They don’t require appointments and can provide patients with a diagnosis and prescription within 15-45 minutes; in this way the long waits are avoided. They are located in convenient retail settings. The second promotion strategy is the use of personal information sources. A personal information source is someone consumers are familiar with or someone they admire or can relate to personally. Minute Clinic is an innovator in the â€Å"retailization of healthcare†. The company is expanding very quickly as there’s a need for cheaper and more accessible healthcare. In addition more than 80% of the patients are satisfied with the convenience of the retail clinic, and with the quality and the cost of services. The third promotion strategy is the creation of a strong organizational image. One way to implement it is to manage the evidence, including the physical environment of the service facility, the appearance of the service employees, and the tangible items associated with a service. MinuteClinic is staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who specialize in family healthcare. It offers cheap and accessible healthcare. It provides basic medical services for common ailments, offers vaccines, physicals and electronic records. The last promotion strategy is the engagement in post purchase communication. It refers to the follow-up activities that a service might engage in after a customer transaction. For example in 2006 the Harris Interactive poll was held and in the end the response to the clinics has been positive. 2) Customized services are more flexible, respond to individual customers’ needs and usually command a higher price. The standardized services are more efficient and cost less. The mass customization instead uses technology to deliver customized services on a mass basis, which results in giving each customer whatever she or he asks for. MinuteClinic‘s services are standardized as they are efficient and cost less. Nevertheless they do incorporate elements of mass customization as they use the electronic medical records system for the needs of each single patient and on a mass basis. 3) Customers evaluate service quality by five components: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. MinuteClinic demonstrated reliability and responsiveness during the flu outbreak in Minnesota by implementing a hub-and-spoke approach for better inventory control, offering the shots in only eight MinuteClinic locations. They hired supplemental nursing staff and administered up to 300 shots a day each. MinuteClinic performed the service dependably, accurately, consistently and promptly. During the flu outbreak the lines became very long so MinuteClinic created children’s areas, added televisions, videos and coloring books to keep kids entertained and make the wait easier for families. This was the technique MinuteClinic used to impress customers with tangible physical evidence that the clinics care about them. 4) Place (Distribution) strategies for service organizations must focus on such issues as convenience, number of outlets, direct versus indirect distribution, location and scheduling. Thanks to this strategy the company was successful among patients and expanded quickly. With its marketing mix MinuteClinic focuses on place, pricing and distribution. The fact that the clinic is located in convenient retail settings adds to its growing appeal. As the prices are affordable, the distribution is direct and fast the company expands very quickly.

Farenheit 451 and sci-fi essays

Farenheit 451 and sci-fi essays After I was watching Farhenheight 451 (1966), I think it quite hard to classify either its a Sci-Fi or Fantasy movie. This is because in the movie has only little things that show about the hi-technology. On the other hand, most part of this movie shows about the imaginary world that I think it may not happen in the world such as a book person. I do not think that it wills has the people who can remember every dialogues or every words in the whole book. It seems impossible to occur in the real world. Even though Science fictions talking about the imaginary worlds, I think it should has more about the things that related to science and hi-technology more than this. It has pretty differences between Blade Runner (1982) and Farhenheight 451 (1966) about the outlining of the model that considered the science fiction genre to be. After watching Blade Runner I used to think like most of the science fiction will relate to the robot or some hi- technology things. In contrast, after having watched Farhenheight 451 Ive confused about the model of science fiction that I used to think it is. This is because in this movie, it hardly sees the scene that uses some hi-tech things; it has a little bit things such as a hi-tech television that its a d version. Therefore, I have a little bit confuse of what is the exactly meaning of the science fiction. In my opinion, I think the science fiction genre might be the stories that talk about imaginary worlds or imaginary developments in science such as traveling in the space. However, even the science fiction may talk about the imaginary worlds it should have much hi-tech things or the things that related to science enough. The reason is for preventing someone to get confuse between the term of science fiction and fantasy. Im not sure about what makes this film a science fiction film because it quite hard for me to explain. But in my thought, I think that it has two ...

Eighteenth Century Life in Papal Rome essays

Eighteenth Century Life in Papal Rome essays The book, Daily Life in Papal Rome in the Eighteenth Century, by Maurice Andrieux, is an enlightening piece of work that describes how the Romans lived; how they thought about life; and how the leadership of the Popes ruled and the different personalities toward the Church. The information and descriptions about the Popes were quite interesting. The author describes the day-to-day life with vivid details of the people and the scenery. It also examines the lives of the Popes during the eighteenth century in a most realistic way. The author, Andrieux describes the Pope's strengths and weakness in a very colorful manner. One truly gets a realistic feeling of what it was like to live in Papal Rome. In a very unbiased way, the author showed how the people of Rome lived during the Eighteenth Century. Although one can feel the French connection and that his side might be impartial on some of his chapters since he is from French descent. The color of Rome was one of superb glamour. It was like no other place in the world. Most people would be surprised and shocked about how Rome was during the Eighteenth Century. They were very sinful and found ways to rationalize their behavior in this period. The other story is the changing times around Papal Rome and how the French revolution destroyed the culture, which always changed Rome. The lifestyle was something of the Arabian nights, and Holy Communion all rolled into one. The Book, really explains how the Italian people of today came to be the way they are. Maurice Andrieux is a French historian who has written many books and whose historical articles have been published in French magazines and journals. He has received some awards from the Academia Francaise for his work in historical writings. In summarizing the book, eighteenth-century Rome was a beautiful place to live, in which time has seemed to have past by. It was like living in the past and enjoying the special things that Rome ha...

How to Use the French Adverb dAbord (First)

How to Use the French Adverb dAbord (First) The  adverb dabord,  pronounced da bor, means first, at first, to begin with, in the first place, at the outset, anyway. It is a versatile, frequently used adverb that can fill many a role. Keep in mind that, as an adverb, the job of  dabord  is to modify the action, in other words, the verb. The Many Meanings of dAbord Here are some examples of each meaning: First: Nous irons dabord   Rome.   Well go to Rome first.At first, initially, to begin with: Jai cru (tout) dabord quil sagissait dune blague.   At first, I thought it was a joke.To begin with:  Dabord, tu nes mà ªme pas prà ªt  !   To begin with, youre not even ready !Anyway:  Et puis dabord,  Il a fallu le terminer. And anyway, he had to finish it. Expressions and Usage Tout dabord First of all, first and foremost, first off, to begin withAu premier abord At first sight, initiallyDà ¨s labord From the outsetVoie dabord Surgical approachManià ¨re daborder Method of approachToi dabord.   You first.Pensez dabord a soi. Think of yourself first. / Look out for, look after number one.La sà ©curità © dabord ! Safety first!Je vais rentrer dabord chez moi. Ill go home first.à ªtre dun abord facile To be approachable, accessible, easy to reachà ªtre dun abord difficile Hard to approach, difficult to come to grips with, hard to reach, difficult to get toLes raisons en sont diverses: dabord... There are various reasons: first...Dabord, je dois trouver mon livre, et puis nous pourrons commencer. First I need to find my book, and then we can start.Il semblait dabord sympathique, puis il a commencà © crier. He seemed nice at first, then he started shouting.Tout dabord, le Conseil europà ©en de dà ©cembre se prononcera sur son approbation. First of all, the December European Council will need to approve it. Il y a dabord la rà ©fà ©rence la perspective financià ¨re aprà ¨s 2006. Firstly, there is the reference to the financial prospects after 2006.Je tiens tout dabord prà ©senter les autres invità ©s dhonneur. To begin with, I would like to acknowledge my fellow honorees.

Consistent Application of IAS on European on Companies Essay

Consistent Application of IAS on European on Companies - Essay Example The Europe Union has been aiming to have an efficient capital market (Toporowski, 2000; Davis, 1997; Dermine and Hillion, 1999) for its Member States through an efficient and effective financial information system in a transparent European capital market even prior to the Enron scandal in 2002.   The subsequent US scandals in securities market may have triggered the early adoption of IAS in 2002 to require its application to all listed companies in Europe as of 2005. For EU, the issue of efficient capital market is of course broader than the issue of these international standards. Attainment of EU’s purpose therefore under this field is part of its desire for economic advantages (Carroll, Thomas, 1983; Slavin, 1996; Samuelson and Nordhaus, 1992)   of its   member states in the global economy as it hastens its economic integration (Graetz, et. al, 2006; Halkos and Salamouris, 2003, European Economic Integration, 1994). The Enron scandal cannot be separated from the failur e of the US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) on financial reporting (Choi and Fisch, 2003) that became the basis for the European Union (EU) members to be unable to find their trust on said accounting rules and conventions.   Persuading the US to change its GAAP with the IAS due to ineffectiveness of the former in the Enron scandal is part of the process. With European Commission having urged the SEC to adopt IAS in February 2002, an overwhelming adoption of the IAS by European Parliament in March 13, 2002 was evident by a vote of 492 for, 5 against and 29 abstentions. The European Parliament endorsed the Commission’s proposal for all EU listed companies to follow standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board in their consolidated financial statements not latter than 2005.   Non-listed companies on the other hand were permitted to decide whether to adopt IAS. Member States were also given the option to exempt some companies temporarily fr om IAS requirement under some cases until 2007. The option is only available in the case listed companies in the EU and in on a non-EU exchange and are following another set of internationally accepted standards and in the case of   companies that have only publicly traded debt securities (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2008e).  

Analysis for Chevron Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Analysis for Chevron Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example The company also looks at various stakeholders’ benefits. The company has adopted quite a few CSR strategies to get involved in the market. Table of Contents Abstract 2 1.0 About Chevron 4 2.0 The Corporate Social Responsibility Activities of Chevron 5 2.1 Business Ethics 6 2.2 Government 8 2.3 Human Rights 8 3.0 Evaluation of the Motivations for CSR Activities Drawing Upon the Company's Market Environment 9 4.0 Evaluation of the Motivations for CSR Activities Drawing Upon the Company's Non Market Environment 11 5.0 The Stakeholder Theory in Relation to Chevron 14 6.0 Conclusion 17 7.0 Recommendations 18 References 19 1.0 About Chevron Chevron is regarded to be one of the largest American multinational oil producing companies. It is considered as one of the top energy companies with various subsidiaries all over the world. The company is engaged in a string of activities such as exploration, transportation, production of crude oil along with natural gas as well. They are engag ed in generating power and in the production of geothermal energy. The company is focussed on providing safe and healthy environment to the people. Their main objective is to uphold the organisational reliability and effectiveness in the minds of the people. It also produces mining, pipelines, chemicals and is involved in power construction businesses as well. In the US, the company owns 9,600 gas stations that function under the brand name of Chevron along with Texaco. It also own or has stakes in around 12,400 gas stations outside the market of the US with brand name of ‘Caltex’. Chevron signed a $4.3 billion deal with  Atlas Energy  in 2011 (Chevron, 2008) 2.0 The Corporate Social Responsibility Activities of Chevron Corporate responsibility at Chevron is the use of ‘The Chevron Way’ across social, environmental along with governance issues and concerns. The corporate responsibility of the company is implemented through existing systems, procedures a nd policies of management in order to operate ethically and responsibly. The major aim of the company is to constantly develop the performance and activities in the organisation. The business is performed in an efficient, ethical and responsible way. Through the corporate social responsibility activities Chevron looks to perform their business responsibly by delivering not only energy but also creating sustainable partnership. Chevron has prepared an Action Plan in which climate change has played a significant part in their projects related to emissions reduction, research improvements and also efficiency improvements. Chevron also sustains their CSR activities by touching the requirements of the human lives by initiatives such as ‘Corporate Champion of The Global Fund’ in order to fight against diseases such as Tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria. They were working towards controlling as well as eradicating these harmful diseases in six different countries that has high lev el incidence rate (Chevron, 2008). Chevron’s Operational Excellence Management System (OEMS) defines the expectations with regard to the organised management of safety, reliability, environment, health and efficiency in order to attain outstanding performance in operational excellence (Chevron, 2010). Chevron uses various motives for their role towards corporate social responsibility. The motives are ethical motives, economic motives and strategic motives. CSR and

International Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Marketing - Assignment Example However, one glaring difference has to do with the issue of search for competitive advantage. Cameron et al, (2009, p. 6) actually notes that such competitive advantages have become necessary because of â€Å"the current economic instability, volatile prices, fluctuating exchange rates and the keen competition for customers.† It would be noted that existing multinational who have been in the system for long depend largely on their brand names as their competitive advantage. By brand names, reference is being to the fact that the companies have a thought that they will automatically appeal to customers because of their long existence. This often brings about complacency on the need to look for new and challenging competitive advantages. However, new global challengers take inspiration from the fact that they are not well known to look for new and attractive competitive advantages that includes the need for modernity and low cost of products and services. Because the world is ge nerally battling a global economic meltdown, such new competitive advantages tend to attract more focus than those used by existing companies. a) Some of the new global challengers seek organic growth while others internationalize through acquisitions. What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with each strategy? (6%) The major advantage associated organic growth is that it is less costly and makes room for sustainable growth. It is therefore not surprising that Cameron et al, (2009, p. 11) captured in their report that of the many new challenger companies they sampled, â€Å"only 1.4 average deals per company† was recorded within that whole time frame. What this means is that as new companies, organic growth gives companies a lot of opportunity to study a specific market and become well acquainted with that market and so put in place strategies and plans that suit those markets only. The disadvantage however is that international exposure becomes limited and so th e likelihood of building an international brand becomes hindered. With acquisition, the fact that it is expensive to start is the major disadvantage. It however creates the opportunity for businesses to record outright growth and expansion without the need to start from the scratch. What is more, once an acquisition is made, there is the tendency that existing customers of the acquired company will become the automatic customers of the acquiring company. a) Consider all strategies the new challengers appear to use. Are there other strategies available to them? Will these strategies ensure sustained growth? (6%) On the surface of it, one may think that is should be more costly doing business in rapid developing economies than in low-growth economies. However, the reverse is rather true. Based on this, challenger firms have a strategy whereby they focus their attention on rapidly developing economies as their start-up points. By this, they are privileged to a number of business climat e advantages such as tax exemptions and access to credit; which are unfortunately

Credit card and Biometrics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Credit card and Biometrics - Research Paper Example Physical characteristics such as face, finger prints and behavioural characteristics such as voice, body movements (Eye movements) etc are used extensively in biometrics to identify a person. The credit card provider take note of either one of the biometric characteristics mentioned above for making and storing biometric template in the master computer at the time of issuing the card. The card holder needs to scan the particular biometric characteristics against a scanning system whenever he was planning to use the credit card for some services. Biometrics increases the safety, security and reliability of the credit card system. Moreover it is inexpensive, fast and easy to use as well. The major disadvantage of biometrics is the loss of privacy. Considering the improvements in electronic transactions, it is necessary to increase the safety of the credit card transactions and the use of biometrics in credit card services seems to be the option for the future. "A credit card is a thin plastic card, usually 3-1/8 inches by 2-1/8 inches in size, that contains identification information such as a signature or picture, and authorizes the person named on it to charge purchases or services to his account -- charges for which he will be billed periodically. Today, the information on the card is read by automated teller machines (ATMs), store readers, and bank and Internet computers" (How Credit Cards Work, 2008).Credits cards are a type of plastic card with a magnetic strip which is used extensively to borrow money or to buy products or services. The card holder need not carry money always with him for his purchasing needs. He can use the credit cards to purchase an object directly or indirectly through internet from anywhere in the world. Each credit card may have the name of the card holder affixed and a unique number. Moreover, a personal identification number (PIN) is also provided by the financial institution which supplies the credit card to its customers. This PIN would be useful for the card holder when he want to withdraw money from Automatic Teller Machines (ATM). Problem "In the end of 2005, MasterCard and Visa generated a sales volume of more than $190.6 billion, from the circulation of approximately 56.4 million credit cards across Canada. Credit card fraud statistics show that about $2.8 million was lost due to credit card fraud, from fraudulent use of MasterCard and Visa alone. In total, credit card fraud costs cardholders and credit card issuers as much as $500 million a year" (Credit Card Fraud Statistics and Facts, 2009) Credit card forgery is one of the big headaches faced by the cyber crime investigating agencies. The big problem associated with credit card is that anybody who knows the card number can use it. Even though many security measures provided by the card supplier for the customers, forgers have better technologies to steal the credit card numbers while the card holder using it somewhere for his purchasing needs or money withdrawal purposes. Biometrics is a new technology incorporated to credit card uses to prevent the card forgery . Instead of the card number, in biometrics oriented credit cards, the finger print, voice or the face of the card hold

Ladies & Gentlemen. Survey & Report. Some may believe that being Essay - 5

Ladies & Gentlemen. Survey & Report. Some may believe that being gentleman or a lady in - Essay Example Notably all the well rounded persons know the limits set by their predecessors and they will not cross over them. This is in order to maintain the nobility and humility they were born with and under (Castiglione & Opdycke, 2009). Every well rounded person will work hard and reach the targets and goal set for them by their ancestors or superiors. He or she considers it as an abomination not to succeed as per the wishes of those who preceded him. In pursuit of attaining their target they professionally utilize bravely all the available and worthy arms and techniques that were guaranteed to them at their birth time (Cunningham & Reich, 2009). More over a well rounded person strives to be like or better than those who trained them. This is in earnest not disappointed the proper care and perfect training of their trainers. It is noted that the courtier must walk his or her talk with grace in all his or her habits, gestures and in every move they make. Notably, a universal person must have a better judgment of good and evil which must rightful guide him or her in decision making. In addition he or she is honest and does not conceal any truth which if realized might bring dishonor and discredit their self worthiness (Brummett, Edgar, & Hackett, 2003). Remarkably, any a well rounded lady will exercise the right measure of confidence and diligence. She will not overstate or understate her work excellence .Over and above this she is patient, persevering and of greater dignity. Moreover a well rounded person is sacrificing and skillful. He or she will swallow his or her desires and treasures and extend love to others. Lastly and not least a universal person is honorable and extremely respects others with the same measure they extend to him or her (Castiglione, 2003). Surprisingly from the results obtained, a large number of people aged less than forty years suggested

Current ethical issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current ethical issues - Essay Example ilemma lies in the fact that even a pharmaceutical company is a business and it is there in the market to earn money however if such a company starts to give free away free medicine to everybody in need, the company would go bankrupt in a short time and then it there would be no more of that drug in any case. This problem becomes more serious when a company tests its drugs in the general market, give free samples, monitors the patients, set up offices and markets for patients etc. but when the testing ends, the company takes drug away from the people who were depending on it. Everyone cannot afford the real price of the product when it is approved by the FDA and launched because the company has to acquire patients and rights for their products thus raising their costs as well. Something that can be done is to involve the government and the charity organizations in these cases where testing, free medicines are involved so that the company producing them can continue doing their business but the government and the philanthropists can give the poor drugs on their expense for the sake of social heath

Ladies & Gentlemen. Survey & Report. Some may believe that being Essay - 5

Ladies & Gentlemen. Survey & Report. Some may believe that being gentleman or a lady in - Essay Example Notably all the well rounded persons know the limits set by their predecessors and they will not cross over them. This is in order to maintain the nobility and humility they were born with and under (Castiglione & Opdycke, 2009). Every well rounded person will work hard and reach the targets and goal set for them by their ancestors or superiors. He or she considers it as an abomination not to succeed as per the wishes of those who preceded him. In pursuit of attaining their target they professionally utilize bravely all the available and worthy arms and techniques that were guaranteed to them at their birth time (Cunningham & Reich, 2009). More over a well rounded person strives to be like or better than those who trained them. This is in earnest not disappointed the proper care and perfect training of their trainers. It is noted that the courtier must walk his or her talk with grace in all his or her habits, gestures and in every move they make. Notably, a universal person must have a better judgment of good and evil which must rightful guide him or her in decision making. In addition he or she is honest and does not conceal any truth which if realized might bring dishonor and discredit their self worthiness (Brummett, Edgar, & Hackett, 2003). Remarkably, any a well rounded lady will exercise the right measure of confidence and diligence. She will not overstate or understate her work excellence .Over and above this she is patient, persevering and of greater dignity. Moreover a well rounded person is sacrificing and skillful. He or she will swallow his or her desires and treasures and extend love to others. Lastly and not least a universal person is honorable and extremely respects others with the same measure they extend to him or her (Castiglione, 2003). Surprisingly from the results obtained, a large number of people aged less than forty years suggested

Security and idententy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Security and idententy - Essay Example In the modern society, security does not refer to the state as a government or a territorial entity, but relatively as a collective identity of the nation. This indicates that, security in a society may be compromised by anything that compromises their identity (Panic 30). On the other hand, societal security relates to the capability of a society to preserve its essential characteristics in the face of variable circumstances despite of the potential and actual threats. In this case, security is compromised when a community perceives a threat as a hazard to its identity since identity is defined as a set of ideas and practices that recognize particular individuals as members of a social group (Panic 30). Moreover, nations are imaginary communities and national identities, which are the most important references object of the societal security. National identity, therefore, involves some forms of political community, common institutions and one code of duties and rights for all member s of the community. This identity also suggests a definite social space and demarcated territories, which are easily identified by members of the community (Panic 31). This means that community members have a feeling of belonging into this identity. This will, therefore, give a clear definition of a state as a group of people obeying similar rules and institutions within a given territory. According to David Campbell, there are two conceptions of a nation, which includes the civil model and ethics (Campbell 24). These are two predominantly conceptual territories, which need to be protected by the nation. This is due to the fact that nations have to possess compact, well-defined territories. Campbell indicates that territories cannot be just anywhere but must be... It is clear that security and identity have a deeper meaning rather than protecting the affairs of a country since, after the Cold War that appeared in European countries in early 1940s, there emerged new and complex security models of states and individuals. These new approaches were considerably divergent compared to traditional, narrow concepts since they indicate that something can be a security issue despite having no threat to the state. Different from traditional phenomena, other factors such as migrations and cultural identity challenges can contribute to identity securitization in a country. The identity of social group is the object of societal security concept. Social security is thus something concerning individuals and its nature in the prevailing economy. On the other hand, societal security relates to the collectivity of identities and actions undertaken with the aim of protecting such identities in a country.

analysis of klinefelters syndrome

analysis of klinefelters syndrome Many chromosomal abnormalities occur early in development and involve the sex chromosomes. Klinefelters Syndrome falls directly into this category. Klinefelters Syndrome is a genetic condition affecting the male population. The following information observes who discovered Klinefelters Syndrome and when it was first diagnosed. The etiology or genetic and environmental factors of the condition are discussed as well as complete description of the disability and the clear diagnostic criteria. The affects of Klinefelters Syndrome are more recognized in adulthood, when it is typically diagnosed. Many Klinefelters patients live out their entire lives without ever knowing they have the condition. Upon conclusion, there should be an adequate amount of information that will give you, the reader, valuable knowledge into the diagnosis and treatment of Klinefelters Syndrome. History Klinefelters Syndrome was first diagnosed in 1942 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston Massachusetts (Schoenstadt, 2006). Dr. Harry Klinefelter was completing his fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital when he was assigned to work with Dr. Fuller Albright, also known as the father of endocrinology (Bock, 1993; Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006). Dr. Klinefelter came to examine nine adult men that had a common set of symptoms during the course of his fellowship (Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006). Dr. Klinefelter organized a case study that involved these nine men and their similarities and was encouraged by Dr. Albright to lead the study (Klinefelter Synrome, 2006). The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology was published in November of 1942 with the completed case study of these nine mens similar qualities, which Dr. Klinefelter identified as Klinefelters Syndrome (Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006). The report written by Dr. Klinefelter on these men described them as having testicular dysgenesis, elevated urinary gonadotropins, eunuchoidism, azoospermia, and gynecomastia, all of which have an effect on the underdeveloped size of the testes, the lack of the amount of testosterone produced by the testes, and infertility (Schoenstadt, 2006; Visootsak Graham, 2006). These adult males also exhibit enlarged breast and sparse facial hair (Schoenstadt, 2006). Two groups found out fourteen years after Dr. Klinefelters original description of the syndrome, that the buccal mucosal cells contained an extra chromatin mass or that the cells were chromatin positive (Klinefelter, 1966). Although the patients were described as having a positive female sex chromatin, Dr. Klinefelter states that the patients are phenotypic males and should never be considered otherwise (Klinefelter, 1996). Fourteen years after Dr. Klinefelter first diagnosed Klinefelters Syndrome, another case study was performed to further understand the characteristics that define the condition (Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006). In 1956, Dr. Joe Hin Tjio and Dr. Albert Lavan took the research further to determine the factors that made those men with Klinefelters Syndrome dissimilar from normal adult males through genetic research (Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006; Schoenstadt, 2006). With the advanced experimental methodology available, Dr. Joe Hin Tjio and Dr. Albert Lavan found that humans had 23 pairs of chromosomes, confirming 46 chromosomes, which prior to this time there was thought to be 48 chromosomes (Bock, 1993; Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006). This clarification by Dr. Tjio and Dr. Lavan is the basic foundation for modern cytogenetics, the study of chromosomes and diseases originating from numerical or structural abnormalities in chromosomes (Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006). Dr. Tjio and Dr. Lavan discovered that men with symptoms of Klinefelters Syndrome had an extra sex chromosome that created the chromosomal arrangement of XXY, which is distinct to the normal male chromosomal arrangement of XY (Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006; Schoenstadt, 2006,). Klinefelter Syndrome was still believed to be an endocrine disorder of unknown etiology at this time (Visootsak Graham, 2006). In 1959, just three years after Dr. Tjio and Dr. Lavan made their historical discoveries, an English researcher by the name of Dr. Patricia Jacobs and her associate Dr. J. A. Strong published a study supplementing earlier studies (Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006; Noble, 2003). Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Strong found the link between the endocrinal disease and the extra X sex chromosome (Noble, 2003). Dr. Jacobs linked forty-seven chromosomes in Klinefelters Syndrome males and determined it to be the X chromosome, which she considered an aneuploidy defined as an unusual number of chromosomes and labeled 47, XXY (Bock, 1993; Klinefelter Syndrome, 2006; Schoenstadt, 2006). The 1970s brought forth a larger examination of males born with Klinefelters Syndrome (Bock, 1993). During this time doctors began screening newborn male babies for the extra chromosome (Bock, 1993; Visootsak Graham, 2006). The most significant of the studies done at this time was sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) whom examined over forty thousand infants for this extra chromosome (Bock, 1993; Visootsak Graham, 2006). This study was important for the reason that most studies done prior to the 1970s were biased and primarily done on adult males in mental institutions and the penal system (Visootsak Graham, 2006). At this time is when the prevalence of Klinefelters Syndrome was noticed as frequently as one in five hundred to one in one thousand male newborns (Bock, 1993; Visootsak Graham, 2006). Also observed in this study was the reduction in speech and language abilities as well as decreased reading and spelling achievement (Bock, 1993; Visootsak Graham, 2006). Along with these disabilities, Klinefelters patients are characterized by an increased tendency towards fertility, endocrinal, and psychiatric disorders (Noble, 2003). This study demonstrated that most but not all of these males born with the extra chromosome will have these characteristics, and many demonstrate varying degrees of the characteristics (Bock, 1993; Visootsak Graham, 2006). Based on this research it has been found that the extra X chromosome that causes Klinefelters Syndrome is very common, however, the symptoms and characteristics that are most recognizable are quit uncommon (B ock, 1993). Most males are not diagnosed as having Klinefelters Syndrome until they reach adulthood, and many that have the syndrome are never diagnosed as having this chromosomal defect at all (Bock, 1993). One pediatrician at the University of Colorado Medical School in Denver and the director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) during the major screening research referred to these newborn males as not having Klinefelters Syndrome because of the possibility that the characteristics may not develop into a syndrome (Bock, 1993; Visootsak Graham, 2006). Etiology and Genetic Factors Every normal human cell has 46 chromosomes that are made up of 23 pairs (Stewart, 2007). Of these 23 pairs, there are 22 that are exactly the same in both males and females called autosomes (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2010). The 23rd pair of sex chromosomes is what makes males and females different in that the male will have only one X and Y chromosome whereas the female will have two copies of the X chromosome (Stewart, 2007; U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2010). During the formation of the egg and the sperm, or gametes, the chromosomes are halved through a process called meiosis (Stewart, 2007; The Dorsey, 2009). Cells that carry a single chromosome such as the X or Y chromosome are called haploid cells (The Dorsey, 2009). When the egg and sperm join carrying 23 chromosomes each they create the fertile egg, or zygote, which has two haploid sets of chromosomes (The Dorsey, 2009). Therefore, the baby receives two copies of each chromosome, 46 total chromosomes, just like the parents (Stewart, 2007). The extra X in Klinefelter Syndrome is caused from either nondisjunction or anaphase lag. Nondisjunction occurs when the chromosome pairs do not separate as they are intended in the meiosis I or meiosis II stage (Pineyard Zipf, 2003; Stewart, 2007). When this happens there may be a chromosome pair with 24 chromosomes instead of the 23 chromosomes (Stewart, 2007). If this chromosome pair of 24 joins with an egg or sperm with 23 chromosomes then it results in a karotype with 47 chromosomes (Stewart, 2007). In this case there will be three copies of chromosomes rather than the usual two copies of chromosomes (Stewart, 2007). The sperm or egg may donate the extra X chromosome at conception causing a chromosomal abnormality (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2008; Stewart, 2007). This forms the XXY chromosomal formation, which is diagnosed as Klinefelters Syndrome. At least half of 47, XXY conceptions are spontaneously aborted (Pineyard Zipf, 2003). The chromosomal abnormality is random and not known to be caused by any environmental factors (Genetic Science Learning Center, 2010; Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2008; National Institute of Health, 2007). This anomaly happens entirely by chance and is unrelated to family history prior to the male childs birth (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2008). This is to say that the male embryos likelihood of being born with Klinefelters Syndrome is not increased or decreased by what the parent does or does not do (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2008). Klinefelters Syndrome is not affected by race (Chen, 2010). This is a completely random occurrence of the sex chromosomes not successfully separating during the formation of the egg or the sperm (Genetic Science Learning Center, 2010). Once this occurs the extra chromosome is then copied into every cell of the embryo (Genetics Science Learning Center, 2008). There are extremely rare cases when there may be three or four extra X chromosomes in all copies of the cells known as 48,XXXY or 49, XXXXY (Stewart, 2007). The 49, XXXXY mosaic is also known as Fraccaros Syndrome and is the most rare form of Klinefelters Syndrome (Duenas et al., 2007). This rare chromosomal abnormality results in more exaggerated features of Klinefelters Syndrome (Stewart, 2007). There are instances where an extra X chromosome is found in only some of the cells (Stewart, 2007). This can be found as two different chromosomal patterns (Stewart, 2007). One pattern occurs when some cells have 46 chromosomes and some have 47 chromosomes (Stewart, 2007). The other pattern is called the mosaic XXY syndrome, or chromosomal mosaicism, and affects approximately six percent of these cases, with the most rare cases being the 48, XXXY or the 49, XXXXY, or other arrangements of X chromosomes (Stewart, 2007). The mosaic XXY syndrome occurs only after conception from a mistake in cell division (Stewart, 2007). Anaphase lag is a result of a gamete lacking a sex chromosome (Klinefelter, 1966). When this chromosome lags it is not incorporated into the new cell during the mitosis stage (Kinefelter, 1996). Anaphase lag is thought to be a reason for the mosaic variations of Klinefelters Syndrome (Klinefelter, 1966). Although the chromosomal abnormality of 49, XXXXY is considered to be a variant form of Klinefelters Syndrome, it appears to have a very independent, distinct phenotype (Duenas et al., 2007). Males that show the 49, XXXXY chromosomal structure have much more severe clinical features than that of a Klinefelters Syndrome male (Duenas et al., 2007). This is the most rare of the Klinefelters Syndrome variants and has been reported in over one hundred cases with the frequency being approximately 1 in 85,000 newborn males (Duenas et al., 2007). There have been reports of an even more extreme variant of Klinefelters Syndrome mosaic in newborn males (Duenas et al., 2007). This variant is a 47, XXY/48, XXXY/49, XXXXY mosaicism and has only been reported in three cases according to a researcher in Mexico (Duenas et al., 2007). This means that the male newborn would have the whole spectrum of XY variations. Another variant that affects only males is the 46, XX chromosomal variation (Bock, 1993). This condition occurs when individuals have two X chromosomes in each cell, but are male in appearance. These individuals have male external geniltalia. These individuals also have small, undescended testes possibly along with an urethra opening on the underside of the penis. A small amount of 46, XX Males have external geniltalia that dont clearly resemble either male or female genitalia. These individuals are typically raised male. Phenotypically, there are three groups of these sex-reversed individuals. The first group includes phenotypically normal XX Males, the second group includes the males with genital ambiguities, and the third group is the true hermaphrodites (Bock, 1993). Description of Characteristics or Traits Klinefelters Syndrome has only one constant physical description and that is the small testicular size (Visootsak Graham, 2003). Boys with Klinefelters Syndrome have variable phenotypic characteristics with no obvious facial dysmorphology (Visootsak Graham, 2003). The presence of gynconemastia, or enlarged breast, and other findings of eunuchoid body habits and sparse body hair vary (Visootsak Graham, 2003). Eunuchoid or eunuchoidism is defined as an abnormal condition in males, characterized by underdeveloped reproductive organs with some female characteristics, such as a higher voice or the lack of facial and body hair that results in the lack of male sex hormones (Eunuchoidism, n.d.). Gonadotropins are produced by glands, such as the pituitary, and can result in sparse body hair when not produced adequately (Gonadotropin, 2010). The medical dictionary states that eunuchoidism is marked by a deficiency of sexual development with the persistence of prepubertal characteristics, and often has the presence of characteristics that are typical of the opposite sex (Eunuchoidism, n.d.). Another likely characteristic is azoospermia (Schoenstadt, 2006; Visootsak Graham, 2006). Azoospermia is defined as having little or no sperm count (Azoospermia, 2010). Testicular dysgenesis, or gonadal dysgenesis, is another characteristic of Klinefelters Syndrome (Schoenstadt, 2006; Visootsak Graham, 2006). Testicular dysgenesis is considered a reproductive system developmental disorder that causes a progressive loss of primordial germ cells, or cells that create gametes, in the developing gonads of an embryo (Gonadal dysgenesis, 2010). This gonadal dysgenesis can lead to the extremely hypoplastic, or underdeveloped, and disfunctioning gonads mainly composed of fibrous tissues (Gonadal dysgenesis, 2010). Most infants and children with the 47, XXXY chromosomal abnormalities go through normal growth stages. It is not until puberty that the Klinefelters Syndrome characteristics or traits become more prevalent and noticeable (Visootsak Graham, 2003). There is a significant increase in height between the ages of five and eight (Visootsak Graham, 2003). Another characteristic of Klinefelters Syndrome is the elongated length of arms and legs (Klinefelter, 1966). There is a decrease in androgen production that causes the secondary sexual characteristics to not fully develop (Visootsak Graham, 2003). An androgen is any substance such as androsterone or testosterone that supports male characteristics (Androgen, n.d.). Typically Klinefelters males are infertile (Visootsak Graham, 2003). However, there have been cases of impregnation without the assistance of medical technology (Visootsak Graham, 2003). Autoimmune diseases such as juvenile arthritis can also be present in Klinefelters adolescents. Whereas boys with Klinefelters Syndrome are generally tall with long limbs and remain thin until puberty, they tend to suffer from obesity latter in life. Neurocognitive effects of Klinefelters Syndrome may be more subtle than that of the physical stigmata. Klinefelters males have been found to have relative deficits on verbal IQ subtests and have verbal IQ scores around 20 points lower than those of unaffected siblings. There are also deficits in articulation, word finding, phonemic processing, verbal memory, language comprehension, oral expression problems, as well as linguistic processing speed. It seems that the speech/language problems and some motor deficits are most common in Klinefelters males that have an extra X chromosome. Ninety-two percent of individuals with Klinefelters Syndrome confirm difficulty learning to read. Seventy percent had reading achievement discrepancies or absolute reading deficits on standardized testing. A group of boys with mental retardation and suspicion of fragile X were subject to a genetic screening and the results showed that eight of these boys had Klinefelters Syndrome. Most of the more extreme verbal, visuospatial, and motor skills, such as found in mental retardation and fragile X syndrome are typically spa red. However, some boys with Klinefelters Syndrome suffer from poor manual dexterity and are commonly found to be clumsy and below average in sports (Wodrich Tarbox, 2008). There are many different factors that may underlie linguistic and reading problems. One possibility is a dysfunction of the left hemisphere that may be related to diminished gray matter or a lack of hemispheric asymmetry, or both. It is also possible that executive and frontal deficits may be a cause (Wodrich Tarbox). There is evidence that language is a fundamental issue for Klinefelters children and this can result in further scholastic issues. This problem seems to manifest as dyslexia as defined by poor reading in the setting of normal intelligence. Klinefelters males have also been observed to have difficulties with arithmetical functions. The deficits in auditory processing and verbal memory are the two key cognitive processes that underlie these difficulties. These deficits are also true for normal chromosomal children with dyslexia. The findings are supportive of the concept that defects in frontal systems seem to be caused by a language-based, left frontal-systems problem (Geschwind Dykens, 2004). Adult Klinefelters males have reported to have difficulties with mental flexibility (Wodrich Dykens, 2004). Even with these studies, it should be noted that not all adults that have Klinefelters Syndrome show these classic patterns of verbal deficits that are observed in children (Geschwind Dykens, 2004). However, these findings are not appropriate for all Klinefelters males, many of which complete high school and move on to post-secondary education successfully (Wodrich Tarbox, 2008). Two characteristics that has been falsely associated with Klinefelters males in the past, is sociopathy and criminal behavior. There is, contrary to this belief, fewer psychiatric problems reported among these individuals. However, there are commonly traits of introversion, unassertiveness, and a paucity or lack of ambition. There are also possible traits of impulsivity and social inappropriateness (Wodrich Tarbox, 2008). A Reiss Profile of Fundamental Goals measurement was used to assess the degrees of which Klinefelters males were motivated in 15 domains (Geschwind Dykens, 2004). The Reiss Profile generates a profile that is based on the motivational sensitivities across the domains of aversive sensations, citizenship, family, curiosity, honor, independence, food, order, physical exercise, rejection, power, sex, social contact, vengeance, and social prestige. The Reiss Profile is a well-established psychometric measure that is being used more and more to assess people with and without mental retardation (Geschwind Dykes, 2004). The results suggested that the Klinefelters male group was not particularly motivated by the need for social prestige, independence, or the desire to seek vengeance. This group was also not motivated to avoid physical pain. The general motivator for all the Klinefelters males in this group was curiosity. There were no age effects to this study (Geschwind Dykes, 2004). Characteristics in Adulthood There is a persistent deficiency of androgen in adulthood that can result in the loss of libido, decreased muscle bulk and tone, decreased bone density, a propensity for thromboembolism (an obstruction in a vein or artery from a blood clot), and an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular and diabetic complications. A common characteristic for Klinefelters adults is gynecomastia (Wattendorf Muenke, 2005). Gynecomastia involves the risk of developing breast carcinoma. There is 200 times more of a risk for Klinefelters males to develop breast carcinoma than other karyotypically normal individuals. This may be a result of the estradiol (the prominant sex hormone in females) to testosterone ratio being so much higher that karyotypically normal men. Another possibility is that it is caused by the increase of peripheral conversion of testosterone to estradiol (Visootsak Graham, 2006). There are different views as to whether Klinefelters adult males are more aggressive or have a greater chance of psychological issues depending on the resource. One study describes the differences as relative to individual testosterone levels and the age at which they received the diagnosis (Morris, Jackson, Hancock, 2009). Equally, there is an impact from the way the diagnosis is reacted to by the Klinefelters male, the family, and friends or peers. The seven major themes that emerged from this study were the diagnosis, the testosterone treatments, health care problems, appearance, self-identity, relationships, and school and education. Of the Klinefelters adults studied, 60 % reported clinical levels of anxiety and 34% had clinical levels of depression. The results of this study show that a prolonged lack of testosterone can have far reaching negative effects on the Klinefelters adult (Morris, Jackson, Hancock, 2009). The historical studies show a disturbingly increased risk for psychiatric disturbance, criminality, and mental retardation. However, these results are outdated and extremely questionable given the initial examinations were given to institutionalized populations (Chen, 2010). Differential Diagnosis Classic Klinefelters Syndrome, 47, XXY, cases make up approximately 80-90% of all Klinefelters diagnosis. There are approximately 6-10% of these cases that are mosaics, which are the cells with 46, XY/47, XXY; 46, XY/48, XXXY; and 47, XXXY/48, XXXY (Chen, 2010; Visootsak Graham, 2003; Visootsak Graham, 2006). In 5% of the cases there are two X chromosomes without a Y chromosome or 46, XX (Visootsak Graham, 2006). The other cases were karyotypes 48, XXXY, 48, XXYY, 49, XXXXY, and 49, XXXYY (Visootsak Graham, 2003). Approximately 1% of these cases are due to a structurally abnormal X with a normal X and Y chromosome described as kayotypes 47, X,i(Xq)Y and 47, X,del(X)Y (Chen, 2010). Klinefelters Syndrome variants occur much less frequently than the classic 47, XXY chromosomal abnormality (Bock, 1993; Visootsak Graham, 2006). Klinefelter variant 48, XXXY is characterized by being average or tall stature with ocular hyperterlorism, which are widely spaced or deep set eyes; flat nasal bridge; curving of the fifth finger, or clinodactyly. Other characteristics are small penis and testicles with hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, which is the absence or decrease in function of the male testes. Theses individuals intelligence quotients range from 40-60. Variant 48, XXYY is characterized by having a tall stature, an eunuchoid habitus with long legs, sparse body hair, small testicles and penis, hypergonadotropic hypogonadism and gynecomastia. These individuals intelligence quotients range from 60-80. Males with variant 49, XXXXY are severely affected. They have smaller than average head circumference also known as microcephaly, short stature with ocular hypertelorism, flat nasal bridge, and upslanting palpebral fissures. Cleft palates are present along with small geniltalia and a heart defect known as patent ductus arteriosus. These individuals intelligence quotients range from 20-60. (Visootsak and Graham, 2003). Klinefelters Syndrome 47, XXY, has no major physical signs, which explains why it may go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed throughout an individuals life. Also with no physical signs, it is truly only diagnosed when genetic testing occurs for a variety of unrelated reasons. Klinefelters Syndrome may be diagnosed prenatally or during early childhood, as an adolescent during puberty, or as an adult when there are recognized fertility problems (Bock, 1993). Klinefelters Syndrome can be diagnosed prenatally through amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (Bock, 1993). These tests are normally done if the pregnant woman is older than 35, if there is a family history of genetic defects, or when other medical indications exist (Bock, 1993). A pediatrician may suspect a male child as having Klinefelters Syndrome if there are delays in learning to talk or difficulties in reading and writing as well as physical abnormalities during adolescence (Bock, 1993). Treatments and Interventions All hope is not lost when it comes to the treatment and interventions of the undesirable traits and characteristics that males diagnosed with Klinefelters Syndrome may display or develop. It is recommended that Klinefelters males have a comprehensive neurodevelopmental evaluation as soon as they have been diagnosed. A multidisciplinary developmental evaluation can determine the appropriate treatments during infancy and early childhood. These treatments may include physical therapy, infant simulation programs, and speech therapy (Wattendorf, 2005). If the language difficulties are detected in childhood, then there is more of a possibility for intervention. The language barriers that Klinefelters males may have to cope with can not only affect their academics, it can obstruct their building of social relationships and learning social skills necessary for these relationships. Here is where the Klinefelters child could benefit from a social skills training program. In a social skills training program, the Klinefelters child will be able to practice talking and listening, observing childrens making friends processes, sharing of information, attitudes, and beliefs. This will also assist them in proper classroom behavior and playground behavior. Language disabilities and barriers can prevent Klinefelters males from fitting in socially, so this kind of intervention and assistance can benefit the child greatly. Hearing can be an issue if frequent ear infections occur. Hearing test and screens should be done to ensure that a hearing impairment is not a part of the language difficulties. If the Klinefelters child is not communicating effectively with single words by the ages of 18 to 24 months, then consultation with a speech and language pathologist will be very beneficial (Klinefelter Syndrome Information, 2002). Teachers should be informed of the difficulties that a Klinefelters child may be dealing with in the classroom. A teacher may consider the Klinefelters child to be lazy and daydreaming and a teacher may even forget the child is even in the room. This can result in the Klinefelters child falling behind and eventually being held back a grade. Under the Public Law 94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, adopted by Congress in 1975, all children with disabilities have a right to a free, and appropriate public education (Klinefelter Syndrome Information, 2002). Once the Klinefelters male reaches puberty there is usually an inability to produce a normal amount of testosterone. This along with hypogonadism can result in impaired bone mineral density and skeletal muscle development. Also associated with testosterone deficiency is a decrease in libido and energy (Wattendorf Muenke, 2005). Androgen therapy or Testosterone Treatment should begin by time the Klinefelters male reaches middle school, approximately 12 to 14 years of age, based on the level of pubertal development (Klinefelter Syndrome Information, 2002; Wattendorf Muenke, 2005). Testosterone Treatment will ultimately increase the muscle size and strength, as well as, promoting the growth of body and facial hair. It must be noted that Testosterone Treatments can also bring on psychological changes. It is important to adequately inform the parent(s) and the child of these changes so that they can make the most informed decision (Klinefelter Syndrome Information, 2002). There are diff erent ways to receive Testosterone Treatment and that is through injections, transdermal (patches, gels, or creams), orally, or implantation. The kind of testosterone injection will depend mainly on the dosage used and the country in which you receive the injections. Some injectable testosterone esters are Testosterone enanthate, Testosterone cypionate, Sustanon, Testosterone propionate, Testosterone phenylpropionate, Omnadren, and Aqueous testosterone suspension. Types of transdermal patches are Androderm and Testosterone TTS. Two different kinds of testosterone gels and creams are Androgel, and Testim. A few oral supplements include Methyltestosterone and Testosterone undecanoate. The last form of Testosterone Treatment is the Subcutaneous testosterone pellet, which is delivered by implanting a pellet of pure, crystalline testosterone under the skin of the buttocks or abdomen (Testosterone Types and Delivery, n.d.). Adult males with Klinefelters Syndrome usually develop gynecomastia which predisposes men to breast cancer. Therefore, it is important that Klinefelters males do monthly breast examinations. If gynecomastia causes psychological or physical problems, then possible treatment would be cosmetic surgery to remove the breast tissue (Wattendorf Muenke, 2005). Swerdlow et. al (2005) stated that men with Klinefelter Syndrome have elevated risks of several cancers. Prostate cancer, along with breast cancer was more prevalent. Men with Klinefelter Syndrome are also at a substantially higher risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and possibly lung cancer. Breast cancer risk is higher in 47, XXY mosaics. Adult males may face possible infertility issues due to the lack of testosterone production, but if diagnosed early on, this can be minimized and they will be able to reproduce without outside assistance. Summary Klinefelter Syndrome is one of the more recently discovered medical syndromes. Klinefelter Syndrome is not one that causes major dysfunctions and is usually only discovered during genetic testing for infertility or during prenatal testing due to maternal age or prior genetic issues within the family. Because Klinefelter Syndrome has not had a lot of research until the last few years, there is no federal funding set aside for this syndrome. Families with sons that are found to be affected by it have no real support system that is knowledgeable of this syndrome and have to research on their own and create resources to fit their situation as none are available in most areas.