Commodity School

Marketing Theory Commodity School 01. 11. 2012 [Sirket ad? n? yaz? n] Bahcesehir University, MA Marketing What is commodity school and what are strengths and weaknesses of that thought? Marketing theory has been discussed over years. Many theorists had tried to explain marketing thought since it was a separate field apart from economics. In order to indicate progress of the theory; Sheth, Gardner and Garret in the book of Marketing Theory Evolution and Evaluation compiled all schools of marketing.They also argue how successful each thought is while developing, implementing and distributing of those schools. On that paper, it will be tried to analyze what commodity school is and what its strengths and weaknesses are according to Sheth, Gardner and Garret. Schools of thoughts are formed by two dimensions of a matrix. One perspective is interactive-noninteractive while the other is economic-noneconomic. In first dimension, for the noninteractive schools selling is the essential concept whereas relationship is main source for interactive schools.In second dimension, for economic classification, the focus is economic variables such as production and distribution efficiency, prices of inputs and outputs, and consumer income levels. At the other dimension, participants of marketing activities cannot be explained by sole economic influence. It can be clarified by social and psychological factors that may affect the behaviour of marketing actors. With two dimensions of that matrix, commodity school is one concept of noninteractive and economic approach.The commodity school concentrated on the physical characteristics of products and the related consumer buying habits for different categories of products. The most influential proponent of that school (Melvin Copeland) defined commodities as convenience goods, shopping goods and speciality goods based on durability. Copeland stated that convenience goods were those customarily purchased at easily accessible stores, when h e recognized the want, the demand became clearly defined in his mind.Copeland defined shopping goods as the ones the consumer desires to compare price, quality, style etc at the time of purchase. Final part of his classification is the ones that have some particular attraction for the consumer, other than price, which induces him to put forth special effort to visit the store. For speciality goods, brands are essential. Copeland’s theory can be seen most inspiring theory for commodity school of thought. Theorists after Copeland’s had tried to develop the definition of categories.One of them was Leo Aspinwall who launched a classification system using five characteristics to differentiate three types of goods. Aspinwall named his three categories the red goods, the orange goods and the yellow goods based on replacement rate, gross margin, adjustment, time of consumption and searching time. Richard Holton asserted that Copeland’s definition of the categories of co nvenience goods, shopping goods and speciality goods needed to be revised. He emphasized that convenience goods and shopping goods can be defined accurately only from standpoint of the individual consumer.According to Holton, for the individual consumer, convenience goods are those goods for which the probable gain from making price and quality comparison among alternative sellers is thought to be small relative to the consumer’s appraisal of the searching costs in terms of time, money and effort. Shopping goods then, are for the individual consumer, those goods for which the probable gain from making prices and quality comparisons among alternative sellers is thought to be large relative to the consumer’s appraisal of the searching costs in terms of time, money and effort.However David Luck criticized Holton’s theory in terms of dynamics of consumer behaviour. He claimed that Holton excluded the speciality type of good from marketing theory. The next theorist B ucklin tried to explain the distinction between shopping goods and non shopping goods as a first point of differentiation. He classified that shopping goods are the goods whose suitability is determined through search before the consumer commits himself to each purchase. He subdivided non shopping goods as convenience goods and speciality goods based on their accessibility to substitutes.Until Kaish emphasis, commodity school could not highlight psychological side of consumers. Kaish was the prior emphasis on the consumer’s shopping effort. He assured that consumers had different pre purchase anxiety level for convenience goods, shopping goods and speciality goods. To him, as goods complexity increases pre purchase anxiety level also rises as well. After all those contributions, Ramond and Assael asserted that firstly, product as a relation between physical ingredients and psychological responses; secondly, the product in terms of consumer actions and channel response must be defined.In addition, Enis and Roering asserted that a classification scheme that incorporates both the buyer’s and the seller’s perspective holds the greatest promise for illuminating the exchange process. Finally, Murphy and Enis developed four commodity categories as convenience, preference, shopping and speciality products based on effort and risk dimension Enis-Roerig Commodity Classification System Buyer Expected Effort / Marketing Mix Differentiation HIGH Buyer Perceived Risk/ Product Differentiation LOWshoppingspecialityHIGHconveniencepreferenceLOWThe commodity school has revolted during the process that is summarized above. Many explanations and opinions are developed by the theorists. However, there is still unanimity for that school. Commodity categories are still tried to be defined clearly. It is still a dilemma if definitions should be physical properties of the good or on the behaviour of the consumers. If latter one is preferable, should the focus be on the consumer’s mental effort or on his physical effort. In addition, the specification of hypotheses becomes contingent upon the diversity and individual differences among consumers.Beyond the potential variability among consumers, there is also the question of the possible change in any one consumer’s behaviour over time. Another point that cannot be clarified is how shopping effort is measured and, limited and considerable levels of the shopping are distinguished in terms of operational efficiency. The points that cannot be clarified during evolution process for commodity school are listed. Although there are dilemmas about structure, specification and testability, the commodity school enjoys some easiness of theory implementation.Firstly, a researcher interested in commodity school could develop empirical simulations for the goods categories. Thanks to this simulation, he can modify marketing mix for a test product to determine whether market performance for the pr oduct could be enhanced. Secondly; commodity school is valid for consumer goods, industrial goods, services and social goods. In addition, it is adaptable in global environment thanks to consumer classification based on diverse culture, psychology etc. Also, the commodity school cooperates with new technology.At last but not least, specific forms of distribution and promotion should accompany various types of goods. To sum up, commodity school is the one that many theorists have tried to structure and strengthen it. Physical characteristic and consumer’s psychological tendencies have been main factors that theorists have considered. Although it has dilemmas about structure, specification and testability, it can succeed to develop empirical supports, to enrich product categorization and to simplify in communicating and implementing the theory. With the contribution of each theorist, it can be seen as one of the most robust school of marketing.

Need for More Artful and Realistic Porn Essay

1. Introduction For a long time, pornography has been viewed as something exclusively for men. In the 1980’s, pornography was a feminist issue in which feminists claimed that pornography was a form of violence against women (Sun et al., 2008). Often enough, it has been claimed that women do not have any interest in explicit representations of sex. However, in the past years, women have increasingly started to become interested in pornography. But most pornographic materials are made for and by men. However, there are even some pornography magazines aimed at women readers (Smith, 2007). Not only the consumption of porn, but also the production and direction of pornography seem to be activities where women are involved in more than ever before. Pornography has been a subject of philosophy for a number of philosophers. Some of them, including Larry May, believe pornography harms groups of people. In contrast to Larry May, Sallie Tisdale argues that pornography can be of help to individuals. THESIS: There should be different kinds of porn (more artistic/realistic/made by womenmore artistic) so that porn has no negative effects / to enlarge the positive effects of porn / abolish / diminish the negative effects. 2. Exposition -How porn can help Tisdale argues that porn can help in many different ways. First of all, she emphasizes that porn is part of our sexuality. The first advantage Tisdale discusses is that porn can help to see how many different things sex can mean. Secondly, being able to expose your true self makes it easier to expose yourself to others. Thirdly, being exposed to pornography helps letting go judgments about yourself, which, in turn, makes you let go of judgments against the desires and acts of others. Also, porn clarifies your interests (only aware of it after exposure to it) and might create new interests. It reveals aspects of yourself that you were unaware of until then. The last advantage of porn Tisdale discusses is that it can lead to the realization that none of your thoughts are bad, that anything goes. -How negative affects/emotions can get in the way of porn’s helpfulness Even though Tisdale argues that porn can help individuals, she is still sometimes surprised, or even shocked, by her own reaction to pornography. Shame Disgust of own response to porn ‘Disliked my own response’ ‘I felt a heady mix of disgust and excitement’ (p. 423) Body versus mind. Depressed Nausea Why does she even have these reactions? 3. Furthering Tisdale’s project Tisdale wishes for a more craft, a more artful packaging of pornography. (p 426) Furthering Tisdale’s project by establishing how porn could be less negative by being more artful or more artistic. Richard Summer’s ‘Local Porn Project’. Summer desires more realistic porn. He wants people to be able to identify themselves and recognize what is happening in porn. He argues that right now, porn is detached from reality. This is a problem, because sex is actually a very real thing with real benefits, experiences and consequences. Porn right now, does not express sexuality in the right way. Summer’s Local Porn project aims to make thoughtful and genuine porn. Will more artful/realistic porn help to prevent these negative emotions? Tisdale wishes for more artful pornography. There are two ways in which this can be realized: either by making more realistic porn or by having more female directors and producers. As aforementioned, Women are now making films for women viewers. Sun et al. (2008) investigated how the context of pornography made by female and men directors differ. Their results show that, indeed, the content of pornography produced by women differs significantly on several aspects from pornography made produced by men. Pornography produced by women more frequently contained objects designed for genital stimulation. It presented women performing oral sex on men and ejaculation on the face and mouth less frequently. Also, pornography made by women more frequently has a female as main character and more frequently show only women. Pornography produced by men hardly ever contained women only. Female directed porn and male directed porn did not differ in the number of aggressive acts. However, male directed pornography show twice as many men perpetrating. Overall, one can say that pornography produces by  women and men differ significantly.

An in Depth Study of Marketing Strategies Followed by Marriott International Globally and in India

SYNOPSIS In this essay the author would like to share briefly about what is marketing. What are the four P’s of marketing i. e. the marketing mix? Also discuss the need for marketing in general as well as in the hospitality sector. In this essay the author would concentrate mostly upon the marketing approaches followed in the hospitality industry. Also the essay discusses in detail the marketing strategies adopted by the Marriott International globally and the marketing strategies followed by the J. W. Marriott Mumbai. The essay critiques these strategies and the author offers his insight upon these and what other strategies may be followed to further enhance the hotels performance. Chapter 1: Introduction There are many ways to define what is marketing the better of these definitions are all customer oriented and are based on customer satisfaction. Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. – Philip Kotler What the author is trying to say is that marketing is the interaction of the seller with his buyer to make the buyer/consumer purchase the product or service the seller is trying to sell. Anything an entrepreneur does to sell his product or service to his potential customer can be termed as marketing or a part of it. Often people confuse the term ‘marketing’ to mean the same as ‘advertisement or publicity’ thought to some extent this may be true but in reality advertisement and publicity are small aspect of marketing. Marketing today is not just advertising ones product or service it is the process of building ones brand. Marketing is basically ones strategy for allocating their resources such as time and money in order to achieve ones objectives although no marketing strategy shall work for you as long as one identifies their potential customers and targets them. The consumers that need your product or service shall purchase them any way but what marketing does is it makes these potential customers aware of the products or services that you are providing. Hence marketing is vital for any and every establishment as it is the key element in improving sales and hence increasing profitability. Often it may happen so that you are offering a better product or services but due to lack of appropriate marketing strategy your competition may steel away your potential customer. Thus this brings us to why is marketing so important for each organization. Marketing is a large topic covering a range of aspects such as public relations, advertising, sales, and promotions. A few years back the common belief in organizations was that the employees in the marketing division were drawing large salaries for no work that they did, organizations believed that marketing was a process that was simple and could be done by anyone. This thought process may still be seen in some firms but today most organizations recognise the importance of marketing. In today’s competitive market were every organization offers a superior product, service or a combination of both it is only the marketing strategy the organization adopts that gives it the edge over their competition. In the given market scenario where consumers are educated and well aware one can not expect to sell an inferior product to their consumers they may succeed at first but that is where the organization shall start loosing their brand value and shall not be able to retain their customers hence in the long run it shall still be a loss. But taking an opposite situation where the establishment is offering a superior product or service at a competitive rate but employees little or no marketing strategies shall have even lower sale and hence lower profitability. So to succeed a mix of quality and its publicity is necessary so that the establishment’s potential consumers are aware of what the organization has to offer. With apt marketing strategies an organization can build a brad name for itself so people shall recognise the name whenever they see it. In such a case it may often happen that a newer establishment say ‘X’ offering the same product at a lower price may not be able to steel the original establishments customers as they will recognise the brand and were perceive that the product or service offered here is superior to a brand such as ‘X’ they have never heard of. Such is the importance of marketing it does not only help take to product to its consumers it helps retain those customers. Marketing helps the firm in understanding what their customers expect from the organization, with this knowledge it helps fulfil any other needs the customers may have from the organization which is beneficial to the organization on many levels. Micro and Macro Marketing Largely speaking, micro marketing is concept that deals with introduction or familiarization of given product to its most suitable segment which is its group of potential consumers. In Micro marketing, the objective is to craft or establish the most useful way to persuade individuals or a group of people to give a higher consideration to your designated product over the potential competitors. Micro marketing’s final goal of sales is which may be achieved by following a sequence of steps that are determining the customer and product relations, implementation, segmentation and by measuring of results. Other than this, there are many various ways and different modes to market to ones consumer which include branding, word of mouth, placement of product, and many other such ways. With the current technological advancement greater opportunities have been made available with the help of computers, the internet, by sending emails, text messaging, pod casting, interactive advertising and P2P networks. These new methods have nearly replaced all the old approaches such as print marketing. Take for example, today news papers and magazines are increasing relying on online marketing over the traditional methodology. The terms, macro marketing refers to a much broader point of economic contact amongst larger business entities. Macro marketing is the umbrella term for volution of inter and intra actions that sway larger entities such as global markets in Asia and U. S. to interact in terms of private business. Although one may propose that macro marketing is an idea which is built on micro marketing, one can assume the reverse impact as well. It is obvious that small building blocks of global economy which is micro marketing will have an effect on the larger picture or say the larger building blocks such as macro marketing may have an influence the micro marketing by altering the very dynamics of markets, demands, and many similar factors. By this we can say that the two concepts are inter-dependent. The interaction between macro and micro marketing is what determines the outcome of marketing efforts. Chapter 2: Content In this document the author would like to about the importance of marketing in the hospitality industry. Marketing is necessary in the hospitality industry for both profit and the welfare of the industry. Marketing helps in improving room occupancy and number of covers as primarily it brings in more customers. Other than this how it affects the welfare of the organization is by giving the organization the knowledge they need to bring their product and services up to their customers requirements this helps in customer satisfaction hence ensuring the guests return stay or visit for a meal apart from this it helps in brand building for the organization as the best publicity is one that spreads by word of mouth and it is only a deeply satisfied guest that goes out and praises the hotel he/she stayed at. Marketing is not just a set of skills or techniques that may be used to enhance satisfaction for many organizations it may represent the very way of doing business. Marketing is not just outside the hotel employees need to market what they have to offer to the guests that are staying with them as well. What the hotel has to offer must be made aware to the guests staying at the hotel this is not only to help increase revenues but it also assist in improving guest satisfaction. To plan a marketing strategy a number of decisions must be taken first some of which are, firstly the head of the marketing department must sit with the other HOD’s including the corporate heads and get an understanding of what are the objectives they plan to obtain from it other than this putting together the objectives of marketing in general budget allotted to the same must also be decided. Before planning a marketing strategy the marketing employees must know their property well, they must have complete knowledge of the prime prospects the property has to offer and their competitors. To start with they must set up realistic objectives that can be achieved easily and then begin formulating their marketing plan. A marketing strategy must be disciplined where in all the decisions that lead to production are in a sequence with a sound strategic plan. The marketing plan must be achievement oriented but at the same time it must be flexible so it is applicable to all the departments of the hotel and should be adjustable if required to increase effectiveness. To achieve a marketing plan that can fulfil these requirements one may use the four factors of the ‘marketing mix’. Marketing Mix’ is one of the most popular terms in marketing it is also known as the four P’s of marketing as it is based on four main factors that are product, place, price and promotion. The four P’s are parameter that a manager can use to control the marketing environment so as to obtain positive results from the target market. Neil Borden in 1953, in his American M arketing Association presidential address, took the idea of ‘James Culliton’ (1948) one step further and the term â€Å"marketing-mix† was coined. After which a prominent marketer by the name E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a four P’s classification in 1960, which has seen wide use ever since. The author would like to elaborate what are these four P’s and their importance in establishing an efficient marketing plan. †¢Product – an object or service that is produced on large scales with set volumes taking in to account a market study that helps decide this volume of production. †¢Place – represents the place the object or service may be purchased. In the case of an object it may also refer to the modes of distribution of the object to the target market. Even for certain services this may apply such as outdoor catering but in the case of the hotel industry this may often not be possible so it applies more only to the location only. Although the channels through which it may be promoted may remain the same. †¢Price – would represent the price a customer must pay to purchase the object or use the service. The price is determined different factors such as the costs involved, the competitor’s price but most importantly what is the perceived value for the product or service for your target market. Promotion – is basically the communication a marketer would use to promote his/her product or service in the market this may be of any sort such as advertising word of mouth or through public relations. Advertising is any kind of communication that has to be paid for such as on the television or the radio, etc. where as public relation is where the firm does not pay directly it is in the form of endorsements, sponsorshi p deals, trade fairs and exhibitions. Largely defined, optimizing the marketing mix is the key duty of marketing. Offering a product or service with the appropriate mixture of the four P’s marketers can enhance their results and marketing effectiveness. Making a small change in the marketing mix is considered to be a tactical change and a large change in the four P’s is considered strategic. The author would talk about the marketing strategies adopted by the J. W. Marriott Mumbai also a brief about the Marriott International in India and globally. In order to do this the author would first talk about Marriott International first so we have an idea as to why these marketing strategies may have been adopted. Marriott International, Inc. is a global operative and franchisor of a broad assortment of hotels and associated lodging facilities. Its world renowned â€Å"Spirit to Serve† company culture, customer focus and employee-centred practices have led to the company being called the most admired in its industry (Fortune Magazine). Marriott International’s legacy can be traced back to founder J. Willard Marriott's experiences as a Mormon missionary who later started operating a root beer stand. He and his wife, Alice, opened the stand in Washington, D. C. , in 1927. From there to now where the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Virginia that is Marriott International’s longest operating hotel, and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2009. This goes to show that Marriott has come a long way. Their son and current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, J. W. (Bill) Marriott, Jr. has led the company to spectacular worldwide growth. Today, Marriott International has over 3,200 hotels and lodging properties located in the United States and in 66 other countries and territories. 1927: J. Willard Marriott got married to Alice Sheets in Salt Lake City, Utah, and moved to Washington DC with his new bride. That spring, J. Willard and Alice opened a nine-stool Root Beer stand, which they later call â€Å"The Hot Shoppe. † Winter 1927/1928: Hot Mexican food items are added to the menu at the â€Å"The Hot Shoppe† 1929: The Hot Shoppe Inc. , officially incorporated, invents curb service. 1934: Hot Shoppe expands to Baltimore, Maryland. 1937: They began airline catering begins at Hoover. This division was named â€Å"In-Flite Catering† and served to the Capital, Eastern, and American Airlines. 1939: Marriott landed their first ever food-service management contract with the U. S. Treasury. During World War II, The Hot Shoppe’s feed thousands of workers who moved to the nation's capital to work for the defence industry. 1945: The 1st Hot Shoppe’s cafeteria was established at McLean Gardens, Washington DC. Hot Shoppe’s also landed their first government feeding contract. In-Flite got their first airport terminal food-service contract at Miami International Airport. 1953: Marriott stock became public at $10. 25/share and sold out in two hours. 1955: Marriott Food Service got their first institutional and school feeding contracts at Children's Hospital and American University. Marriott's Highway Division opened several Hot Shoppe’s on the New Jersey turnpike. 1957: Marriott opened their 1st hotel, a 365-room property by the name ‘Twin Bridges Motor Hotel’ in Arlington, Virginia. 1964: J. W. Marriott, Jr. , was named President. 1965: Marriott Foundation was established. 1967: Corporate name is changed from Hot Shoppe’s Inc. , to Marriott Corporation. The company opened their Fairfield Farm Kitchens, a food production and purchasing facility in Beaver Heights, Maryland. In-Flite opened a facility in Venezuela; Marriott acquires Camelback Inn, its first resort property, and bought over Bob's Big Boy Restaurants. 969: Marriott's 1st international hotel opens in Acapulco, Mexico. 1972: J. W. Marriott, Jr. , was named CEO. 1973: The Company obtained their first hotel-management contracts. 1975: Marriott opened their 1st European hotel in Amsterdam, Holland. 1976: The Company opened two theme parks, both called â€Å"Great America,â₠¬  that were located in Santa Clara, California, and Gurnee, Illinois respectively. 1977: The Company celebrated their 50th anniversary and the sales toped $1 billion. 1979: A new corporate headquarter was built in Bethesda, Maryland. 1981: Opened their 100th hotel in Hawaii. 982: The Company acquired Host International, Inc. 1982: Marriott acquired Gino's and converted it to Roy Rogers. 1983: 1st Courtyard hotel was inaugurated. 1984: Marriott entered the vacation, time-share and senior-living markets. 1985: J. Willard Marriott, Sr. , passed away. Marriott Distribution Centre opened in Savage, Maryland. 1987: Marriott acquired Residence Inn Company and entered the lower-moderate lodging segment with Fairfield Inn. 1989: 500th hotel was inaugurated in Warsaw, Poland Bridges. Marriott also started a Foundation for People with Disabilities. 990: Pathways to Independence: which was Marriott's Welfare to Work Program was established. 1993: The Company split into two Marriott Internatio nal and Host Marriott Corporation. 1995: Marriott acquired the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC. 1997: Marriott acquired the Renaissance Hotel Group and introduces brands such as TownePlace Suites, Marriott Executive Residences and Fairfield Suites brands. 1998: Marriott opened their 1,500th hotel. Sales reached $8 billion. Sodexho Alliance acquired Marriott's food-service and facilities-management businesses. Marriott acquired 98% of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC. 1999: Marriott acquired the ExecuStay corporate housing company. 2000: The 2,000th Marriott property opened in Tampa, Florida. 2002: Marriott celebrated their 75th anniversary. The company now had over 2,300 hotels, 156 Senior Living Services Communities with over 200000 associates, and were operational in 63 countries and territories with annual sales of over $20 billion. 2002: Marriott announced the sale of its Senior Living Services Communities and the Marriott Distribution Services. 002: Marriott opened its 500th extended-stay hotel, which comprised of a total of 400 Residence Inns and 100 TownePlace Suites. 2002: Fairfield Inn opened their 500th hotel in Rogers, Arkansas. 2002: Marriott opened their 2,500th hotel worldwide, with the completion of the 950-room JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa that was located in Phoenix, Arizona. 2002: Marriott had increased its North American market share to 8% total. 2003: Marri ott revenue totalled up to $9 billion in 2003 and in $476 million as gross profits. Marriott added over 31,000 rooms and timeshare units in the year 2003, bringing the global system to 2,718 hotels and timeshare units which made up for the unbelievable 490,564 rooms that Marriott now had globally. 2003: Marriott completed the sale of their Senior Living Service Communities and the Marriott Distribution Services. 2003: Marriott Courtyard opened their 500th hotel in Minneapolis Downtown and SpringHill Suites opened their 100th hotel in Dallas-Addison, Texas 2004: Ramada International opened their 200th hotel in Amsterdam. Marriott revenues totalled to a sum of $10 billion in 2004 and $594 million as net profit. 500,000th room opened in London, located at the West India Quay Marriott Hotel in Canary Wharf district of London. 2004: Marriott Rewards welcomed their 20,000,000th member. Marriott Vacation Club International celebrated their 20th anniversary. 2005: Marriott announced the sale of Ramada International hotels. Marriott and Whitbread completed the transaction, forming a 50/50 joint venture to got hold of Whitbread's portfolio of 46 franchised Marriott and Renaissance hotels of more than 8,000 rooms. As element of the joint venture agreement, Marriott took over running of the hotels, and the joint venture intended to sell them to new owners subject to long term Marriott management agreements. In 2007, Marriott celebrated two significant milestones in Marriott's history. The first was the 80th anniversary of our founding and the second was 50th anniversary of their entry into the hotel business. The 80 year old heritage of innovation and spirit to serve, Bill Marriott launched a blog in January that was called Marriott on the Move. On January 8th 2007 Marriott. om set a record by generating more than 55,000 reservations in one day, posting a record 55,109 reservations that generated over $17 million in gross revenue. Starting from February, restaurants in more than 2,300 Marriott hotels all through the U. S. and Canada no longer used partially-hydrogenated oils which were a primary source of Tran’s fats, this culmination of an eight-year effort. Marriott is honoured with 20 07 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award from U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company is well on its way to meet its goal to reduce greenhouse gases by 6% per guest room by 2010. The J. W. Marriott Mumbai is the only hotel of the brand ‘J. W. Marriott’ in India. The J. W. Marriott Mumbai is located in a fashionable and up-market Juhu area . It overlooks the scenic waters of the Arabian Sea, J. W. Marriott Mumbai is the preferred hotspot of Bollywood celebrities and stars. This world class resort style hotel is merely 20 minutes from the domestic and the international airports and is in close proximity to most of Mumbai's major business parks. The Hotel is home to the only one of its kind spa in Mumbai called ‘The Quan Spa’ and the stylish nightclub ‘Enigma’. At the J. W. Marriott Mumbai they have world class Food and Beverage offerings, the Hotel houses some of India’s restaurants that specialise in Italian, Thai, Teppanyaki and Indian cuisines respectively. As Mumbai is the Financial Capital of India so the hotel had plenty of business travellers but due to its location and the hotel being celebrity hotspot leisure travellers preferred to stay at the Marriott over the other properties in Mumbai. The J. W. Marriott Mumbai is a 355 room property spread over five floors. It has 9 meeting rooms and a total of over 16500 sq. t in meeting space. S. W. O. T. Analysis of the J. W. Marriott Mumbai Strengths – †¢Location (Place) – Built in Mumbai the financial capital on India in the celebrity strewn locality of Juhu. It is located on the beach with a beautiful view of the Arabian Sea a luxury business hotel that offers even its business travellers the feel of living in a resort. †¢Ease of Access – it is just 20 minutes away from both the domestic and the international airports and is closely located to the business parks in the city. †¢Food and Beverage outlets – the J. W. Marriott Mumbai has three world class speciality restaurants Indian, Italian and oriental cuisines respectively along with this they have a 24 hour multi cuisine coffee shop, a cake shop, a formal bar at the lobby level and a nightclub. All together the hotel ensure that a guest staying with the Marriott shall never find the need to go outside the hotel for any of their Food and beverage needs. †¢Brand – the J. W. Marriott is one of the highest recognised brands under Marriot International there are only 40 around the world and only the one in India so making it exclusive. It is a brand that is looked up to globally hence for someone that has never been to Mumbai even shall book here looking at the brand alone. †¢Service – the Marriott around the world is renowned for their culture ‘Sprit to Serve’. This goes to show that the service at the J. W. Marriott Mumbai was exceptional and always ensured that their customers were more than just satisfied with their stay. †¢The hotel has nine meeting rooms, fast internet access in the rooms as well as in all the public areas in the hotel along with any other services a business traveller may need made available at the push of a button. The J. W. Marriott houses a one of a kind ‘Quan Spa’ and other recreational facilities such as a pool overlooking the sea along with a salt water pool yoga sessions held daily. Weaknesses – †¢The J. W. Marriott Mumbai was built a quite some time back it came into operation a few years after it was completely furnished so even thought the hotel has been renovated a few times it still require a major up gradation in its interiors especially the bathrooms fixtures. Though its location is in a popular area that is strewn with celebrities it is still located in the suburb hence the niche business cliental that has work in south Mumbai usually do not prefer to stay here. †¢As the Marriott has a mix of both business and well leisure travellers it can not concentrate on either type of the cliental completely and often cannot market the hotel appropriately. Opportunities – †¢The J. W. Marriott Mumbai would increase customer satisfaction considerably by refurbishing the rooms and bathrooms. Competitive pricing would help increasing the hotel business. †¢It is the only hotel of its standard in the vicinity. Threats – †¢There is traffic congestion upon the road right outside the Marriott during rush hour which makes it hard to get in or out of the hotel even. †¢The hotel has s ecurity threats as it is right on the beach. The author would now talk about the marketing strategies adopted by the J. W. Marriott Mumbai. Guest loyalty programs – Marriott rewards programs is loyalty program, where when a guest spends 1000 dollar and earns 10 points or 2 miles Guest after collection certain amount of points can redeem them with free stay at any of Marriott property. Other than the obvious where this helps in enhancing guest satisfaction. This helps the company by getting loyalty from guest and it also ensures that the guest stays only in Marriott properties world wide. Guests get to different level after spending certain nights and the rewards increase as the level increase. The various levels are as follows base level that is the entry level above this is the silver level where the guest a 72 hr prior reservation the then there is the gold level where the guest gets a 48 hr prior reservation two way transfer lounge access and so on to platinum and platinum premium where the guests get reservations 24 hours prior all the other advantages along with P6 amenities. Along with this the guests get points for every purchase and discounts at the food and beverage outlets as well as at the spa. Corporate rates – special rates offered to corporate houses or companies judging by the business they will bring in the future. Package rates – special rates for guests taking an all meals inclusive plan or even for a single meal. Group rate – a special rate for a group staying with the hotel as they bring in volume sales. Online marketing, advertising online for the hotel and what they have to offer. Regional offers – special regional offers that the hotel may offer during the time of need such as a slack period. By advertising on the hotel cars to increase awareness in the target market. By improving performance of the new employees and to improve their talent and motivating them so they in turn will help increase guest satisfaction. These are the marketing strategies that are followed globally and at the J. W. Marriott Mumbai. Chapter 3: Critique Although the J. W. Marriott Mumbai offers numerous promotional offers to its customers as part of its marketing strategies but there are still some shortcomings at that the author would like to elaborate on. Firstly the J. W. Marriott targets both leisure travellers as well as business travellers hence its marketing strategies are mixed and do not completely target either of the markets. Hence they loose out customers in both these sectors the business travellers may prefer to stay at the business hotels in South Mumbai and the leisure may prefer to stay at the resort hotels located at Mud Island as these hotels not only offer better holiday packages but are also more cost effective. Guest loyalty programs today are very common every hotel chain offers their own loyalty program hence there is nothing unique about these programs any more and they fail to draw customers so marketers today say that running these loyalty programmes is not cost efficient anymore. The author would like to suggest as to what marketing strategies according to him the J. W. Marriott Mumbai must practise in order to perform better. To start with at the Marriott they must devise separate packages for leisure travellers and for business travellers this way not only does the hotel have larger number of targeted clients but by targeting them separately the hotel can identify their needs separately and increase customer satisfaction by this considerably, it shall also assist in improving guest satisfaction considerably. The hotel must capitalise on their view and promote it on the basis of that. As all the hotels shall offer the same services but the advantage they have here at the Marriott is that they can offer the guest he/she may not get anywhere else in Mumbai. The hotel can also promote the hotel as a celebrity hub this may help increase the accommodation as leisure travellers may like to know that they are staying at a hip location percentage but will drastically the number of covers and the spa and other such recreational activities usage by the locals. The hotel is located very close to both the domestic as well as the international airports hence providing an ideal stay for guest that are on a tight schedule and have no time to waste in travel. The marketers at the Marriott can devise a marketing strategy around this as well. The J. W. Marriott has some of the finest restaurants in the city it also houses one of the most popular night clubs in the city so this may be used to attract leisure travellers. Chapter 4: Conclusion In the document above the author stated the marketing approaches that Marriott uses globally and in their Mumbai property. The author then offered his insight on these approaches and offered a few other approaches that the hotel may adapt to in order to perform better. But we must take into account that even though flawed or cost ineffective some marketing strategies such guest loyalty programs may not be discontinued as firstly the guests that are already using these programs shall be deeply dissatisfied other that this since most hotel chains today are offering these programs the guests today expect to get such offers and may not choose to stay with the hotel if such are not in place. So though not having these programs may be profitably in the beginning but a global brand like Marriott cannot afford to loose out on customers on a long term basis at such a small price. What the author would like to conclude by saying so is that not much may be done about the marketing strategies globally but a marketing division in each hotel must be present that shall have decision making authority so as to implement regional marketing strategies based on the four P’s of the marketing mix or even out side them to ensure that the hotels performance is enhanced. Bibliography Books †¢Effective Marketing, Alan H. Anderson and Thelma Dobson †¢The Great Marketing Turnaround, Stan Rapp and Tom Collins †¢Marketing-Led Strategic Change, Nigel Piercy †¢Marketing Management (2005) , Prentice Hall Kotler Philip, Keller Lane Web Pages †¢www. blog. marketo. com/blog/2007/01/why_you_need_ma. html †¢www. marriott. com †¢www. CitizenBase. org †¢www. marketing. about. com †¢www. themarketingmentor. com †¢www. marketmyproducts. com

Patient Monitoring in Pharmacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Patient Monitoring in Pharmacy - Essay Example These can help the patient in recovering since there someone who will guide and instruct him in his medications. What is the importance in patient monitoring in Pharmacy Patient monitoring can be beneficial to patients who are suffering from cancers and other severe diseases. Since pharmacist are the one who specializes in their medication it is best to be monitored by individual who knows what will happen if you where not able to take your medicine on time. The monitoring can also help in cases of side effects of medications. The pharmacy will be the one who checks your medications and monitor the availability of the medicines needed. For some it is not necessary to have a pharmacist monitoring their medication but once properly guided and oriented about the importance of monitoring, they will be able to understand the need for it. How should a pharmacist organize a drug monitoring plan To organize the drug monitoring plan you need someone to handle the said monitoring.

Multiple Questions on History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Multiple Questions on History - Essay Example On the example of FARC it is clearly seen that this theory works. The group of people was gathered in order to protect the interests of oppressed people in the rural areas of Columbia. Another peculiarity of Focoist theory is that it was initially invented for developing countries. Thus, when Che Guevara’s theory is criticized, it may be argued that it is initially â€Å"Guerrilla War†. Revolutionary war in China has its specific laws as well. Mao Zedong has suggested strategies of revolutionary war in his well-known essays 'On Practice' and 'On Contradiction' (1937). Zedong makes an emphasis on revolutionary upheaval, which is based not on instantaneous protests, but is also confirmed by deep knowledge and profound historical experience of a nation. Maoism has guerilla roots as well. Still, unlike Che Guevara, Zedong makes an emphasis on the necessity of a proper education of a nation with regards to revolutionary issues. Question 2Atomic weapon influence on military t heory after WWII Thesis: A creation of atomic weapon after WWII signified an international pace for strategic preparation against hostile moods of the world. Atomic weapon was a serious intimidating factor uprising those countries, which owned it and diminished power of countries, which did not have it. An inevitable development of atomic weapon was propagated by its supporters and developers, such as Lawrence, Alvarez, Teller and others. They claimed that it was wise for the United States to protect their nation against intimidating factors of potential hazards caused by atomic weapon. Nevertheless, the fact that  Atomic Energy Commission forbade development of atomic weapon for America may be explained by two main reasons: a lack of technology development in this field : â€Å"Oppenheimer believed that the atomic forces of the United States would be more effective if they consisted of many large fission weapons (of which multiple bombs could be dropped on the same targets) rath er than the large and unwieldy predictions of massive super bombs, for which there were a relatively limited amounts of targets of the size to warrant such a development† (History of nuclear weapons, 2011). Consequently, it is evident that a significant shift happened in military theory. After WWII atomic weapon was mentioned as a powerful tool regulating diplomatic policies and controlling over them in the post war period. Question 3 Evolution of US military approaches in Vietnam Thesis: from thousands of hostile attacks to diplomatic negotiations, - these were limits of American political strategy in the war of Vietnam. In order to support policies of the South’s government, America sent in 1963 6,000 of forces to South Vietnam. Starting from 1965, Johnson triggered the war, bombing North Vietnam and these attacks mounted up to in 1968. During times of Nixon, starting from 1968 policies of Vietnamization was promoted. America made an attempt to destroy Communism in Vi etnam in 1970. There is a gradual evolution of military policies in Vietnam: from hostile moods to diplomatic agreements. For the American history this war was the longest one. In the result of war in Vietnam 2 mln lives were gone and 60,000 deaths among Americans emerged. South Vietnamese should be protected by the American government from totalitarian regime. Moreover, it should be noted that this lesson of war

Higher Education in England Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Higher Education in England - Research Paper Example Reports from the Guardian point to the fact that the government's failure to extend access to higher education caused higher drop out rates and lower number of students who attend university (Smith a), 2006). Current statistics on from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) caused disappointment among government leaders and ministers who advocate for the yearly rise on the population of students apply to universities (Smith a) 2006). Considering the funds that the government has disbursed in order to widen the access of individuals from all walks of life to enable them to gain entry to higher education institutions, many have expected that the results of these efforts can put a halt to the declining trend. The government is spending about 300 million pounds in order to attract and increase the rates of individuals who attend higher education institution to 50 percent until 2010 (Smith a) 2006).  The National Union of students has affirmed that the current figures on the tuit ion fees which continue to increase during the previous decades have a huge impact on the number of applications to the higher education system. The union national president, Gemma Tumelty said that the current figures and the declining number of applications to colleges and universities in England have 'real effect' on the choices of students which in turn thwart and discourage other prospective students to pursue their goals of achieving university degrees. The decrease stood lower in England at 4 percent - lower than in the rest of the country (Smith b) 2006) as the top-fees have not been put into effect in England yet. Clearly, what hinders many prospective students from entering higher education in England was brought about by the rising fees imposed even on poor students and the marginalized sector of the society. The impact of the 3,000 increase in tuition, which will be put into effect in September, poses worries among university officials already nervous about the declining student population. This only means that universities and colleges across England will have to apply extra efforts to promote higher education to prospective students and individuals who are from poor families and are already apprehensive about their escalating debt (Smith a) 2006). HESA figures strengthen this view as it contends those students from the disadvantaged families and who come from the lower rung of the social ladder.

Management Control System at a Publicly Listed Company Assignment

Management Control System at a Publicly Listed Company - Assignment Example So the objective of the study would be to assess the management control system of Vodafone. It is also important to assess the strategic management model to interpret the winning formula of Vodafone not only as a company but also as a brand name. A company is a place where a group of employees work together for common goals and to receive compensation in return for the service that they are providing to the company. The company is run by a group of top level managers and they divide the departments, units and groups under them to carry out the decisions and objectives that they plan for the company. The process of management control simply ensures that the strategies implemented and the goals set by the top management of the company is moving in the right direction and the human resource of the company are perfectly allocated for performing these activities are carefully carrying out their task (Anthony and Govindarajan 51-53).   The management control system involves communication of guidelines, decisions and the objectives of the company or the organization. Similarly strategic management planning also involves communicating similar functionalities as management control. But in a much similar way, strategic planning is a part of the management control process. Strategic planning is basically applied economics but management control is applied psychology. Both of these functions involve the top level management. It is a very important strategy that is often followed in companies practicing decentralized model. It is a well known fact that in order to survive in the global market, the company should possess competitive advantage over its competitors. Competitive advantage of the company involves two vital issues such as the cost structure and special features of the firm to differentiate with its competitors. Companies always try to increase their value chain in order to have an edge over

Why pathologies of hope Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Why pathologies of hope - Assignment Example This is a thesis that she effectively presented when she claimed that: I hate hope. It was hammered into me constantly a few years ago when I was being treated for breast cancer: Think positively! Dont lose hope! Wear your pink ribbon with pride! A couple of years later, I was alarmed to discover that the facility where I received my follow-up care was called the Hope Center. Hope? What about a cure? At antiwar and labor rallies over the years, I have dutifully joined Jesse Jackson in chanting "Keep hope alive!" -- all the while crossing my fingers and thinking, "Fuck hope. Keep us alive."... (Ehrenreich, Barbara, â€Å"Pathologies of Hope†) As far as ms. Ehrenreich is concerned, postivism will not get you anywhere unless you actually push yourself to take action. Whether you are in a positive or negative state of mind does not have any effect on the outcome. After all, the only goal one has in life is to achieve and succeed. In her case, she found that negativity, anger and the desire to beat the odds worked better than any positive reinforcement she ever got from the medical community, other cancer survivors, or her

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 34

Summary - Essay Example They form part of the Secwepemec or the Shushwap nation and they total to 526 people. Just like other first nations, they too have undergone many injustices dating to the Indian Act Administration including abuse at school (p1). This group had come up with a Family Violence Program whose creation highlights the importance of community participation in combating crime. It further underpins the fact that government policies often act as barriers especially when they are misinterpreted and thus do not end up benefitting their people (p1). It has been noted that justice systems that the aborigines create and manage, serve as useful alternatives to the government’s criminal justice system (Casey 1991). Such alternatives include a wider absorption of aboriginal practices and traditions into the justice system or even creating an autonomous aboriginal justice system altogether (p1). Open-ended interviews were conducted among forty-one participants who were involved in the creation of the Family Violence program. To aid in this research, government support was enlisted in terms of research funds. Representatives of the government were also invited to sit in the community meetings and discussions. The government’s cooperation had to be fully sought (p3). Other departments not involved in criminal justice were also invited to participate in the aboriginal initiative. Departments such as Indian and Northern Affairs Canada gave funds, as did Health Canada under their corresponding sections pertaining to family and community affairs. The Aboriginal justice department was also invited to the meetings and even to participate in funding. However, the justice department refused to release funds (p4). Within the community, there were challenges encountered as well. Interviewees reported difficulties of opening up to others about their sexual abuse. Participants feared a lack of confidentiality owing to

Speciation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Speciation - Essay Example These two processes  led to  the behavioural speciation between Sciuirus apbios and Sciuirus vulgaris. Allopatric speciation was a consequence of the geographic isolation of the Caribbean Sea. Initially, St. Kitts and Nevis were a single island and there only existed one squirrel species. However, there was the divergence of the initial island, and there emerged two small islands that contained different species of the first squirrel species. The diagram below best describes allopatric speciation: The bottleneck effect occurs when excessive tourism and development creates a genetic drift between animals of the same species. In this case, there was a volcanic eruption in St. Kitts that killed an enormous population of the squirrel population. The explosion led to massive loss of alleles in the genetic pool of St. Kitts rodents. Consequently, Sciuirus apbios evolved differently from Sciuirus vulgaris. The image below best describes the bottleneck effect: †¢ Sciuirus vulgaris has an average gestation period of 29.3 days compared to Sciuirus apbios that have a gestation period of 42.7 days. The difference in the gestation periods of the two species is significant enough to prevent successful reproduction. In conclusion, the emergence of Sciuirus apbios is a result of the divergence of the Sciuirus vulgaris population as a result of allopatric speciation and the bottleneck effect (Wolff & Sherman,

CRIMINAL JUSTICE JURY MOST RELAIBLE FOR DETERMINING GUILT OR Essay

CRIMINAL JUSTICE JURY MOST RELAIBLE FOR DETERMINING GUILT OR INNOCENCE, LEGAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT JURIES DECISIONS, ARE THEIR DECISIONS RELIABLE AND VALID, - Essay Example (King, 1999) This was the only right that was agreed unanimously by the twelve participating states. Accordingly the trial jury acquired veto power over the law and became more powerful than any government official such as Judges. An appeals court in the United States described the power of a jury "unreviewable and irreversible" over that of a trail judge. (Jurors Handbook) The jury system has become one of the most important aspects of criminal procedures in many countries, though the procedures adopted differ from country to country and even within a country as is evident in the United States, nevertheless, the jury is perceived to bring in certain attributes of the communities to bear. In Australia, the jury list is made up of people who had been elected from randomly from the electoral rolls,2 same for the United States, where potential jurors are now randomly selected by a computer using electoral or driver's licenses records. (Doyle, 2004) The duties of a jury are to asses only the facts of a case in reaching a verdict, but there are certain factors that affect the conduct or predisposition of any potential or chosen juror. Juries can be influenced by the Judges, attorneys, defendants, their particular lifestyles and beliefs and many other possible factors. Various studies conducted have shown that jurors could be influenced beyond the scope of evidence by a defendants attributes e.g. race, status or sex. For example, in one of the studies conducted,(Decaire, n.a.) white and black male subjects were exposed to cases with defendants and victims of varied races, it was observed that in cases involving white victims the white subjects (jurors) showed bias, placing higher guilt against black defendants accused of crimes against white people, thus showing that jury recommendations can be influenced by their individual stereotype of crime and the alleged criminal. Judge decisions. Judicial influence over any jury trial is as important as the role the jurors play. Though it is the members of the jury who return the guilty or innocent verdict, the powers of a presiding judge also allows him to prevent the introduction of 'illegal' evidence or argument by counsels in support of both prosecution and defences. Judges do not tell jurors what to deduce from the evidence presented to them, but they have powers to prevent the jurors from hearing any evidence deemed not suitable to achieving a fair trial. For instance, if a jury is presiding over a rape case, the sitting judge might not allow the jury hear evidence of the rape victim's past sexual history. This is to prevent the jurors being influenced by facts outside the present case. Psychological or expert witness. The role of expert-witness in the criminal justice system is a person who has some special training or experience in a criminal behavioural area and can help the judge, lawyers and the juries arrive at the truth in the judicial process. (Yablonsky, 1998) Most of these experts are however paid consultants and present evidence that advance the case of their clients. They are therefore mostly perceived as 'hired guns' and their credibility questioned. Recently in the UK, Professor Sir Roy Meadow's name was struck off the

Describe How Bacteria Decode Its Genetic Information to Produce Proteins Essay Example for Free

Describe How Bacteria Decode Its Genetic Information to Produce Proteins Essay Bacteria belongs to a group of organism that lacks cell nucleus and membrane bound organells. This group of organisms are termed as prokaryotes. Prokaryotes follows the central dogma of molecular biology first proposed by Francis Crick in 1958 to synthesize proteins from mRNA through a process called translation and the mRNA is being synthesized from the DNA by another process called Transcription. Temperature, nutrient availibity are some key factors that start the process of synthesizing proteins in response to these key factors. Example. This paper will provide an explanation as to how bacteria decode the genetic information to produce proteins. Transription generates 3 kinds of RNA. Transfer RNA(tRNA) carries amino acid during protein synthesis, ribosomal RNA molecules come together to form ribosomes while mRNA bears the message for protein synthesis. In bacteria, mRNA often carries coding information of more than 1 gene therefore it is said to be polycistronic (DIAGRAM). MRNA is synthesized under the direction of DNA by RNA polymerase. This polymerase in its core enzyme form has 5 subunits. A 6th subunit called the Sigma factor helps the core enzyme to recognise and bind to the promoter regions which are often found at -35 basepair and -10 basepair(also called Pribnow box) upstream of the transcription site. Upon binding, RNA polymerase unwinds the helical DNA and this open region becomes a open complex. There is a reason as to why the -10bp site is chosen. The hydrogen bonds between the nucleotides in the Pribnow box are weak and easily broken, forming the open complex. RNA polymerase progresses along the DNA unwound DNA strand and starts to synthesize mRNA in the 5` to 3` direction. MRNA synthesized is thus complementary and anti parallel to the template DNA. Termination of transcription require a terminator. There are two kinds of terminator, rho-independent terminator which refers to a nucleotide sequence that when transcribed into RNA, forms hydrogen bonds within the single-strande RNA, this intrastrand bonds creates a hairpin-shape loop and causes RNA polymerase to stop transcribing and dissociate from the template strand. Another terminator depend on a protein called the rho factor which causes RNA polymerase to dissociate from the mRNA. Its exact mechanism remains unclear. With the mRNA synthesized by the RNA polymerase using DNA of the bacteria as template, the mRNA are translated to amino acids which are linked covalently to form a polypeptide. Translation begins when a ribosomes binds to mRNA and tRNA molecules carry the amino acid correspending to the codons dictate by the mRNA to the ribosome so that the amino acid can be added to the polypeptide chain as the ribosome moves down the mRNA strand. Translation initiated by formation of initiation complex consisting of 30s and 50 sribosomal subunits, Formyl-methionyl tRNA and the mRNA. Proteins called intitial factors are also required to form the complex. The two ribosomal subunits that come together to for, the complex are commonly refer to as the 70s ribosome. This 70s ribosome has two sites in which tRNA carrying amino acids can bind to. One is called the P site and A site. There is also an E site where tRNA are released. The initiating transfer t RNA carrying formylmethionyl binds to the P site, a tRNA that recognises the next codon ann carries the second amino acid moves in to the A site. The formylmethionie carried by the tRNA in the P site is then joined to the amino acid carried by the tRNA that just entered the A site by a peptide bonds. The ribosome then advance a distance of 1 codon. The tRNA that carries the formylmethionie is released at the E site. A tRNA carrying the next amino acid now moves in through the A site where the anti codon matches the codon of the mRNA. The ribosome shift down a distance of 1 codon, the 2 amino acid on the tRNA in the P site are transferred to the new amino acid and the 2nd tRNA is released at the E site. This cycle is repeated. Elongation is terminated by a stop codon. Stop codon do not code for any amino acid.

Understanding Skeletal Muscle Contraction Physiology Essay

Understanding Skeletal Muscle Contraction Physiology Essay Introduction Muscle contractions are a result of the buildup of tension within the muscle, and for muscles to contract, they must have a continuous supply of energy in the form of a molecule called adenosine triphosphate or ATP (Silverthorn, D.U., 2010). Through muscle contractions, we are able to run, walk, lift, push, sit, and even chew our food (Stabler, et.al, 2009). In addition to an energy requirement, skeletal muscles must be stimulated to contract (Stabler, et.al, 2009). Skeletal muscles are stimulated from an action potential that originates from within motor neurons (Stabler, et.al, 2009). Motor neurons are those that send electrical signals to skeletal muscle cells (Stabler, et.al, 2009). An action potential is the electrical signal that occurs when positively charged ions flood into the motor neuron as a result of a chemical, electrical, or other type of stimulus (Stabler, et.al, 2009). This signal, an area of intracellular positivity, self propagates down the length of the neuron tow ards the muscle cell (Silverthorn, D.U., 2010). Once this signal reaches the muscle cell, it is converted into a muscle contraction through a process called excitation-contraction coupling (Stabler, et.al, 2009). The interior of muscle cells also becomes very positive resulting in a muscle contraction. Muscle contractions have 3 different phases which include the latent period, contraction phase, and the relaxation phase (Silverthorn, D.U., 2010). The latent period occurs between the start of an action potential and the beginning of a muscle contraction (Stabler, et.al, 2009). This is the phase that will be studied later. The contraction period begins at the end of the latent period and ends when muscle tension ends (Stabler, et.al, 2009). The relaxation period occurs begins at the end of the contraction period until the muscle becomes free of tension (Stabler, et.al, 2009). To initiate a muscle contraction, the stimulus must reach its threshold. This is the minimal stimulus required to generate the action potential within a muscle cell causing the internal cellular environment to become positive (Stabler, et.al, 2009). In addition, the change in stimulus intensity can play a role in how strongly the muscle generates force when it contracts which is referred to as the active force (Stabler, et.al, 2009). As a stimulus is repeatedly applied to a muscle, fatigue will eventually occur. Fatigue can refer to a deficit in muscle functioning or a gradual decline in the force sustained by a muscle (Enoka and Duchateau, 2008). Other research has shown that fatigue could be the result of metabolic changes that occur within the contractile mechanisms within the muscle fibers such as changes in ion concentrations (Allen and Westerbland, 2001). If the latent period length is dependent upon the strength of the stimulus, increasing the electrical stimulus intensity should also increase the latent period, and since a threshold stimulus needs to be reached for a contraction to occur, then there will be a minimal amount of electrical stimulation required to generate a muscle contraction. In addition, if the active force strength is dependent upon the strength of the stimulus intensity, an increase in stimulus intensity should increase the active force. If muscle fatigue is occurring due to repeated stimuli over a period of time, then applying a stimulus at a constant rate should result in a decrease of sustainable force within the muscle. These experiments will be carried out using an electrical stimulus by passing a known amount of voltage through an isolated skeletal muscle attached to a metal holder that will transmit the data to a recorder and an oscilloscope screen for analyses (Stabler, et.al, 2009) Materials and Methods In order to understand muscle contraction physiology, I evaluated 4 different experiments. The first 3 experiments were designed to use a single stimulus to evaluate the latent period of a muscle contraction, to evaluate the threshold stimulus of a muscle contraction, and to evaluate the effects of increased stimulus intensity on a muscle contraction. The fourth experiment was designed to demonstrate the effects of muscle fatigue. The following materials were used for these experiments: an isolated skeletal muscle (75mm in length), a metal holder to measure force generated by the skeletal muscle, an oscilloscope, an electrical stimulator (single and multiple stimulus), and a data collection box. The first experiment was designed to determine the latent period of a muscle contraction. First, the muscle was attached to the metal holder. The electrode from the electrical stimulator was rested on the surface of the muscle. The electrical stimulator was set to 6.0 volts. A muscle contract ion was induced by applying a single electrical stimulus using the electrical stimulator. The data generated a tracing on the oscilloscope screen which was used to determine the latent period by selecting the point where the flat line began to rise. The data were recorded using the data collection box. I repeated this experiment using the following voltages: 1.0 volts, 3.0 volts, and 10.0 volts. These voltages were used to see if changes occurred within the latent periods. For the second experiment, the data generated was used to determine the threshold voltage. The threshold voltage occurred when the active force measured in grams was greater than 0. The equipment setup was the same as the last experiment, and the electrical stimulator was set to 0.0 volts. At 0.0 volts, the muscle was stimulated and the results observed and recorded using the oscilloscope and data recorder respectively. This experiment was repeated multiple times by increasing the voltage by 0.1 volts until the mi nimal threshold voltage was determined. For the third experiment, the effects on muscle contractions due to an increase in the electrical stimulus intensity were explored. Again the same equipment setup was used. The initial voltage was set to 0.5 volts followed by stimulation of the skeletal muscle. The data were observed and then recorded. This experiment was repeated multiple times by increasing each subsequent voltage by 0.5 volts. This continued until the data showed there was no change in the increase in active force. For the final experiment, fatigue was induced in the skeletal muscle. The equipment setup for this experiment was similar to the first three experiments. However, a different electrical stimulator was used which incorporated a multiple stimulus option as well as a single stimulus option. The multiple stimulus option added the ability to start and stop the stimulus activity. This experiment was designed so that several stimuli per second were being applied to the skeletal muscle if so desired. The electrical stimulator voltage was set to 7.0 volts, and the number of stimuli per second was set to 100. The muscle was then stimulated for approximately 400 seconds by selecting the multiple stimulus option, and the graphical data were recorded from the oscilloscope. Results For experiment one, the latent period was recorded in milliseconds and was compared to its corresponding stimulus voltage. The time measurement (latent period) reflected the start of the flat line until it began to rise. Below is a summary of the recorded data. Latent Period Determination Stimulus Voltage (V) Latent Period (msec) 1 3.89 3 2.78 10 2.22 For experiment two, the threshold stimulus determination data was collected by measuring the electrical stimulus voltage and its corresponding active force generated. Once the active force became greater than 0, the experiment was stopped. Below is a table with the collected data. Threshold Determination Stimulus Voltage (V) Active Force Generated (gms) 0 0 0.1 0 0.2 0 0.3 0 0.4 0 0.5 0 0.6 0 0.7 0 0.8 0.02 For experiment three, the data were collected in order to determine the effects of increased stimulus voltage on muscle contractions. The data reflected 0.5 volt interval increases in the electrical stimulus until 10 volts were reached. Below is the summary of the data. Muscle Contractions Increased Stimulus Effects Muscle Contractions Increased Stimulus Effects Stimulus Voltage (V) Active Force Generated (gms) Stimulus Voltage (V) Active Force Generated (gms) 0.5 0 5.5 1.59 1 0.15 6 1.65 1.5 0.43 6.5 1.7 2 0.66 7 1.74 2.5 0.87 7.5 1.78 3 1.04 8 1.81 3.5 1.19 8.5 1.82 4 1.32 9 1.82 4.5 1.42 9.5 1.82 5 1.51 10 1.82 For experiment four, data was graphed in order to demonstrate the effects of fatigue. The rate of the multiple stimulus was 100 stimuli/second at a constant setting of 7.0 volts. The data were recorded over a 400 second interval. Below is a graphical representation of the collected data. Muscle Fatigue Effects of Prolonged Stimuli Over Time (Stabler, et.al, 2009) C:Sheas StuffHuman PhysiologyFatigue.jpg Citations Allen, D.G. and H. Westerbland. (2001). Topical Review: Role of phosphate and calcium stores in muscle fatigue. Journal of Physiology 536.3: 657-665. Enoka, R. and J. Duchateau. (2008). Muscle Fatigue: what, why and how it influences muscle function. Journal of Physiology 586.1: 11-23. Silverthorne, D.U. 2010. Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach. 5th Edition. Pearson Benjamin Cummings, pp. 408-422. Stabler, T., Smith, L., Peterson, G., and Lokuta, G. 2009. PhysioEx 8.0 for Human Physiology à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Laboratory Simulations in Physiology. pp. 17-22.

Smart Homes Tries To Address Information

Smart Homes Tries To Address Information The present assignment on Smart homes tries to address every important aspect of new generation automated homes. The assignment initially focuses on what are these smart homes, and then the work progresses to put in brief detail the benefits of smart homes. Common technologies that are involved in the devices and systems that support smart homes are explained. Detailed explanation of prominent, significant tasks and targets which the smart homes are supposed to achieve are discussed. Finally a brief note on the future prospects of the concept and the currently available important smart home solutions in the market is given. Introduction: Advancements in the information and Communication Technology (ICT) front have enabled among many things, special research and development in the concept of safe and comfort living at homes. The concept of smart homes relates to fully automated homes where the residents can control every aspect and item of home even staying long away from it. This concept of safe living is gaining prominence because of many causes, some being, secured independent living of the elderly at homes, need for making homes burglar proof, turning homes energy efficient, remote operability of electronic equipments at home and safe up-keeping of infants and children alone at home. For the purpose of working on this assignment, I referred to many online sources like articles, presentations, websites, encyclopaedias etc. What are smart homes? Smart homes are future proof homes. Smart homes are intelligent homes which are run by fully automated devices and technologies. These homes which make use of various highly advanced technologies increase the quality of living immensely. An industry definition of Smart home is, a smart home is a home where the systems (security, lighting, sensors, heating and air-conditioning, audio-video etc.) are interconnected to allow the automatic or remote control of the home to save energy, improve comfort, safety and or convenience for the homeowner. A smart home enhances the value of a home (SMARTHOME, 2010a). Especially, families whose members need special round the clock care and assistance, where people stay away from home for long for career purposes, when some members of family are on intensive and sensitive medication, when elders of the family live in isolation at home all alone and for many more such security and service purposes, people are increasingly resorting to making their domestic environments fully automated. Though the level of automation varies based on needs and money spending capacity, every home where significant part of domestic space is controlled and run by customised technology gadgets can be referred to as a Smart home. When ones chances staying at home all the time are limited, and want to make some necessary things happen in their absence, to make sure that the security of the home is guarded uncompromisingly, to ensure that the available resources are put to optimum use, to make things happen in their normal course even in ones absence, to take maximum care of elderly people and disabled family members, one can deploy suitable and selected active technologies in the forms of remotely accessible electronic gadgets, robots etc to ensure that all such needs are best served. Depending on the need spectrum and the monetary strength, these days, increasing number of families are showing interest in making their domestic environments automated, served and guarded by latest electronic systems and pre-programmed and self maintainable equipments. With automated homes owners can have peace of mind, even in their prolonged, compulsive absence from their homes and can make happen every thing that their normal presence would definitely do, ranging from watering the garden to giving a definite quantity of pesticide spray to infected plants. Benefits of smart homes: Important advantages or benefits of smart homes are safety, comfort and convenience. The joy of being able to control home lighting systems, room temperatures, water storage, surveillance systems, garden sprinkler and much more such handy options is very unique. Smart homes let the owners to have many automated opportunities of independent living. Various home automation equipment and gadgets facilitate easy and remote management of electronic devices at home like, managing illumination levels of lighting systems depending on the day light levels, can help see what is happening in ones absence with the help of closed circuit cameras, can schedule the television viewing times of children, can operate equipment in kitchen like coffee maker, microwave ovens, dish washers and the like, can view favourite movies from any TV in any room, can maintain cleanliness of domestic environments with remote operable or programmed robots and many more such functions that ease living and bring in safe comfort (Discovery Communications Inc., n.d.). In smart homes all the electronic devices can be put under user programmed, single point control. Primary purpose of most of such equipment is to provide safe domestic environment. They make homes intrusion proof and can send warning messages to the owners in case of any unforeseen emergency and can even send similar signals to police or fire fighter services. With special equipment like thermostats users can remotely operate and control functioning of heating and cooling systems like air conditioners to save energy when they are not used. Important benefit of smart home is reliable care of elders at home. When we stay away from home leaving back our beloved elders, with the help of programmed robots and remote controlled cameras we can ensure that they take their medicines in time and monitor their health and activity status (eHow, Inc., 2010). Further, these days almost every one is having internet at their living places. By placing all the computers in the home well connected in a wireless network and configuring to a WiFi system, we can move around the home with our laptops while staying perfectly connected to internet. Thus Smart homes house well connected and networked devices that operate in full preset rhythm and in perfect coordination to serve every special need of owners. Thus the present generation homes are turning to be intelligent homes. Technologies involved: The whole concept of Smart homes depends on the advanced technologies and the modern smart equipment that are employed in the home. There are wide spectrum of such technological services and automated devices especially designed and developed for this purpose. To better study their functionality, according to (Dewsbury, Taylor Edge, 2001), all the services provided by various high end devices and technologies that help build a smart home can be categorised as: Assistive Technologies Adaptive Technologies Inclusive Technologies Medical Technologies Assistive technologies are that category of scientific systems and electronic devices, which enable the users to execute such tasks at home which otherwise they would not be able to do because of their absence from home. These are the devices which can be made to function in a specific way and can be controlled remotely also. Adaptive technologies are the ones which can be custom programmed to suit user specific functional requirements. Thus they are the devices that come with modifiable functionality. Inclusive devices are also called as Design for all systems that come with capability do multiple tasks depending on the user needs and demands. Finally, medical devices are a wide range of equipments that come with huge functional spectrum of services of medical assistance. They range from medical diagnostic devices, sterilisation units, health monitoring systems, medication dosage checkers and emergency service equipment. Tasks: Elder care: Important requirement of present families is that, as all the other members go to their work place, the elderly people are left at home all alone. The younger ones though go out; they want to serve every need of their beloved parents and grand parents at home. For this the smart home technologies offer a lot of options for their safety and security. They range from many emergency assistance systems, security equipment, burglar alarms, pre-programmed timers to remind them to take medicines in time, walking assistant robots, emergency calling facility to contact doctors, police or fire fighters, closed circuit TV cameras, remote operable micro wave ovens, automated room heating or cooling systems to maintain temperature that makes them feel comfort etc. Primary purpose of these equipments and technologies is to ensure safety and convenience when they are alone at home (Smart House Services for Elderly and Disabled People, 2008). Some examples are, smart shirts which instantaneously an d at regular intervals measure body temperature, cardiac functioning etc. Some other devices monitor blood sugar levels. The new generation elderly care equipment are designed to have in them artificial intelligence features. A recent invention by a scientific research group invented a robot pet cat Near Me. The speciality of this is that it perfectly resembles a living pet and it is programmed to behave in a very warm amicable way and also beeps at regular intervals for medicine intake. New in this is that with its chubby, sweet movements it gives the users a feel of lively togetherness. This soothing feeling spreads good psychological and emotional support which can reduce their lonely feeling. Infant and Child care: When all the elders in the home are job holders and have to leave their loved little ones at home, the present smart home technologies and devices which are available can assure the parents safety at home. With coordinated functioning of closed circuit TV cameras, remotely operable toys, security covers and safety alarms, controlled TV viewing, parental controls on internet browsing etc are the presently obtainable child care solutions for smart homes. Further, some companies are developing play robots, which can amuse children while keeping close watch on their activities and needs. Pets: When families raise multiple pets, the owners absence is a problem. To answer this smart homes these days are housing technologies and devices that help fulfil all pet needs. Some solutions focus on timely arrangement of food and fresh water stored in highly hygienic conditions. Some pest repellent devices help make up a fly and mosquito free domestic environs. Other devices for arranging timely food and drinking water are pet auto feeders, self maintaining water bowls and heated hoses for water supply in harsh winters (SMARTHOME, 2010b). Energy savers: Smart homes need to be energy efficient. Most of the energy saving smart home gadgets makes use of solar power to feed lamps. There can be wide number of varieties of such devices that serve different purposes in smart home and their source of energy is solar heat. Some examples of such products are pool water purifiers, wireless room sensors, intruder motion sensors, solar powered flood lights, solar timers, light sensors, electrified fencing etc. Based on the power saving needs and level of affordability users can choose appropriate ones. Some solar powered devices help watering gardens and control sprinkler functioning based on video feeds from closed circuit TV cameras installed at different parts inside and outside of home surroundings. Access Control mechanisms: These are the primary requirements of any smart home. Security maintenance is a big challenge. The presently available solutions are offering solutions to nearly every safety need of house holds. The prime target of all these devices and smart technologies is to make home burglar and intruder proof. These systems need to make homes security breach proof. For this the available solutions range from, motion or occupancy sensors, wirelessly operable alarm systems, alert message generators during emergencies, door lock control and status sensors, window pane trackers, temperature, smoke and fire monitoring and sensing systems, washing machine water valve maintenance kit, Carbon Monoxide, Methane, LPG leakage sensors, automatic alert generation systems, garage shutter alerts, humidity alerts etc. Further, cash safes in the homes need to be guarded with very high strength. For this robber proof safes are available in numerous varieties depending on money. Further, the main gate and door st atus recorders, CCTV cameras arranged at different places would help monitor security status of home while staying far away form home also. Coordinated functioning of these surveillance systems help best maintain and guard security of home. Kitchen: Another important area where the home automation levels are best reflected is the kitchen. The supportive tools of smart home in kitchen include remote controlled micro wave ovens, coffee makers, wirelessly controllable dish washers, dangerous gas leakage sensors, automatic LPG cylinder operability, wirelessly controlling the power supply to kitchen etc. Some devices automatically switch off power supply to kitchen once cooking is over and motion sensors detect no movements there (Spacely Marketing Group, 2010). This helps minimise electric and gas hazards of kitchen. Lighting technologies: Technical devices like light dimmers, lighting appliance controller equipments help misguide thieves and intruders. These devices control the functioning of lights in the home to give an impression to the outside gazer that owners are present in the home. This helps keeping them away. Some shadow sensors arranged of window panes generate alarms and alert messages, if any suspected shadow falls on window glass panes. Further electric fences give protection from thieves and burglars. New entrants in this area of security appliances are robotic surveillance services, where pre programmed, and guard robots of different forms continue surveillance in all parts of the home and its surroundings. They are equipped with high resolution cameras and emergency response capabilities. Some times users may wish to use perimeters also. The list of smart home technologies presently available cannot be put in any single list. The most prominent and important services and common device functionalities are discussed here. But depending on the safety security needs and other special requirements users can choose from a wide spectrum of smart home solutions. Available solutions: Important service and technology provider of this generation smart homes is briefly discussed here. Smart Home Home Automation Superstore has a very big smart home services and devices list. Their product range includes, intercoms and phones, remote controlled devices, solar energy savers, shadow sensors, lighting dimmers related appliance control, door locking systems, thermostats temperature maintenance systems, timers alarm generators, pet maintenance equipment and many more like these (SMARTHOME, 2010c). Future of the concept: Future of the smart home concept is very bright. The future home security systems, that are under different development and research stages are focussing on adding artificial intelligence to the performance and functioning of these electronic and technical gadgets. The growing threats to home privacy and secured living, people are increasingly resorting to smart home solutions. With more advanced research in this regard the future security systems may be far more modern and strongly reliable. A normally accepted thing is that the future smart home systems largely rely on humanoid robots that are artificially intelligent and guarantee a highly secured and convenient living at home. Conclusion: The concept of smart homes is widely becoming popular with general public with moderate spending capacity. The market is also replete with wide variety of options to build and maintain smart homes. The presently available products and technical services are providing user friendly interfaces at the same time strong security for all aspects of home living. Given the current situation and the projected future of this dynamic concept, one can be sure that in near future theft and burglar proof homes and cities are on the anvil.

Politics in Animal Farm Essay -- Animal Farm

Politics in Animal Farm  Ã‚   In George Orwell’s Animal Farm we get a glimpse of a strange switch in totalitarian rule.   From Mr. Jones a cruel farmer who feeds his animals to little and works them to hard, to Napolean a pig that will have you killed for a bottle of liquor.   Through stupidity, narrow mindedness and pure cowardice of some animals we view the inevitable as the farm animals become ruled by pigs.   Old Major probably not the first animal to think of as an animal to ruin a utopia for the farm, is in most cases not a favored example to contribute to the pigs takeover.   This pig finally near the end of his better than average life chose to create a rebellion against the then in power Mr. Jones.   A truly justifiable act executed in a time to late, for Major died to soon to lead the farm.   If Old Major had summed up an ounce of courage in his closer to piglet years further and earlier then his dying days the animals might have had a chance of a better life.   Old Major can be see n as him being a late coward having what is thought on the farm to be a good life trying to end it a false legend or maybe Old Major was a slow hero wanting to leave a better life for his friends.   Still though we should agree that for Old Major’s failing action or neglect was the time he chose to start a rebellion, in the few days before he died. At one point in the story Napolean takes pups from a dog mother, this would seem strange to most parents a person wanting to raise your children in private without any visitation on the parent’s part, but yet this goes uncontested by the dogs who just seem to think nothing of it.   If the dogs had given Napolean contest to him taking the pups, maybe ... ...their greedy eyes they saw no reason to save the other farm animals.   The book gives as little evidence of any pig showing protest to Napoleon’s actions except of course Snowball and the other three executed pigs. Old Major chose a poor time to launch a rebellion.   The dogs showed little care for the outcome of their pups’ upbringing.   The hens’ independence could be seen as a bad action to the taking over of the farm.   If the sheep were genetically smarter the story’s course could have been changed.   Boxer’s tolerance of the pigs could have been a factor leading to his death.   Benjamin’s negligence could have been the downfall of the farm.   Lastly the remaining pigs selfishness is a contribution leading to the worse then average life of the farm animals.   All these animals were responsible for the pigs’ dictatorship.    Politics in Animal Farm Essay -- Animal Farm Politics in Animal Farm  Ã‚   In George Orwell’s Animal Farm we get a glimpse of a strange switch in totalitarian rule.   From Mr. Jones a cruel farmer who feeds his animals to little and works them to hard, to Napolean a pig that will have you killed for a bottle of liquor.   Through stupidity, narrow mindedness and pure cowardice of some animals we view the inevitable as the farm animals become ruled by pigs.   Old Major probably not the first animal to think of as an animal to ruin a utopia for the farm, is in most cases not a favored example to contribute to the pigs takeover.   This pig finally near the end of his better than average life chose to create a rebellion against the then in power Mr. Jones.   A truly justifiable act executed in a time to late, for Major died to soon to lead the farm.   If Old Major had summed up an ounce of courage in his closer to piglet years further and earlier then his dying days the animals might have had a chance of a better life.   Old Major can be see n as him being a late coward having what is thought on the farm to be a good life trying to end it a false legend or maybe Old Major was a slow hero wanting to leave a better life for his friends.   Still though we should agree that for Old Major’s failing action or neglect was the time he chose to start a rebellion, in the few days before he died. At one point in the story Napolean takes pups from a dog mother, this would seem strange to most parents a person wanting to raise your children in private without any visitation on the parent’s part, but yet this goes uncontested by the dogs who just seem to think nothing of it.   If the dogs had given Napolean contest to him taking the pups, maybe ... ...their greedy eyes they saw no reason to save the other farm animals.   The book gives as little evidence of any pig showing protest to Napoleon’s actions except of course Snowball and the other three executed pigs. Old Major chose a poor time to launch a rebellion.   The dogs showed little care for the outcome of their pups’ upbringing.   The hens’ independence could be seen as a bad action to the taking over of the farm.   If the sheep were genetically smarter the story’s course could have been changed.   Boxer’s tolerance of the pigs could have been a factor leading to his death.   Benjamin’s negligence could have been the downfall of the farm.   Lastly the remaining pigs selfishness is a contribution leading to the worse then average life of the farm animals.   All these animals were responsible for the pigs’ dictatorship.   

Age and Category Blocked Presentation :: essays research papers

Introduction The effect of age and category-blocked and random presentation on free recall and clustering is an important aspect of learning. Learning is a basic foundation of cognitive development. From the many aspects of learning, what we do to learn (the process) and what we learn (the outcome) are of great importance. From the day a child is born, she is exposed to a variety of stimuli; some of which she will pay attention to, others she will not. From those things which require her attention, she will either sort the information or compare it with what she already knows.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a previous study, Kail (1990) found that children memory capacity develop†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. It appears that individuals are able to recall items when they are categorically grouped (Lucariello & Nelson, 1985). There is evidence that age and presentation order has an affect on free recall (Yoshimura, Moely, & Shapiro, 1971). Memory/Recall Presentation Method Hypothesis The ability to learn new things and recall information is an important developmental task. As in the case of physical abilities, the appears to be a peak age for mental abilities. In examining the processes of memory, how the information is organized and presented has been of great discussion.. In another study of free recall and clustering, Moely and Shapiro (1971) found â€Å"clustering increased with age, but only with block presentation; and clustering was higher for the category blocked condition than for any other condition† (p. 490). Method Participants Ten children of kindergartener age and ten adults, ranging in age of 18-35 will participate in the study. The adults will be recruited through class announcements (Dr. Appleby’s B105) and email notifications (B346). The kindergartners will be recruited from the IUPUI Child Development Center. There will be consent forms given to the parents of the kindergartners and the adults will be asked to complete a consent form. Materials 23 black and white drawings of common items will be used (3 practice cards and 20 test items). The items are from common categories (food, toys, furniture, vehicles, body parts). The drawings will be mounted on 3 X 3 inch cards. We will use an individual data sheet to record the responses of each participant. Procedures Half of the participants in each age group will be presented with the pictures in block order; half are presented the pictures in random order. The experimenter will present the 20 items on at a time, along with a verbal label. The participant will repeat the verbal label after viewing each item. Age and Category Blocked Presentation :: essays research papers Introduction The effect of age and category-blocked and random presentation on free recall and clustering is an important aspect of learning. Learning is a basic foundation of cognitive development. From the many aspects of learning, what we do to learn (the process) and what we learn (the outcome) are of great importance. From the day a child is born, she is exposed to a variety of stimuli; some of which she will pay attention to, others she will not. From those things which require her attention, she will either sort the information or compare it with what she already knows.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a previous study, Kail (1990) found that children memory capacity develop†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. It appears that individuals are able to recall items when they are categorically grouped (Lucariello & Nelson, 1985). There is evidence that age and presentation order has an affect on free recall (Yoshimura, Moely, & Shapiro, 1971). Memory/Recall Presentation Method Hypothesis The ability to learn new things and recall information is an important developmental task. As in the case of physical abilities, the appears to be a peak age for mental abilities. In examining the processes of memory, how the information is organized and presented has been of great discussion.. In another study of free recall and clustering, Moely and Shapiro (1971) found â€Å"clustering increased with age, but only with block presentation; and clustering was higher for the category blocked condition than for any other condition† (p. 490). Method Participants Ten children of kindergartener age and ten adults, ranging in age of 18-35 will participate in the study. The adults will be recruited through class announcements (Dr. Appleby’s B105) and email notifications (B346). The kindergartners will be recruited from the IUPUI Child Development Center. There will be consent forms given to the parents of the kindergartners and the adults will be asked to complete a consent form. Materials 23 black and white drawings of common items will be used (3 practice cards and 20 test items). The items are from common categories (food, toys, furniture, vehicles, body parts). The drawings will be mounted on 3 X 3 inch cards. We will use an individual data sheet to record the responses of each participant. Procedures Half of the participants in each age group will be presented with the pictures in block order; half are presented the pictures in random order. The experimenter will present the 20 items on at a time, along with a verbal label. The participant will repeat the verbal label after viewing each item.