Influences On Normal Physical Essays - Growth Disorders,

Influences On Normal Physical Physical growth in early childhood is partially easy to measure and gives an idea of how children normally develop during this period. The average child in North America is less than three feet tall at two years of age. Physical growth contains no discrete stages, plateaus, or qualitative changes. Large differences may develop between individual children and among groups of children. Sometimes these differences affect the psychological development of young children. These differences create a nice variety among children. Most dimensions of growth are influenced by the child's genetic background. Also, races and ethnic backgrounds around the world differ in growth patterns. Nutrition can affect growth, but it does not override genetic factors. One factor in the cause of slow growth is malnutrition. Malnutrition can start as early as pregnancy. Low birth weight babies have an increased risk of infection and death during the first few weeks of life. Food-deprived children carry a greater risk of neurological deficiencies that result in poor vision, impaired educational attainment, and cerebral problems. Such children are also more prone to diseases such as malaria, respiratory tract infections or pneumonia. The illnesses of malnourished children can cause more lasting damage than in a healthy child. The destructive conjunction between low food intake and disease is magnified at the level of the hungry child. There is evidence, according to The Journal of Nutrition, that an estimated 50 percent of disease-related mortality among infants could be avoided if infant malnutrition were eradicated. It has also been shown that low birth- weight is associated with increased prevalence of diseases such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes in adult life. Most damage during the first few years of life cannot easily be undone. There are many reasons why some children never reach normal height. Some causes of short stature are well understood and can be corrected, but most are subjects of ongoing research. Achondroplasia is the most common growth defect in which abnormal body proportions are present. Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder of bone growth. It affects about one in every 26,000 births. It occurs in all races and in both sexes. It is one of the oldest recorded birth defects found as far back as Egyptian art. A child with achondroplasia has a relatively normal torso but short arms and legs. People sometimes think the child is mentally retarded because they are slow to sit, stand, and walk alone. In most cases, however, a child with achondroplasia has normal intelligence. Children with achondroplasia occasionally die suddenly in infancy or early childhood. These deaths usually occur during sleep and are thought to result from compression of the upper end of the spinal cord, which can interfere with breathing. This disease is caused by an abnormal gene. The discovery of the gene allowed the development of highly accurate prenatal tests that can diagnose or rule out achondroplasia. There is currently no way to normalize skeletal development of children with achondroplasia, so there is no cure. Growth hormone treatments, which increase height in some forms of short stature, do not substantially increase the height of children with achondroplasia. There is no way to prevent the majority of cases of achondroplasia, since these births result from totally unexpected gene mutations in unaffected parents. One treatment available for children is known as growth hormone therapy. The policy governing the use of growth hormone (GH) therapy has shifted from treating only those children with classic growth hormone deficiency to treating short children to improve their psycho social functioning. This has caused quite a controversy. Parents have described shorter boys as less socially competent and having more behavioral problems than that of the normal sample. Shorter boys describe themselves as less socially active but not having more behavioral problems than that of the normal group. This is according to a study conducted by the Children's Hospital of Buffalo and the State University of New York at Buffalo. The researchers conclude growth hormone therapy should not be administered routinely to all short children for the purpose of improving their psychological health. They urge that physicians consider both a child's short stature and psycho social functioning before making a referral for growth hormone therapy. Another factor in the growth of children is their change of appetite. Young preschoolers may eat less than they did as a toddler. This is also when they will become more selective and choosy with the foods they eat. These changes are normal and result from the slowing down of growth after infancy. Preschool children simply do not need as many calories

Insect Courtship Rituals and Mating Habits

Insect Courtship Rituals and Mating Habits Ah, romance. Because insects are so numerous, a good deal of work goes into finding a suitable mate. Females can be fickle, with such a wealth of insect bachelors from which to choose. If a male stands a chance at passing on his genes, hes got to do something to stand out in the crowd. Courtship rituals in insect mating include serenades, dances, nuptial gifts, physical touch, and even aphrodisiacs. Serenades Courtship songs differ from calling songs, which are broadcast from a distance to help females find the males. Crickets use distinct calling and courtship songs, for example. Once the female cricket is nearby, the male suitor sings his best courtship song to sweep her off her six feet. Fruit flies have no calling song but they do sing when a mate is in close range. The fruit fly male vibrates his wings in a pulsing, rhythmic pattern. His song lets the female know he is of the same species, and available to mate. Mosquitoes sing harmonic duets with each other, adjusting the frequencies of their songs simultaneously as they near the moment of copulation. Dances and Foreplay Any woman is a sucker for a man that can dance. Some male insects and spiders cha cha cha their way to love, performing elaborate dances for their chosen mates. Jumping spiders are famous for their ballroom skills. They can perform a linear dance, a zigzag dance, and even a sort of can-can with their forelegs. Certain male flies perform aerial dances around a female to attract her attention and win the right to mate with her. Some female insects like to be cuddled and caressed to get in the mood. This is especially true of the more primitive, wingless insects. Springtails, for instance, will touch each other with their antennae. Sperm transfer in apterygotes takes place externally, with the male depositing his sperm on a surface and then gently coaxing his partner to take it. Some dung beetles engage in a different kind of foreplay. Together, the pair rolls a ball of dung to serve as a nursery for their offspring. Nuptial Gifts Gift giving is another clever strategy employed by some male insects in their pursuit of a mate. Before seeking a partner, hangingfly males hunt and capture arthropod prey. They then lure a female closer using a chemical signal and offer her the food gift. She examines the prey, and if she finds the meal to her liking, they mate. If the gift is insufficient, she refuses his advance. Balloon flies take gift giving a step further by wrapping the prey in pretty, silken balloons. Females fly into a mating swarm of males and choose a partner, who presents her with his silk package. Dont give the males too much credit, though. Theyve actually learned to trick the females by offering them empty balloons. Some male insects, like Mormon crickets, produce a spermatophylax, a protein-rich wad which they attach to the females genitalia. The female eats the sperm-free offering, which may have cost the male a full 30% of his body weight. Thats a pretty substantial gift. Aphrodisiacs When all else fails, insects may try an aphrodisiac to make a partner willing to copulate. Male queen butterflies dust prospective mates with an aphrodisiac produced by hairpencils, brush-like appendages on the tip of the abdomen. If his magic dust works, she will fly to a nearby plant. He dusts her once more to be sure shes ready, and if she is, they consummate the marriage. On the other hand, insects sometimes employ anti-aphrodisiacs to turn away suitors. Certain ground beetle females produce methacrylic acid, a potent anti-aphrodisiac that not only repels males, which can knock them out for several hours. Male mealworm beetles apply anti-aphrodisiac pheromones to their female partners after mating, to make them less attractive to other males.

Alzheimer's Disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alzheimer's Disease - Research Paper Example Alzheimer is mostly seen in individuals who are above the age of forty five and it principally develops into dementia in its latter stages. It is characterized by loss of cognitive abilities which occurs due to the loss of normal brain functions. In the latter stages of Alzheimer Disease the sufferer becomes totally disoriented and shows memory loss such that he is not able to recognize his very close family members. (Evans et al, 1989; Gao et al, 1999). The primary feature of Alzheimer Disease is the atrophy of the cortex. But in some cases it is seen that neuritic processes may accumulate, abnormalities in cerebral nucleus may occur or amyloid angiopathy may be seen. It is seen that Alzhemier Disease does not show any symptoms early at age but after a person reaches 50 the symptoms become obvious. As an individual ages the chances of the disease increase even more often reaching to a level of 40% in individuals who are in their eighties ((Evans et al, 1989; Gao et al, 1999; Strauss et al 1999 ). Studies on the disease have shown that cortical atrophy is the major cause of the disease. The cerebral sulci become more prominent in the temporal, frontal and parietal lobes. To cover up for this atrophy usually the ventricle in the brain enlarges. Microscopic studies have shown that neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles accumulate along with amyloid angiopathy. Neuritic plaques are spherical neuritic processes which surround the central amyloid core in Alzheimer. Neurofibrillary tangles are a group of filaments which are found in the cytoplasm of the neurons that usually surround the nucleus. Amyloid angiopathy is a sign of Alzhemier Disease bu t it can also be found in other diseases. It is believed that Alzheimer later progresses to dementia in individuals because of loss of choline accetyltransferase, synaptophysin immunoreactivity and loss of synaptic transmission. It is believed that Alzheimer is primarily caused by a protein known as AÃŽ ². AÃŽ ² is

The Treaty of Versailles to the rise of Nazism in Germany Research Paper

The Treaty of Versailles to the rise of Nazism in Germany - Research Paper Example The allies crafting the treaty at the Paris Peace Conference were more interested in punishing Germany than securing long lasting peace. Ironically, the Treaty of Versailles was intended to make sure Germany was rendered too weak to wage war but due to its restrictive nature served to enrage and embolden factions within the beaten nation which fanned the flames of an emerging fanaticism. Germany not only lost massive amounts of land, economic sanctions caused severe hardships to a people trying to recover from the devastation of war. The worldwide depression in the 1930’s worsened the already desperate situation. In addition, German’s greatly resented foreign troops occupying parts of their country. The German government was weakened as a consequence of the ill conceived Treaty of Versailles which allowed for a fanatical form of fascism led by Adolph Hitler to flourish in Germany following World War I. (Henig, 2010). These issues, which were instigated by the Treaty of Versailles, caused Germany to again become aggressive against its neighboring countries which started WWII. The Treaty of Versailles was designed specifically to weaken Germany in many vital areas. Large sections of German territory were taken away and given to surrounding countries. France and Poland especially received lands that had been important to the Germany economy. Germany also lost all of its worldwide outposts to various allied nations. The new country of Austria was carved from previously held German lands as was the former Czechoslovakia, now called the Czech Republic. The allies were given all of Germany’s mercantile marine ships, another severe blow to the German economy. On top of that, the Treaty required Germany to construct civilian and war ships for selected Allied countries. The Treaty also placed stringent restrictions on the Germany’s capacity to defend itself or to wage war. Germany was not permitted to possess heavy guns, tanks, armored cars, u -boats, Zepplins or airplanes, no air force of any type was allowed. The defeated nation could keep no more than one hundred thousand troops in its army and fifteen thousand sailors in its navy. Germany was forbidden by the Treaty to import materials used for war and was made to pay steep reparations to the Allied nations as well as to the territories it ceded. All types of valuables were seized to make these payments such as precious metals, building materials, vehicles and ships. On top of that cash payments were mandated on an annual basis for years to come. The Treaty also greatly diluted Germany’s transportation system. It gave control of Germany’s railroads to Poland and placed Germany’s river system, an important transportation artery at that time, under foreign management. Poland also gained free use of Germany’s northern ports. (Bell, 1986) Though the Treaty of Versailles accomplished its intended purpose by crippling Germany’s military an d economy ensuring it too weak to wage war, this tactic caused the next great world war just 20 years later. The Allied delegation in Paris assumed they had been successful in both ending the â€Å"war to end all wars† and preventing Germany from ever again waging war against its neighbors in Europe. They were tragically mistaken. The Treaty contained strong language but weak enforcement characteristics. Many military and political leaders understood this from its inception and predicted the horrific consequences. The Treaty was â€Å"the peace to end peace†

The Real Chocolate Company Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Real Chocolate Company Inc - Essay Example With almost 300 chocolates in the portfolio and a further 100 turned out on special occasions like the Valentine’s Day, the company has achieved a marvelous feat of targeting every segment of the gourmet chocolate market. Â  The company’s success is determined by the quality and strange enough the quantity of the product. With a gamut of popular proprietary recipes of its own, the company has positioned itself in the US market with unparalleled success. Its use of the best ingredients and chocolates has led to the current wave of demand for its caramel-coated apples, truffles, toffees, and fudges among others which include even a range of sugar-free sweets. The company has been marketing a health-centric line of products to the health-conscious customer. Â  According to the National Confectioners’ Association (NCA), retail confectionery sales reached $ 28.9 billion in 2006 in the US while retail chocolate sales surpassed $ 16.3 billion in the same year. The gourmet chocolate consumption is about 10% of the total and was worth $ 1.3 billion in 2005. Multinational chocolate marketers like Master Foods USA, Nestle USA Inc., Crafts Food Inc. and Ferrero USA Inc. have captured a sizeable market for each while upcoming firms like RCC Inc. has been dependent on the innovation-related strategic strength. Such strategic initiatives necessarily require a shift in both internal and external operational policies. Â  Business strategy encompasses a series of other segmental operations that themselves can be regarded as sub-strategies within the holistic process of overall business strategy. For instance, operational or production strategy and marketing strategy are all part of the business strategy of the company.

Antibody Level After Hepatitis B Vaccination in Hemodialysis

Antibody Level After Hepatitis B Vaccination in Hemodialysis ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the antibody level after Hepatitis B vaccination in chronic hemodialysis patients. METHOD: All patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis (HD) at the dialysis unit of Liaquat National Hospital, fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled between April 2013 and September 2013, after taking informed consent. AntiHbs (Hepatitis B surface antibody) titers were measured. Patients were differentiated as Immune and nonimmune based on antibody titers, with levels of >10 IU/l being considered as immune and levels of RESULTS: Out of 118 patients enrolled, 103 (87.3%) had an adequate antibody response and were considered immune while only 15 patients (12.7%) had an inadequate antibody response rendering them non immune. AntiHbs titers showed no significant co-relation with gender and duration of Hemodialysis therapy (p>0.05), while age was found to have significant correlation as younger age group ( CONCLUSION: Our study showed a very good Antibody response to Hepatitis B vaccination among hemodialysis patients that correlated with age with younger age group having a better response but no correlation to gender and duration of dialysis. KEYWORDS: Hepatitis B virus, Anti-HBs antibody, Hemodialysis, Prevalence, Vaccination. INTRODUCTION Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a common but avoidable disease. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a DNA virus that can be communicated via saliva, body fluids, semen, vaginal fluids, blood products, sexual contacts or prenatally influencing 350-400 million persons round the globe (1-3). In contrast to general population, hemodialysis patients are at higher risk of acquiring Hepatitis B Virus because of direct exposure to blood products, shared hemodialysis devices, needle pricks and hemodialysis process which involve access to blood circulation.(4) Hence, Hemodialysis patients are vulnerable to infections with Hepatitis B Virus and hepatitis C virus (HCV). The prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus in hemodialysis (HD) patients varies significantly between countries, ranging from minimal in developed countries to very high in some developing countries. Despite the fact that many steps have been taken for the prevention of HBV infection like mass vaccination programs, implementation of thoroug h blood donor screening, awareness encouragement programs of erythropoietin use and generalize availability in hemodialysis centers, Hepatitis B Virus infection remains a major concern in Hemodialysis centers majorly in developing countries (5). Patients who are on maintenance hemodialysis are considered as high-risk group, resulting in high incidence and mortality. Therefore, to vaccinate them against the virus is mandatory. Compared to a response rate of over 90% in the normal population, only 50 to 60% of those with end-stage renal disease achieve adequate antibody levels following immunization (6, 7). Various tactics have been employed to overcome the low seroconversion rate like co-administering zinc, gamma-interferon, thymopentin, interleukin-2, and levamisole as immunostimulants or adjuvants as well as changing the injection mode (intradermal versus intramuscular) or doubling the vaccine dose (7, 8). Low immune response to hepatitis B vaccination in patients on HD is noticed in several studies but has never been studied in our population. Therefore our aim is to conduct a study in our population to determine the serum Anti-Hbs levels in these patients following vaccination. MATERIAL METHODS From April 2013 to September 2013, 118 patients undergoing HD in Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College were screened for anti-HBs. A questionnaire was used to collect the demographic data and duration of HD. All patients were included in HD unit who underwent primary vaccination within last one year (four doses: recombinant HB vaccine; 40 ug, i.m, at 0, 1, 2 and 6 months). Exclusion criteria included patients on immunosuppressive drugs, malignancy or HIV positive patients. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA,Biokit, Spain) was used to measure Anti-HBs antibodies titers. The data was analyzed by SPSS  ® for windows ® (version 14.0 Chicago, IL, USA). A p value RESULTS We enrolled total of 118 patients on Hemodialysis who were recently vaccinated. Demographics are shown in Figure 1.Patient’s age ranged from 20-71 years. 46.6 %( N=55) were Male with mean age 53.2  ±10.02 yrs and 53.1 %( N=63) were Females with mean Age of 51.59  ±10.63 yrs. Age was found to have significant impact on Hepatitis B surface antibody titer with patients 0.05). Out of 118 patients, 15 (12.7%) were found to have Inadequate response or Non-immune, where as, 104 (87.3%) had an Adequate response and responded well to the immunization. Duration on Hemodialysis ranges from 1-4 yr with mean duration of 1.97 ±0.77 years, most of the patients had less than 3 years of Hemodialysis 97.5% (N=115/118) and only 3 patients (2.5%) were in year 4. Duration of Hemodialysis failed to show any significant impact on Hepatitis B vaccination response rate (p>0.05). DISCUSSION: An increased risk of exposure to HBV infection is observed in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (9) It has been observed that after vaccination for Hepatitis B, hemodialysis patients develop lower antibody titers compared to healthy individuals, and even if they are immunized, their antibody titers falls shortly within a year(10). The present study showed a very high response to hepatitis-B vaccination among hemodialysis patients. One hundred and four (87.6%) patients showed good antibody response after vaccination. Previous studies in hemodialysis patients have shown a variable hepatitis-B vaccination response rate, ranging from 47%-73%.(11-13).Comparable good results to hepatitis-B vaccination in hemodialysis patients had also been observed in areas with intermediate endemicity (2-8%) prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus ,such as in Brazil , which approached 89.5% in one study.(14) A recent meta-analysis of 17 clinical trials showed decreased response to hepatitis-B vaccination among older dialysis patients(15) which might be attributed to age associated changes to immune status, where â€Å"older† was defined at age 50 yrs. Our patients mean age were 52.3 ±10.04 yrs correlating with Meta analysis age group, and our results are similar with older patients having less immune response.(11, 16, 17) In the present study, gender and duration of hemodialysis therapy did not have any correlation to hepatitis-B vaccination. These results are in agreement with those reported by Peces et al .(18).Dacko et al.(16) and Tele et al(14).Similarly, Roozbeh et al(19) also confirmed the same results and showed that gender did not differ between responders (immune) and non-responders (non-immune) to hepatitis-B vaccination. CONCLUSION: We report a very good response to hepatitis-B vaccination among hemodialysis patients that is neither co-relating with gender or duration of hemodialysis. This was a preliminary study in our population which only estimated the response rate against vaccination. Future studies are needed to determine the impact of nutrional status and adequacy of hemodialysis on the response rate of vaccination as previous studies has shown their influences over titer levels.

The Two Different Cases Regarding Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

The Two Different Cases Regarding Capital Punishment Thesis : In principle a case can be made on moral grounds both supporting and opposing capital punishment. Two different cases can be made. One is based on justice and the nature of a moral community. This leads to a defense of capital punishment. The second is based on love and the nature of an ideal spiritual community. This leads to a rejection of capital punishment. JUSTICE AND THE NATURE OF MORAL COMMUNITY A central principal of a just society is that every person has an equal right to "life, liberity, and happiness." Within that, an arguement for capital punishment forms along the following lines: some acts are so evil and so destructive of a community that they void the right of the perpetrator to life. A community founded on moral principals has specific requirements. The right to belong to a community is not unconditional. The privilege of living and pursuing the good life in society is not certain. The essential reason on which community is built requires each citizen to honor the rightful claims of others. The precious live in a moral community must be so highly honored that those who do not honor the life of others void their own right to membership. Those who violate the personhood of others, especially if this is done persistently as a habit must pay the ultimate price. This must be done for the sake of the community which was violated. We can debate whether some non-lethal alternative is a suitable substitute for the death penalty. But the standard of judgment is whether the punishment fits the crime and if it honors the nature of the moral community. LOVE AND AN IDEAL SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY Christian live, is unconditional. It does not depend on the worthiness or value of those to whom it is directed. It is persistent in seeking the good of others regardless of whether they return the favor or even deserve to be treated well on the basis of their own wrongdoing. An ideal community would be made up pf free and equal citizens devoted to a balance between individual needs and the advancement of common good. Communal life would be based on mutual love in which equality of giving and receiving was the social practise. Everyone would contribute to the best of ability. What would a community based on this kind of love do with those who committed brutal acts of terror, violence, and murder? Put negatively, it would not live by the philosophy of "an eye for an eye,a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a

Tasks in Market Segmentation

Tasks in Market Segmentation 1. Analyze consumer product relationship 2. Investigate segmentation bases 3. Develop product positioning 4. Select segmentation strategy 5. Design marketing mix strategy The first task in segmenting the market is Analyze consumer product relationships—this entail the analysis of the affect and cognition, behaviour, and environments involved in the purchase/consumption process. 3 general approaches to this task— 1. Marketing managers may brainstorm the product concept and consider what types of consumers are likely to purchase and use the product and how they differ from those less likely to buy. . Focus groups and other types of primary research can be used for identifying differences in attributes, benefits, and values of various potential markets 3. Secondary research may further investigate differences in potential target markets, determine the relative sizes of those markets, and develop a better understanding of consumers of this or si milar products Investigate segmentation bases. There are no simple way to determine the best bases for segmenting markets. Benefit segmentation. The benefits people seek in consuming a given product are the basic reasons for the existence of true market segments.Psychographic segmentation. Differences on consumer lifestyles. Activities(work, hobbies, vacations), interests (family, job community), opinions9social issues, policitcs, business) Person/situation. Market can be divided on the basis of usage situation. Example: clothes and footwear—market are divided on the basis of sex, size, usage situation or social events Geodemographic segmentation. Identifies specific households in market focusing on local neighbourhood geography (such as zip codes) to create classifications of actual addressable, mappable neighbourhood where consumers live and shop.Develop product positioning. Positioning the product relative to competing products in the minds of consumers. Objective: to form a particular brand image in consumers’ minds 5 approaches to positioning strategy: 1. Positioning by attribute. Most common positioning strategy associating a product with an attribute, a product feature, or a customer feature. Example: toothpaste –fights cavity, whitens teeth 2. By use or application. Represents a 2nd or 3rd position designed to expand the market. Example: Cellphone—texting, 2nd videocam, 3rd–email 3. By product user or class user.Associating with a specific lifestyle profile. Example: alcohol—pampamilya na pangsports pa 4. By product class. Example: camay—beauty soap, safeguard—family soap, ivory-mild soap for sensitive skin 5. By competitors. To convince consumers that a brand is better than the market leader or another well-accepted brand on important attributes. Commonly done in advertisement where competitor is compared. Example: tide compared with brand x and brand y Positioning Map. A visual depiction of cons umers perceptions of competitive products, brands, or models.It is done by surveying consumers about various product attributes and developing dimensions and graph indicating the relative positions of competitors. Select Segmentation Strategy Four Basic Alternatives 1. The firm may decide not to enter the market. This may mean there are no viable market niche for the product or brand or model. 2. The firm may decide not to segment but to mass marketer. This may be appropriate in three situations— a. When the market is so small that marketing to portion of it is not profitable b.When heavy users make up such a large proportion of the sales volume that they are the only relevant target. c. When the brand is dominant in the market and targeting to a few segments would not benefit sales and profits. 3. The firm may decide to market to only one segment 4. The firm may decide to market to more than one segment and design a separate marketing strategy each. Three Important Criteria to Base Segmentation Strategy Decisions: 1. Measurable. Be able to measure size and characteristics. Example: income 2.Meaningful. Segment is large enough to have sufficient sales and growth potential to offer long-run profits. 3. Marketable. Can be reached and serve profitably. Consumer Behavior and Product Strategy Product affect and cognition: Satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Consumer satisfaction is critical in marketing thought and consumer research. Satisfied more likely to purchase the product; dissatisfied more likely to switch products or brand. Expectancy disconfirmation with performance approach is a current approach in studying satisfaction.This approach views consumer satisfaction as the degree to which a product or service provides a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfilment. It is a degree to which a product performance exceeds the consumers expectations. Prepurchase expectations are consumers beliefs about anticipated performance of the product. Postpurcha se perceptions are consumer’s thoughts about how well the product performed. Disconfirmation refers to difference between the two perceptions. 3 types of disconfirmation: 1. Positive disconfirmation occurs when product performance is better than expected.This lead to satisfaction or a pleasurable level of fulfilment. 2. Negative disconfirmation occurs when product performance is lower than expected. This thought lead to dissatisfaction. 3. Neutral disconfirmation occurs when performance perceptions just meet expectations. Product Behavior Major objective of marketing is to increase the probability and frequency of consumers coming into contact with products, purchasing and using them and repurchasing them. Two classes of consumer behavior: 1. Product Contact. Involves behavior such as locating the product in the store, examining it, and taking it to the check out counter.A consumer may receive free sample in the mail, or on the doorstep on be given sample in the store, borrow product from a friend and use it, receive a product as a gift, or simply see someone else sue the product and experience it vicariously. 2. Brand Loyalty/Variety Seeking. For consumers to be brand loyal, they must not only purchase the same brand repeatedly but also has cognitive commitment to do so. Brand must have sufficient meaning for them that they purchase it not because of convenience or deals but because the brand represents important benefits or values to them.Brand loyalty is an intrinsic commitment to repeatedly purchase a particular brand. It is differentiated from repeat purchase behaviour because it focuses only on the behavioural action without concern for the reasons for the habitual response. Variety seeking is a cognitive commitment to purchase different brands because of factors such as the stimulation involved in trying different brands, curiosity, novelty, or overcoming boredom with the same old thing. Useful strategies for loyal customers: 1. If the only profi table segment is the brand loyal heavy user, focus on switching consumer loyalty to the firm’s brands 2.If there is sufficient number of brand loyal light users, focus on increasing their usage of the firm’s brand 3. If there is a sufficient number of variety-seeking heavy users, attempt to make the firm’s brand name a salient attribute and/or develop a new relative advantage. 4. If there is a sufficient number of variety-seeking light users, attempt to make the firm’s brand name a salient attribute and increase usage of the brand among consumers, perhaps by finding sustainable relative advantage. Product Environment Refers to product-related stimuli that consumers attend and comprehend.Majority of this stimuli are received through the sense of sight. Example: How a cloth feels so smooth influences consumer affect, cognition, and behavior. Two types of environmental stimuli: 1. Product attributes. Major stimuli that influence consumer affect, cognition, a nd behavior. Consumers may evaluate these attributes in terms of their own values, beliefs, and past experiences. 2. Packaging. Element of the product environment on which marketers spend billions annually. Packaging objectives: 1. Should protect the product as it moves through the channel to the consumer. 2.Should be economical and not add undue cost to the product 3. Should allow convenient storage and use of the product by consumer 4. Can be used effectively to promote the product to the consumer. Package sizes can influence not only which brands consumers choose but also how much of a product they use on particular occasions. Package colors are thought to have an important impact on consumers affect, cognition, and behavior. Colors can connote meaning and can be used strategically. Brand identification and Label Information on the package provide additional stimuli for consideration by the consumer.It simplifies purchase and for the consumer and make the loyalty development proc ess possible. Label information includes instructions, contents, lists of ingredients or raw materials, warnings for use and care of the product. Product Strategy. Designed to influence consumers in both the short and long run. In the short-run, new product strategies aim to influence consumers to try the product; in the long run, product strategies are designed to develop brand loyalty and obtain large market shares. A critical aspect of designing product strategies involves analyzing consumer-product relationships.This means consumer product-related affect, cognition, behavior, and environments should be carefully considered in new-product life cycle. Characteristics of Consumers; 1. Innovators 2. Early adopters 3. Early majority 4. Late majority 5. Laggards Characteristics of Products 1. Compatibility. How will does this product fit consumers’ current affect and cognitions, and behaviours? –degree to which product is consistent with consistent with consumers current affect, cognition and behavior. 2. Trialability. Can consumers try the product on a limited basis with little risk? -degree of which product can be tried on a limited basis or divided into small quantities for an inexpensive trial. 3. Observability. Do consumers see or otherwise sense this product? –degree to which products or their effects can be sensed by other consumers.4. Speed. How soon do consumers experience the benefits of the product? –refers to how rapid consumers experience the benefits of the product. 5. Simplicity. How easy it is for consumers to understand and use the product? –the degree to which a product is easy for a consumer to understand and use. 6. Competitive advantage. What makes this product better than competitive offerings? -the degree to which an item has sustainable competitive advantage over other product classes, product forms, and brands. 7. Product symbolism. What does this product mean to consumers? –refers to what the pr oduct or brand means to the consumer and what the consumer experiences in purchasing and using it. Consumer researchers recognize that some products possess symbolic features and that consumption of them may depend more on their social and psychological meaning than on their functional utility. 8. Marketing strategy. What is the role of other marketing mix elements in creating a functional or image-related relative advantage?Favorable image is created through the other elements of the marketing mix. Promotion in the form of advertising is commonly used to create a favorable image for the brand by pairing it with positively evaluated stimuli such as attractive model. Price. Create brand images as well as provide functional competitive advantage. Consumers perceived a relationship between price and quality. Price can position a brand as a good value for their money. Distribution. Good site locations and a large number of outlets are important advantage esp in the food markets

A Dolls House1 essays

A Dolls House1 essays In A Dolls House, the main character Nora, is potraide across to the reader through her verbal and physical actions. She is also described through other characters views and discussions about her. She is represented as a manipulative, selfish and spoilt woman that in the end works it out for herself and leaves. Nora has some certain smartness about her to get what she wants, her ability to manipulate her husband without it looking obvious. Shown on (P.167), Nora is influencing her husband without him knowing it, she is able to get him to think his the reason for why Mrs. Linde came to visit to please me? quote HELMER, and that he is an able man. She made it up on the spot. Her selfishness, Oh how thoughtless of me! Here I am.... Quote NORA but then she goes on talking again. Nora is a woman that likes money and with such reference to the word several times on every second page in Act One, it shows the great deal of importance to which their lives are based around. But it costs a terrible lot of money..., ...its very lucky to have money(P.156). For one, this book is based around Noras secret of the loan she got from the bank and how she forged the signatures. Nora can be described as the doll in the house, a child almost, throughout the play this is shown, like when she was asking about her childrens adventures outside. [At last, NORA hides under the table. The CHILDREN come running in to look for her](P.169). She takes their cotes off and likes to do all the fun things, as a child would do. Like playing with a doll. She lives in a house, described on the first page of the play (P.147), that sounds exactly like a beautiful setting of a room in dolls house, suggesting that Nora lives in one and therefore is a Doll. A dolls house doesnt exist without the interaction between the young child playing with one doll and playin ...

Free Essays on Internet Security

, images, sounds, and video. The Internet is continuing to grow at 40% a year, with about 20 million users, mainly in USA, Canada, and Australia, but still many all over the world. You can do many things on the Internet, such as shop for just about anything, bank and manage money, watch and listen to live cable televison and radio broadcasts, talk to other users with voice like a telephone, conduct international meetings, and access all kinds of information on any subject imaginable. As mentioned earlier, the WWW consists of pages and pages of text, images, sounds, and video. Unlike pages in a book, there is no maximum size for a page, and there is HyperText Links. If you click on any one of these links, the computer will automatically go to the page specified by the link. The WWW is programmed in a computer language called Hyper Text Markup Language, or HTML. Searching the Web can be a difficult thing to do, or if you use a search engine, it can be really easy. Since so many new web pages are added to the Web a day, a very good index is hard to keep, and an alphabetical listing of millions of web pages would be almost impossible to navigate through. To help this problem, people developed search engines that search the Web for you. Some search engines, like Yahoo, search in a big web directory they have made of hundreds of thousands of web ... Free Essays on Internet Security Free Essays on Internet Security He doesn't wear a stocking mask over his face, and he doesn't break a window to get into your house. He doesn't hold a gun to your head, nor does he ransack your personal possessions. Just the same he's a thief. Although this thief is one you'll not only never see,but you may not even realize right away that he's robbed you. The thief is a computer hacker and he "enters" your home via your computer, accessing personal information such as credit card numbers which he could then use without your knowledge at least until you get that next credit card statement. RichardBernes, supervisor of the FBI's Hi-Tech squad in San Jose, California, calls the Internet "the unlocked window in cyberspace through which thieves crawl" (Erickson 1). There seems to be an unlimited potential for theft of credit card numbers, bank statements and other financial and personal information transmitted over the Internet. It's hard to imagine that anyone in today's technologically oriented world could function without computers. Personal computers are linked to business computers and financial networks, and all are linked together via the Internet or other networks. More than a hundred million electronic messages travel through cyberspace every day, and every piece of information stored in a computer is vulnerable to attack (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). Yesterday's bank robbers have become today's computer hackers. They can walk away from a computer crime with millions of virtual dollars (in the form of information they can use or sell for an enormous profit). Walking away is precisely what they do. The National Computer Crimes Squad estimates that 85-97 % of the time, theft of information from computers is not even detected (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). Home computer users are vulnerable, not only for credit card information and login IDs, but also their files, disks, and other computer equipment and dat a, which are subject to attack. Even if this information i... Free Essays on Internet Security The Internet, or ?net, is a vast network of computers that connects many of the world's businesses, institutions, and individuals. The Internet is composed of many parts, including the World Wide Web, FTP, IRC, Newsgroups, Gopher, WAIS, Archie, and of course Electronic Mail (Email). The Internet is mainly used for communication. Email is the most heavily used resource of the Internet- over 40 million email messages are sent through the Internet a day. The second most used resource, called the World Wide Web, or WWW, consists of pages of words, images, sounds, and video. The Internet is continuing to grow at 40% a year, with about 20 million users, mainly in USA, Canada, and Australia, but still many all over the world. You can do many things on the Internet, such as shop for just about anything, bank and manage money, watch and listen to live cable televison and radio broadcasts, talk to other users with voice like a telephone, conduct international meetings, and access all kinds of information on any subject imaginable. As mentioned earlier, the WWW consists of pages and pages of text, images, sounds, and video. Unlike pages in a book, there is no maximum size for a page, and there is HyperText Links. If you click on any one of these links, the computer will automatically go to the page specified by the link. The WWW is programmed in a computer language called Hyper Text Markup Language, or HTML. Searching the Web can be a difficult thing to do, or if you use a search engine, it can be really easy. Since so many new web pages are added to the Web a day, a very good index is hard to keep, and an alphabetical listing of millions of web pages would be almost impossible to navigate through. To help this problem, people developed search engines that search the Web for you. Some search engines, like Yahoo, search in a big web directory they have made of hundreds of thousands of web ... Free Essays on Internet Security Internet security in one of the hottest topics in the e-commerce industry today. Industry experts predict security issues on the Internet are the primary reasons many companies and consumers are hesitant to do business online. The Internet is a large-scale network of systems that is highly unbounded. This means it has no system of administrative control and no security policies. If there are security policies or laws they constantly need to be altered because of the changing technology. You are always up for an attack or an intrusion of your own privacy. Survivability is the key. Just the simple task of checking email, browsing, chatrooms, or even shopping can be harmful. You can be safe in this environment but you must always be on the alert for problems. Three kinds of Internet security issues that are the topic of conversation; Unauthorized access, back doors and loopholes and, the potential threat of confidential information sent over the internet can be viewed (Scott, 1998). There are several ways you can become a victim of these issues. Email, browsing, shopping or banking and chat rooms are a potential threat for your security. Email can be a type of security issue. America Online, Inc. was forced to admit that hackers had accessed member accounts recently through an email virus. Sending and receiving email from unknown people can cause a hazard. You can make common mistakes by revealing your identity from digital signatures and sending personal pictures of yourself. Although, it is highly unlikely for someone to capture your mail while it is in route to its destination, you should always think about whom you are sending this mail to. Encrypting also is a valuable key is you are mailing confidential information. Mostly email comes from a person or a group listed in the email. Sometimes people deliberately provide the wrong information in the listing. A security conscious user last year noticed five new email me...

How and when the orginal 13 colonies was founded Essay

How and when the orginal 13 colonies was founded - Essay Example Massachusetts was next, founded in 1620, followed by New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and, finally, Georgia, which were founded in 1623, 1634, 1635, 1636, 1638, 1653, 1663, 1664, 1664, 1682 and 1732 respectively. Thus, Virginia was first of the colonies to be founded, and Georgia the last. Of course, during this time other colonies were also founded, which now are part of Canada and West Indies, however, this paper shall only talk about the original thirteen colonies established in what is now the United States. Originally, there were many different European countries from where all these immigrants came to establish these colonies, and there were many a war fought as a result of disputes of land and property, however, soon only England and France had the most presence here. The people who originally came here in the newly founded colonies wanted to be free to practice their own religion, and wanted to be independent from their respective governments (mostly European), to form their own form of government and be free to trade as they wanted to. Originally, most of the people who came over were basically running away from religious persecution, however, later on a lot of people came to work here and to make money. Those who came here to work normally came alone, without their families and worked in shipyards and ironworks. Those who came here to make money also bought plantations, and such people brought their families with them so that they could settle here and start their lives here. There were many laws made that reflect on the mindset of the people who came to settle here in the new colonies. The Pilgrims and the Quakers, for instance, had come from England to flee from religious persecution that they faced back in England, that is why, when they came

Daves Success With the Wendys Restaurant Case Study - 2

Daves Success With the Wendys Restaurant - Case Study Example Dave afterward opened his own restaurant and called it Wendy’s restaurant and started selling the food that he loves-fresh hamburgers, inspite of being advised that the market was saturated. This is a true spirit of an entrepreneur; an individual who sees an opportunity where there is none and creates something completely new and different from what everyone is offering. In addition, Dave Thomas comes up with fresh ideas and starts a strategy that is different from other businesses by providing fresh and quality food. Earlier on, he had worked at KFC selling fried chicken, but then he saw an opportunity in the market for selling fresh hamburgers. This is also something that he loved and entrepreneurs usually should start something that they love. All Dave’s ideas are successful which proves that he has the makings of a great entrepreneur.  Dave’s success with the first Wendy’s restaurant came from the fact that he offered something completely new, appeal ing and different from what others were doing –Dave offered quality and freshness and allowed customers to make orders for what they wanted. Dave was able to differentiate his product offering by selling made-to-order hamburgers, chili, French fries, (real) milkshakes and soft drinks. For an entrepreneur to succeed in any business s/he must cut a market niche for himself/herself and offer customers unique and quality products/services not available anywhere else. This unique competitive advantage became a game changer in the industry and by the sixth week, Dave had broken even. Dave simply implies that for a business to be successful it has to satisfy the needs of its customers by offering what the customer wants; in other words, providing value as well as satisfying the customer. He also implies that the business owner should aim at achieving his key objectives/reasons for starting the business.