Saturday, August 31, 2019

Make Prejudice and Discrimination a Subject in School Essay

Because of the immigration in the world and the great assimilation that are in progress prejudices and discrimination are more important than never before. People need to learn from young ages that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what color your skin is, the only thing that matters is your personality and how you respond to other people. Yesterday, in Stockholm, I was talking to my cousin and she told me that I never should live in Tensta because, according to her, it’s a very dangerous place because it only lives criminals there. Personally I’m sure that the majority of the people in Tensta are normal, nice people that never have done anything criminal – it’s only her prejudices that say something different. I see every day how common prejudices are, my friends have prejudices, my family has prejudices and I, that see myself as a very prejudices free person, find sometimes that even I have some prejudices. Discrimination is unfortunately also common in our society. A while ago I read a study that professors at the Linnà © university in Kalmar had written and it showed that the majority of the companies in Sweden discriminated people with Arabic names. If there were two persons with exactly the same qualities and experience in the study, and one of them was named Martin Johansson and the other Abd al Hakim only the first would be called to an interview while the second would be sorted away immediately. But I think that it is easy to forget and that we have to remember that discrimination can work in every way – white against black, black against white, men against women, women against men, and so on. Therefore I believe that we have to work for a society that is equal on every scale. I think that a way to solve the problem with prejudices and discrimination is to make it a main subject in school. In that way every kid in Sweden would get information about and be able to discus prejudices and discrimination every week from the age of 6 to 16. I believe that information and knowledge are the key to everything, and in this case the key to an equal society without prejudices and discrimination.

Friday, August 30, 2019

And Still We Rise Essay Essay

It is a unique experience to be rendered completely helpless, to be put completely at the mercy of another human being by force. I have felt complete submission of this kind once in my life; I lay on the cold, wet grass, confused, slowly regaining consciousness after being choked out. As I look back on how I have lived my life over the past couple years, this incident is one of the most influential factors. After being so overpowered by another man, I decided that I could never let this kind of thing happen to me again. I became extremely motivated to lift weights, and to learn wrestling and MMA. This experience changed my expectations for myself and helped me realize that it is in my hands to decide how I am perceived. It was a dispute over nothing. Two guys, driven by a natural instinct to fight, finding an excuse to challenge each other. These two guys were me, a scrawny, 100lb 8th grader, and Collin a well built 22 year old. We were sitting around a bon fire with five other friends, but only six fold-out chairs. Collin suggested tap out to decide who got the last chair, and the next thing I remember is the utterly confused feeling as I regained my senses one by one. It was a full minute before I really knew what had happened: unable to break a choke hold, I had refused to tap out and collapsed unconscious on the ground. It is hard to describe the mix of relief and humiliation that I felt as I walked away from the incident. Even though I trusted and respected Collin, he had just proved my vulnerability and made me realize my lack of confidence. I did not, however, accept my defenselessness and move on. I realized that there was no reason for me to have settled for my skinny pathetic build, and I hit the weights. I started lifting six days a week a friend of mine and within three months, had put on fifteen pounds of muscle. A full year later, I weighed 155 and bench pressed over 200lbs. This incident is also one of the main reasons I started wrestling, a sport that I have grown to love and excel in. To complete my self-improvement plan, I took a few MMA classes and got some sparring equipment and a heavy bag to practice on. Since then, I’ve spent hours in my garage letting my anger out on that bag to staying in wrestling shape. Of course I am no were close to my vision for myself, still only 5’ 8†, and well below my goal of muscular development, but I can see that it is possible. This whole process has taught me that I am I control of my own destiny. Any goal is attainable if you work for it, and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. This event was not the only factor contributing to my decision to change, I hated being skinny. It was however an incredible catalyst, giving me a specific reason around which to focus my efforts. It made me realize that you are born with no restrictions. No matter what your natural conditions are, they can be changed and formed to fit your ideals. Furthermore, it’s up to you to change them and the effort you put in will be directly reflected in your outcome. This experience brought to light that, when I have a goal in mind, I am incredibly motivated and focused. It has shown that I can maintain interest in a goal and continually set the bar higher and higher. This experience has changed the way I perceive and carry myself. It has shaped me into someone who is comfortable with their abilities and willing to work to improve themselves. It has shown my ability to let setbacks help me grow and demonstrated my strong self motivation. Ultimately, I am very thankful for Collin and what he did for me, in a sense, being completely helpless has been one of the most empowering situations of my life so far.

Hippie Culture Essay

Few social movements marked the twentieth century in the United States as the protest movement of the 1960s. However, despite the scope and scale of such a wide movement that encapsulated so many different peoples and causes, including voting rights, women’s rights, civil rights, and ending the war in Vietnam, the movement is better known by a stereotype of the type of people that seemed so instrumental in perpetuating the movement: hippies. Though the great majority of those in the protest movement were not hippies, the movies, music, and cultural events that marked the times were dominated by hippie culture, and few events represented this fact as the stereotype-reinforcing Woodstock Music Festival. By the time Woodstock happened in 1969, the hippie movement was already something that had been growing the entire decade and most people who were not hippies had a good idea what a hippie was. If one would have to describe a hippie then, it could be said to be a young man or woman that was dirty, hairy, unemployed, and on drugs. While these are only a few attributes ascribed to a few hippies, the stereotypes became so strong that they were hard to remove from the other significant contributions they made, including in music, art, culture, and social awareness. So, while hippies were far more complex than most people chose to see them, they were pigeonholed to the stereotype of spoiled middle-class kids with too much time and freedom, and who refused to do their patriotic duties as their mothers and fathers had done before them, most specifically by starting families and fighting in the country’s wars. However, the decade leading up to Woodstock only helped reinforce many of these stereotypes. Hippie culture could have been said to begin the words and ideas of the Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and others. These writers laid the foundation for the rebellious, anti-establishment ideals that would come to be so strongly embraced by the hippie culture during the 1960s. However, it would be Bob Dylan, who was strongly influenced by the Beats, who would use their ideas in his folk music. Dylan’s popularity not only made folk music popular, but his songwriting also tackled many of the issues of the time, including war, civil rights, and the basic questions of whether America was heading in the right direction, and if not, why. Dylan’s music influenced the songwriting of almost every major recording artist that came after him, or at least any that achieved any amount of success. Through Dylan and those he influenced, music became the first defining characteristic of hippie culture, showing a long history of music defining cultural movements and times through its almost religious effect on those that listen to it. Religious forces, like art, music, and everything that inspires classification as sacred, Emile Durkheim (1965) writes: â€Å"do not translate the manner in which physical things affect our senses, but the way in which the collective consciousness acts upon individual consciousnesses† (1965, p. 254). Music has the ability to act as a symbol of this collective consciousness, bringing the masses together to celebrate a shared philosophy or perspective. While many contend that art and music is nothing more than an escape from the everyday anxieties that life offers up, it is far more than that. Similar to the sacred in religion, which Durkheim asserts is not rooted in fear as humanist and existentialist theorists claim, but in the idealism of the collective mentality, music becomes sacred when presented in a way that appeals to the individual and the collective. Music and those who perform it act in ways similar to religious totems, representing the ideals of the collective and how they inhabit the individual, and take their roots in exhalation and celebration. According to Durkheim, â€Å"In fine, the sentiments at the root of totemism are those of happy confidence rather than terror and compression† (1965, p. 56). Music became the inspiration for hippie culture and gave them the confidence to fight back against ideals they saw as wrong, including the Vietnam War. There was no better representation of this than Woodstock. The Woodstock Music & Art Festival that took place on a farm near Woodstock, New York, August 15 through August 18, 1969 not only assembled some of the greatest rock, pop, and folk musicians of the day, but also had a half million enthusiastic young and old fans celebrating life and music in a concert that changed the way the younger generation was viewed. After Woodstock, the burgeoning counter culture exploded into the mainstream, as the entire United States realized that the hippie culture was a force that could not be ignored, and its icons such as The Who, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and Jimi Hendrix reinforced many of the stereotypes of long hair, reckless behavior, and sexuality. Woodstock would become a legendary orgy of drug use, sexual intercourse, nudity, and mud, but also of peace, love, and a general togetherness that also characterized hippie culture. Another popular stereotype was the hippie general disregard for all authority, and Woodstock was no different. Over one-hundred thousand tickets had been sold to the event, but soon fans were crashing over fences and simply began streaming in to see the show (Woodstock. com, 2009). However, there were very few incidents of violence and the festival went on to become one of the iconic points in the culture of the 1960s. It also marked the beginning of the end of hippie culture. Woodstock was the last hurrah for a generation of young men and women that did their best to rebel against the previous generations and create their own persona. Unfortunately, stereotypes were rich and long concerning hippie culture, and Woodstock did well to encourage both the good and bad stereotypes. They displayed their amazing music and free-loving culture, but also their drug abuse and contentment with filth. By the time the 1970s began, hippie culture was all but dead, even though many of the hippies continued to live on. Today, hippies are seen as largely a joke and very superficial, which may speak of their ultimate failure to live up to their own ideals. The country is still largely conservative in many regards, still refuses many of the ideals of peace and love that the hippies inspired, and is still at war with foreign countries. Hippies are now seen in modern form as environmentalists, annoying activists for un-American or unethical causes, potheads or vegetarians. Hippies are no longer seen as a viable threat to the conservative ideals of the United States, and have in essence become all style and no substance. While stereotypes helped perpetuate the romantic notion of the idealistic hippie, they just as equally helped destroy a notion that never really existed in the first place.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Ethics and Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Ethics and Marketing - Essay Example Ethics in marketing are very important because marketing is a discipline that interfaces with diverse stakeholders in a society. Marketing is a pivotal aspect of any business that not only extends a discernable and visible interface with customers, but also with a plethora of other entities such as dealers, business associations, shareholders, investors, trade unions, media, etc (Houston, 1994). Hence, marketing is a facet of commerce that has three vital dimensions that are individual, organizational and societal (Houston, 1994). In that context, to talk about ethics in marketing is utterly unfeasible from any singular or narrow perspective. A true understanding of the ethical domain of marketing necessitates a broader and holistic perspective. There exist multiple crucial reasons to facilitate an understanding into and development of most relevant approaches as to inculcate ethics in marketing operations. Most of the organizations existing today are vulnerable to committing ethical foibles and to face an ethical misconduct perpetrated by staff and managers. Even the most well intentioned marketers do face the possibility of taking steps that appear to be ethical on the surface, but are in fact replete with ethical scandals and repercussions, giving way to infamy and legal hassles (Andreasan, 2001). So there exists a dire need to identify the possible risks and chances of misconduct inherent in the marketing operations. At the same time there must exist an attitude of ethical propriety and a commensurate infrastructure within organizations to challenge the ethical misconduct as it springs up, rather than covering up or hiding ethical scandals (Andreasan, 2001). ... The purpose of this paper is to delve on the existing and emerging definitions of marketing and the way they cater to the scope and need for an ethical conduct in the marketing operations. The paper also delves on the ways and means in which the marketers can quantify and evaluate the ethical conduct in the strategies adopted by them. Origins of Marketing Traditionally speaking, marketing is associated primarily with trade or exchange. To put it in simple words, marketing in a way existed since the time mankind learnt to or managed to produce a surplus (Bartels, 1976). Again in a historical context, in the beginning, the generated surplus existed in the form of agricultural produce that was mostly exchanged or bartered for manufactured goods like pottery or textiles (Bartels, 1976). Eventually this exchange of goods got centred on certain specific locations that eventually evolved into what is today known as markets. The concept of trade, as it evolved, allowed and stimulated people to specialize in the production of specific goods and services that they could take to markets to exchange with goods and services required by them (Bartels, 1976). The concept of trade got further transformed with the onset of Industrial Revolution. The economies started to rely less on agricultural produce and the emphasis gradually begin to shift towards industrial production (Bartels, 1976). In the pre Industrial Revolution era, the goods and services were produced on a small scale. However, industrialization resulted in a tremendous boost in productivity due to the mechanization of production operations (Bartels 1976). As a result of these developments, the producers were placed in a position

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Evolution Of The Individual In Hitchcocks Films Assignment

The Evolution Of The Individual In Hitchcocks Films - Assignment Example He took a similar story of false identity in North By Northwest and made a film that was much more lighthearted. Lifeboat and The Wrong Man showed how life could be tolerated and obstacles overcome through the strength of the community and the unity of the family. North By Northwest shows no concern for either of those themes and instead reveals how the individual can overcome even the most dangerous and helpless situation with wit and ingenuity. Lifeboat is the story of a varied group of survivors huddled on a boat after their ship was sunk. In his review when the film was released in 1944, Bosley Crowther in the New York Times describes the storyline of Lifeboat as â€Å"a theme which is startling in its broad implications, especially in this critical time.† Much as the country and all allied forces needed to pull together to win the great conflict, so, too, did the people on the boat have to sublimate their personal interests and prejudices to survive their ordeal. The group of survivors could not be more diverse. There were differences in age, gender, race, wealth, sophistication, even political belief. The whole group eventually learned to work together to overwhelm Willy, the one German on the boat. They acted like â€Å"a pack of wild dogs,† according to Francois Truffaut.   As the story progressed, the survivors on the boat changed to support the group. The most notable example of this was the character of Connie, a society columnist. The word snooty could be used to describe her attitude through most of the picture. But as Truffaut mentioned to Hitchcock during their discussions, â€Å"She becomes a human person. She abandons her accessories for the effort.† She gives up an expensive bracelet she was wearing to help lure a fish so that everyone can eat.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

CAPM and Fama French Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

CAPM and Fama French - Coursework Example The report uses the Eviews for the data analysis and hypothesis testing for CAPM & FAMA French Model (Dougherty, 2011) The paper is bifurcated into two parts. Part 1 is based on the test of Capital Asset Pricing Model and Fama French Model using the factors for US stocks for the period of 1963 to 2013. Part 2 of the report is based on the audit fees to evaluate whether the firm characteristics explain the cost of audit or not. The capital asset pricing model is referred to as the model that describes the relationship between the risk and return, which determines the appropriate required rate of return on assets. (Sharifzadeh, 2010) The formula for capital asset pricing model is as follows Βi = Beta , which refers to as the sensitivity of the risk premium to the expected return. The risk premium is referred to as the excess ret urn of the market over the risk free return .i.e. (E (Rm) – Rf) Fama & French model is referred to as the extension of capital asset pricing model. The model adds the size and value factors in addition to the market risk factor in capital asset pricing model. The model considers the fact that whether the small cap stocks and value stocks outperform markets on regular basis. This is the reason; Fama French model is referred to as the three factor model. (Bodie, et al., 2009) The section of the report identifies the fact that why should we test CAPM and Fama French Model? The answer is that the CAPM is used to assess the impact on expected return on asset exclusively by the movement in market risk premium. The CAPM gives an ideal situation of how to price securities that are traded in financial markets to determine the expected return on asset. The major reason to use the CAPM model is that the model gives the objective nature of cost of equity, which the model can yield. (Besley & Brigham, 2007) The Fama French model supplements the CAPM model to further evaluate the cost of equity in terms of return on

Monday, August 26, 2019

Explore the Measurement, Extent, Causes And Consequences of Inequality Essay

Explore the Measurement, Extent, Causes And Consequences of Inequality - Essay Example This essay stresses that income inequality results in many intense issues including low levels of trust, high prevalence rate of mental illness, infant mortality, homicides, and teenage births, increased imprisonment rates, decreased life expectancy, and high incidence of obesity. Evidently, this situation would force national governments to allot huge funds for addressing these issues. Therefore, governments cannot raise enough funds for promoting development activities; instead, they get less time to focus on economic growth. Researchers indicate that income inequality and the resulted social stratification may lead to high levels of psychological stress which in turn may intensify the issues like alcohol and substance abuse, depression, and poor community life. This paper makes a conclusion that it is clear inequality is becoming a growing issue all around the globe. The lion’s part of the world’s total incomes goes to a small percent of the richest people. Inequality leads to issues like lower life expectancy, high violence rate, low levels of trust, and other health and social problems. Hence, this issue adversely affects a nation’s economic growth. In order to address this issue, national governments must ensure a minimum wage for all citizens regardless of their age, sex, religion, or politics. It is also recommendable for governments to impose huge income tax rates on rich people and to exempt the poor from taxes and other duties.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Constitutional Framers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Constitutional Framers - Essay Example In his statement Jefferson compared the government to a newspaper; he stated that he preferred a newspaper without government to a government without a newspaper. This philosophy was directed towards the American constitution, the confederation act and the declaration of independence in America. The revolutionaries set a system which was too weak to accomplish the set objectives in the country. A clear analysis of their approach could define the motives which lay behind the poor system. They were basically on a quest to defend their wealth against federal interference. Major sectors of the country’s economy were rendered helpless by this group of people who argued that they were acting in the interest of the many. Jefferson states that a man is a rational being endowed with a sense of judgment and hence able to distinguish what is wrong and right. This is a sign that the revolutionaries were concretely aware of their undertakings; they were acting on matters which were clearly established from their inner personalities. The closing of the revolutionary era paved a way to another class of thinkers who insisted on a different aspect. At independence, the core objectives were to maintain the societal order, settling the public debt, the establishment of a sound financial system and installing mechanism which could spur the growth of the economy in the country. These categories of individuals were not founding their techniques on philosophy as they were basically businessmen and individual property owners in the country.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

International Hospitality Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Hospitality Analysis - Essay Example The sector has been through several upheavals. When the economic performs well the consumer confidence is high and people are keen to spend their disposable incomes on holidays and easting out. As the same time, the sector is also sensitive to unforeseen events beyond its control – like threats of terrorist attacks, foot or mouth crisis and the bird-flu outbreak (LSC 2006). In addition, there are other drivers of change which include minimum wage and holiday entitlement, health and safety, no-smoking legislation. The economy becomes affected due to changes in legislation, changing market forces, and periods of recession and inflation (Wilson et al. 1997). In fact everything from the impact of globalization to consumer savings can impact this sector. Hospitality is the fastest growing industry and exhibits tremendous diversity both with respect to the types of job available and the workers. As far as the human resource is concerned, there is a huge demand in the sector but the availability of staff is difficult. This sector is characterized by low rates of pay, high staff turnover, low levels of training, low skills levels, unsocial hours, seasonal nature of work, predominance of casual staff, and the non-professional image of the industry (LSC 2006). This sector traditionally recruits a young workforce yet the biggest challenge that this sector faces is that of skills shortages. The local people are reluctant to enter this sector because of low wages and job uncertainties. The hospitality sector in the developed countries is facing labor shortages and can expect to face even greater shortages in the future (Choi et al. 2000). As per the economic law of supply and demand, this means that the sector needs to offer higher wages to attract skilled staff as there is short supply of staff. If the sector offers higher wages, the profitability is affected specially during economic downturn. As such the hospitality managers need to prepare themselves for the future. In

Friday, August 23, 2019

Sales Planning and Operations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sales Planning and Operations - Assignment Example Development of sales strategies in line with corporate objectives These strategies should also take into consideration the need of the sales team to be knowledgeable about how their products or services can satisfactorily solve the customer needs. This reduces time wasting, as the sales team is able to target the right customers, communicate to them the correct message at the right time. In developing of a competitive sale strategy doing an extensive research about your competitors is a prerequisite thing that should be done early in the planning stage. This enables the sales management team to do a strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats matrix for each major competitor leading to a focused and consistent competitive sales strategy (Care & Bohlig, 2008, p220). Then the over all sales strategy will involve planning of the long-term sales goals, analyzing the business sales cycle, and meeting with the sales team about the sales drive and their personal career goals (Reid & Bojanic 2009). After developing the long-term sales strategy, the sale s management team should then develop monthly and weekly sales strategies that support the long- term sales strategy and facilitate evaluation of the short-term performance of the sales people. Importance of recruitment and selection procedures Sales people are crucial pillar in creating and implementing any sales strategy thus their recruitment and selection should be done in a manner that will lead to the right people who can accomplish their sales responsibilities effectively.. Studies have revealed that without proper recruitment and selection of sales personnel, an organization may experience the following problems. First, inadequate sales coverage and lack of customer follow-up; secondly, increased training costs to overcome deficiencies; thirdly, more supervisory problems; more so, higher turnover rates; additionally, difficulty in establishing lasting client relationships; and lastly, suboptimal total sales force performance (Ingram, Laforge & Avila, 2008, p132). Therefore, recruitment and selection should be well executed so that competent and high performing sales personnel are hired. Effective recruitment and selection procedures can be achieved mainly through a process that is fair, considers diversity, meets the company needs and has

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Industry Analysis Paper (on Resturant business) Essay - 1

Industry Analysis Paper (on Resturant business) - Essay Example ides employments and career opportunities for thousands of people (Urban Justice Center, â€Å"Behind the Kitchen Door: Pervasive Inequality in New York City’s Thriving Restaurant Industry†). New York is regarded as the ‘restaurant capital of the world’. Restaurants are located in almost everywhere in the New York City. There were almost 15,000 food service places as of the year 2002 and the number is growing extensively. According to industry report, in 2002, among top 100 highest revenue earning restaurants in the United States, 24 were situated in New York City (Urban Justice Center, â€Å"Behind the Kitchen Door: Pervasive Inequality in New York City’s Thriving Restaurant Industry†). In the year 2008, New York had almost 13,249 restaurants which signify 25% increase compared to the year 2000, in which there were only 10,363 restaurants. The significant growth of restaurants in New York was characterized by Manhattan City. The majority of restaurants in New York are based on Manhattan City. Yet, Queens and Brooklyn had also experienced tremendous growths in restaurant business since 2000. The percentage of increases in restaurants in Queens and Brooklyn were 34 and 37 respectively from 2000–2008. The following table describes the concentration of restaurants throughout New York City from 2000–2008: In addition to food services, the restaurants also provide alcoholic drinks, nontheatrical entertainments, fast food services, snack bars, nonalcoholic brews, canteens and buffets (Center for Urban Research, â€Å"Employment in New York City Restaurants†). The economic structure of any industry determines the success or failure of any business. The Porter’s Five Forces model is a basis for examining industry and developing business strategy accordingly. Porter’s model is based on the forces of micro-environment which impact on organizations’ businesses. According to Michael Porter, there are five micro-environmental forces which are extensively used

Not-For-Profit Organizations Essay Example for Free

Not-For-Profit Organizations Essay Executive Summary Not-For-Profit organizations are fundamentally different than for-profit, private sector businesses in that they do not have shareholders, their mission statements are focused on furthering a cause rather than just increasing profitability and most Not-For-Profits earn the majority of their revenue through donor contributions. As a result, Not-For-Profit Organizations operate under different reporting requirements than for-profit businesses. In order to provide proper accounting for the numerous activities undertaken by a Not-For-Profit Organization in a given year, it is imperative that one understand the two financial accounting standards that affect Not-For-Profit organizations the most: Statements of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 116 and 117 which provide guidance on donor contributions and the presentation of the financial statements. The objective of this summary is to provide a high-level overview of the standards and the effect they have on the financial statements of a Not-For-Profit organization. The Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 116 establishes the standards for accounting for contributions received and contributions made to all organizations with fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1994. Contributions are defined by SFAS No. 116 as voluntary transfers in which the donor does not receive any value in return. Donor contributions may include the following resources: Cash, Marketable securities Property and equipment Utilities and Supplies Intangible assets such as intellectual property Professional services SFAS 116 requires that all contributions and unconditional promises to donate in the future, known as pledges, are recognized as revenues at fair value in the period in which they are received. Pledges are recognized as soon as the requirements of a pledge are met and it is no longer contingent on a future event. Additionally, contributions made and received are also recognized at as expenses upon receipt at fair value. The Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 116 also requires organizations to identify those contributions that contain donor-imposed restrictions and the timeframe or requirements for meeting these donor-imposed restrictions. According to SFAS No. 116, organizations must classify contributions into one of the following categories based on the existence or absence of donor imposed stipulations: Permanently Restricted Net Assets Temporarily Restricted Net Assets Unrestricted Net Assets Those assets that are restricted by a donor imposed stipulation of time, a particular purpose or program, or the occurrence of a future event must be set aside and cannot be expended until the restriction has expired through the satisfaction of the donor stipulation. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 117 is also important in accounting for Not-For-Profit Organizations in that it provides standards for the presentation of the financial statements for organizations with fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1994. Overall, this standard requires that the financial statements provide the necessary information for all of the users of Not-For-Profit financial statements. The standard requires that Not-For-Profit Organizations produce the following financial statements on an annual basis: A statement of financial position (balance sheet) A statement of activities (income statement) A statement of cash flows In the statement of financial position, SFAS No. 117 requires that the  Not-For-Profit organization provide amounts for the total assets, liabilities, and net assets at the end of the fiscal period. Additionally, the statement of financial position must classify the organizations net assets as temporarily restricted, permanently restricted, or unrestricted based on donor imposed stipulations. The statement of activities is required to report to the financial statement users the transactions which caused a change in net assets during the period and the statement of cash flows is must provide a reconciliation of activity between beginning and ending cash balances of the period as either operating activities, financing activities or investing activities. Additional schedules are also required by SFAS No. 117 for special organzations such a voluntary health and wellness organizations that provide unique services related to their cause. Overall, a thorough understanding and application of Statements of Financial Standards No. 116 and 117 allows Not-For-Profit organizations to properly account for their unique activities and provide their financial statement users with relevant, understandable and comparable information in order to assess the financial position of the Not-For-Profit organization over the past fiscal year and going forward into the future.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Marketing Challenges: Woolworths

Marketing Challenges: Woolworths Woolworth is one of the successful U.S companies, the history of the Woolworth Retail Company is more than one century. According to the Telegraph.co.uk (2009) the history of the organization can be traced back to a chain of five and dime stores founded by Frank Woolworth in 1879 in Watertown, New York. It was only a short period of time before the company opened its first UK facility in Liverpool in 1909. It was not long until the retailer had become a major fixture on most high streets across the nation and the retail model that most people recognize had emerged. They sold childrens clothing, toys and stationary at beginning, this was the born of British shopping institution. By 2008 there were 807 stores and around 25,000 employs working in the store chain of Woolworth. It was the first chain to make brand items with its own name. In 1960s when chain was at its peak with more than 1,000 shops across the UK Woolworth declared I believe that a good penny and sixpence store, run by a lively Yankee, would go down a storm in England. (Tom Geoghegan, 2008) Woolworths Group plc is one of the UKs best knows oldest group, they are general merchandise retailer, entertainment wholesaler and publisher. They had two broad lines of business Retail and Entertainment wholesale. Woolworths, Streets Online Limited, Flogistics Limited and WMS Card Services Limited are within Retail, with Entertainment UK Limited, 2entertain Limited and Disc Distribution Limited being part of Entertainment wholesale and Publisher. They brought everything under one roof the home, family and entertainment. Woolworths key products include toys, confectionary, electronic media, childrens clothes and small household and entertainment items. Their outlets allocated in small towns and city suburbs targeting the basic shopping requirements, and big stores located in larger cities on shopping streets and centers. (Graham Charlton, 2008) The name of Woolworths evokes memories of some Britons childhood but the future of Woolworths in United Kingdom doesnt look promising at present and its really hard for them to get their original niche back in market. Woolworth is the most high profile UK High Street causality of the economic down turn and ran into trouble this year after struggling under the weight of its debt. The recession has taken out Woolworth a tragically mistimed management. (Tom Geoghegan, 2008) Woolworths have gone into administration in 2009 with debts of  £385m and had to close down all Woolies store. Woolworths relaunched by Shop Direct Group on 25th June 2009 as an online retail company Woolworths.co.uk and offering half of the million products and they also launched an Easter Egg website called Woolies Wonderland for Easter of 2009. Methodology: We have taken valuable inputs from our module instructor during our semester various stages which helps us to form a frame work of our assignments. We have met regularly during the course to complete the task and conclude that Is there a future of Woolworths particularly in the region of UK as Woolworths has closed operation and stores in the UK, the reasons of their failure we had to investigate and it was quite hard objective to achieve. To find out about the company who is no more operating was not that easy task but we have found so many reasons and conclude with some recommendations in this report. Data Collection: For the research we have used Inductive method and approach, and collected data from different resources available online about Woolworths which includes case studies and the information provided in different discussion forums, through news articles, journals, research papers and secondary data was collected. Information relating to history and growth were resource mainly from BBC.news official website. The directions of the company in the recent times 1) Market Penetration: (Wall Worth) established its website which focuses to serve all the categories of the family. Wall Worth in its marketing strategy considered that it would make it easier for consumers to see the specifications and offers of goods quickly and at low cost, then it chose to make a lot of shown goods digital , and this is what the company focuses on (books, songs, electronic games, I Pod, movies). In terms of advertising , it worked to market their products through the brothers (Brooklyn) to develop the brand and logo and this was not traditional advertising, but by the Ads-mail mail for the storage of its goods and put as nearly half a million products on its website. the company also made a combination of competitive pricing strategies and the promotion for its sales and ad through Web sites as it is found in the Home page (example: if a customer bought more than 30 pounds ,you would receive goods free of charge). After this big transformation in the entering of Woolworths as a retail store by Internet ,it was ranked among the 50 brands that are searched by customers through the Internet in the United Kingdom on the (Wutscher)site. More than one million visitors accessed the company site when it opened on the Internet in the first week in February 2009. The company achieved this success through a combination of products with a great value and great offers and discounts. On the other hand, demand increased for discount Tesco coupons by 5% from the last year and 49% of people say that they use the Internet to buy their products by the Tesco website for retail sells. Woolworths also had a new marketing strategy to sell all its products under one roof by its website .So it has three shops for selling on its website including main store to sell electronics, store for entertainment, store for clothes and fashion. When developing a marketing plan, Woolworths found that the strongest area of its business is concentrated in computer games (such as Nintendo), and there was an increase in demand in 2007_2008 and this is what led it to sell them on its website at the beginning of 2009 to the e-games and DVDs . it did this to reach operational low costs and the minimum number of employees after seeing that consumers prefer to buy this type of merchandise through the Internet . First of all , by designing products in line with the wishes and needs of t consumer with different aspirations , and on the other hand. to retain the current consumers and attract potential consumers 2 Developing the market: Woolworths had got new and different sales channels from traditional stores such as portals as a new market places for industry / consumers , e-mail, and also Facebook, from these channels (I U k) company .In early 2008 , Wall worth started a new experience in selling digital products for this reason the total sales rose to 23.5% and this equals 240 million pounds through this joint project. 3 Developing the Product: Woolworths considered after the entry of foreign competitors to the UK market specifically in the area of food , and found that it needed to new strategies for keeping of their competition trend : innovation, uniqueness and quality and it continues in this until now by innovating and developing new products and developing modified products to increase sales. So it kept developing its products by products concern Christmas trees and decorations. In 2008, the company produced a total of 2200 products . the company aims in this marketing strategy to increase sales. In this time, Tesco entered on the line of Christmas products which is focused by Woolworths , so Tesco contracted with Cadbury Chocolate company to buy millions of units at a cheaper price than Woolworths and this was a great challenge to it in their direction to increase sales, while Tesco tries to reduce the unit value and enhanced service to its customers. The company also had got exclusive partnerships for some global products in a move to introduce new products and monopoly them as well. 4 Diversification of new products in new markets: Woolworths has new buying lines and adds new products such as televisions, mobile phones and (I Pod) devices directed at consumers, particularly young people. Multi-services to all members of the family , the tendency is to make the price competitive, but not the cheapest in the market. Wall Worth entered the field of clothing for children by using shopping and direct distribution on the internet. It aims to provide better customer service than its competitors. Tesco company did this too , but with less costs in the market. In conclusion, Woolworths put all the strategies that make it succeed in the coming years according to their capabilities .It is an important step to know what its customers need and what they are looking for, so Its current focus is on the non-food products, and this will be achieved entirely by its website. Relate the issues to appropriate concepts introduced in the Module There are few strategies and concepts within marketing that can be relate to the Woolworths strategies and method they used. Woolworths mission and strategy was to deliver to customers the right shopping experience each and every time, vision to provide quality products and services to customers through price strategies, human resource strategies and fresh food strategies. To achieve this they integrated and execute several strategies which include low prices strategy, project refresh strategy. The Woolworths strategy was purely and completely on the basis of price and they implement every-day low prices strategy to offer customers lower prices through reductions on all products but there was no brand status. This was a very good strategy for many years and it made Woolworths fortune and achieved the goals. Woolworths experienced great success through innovative, tactful and profitable strategies their organizational structure, staff leadership and stakeholders all played an importan t role in executing these strategies. It is really important for any company to understand the marketing environment and customer needs/wants to target the correct costumer for the product sales. Woolworths was successful all over the world and in UK also they enjoyed a time as a leading and dominant company capturing the most market shares and there was no threat for Woolworths till 1960s. Woolworths business also had an important part to market their products in the people with understanding of products and result in increased in sales and customer interest. They succeeded to change their new customers into retain and loyal customer and Woolworth understand and targeted the customer values, reliability, credibility, accessibility and provide them with satisfaction of shopping at their stores and build their trusts. Macro environment was in the favor of Woolworths from the start as there was no political and technological awareness in early 1900, factors and forces that affects the Woolworths capability to operate effec tively was not there. Woolworths destabilized by the combination of supermarkets, cheap discount stores and online buying stores offering products at lower prices. Thus the market becomes more competitive since the internet and globalization have made international foundation as reality. There was no spending on frills having relied exclusive on prices with no position in market. Their stores were old fashioned and unappetizing because they dont use to spent money on stores to catch the attention. There lack of property portfolio also discourages government to rescue them and creditors start claiming and suppliers asking for cash for the goods. BCG Growth/Share Matrix: We can analyze Woolworths through BCG growth/share boxes as David Jobber (2007). Hence, Woolworths was at their peak in 1960s and they were the leading company having big chains of stores in retail industry. Woolworths completed century and prove to be the star of the industry. Market and business growth rate graph was on its peak in 1990s, market share was even very high and the stars of the past was proving to be the cash cows and company having the high turnover and revenue. Their market position was indefinite with no competitors in the industry. But, today Woolworths is being a problem child with negative growth and their shops are closed leaving 25,000 people unemployed and in 2009 they completely closed down retail operations in UK. Woolworths is creating new solutions and have come into business with new strategy to open few new shops with different ideas and they have gone into administration with re-launching of the company as an online retailer with new product lines which better meets customer needs and they can easily access the market. David Jobber (2007) Discuss the Customers Perspective The purpose of this essay is to discuss the topic issue of whether or not there is a future for Woolworths from the perspective of the customer. It will provide a prediction for the outlook of the organization from the perspective of customers. Whilst the organization was known as the Woolworths Group Plc the company according to BBC News (2009) the company closed all 807 if its retail stores and the company was ultimately liquidated in February 2009 and for purposes of this paper the focus will be on the online retail operations of the company. This has made a huge impact on the way the company deals with customer and what customers can expect from Woolworth. According to the Laurence writing for the Dailymail (2008) the company had experienced years of poor performance. In the wake of increased competition and a global economic downturn it was the case that the holding company for the organization decided to liquidate all physical assets and focus on online retail operations. According to an interview with Gordon Brown in the Telegraph, the Prime Minister stated that the government had considered bailing out the organization but had decided that the business model was financially unviable (Prince, 2009). Upon examination of the company website (2009), when speaking in relative terms, the company has product offerings that closely mirror that of what was on offer in the former retail outlets. Furthermore, there has been a modernization of the entertainment offerings over the previously employed retail model (Company entertainment website, 2009). That said, from a customers perspective Woolworth now offers very little that cannot be purchased at other online retail outlets such as Amazon or EBay. Furthermore, these companies are much more experienced and economically healthy than Woolworth, and therefore have a much larger market share. This is unlikely to change. From the perspective of the average consumer it is unlikely in the near future there will be a return to Woolworths traditional business model. It is simply the case that the environment is far more saturated with traditional and specialty retailers. According to TNS World Pannel (2008) it is the case that a number of already established grocery retailers are offering clothing, house wares, gifts, and electronics which is a market traditionally dominated by Woolworths. Whilst it remains to be seen whether or not the continued success of the organization using the current online retail business model will continue indefinitely, the initial success is certainly promising. According to an article by Marketing Week (2009) it is the case that 68.7% consumers are planning on doing more of their Christmas shopping online this year which represents a huge growth opportunity for the Woolworths if they can capitalize on this growing market. This is supported by an article by Huber (2009) the parent company to Woolworths launched a massive advertising campaign to help promote the services offered in an effort to boost consumer confidence to one of the busiest retail spending times of the year. An additional problem to consider, however, is that Woolworths target demographic has traditionally been older shoppers. Because such shoppers are less Internet savvy than younger shoppers, Woolworth will have to work hard to reach out to its traditional base. Traditional customers might be tempted to simply continue shopping at places where they can pick up and look at the goods they are interested in. Some do not even have credit cards. Woolworth must work hard to differentiate itself in an online marketplace dominated by big, experienced retailers. If it does not do so, it will go the way of the dodo bird. In conclusion, any return to the previously employed retail business model as employed by Woolworths is unlikely. That is not to say that people will not continue to enjoy the level of service and product offerings that the company had offered but this must be done so by new means. Assess the Perspective of Competitors There was the time when there was a demand for Woolworths in the Market, but after a certain period of time we witnessed that the Woolworths was off the market in a few years. The sudden debacle of Woolworths from the market can be because of various aspects. With the increase in the numbers of its competitors and the woolsworth unable to compete with them accordingly and improper strategies and not updating with the technology as well as with the change in the needs and the demands of the consumers. Woolworths Competitors The loss of Woolworth in Shirley was echoed in about 800 High Streets across UK, breaking the record of 99 years in the history of the British towns and cities. The main cause can be named as recession as with the impact of recession many of the stores were closed and increment in the number of charity shops. The streets were having now the three times more the charity and the discount shops. These great losses in the business were due to the recession, the rise of the supermarkets and the increasing popularity of the weekly shops. The debacle of Woolworths had a few other aspects and they were its competitors. The major competitors of Woolworths were the Tesco and the Wall-mats. The main reasons which led to the downfall of the Woolworths are Fewer womens clothes shop One in every five womens as well as childrens clothes shops were closed in UK. This was one of the most important and discretionary area were there were a lot of money was spend so when there were locks on such doors people then decided or rather started going to the discount outlets and were fully satisfied and were satisfied in a cheap price. Next is a diagram representing the actual diagram representing a proper data showing the approximate loss of the market in according to the closure of the shops of Woolworths. This data is been taken from a local data company which is depicting the % of loss of a business dealing in a particular product. And as we go throw the data we can see that there has been a major loss to the woolsworth in the near future and compare with its near competitors. Shops mostly empty The shops became empty because of increment of the competitors and effect of the recession that led to the downfall of major businesses. Woolworths have so many competitors. The competition was basically amongst the super markets specially Tesco, as they started selling more and more household products as well as toys and electronic goods and many such other products that can be considered as gift items. Woolworths on the other hand was not looking over the aspects that other large markets were giving them a stiff challenge. The first ever store of Woolworths was opened in Liverpool in 1909. And it was selling almost all the products right from the tools to clothes, it was selling cheaps of things and none other stores were such big. The greatest of Woolworths was from its main rivals probably individuals stores themselves, the consumers were going regularly to the Woolworths because the specialist stores were not having appropriate stuff that the consumer were demanding but with the increase in the number of super markets there were more stuff along with the relevant information so consumer started going towards those who were new but were very promising namely Tesco the competitor of Woolworths Tesco was founded in 1929 by J. Cohen. The company was not on the London stock exchange till 1947, unlike the Woolworth and the Wall-Mart as their primary focus was on the groceries right from the beginning was struggling at the time in 1970, it only expanded when it introduced the club cards and entered the European and the Asian markets expanded into non food banking and telecom products. Tesco that reportedly having half of its sales in the UK at present. According to Tesco inflation had dropped substantially since three month till September. They keep on launching cut-price ranges and by these aspects they were attracting almost 300,000 more customers every week and they witnessed strong improvement in their sales volume. Tesco is due to complete the purchase the remaining of the 50% stake of Tesco Personal Finance from the Royal Bank of Scotland in a very near future. The group has also said that they will put brakes over their expansion in the US and will only focus on the hitt ing the key areas. Tesco being the greatest threat to the Woolworths is implementing the strategies to take over it in every aspect. Tesco has also confirmed that they are surely interested in buying the Woolsworth as the chain has almost collapsed just after they were not able to stabilise their company with major threats from the markets. Woolworths kept its regional focus on the other hand was concentrated on the supermarkets in the future might focus on the food products as recently bought the 10% shares of New Zealand based The Warehouse Group. They copied high success retailing fuel strategies from the Tesco which has been largest retailer of petrol since 1991. Tesco on the other hand developed 4 main formats to suit different locations. Also used the supermarket in selling the liquor which became major threat to the Woolworths.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

donepezil hydrochloride

donepezil hydrochloride Abstract- This article describes the discovery processes of donepezil hydrochloride which is inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase enzyme. Cholinergic hypothesis and other studies proved that deterioration in cognitive functions in Alzheimer disease is due to deficit in cholinergic neurotransmission and target to treat Alzheimer disease is to inhibit acetylcholinesterase enzyme. Position emission tomography (PET) study has shown that donepezil distributes in all acetylcholineterase rich brain regions and binds to it. Structure activity relationship (SAR) and quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) has also revealed that donepezil hydrochloride is gives optimum actylcholinesterase inhibition activity than its other analogues. Many methods are available for synthesis of donepezil hydrochloride with their merits and demerits. Keywords- Donepezil hydrochloride, Aricept, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, PET study, indanone derivatives. Abbrevations AD(Alzheimer disease), PET(position emission tomography), QSAR(quantitative structure activity relationship), Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor(AchEI), Aim To study different processes involved in drug discovery of Donepezil hydrochloride. Objectives- The main Objectives of this project are given below To study overall literature review of donepezil hydrochloride . To discuss discovery process involved in discovery of donepezil hydrochloride such as target identification, target validation and lead optimization Introduction- Donepezil hydrochloride is the reversible acetylcholinesterase enzyme inhibitor having N-benzylpiperidine and indanone moiety in it (Sugimoto Hachiro et al, 2008). It is referred as E2020 in most of the pharmaceutical literatures. This is the second drug approved by U.S FDA for treatement mild and moderate Alzheimer disease (Stahl Stephen M et al, 2006). It is Patented and marketed in United states of America, some European and Asian countries under the trade name Aricept by Eisai.co.,Ltd (Stahl Stephen M et al, 2006) (Tripathi KD , 2006) (Dale Rang H et al, 2006). Drug Discovery of donepezil- The drug discovery process of donepezil involves various phases as follows Target identification Target validation Lead recognition Lead optimization Target identification Target identification of drug means molecular recognition of site to which it will bind. For many drugs target is protein molecules. Target identification needs information about pathophysiology of disease and identification of particular biochemical steps that leads to therapeutic intervention. Conventional stratergies of target identification are mainly based on pathphysiology of disease. But newer stratergies of target of identification are based on proteonomics and genomics (Rang H PB et al, 2006). About 50-60% of Alzheimer disease patient are of over 65 year age (Sugimoto Hachiro et al, 2006). It is the neurodegenerative disorder with mean duration of 8.5 years between onset of action and death of patient (Sugimoto Hachiro et al, 2006). Symtoms of this disease includes gross and progressive impairement of cognitive functions. The most affected areas in the alzheimers disease are hippocampus and neocortex which are important for mental functions. Pathophysiology of disease consis ts of external deposits of amyloid precursors and intracellular formation of neurofibrillary tangles leads to neuronal synapses loss (Francis Paul T et al, 1999) Beta amyloid is the main component of sensile plaque formed by proteolysis of amyloid precursor proteins. Tangles are abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau proteins and regulated by balance between multiple kinases and phosphates. Hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins carry out sequestration of normal tau and other microtubule associated protein leads to impairment of axonal transport. This tau becomes prone to aggregation into insoluble fibril in tangles (Bartonili Manuala et al, 2003) (Andrisano Vincenza et al, 2003) According to cholinergic hypothesis, deterioration in cognitive functions in Alzheimer disease is due to degeneration of cholinergic neuron into forebrain and consequently decreased cholinergic neurotransmission in cerebral cortex and hippocampus (Francis Paul T et al 1999). Cholinergic neuron synthesizes acetylcholine, which is the acetic acid ester of choline. Acetylcholine is synthesized from the acetic acid and choline with the help of cholineacetylase. After stimuli vesicles discharge acetylcholine at the nerve ending and binds to postsynaptic receptors. Acetylcholine is stored into the synaptic vesicles which are accumulated at the nerve endings, also prevents its hydrolysis. Acetylcholine is hydrolises by acetylcholinesterase into acetic acid and choline(Tripathi KD 2006). Thus in Alzheimer disease cholinergic neurotransmission can be enhanced by inhibiting preventing the hydrolysis of acetylcholine, choline precursor,acetylcholine release facilitators ,M1 and M3 agonists ,Nicotinic agonistics but all these drugs were not effective to improve cognitive function in Alzheimer disease except cholinesterase inhibitors. Cholinesterase drugs have shown significant improvement in cognitive functions of Alzheimer disease. This has proved that cholinestera se inhibition is the main target to improve cognitive functions in Alzheimer disease (Sabbagha Marwan N et al, 2008) (Fisher Abraham et al, 2008). Target validation of donepezil- Target validation is the investigational approach by which potential drug target can be tested and given further reliability. Target validation is pharmaceutical approach in which influence of drug is observed. (Rang H PB et al, 2006). According to cholinergic and other studies acetylcholinesterase inhibition is the main target to improve imrove cogntitive functions in alzheimer disease patient. Okamaru Nobuyuki et al studied invivo binding of donepezil in the brain of alzheimer disease patient. They radiolabled donepezil as [11c-methoxy]-donepezil for position emission tomography imaging. Evaluation of binding and distribution of donepezil performed on mild and moderate Alzheimer disease patients. Normal control group volunteers had neither cognitive function impairements nor cerebrovascular lesions on magnetic resonance. PET study carried out after three months of neuropsychological medical examination. Region of interest analysis was carried for validation of regional distrubution of donepezil. PET images demonstrated that high volume of [11C]-donepezil distributed in all regions of brain like striatum, thalamus, striatum, and neocortex which are rich in acetylcholinesterase. Tissue time curves of [c11] -donipezil shown initial rapid uptake of donepezil in brain followed by gradual clearance in both elderly normal and alzheimer disease patients. Specific distribution volume was calculated from region of interest by metabolite corrected plasma time activity curve. Donezpezil shown linear regression on logan plot analysis in all brain region as shown in figure -1. (Okamura Nobuyuki et al, 2008) (Yanai Kazuhiko et al, 2003) Lead generation A lead compound is a new chemical entity that could potentialy developed into new drug by optimizing its valuable and minimizing side effect. High throught screening is mainly used for lead generation(Rang H P et al, 2006). Many drugs were trialed to improve the cognitive functions in Alzheimer disease like cholinergic agonist such as oxetremorine, choline precursor phosphatidylcholine but that were inffective. Numerous clinical trials carried out on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as physostigmine, this trial shown that this class of drug resulted in improvement of cognitive functions in Alzheimer disease patients. However these clinical trials also proved that physostigmine has poor brain Penetration and thus less active (Muramoto,M et al, 1979). In 1981 summers et.al gave intravenous injection of tacrine to Alzheimer disease patients which were until that time used as antiseptic. These doses of tacrine shown measurable improvement in alzheimer symtoms but tacrine had shown ma ny side effects such as hepatotoxicity( Farlow SI et al, 1992). Later then scientist focused on development of new acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Research and development of donepezil started in 1983 in Eisai .co .Ltd. Kawakami et al started to develop nontoxic tacrine derivatives but they failed to develop such tacrine derivative. While random screening scientists observed that N-benzylpiperazine (compound-A) has moderate anticholinesterase activity which was previously being synthesized for antiarterial sclerosis(Kawakami Yoshiyuki et al 2000)). During subsequent screening Kawakami et al used benzylpiperazine as seed compound and synthesized around 700 derivatives. Succeeding this experiment, it was observed that increase in acetylcholinesterase activity by replacing n-benzylpiperazine with N-benzylpiperidine moiety(compound-B). It was also found that slightly increase in activity by replacing ether group with amide group(compound-C) and removal of nitro group from benzamide moeity (compound-D) decreases activity. ((Kawakami Yoshiyuki et al 2 000). From these results Kawakami et al synthesized benzsulfonyl derivative and found that it is a most potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor than benzpiperazine derivative. Benzsulfonyl derivarive showed very selective activity towards acetylcholinesterase but very poor bioavaibility. On the basis of this result they used benzoylsulfonyl derivative as lead compound. In next screening they replaced amide moiety with ketone moiety and maintained activity. Then Kawakami et al synthesized various indanone derivatives among them he found that donepezil has good acetylcholinesterase activity and bioavaibility(Sugimoto Hachiro et al, 1992). STRUCTURE ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIP OF DONEPEZIL Indananone derivatives were tested on rat for acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity according to method of Ellman et al. donepezil structure is divided into four rings as follows. Part 1- Indanone ring Part 2 -linkage moeity Part 3- piperidine moeity Part4 -benzyl moiety Modification at Indanone moeity If indanone moeity is replaced with ÃŽ ±-tetralone ,1-benzene suberone , 5,6 dimethoxy indene greately decreased activity ,while 25 fold increased activity by introducing methxy group at 5,6 position of indanone moeity .Carbonyl group is important for activity.Introduction of methoxy group at R3 position increase in activity by 20 fold .A methoxy group at R4 position increases activityby 10 fold . also slightly increase in activity on substitution to of methoxy group at para position in the benzoyl group moeity enhanced binding to the active site of acetylcholinesterase enzyme(Camps Pelayo et al, 2008). 2) Modification at linkage moiety- Various bridging group between indanone and piperidine moeity were tested for cholinesterase activity. If both indanone and piperidine rings joined directly then it dicreases activity .Increase in acivity with different bridging group in the following order prophylene >methylene>penthylene> ethylene >butylenes. (Sugimoto Hachiro et al , 1990). (3)Modification at piperidine moeity- Activity is depend on location and no of nitrogen atom .Nitrogen atom at 1-position of benzpiperidine is important for activity since N atom at 4-position of benzpiperidine decreases activity .If piperidine ring is replaced with piperazine moeity .then it dicreases activity(Sugimoto Hachiro et al, 2008). 4)Modification at benzyl moeity- 3-position substituted benzyl derivative showed greater activity among -2,-3,-4, substituted reioisomers .If benzene ring is substituted with electron withdrawing nitrogen group and electron donating methyl group shows similar activity .Replacement of benzyl group with phenylethyl group and 2-napthyl group decreased activity(.Kawakami Yoshiyuki et al, 2000)( Sugimoto Hachiro et al, 1990). Lead development of donepezil Once lead compound is identified then it is optimized and characterized for different aspects such as QSAR (quantitative structure activity relationship), SAR(structure activity relationship),synthesis method . Synthesis of donepezil If any compound shows optimum activity in above lead optimization processes then that compounds enter in further stage of lead optimization process. For physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetic, pharmacokidynamic study of lead compound highly purified and large amount of drug is required. Therefore synthesis method for lead compound is important. Sugimoto and co-workers discovered method for synthesis of donezepil with an overall yield of 27.4%. This process involves synthesis of ÃŽ ±, ÃŽ ² substituted ketones(compound 11) from 1-indanone by aldol condensation. This unsaturation product is catalytically reduced by Palladium to compound (13) but this method needs subzero temperature (-78%) and very toxic chemicals, such as n- butyl litium.( Tsuchiya Yutaka, 1992). Also many other method have been reported, which are too time consuming or not suitable for large scale production. Stephen discovered efficient synthesis method for donepezil and its analogue. This method involves hydrogenation of pyridine analogues ( compound 7) by using platinum oxide [scheme 2, path A] which is very expensive .If platinum oxide replace with less expensive 5% palladium carbon then it synthesizes compound (8) and compound (11).(US patent 6252081). Chandrashekhar R et al developed economical and efficient method for donepezil synthesis (scheme 2, path ÃŽ ²). In first step they condensed 5,6 dimethoxy -1-indan 1-one [ compound 2] with isonicotinaldehyde compound(3) by modification in standard procedure .By this condensation they formed intermediate compound (6) with 95.8% yield. Afterward he carried out hydrogenation of pyridine ring by using palladium carbon then he observed two main impurities compound (9) and compound (10) due to competitive side reaction of carb onyl ring. In this method they not only maintained different reaction conditions like reaction time, hydrogen pressure, and different solvent but also hydrogenated compound (6) in methanol under hydrogen pressure with 90% yield and 98.5% purity. Final step of donepezil involves benzylation of compound (8). In benzylation nature of solvent and quality benzylbromide plays important role in controlling dibenzyl product ( Elati Chandrashekar R et al, 2006). If acetone, dichloromethane, acetonitril, isopropylether and dichloromethane gives very poor yield. Conclusion- In conclusion donepezil hydrochloride is the novel and efficacious cholinesterase inhibitor than other acetylchlinesterase inhibitors. Cholinergic hypothesis shown that cholinergic degradation is the main reason for Alzheimer isease. By target validation it is also proved that donepezil bind to the acetyl cholinesterase and inhibits it. By the target validation it is also proved that donepezil inhibits cholinesterase mainly into the cortical and other areas where high concentration of cholinesterase is situated Is Donepezil has strongly proved cholinergic hypothesis and Also shown that cholineterse inhibition is the main target for treatement of alzimer disease than acetylcholine agonists and acetylcholine precursor. After different structure replacement and attachment to the lead compound of donepezil it is also proved that donepezil has good specificity and activity than other analogues .QSAR study of donepezil and its analogues also shown that donepezil is strongly binds to cholin esterase than other indanone derivatives. Sugimoto and their co workers also synthesized different pyridine and indanone derivatives they also got good efficacy of the results . For donepezil synthesis different methods have been developed all have some disadvantages and problems regarding hydrogenation step. But chandrashekhar elati et al method has overcome this problems by modifying synthesis methods. Acknowledgement- I thanks to Dr Kevine Devine, Dr Annie Bligh, Dr Dhaya Perumal for their guidance to study drug discovery technology module and prepare project(Dissitation) on donepezil discovery processes.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Comparing Machiavellis Prince and Martha Stuart :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Machiavelli's Prince and Martha Stuart    I believe Machiavelli's advice in The Prince was ideal for the rulers in 16th century Italy, because Machiavelli understood the motivation of most political men. Machiavelli based his theories on perfect examples throughout History. Machiavelli reverently believed his advice was essential for the uniting of Italy which was his principal desire.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Machiavelli states that in an ideal world, it is virtuous for a prince to be good. But in reality, princes who distance themselves from ethical concerns and do whatever it takes for the benefit of their states rule best. Therefore, it is better to be frugal than generous, cruel than loving, crafty than honest. Machiavelli's general rule is to be as good as circumstances allow, but be willing to resort to any means necessary for the good of the state. A prince must be willing to resort to evil if that is what it takes to overcome the change in fortune. Proper cruelty is done at one time and serves a specific purpose. Improper cruelty is repetitive and threatening to the citizens. A wise prince must be willing to practice proper cruelty in order to maintain power, but avoid improper cruelty so that his subjects do not feel hatred for him. Machiavelli emphasizes the need for the prince to win the support of the people. A feudal prince must be wise in controlling the nobles and keeping the people content.   A wise prince must not put off confrontations for another day. Even fortresses are useless if the prince does not have the support of his people.  Ã‚        Ã‚   Machiavelli makes it clear hypocrisy and deceit are legitimate methods in politics. It is not important for a prince to have good qualities; only appear to have them. The prince must have the characteristics of both the fox and the lion. The fox can recognize snares but cannot drive away the enemy while the lion can protect themselves but cannot recognize snares. In deduction, the prince must be cunning and courageous.   For Machiavelli, the wellbeing of the state has no ethical or moral implications. Anything that benefits the state is considered superior.   Machiavelli considers the appearance of being religious as the most powerful quality.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Perceiving a Comic Book Cinema in Ang Lees Hulk :: Movie Film Ang Lee Hulk Essays

Ang Lee's film Hulk (2003) is based on a character whose origins lie in the world of Marvel comic books. In both versions, Bruce Banner is a repressed and unassuming scientist who, as a result of an accident involving gamma radiation, transforms into a massive green engine of destruction, known as the Incredible Hulk, whenever he becomes angry. The Hulk is the rampaging male id, unleashed by modern science upon a world unprepared for its limitless, primal fury. But as interesting as a literary analysis of the character might be – and the Hulk is rife with such possibilities – this is not where Lee's Hulk breaks any new ground. Indeed, by such standards, it is a mundane – if not, actually, a rather awful – film. But what Lee's film does that is extraordinary is its attempt to, not simply adapt the content of the comic books, but in some way translate the experience and aesthetics of the comic books onto the movie screen. In doing so, he alters the condition s of the filmic apparatus enough to warrant further examination. However, the scene under examination in the textual analysis begins fairly conventionally. This scene is relatively early in the film, before the events that unleash the Hulk occur. Bruce Krenzler/Banner (Eric Bana) comes into the office he shares with colleague and ex-romantic interest Betty Ross (Jennifer Connely) at the nuclear biomedicine laboratory. Inside, he finds that Adam Talbot (Josh Lucas), a defence contractor who is one of the film's villains, has come to pay them a visit. Talbot's presence is understood to be intrusive, as he is placed in the centre of the frame, marginalising Bruce and Betty to the the periphery in their own office (shots 1c, 3, and 5a). Furthermore, Betty's over-the-shoulder look back to Bruce as he opens the door in shot 1c seems guilty. There is something of the caught-in-the-act to the staging of Bruce's entry to the office. This establishes the tension of a romantic triangle between the three characters, which never fully emerges as a plot point, but remains as a subtext throughout the portions of the film that deal with Talbot. Betty has to leave rather quickly to attend to some generic science (shot 5), but Talbot lingers a moment to have a "man to man" conversation with Bruce. There is some obvious tension between Talbot and Bruce as he makes overtures toward acquiring their research for military applications (and the ensuing financial benefit of selling the technology). Perceiving a Comic Book Cinema in Ang Lee's Hulk :: Movie Film Ang Lee Hulk Essays Ang Lee's film Hulk (2003) is based on a character whose origins lie in the world of Marvel comic books. In both versions, Bruce Banner is a repressed and unassuming scientist who, as a result of an accident involving gamma radiation, transforms into a massive green engine of destruction, known as the Incredible Hulk, whenever he becomes angry. The Hulk is the rampaging male id, unleashed by modern science upon a world unprepared for its limitless, primal fury. But as interesting as a literary analysis of the character might be – and the Hulk is rife with such possibilities – this is not where Lee's Hulk breaks any new ground. Indeed, by such standards, it is a mundane – if not, actually, a rather awful – film. But what Lee's film does that is extraordinary is its attempt to, not simply adapt the content of the comic books, but in some way translate the experience and aesthetics of the comic books onto the movie screen. In doing so, he alters the condition s of the filmic apparatus enough to warrant further examination. However, the scene under examination in the textual analysis begins fairly conventionally. This scene is relatively early in the film, before the events that unleash the Hulk occur. Bruce Krenzler/Banner (Eric Bana) comes into the office he shares with colleague and ex-romantic interest Betty Ross (Jennifer Connely) at the nuclear biomedicine laboratory. Inside, he finds that Adam Talbot (Josh Lucas), a defence contractor who is one of the film's villains, has come to pay them a visit. Talbot's presence is understood to be intrusive, as he is placed in the centre of the frame, marginalising Bruce and Betty to the the periphery in their own office (shots 1c, 3, and 5a). Furthermore, Betty's over-the-shoulder look back to Bruce as he opens the door in shot 1c seems guilty. There is something of the caught-in-the-act to the staging of Bruce's entry to the office. This establishes the tension of a romantic triangle between the three characters, which never fully emerges as a plot point, but remains as a subtext throughout the portions of the film that deal with Talbot. Betty has to leave rather quickly to attend to some generic science (shot 5), but Talbot lingers a moment to have a "man to man" conversation with Bruce. There is some obvious tension between Talbot and Bruce as he makes overtures toward acquiring their research for military applications (and the ensuing financial benefit of selling the technology).

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Political Forces in the Glass Ceiling

Despite all of the political forces on the side of women who attempt to break through the glass ceiling, limited progress has been made. Numerous studies lament the virtual absence of women in the elite tier of corporate positions: chief executive officer, chairman, president, and executive vice president. Unfair employment practices strengthen the glass ceiling and hinder the advancement of women in the workplace. These practices include sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, and pregnancy discrimination. Although activists have succeeded in getting stronger laws passed, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1991, true progress eliminating the glass ceiling must be based on private sector initiatives. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 gives women considerable more clout in their defense against discrimination than did the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination against women who successfully filed suit against their employers for unfair practices. The Act also states that these women can only receive back pay and reinstatement in their old jobs. However, the 1991 Civil Rights Act, incorporated previous laws while also easing the burden on employees suing to prove job discrimination. Within the new law, a successful litigant can collect monetary damages, as well as, request a jury trial, sue in conjunction with others who have received similar unfair treatment in the workplace, and request the courts to judge the case based on the reasonable woman standard as opposed to the reasonable man. The 1991 Act also places the burden of proof on the employer, rather than the employee. â€Å"Indeed, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and other recent court decisions have given women new clout in the workplace† (Morris 61). An example of this clout is the intense publicity surrounding the Anita Hill v. Clarence Thomas hearing. Hill, a black law professor at the University of Oklahoma, electrified the nation when she charged that Clarence Thomas, then a Supreme Court nominee, had sexually harassed her when she worked for him in the early 1980s. Hill testified before the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee about her discomfort when Thomas insisted on describing pornographic movies and made sexual advances. An all-white and all-male Senate sought to discredit Hill, some of who accused her of lying or being delusional, but her testimony elicited nationwide support. The Senate confirmed Thomas† actions were inappropriate, but Hill†s testimony was almost entirely disregarded. The hearing angered women, especially those who had suffered similar experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace, and it also empowered many others to come forward with similar allegations. â€Å"The furor that ensued was just the fuel need to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1991† (Stith 187). In recent litigation, women have begun testing the extent of their employment rights beyond the rights guaranteed to them in the Civil Rights Acts. An example of this is a group of eight women employees of the Stroh Brewery Company in Detroit. These women charged that their employer had created a working environment that was hostile to women. As part of their allegation, they pointed to sexually offensive commercials that Stroh†s aired featuring the Swedish bikini team, scantily clad young women with large breasts. The Stroh plaintiffs contended that the ads were proof that the company sanctions sexism. â€Å"The company has defended its ads as simple entertainment protected by the First Amendment†s guarantee of free speech† (Vilanch 7). The plaintiffs in the Stroh case won their lawsuit and created a landmark decision for challenges of this type, particularly due to the fact the courts must now decide based on the reasonable woman. Although the presence of strong laws is powerful ammunition to fight to eliminate discrimination in the workplace, litigation is not the most effective solution to the problem. Women who experience workplace discrimination are often reluctant to file official complaints for a variety of reasons including; feelings of inadequacy, fear of reprisal, and fear of being labeled troublemakers. Some women also fear retaliation from their employers as well. In regard to the latter, other women simply do not have the money to carry out a lawsuit that may take years to settle or reach court. In sexual harassment lawsuits, the prospect of going to trial is enough to scare off many women, particularly once they realize how vulnerable their credibility is in legal matters concerning sexual activity. â€Å"Many labor experts believe women are held back from jobs because of subtle sexual harassment. Only the concerted efforts of enlightened companies, not litigation, can eradicate this form of injustice† (Morrison 15). One enlightened company, Du Pont, has made efforts to help women managers overcome the glass ceiling. Du Pont has established a staff position to focus on advancing the careers of promising women and minorities. â€Å"If a division is looking for the manager of affirmative action and upward mobility then Du Pont is the example to follow† (Gallagher 88). Such a staff position is needed to provide support, counseling, and advocacy for women who find their career advancement has stalled due to subtle discrimination. Despite the efforts of some companies, gender diversity is still sorely lacking in Corporate America. A recent study revealed that of America†s 500 largest companies, women held only 10 percent of the top executive positions. â€Å"For all the bravado of the past decade, women in most organizations are not much further along. The glass ceiling has not shattered† (Himelstein 64). Although some companies are diversifying their executive workforces, most companies prefer to initiate these diversity efforts on their own, rather than being forced into it by legislative quotas or affirmative action. For example, Coopers and Lybrand, whose all-male corporate management committee was confronted by its female employees last year, regarding the absence of women in management, preferred to resolve the situation themselves. At issue, was the fact that women only accounted for 8 percent of the firms† 1,300 partners and only 3 percent of the firm†s 70 regional managers. The confrontation which occurred during a management meeting where it was revealed that gender myths about women†s performance as managers still persisted. For instance, the male partners assumed that the women were reluctant to engage in business travel and informal business gatherings. As a result of the confrontation, Coopers and Lybrand initiated programs to address diversity issues. These programs included mentoring and formal training. â€Å"Coopers and Lybrand proclaimed that 30 percent of their new partners by the year 2000 would be women, up from 17 percent in 1999† (Glover 16). Eliminating the glass ceiling requires zealous planning efforts by corporations that are committed to diversity. The first step involves setting goals. â€Å"A few companies are achieving success in the battle to get women into the executive suit. They have backed sound strategies with effort, money, and long term commitment† (Weiss 191). Various companies base their goals on census data, desiring their workforce to reflect the gender demographics of the surround region, while other companies eschew quotas and internal goals, but seek the same results, increased diversity. Diversity goals can help but women into the pipeline through the hiring process. The presence of women in senior positions tends to attract women who hold similar aspirations. Once employed, women must receive the training that will allow them to move into the corporate ranks. For example, Colgate-Palmolive favors fast tracking its employees through cross training. Cross training exposes the employee to a variety of functions within the organization; the broad base of knowledge acquired is critical to success as a future manager. The efforts that corporations are putting into diversifying their workforces is bearing fruit. An example is J.C. Pennys, which initiated a drive in 1988 to fill 1,000 management positions (created by the relocation of company headquarters) with qualified women. After setting numerical goals and establishing formal networking and mentoring programs. â€Å"Pennys was able to increase its percentage of senior managers who are women from less than 12 percent in 1990 to more than 35 percent by 1997† (WIBC 103). The glass ceiling that prevents women from advancing to top positions will only be shattered by the combined efforts of political activists and the private sector. Strong legislation provides women with the power they need to litigate unfair employment practices. Private sector initiatives help create a climate that is supportive for women to develop their skills and make it to the top. Women have made key victories, both in the political arena and in Corporate America. Thousands of women managers are in the pipeline and on the right track to assume their rightful places in the ranks of corporate executives. If current efforts bear fruit, the glass ceiling will no longer be a limiting factor for women of the 21st century.

Positive And Negative Of Social Media Essay

Currently, the development of social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., has developed very rapidly both among teens or children. As social media application this of course brings many new effects in the development of adolescents and children, both negative and positive impacts. The positive impact of social media in the development of IT actually bring many advantages, such as ease in communication, search and access informasi. But in addition to that it also carries a negative thing for the children and young people in the use of function of that. In this case we as users of social media should be more observant in terms of using the function of social media. see more:speech on social media Facebook, twitter and other social networking sites today is the application of technology that are popular among teenagers as well as children. With this website we can expand both kinship and friendship with the wider community, not only within the scope of the neighborhood alone but from different walks of life, environmental and social status. It is a must for teenagers to have it. Given this social networking site has resulted in a positive or negative impact. The positive impact of social networks such as means to promote ad recently referred by selling online, there is also what makes the group or community to exchange information and also extend friendship. In addition, social networking can also bring kinship that has not been met or had dropped out. The negative impact of social networking for teens and children are the social networking sites that they will feel addicted and do not know the time because they have to update to the social networking sites that they have. Lately rampant cases of kidnapping of a teenage girl after meeting through social networks, there is also the escape or run away from home after communicating with social networking friends. The negative impact of social networking sites are also apparent in the change of attitude shown after the teen social networking addiction among them become lazy because too preoccupied with their social networks, they also forget their responsibilities as students.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Interview Paper Essay

One day forty four years ago, a baby was born in Texas. He was growing up healthily in the warm Texas wind and heat year after year. His name is James Cambell, a man who never stopped chasing his dream with great zest although he is now forty four years old. Spring has always rightly been identified with youth, and the sorrows of youth are poignant and unrepeatable, but he never thinks it is too late to achieve something, a dream or a goal, could be very large or very tiny. When James was young, he had always had a dream that he could travel across the country and now he still has it. Ever since high school James loved jogging and fishing. In the 1980s, a lot of electrical equipment and electronic devices came into this world. At this time, many experts and scientists were predicting the 21th century would be the internet age. As he was a boy, no one could stop James Cambell to be attracted to these electronic devices. So, he started playing and learning about these devices. After he finished his schooling, he got a job in electronics. Many years later, he fell in love with a girl who later became his wife. Everything is impermanent and can be changed. Marriage or divorce and its many ups and downs, still exercised a powerful hold over newspapers, magazines, and the airwaves. Unfortunately, James Cambell was one of them. However, divorce is not always a bad thing. It could be a good in that you as an individual get less stressed and more free time in life. Today, he’s still working in the electrical field and he thinks it is an appropriate time to get more knowledge about electrical technology. Consequently, he’s at HCC now studying Electrical Engineering. In our youth, everyone makes mistakes, and wondered what the world had in stock for them. They too might have had confusion about the future. Brian Mosley was born in Houston. Without exception, he made a so-called mistake when he was young. Life can sure throw a curve ball when you least expect it. A newborn entered his life at age eighteen and had to find work to support him and his new family. When I asked him, â€Å"have you ever had any regrets about what happened?† He said he never thought it was a mistake because he looked at the situation through optimist eyes. If there was only half a cup of water left, an optimistic person may cheer for it because they still have the half. Obviously, Brian was an optimistic person that  never felt unhappy or sorrowful. There is no denying that, most optimists have a high happiness index, which can hardly be experienced by pessimists. His attitude had moved his wife and parents strongly so they too can view life in the same perspective. As a result, the atmosphere of optimism and happiness had been naturally set up and his mom aided to him to take care of the baby. Fourteen years later, Brian’s second boy was expectably born when he was thirty two years old. Today, he is a thirty nine years old man with less pressure and more freedom. His work schedule allows him to attend HCC to continue receiving a higher education to later support his family even further. Now he’s studying physical therapy for his interest. He hopes he can travel with his family on road trips across the whole country in the upcoming years. There is always a lot of fun in an extended family. Sometimes people may squabble but never take it to heart. Twenty seven years ago, Michael was born in Houston and he had two brothers and three sisters. Unfortunately, he was oldest child had to take care of them and forgive their mistakes. In other words he had to start learning more than his brothers and sisters such as doing housework. In such a situation, he had been independent earlier than others. Every time when Michael was awake dead at night he always felt lonely and so he would ask himself what is needed of him. Sometimes, he still felt lonely, but is loneliness a terrible thing? Obviously, the answer is no, because loneliness also could bring something good to him. Because of lacking help from others, he became prone to dealing with all kinds of situations by himself. Thus, he would be more independent in life and he can endure more setbacks and pressure. Now Michael likes watching comedy and shopping with his friends. He has a three years old daughter. And he’s studying business in HCC to get a more interesting and better job.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Moving to Another Country Essay

Tradition is existing knowledge. A tradition is a group of related ideas that have lasted for a long time. In some cases people have spent that time trying to improve the ideas. We’ll call that a dynamic tradition because it changes over time. In other cases, the focus has been on keeping the tradition exactly the same over time. We’ll call that a static tradition because it does not change. Although these approaches are contradictory, some traditions are mixed. Dynamic traditions are important because they contain some of our best knowledge. Today, they contain only the best ideas any participants have thought of in the whole history of the tradition. I don’t mean they are perfect, but if they missed a good idea, it was despite people’s efforts, not intentional. They do a pretty good job of gathering the best ideas, and keeping those around, and discarding ideas that are discovered to be mistaken. The reason dynamic traditions are especially valuable is the sheer amount of thought, criticism and error correction that has gone into them from many people. Just because traditions contain valuable knowledge doesn’t mean they are always right. Sometimes they aren’t. I shouldn’t defer to traditions just because a lot of smart people didn’t see any way to improve them further. I should defer if I don’t see any way to improve them further. If I make up a new idea, and I don’t see any way to improve it further (in 20 minutes of thought), then it’s not particularly reliable. I could easily have missed something. With a tradition, perhaps thousands of people put in twenty minutes of thought, and some others put in years, so even if I don’t see any way to improve things, and even if I don’t know much about the subject, it has an advantage over just making something up myself. All the knowledge in traditions can be intimidating . And no one has time to carefully and critically go through all the details of all the traditional knowledge they use. That’s OK. But one should bear in mind two things. First, if something goes wrong — if there seems to be a problem — then relying on tradition isn’t good enough. It’s not working, and you’ll need to tweak something or find another tradition. And second, a thoughtful person should critically evaluate some traditions. It’s your choice which, but everyone ought to be good at something and have the experience of trying to improve some knowledge. Everyone should put some serious thought into some area. There isn’t much point to life if I don’t seriously think about some parts of it. In the case of a disagreement, an  appeal to tradition is invalid. The tradition might be wrong and someone thinks it is. To address that disagreement, I have to consider their criticism of the tradition, any alternative ideas they have, and any arguments in favor of the traditional idea, and then try to work out what is true. Traditions containing people’s best ideas of the past won’t always be the best ideas anyone thinks of in the future. The biggest value of traditions is they can often give useful ideas that are not controversial, or starting points which partially solve problems. In a disagreement, although we can’t say, â€Å"This is true because a lot of smart people didn’t see anything wrong with it, and who are you to say they missed something?† the fact that something is a tradition is not irrelevant either. Dynamic traditions have, over the years, faced a lot of criticism. They often already include explanations of why common criticisms of the tradition are mistaken. Major traditions have existing literature that provides arguments and ideas on the subject. This literature can answer many disagreements, which are often made in ignorance. When we find something wrong with a tradition, if at all possible we should improve the tradition, not abandon it. We should seek a way to modify the tradition but also retain existing knowledge. To keep the most existing knowledge, our change should be as small as possible to solve the problem. If we were to start over from scratch, we may avoid the flaw we found, but we’re not perfect and our new ideas will contain other flaws. And new ideas won’t have the benefit of decades or centuries of people trying to find and correct flaws. We should consequently be respectful of tradition even as we find errors in it, and try to improve it with new ideas of our own. Static traditions are different. Although they’ve been around a long time, no one has been trying to find mistakes in them, so they aren’t very useful. Nor are they innocuous. Consider: why does the static tradition still exist? Why didn’t it disappear after its original advocates died? With a dynamic tradition, it’s passed on to the next generation because people find it useful, and teach it. A static tradition, too, must have some mechanism for being passed on. But it canâ€⠄¢t be that people voluntarily learn it due to its usefulness. Because it never changes, and never corrects errors, it’s not very useful. Instead, people must in some way be tricked or fooled into it, or indoctrinated, or forced, or brainwashed. Often they are pressured, and made  to feel bad, sinful or guilty if they do not follow the tradition. But controlling people’s emotions is difficult. Because people are creative and will try to defend themselves, it takes a lot of knowledge to reliably control or manipulate them. Where does that knowledge come from? Static traditions are not actually entirely static. The main ideas, doctrine or dogma is kept constant. But the way of passing it on changes. The more people try to preserve the tradition unchanged, and make sure it will last forever, the more creativity they put into mechanisms for transmitting the tradition to the next generation. All traditions face a selection effect. For a tradition to last, it has to be passed on from older people to younger people. But only so many ideas can be taught to the next generation. Children are only in school, and in their parents’ home, for so many years. The amount of ideas is large, but it’s limited. Only a certain amount of tradition can fit. Only the ones that are better at being passed on will make the cutoff. D ynamic traditions compete by being as useful as possible. Thus the selection effect pushes them to be better and better. They try to be true, and people like the truest ones so much that they teach them to children. Static traditions compete differently. They can’t compete with good ideas directly, so they use other approaches such as manipulating or controlling people. In short, in some way they disable the person’s creativity so he doesn’t realize the tradition is low on useful truth content, and doesn’t think of alternative ideas against which a static tradition can’t compete. The selection effect for static traditions makes them worse, not better. Any static tradition that fails to create a permanent blind spot in the person runs a serious risk that one day he’ll realize it’s not a great tradition and doesn’t have a lot of useful knowledge. And if he realizes that, whether he ever changes his mind or improves himself, what he won’t want to do is teach it to his kids. There will never come a time when his children have some problem or qu estion, and he thinks if he teaches them this tradition it will help them, since he knows it is not useful. Traditions are important because they contain our best knowledge collected over the years. But they can also be dangerous. Static traditions that induce blind spots in people and are useless at everything except getting themselves taught to children. It is up to us to consider which traditions are which.