Character Development of Female Protagonists Essay

In both stories they featured a female protagonist undergoing major character developments and mentality change from first sentence to last. They experienced complex, life-altering events and made crucial decisions resolving said events. I believe, although both stories showed the characters undertaking change, they didn’t portray the outcome as positive change. The conflict of Lamb to the Slaughter is when Mary’s husband revealed he wanted a divorce. â€Å"Her first instinct was to reject it all, not believe anything.†(Dahl, 153) She had a drastic mentality change: she murdered him and created an alibi of coming home finding her husband dead. This was due to her feeling betrayed by her husband leaving her when she was pregnant. The conflict of The Necklace is when Mathilde gets invited to a high-class party however she had no dress to wear. â€Å"No†¦there’s nothing more humiliating than looking poor in the middle of a lot of rich women.† (Maupassant )This drove her to borrow a valuable necklace but ends up losing it and having to pay for a replacement. Mathilde and her husband fell into debt and became more penniless than before simply because she desired her fantasy of opulence. It’s evident in both stories, the development in the main protagonist. Mary started as a loving, faithful housewife and became a deceitful, strong killer. Mathilde started as a well-off but unsatisfied woman and became impoverished but content. It’s shown at the end that the women aren’t in greater situations than before the conflicts occurred. Works Cited Bibliography: (Dahl, R. Lamb to the Slaughter, New York: Harper’s Magazine, 1953) (Maupassant, G. The Necklace, Paris: Le Gaulois, 1887)

Complete Ramsey Walker’s profit plan Essay

Work assumption: 1. Assume that the sales will increase by 10% for each new title, as indicated the Backlist sales increase. 2. Assume that the total number of new titles remain unchanged; since Ramsey is trying to publish fewer segments and focus more resources on trying to publish fewer segments and focus more resources on differentiation those books in the marketplace, there is no reason for him increase the new titles. 3. Assume that they plan to increase their gross margin by 2% and decrease the expenses of sales by 1%, for each of the six formats, as given for Backlist. 4. Assume that AR as the percentage of sales remains 20%, as indicated by Backlist. 5. Assume that inventory as the percentage of sales decrease by 15%, as indicated by Backlist. 6. Assume that AP as the percentage of sales will stretch to 20%, as the last year percentage for the first five formats is 18%. The 10% increase in sales, 2% increase in GM and 1% decrease in expenses should be critical since it will increase the profit dramatically. And the decrease in inventory is also critical because it will decrease the lower part of the ROA formula. Since the overall goal of the profit plan is to achieve the 10% increase in ROA, so the above assumptions will directly affect the end results. Problem 2: Review the list of financial performance measure presented above. What measures or calculations should Ramsey use to manage the business? How should those measures be calculated? 1. Annual sales growth rate should be used to measure their performance  because this rate helps management to evaluate the quality of their decisions and also helps to make the new strategy for the future development. It is calculated by suing the difference between current year sales and previous years divided by the previous year sales. 2. Profit % is the most critical measurement of a business performance. Without profit or potential to earn profit in the future there is no meaning for a business to continue. It is simply calculated by using profit divided by the sales. 3. Average unit sales help the company to find the right format which is more profitable and more popular, and affect the company’s future strategies. Using the total units sold for one format divided by the total titles in this format. 4. Operating expenses can help them to manage their cost control system, OP can be calculated simply sum up all the expenses in the income statement. 5. POA and ROI are hard to control and too complex to analyze. But these measurements can be calculated by dividing the profit by total asset or total investment respectively, different results can be achieved by suing different assumptions. Picture Photo B & W Nonfiction Fiction Backlist Income Statement Number of New Titles 5 3 1 7 7 0 Sales 426,933.10 122,314.00 50,589.73 218,156.40 256,171.30 1,200,000.00 COGS 127,672.00 39,591.50 19,644.67 63,200.00 71,302.00 384,000.00 Royalties 58,218.00 16,679.00 6,898.67 29,749.00 34,933.50 180,000.00 Gross Margin % 56% 54% 48% 57% 59% 53% Expenses % of the sales 53% 54% 54% 54% 54% 47% Expenses 226,584.30 66,049.53 27,318.39 117,804.10 138,333.20 564,000.00 New Income 14,458.83 -6.083 -3,271.99 7,403.34 11,602.61 72,000.00 Balance sheet – May 31, 1998 Current Assets Inventory 39,892.20 40,119.15 10,933.55 36,187.90 65,747.50 500,000.00 A/R as % of Sales (projected) 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% A/R $ 85,386.62 24,462.79 10,117.95 43,631.28 51,234.26 240,000.00 Total current Assets 125,278.80 64,581.94 21,051.50 79,819.18 116,981.76 740,000.00 Current Liabilities A/P as % of Sales 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 0 A/P $ 85,386.62 24,462.79 10,117.95 43,631.28 51,234.26 0 Royalties Payable 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total current Liabilities 85,386.62 24,462.79 10,117.95 43,631.28 51,234.26 Free Cash Flow (= Net Income +/- Change in Net Working Capital) Net Income 14,458.83 -6.08 -3,271.99 7,403.34 11,602.61 72,000.00 Change in Net Working Capital 39,892.20 40,119.15 10,933.55 36,187.90 65,747.50 Free Cash Flow 54,351.03 -40,125.23 7,661.56 43,591.24 77,350.11 72,000.00

Feminism in Much Ado About Nothing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Feminism in Much Ado About Nothing - Essay Example From the feminist perspective, the relationship between the two main characters reflects greatly on the overall feelings of the sexes in general. In the play Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick's opinions regarding love and relationships, and the presentation of the concept of love and relationships in the play, both demonstrate how Elizabethan times mistreated the female role, emphasizing the concept of radical-cultural feminism, and also how the male code of honor can bring a man do collapse and devastation. The Radical-Cultural feminists believe that women should encompass their femininity because it is better than masculinity. Mary Daly advocates finding the "wild female within". This type of radical feminist sees sex and penetration as male dominated. They see a link between sex, female subordination, porn, rape and abuse. These must be eliminated, according to Cultural-Radical feminists. Yet another opposing view is that reproduction is the source of power for women. They believe that men are jealous of women, and that they try to control reproduction through means of technology. In order to set the stage for the initial criticisms of marriage, Shakespeare first introduces his audience to the set of conventional lovers, Claudio and Hero. These two characters undergo a relatively predictable and acceptable type of courtship. However, another important aspect is presented in this relationship, that reflects on the concept of feminism. The progression of Claudio and Hero's relationship demonstrates to the audience how women were very much dominated by men. For instance, Claudio states, "can the world buy such a jewel," when referring to Hero. This metaphor is important because it reflects Claudio, the male's, perceptions of the female, Hero, as an object, and not as an actual living, breathing individual. Even Hero's father refers to her as an object to be owned. For example, Hero's father, Leonato, states: 'If the Prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer." This demonstrates the fact that Hero has no control over her own life; even if she does n ot like the Prince, she must agree to a marriage. Hero, however, is the typical dutiful Elizabethan daughter; during this time, and considering her status, she was a mere pawn in this patriarchal society. According to Eleanor Bron: Elizabethan women were expected to bring a dowry to the marriage. A dowry was an amount of money, goods, and property that the bride would bring to the marriage. It was also referred to as her marriage portion. After marriage Elizabethan women were expected to run the households and provide children. Large families were the norm as the mortality rate for children and babies was so high. Many Elizabethan woman made arrangement for the care of their children in case they themselves died during childbirth. Thus, she must do and say as her father says, and then later, as her husband says. She is therefore not allowed to think for herself; she is simply told what to do and expected to do what she is told. This presentation of Hero's character and situation

Being and Nothingness according to Jean-Paul Sartre Essay

Being and Nothingness according to Jean-Paul Sartre - Essay Example Sartre explains that our perception of the external world is absolute and pure. He also suggests that our perception of objects is of finite nature, and our self perceives them with the help of the senses. He is of the idea that what we see in the outside world is what we know and what we get. In his philosophical theory argues that the being – in –itself and being- for- itself are distinct aspects of this real world. Here being – in –itself are the unconscious beings and being- for -itself is the conscious being. As per Jean-Paul Sartre, being –in -itself is stable and isn’t aware of its existence, whereas being – for- itself is aware of its own consciousness. These both beings are distinct from each other and constitute the existence of the universe.Being – in– itself cannot change its form with its own will as it does not have will or consciousness. However being – for – itself has free will, awareness an d chooses to act right or wrong. Anyway, Jean-Paul Sartre sees the being – for –itself as incomplete and indefinite, as it can go to any limit with its dynamic consciousness. This is what makes a man undetermined, indefinable and conscious creature. Since for – itself or a man in other terms is absent of a predetermined essence, it is intimidated or forced to create itself from nothingness or voidness. According to Sartre voidness or nothingness is the very explainable characteristic of a human being.For example, a rock is a rock and can do nothing to change its shape or form. But in case of being – for – itself can change its shape, form and even decide what he wants to do or not do. A man has the power to act in this world, and also can interact with physical objects which are being – in – itself. We can see that a man is not simply being here in this world, but also is actuating himself with the power of consciousness and awareness . A man or a self can create a whole dynamic world of himself by perceiving the objects of the universe. His consciousness is of infinite power and this gives him the ability to perceive being – in – itself in a dynamic way.

DB SC bus139 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DB SC bus139 - Assignment Example On the contrary this form of business method helps to achieve economies of scale where funds can be allocated as per requirements. I feel that every business has the desire to expand across wide areas and in order to meet such an objective franchising is the best possible solution. The major advantage of this method is to have control on capital and operate across the globe without much of intervention. It can be stated that franchisees are able to provide a large customer base along with some exceptional talent which cannot be accessed by a business that has its wholly owned subsidiary. High level of consistency and quality are maintained by franchisees as they are bound within an agreement. This in turn increases the scope for success of the new business. On the contrary the major disadvantage of the method is that expertise and skills of a firm needs to be shared by all the franchisees. There can even be an issue with timely payment of fees and royalties by franchisees which would disrupt the relationship between franchisor and franchisee and ultimately have an impact on the business (Longenecker, Palich & Hoy 94-99). In order to avoid such a situation the best possible measure is to set forth an agreement with all possible terms and conditions and then I would prefer to have limited number of franchisees who can be easily controlled. I was working as an employee with a renowned organization located in United States known as Kraft Foods. The industry in which the company operates is highly competitive with large number of players. However Kraft Foods has been able to establish its unique position in the market due to high product quality and innovative food items which it brings forth for its customers. Food and Beverage industrial sector is a segment that needs constant monitoring as any new move made by competitor can result into loss of market share. While I was working in this organization, I observed a good management situation in which top

Alexis de Tocquevilles Democracy in America (1835, 1840) and John Essay

Alexis de Tocquevilles Democracy in America (1835, 1840) and John Stuart Mill On Liberty (1859) - Essay Example The system of democracy has arisen as a result of oppression by aristocracy and monarchy. Aristocrats and monarchs pledged allegiance to Catholicism and often suppressed certain liberties. As the world’s first modern democracy, America stands as a beacon to the world. Marked disparities lie in both narratives of De Tocqueville and Mill. Both De Tocqueville and Mill carry onerous burdens about the tyranny of the majority in their theses; however they both attack the same topic, justifying their fears about the majority rule using different premises. On one hand, De Tocqueville takes note of American democracy as it implements the majority as its government its distinguishing traits and also downfalls; on the other, Mill is more predisposed to liberty considerations, detailing the distinctive qualities of liberty – both tackling the pitfalls of governing the individual, threats to individuality and by extension the nation under the rule of the majority. The combination of all these causes forms so great a mass of influences hostile to Individuality, that it is not easy to see how it can stand its ground. It will do so with increasing difficulty, unless the public can be made to feel its value—to see that it is good there should be differences, even though not for the better, even though, as it may appear to them, some should be for the worse. If the claims of Individuality are ever to be asserted, the time is now, while much is still lacking to complete the enforced assimilation.   De Tocqueville’s â€Å"Democracy in America† and John Stuart Mill’s â€Å"On Liberty,’ are similar because they both have numerous legitimate concerns about the right and plight of the minority and individual in the face of a system of politics ruled by the majority. Both thinkers delve into these pertinent subjects to substantiate their points. The narratives of both political thinkers also concur because they continue to dissect all forms of government and trace the effects of certain governmental structures and distributions of power, concentrating power into the hands of the public. De Tocqueville’s main preoccupation is the definition and sovereignty of the American people, whereas Mill’s is the supremacy of the general will. These differences exist because De Tocqueville’s argument centers on the system of democracy – a brand of government for the people, of the people and by the people. De Tocqueville reasons that for government, one party must be lesser, while the next must be greater. Following this logic, he realizes that even democracy has its inequalities. He refers to the origins of democracy – a system of government put into effect by the people, for the people and of the people. However, he is quick to underscore that there are some weighty implications with the rule of the people. Collective government is evidently encapsulated in the U.S. Constitution, â€Å"W e, the people.† The elections, the democratic process, is actually glaring evidence of the rule of the majority in which the people elect a government based on a majority count. Since minorities are not given enough say or authority, American democracy ultimately tyrannizes the minority, empowered with the ability to ignore conveniently, prosecute and persecute dissidents. By elucidating on the repressive origin and character of democracy, De Tocqueville informs that American democracy is ruled by a majority, suppresses the minority, conforming to the general will. Likewise, John Stuart Mill critiques the power of the general wil

Crimes Against Humanity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Crimes Against Humanity - Essay Example at this term first appeared in the preamble of the 1907 Hague Convention, the meaning of this term have evolved to take on a much broader meaning to include â€Å"anything atrocious committed on a large scale.†(Cherif Bassiouni (1998). Killing is morally evil and wars bring so many deaths that even though â€Å"decisions relating to war are not made in a moral vacuum† (Coates 1997) one can never claim that the death of innocent people are but the collateral damages of war. The term â€Å"crimes against humanity† has become so broad that it encompasses just all other types of violence against certain groups of people, sector or race in the past years. To help us understand the term â€Å"crimes against humanity better† let us look into some specific events in the history of humankind where war has created such atrocities that dehumanize a person. It is interesting to note at this point that when we say crimes against humanities, we do not only mean deaths of thousands of people but also those events that reduce a person into a mean object of hate or experimentation. There have been many events in the past involving great loss of human lives, but throughout the recorded history of mankind nothing could ever surpass the holocaust when it comes to violations of the human dignity. In the generic sense of the word, a holocaust is any event where there is great loss of human life as is near total destruction by fire (American Heritage Encyclopedia 2005). However, the meaning of this word somewhat changed with the event that led to the death of some 11 million people. The holocaust is one of the best examples of â€Å"crimes against humanity†. Between 1933-1945, around 6 million Jews and 5 million non-Jewish people were systematically killed when the Nazi movement and its supporter ruled the most part of Europe1. Although most of Hitler’s target was the Jews, there are also other people who suffered and died on the process under the brutality of the military, the

Stereotypical view of Vietnamese exchange students as communists Research Paper

Stereotypical view of Vietnamese exchange students as communists - Research Paper Example After the end of the war, the American government accepted thousands of refugees from Vietnam as citizens of the United States (Ferry 18). Before the end of the war, there were only a few thousand Vietnamese living in America, majority of whom were students, spouses of American military personnel, civilians who served in South Vietnam, or Vietnamese diplomatic corps members. As the number of Vietnamese living in America increased, some Americans had stereotypical view of them as communists. In particular, there is a stereotypical view of Vietnamese students as communists. These stereotypes have been fed by anti-communist ideology that continues to persist in many of the America’s learning institutions (Ashwill 13). This paper will discuss the stereotypical view of Vietnamese exchange students as communists. After the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, waves of migration from Vietnam to the United States were witnessed. The number of Vietnamese seeking refuge in America rose consi derably over the years. The Orderly Departure Program that was created by the United States and that allowed people who were interviewed and approved by American authorities to migrate to the United States further enhanced immigration into the United States from Vietnam (Parker 14). While Vietnam War-caused instability was the main reason for immigration from Vietnam to the United States, other factors contributed to the migration. When the United States withdrew, the South Vietnamese was toppled by the North Vietnam and the Vietnamese with ties with South Vietnam government had to seek refuge in the America to avoid being oppressed or killed (Ferry 55). Poor economic and political situation in Vietnam caused immigration. The war between China and Vietnam in 1979 further led to immigration. Since the end of the Vietnam War, the United States of America supported South Vietnam and accepted those refugees who had close ties with the American military and South Vietnamese government. G reater social and economic stability greatly contributed to the immigration – it was a major attraction for immigrants to the United States because it presented more and greater opportunities for the Vietnamese (Parker 14). Available data indicate that the Vietnamese are America’s fourth largest minority group. Recent data also indicate that there is increasing number of Vietnamese exchange students in America’s learning institutions, particularly universities and colleges (Lorenzo, Frost and Reinherz 289). Since the America’s involvement in the Vietnam War that was viewed as aimed at preventing expansion of communism, stereotypes emerged regarding Vietnamese people in America, including students. There are various types of stereotypes that are assigned to Vietnamese exchange students and that \ often create conflicts with their peers and cause them emotional distress (Ashwill 13). The main stereotype assigned to Vietnamese exchange student is that they a re communists and that they subscribe to communism ideology. Most of them are viewed advocating for communism tendencies even when they are pursuing genuine cause during their studies in various colleges and universities around America (Educational Testing Service para4). Since the Vietnam War was associated with anti-communist ideology, most

Feedback for solutions for brewing company problems Essay

Feedback for solutions for brewing company problems - Essay Example Molson Coors have therefore decided to pull its international businesses out Asian markets so that they can focus on the local markets. The importation of beer in China holds only 1% share of the market share compared to the domestic and Coors only ranks second despite the China’s low domestic prizes. It is therefore important when the company withdraws its operations from china because there are no chances of succeeding in that market. Coors should first alert their customers in china market and sell their stake to Sihai Beer Company because of the company’s inability to sustain its assets and the need to cover losses as much as possible. Coors should sell its beers at a lower price as a way of getting rid of its excess reserves (Russel Web). The Company should focus on improving its big Canada share and the US market shares in order to improve their sales. This is only possible when the UK and China markets are closed due to their low markets that in turn lead to a higher cost of operation in both UK and China. The partnering between Coors and the SABMiller will also increase the market share to almost 30% in local market. The issue of new marketing material has got a large impact on the success of the firm especially within the local market. The sales have slightly increased after almost a year due to the increased marketing. The small board that was created to facilitate aggressive marketing in North America has not boosted the market share as expected but only increased the operating assets due to its overstatement as the income statement do not include the US (Russel Web). The decline of the consumption of Molson’s products in its major markets is such a big blow to the company and puts the company into a very challenging situation. With the voting rights of Coors remains at 50% hence making it difficult to account for the company’s benefit in the consolidation process. The product for both the companies

Comparing and Contrasting 2B or not 2B and Digital Media in Changing Research Paper - 1

Comparing and Contrasting 2B or not 2B and Digital Media in Changing Language - Research Paper Example In fact, texting has been confirmed to be one of the leading activities that have generated a lot of revenue for most telecommunication companies around the globe. Easy access to mobile phones to youths and school going students and pupils has seen increased use of text messages. This has raised concerns and has even led to debates on the issue of texting and how it would affect learner’s ability to read and write. Teachers and other experts in the field of education would want to know whether the use of text as a form of communication improves or negatively affects the literacy skills of the learner. Some people including authors have condemned texting and even gone an extra mile termed it as a digital virus. Texting has been associated with the invention of and access to mobile phones and personal computers with,n the past 20 years. This writes up looks at some of the reasons as to why texting has been condemned by various people and some of the devices facilitating its prol iferation within the young generation. In relation to 2B or not 2B, texting has been seen as an innovation that is destroying the English language. In fact, it has been perceived as an aspect that not only savages sentences but also rapes vocabulary in English. In addition to this, some writers say that texting encompasses poor spellings, hides dyslexia and is a clear indication of mental laziness in those using texts as a form of communication. People who employ texting as a form of communication make use of abbreviations, digits and even shortened words. Some authors and writers have seen no novelty in these aspects. They oppose texting because they believe that some of its aspects are meaningless and can be understood by people of one generation. An example of this is the use of texting in among the youths who are conversant with some of the texts used. On the other hand, parents and the older generation may not be able to connect some of the numbers, words or even short forms us ed to get the right meaning of the text.

Canadian Briefing Note (LCBO) Essay Example for Free

Canadian Briefing Note (LCBO) Essay 1. Introduction The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a Crown Corporation established in 1927. It operates nearly 600 stores across the province and has a monopoly on the sale of spirits in Ontario.1 LCBO generated nearly $2.9 billion annually for the people of Ontario including $2 billion in taxes and another $900 million in profits each year, making it the second largest government liquor distributor in the world.2 The former Tories planed to sell the boards revenue stream while retaining actual ownership. Now, Dalton McGuintys Liberals was handing out a workbook to focus groups it had convened, saying that the 600 stores could be sold as franchises. Theres something about the prospect of a $5.6-billion deficit that has encouraged the government to obtain funds from selling its prime asset. However, the Ontario Liquor Board Employees Union has been running a successful campaign against privatizing the LCBO, and at same time, National Union of Public and General Employees threw its full support behind a campaign to stop government of from privatizing the phenomenally-profitable Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Should LCBO be privatized now? In this report, first of all, the importance of the issue is discussed, then a detailed analysis of the interests among government, business and public is presented, finally I will draw the conclusion and make a few of recommendations for privatization of LCBO. 2. Importance of the Issue 2.1. Revenue The LCBO is a highly profitable business owned by the government of Ontario. It is also a significant component of the economy of the province. It generates $2.9 billion a year in taxes and profits. The LCBO also contributes to the economy of Ontario in salaries, rents, and the purchase of various goods and services. This sum of money has a multiplier effect on the provincial economy, larger than the original amount injected into the economy. 3 2.2. Pricing and Marketing The LCBO carries a very wide selection of quality-tested products throughout the province at uniform prices. The liquor control boards can, as single buyers, bargain for lower prices and greater special discounts from suppliers and carriers. The privately-owned outlets are fragmented and multiply rapidly and are therefore not centralized in their operations and distribution network. Privately-owned retail outlets also require higher rates of return on their capital costs than control boards, and these higher costs, among others, lead to higher alcohol prices under privatization. 2.3. Employment The LCBO is a progressive employer of a committed and customer oriented workforce who are classified as permanent (amount 3362) and casual, and full-time and part-time.4 LCBO privatization means the laying off of LCBO employees that will lead to huge losses to the treasury and economy of Ontario. Thus the union struggles to organize campaign against the privatization. 2.4. Society Influence Privatizing the LCBO would likely lead to increased access to alcohol, increased consumption and therefore more alcohol-related costs. The significant potential consequences of the privatization of alcohol monopolies include: increased overall population consumption; increased sales to under-aged and intoxicated patrons; increased problems with monitoring and enforcement. 3. Analysis of Privatization 3.1. Government From the aspect of government, it is a current trend that government should not put more intervention in business. Tory said in throne speech: The government will sell businesses it should not operate and assets it should not own. 5 Thus it is reasonable that the former and current minister planned to sell off or partly sell the LCBO. Another reason for privatization may attribute to fiscal deficit, because ministers want to cut its deficit during their terms. The sale of LCBO will obviously resolve its financial problem in short term. However, if we consider it as a financial decision in the long term, it may not be a good choice. Because LCBO is running very well now, it brings an annual dividend of $975 million to government or people of Ontario in 2002-03.6 3.2. Business Many private investors would prefer to buy the franchise of LCBO or directly buy its retail shop. Because LCBO has already established its stable customer base, and have its brand recognizing advantage, it will be a little easy to develop their business in such situation. But due to limit of small scale, its operating cost would be higher than the LCBO, this may lead to high sale price of liquor. And at same reason, it may not control the quality of product as LCBO does. Until now, too many small towns didnt get LCBO service because they couldnt support the overhead of a full-sized LCBO store. Sterling, the former minister of consumer and business services, told reporters. With our go-ahead to offer franchises to existing retailers in very small markets, well improve service for residents and visitors, while preserving the LCBOs social responsibility standards. 5 3.3. Public Most people are satisfied the LCBOs product and service, and support the board control. Alcohol is special commodity, thus government intervention is needed at this situation, even though LCBO has monopoly status in Ontario area. All LCBO retail employees are trained to Challenge and Refuse service to anyone who appears underage and cannot provide valid ID or appears intoxicated. Last year, LCBO frontline staff challenged 1.2 million would-be customers and refused service to nearly 70,000, about two-thirds of whom appeared underage and could not provide valid ID.7 It is difficult to imagine what will happen if all these retail shops are sold to private investors, they may consider more on their own economic benefit and neglect social liability. Increased alcohol problems such as sale to under-aged and intoxicated patron are very likely happen. 4. Recommendation and Conclusion The privatization of LCBO is a complicated issue, because we should consider the relationship and interests among government, business, and public. On one hand, normally government should not act as a policy decision maker and business operator at same time, which will easily lead to monopoly and against good faith.8 On another hand, we have to consider that alcohol is special commodity, which should be effectively controlled by government based on public interest. Therefore my suggestion is to partly privatize LCBO, it will decrease business monopoly in the market, but government could still occupy large part of share, so it can effectively regulate the operation of business. There are many methods of privatization, and some ideas had been mentioned by government in LCBO history, such as franchise store in rural area, merge with Beer Store, and income trust. The main concern is to find an appropriate way to balance the interests of all parties, and make the privatization go smoothly during a period, not suddenly hit some partys interests, and untimely be accepted by all groups. In order to achieve this goal, the LCBO and ministry must be more transparent in their decision-making, and more open to consideration of public health interests. From this point of view, government could organize a board which has enough members from different stakeholders, such as employees of LCBO, representative of Ontario citizen, expert of public health and safety, economists, private investor and government officer. They could regularly meet together to discuss the possible method of privatization and collect all kinds of opinion and feedback from society. Although this method may spend more time during policy-decision process, only when the issue is thoroughly discussed and known by public, the rational policy could be made to reflect all partys interest and untimely encounter less resistance while it is applied. Endnotes: 1. LCBO, Business Information, http://www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/businessinformation.shtml (accessed 16 October 2004). 2. LCBO Annual Report 2003, 44, http://www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/annualreport2003.shtml(accessed 17 October 2004). 3. Ontario Liquor Boards Employees Union, LCBO Revenues, http://www.ourlcbo.com/revenues.htm (accessed 18 October 2004). 4. LCBO Annual Report 2003, 44, http://www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/annualreport2003.shtml (accessed 18 October 2004). 5. The National Union of Public and General Employees, Ontario opening 150 private rural liquor outlets, http://www.nupge.ca/news_2001/news_se01/n26se01a.htm (accessed 19 October 2004). 6. LCBO Annual Report 2003, 11, http://www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/annualreport2003.shtml (accessed 19 October 2004). 7. LCBO, Todays LCBO, http://www.lcbo.com/aboutlcbo/todayslcbo.shtml#social (accessed 20 October 2004). 8. Glen E. Randall David S. Barrows, Business P700 Lecture (McMaster University, 15 October 2004). Bibliography: 1. Daniel Girard. Liquor stores could still be up for sale, Harris says. The Toronto Star, 27 May 1999. 2. Ian Urquhart. McGuinty puts controversial Tory ideas into play. The Toronto Star, 2 Oct. 2004. 3. Nuri T. Jazairi. The Impact of Privatizing the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. http://www.yorku.ca/nuri/lcbo.htm (accessed 18 October 2004). 4. Robert Benzie. Eves talked of selling LCBO, insiders say. The Toronto Star, 31 Oct. 2003. 5. Robert Benzie. Eves sought list of assets to be sold. The Toronto Star, 2 November 2003.

Factors Impacting on Nursing Care Quality

Factors Impacting on Nursing Care Quality Introduction Nurses play an indispensable front-line role in patient care within the NHS. However, issues such as role ambiguity, management concerns, training deficiencies, and a limited evidence-base raise serious questions about the quality of health care nurses dispense. This essay considers some of these issues. Role Ambiguity Although nurses offer a wide variety of patient care services, there is considerable ambiguity about specific work responsibilities in some areas of nursing (Goll-McGee, 1999; Rask Hallberg, 2000; Hinsby et al, 2004; Dickens et al, 2005; Needham et al, 05; Sekula, 2005). Forensic psychiatric care is a good example. In a comprehensive survey of nurse’s views about their job responsibilities, Rask and Hallberg (2000) found significant differences between licensed mental health nurses and registered nurses in the emphasis attached to key nursing roles, such as assessment, medical tasks (e.g. giving medication), and actions relating to patients ‘daily living activities’. Nurses often feel uncertain about whether they can undertake certain tasks autonomously without incurring the wrath of doctors. For example, much has been written about nurse-initiated thrombolysis for cardiac patients (Rawles, 1994; Smallwood, 2000; Smallwood et al, 2004; Kelly, 2004). Patients pres enting at an A E unit with cardiac symptoms may benefit from nurse-administered thrombolysis prior to formal medical screening. This would include performing an electrocardiogram and administering a thrombolytic agent via a standard protocol. Although nurse-induced thrombolysis may significantly reduce door-to-needle times, until recently there was no precise definition of this role in nursing literature. Nurses are often unsure precisely what roles they are expected to perform to deal with problems like teenage pregnancy and STD transmission (Campbell, 2004). This situation is confounded by the fact that sexual health needs vary considerably across specific patient groups (e.g. HIV incidence is significantly high and access to health access seemingly more limited amongst African/immigrant communities) (DOH, 2001, 2002; 2005a, 2005b; also see Erwin et al, 2002). The net effect of this haziness is that nurses may not always be entire certain of their role at critical moments, or may feel too stressed out, in situations where immediate patient care is paramount. Workload, Time Management Training Issues The issue of work-related stress (Ewers et al, 2002) is directly implicated in workload time management. It is no secret that nursing staff in the UK can be overworked at times (Kilfedder et al, 2001; Hinsby Baker, 2004; Hughes Umeh, 2005). A major reason for this is the severe time constraints created by the multiplicity of tasks nurses are required to perform. The Nursing Stress Scale (Plant et al, 1992; Tyler Cushway, 1995), a standard measure of work stress experienced by nurses incorporates workload as one of several separate and distinct sources of stress, highlighting the importance of this factor in nursing care. The workload problem was emphasised in a recent article about school nursing (Martell, 2005). School nurses are heavily under resourced but yet face an arduous workload, more so for those working in the pubic sector. Staff shortages and a multiplicity of responsibilities means that not enough time is spent on health promotion and in the classroom. More than half o f school nurses report feeling ‘emotionally drained’, and work excess hours on a daily basis, several times a week. The level of stress seems to vary considerable across different nursing fields. A recent study found that registered nurses report higher levels of stress compared with psychiatric nurses especially in the absence of social support (Hughes Umeh, 2005). Then there is the issue of training. Nurses in the UK receive extensive training before being employed to work on the ‘frontline’ (Campbell, 2004). However, questions have been raised about the adequacy of existing nursing education in various aspects of patient care. For example, although it has been suggested that nurses can play a crucial role in evaluating and caring for victims of sexual assault, nurses in the UK currently receive no formal training in this area (Dinsdale, 2005). Another area of training deficiency is in HIV prevention. Although the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) appr oves specific training courses for nurses in this area, universities and colleges are not compelled to offer them, â€Å"Pre-registration training for nurses does not include mandatory education relating to sexual health services. Nurses working in sexual health gain post-basic education in an ad-hoc manner through working in the specialty, and by undertaking specialist post-registration courses (Campbell, 2004, p.169). Nurses often receive limited (if any) training in the care of specific patient groups. For example, few nurses have special knowledge of the health care needs of ethnic minorities communities (DOH, 2000b; Andalo, 2004). Those who by chance spend some time working in such communities may gain some of the necessary expertise, but otherwise most nurses may be uninformed in this area. School nursing is another area in which training needs are not being met (Harrison, 2004; Martell, 2005). Martell (2005) reports that school nurses often have limited access to essential training for their role. Research Evidence-based practice As with other branches of health care there is increasing emphasis in nursing care on evidence-based practice (Lewis Latney, 2003; Thompson et al, 2004; Ring et al, 2005). Feasible evidence-based practice requires an adequate evidence base (Lewis Latney, 2003). However scientific literature in certain areas of nursing care is often patchy, delaying the development of appropriate ‘best practice’ statements that will ensure consistency in the quality of care nurses dispense across all sectors of the NHS and private sector (Hoskins, 2000; Serrant-Green, 2004). The importance of evidence-based ‘best practice’ guidelines cannot be overstated. The Nursing and Midwifery Practice Development Unit (NMPDU) emphasises their importance in achieving consistent care delivery across nursing sectors. Unfortunately, even where best-practice guidelines have been widely developed for nursing care, as is the case with NHS Scotland, implementation is often slow and inconsisten t (Ring et al, 2005). Nurses rarely refer to an evidence base when making decisions about patient care (Thompson et al, 2004). For example, midwifes often fail to offer antenatal HIV testing to women for ethnic minority backgrounds, to avoid appearing discriminatory (Gibb et al, 1998), even though such testing is a standard recommendation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), DOH, and Nurse Agencies National Minimum Standards (DOH, 1994, 2000a). Guideline execution can be hampered by many factors including resource deficiencies, lack of training, resistance to change, lack of emphasis or prioritisation, absence of local nurse ‘leaders’ who can champion best-practice ideology, and resistance to change. Fulbrook (2003) notes that nursing knowledge and care often derives from more experiential and in-depth one-to-one interactions with patients, rather than formal scientific doctrine. Thus, it is questionable whether existing best practice statements, wh ich are rooted in positivist literature, are indeed appropriate for nursing care. Conclusion The quality of nursing care patients receive may often be compromised by workload issues, training deficiencies, a paucity of an adequate research evidence base, inconsistent implementation of clinical guidelines, and poorly defined job responsibilities. It appears these problems are rather more pressing in the public compared with private sector. A recent study of the work-related perceptions of nurses working in non-NHS facilities found that nurses in this sector reported greater levels of support, cohesion, job clarity and physical comfort (Dickens et al, 2005). However, they also indicated greater work pressure. There appears to be significant variation across various nursing specialties in the importance attached to key aspects of nursing care, such as patient assessment. Furthermore, certain nursing domains, for example school nursing, suffer from severe staff shortages, a multiplicity of responsibilities, and significant training issues. Overall, nursing care in the UK appears to lack the support it needs to meet expectations. References Andalo, D. (2004) How to sell. Nursing Standard, 18, pp.14-17. Campbell, P. (2004) The role of nurses in sexual and reproductive health. Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, 30, pp.169-170. Department of Health (1994) Guidelines for Offering Voluntary named HIV Anti- Body Testing to Women receiving Antenatal Care. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2000a) Nurse Agencies National Minimum Standards: Nurse Agencies Regulations.London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2000b) Black and ethnic nurses midwives and health visitors leading change a report of the Mary Seacole leadership award the first five years. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2001) The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2002) The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV: Implementation Action Plan. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2005a) Integrating the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV with Primary Medical Care Contracting. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2005b) HIV and AIDS in African Communities: A Framework for Better Prevention and Care. London, Department of Health. Dickens, G., Sugarman, P. Rogers, G. (2005) Nurses’ perceptions of the working environment: a UK independent sector study. Journal of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. 12, pp.297-302. Dinsdale, P. (2005) Pioneering nurse-led assault service. Nursing Standard, 19, p.9. Erwin, J., Morgan, M., Britten, N., Gray, K. Peters, B. (2002) Pathways to HIV testing and care by black African and white patients in London, Sexually TransmittedInfections, 78, 37-39. Ewers, P., Bradshaw, T., McGovern, J. Ewers, B. (2002) Does training in psychosocial interventions reduce burnout rates in forensic nurses? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 37, pp.470-476. Fulbrook, P. (2003) Developing best practice in critical acre nursing: knowledge, evidence and practice. Nursing Critical Care, 8, pp.96-102.Gibb, D.M., MacDonagh, S.E., Gupta, R., Tookey, P.A., Peckham, C.S. Ades, A.E.(1998) Factors affecting uptake of antenatal HIV testing in London: results of a multicentre study. British Medical Journal, 316, pp.259-261. Goll-McGee, B. (1999) The role of the clinical forensic nurse in critical acre. Critical Care in Nursing Quarterly. 22, pp.8-18. Gray-Toft, P. Anderson, J.G. (1981) The nursing stress scale: development ofan instrument. Journal of Behavioural Assessment. 3, pp.11-23. Hinsby, K. Baker, M. (2004) Patient and nurse accounts of violent incidents in a medium secure unit. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 11, pp.341-347. Hughes, H. Umeh, K. (2005) Work stress differentials between psychiatric and general nurses. British Journal of Nursing. 14, pp.802-808. Kilfedder, C.J., Power, K.G. Wells, T.J. (2001) Burnout in psychiatric nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 34, pp.383-396. Harrison, S. (2004) School nurses pivotal to achieving health targets. Nursing Standard, 19, p.7.

Nintendo Market Analysis

Nintendo Market Analysis Introduction: The purpose of this assignment is to how do marketing research through analysis data of existing product, Nintendo Wii, competitors, and environment to achieve an increased understanding of the subject matter. Variety of marketing analysis tool, such as PEST, SWOT and Porter Five Force is illustrated in this report that evaluates marketing trend and future potential. Recommendation about Nintendo is given in the last chapter after identification key issue which includes customers, competitors and market place. Company background: Throughout its history in the home entertainment arena, Nintendo has created unique hardware and software as one integrated entertainment product, with software being the primary driver. Nowadays, Nintendo intends basic strategy that extends the worldwide gaming audience. For this purpose, Nintendo offers unique hardware and software to attract as many customers as possible around the world, which brings different experience to enjoy video game entertainment, regardless of their age, gender, language, culture background or gaming experience (Company Annul report, 2008). However, Sony usurps the pioneered static console market of Nintendo, even upstaged for a brief time by Microsoft, for years. It means that the GameCube console is not companys successful hope any more. In the same times, the console of choice for causal gamers the Wii falls short of convincing hardcore gamer that it is an essential purchase but with an estimated 3.5 million units sold in the UK, Nintendo will not be too concerned. (Mintel) Market summary The definition: The video games consoles market includes all video games used in conjunction with consoles and all associated hardware including consoles, peripherals and accessories such as gamepads, memory cards and cables. During in economical downturn, the global video game market maintains growth of 23.7% in 2008 to reach $ 49.6bn and expects to climb at a CAGR of 8.9% over the period 2008-2013, while the growth is slowly compared 2007. Console game dominates video game market as largest segment, however decreases from 54.1% in 2008 to 46.3% in 2013 by forecast. In 2008, the largest consuming market, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), occupies 35.3% of market share, which will reduce their market share in the total video gaming market by 2013. According to business insight forecast, Asia-Pacific will lead the video gaming market as the largest consumer. Nintendo, headquartered in Japan, is the largest video game publisher in the world. In the present, the majority of top 15 video game publisher exists in U.S. or Japan. There are three major players in console hardware market, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo is the market leader in the console hardware field, with around 50% share in global video game market in 2009. PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Xbox owns similarly market share positioning at 2nd and 3rd respectively. Marco environment Macro environment is composed of broad environment factors which are considered the most general level environment. However, when many important changes take place in the environment, the organisation will be affected. PEST is illustrated to identify Nintendo future trends and determines the key drives of change. Porter five forces analysis is also used to understand how the competitive dynamics within and around the video game industry are changing from another point of view. PEST analysis PEST stands for the political and economic, social (including legal and cultural) and technological environment respectively. PEST analysis on video game industry is implemented on the followed context. Political Political environment consists of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individual. (Kotter, 2003, P174) There are many factors impact on video game industry, such as taxation policies, foreign trade regulations and social welfare policies. Due to video game play has associated as emotion of people which introverts some people to threat peace and law, therefore, government control the contents of video game with strong attitude. Another problem is copyright, which one of the recent products launched by company, Nintendo Wii, is in a controversy involving patent infringement. The company has been sued by Maryland-based Hillcrest Laboratories, which filed a case alleging a patent infringement against Nintendo. The lawsuit that is currently placed with the US International Trade Commission in Washington D.C. alleges the company of being guilty of infringement in four patents, particularly the technology used in handheld pointing device and also regarding the display interface system that manages graphic content. This allegation, if proved right, could cause the company to pay up heavily for the damages and could also result the company refraining to use the product further. The Wii console, launched in 2006, has been a huge hit and a judgement against the company could have a material impact on the company ( ). Economic During the global economical downturn, the video game industry still continues growing, driven by expansion of software sales and installed new generation of console hardware. Some places, U.S. and Japan, video game business contributes their GDP with huge dominated market. Nintendo distributes its product globally with overseas sales accounting for approximately 80% of total sales (annual report 2008). Therefore, interest rates have less influenced the video game business as they produce their own units. However, the video game business is depended on disposable income of customer. Nintendo grasps this opportunity with low manufacturing cost that increases sales volume towards normal price. The exchange rates is another majority condition to be considered that company holds a substantial amount of assets consisting on cash deposit denominated in foreign currencies without exchange contracts. When the exchange rate fluctuates, the company revaluated for earnings while foreign currencies are converted to Japanese yen. In other hands, Japanese yen appreciation against the U.S. dollar or Euro would have negative affect Nintendos profitability. Social The social factors impact on the video game industry from population demographics, income distribution, lifestyle changes, social mobility, attributes to work, level of education, consumerism, and consumer behaviour namely. Nintendo use the World of Nintendo showroom to attract and show interest to customers in order to affect customer through satisfaction their needs. Games also have magic to influence the culture of people, especially brings violent to children. These all elements will be exercised influence over the industry. Technological Focused on technological is giving Nintendo higher competitive advantage than normal video game console. The speed of technological innovation always restricts gaming industry developing. Nintendo has attributed the success of the Wii to idea of blue ocean strategy that reflects from price, movie playing, graphics, physics, fun, game library, and magic wand. Nintendo create new technologies both in game and console. For game, brain training of Nintendo DS Lite, and Wii sport brings new experience to players which they never played before. For console, it is the most distinguishing technology, Wii Remote, which contains motion sensing capability that allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and point through the use of accelerometer and optical sensor technology. At last, the online capability of Nintendo Wii is a major change in the technology of the video game industry. Micro environment In this part, porter five forces and SWOT analysis are illustrated to analyze micro environment. Porter five forces Michael Porter established five forces to identify the intrinsic long-run profit attractiveness of a market or market segment (Kotler, 2003) which base on analysis supplier, customer, substitute product and potential entrants. Porter five forces model is identified source of competition in video game industry to determine competitive advantage. Supplier The Power of Suppliers is very high as there are more suppliers available to a handful of companies in the video game industry. The suppliers are companies themselves that companies are developing their own video games. There are lots of products to innovate and develop may consist of CDs disk, hard disk, electronic components, softwares, game writers, packaging of the consoles, printing of manuals and additional features like graphics and so on for marking the game more acceptable and popular. Potential entrant Although Sony and Microsoft are strong competitors to Nintendo, industry rivalry exists in the strategic alliances, for instance straggling to control market. These huge players such as Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, are already becoming tuff battle between companies to control market. This means that the threat of entrant into the industry can be ignored with existence of player during these big players. Customer The Power of Buyers in the video game industry is low as there are very few successful companies in the video game industry, therefore a small variety of video games available to the buyers. The individuals playing video games comprise an increasingly large and definition-defying group. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the average gamer is 35 years old and has been playing for 13 years. Today video players comes from different diverse segment of students, employees, military troops, seniors, mothers and fathers who have driven the evolution of games into new territory. When these first players grow up, their family will enjoy more fun during game with their children and parents. This is so called multiplying the pool of multi-generational gamers exponentially. As volume of player increasing, the market forces push the video game developed and bring new and diverse audience. Substitute product There are too many products, such as online game, PC game and mobile game; however, no product can replace console game. They have special fun during init, such as Wii Remote. Strengths Nintendo plays the important role of console hardware which is a market leader position. It means that the primary target is video game market instead of other product portfolios. This is considered to increase aggressiveness in bolstering sales through its existing formidable product line up. Nintendo also reduces the manufactory cost due to only focuses game function. As previously chapter, the console game depends on customer disposable income, which Nintendo low price strategy will reach an extensive number of loyal users transferring to customer expectation and demands into sales. Be worth mentioning, Wiis arsenal is totally different to its competitors, which innovates motion-sensitive controllers made for game. Weakness Nintendo is market leader in the moment, however still concentrates on remaining and expanding market share instead of developing new brand or games. Nintendo maintains profitability via extensive price competition. Designing new game requires large financial investment and research which cost numerous resources. That is why it depends on more existing brands rather new game. Nintendo abuses the strong censorship and restriction implement on new software game, which bound new game developer creative and innovation. For instance, Square Enix cooperates with Sony PlayStation for its Final Fantasy VI stand of Nintendo, owning to strictly censorship. Opportunities Online video game continuously grows and many of software sales also drive a growing base on console hardware and accessories. Nintendo also launch new product known as Touch generation DS, and Wii which expands new definition of video game industry. Specially, Wii promotes lots of fun via Wii Remote and accessories, conventional operation. Threats Development of hardware is complex and time consuming. With technology growing fast today, it is possible limitation factor if company may be unable to acquire necessary technology. It leads to delay hardware launched and lost market share. Cooperation with third party is also important element because third party manufactures key components and assemble final product. If some of these businesses are failed, Nintendo procures or manufactures its products difficultly. In addition, these elements, short of key components, quality of product and high base cost, causes margin decline and impairs the relationship between Nintendo and third party. Key issue Competitor analysis The major competitors of Nintendo are Sony and Microsoft. Microsofts Xbox 360 had been in market since November 2005 and Sonys next generation system, PlayStation 3, would to launch November 17, 2006. With a combined 93% existing market share, these industry behemoths shared a winning strategy: obsessing over the hardcore male gamer who invested tons of money and time into video gaming (Source: NPD, Sept. 2006). Sony: Sony has strong competitive advantage that Playstation 1 dominates 37% of the market and Playstation 2 (PS2) is even better, which only launch in the 4th quarter of 2000, shares 8% of the console market. Now, new generation product Playstation 3 (PS3) with improved technology controlled 21% market share for the latest generations of players in the U.S. in 2007. Sony still focuses 18-34 year old as target group, sophisticated video game consumers. Microsoft Xbox Live: Microsoft forays the console game industry that Xbox 360 has sold 2.4 million in UK by mid-2008 compared to around 2.3 million original Xbox console. Position somewhere between the hardcore players console that is the PS3 and the family-friendly Wii, the 360s main strength are its Xbox Live product and its exclusive games, such as Halo (Mintel). Xbox Live owns 12 million subscribers in worldwide, but less 3 million lives in Europe. Xbox is one of major online game provider. Market issue Global economical downturn influence too many areas, Japan, North American and Europe, which dominate Video gaming market. For example, Japans real GDP growth rate dropped from -0.7% in 2008 to -6.4% in 2009. Combination of unemployment and low wage of weight, customer purchases necessary goods instead of toy and video game. Wii launches into market until now to prove two strategies correct, which is low price of console and focuses family game. According to SWOT analysis, Wii markets issue is sub-standard software which means censorship. Fish Games CEO believes the Wii markets issue that have partly been the result of poor quality games that flooded the market, leaving consumers who had bad experience to spend money only on the key franchises. Nintendo relies on third party software developer and publisher, however the strictly censorship system leads to too many valuable and interesting game miscarried. Final Fantasy VI is good example of Nintendo censorship. It directly leads to limitation of game and loss aggressive to its competitors. As we known, the majority of players are made by male that are unable to accept childish and changeless game. They prefer more exciting game, such as activity game rather than Cook Mama female game. Nintendo attempts to create new market, home video game, overseas and expand the range of its product in the toy sector. In response this objective, the company is developing new characters other than Ben 10 and collaborating with overseas TV networks on their respective promotions (business inslight). Recommendation Nintendo should not only focus market share, but also develops variety of game to increase aggressive. Only depending on low price cannot win customer loyalty. PS3 and Xbox owns over 200 titles games attractive customers mind, whereas Nintendo Wii is only famous as Wii sport. Although there are a serve of sport games, customer do not satisfy monotonous games. They demand the more exciting, interesting and variable game. Nintendo works as global company, which do not only sale its products in several specific county or area. The company should develop more region as its market, such as China and Indian. Until now, there is no product sale in China, which loss lots of opportunity and margin as well. References Dibb, K. P. (1991). Marketing..Concept and Strategies European Edition. Houghton Mifflin. Doyle, P. (2002). Marketing Management and Strategy. Prentice Hall. Gerry Johnson, K. S. (2008 1st impression). Exploring Corporate Strategy. Pearsons education. Pettitt, F. B. (2000). Principles of Marketing. Prentice Hall (2nd edition). Philip Kotler, K. L. (2009). Marketing Management A South Asia Parspective. Pearson (Prentice Hall,13th edition). Raaij, G. A. (1998). Consumer Behaviour a European Perspective. John Wiley Sons Ltd. Scholes, G. J. (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy. Prentice Hall. Barmazel S., (1993). Video Games: Asians in Canada say they Promote Hatered. Far Eastern Economic Review. Sept 3 p. 37. Cooper, Joel, Mackie, Diane. (1986) Video Games and Aggression in Children. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. v 16, n 8, 726-744. Crawford, Chris. (1984) The Art of Computer Game Design. California: Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Dietz, Tracy L. (1998) An examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior. Sex Roles. v 38, n 5/6, 425-443. Emes, Craig E. Is Mr. (1997) Pac Man Eating Our Children? Candadian Journal of Psychiatry. v 42, 409-414. Funk, J.B. and Buchman, D.D. (1996). Playing Violent Video and Computer Games and Adolescent Self-Concept. Journal of Communication. V 26 n 2, 19-32. Jackson, D.S., (1999) A Room Full of Doom. Time. V24 n 20, 37. Loftus, Elizabeth and Geoffrey. (1983) Mind at Play. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers. Provenzo, Eugene F. Jr. (1991) Video Kids: Making Sense of Nintento. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Quittner, J., (1999). Are Video Games Really so Bad? Time. v 153 n 18, 30-34. Ward Gailey, Christine. (1993) Mediated Messages: Gender, Class, and Cosmos in Home Video Games. Journal of popular culture. v 27, n 1, 81-97. Web references The Video Gaming Market Outlook: Evolving business models, key players, new challenges and the future outlook (2009) Business Insights http://blog.royaltyuniverse.com www.money.cnn.com www.Nintendo System History.com www.revolutionportal.com www.businessweek.com www.gamespot.com www.mevuk.com www.ninetendowiifanboy.com www.nwiizone.com www.rpsite.net www.theesa.com/gamesindailylife/health.asp www.wii.com www.wiisworld.com

Understanding of the Self Essay -- Compare Contrast Psychology Essays

Understanding of the Self INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The social constructionist perspective holds the view that the self is continuing "shaped and reshaped through interactions with others and involvement in social and cultural activities" (Wetherell & Maybin, 1996, p 220). Social constructionist is concerned with explicating the processes by which people come to describe, explain, or otherwise account for the world (including themselves) in which they live (Gergen, 1971). Thus, the social constructionist approach implies that the self is shaped by social interaction within historical, cultural and social contexts. Social constructionist's apply an analysis of societal level which explain the self through social relations. Conversely, the psychodynamic perspective approach emphasises that much of the self of what we are driven by is hidden away in the unconscious and a battle for control takes place between the id, ego and superego. It is a very important point as it suggests that our internal representations of the world could be based on some innate propensities and these of course are unconscious. This interrelationship between world and the unconscious seek to rationalise that a self is produced through the internalization of the introjections of external people (Thomas, 1996). The essay will provide a brief introduction to the theory of the self as presented by both perspectives, then compare and evaluate the explanation offered by them. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST AND PSYCHODYMIC PERSPECTIVE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ethnographic accounts of incongruent cultures as provided by anthropologist are used to defend the argument that the self is socially constructed through socialisation processes (Sapsford, 1996). For example, Markus and Kitayama proposed that with the existence of social influence, there is a greater sense of autonomy in western cultures as compared to the eastern (Wetherell & Maybin, 1996). Therefore, the social constructionist point of view is that our personal private worlds are fused with our external environment's social contact. On the other hand, the self will continue to develop through the utilization of multiple internalisation's of social identities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harre believes that this internalisation can occur through language, linguistic practices and conversations. Language can be used for internal symbolisation. (Wetherell and Maybin, 1996). In ... ...y. The different levels of analysis require different methods; the social constructionist emphasizes on cultural studies of anthropologists whereas the psychodynamic focuses on psychoanalysis to explain subjective experiences. Both views concur that internalisation of others is a vital aspect for the development of self identity, which in actual fact is not a unitary self but the buildup of the fragments of others. The social constructionist's postulates that others are internalised through conversations and language influences, which leads to the generalization of others, to become internalised as our self identity. Mead and Vygotsky, however do not propose that self identity is totally developed from the external society, but instead attributes its development to the varying degrees of people interactions with the wider society. As such, our inner world is converged and dispersed to the wider society. On the other hand, the psychodynamic view recognizes that fragmentation of on e self is unavoidable, which will stimulate unconscious disagreement, only to be dealt with defence mechanisms within. This will eventually produce a self identity which is either incomplete or distorted. Understanding of the Self Essay -- Compare Contrast Psychology Essays Understanding of the Self INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The social constructionist perspective holds the view that the self is continuing "shaped and reshaped through interactions with others and involvement in social and cultural activities" (Wetherell & Maybin, 1996, p 220). Social constructionist is concerned with explicating the processes by which people come to describe, explain, or otherwise account for the world (including themselves) in which they live (Gergen, 1971). Thus, the social constructionist approach implies that the self is shaped by social interaction within historical, cultural and social contexts. Social constructionist's apply an analysis of societal level which explain the self through social relations. Conversely, the psychodynamic perspective approach emphasises that much of the self of what we are driven by is hidden away in the unconscious and a battle for control takes place between the id, ego and superego. It is a very important point as it suggests that our internal representations of the world could be based on some innate propensities and these of course are unconscious. This interrelationship between world and the unconscious seek to rationalise that a self is produced through the internalization of the introjections of external people (Thomas, 1996). The essay will provide a brief introduction to the theory of the self as presented by both perspectives, then compare and evaluate the explanation offered by them. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST AND PSYCHODYMIC PERSPECTIVE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ethnographic accounts of incongruent cultures as provided by anthropologist are used to defend the argument that the self is socially constructed through socialisation processes (Sapsford, 1996). For example, Markus and Kitayama proposed that with the existence of social influence, there is a greater sense of autonomy in western cultures as compared to the eastern (Wetherell & Maybin, 1996). Therefore, the social constructionist point of view is that our personal private worlds are fused with our external environment's social contact. On the other hand, the self will continue to develop through the utilization of multiple internalisation's of social identities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harre believes that this internalisation can occur through language, linguistic practices and conversations. Language can be used for internal symbolisation. (Wetherell and Maybin, 1996). In ... ...y. The different levels of analysis require different methods; the social constructionist emphasizes on cultural studies of anthropologists whereas the psychodynamic focuses on psychoanalysis to explain subjective experiences. Both views concur that internalisation of others is a vital aspect for the development of self identity, which in actual fact is not a unitary self but the buildup of the fragments of others. The social constructionist's postulates that others are internalised through conversations and language influences, which leads to the generalization of others, to become internalised as our self identity. Mead and Vygotsky, however do not propose that self identity is totally developed from the external society, but instead attributes its development to the varying degrees of people interactions with the wider society. As such, our inner world is converged and dispersed to the wider society. On the other hand, the psychodynamic view recognizes that fragmentation of on e self is unavoidable, which will stimulate unconscious disagreement, only to be dealt with defence mechanisms within. This will eventually produce a self identity which is either incomplete or distorted.

Mononucleosis Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mononucleosis is a viral disease that affects those usually between the age of ten and thirty-five, although a person at any age can get the disease. This disease found in mainly adolescents and adults seems to only occur in those who escaped the Epstein-Barr virus infection in childhood. It is also known as Glandular Fever, because it affects the lymph nodes in the neck, arm pits and groin. It can last anywhere from one to two weeks to six to eight weeks, some people suffer from mononucleosis for months at a time, but as an individual it depends on your personal recuperation time. Recuperation is a very slow process, which demands a lot of sleep and rest. Being sick for a length of time such as two weeks drains you of strength and energy and as well you lose a lot of your muscles. Balance can also become lost with such an illness, which requires time to develop. Causes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mononucleosis is known to be caused by the Epstein_Barr virus (EBV), which can be passed by coughing, sneezing or saliva transfer, where it gets it’s popular name, the “kissing disease';. Much like chicken pox, most people don’t receive mononucleosis a second time in their life, but it can happen. Relapses can occur, but are fairly uncommon. Although you can receive the disease very easily, mononucleosis is not highly contagious, according to the majority of sources. Symptoms   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many symptoms associated with infectious mononucleosis, but the symptoms all depend on the individual. The more common symptoms are fatigue, sore throat, swelling of the lymph nodes and malaise. There is usually a change in the white cells and serum of the blood, but it can only be detected by a special test, known as the Mono Spot or the heterophile test. It is possible that the results of the test remain negative until a few weeks have passed after seeing some symptoms. It is very rare that the test results remain negative through out the duration of the disease. There are some more serious symptoms that may not be visible, such as the enlargement of the spleen and the inflammation of the liver. The enlargement of the spleen (see appendix) may not be detected by the doctor, but it is possible. It may cause a pain in the upper left abdominal located under the chest. If the ... ...ation period is between thirty and forty days, but it can vary depending on when the diagnosis occurs. It is possible to have the disease for several weeks and not even be aware that you have it. You can take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to control pain and fatigue, but avoid Aspirin, as it has been proven responsible for Rye’s Syndrome in children. Maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle is one way to prevent many diseases and infections, but Mono can occur in anyone who has come in contact with the virus. Appendix Spleen The spleen is a fist-sized, spongy organ located behind the stomach (removed in this illustration), just under the diaphragm. Part of the lymphatic system, the spleen is composed of two types of tissue. White pulp produces lymphocytes, which release antibodies into the bloodstream to combat infection. More prominent is the red pulp, in which macrophages filter broken cells, parasites, bile pigments, and other useless substances from the blood. Iron from broken red blood cells is stored in the spleen for later use. Despite this variety of functions, an injured or diseased spleen can be removed in adults without great consequence. Microsoft Illustration

Chase.coms Quest for a Global Web Presence Essay -- Papers

Chase.com's Quest for a Global Web Presence Overview ======== Chase.com and Chase Manhattan together are an international powerhouse in commercial banking. The bank has been continually growing since the merger in 1955 between The Chase National Bank and The Bank of Manhattan Company; another merger with the Chemical Banking Company of New York in 1996 made Chase the largest bank holding company in the US. It was the takeover of J.P Morgan in 2000, which lead to Chase becoming the powerhouse of international banking. ====================================================================== Reasons for development ======================= Two of the major problems that Chase Manhattan faced were due to changes in the general business environment. Â · Globalisation is fast becoming a reality and therefore Chase's domestic customers were now competing with rivals all over the world. Chase in turn had to be able to offer these customers top-quality service wherever they were doing business. Â · Advances in telecommunications, including the growth of the Internet, forced Chase (as well as all other major banks) to use telecommunications to compete globally. Chase Manhattan had no choice but to expand and set up Chase.com due to the changing global economy. The internet has fast become used in every business all over the world and in order for Chase to keep in touch with it's customers and to keep ahead of its competitors it has to optimise business and links to noncore services. Before a new system can be successfully implemented, the characteristics of the company need to be evaluated to see what type ... ... process of implementing a system be to the requirements established by Chase to their ASP? Chase is demanding that the website enables it to have a competitive edge. The system solution is proposing to maintain a fully updated system which will be built on an established technological position, this will provide Chase with a world-class website to help them maintain their respected name in banking and provide them with a competitive edge over others. The solution will make Chase's business completely Internet enabled by providing account information, portals for banking and portfolio and currency management. With the option of updating the system when required to keep Chase ahead of competitors the ASP's suggested solution has all the characteristics of a successful partnership with Chase and its requirements. Chase.com's Quest for a Global Web Presence Essay -- Papers Chase.com's Quest for a Global Web Presence Overview ======== Chase.com and Chase Manhattan together are an international powerhouse in commercial banking. The bank has been continually growing since the merger in 1955 between The Chase National Bank and The Bank of Manhattan Company; another merger with the Chemical Banking Company of New York in 1996 made Chase the largest bank holding company in the US. It was the takeover of J.P Morgan in 2000, which lead to Chase becoming the powerhouse of international banking. ====================================================================== Reasons for development ======================= Two of the major problems that Chase Manhattan faced were due to changes in the general business environment. Â · Globalisation is fast becoming a reality and therefore Chase's domestic customers were now competing with rivals all over the world. Chase in turn had to be able to offer these customers top-quality service wherever they were doing business. Â · Advances in telecommunications, including the growth of the Internet, forced Chase (as well as all other major banks) to use telecommunications to compete globally. Chase Manhattan had no choice but to expand and set up Chase.com due to the changing global economy. The internet has fast become used in every business all over the world and in order for Chase to keep in touch with it's customers and to keep ahead of its competitors it has to optimise business and links to noncore services. Before a new system can be successfully implemented, the characteristics of the company need to be evaluated to see what type ... ... process of implementing a system be to the requirements established by Chase to their ASP? Chase is demanding that the website enables it to have a competitive edge. The system solution is proposing to maintain a fully updated system which will be built on an established technological position, this will provide Chase with a world-class website to help them maintain their respected name in banking and provide them with a competitive edge over others. The solution will make Chase's business completely Internet enabled by providing account information, portals for banking and portfolio and currency management. With the option of updating the system when required to keep Chase ahead of competitors the ASP's suggested solution has all the characteristics of a successful partnership with Chase and its requirements.

Popularity of Short Message Service (Sms) Usage & Its Effect on Written Language Deterioration

Communication technology is changing our way of life. Language is no exception. Some language researchers argue that written language is deteriorating due to the increase usage of electronic communication. The present study investigated 50 mobile phone users selected randomly using Short Messaging Service (SMS) as one of their daily communication tools with the purpose to find out whether SMS language will cause written language deterioration in Malaysia. SMS language is defined as using abbreviations, newly created words, code-switching, code-mixing and emoticons in the messages. The findings indicated that the majority of the respondents agree that SMS language causes written language deterioration. This could be because messages are full of spoken-like spelling, unconventional use of punctuation and abbreviations, and ungrammatical sentence in order to conform to the conditions of electronic communication to reduce space, time and effort. Although the language change due to the advancements in electronic communication technology is inevitable, we have to bear in mind that the negative impact on the written language has to do with the technology users not the technology itself. Introduction What is communication? Communication is a process of transferring information whereby information is enclosed in a package and is channeled and imparted by a sender to a receiver using a channel (Wikipedia). In recent years, mobile phone has been viewed as an important communication tool and has become an integral part of the Malaysian society. Nowadays, it is very common to see Malaysians chatting or texting on their mobile phones in the streets, in the shopping malls, while waiting for public transportations to the point that the mobile phone has become an essential item to some people especially the younger generation. The mobile phone first appeared in Malaysia in 1998 and was mainly used by professionals. It was bulky, expensive, and built with basic features such as voice call. Today, mobile phones are equipped with other hi-tech features that allow faster communication and entertainment such as Short Message Service (SMS), MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) player, games, internet and videos. These additional features attracted people from all walks of life including the younger generation, and consequently led to the increase in the number of mobile phone users in Malaysia. According to the survey conducted by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), there were 24,253,000 mobile phone subscribers in Malaysia at end March 2008. It was also reported that as many as 50. 7% mobile phone users send out an average of five (5) SMSes a day. Compared to 2004 which recorded a percentage of 31. 7%, the number of mobile phone users sending out an average of five (5) SMSes per day has increased by 19% (Hand Phone Users Survey, 2008). The factors which have contributed to the popularity of SMS usage could be due to its widespread usage, mobility, low cost and convenience. For example, sending a message via text to a family or friend across the country or even living abroad, would be cheaper than the cost of roaming and long distance phone charges. SMS is extensively used not only for communication purposes, but also as a major marketing tool due to its low cost. Besides that, it is also very convenient for mobile phone users. A message can be easily and quickly transmitted just by pressing a few buttons instead of the conventional method of waiting for the telephone call to be put through or waiting to leave a voice message after a lengthy and annoying answering machine message. Due to character limitations and restrictions in a SMS message, it is a common practice for SMS users to maximize the contents of the messages sent by using abbreviations, newly created words, code-switching, code-mixing and emoticons in their SMS messages. How has this increasingly popular practice affect our written language then? As most Malaysians are multi-lingual, will the widespread use of SMS cause language deterioration? This research aims to investigate and analyze the relationship between SMS usage and whether it causes language deterioration in Malaysia by using abbreviations, newly created words, code-switching, code-mixing and emoticons in the messages.

Epoxy Resin

Epoxy rosin is a type of thermosetting polymer, commerci whole in ally available in different forms, has a immense range of application in aerospace, coating, electric automobile automobile insulation and marine application ascribable to its outstanding performances, easy handling and minuscule cost 1-5. Epoxy graduate(prenominal) intragroup deform, unannealed texture, inferior impact resistance, sick creep resistance and poor wet resistance, limited its application in some otherwise industrial areas 6.So, the paste glue was mixed with polymers7, clays, coat 8, carbon nanotube 9, graphene10, and graphene oxide11 to overcome its limitations. Graphene oxide (GO) is a graphite derivative that produced by dint of oxidation of graphite using various methods. Graphene oxide is a 2D sheet with type O useful at the go forth (hydroxyl, carbonyl, and epoxide) and (carboxyl) at its ring 12,13. Graphene oxide is a promising physical as polymer reinforcement, referable to its senior high school mechanistic properties14, first-class caloric stability15, and good insulation properties 16.Moreover, graphene oxide high open area, high expectation proportion, elegant sheet flexibility, reactivity sites, and good spreading in most common dissolvent favored its use a obscures material for polymeric material. The Graphene oxide tends to improve the mechanical properties, caloric stability, insulator, and insulator properties of the various commercial paste resin. However, Graphene oxide sheets tend to aggregate either by Van der Waals force or ?-? stacking fundamental interaction, which would return the improvement effects of graphene sheets in paste glue glue glue glue resin ground substance 17. Therefore, graphene oxide was special either through covalent trammel nets or by ?-? interaction to reduce these aggregation phenomena and raise paste glue resin properties.For instance, Wan et al improved paste glue glue tensile aptitude and mod ulus by 75% and 15% through mixing glue with graphene oxide limited with DGEBA (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A) 18.Also, Liu et al raise paste glass temperature and tensile forte by 26oC and 31% using grafted graphene oxide 5. Sharmila et al prepared Graphene oxide modified with iron oxide nanoparticles, they epoxy composites tapern improvements in the tensile, impact, and chap strength 19. Fluorinated polymer is polymer lay off carbon- atomic number 9 bonds and they has been apply in many home(prenominal) and industrial application collectible thither excellent thermal stability, anti-chemical corrosion, weathering resistance, high dielectric conduction, and low bob up energy 20-22. However, the high market price of the fluoropolymers and poor miscibility in epoxy resin restricted their applications 23. thermal stability, roughness, and corrosion resistance were improved for epoxy resin modified with a fluorinated polymer 24-27. The degree Fahrenheit atoms cut ba ck the crosslinking density of the epoxy resin and fluoropolymer, trim the mechanical properties of the epoxy 28. The join of the fluorinated polymer into carbon theme material much(prenominal) as carbon nanotube, fluorinated graphene, and fluorinated graphite whitethorn combine the excellent properties of carbon base material and atomic number 9 groups properties.The miscibility was improved with enhancement of the mechanical properties, thermal stability, surface properties, and electric properties. Yang and coworkers grafted fluorinated polymer on reduced graphene oxide coated with dopamine. The modified graphene showed excellent sprinkle in the ferroelectric polymer matrix with good high dielectric everlasting and low dielectric red ink 29.Que et al modified epoxy resin (DGEBA) with trifluoromethyl containing polyimide structures. Compared with polished epoxy, they found that the modified epoxy shown break down thermal stability with 18 to 55 % char yield at 800 0C, pissing finish up be given (94.9105.0), higher toughness, and set about water arrangement absorption (0.470.95 %). The tensile shear of modified epoxy was let down than the slap-up epoxy, the atomic number 9 groups reduced epoxy surface energy which further reduced the shackle strength compared with unmodified epoxy 7. In this work, graphene oxide was modified with Hexadecafluoro (1, 10) de sack upediol through one-step reaction. modify graphene oxide was mixed with epoxy resin in various fill.Then, the mechanical properties, thermal stability, water contact angle water inhalation, and basic corrosion resistance were examined for epoxy composites.Results and parole The surface hold upalization of GO was corroborate by FTIR, XRD, XPS,Raman spectrometry, and TGA. Fig. (1) shows the FTIR spectrum of GO and GOFO.For GO typical heights were discovered at 3390 cm-1 ( stretchability shudder of C-OH), 1041 cm-1 (stretching vib symmetryn of C-O), 1374 cm-1 (deformatio n vib symmetryn of C-OH), 1261 cm-1 and 877 cm-1 (stretching vibration of C-O-C), and 1734cm-1 (stretching vibration of C=O).The diadem at 1619 cm-1 is attributed to the skeletal vibration of the graphitic of GO 30. After reaction with FO smart rosinesss appeared.The peaks at 1178 cm-1 (stretching vibration of C-F) 31, at 2966 cm-1 (bending stretching of C-H), and at 1441 cm-1 (stretching vibration of C-H) from the perfluoro compound.The peak at 1080 cm-1 was related to stretching vibration of ester bond C-O-C. These results indicated that FO was successfully grafted onto GO surface.The XRD precedents of graphite, GO, and GOFO was shown in Fig. (2) and the interlayer distance was metrical using Bragg equation. indigenous graphite is shown a typical peak at 26.410 with an interlayer spacing of 0.337 nm 32. This peak shifted to 11.020 (corresponding to an interlayer space of 0.802 nm) afterward graphite was oxidate to GO, that was cod to the formation of atomic number 8-cont aining functional groups on a graphite oxide surface and water molecules trapped betwixt the layers 33.The functionalization of GO with FO shifted the peak from 11.020 to 10.080 (corresponding to an interlayer space of 0.676nm), suggested that GO was modified with FO. Another panoptic diffraction peak was ascertained at 22.760, which suggests the formation of few layers of reduced graphite oxide.To further study the structural differences in the midst of graphite, GO, and GOFO, the graphitic watch glass surface was mensural using Sheerer equation and the number of layers was calculated based on crystal size. Graphite had a large crystal size of 21.28nm with 63-64 graphene layers. After oxidation to GO, the crystal size lessen to 10.92nm and the number of layers decreased to 10-11 graphene layers.The crystal size of GOFO was 3.78nm with 5 -6 layers of the modified graphene sheet. In order to study the exfoliation of GOFO into the epoxy matrix, the XRD patterns of EGOFO compos ites and dandy epoxy were inquired as shown in Fig. (3). For refined epoxy, two colossals peaks c usher ined at ?70 and ?180 were spy due to the amorphous nature of swell epoxy. alone Epoxy composites show the comparable attribute diffraction peak as neat epoxy and no diffraction peaks of GOFO at 10.080 and 22.760 were observed 34. Thats affirm that GOFO was highly exfoliated into the epoxy matrix. Although, the highly exfoliated aim of GOFO sheets in the epoxy matrix tushnot check a good public exposure was obtained in the epoxy composites 35.The thermographic compend in Fig. (4) represents the thermal stability of GO and GOFO under a nitrogen atmosphere. Graphene oxide shows 8.404% encumbrance departure between 50 0C -100 0C, due to evaporation of eternal rest water trapped between the layers. A signifi fecal mattert lean loss of 29.53% was observed between 100 0C 250 0C, thats due to guff of labile atomic number 8 functional groups to H2O, CO, and carbon dio xide 22,10.Compared to GO, GOFO was more s panel with 3.48% cargo loss was observed between 50 0C -100 0C move be appoint to evaporate of proportion water trapped between the layers, which was lower than GO. Between 100 0C 250 0C, 8.18% weight loss was found due to de bit of the reaming oxygen functional groups.Then, 12.44% weight loss was observed between 250 0C 550 0C, that mint be assigned to the decomposition of the bond between GO and perfluoro compound. In accession, compared with 48.59% weight loss at 700 0C for GO, GOFO undergoes 20.83% weight loss. The above data can be due to GO, bosses high kernel of oxygenated functional groups, while GOFO possesses low oxygenated functional groups due to functionalization by FO. The above results confirmed that GOFO was more stable than GO.Raman spectroscopy was applied to explore the structural variations between GO and GOFO. Generally, the graphitic material shows two characteristic peaks, the G peak (1575 cm?1) arises from f irst-order scattering of the E2g photon of sp2 C atoms and the D peak (1350 cm?1) from a breathing mode of ?-point photons of A1g symmetry.Also, the intensity ratio ID/IG can be utilise to evaluate the graphitization tip of the graphitic material, the lower look upon represented a high degree of graphitization 30. Fig. (5) shows Raman spectrum results of GO and GOFO. The G and D bands of GO were located at 1599.9 and 1357 cm-1 receptivity, as describe in previous reports 30,36,37. After functionalization with FO, the G band was shifted to a lower wavelength at 1589 cm-1, no obvious changes were observed for the D band. In addition, the ID/IG intensity ratio of GO increases from 0.96 to 1.062 for GOFO. The changes in the intensity ratio imply that GOFO of graphene structure was restored, which can be due to the removal of oxygen functional groups.The GO and GOFO were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the results are shown in Fig. (5) and the elemental an alysis is tabulated in circuit board (1). The GO broad spectrum shows two peaks at binding energies somewhat 286.1 eV and 532.4 eV, which were assigned to C1s and O1s, respectively. The atomic composition of graphene oxide was obtained from XPS broad spectrum and revealed the presence of carbon (71.88%) and oxygen (28.12%). In cable, the GOFO broad spectrum displayed three peaks at binding energies around 286.1 eV, 532.4 eV, and 686 eV, they can be assigned to C1s, O1s, and F1s respectively. The atomic composition of GOFO obtained from the broad spectrum shown the existence of carbon (71.66%), oxygen (27.34%), and fluorine (1%). The carbon-to-oxygen ratio increase from 1.6 for GO to 2.6 for GOFO, due to functionalization with FO.The C1s XPS spectrum of GO and GOFO are shown in Fig. (6). The C1s spectra can be decomposed into four characteristic peaks C=C/C-C (non-oxygenated carbon, 284.5 eV), C-OH/C-O-C (hydroxyl, epoxy, and 286eV), C=O (carbonyl, 286.8 eV), and COOH (carboxyl, 2 88.9 eV) 38. In comparison, the decomposed C1s spectrum of GOFO shows additional peaks at 287.02eV, 290 eV, and 292 eV, assigned to -C-O- (ether bond), C-F (fluorine), and C-F2 (fluorine) respectively39. As shown in Fig. (5), compared with XPS C1s spectrum of GO (Fig. (6)), the peak intestines of C-O and C-O-C were importantly decreased, new peaks appeared. The above results indicated the attachment of FO to graphene oxide surfaces via the reaction with hydroxyl groups of FO with C-O groups on the GO surfaces 40.As shown in the SEM images of EGOFO composites, the GOFO sheets were salutary dispersed in the epoxy matrix. GOFO nano-sheets were adjoin tightly by epoxy resin, which indicates a good interfacial interaction between GOFO and the epoxy matrix. Such good interfacial bonding improves the stress move out from the epoxy matrix to the GOFO nano-sheet and thus enhanced the mechanical properties of epoxy composites.However, due to the presence of incommensurable fluorine grou ps on the GOFO, micro-voids can be observed and such voids could enhance dig initiation which leads to decrease the mechanical properties of epoxy composites41.SEM analysis of epoxy composites The SEM images of epoxy and epoxy composites at breakage site after the tensile test are shown in Fig. (7). The images were used to examine the dispersion and the compatibility of GOFO in the epoxy matrix. Fig. (7a,b) shows neat epoxy exhibited relatively smooth surface with a river-like pattern in the fracture direction, confirmed the brittle nature of epoxy 42.In contrast epoxy composites displayed rougher, fluctuant surfaces with GOFO nano-sheet pulled out of the epoxy matrix Fig. (7 c,e). Also, epoxy composites SEM images shown that GOFO nano-sheets were well dispersed in the epoxy matrix, a well interfacial interaction between the nano-sheets and epoxy composites Fig. (7 d,f). The good interfacial bonds can effectively transfer the stresses from the epoxy matrix to the GOFO nano-sheets and thus enhanced the mechanical properties of epoxy composites 41.However, several micro-voids can be observed in all epoxy composites that can be due to the presence of fluorine groups. The low compatibility between the epoxy resin and fluorine groups caused the appearances of micro-voids. Cracks can initiate easily in the micro-voids, so spread through epoxy composites reducing epoxy composites strength.Mechanical properties of epoxy composites ductile testThe tensile test was conducted to investigate the effects of GOFO on the epoxy resin performance. Fig. (8) shows the stress-strain curves of neat and epoxy composites, and the results were summarized in table (2).The tensile modulus of uncontaminated epoxy was 471 MPa and its changes to 486 MPa (increase by 3.2 % with 0.1 wt. %), 507 MPa (increased by 7.6 % with 0.3wt. %), and 530 MPa (increased by 12.52 % with 0.5 wt. %). The highest tensile modulus was 12.52% compared to neat epoxy corresponding to 0.5% GOFO fill. The inc rease in the tensile modulus was due to the good dispersion and interfacial interaction between the GOFO and epoxy matrix. Thats led to the good transfer of stress from the matrix to GOFO sheets.However, the tensile strength decreased by 18.35%, 22.15%, and 20.25% with 0.1 wt. %, 0.3 wt. %, and 0.5 wt. %. GOFO loading. The formation of micro-voids between the GOFO sheets in the epoxy matrix due to repugnance between GOFO sheet and epoxy system due to the presence of fluorine groups. burst testThe effects of GOFO loading on the fracture properties are shown in Table (2) and the stress-strain curves of fracture analysis were shown in Fig. (9). EGOFO composites shown a battened in the fracture modulus and strength to those of neat epoxy upon different loading. The fracture modulus was 1510MPa for neat epoxy.With 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 wt. % loading of FO, the fracture modulus increased to 234017.61 MPa, 232473.5 MPa, and 245045 MPa respectively, these were 54.97, 53.84, and 62.85% respecti vely. However, for fracture strength, its behaved differently with increasing GOFO concentration.The fracture strength decreased by 13.12% with the addition of 0.1 wt.% GOFO loading and then increased to 13.61% and 16.98% with 0.3 wt.% and 0.5 wt.% GOFO loading respectively.The increase in the fracture modulus and strength can be attributed to improvement in the interfacial interaction between the GOFO and epoxy matrix. Thats allowed better load transfer from the epoxy matrix to the GOFO sheets, which increased both fracture modulus and strength.thermic stability of epoxy compositesThe Thermal stability of the GOFO nanocomposites was investigated by TGA as shown in Fig. (10) and Table (3).T10% and T50% are the temperature of warning weight loss reached 10% and 50 % respectively. Tdec is the sample decomposition temperature.All the specimens showed similar thermal degradation doings with main weight loss between 3500C to 4500C. They exhibited different weight loss during the onset decomposition stages as shown in the enlarged window. The incorporation of GOFO significantly enhanced the thermal stability of epoxy composites in different trends. Epoxy composite 0.3 wt. % GOFO loading has a higher T5%, T50%, and Tdec compared with other epoxy composites. The T5% and T50% increased by ?13 and ?150C respectively based on polished epoxy. The Tdec increased by ?13 with the same loading compared to pure epoxy.According to the literate, at that place are two factors effects on the thermal stability of polymer composites the formation of networks via covalent linkages between them and the crosslinking density 43,44. The existence of the oxygen functional groups at the edge and the surface of the GOFO, can react with the epoxy resin and increased the crosslinking of the composites. The XRD data showed that GOFO doesnt have a uniform crystal shape compared to graphite, that makes the GOFO has a poor thermal conductivity. Therefore, with good dispersion of GOFO, it wil l act as a roadblock and reduce the thermal conductivity of the epoxy composites 44.Water uptake epoxy compositesThe influences of water absorbed by the polymeric material can be significantly reduced by incorporating nano-size fillers into polymers 45,46.The water uptake of neat epoxy and its composites filled with GOFO were shown in Fig. (11). The addition of GOFO nano-fillers significantly decreased the come of water absorbed by epoxy composites. The water uptake by neat epoxy was 0.432%, which decreased to 0.317% , 0.304% , and 0.308% for epoxy composites with 0.1wt.% , 0.3wt.% , and 0.5 wt.% GOFO loading respectively. this phenomenon implied that the addition of nano-size sheet with high aspect ratio provided tortuous pathways for water molecules to enter the epoxy composites and acted as a barrier water transportation through epoxy composites 47. Another reason can be due to the hydrophobic nature of fluorine groups on GOFO, which can immobilized water molecules and prevented it from dispersal in epoxy matrix47.The hydrophobic behavior of GOFO compositesFig. (12). Shown the air/water contact angle of pure epoxy and its composites. The measurement was performed at room temperature with three repetitions for each sample.From Fig. (12), the incorporation of GOFO increased the contact angle of all epoxy composites. The contact angle increased from 68.70 o 1.73 for the pure epoxy to 83.53 o 1.13 for 0.1 wt. % GOFO, 98.65 o 2.49 for 0.3 wt. % GOFO, and 89.22 o 0.70 for 0.5 wt. % GOFO.The changes in the contact angle indicate that epoxy composites show more hydrophobic effects compared to pure epoxy 48. The GOFO tends to immigrate to the surface of epoxy, due to the low surface energy of the fluorine atoms.They altered the surface energy and increased the hydrophobicity of the epoxy surface. But, with 0.5 wt. % GOFO loading, the contact angle decreased to 89.22 o 0.70, the aggregated GOFO nano-sheet at the surface can slightly reduce the mark of the surfa ce and increased the effects of the reaming oxygenated function groups of the graphene sheet.