Compare and contrast the societies of Mesoamerica and the Eastern Assignment

Compare and contrast the societies of Mesoamerica and the Eastern Woodlands in 1491 - Assignment Example Women did not participate in building homes but assisted in working in the fields. The Eastern Woodland Indians were mainly hunters and gatherers2. The natives mostly spoke Algonquin or Iroquois. The Mesoamerican Indians were inhabitants of Mexico and Northern Central America. The main tribes were Mayans, Olmec, Amazonians, and Peruvians. They lived in caves and other structures curved out of stone. Mesoamerican Indians were the first to cultivate corn, potatoes, varieties of beans, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, chocolate, rubber, cotton and tobacco. The Indians in Mexico developed corn by a breeding process so sophisticated that the journal of science described it as â€Å"mans first and perhaps the greatest feat at genetic engineering†. The natives made different discoveries based on different experiences and ways of life. The Mesoamerican and Eastern Woodland Indians had occupied different parts of America with the eastern Indians occupying the rain forest. Due to this woodland Indians discovered different uses for wood. They made hunting tools, houses, canoes and cooking utensils. The natives who lived near water bodies used the canoes for transport. The Mesoamericans mainly used tools curved out of stone for example, farming tools that were curved out of stone. Both inhabitants practiced farming for food, but they practiced it differently. The Eastern Woodland Indians cleared the forest in order to create more space for farming or when the land got exhausted while the Mesoamericans specifically the Amazonian Indians learned how to farm in the rain forest without destroying it, a process scientists are studying today in the hope of regaining this lost knowledge. The Mesoamericans were very advanced in agriculture. The Native Indians are said to have been the ‘mother of civilization.’ The Mesoamerican Indians having secured their food supply, turned to intellectual pursuits. They invented their own writing, astronomy

Funding the Rising Cost of U.S. Health Care Essay Example for Free

Funding the Rising Cost of U.S. Health Care Essay Give your opinion of the rising cost of health care’s overall impact on the U.S. economy It is more expensive for individuals, families and employers to have health care coverage because of the rising cost. Spending on the use of new technologies, treatment, and high cost for medical services. There has also been a high cost on local, federal and state government which led to high cost on to medical and Medicaid. This spending of health care has affected the economy and now people have to choose between a need for health care of the need to have shelter, food, or not having sufficient funding. Health care spending is moving faster than the economy is growing. High health care rising cost is causing the government to re-examine eligibility for public health and rising taxes on the consumers is leading to reduce investments. The U.S. will not be able to compete in the economic global market. These rising cost in health care will affect business, house wholes, providers, employees, health status, income levels, age, and increase premiums. (Rising Health Care Costs ) http://www.ahip.org/Issues/Rising-Health-Care-Costs.aspx â€Å"Health plans are playing a vital role in reducing the cost of care and improving value†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Karen Ignagni, President CEO, Americas Health Insurance Plans Health Plan Innovations in Delivery System Reforms, American Journal of Managed Care Compared and contrasted at least two (2) areas of the economy that the new health care act impacts. Small business and middle class families are two areas that the new health care act will impact. It used to be the economic strength in the U.S. was the small business owner. Small business has been strength to the economic by bring diversified groups opportunities of people to the workforce. Small business bring products have that are innovative to the services market. Small business has been able to create new jobs for the economic. However since the housing bubble in 2007 and 2008 small businesses are struggling very hard from the bank credits. Small businesses are the back bone to job growth and innovation for the economy. Small business owners who offer health care insurance to their workers are facing a hit by heavy taxes and high premiums for the employer. Small business pays up to 18% more per worker for health insurance than larger firms. This is a tax disadvantage for small business. Which cause profits to be eaten  up by higher health insurance cost and workers working for lower wages makes the small business workers, product, and market at a disadvantage. Small business(less than 50 workers) is less likely to provided health insurance. Back in the 50s and 60s a middle class family of three could live off a one person income which was the father. Mothers were house wives and people could purchase a home, car, and have a small savings. Families could go on vacation and own a late model car. The burden for middle class families today is the high cost for health care insurance and premiums. There have been an increase in unemployment and employees are scaling back on wages. Credit card debt gone up and slow job creation. Increase in bankruptcy files, income inequality and out-sourcing of America business has been causing problems for the middle class families. This growth in health care spending has change priorities for middle class life style. With saving money, retirement benefit pension, and 401K plans shifting. Middle class person who have been working all their lives, now rick the chance of not having sufficient funds to maintain middle class life style. Will the middle class be able to retire and live a middle class style? Middle class families are not sure if there will be available income for retirement. (http://www.aarp.org/research/ppi/security/impact-of-rising-healthcare-cost-AARP) Debated the main pros and cons of using private insurance versus using the new affordable insurance.  Our population in this country has increase over the last 30 years and because of healthier life style and medical advances people are living longer. This can be a disadvantage to the patients who are using private insurance. This has put a strain on the private health insurance because most companies don’t cover previous medical conditions that cover injuries and short-term illness. Illness is something that happens on its own and worrying whether or not your condition is cover can add stress. After receiving a referral from the internal doctor the patient has to act as its own administrator who calls the insurance company to check, if the cost is cover before they can see a consultant for treatment. If you want more coverage you pay higher premiums. There also a disadvantage of having so  many private health insurance companies to pick from. Each representative only disc usses their company policies and not how their policy compares with others. Leaving the patient not knowing which one is the best offer for you. Private insurance advantages is you can choose where you want to be treated without a long wait. There are specialist teams that will deal with specifically types of conditions. There continuity cares that allows you to be seen by the same consultant until the end of your treatment. The new affordable insurance covers families, small business, and individuals with the cost assistance through the market place program. There are no limits on life time health care which this will cut down on large medical bills for long term illness. This will keep people out of debt. If you make a mistake on your application or if you are sick an insurance company can’t drop you. A person with pre-existing condition can’t be denied care or charge a higher premium. The new affordable insurance allows for parents to keep their children on their plan until the age 26 years old whether they live at home, married, or attend school. The affordable insurance has free preventive care for checkups, well woman visits, mange care to control chronic illness before they become costly to treat or complex. http://obmacarefacts.com/benefitsofobamacare.php) OBMA CARE FACTS dispelling the myths Analyzed the major impact this new health care system may have on different immigrant demographics; Predicted the cost associated with the changing the accommodation to facilities having to review organizational planning in order to actualize these changes

computers :: essays research papers

Olu Taju-Deen Jr. 12/2/04 Professor Jones Research Paper Computers are already giving people today access to large amounts of information. This is increasing our brain power, like a hot air balloon it increases our brain power. As computers become more powerful they will grow more intelligent. Some people think that someday computer and machines will be smarter than people. In 5 to 20 years there seems no reason why machines should not become more intelligent than people in the future. Scientists believe computers will start to design and build other computers. They will then be able to evolve more like life evolves. There will then be two forms of life. Many thousands of years in the future there might be competition for power between computers and life. Computers certainly have many advantages over life. They can process large amounts of information quickly. They can be switched off for years, then start to work perfectly when they are switched back on. They come in handy for traveling over long distances. Computers can even be made very small, and control tiny machines which work together in networks to find equations for big problems. The computers of the future are expected to be smaller, faster and smarter. For the past twenty years, CPU performance has doubled about every eighteen months. The storage capacities of hard drives will continue to expand, they are currently growing at a rate of about sixty percent per year. Today, Intel's Pentium II has 7.5 million transistors. If the trend continues, Intel processors should contain fifty million to one hundred million transistors in the first decade of the next century. In five years, computers will have sixteen times the memory capacity they do now. "One big challenge is the time for the processor to access the memory. Bill Gates solution is the processor might be on the same chip as memory. Every time you buy memory, you get a processor." Actual voice input will become a reality, but it may not be widely employed in offices because of privacy and environmental issues. According to Bill Gates, he predicts that within ten years, "every computer will have speech and linguistics built into it†. Instead of typing or clicking, you'll tell your PC to launch this application or print that document. At the office, your e-mail message is just as likely to be a video clip. At home it probably means that your PC takes control of the lights, temperature, and appliances.

International Marketing and Management Essay

1. Preface As the neo-classic theory, the information model (McCracken, 2005) within advertising is based on the idea of homo economicus – the rational human being or the rational consumer. According to this theory the consumers evaluate products on a rational basis and buy the goods which are assessed to optimise their self-interest. Thus the cultural context surrounding the good is not taken into account when planning a branding strategy. This indicates that the consumer at any given time will select a product on the basis of an objective evaluation upon the good’s utility regardless of any other factors. However, how does the information model explain that that the consumer’s actions deviate from what is dictated in the theory and hence that the consumer does not always act rational? Consumers buying patterns and decision making seem to be controlled by other factors than rational evaluations and hence the information model appears to face limitations when trying to give explanation to why expensive branded goods are chosen rather than similar goods without brand value – choices, which are inherently irrational. So what triggers the consumer to make these choices? And if the consumers based their consumption on rationality would some luxury goods not battle to survive in the market place? Therefore, when looking into the specialty coffee1 market it could be argued that the similar cheaper coffee product now supplied by fast food chains such as McDonald’s or Dunkin Donuts, would easily substitute a product such as coffee from Starbucks Corporation2? However, it seems like the consumers act less rationally than predicted by the neo-classic economic theory and thus base their consumption choices on other factors than for instance price – it is not rational to buy a tall lattà © in Starbucks when a product with similar product-property can be bought in McDonald’s for less than half the price, but nevertheless numerous consumers do buy their latte at Starbucks. Then it is arguable that the quality and taste were what differentiated the Starbucks latte from the McDonald’s latte, which would justify the more expensive purchase. But according to specialists the price premium of coffee at Starbucks cannot be justified anymore (Schwaner-Albright, 2008) again indicating that something other than pure information is controlling consumers buying decisions. McCracken (2005) explains these irrational choices with the so-called transformation model, the counterpart of the information model, which operates within another paradigm not explaining consumer choices on the basis of information but on the basis of consumers being surrounded by culture – culture which affects the consumption patterns and that products possess intangible benefits or meanings which can be transferred from the products to the consumer, meanings which the consumers need to construct their identity. For this Speciality coffee: â€Å"Sometimes called â€Å"gourmet† or â€Å"premium† coffee, Specialty Coffees are made from exceptional beans grown only in ideal coffee-producing climates. They tend to feature distinctive flavours, which are shaped by the unique characteristics of the soil that produces them† (SCAA, 2008) Starbucks Corporation will be referred to as Starbucks in the rest of the thesis. Ea Elisabeth Finn Nielsen & Tina Holm Mortensen | The Story of Starbucks reason rational choices are not always made – brands possess intangible meanings which results in consumers making irrational choices based on emotions and feelings and which to some degree may explain the success of the Starbucks until now. 2. Problem Area Investigating the state and direction of Starbucks leaves one with the impression of a very successful company – it is an almost unbelievable success story about the coffee chain and a brand which changed the Americans’ coffee and cafà © culture. Since 1987, when this success story took its departure, Starbucks has attained immense growth results. The coffee shop chain has been growing with more that 20% a year (Bonamici & Fortune, 2004) and in five years the chain almost tripled the number of stores worldwide, from 5,886 in 2002 to 15,011 in 2007 (Harrer, 2008) resulting in an almost global omnipresence (Starbucks, 2008a). Thus, Starbucks is developing rapidly which is reflected in the fact that the chain until last year opens approximately five new stores a day worldwide. According to the corporation, the intention is to let this development continue and the plan is to add approximately 6,500 stores to the total store count by the end of 2011 (Starbucks, 2008b) However, in the media, Starbucks is criticised for this rapid growth and analysts do not seem to doubt that the expansion objective of a total number of 40,000 stores is to stretch the expansion too far, as it is estimated that it might be difficult to maintain a profitable turnover in the long run (Nocera, 2008). Furthermore, if continuing this fast, some analysts expect that the corporation eventually will destroy what they have built up and what have become to be known as their unique characteristics. Hence, analysts believe that Starbucks have lost focus and track of the Starbucks Experience3 which has always been the cornerstone of the corporation (Nocera, 2008). These statements are particularly interesting as Starbucks’ growth rate seems to have been slowing down the past year (Starbucks, 2008d). To this, it is seen how Starbucks is not able to meet the expectations of the market, which is reflected in dropping stock prices in particular, and in the fact that Starbucks struggles to retain the same costumer traffic as before. Starbucks believes that increasing competition from quick-service restaurants, which have started offering coffee and the decrease in the American economy, are the main explanations for Starbucks’ inferior results (Starbucks, 2008c). Naturally, it cannot be rejected that some of Starbucks’ decline is connected to the US economic slowdown as the tendency is seen across the industry, but comparing Starbucks’ stock prices to the overall index, Starbucks has experienced a steeper fall the past year (Factiva, 2008). Therefore, the decline may have other explanations. Although Starbucks is far from economic crisis at this moment, it can be argued that potential crisis are lurking. Starbucks strives to provide customers with a special and theatrical experience in a comfortable and inviting environment when buying their coffee beverage. This is referred to as â€Å"The Starbucks Experience† which will be elaborated on later as the experience comprises of many different factors. Ea Elisabeth Finn Nielsen & Tina Holm Mortensen | The Story of Starbucks Extending the knowledge of the Starbucks Corporation, there is no doubt that the future is challenging to Starbucks, especially since it has been presumed that the golden days of Starbucks is over (Gilbert in Nocera, 2008). In this context, it is essential to be aware of the growing tendency of customers deselecting Starbucks deliberately and especially the growing number of customers actually avoiding Starbucks (Thompson et al., 2006; Thompson and Arsel, 2004). The growing number of customers dissociating themselves from Starbucks, expressing their negative attitudes towards the corporation, cannot be ignored as they can be seen as an expression of Starbucks struggling with the trustworthiness of their brand. 2.1 Branding as the Root Cause Due to the growing dissociation from Starbucks and the questioning of their narratives, we argue that branding can be at the root of the problems Starbucks is facing currently. Thus, Starbucks’ approach to their branding is questioned. The dissociation from Starbucks can furthermore be understood as an expression of Starbucks not delivering what the consumer of today demands – thereby arguing that the Starbucks brand struggles in corresponding with the cultural desires in society. The purpose of the thesis is therefore to investigate how Starbucks has handled their branding and hence narratives. In relation to branding we have come across Holt (2004) and McCracken (1986; 2005) who both take a cultural approach to branding and thus focus on the importance of brands relating to the cultural context. Holt (2004) and McCracken’s (1986; 2005) theories analyse brands attached with meanings which consumers adopt when they buy the brand, thereby the brand’s meanings and values are transferred to the consumer’s identity. Thus, these brands can be characterised as identity brands. Starbucks is identified to be such an identity brand, seeing that customers apply the meanings of Starbucks’ brand in creating themselves (Thompson et al., 2006). Therefore, branding is about creating narratives which correspond with the desired image of the consumers. This requires an understanding of the historical and cultural context. The point is that if the narratives are not continuously related to the changing cultural context, hence the desires of the consumers, the brand will be in trouble as the narratives lose their trustworthiness (Holt, 2004). Based on Holt’s (2004) theory about iconic brands, it can additionally be argued that Starbucks has reached iconic status as they achieved to become a symbol representing the desires of consumer culture when they entered the market. They were able to comply with the subcultural desires of that time, exemplified by the â€Å"bobo-culture†, which will be elaborated on later (Thompson et al., 2006). This may leave one with the impression that Starbucks has pioneered in applying a cultural branding strategy. However, this does not seem to be the case since it is suggested that they do not change in line with the context yet, time after time, they intimate that they pursue an emotional branding strategy (Schultz & Yang, 1997; Michelli, 2006). Consumers’ doubt in Starbucks’ trustworthiness indicates conflicts in the image of Starbucks, and furthermore that the narratives do not correspond with the identity that consumers desire. Ea Elisabeth Finn Nielsen & Tina Holm Mortensen | The Story of Starbucks McCracken (2006) points out that all trends and concepts emerging as cultural innovations over time will be perceived as an ordinary standard; hence they lose what made them distinctive and interesting in the beginning, as well as their initial novelty value This is furthermore an interesting approach to Starbucks’ decline as it may be the case that Starbucks has difficulty in retaining the same position in the mind of the consumers seeing that the concept of specialty coffee might now be perceived as a mainstream concept. The cultural branding approach complies with and overcomes the shortcomings of emotional branding (Holt, 2004) which will be outlined as the branding strategy of Starbucks in the Literature Review. Therefore, the following Literature Review will serve as a justifying foundation for applying a cultural branding approach to the understanding of the Starbucks brand. 3. Literature Review The Starbucks corporation has been discussed in various articles, books, and TV shows and it seems that a large amount of writers have an opinion about the company which they wish to express in one way or another. However, only few articles and books have taken the discussion and analysis about the famous company to an academic level, and quite a few of these apply Starbucks as a case example and hence are not focussed on Starbucks alone. In the following review, we will outline the tendencies towards Starbucks’ branding. We have chosen to include academic research, consultancy work, and more descriptive analyses. We are aware of the fact that in the case of the consultancy literature, it appears to be weaker in its argumentation due to the fact that it is not based on thorough research. However, since only a little literature analyses Starbucks on an academic level, consultancy literature is included to give a more comprehensive image of the branding of Starbucks as it is found to provide a useful insight into how Starbucks have gone about their branding – knowledge which can be applied later in the thesis. Academic research includes, among others, Thompson and Arsel (2004), Thompson et al. (2006), Lyons (2005), Rindova in Lerpold et al. (2007). We define consultancy books as literature written with the purpose of giving the business-world’s suggestions on how to go about branding by applying Starbucks as a prime example. In the Literature Review, they are represented by Michelli (2007) and Scott Bedbury (2002). Lastly, there has been identified descriptive literature upon Starbucks’ branding. This is mainly written by Koehn (2001), Pendergrast (2001) and Luttinger and Dicum (2006), who include Starbucks in the historical context of the specialty coffee sector’s development. In general, it can be argued that the literature found shows an agreement in that Starbucks’ branding strategy is emotional, though some only imply this implicitly. We attempt to identify Ea Elisabeth Finn Nielsen & Tina Holm Mortensen | The Story of Starbucks gaps in the existing literature on which to base our argumentation of choosing a cultural branding approach. Moreover, most of the literature is written with the purpose of explaining Starbucks’ current troubles – therefore the gaps identified should not be seen as a criticism towards the existing literature as it has not been its purpose to analyse Starbucks from a cultural and contextual approach. Moreover, all texts have been composed before the crisis of Starbucks and therefore it seems logical that Starbucks’ poorer performance has not been investigated. Nevertheless, the fact is that only few authors have taken Starbucks’ lack of cultural branding up for evaluation and we will apply knowledge from these authors as foundation for the further research. 3.1 A Holistic Approach Michelli (2007) describes through an internal analysis of the corporation how Starbucks revolutionised the coffee industry, gained high growth rates, and success worldwide. Michelli (2007) points out that the company has followed five principles, and that these have lead directly to their success. The principles are all focused on how the company can differentiate from other coffee shops and, through the principles, create a special coffee experience for the customer. The key to this special experience is to create a connection between the partner4 and the customer and through this connection create a relation that emotionally attaches the customer to the brand. Michelli (2007) does not intend to describe the branding strategy of the company, and the purpose of his book is not to demonstrate the branding of Starbucks, but to develop a generic framework for success by indicating that any company can gain success applying the five principles. However, we argue that Michelli (2007) through the book, although maybe not consciously describes the branding of Starbucks, and that the five principles described in sum, constitute the branding strategy, or at least part of it. Implicitly, it can be argued that the strategy Michelli (2007) is describing is an emotional branding strategy as it is evident that emotions are the pivotal point of the strategy, and thus that the goal is to create an emotional relationship with the customers through the five principles. Thereby, focus seems so be shifted from a product benefit-driven approach to an emotional appeal (Roberts, 2004 in Thompson et al., 2006). What also seems clear is that the five principles shall not be deviated from. This indicates a consistency that is in line with the thoughts of emotional branding. Hence, the principles should be kept consistent in all the brand activities of the company over time. Michelli’s (2007) focus is predominantly internal. It is the CEO, managers, and partners who, from a top-down perspective, deliver the five principles and hence the brand to the customer. As mentioned before, the key is to connect with the customer and create a relationship, which according Onward †¦ Howard P.S. Everything that we do, from this point on (from the most simple and basic), matters. Master the fundamentals. Experience Starbucks Source: http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=825

Real Vampires

Vampires Stories Started Thousands of Years Ago in Myths Today They Are Very Real and Among Us ? Abstract Vampires have been a part of human culture for thousands of years. There have been stories of vampire like creatures in Mesopotamia, Greece, China, and Europe. These stories have spanned the globe and time. The vampire has evolved overtime based on the current trends and beliefs and culture of the time. Today when the word vampire is said many visualize Dracula from the stories by Bram Stoker or handsome alluring creatures that are ready to drain you of your blood.For most vampires only live in stories, the truth is that vampires are very real. There is a subculture of real vampires emerging out of the darkness all over the world they are very real and among us. Vampires Stories Started Thousands of Years Ago in Myths Today They Are Very Real and Among Us When the word vampire is said it evokes Hollywood images of handsome men and beautiful women, seductive creatures with fangs t hat lure in their prey with their hypnotic stare along with their good looks, wit and charm.Once the prey is seduced the vampire goes straight for the throat, biting down and draining their blood and ultimately their life. More recently the images may be of the sexy Vampire who is trying to pass as human in some high school setting that is amazingly fast, and strong, yet trying to be sensitive. Some sparkle in the sun and others must avoid it altogether, while still others wear some enchanted ring or jewelry in order to walk in sunlight.Oh yes, and let’s not forget their ability to go on living forever because one of the most incredible qualities is a vampire’s immortality, unless they have a wood or silver stake driven through their heart, or end up decapitated and burned, which would swiftly end there immortal reign. Whichever version of vampire you envision will depend on the most recent book, movie, or television series you are intrigued by. These images are the gl orified Hollywood images that are spoon fed to us daily, but these are not the true definitions or characteristics of a real vampire.As much as most people believe that the image of the vampire was spawned from the story of Dracula written by Bram Stoker that is certainly not the case, the story of the vampire started thousands of years ago and span the globe, and continue to engross society today. Every culture has their own story and origination point and these stories have spawned a growing fascination with vampires. It is important to look back and see where it all began in order to uncover the truth of real vampires today.One of the first stories comes from Mesopotamia; it goes back at least 4,000 years. It starts with Lamastu, the daughter of the sky God Anu. She was a demon goddess who preyed on humans. At night she would creep into people’s homes and steel their baby’s or worse, she would kill them while they were in their crib or even while in their motherâ₠¬â„¢s womb. It is also said she would suck the blood from young men; this would bring sickness, disease, and sterility to the people. When you see images of Lamastu she is seen to have talons or claw like hands, as well as wings.This is very similar to another vampire like goddess from history, Lilith. (Harris, 2001: Lamastu, 2011) Lilith is a vampire like demon goddess as well, along with the wings and talons; she is sometimes shown to be in the form of an owl or a mix of woman owl type creature. There are a variety of stories that surround Lilith. The most prominent one seems to be the one coming from Jewish origins where it is said that Lilith was the first wife of Adam. In this story the trouble started when Lilith did not want to be in a submissive position to Adam during sexual intercourse.She believed since God fashioned them of the same dirt and was said to be an equal to Adam, she wished to be his partner and equal, not to be beneath him. She was banished from Adam and the Garden of Eden into darkness where she was then perceived as a Demon and in the darkness she began giving birth to her own children. These children were said to be demons like their Mother. God sent three Angels after her and they asked her to return to the garden but not as Adam’s equal. Lilith refused and for her punishment God killed a hundred of her children daily.In retaliation Lilith began to take her vengeance out on God’s children by killing human babies. Along with killing human children Lilith had seductive quality’s and would seduce men and come to them at night as a succubus. (Harris, 2001: Lilith, 2001) There are many other stories of similar creatures like Lamastu and Lilith all over the world, such as, the Empisai she came from Greek stories, she was the beautiful daughter of Hecate and would rise out of the ground at night and seduce the Sheppard’s in the fields and then devour them.In Chinese folk lore there were creatures that had glowin g red eyes, they were covered in fur and they would bite their prey with sharp fangs, these creatures were called Kuang-shi. (Harris, 2001) As time went on people traveled from place to place and with them the stories of the vampire like creatures were spread. The stories morphed and changed with the current beliefs and knowledge of the time. There is a plethora of stories out there that blanket cultures and over time have developed a variety of versions and interpretations and created are current knowledge base of what a vampire is.As much as most people believe that the image of the vampire was spawned from the story of Dracula written by Bram Stoker you can see this is not the case and the story of the vampire started thousands of years ago, many of the beliefs, traditions and rituals real vampires have today are based on these ancient stories. So what is a real vampire? At first glance it can be hard to define, but when you delve in you will start to see categories. The first, m ost broad category falls under the term, vampire community, and this term is the broadest wording used to describe the vampire culture.Vampires refer to the vampire community in a similar manner as gay people speak about the gay community and African American’s speak about the black community. (TheoFantastique, 2009) The vampire community is not an organized structure according to Joseph Laycock, Author of Vampires Today: The Truth about Modern Vampirism and graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, he refers to it as an identity group. (Laycock, 2009) Within that identity group you can find the terms life style vampire and real vampire. Real and lifestyle vampire are phrase’s used within the vampire culture to distinguish between the two groups.Life style vampires or lifestylers, as some would say, are the ones that are fans of vampire fiction such as Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, and Stephanie Meyer. They enjoy dressing up as the undead and participating in role playing gam es such as Vampire the Masquerade. Some have prosthetic fangs and sleep in coffins. They love everything vampire and embrace all the stereo types. Ms Saige who is a lifestyle vampire has this to say about it,† I live the lifestyle but I am not a real vampire, nobody can live forever. † She goes on to say there is about 1,000 lifestyle vampires in New York and thousands more worldwide. There’s a clan in Europe, one in California and a huge clan in Texas. We all know each other. †(Mittelbach & Crewdson, 2000) To be more definitive on the differences Joseph Laycock says the main difference between the two is lifestyle vampires choose their vampiric identity and real vampires see their vampire identity as unchangeable and something that is a part of them. (Laycock, 2009) Real vampires are, â€Å"individuals who feel a need to consume blood or feed on the subtle energy of other people in order to sustain their physical, mental, and spiritual health,† accor ding to Joseph Laycock. Laycock, 2010) This is not to say that the murderers you here of in the news that consume blood and are labeled as vampire are the real vampire’s that are being spoken of here. Those people have been labeled vampire by the media. Real vampire is an identity group and is taken on freely by people. The Atlanta Vampire Alliance expands on the definition of a real vampire and goes on to say that if vampires do not feed off the blood or energy of other humans they will become tired, sickly, depressed, and can go through physical suffering or discomfort.A vampire can also have a variety of psychic abilities and be very psychically aware; such as, sense people’s emotions, see people’s auras and be highly empathetic. The term real vampire can be broken down into three more groups from there, based on their feeding techniques. (AVA, 2005-2011) The first are the Sanguine or Sang for short, vampires who actually consume blood from humans or animals. The amount of blood and the frequency of consumption can vary from vampire to vampire. It can be as little as a drop and can be as frequently as daily and in frequently as monthly.Blood that is consumed from a human source is always consensual and there is a written or verbal agreement between the donor, the person giving blood, and the vampire. These Sanguine Vampires need to drink human or animal blood to maintain their health and well being. (AVA, 2005-2011)It is not simply done because it arouses them sexually or they like the way it makes them feel or the taste of it. There is a genuine need for it to maintain their health. Though the act of feeding can evoke sexual desires and be a very enjoyable experience that is just an out come on the purpose of drinking blood.The second type is the Psychic or Psi Vampire they feed on the life force energy of other humans. This life force has been described in other cultures as chi in china, prana in India, or the soul in western religion s. Vampires have the ability to draw the subtle energy or life force from other people by using a number of techniques. (AVA, 2005-2011) A vampire by the name of Linda Rabinowitz says, she is a psychic vampire and if you maintain eye contact with her for too long she may be tempted to start taking in your subtle energy.She goes on to say that she would never actually do that without a person’s permission, as good vampires operate under what is called The Black Veil. This is a code or ethic that states vampires must have the permission of their donors before they will feed off of them. (Monica, 2008 : Laycock, 2010) According to sanguinarius. org, a website dedicated to providing information and resources to real vampire’s, psi vampires can be broken down into further categories based on the type of energy they feed off of.Some of the examples are; empathic vampires who feed on the emotions of people, sexual vampires who feed on the energies generated during sexual inte rcourse, elemental vampires who feed off the energies of the elements of earth, wind, fire, and water. Astral feeding is another term and this refers to vampires that travel in the astral plane a feed off the life force of creatures living within the astral plane, dream scape vampires can enter into people’s dreams and feed of the life force within the dream, and last on the list is magical vampires they are able to feed on and manipulate magical energies.This list is not all inclusive or set in stone one thing that is apparent within the vampire culture is that views on feeding techniques and their validity are ever changing and all the techniques are not accepted as valid by all. The third type is a hybrid vampire which is the combination of a sanguine vampire and a psychic vampire. These hybrid vampires both drink blood as well as feed off the life force energy. They have the ability to choose which source to feed from as they wish. (AVA 2005-2011) Hybrids have the ability to choose their technique or combine a couple.For instance a vampire may drink the blood of their donor while in the midst of a sexual act thus creating a situation where they are simultaneously feeding off the sexual energy. You can see an example of this in the story given to Katherine Ramsland in her book Piercing the Darkness Undercover with Vampires in America Today. The vampire described an account with a young man that spanned a short period of time. They had an initial encounter and the vampire continued to stalk the individual eventually it led up to an evening of exchanging blood and sexual contact.The vampire describes his desire by saying, â€Å"The mingling of blood and semen represents my hunger at the core of my being. It’s about me, who I am as a male with a great need for another’s life force, blood cell to blood cell. The very sight of blood stirs my loins. (Ramsland, 1998, p. 16) Vampires also can be broken down into categories by their beliefs. Va mpirism in and of itself is not a religion but within the vampire community there is an array of belief systems. Just like with in main stream society you have Christians, Jews, Buddhist, and Atheist you too have this in the vampire community.There is also within the community groups of vampires that see their vampirism as a spiritual practice. There are different groups that have different beliefs just like any other religion. Father Sebastian, who is a fang smith, author, and founder of the clan Saber Tooth and the order of Strigoii said, during an interview in the documentary Vampyres, â€Å"his group follows the path of the Strigoii which means living vampire in Romanian. It is an older tradition that they have resurrected. It follows what he refers to as a left hand path, vampires are an emerging culture and that humanity is entering the fifth eon of man.Anton Lavey described it as the age of satin. He goes on to say that within the left hand path tradition people stand out as individuals because within the tradition the majority of people do not believe in such a thing as a god, there is no god except yourself, and that we are a projection of our higher self. † (Courau, 2007) The vampire community is vast and full of many verities of beliefs and ways of thinking. Though there is great difference in what they believe to be true of a real vampire there are some things they all agree that are not true.Along with the things that are true of real vampires there are many things that have been skewed and morphed from the current pop-culture trends, many of the Real Vampires of today would love to put an end to the many common beliefs about themselves, their activities, and culture. For starters real vampires do not need to sleep in coffins or the dirt from their hometown, they do not have aversions to the sun, although some claim a sensitivity to it but it borders more on an annoyance than the fire burning effects that the media shows just before they ar e turned to ash.They also know that they are on the world for a finite amount of time and do not live forever. They die just like you and me from anything that we as humans can die from. They do not go around stalking people and draining them of all their blood leaving them dead. Many of them love garlic and prefer to wear silver jewelry over gold. Holy water and crosses will not repel them, because many of them are Christian, or catholic or any of the many religions that are in the world. Last but not least they can come into your house uninvited but like most people they have manners and would not just invite themselves in.Vampires are living all over the world and are very much among us. Though it may be disappointing, the vampires of today are very much human and have no wild and fantastical ability’s to pass onto their victims through their bite or blood. Just because they are not the vampires we read about or seen on the big screen does not make them any less real. As w ith anything, Hollywood, and pop culture have become very good at taking the ordinary and making it bigger than it really is or more fantastical which can be with how witches, robots, and housewives are portrayed.Hopefully one day we will be able to separate the fantasy from the reality and see them for what they really are; people like you and me, going to work each day, living life a day at a time. They could be your doctor, friend, teacher or even your neighbor. People fear what they don’t understand, therefore if you look for the truth you will understand that the Real Vampires of today are not to be feared, they just have different energetic needs than the rest of us. References Atlanta Vampire Alliance [AVA] (2005-2011). Atlanta Vampire Alliance [AVA].Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www. atlantavampirealliance. com/educational. html Courau, L. (Director). (2007). Vampyres [Documentary]. Harris, T. HowStuffWorks â€Å"How Vampires Work†. HowStuffWorks â₠¬Å"Science†. Retrieved October 3, 2011, from http://science. howstuffworks. com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/vampire. htm Lamashtu (Mesopotamian demon) — Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia – Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/328457/Lamashtu Laycock, J. (2010).Real vampires as an identity group: analyzing causes and effects of an introspective survey by the vampire community. Nova religio, 14(1), 4-23. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Lilith. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. 2001. Retrieved October 09, 2011 from Encyclopedia. com: http://www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-3403802788. html Mittlebach, M. , & Crewdson, M. (2000, November 24). To Die For: Painting the Town Red, and the Capes and Nails Black – New York Times. NY Times Advertisement. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www. nytimes. com/2000/11/24/movies/to-die-for-painting-the-town-red-and-the-capes- and-nails-black. tml? scp=1&sq=ms. %20saige&st=cse Monica, H. (2008). A Vampire's Life? It's Really Draining. The Washington Post. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Ramsland, K. M. (1998). Piercing the darkness: undercover with vampires in America today. New York: Harperprism. TheoFantastique | A meeting place for myth, imagination, and mystery in pop culture. (2009, August 25). TheoFantastique | A meeting place for myth, imagination, and mystery in pop culture. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www. theofantastique. com/2009/08/25/joseph-laycock-vampires-today/

How to Write a Killer Analytical Essay on Othello

How to Write a Killer Analytical Essay on Othello Writing a killer analytical essay is no rocket science once you know how it’s actually composed. This guide will define how to write such an analytical paper so that you have no trouble in creating your own. With that being said, let’s talk about the major principles which will help you in composing your future paper: Composing an Analytical Essay First off, you need to know what you’re writing about. Is it a book, a movie, or something else? Because an analytical essay is all about analyzing a subject or an object. It is based on giving your own review on a specific topic. In this case, you’re writing an argumentative paper on Othello, a famous written by outstanding William Shakespeare. What to Do to Make Your Analytical Essay Stellar Here, you want to explore the concept of the storyline, argumentative characters, or focusing on a line and paragraph of the play, arguing its significance. For example, if a line, a phrase, a metaphor, or an imagery is repeated over time, you should be able to decipher why they’re being repeated and whether these things are crucial for the plot or did the author only want to entertain the audience? The best way to brainstorm ideas is to create your own thesis out of your personal perception and understand the context. We recommend you to create a map, in which you have your main idea at the center of the map and other ideas surrounding it. To make things clear, connect those smaller ideas to the big one, and see if it makes a perfect pattern. This way you will also be able to figure out what ideas are not really linked to the main story. Making a Thesis Statement To make a perfect thesis statement, don’t write something that seems obvious or vague; instead write something specific and arguable. Remember, if you’re a college/university student, you should focus more on a smaller version of the plot than the longer one. Finding the Evidence that Supports Your Thesis When you make an argument, it should be supported very well by credible evidence. It can either be a primary source (Othello) from where you gathered evidence, or it can be multiple sources from multiple sites. Either way, you need solid evidence to support your analysis or thesis. Writing it All Down Once you have used our first and second guidelines to brainstorm about what you’re going to write, and you’ve managed to compose a perfect thesis along with supporting evidence; it’s time to start writing. You’ll start with: Writing the Introduction Give a brief background of what your main idea/analysis is all about. You want your reader’s attention so make it interesting to read but avoid being overzealous. Once you have done that, write your thesis in the last few sentences. Composing the Body Paragraph This is where you’re going to argue on your thesis/analysis. You’ll also add supporting evidence with every analysis that you share with the reader. Here is how it’s outlined: Title Analysis Supporting Evidence A title will let the reader know what he/she is going to read. Concluding the Essay Finally, once you have made your point, puta solid seal on your statement. In other words, summarize to what extent your analysis, backed by supporting evidence, makes an impression of well-thought out research. Final Thoughts Congratulations! You’ve successfully accomplished an analytical essay on Othello. But before submitting it to your professor, proofread and edit where it seems necessary. We recommend you to criticize your own work as your teacher would, which might help to make your analytical essay a hit. If you’re still confused and find it difficult to start writing, go back and read our first and second guides: 10 facts for an analytical essay on Othello and 20 Othello essay topics. We’re certain that after reading them, you’ll start custom essay writing immediately.

Giovanni Boccaccio Essays - Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio, Fiammetta

Giovanni Boccaccio Essays - Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio, Fiammetta Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio Boccaccio was born in Paris, in 1313, the illegitimate son of a Florentine merchant and a French noblewoman. Reared in Florence, he was sent to study accounting in Naples around 1323. He abandoned accounting for canon law and gave that up for classical and scientific studies. He took part in the life of the court of Robert d'Anjou, king of Naples. The king is supposed to have had an illegitimate daughter, Maria de Conti d'Aquino. Although there is no proof of her existence, she is said to have been Boccaccio's mistress and to have inspired a great deal of his work. She is, perhaps, the Fiammetta immortalized in his writings. Returning to Florence about 1340, Boccaccio performed various diplomatic services for the city government, and in 1350 he met the poet and humanist Petrarch, with whom he had a close friendship until Patriarchs death in 1374. In 1362 a friend, who promised him the patronage of Queen Joanna of Naples, invited Boccaccio to Naples. A cold reception at the court of the queen led him to seek the hospitality of Petrarch, who was then in Venice. However, he returned to his estate in Certaldo (near Florence). Boccaccio's last years, in which he turned to religious meditation, were brightened by his appointment in 1373 as lecturer on Dante. His series of lectures was interrupted by his illness in 1374, and he died the next year. Boccaccio's most important work is Il Decamerone (Ten Days' Work), which was begun in 1348 and completed in 1353; it was first translated into English, as The Decameron, in 1620. This collection of 100 stories is set within a framework. A group of friends, seven women and three men, all well bred, of worth and discretion, to escape an outbreak of the plague have taken refuge in a country villa outside Florence. There they entertain one another over a period of ten days with a series of stories told by each member. At the conclusion of the 100th tale, the friends return to their homes in the city.

Why Dickens Wrote A Christmas Carol

Why Dickens Wrote A Christmas Carol A  Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of the most beloved works of 19th century literature, and the storys enormous popularity helped make Christmas a major holiday in Victorian Britain. When Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in late 1843, he had ambitious purposes in mind, yet he could never have imagined the profound impact his story would have. Dickens had already achieved great fame, yet his most recent novel wasnt selling well and he feared his success had peaked. Indeed, he faced some serious financial problems as Christmas 1843 approached. Beyond his own worries, Dickens was keenly attuned to the profound misery of the working poor in England. A visit to the grimy industrial city of Manchester motivated him to tell the story of a greedy businessman, Ebenezer Scrooge, who would be transformed by the Christmas spirit. Dickens rushed A Christmas Carol into print by Christmas 1843, and it became a phenomenon. The Impact of 'A Christmas Carol' The book was immediately popular with the public, becoming perhaps the most famous literary work associated with Christmas. It elevated the popularity of Christmas, which wasnt the major holiday we know, and established the idea of Christmas charity toward those less fortunate.Dickens intended the story as a strong condemnation of greed, and the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge provided a popular optimistic message.Scrooge became one of the most famous characters in literature.Dickens himself became associated with Christmas in the public mind.A Christmas Carol was transformed into stage plays and later films and television productions. Career Crisis Dickens had achieved popularity with his first novel, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, which was serialized from mid-1836 to late 1837. Known today as The Pickwick Papers, the novel was filled with comic characters the British public found charming. In the following years Dickens wrote more novels: 1838: Oliver Twist1839: Nicholas Nickleby1841: The Old Curiosity Shop1841: Barnaby Rudge Dickens reached literary superstar status with The Old Curiosity Shop, as readers on both sides of the Atlantic became obsessed with Little Nell. An enduring legend is that New Yorkers eager for the next installment would stand on the dock and yell out to passengers on incoming British packet liners, asking if Little Nell was still alive. Preceded by his fame, Dickens visited America for several months in 1842. He didnt much enjoy his visit, and he put his negative observations into a book, American Notes, which alienated many American fans. Dickens was offended by American manners (or lack thereof), and he restricted his visit to the North, as he was so offended by slavery that he wouldnt venture into the South beyond a foray into Virginia. He paid attention to working conditions, visiting mills and factories. In New York, New York, he exhibited his keen interest in the poorer classes by visiting Five Points, a notorious slum neighborhood. Back in England, he began writing a new novel, Martin Chuzzlewit. Despite his earlier success, Dickens found himself owing money to his publisher, and his new novel was not selling well as a serial. Fearful that his career was declining, Dickens desperately wanted to write something that would be very popular with the public. A Form of Protest Beyond his personal reasons for writing A Christmas Carol, Dickens felt a strong need to comment on the enormous gap between the rich and poor in Victorian Britain. On the night of Oct. 5, 1843, Dickens gave a speech in Manchester, England, at a benefit for the Manchester Athenaeum, an organization that brought education and culture to the working masses. Dickens, who was 31 at the time, shared the stage with Benjamin Disraeli, a novelist who would later become Britains prime minister. Addressing the working-class residents of Manchester affected Dickens deeply. Following his speech he took a long walk, and while thinking of the plight of exploited child workers he conceived the idea for A Christmas Carol. Returning to London, Dickens took more walks late at night, working out the story in his head. The miser Ebenezer Scrooge would be visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Marley, and also the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Finally seeing the error of his greedy ways, Scrooge would celebrate Christmas and give a raise to the employee he had been exploiting, Bob Cratchit. Dickens wanted the book to be available by Christmas. He wrote it with astonishing speed, finishing it in six weeks while also continuing to write installments of Martin Chuzzlewit. Countless Readers Touched When the book appeared, just before Christmas, it was immediately popular with the reading public as well as with critics. British author William Makepeace Thackeray, who later rivaled Dickens as a writer of Victorian novels, wrote that A Christmas Carol was a national benefit, and to every man or woman who reads it, a personal kindness. The story of Scrooges redemption touched readers deeply, and the message Dickens wanted to convey of concern for those less fortunate struck a deep chord. The Christmas holiday began to be seen as a time for family celebrations and charitable giving. There is little doubt that Dickens story and its widespread popularity helped Christmas become established as a major holiday in Victorian Britain. Popularity Has Lasted A Christmas Carol has never gone out of print. Before the decade ended, it was adapted for the stage, and Dickens performed public readings from it. On Dec. 10, 1867, The New York Times published a glowing review of a reading of A Christmas Carol Dickens had delivered at Steinway Hall in New York City: When he came to the introduction of characters and to dialogue, the reading changed to acting, and Mr. Dickens here showed a remarkable and peculiar power. Old Scrooge seemed present; every muscle of his face, and every tone of his harsh and domineering voice revealed his character. Dickens died in 1870, but  A Christmas Carol lived on. Stage plays based on it were produced for decades, and eventually films and television productions kept the story of Scrooge alive. Scrooge, described as a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone at the beginning of the tale, famously snapped Bah! Humbug! at a nephew who wished him a merry Christmas. Near the end of the story, Dickens wrote of Scrooge: It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.

IPad's Security Breach Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IPad's Security Breach - Assignment Example We immediately took the sites offline to assess how this had happened and what had been accessed, then took further measures to increase the security of these and all of our websites, before allowing the sites to go live again" News | SQUARE ENIX MEMBERS (n.d.) However, servers that were preserving archives correlated to e-commerce transactions and credit cards were not interconnected to the website. Moreover, candidates have uploaded their resumes to ‘Square Enix’ for job considerations were also pilfered. Hackers can now trade and sell information present in the resumes, as educational background, home address and contact numbers, interest, hobbies, references etc. are exposed. Conversely, organization denied the fact that only one email address was leaked during the hack. Moreover, organization also stated that the website was equipped with latest and most updated web security architecture. An employee from an organization justified this fact as â€Å"We take the sec urity of our websites extremely seriously and employ strict measures, which we test regularly, to guard against this sort of incident† Square Enix admits to Deus Ex website hacks. (n.d.). The statement given by the concerned personnel of an organization was not credible as the security breach clearly demonstrated loopholes in their security architecture. One more incident related to website hacking took place in which some particular areas of the website were breached. The name of the website was daily Telegraph. It was hacked by Romanian hackers. Moreover, the areas that were hacked includes pages named as ‘Short Breaks’ and ‘Wine and Dine’ respectively. There are still no answers for the hacking incident that was conducted by these hackers. The methodology and technology that was used to attack the site was not found. A researcher named as Chris Boyd illustrated description of the pages that were hacked. The contents of the page were â€Å"sick of seeing garbage like this †¦ calling us Romanians gypsies† (Daily telegraph website hacked by aggrieved Romanians, n.d.). The survey concluded and justified the real world factors related to website hacking, as it has its own place in the field of hacking. In order to protect websites from vulnerabilities and threats, security measures are required. Moreover, websites providing e-commerce services are even more vulnerable and require most updated security controls in place. 1 Ethics Statement Hacking is a process that is implemented to explore a security imperfection that has not been reported earlier. Mostly, information security specialists take hacking as a concept of stealing and destroying data or any incident related to criminal activities. However, hacking exemplifies skills of an individual to exhibit his knowledge on the network domain, as well as on the application domain. Research and development in terms of information security is evaluated due to hacking and s ecurity loop holes (Introduction to computer ethics n.d.). One view of hacking is to be acquiescent, as a good cause is to strengthen the security architecture. However, the second view of hacking has the capacity to facilitate individuals to steal highly confidential information from servers located in organization as well as stealing funds by credit cards and bank account, therefore, giving a major business loss to an organization. Hacking ethics are important

The Breakfast Club Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Breakfast Club - Movie Review Example There are several methods of communication, verbal and nonverbal, that appear in this film. Each character has their own different attitude and self-concept that is evident throughout the majority of the movie. They have difficulties communicating because they are more likely to be arguing about certain subjects that they are discussing. Since their peers have labeled them as a certain type, it seems as though their self concept of themselves is much different than the image that they convey to others. What many of the characters realize throughout the film is that their self concepts of themselves really do not differ that much from each other. Sometimes, they put up a certain front in order to almost fit their stereotype and it is an effort to put up a wall. However, the characters start to ask questions of each other and this breaks the stereotypes. Each student's self image and self concept starts to evolve and they realize that maybe they have more in common then they first real ized. Interpersonal communication is something that people do not realize that they are doing. Sometimes it is a subconscious reaction. Those subconscious reactions are, however, very strong and powerful messages. Interpersonal communication can be defined as how involved people are when engaging. This includes proximity and how close together people are standing or sitting in relation to each other. Interpersonal communication also includes sensory responses such as eye contact. It also includes feedback. In a smaller group, the communication is more intimate because people are usually in closer proximity to one another and feedback is more immediate as response times are generally quicker (Borchers). That is one situation that members of â€Å"The Breakfast Club† have troubles overcoming. Generally these are a group of students that typically would not interact. However, when put in a single room together and there is a small group of them, they must somehow communicate wit h one another. Even though this is a group that would stereotypically not usually mingle, they still are able to communicate with one another. Despite the fact that each character had their own certain stereotypes, as the film carries on, they start to defy their stereotypes in order to communicate with one another. The other members of the group realize that how they had stereotyped another person was not in fact who they really were. Just because someone looks or acts a certain does not define what is truly within them. By the end of the film though, they have learned more about each other despite their differences and have somehow united and gained unspoken friendship despite the oddity that none of them fit in the same social groups with each other. When discussing interpersonal communication, there are four major principles. The first is that it is inescapable; the second is that it is irreversible; is complicated; and lastly, is contextual. Each of these is fundamental to comm unication. Communication is contextual. Depending on the type of environment you are in, what your own motives or desires are, the interaction of a classroom or even different cultures, genders or stereotypes even interact differently (King). The beginning of The Breakfast Club is a time when obviously none of the students want to be there. They feel as though they are stuck with a group of people that will make the day long because it seems as though none of them have anything in common. At times, their

Reflective Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflective Paper - Essay Example bility to establish and maintain harmonious relationships with diverse people and groups, especially with those different from themselves is a quality most effective leaders have. He is the glue that fuses the group together with diplomacy and commonality of goals. He possesses high emotional intelligence, maturity and understanding of people coming from various backgrounds. I believe that having a sensible and stable moral and ethical base should be the foundation of an organization. Michael Fullan, a leading advocate in the study of leadership claims that a leader should have moral purpose. This moral purpose pushes him to act with the intention of making a positive difference in the lives of the people around him and in society in general (Fullan, 2004). â€Å"Moral purpose infuses an organization with passion and purpose since workers become eager to know the enabling purpose of their work† (Fullan, 2004, p. 26). A manager needs the capacity to keep his focus on the real purpose of the organization. He has a clear vision of where he is going and sets directions to others towards that vision. He works together with others on thinking of ways and means to reach their goals and not focus on the authority on himself. In doing so, he empowers them to be confident in their abilities and motivates them to welcome challenges and opportunities. His positive influence gains him the respect of everyone to follow his lead while pursuing a common mission for the growth and development of the organization (Leithwood & Riehl,2003). Although the manager is imbued with great knowledge and skills, he is aware that he still needs help from others. He is humble enough to admit when he does not really know instead of putting up a faà §ade of being all-knowing. He is always open to learning something new, and not haughty enough to claim that he is already â€Å"made†.† Being human and fallible is one trait that all people share, and what better quality to relate to

Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Report - Research Paper Example Now the products of the organization is broadly known and accepted as Pepsi in global market place. The organization has implemented strong brand and product extension strategy since 1965 in order to gain competitive advantages within the industry. The organization has able to achieve huge success and potential competitive advantages due to continuous improvement in the operation management process (Heizer, 2011). This report will compare the old and new operation management process of the organization and will determine the competitive advantages of the company. In addition to this, the report will analyze several facts in order to prove following thesis statement. Thesis Statement Constant innovation in operation management, and integration of technology, sustainability and cost reduction strategy helped Pepsi to become one of the leading organizations within food and beverage industry. Analysis PepsiCo is considered as one of the leading organizations in the global food and bevera ge industry. The organization always tries to ensure fairness and business ethics in each and every business operation process to achieve potential competitive advantages and develop global client base. The organization tries to take care of all stakeholders such as society, community; employees, shareholders, consumers and suppliers by maintain sustainability in the business operation process. ... Pepsi Cola Company achieved huge success initially through the implementation of business operation strategy. Unfortunately the organization went bankrupt in the year 1931. However, the brand redeveloped and repositioned later. The organization merged with Frito-Lay Inc. in the year 1965 and formed PepsiCo, Inc. The soft drinks of the organization are broadly known as Pepsi among the people in this world. The mission statement, corporate values and operation management processes have changed of the organization throughout these long operating years. Previously the organization was aiming on becoming one of the most profitable consumer products organization by maintain honesty, integrity and fairness in the business operation process. However, the organization changes its business value and aim quite slowly and steadily in order to address the critical changes in several external environmental factors. Recently the organization is focusing on several corporate social responsibility ac tivities, community engagement programmes in order to maintain its strong global brand image. Pepsi Cola Company used to follow three different steps in the operation process such as manufacturing of the soft drinks, transferring of the soft drink to the packaging house and storage of the soft drink products. The organization used to incorporate ingredients like flavour oil, kola nuts, vanilla beans and sweeteners as the major ingredients to manufacture soft drinks. This product got huge popularity among the people in this world. The organization always used to focus on the adoption and implementation of advanced technological processes and tools in the business operation processes in order to maintain efficiency in the business operation

Book Review Literature Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book - Literature review Example In doing this, he arranges the book into sixteen chapters all of which offer progressive analysis to the two main policing approach: the â€Å"soft cop† policing technique as introduced by the 1990’s New York mayor and the soft cop policing technique counterpart. He analyses the two assessing their effectiveness in combatting the modern day crimes, which are equally dynamic. The different chapters discuss the efficacy of each of the policing techniques in curbing such modern crimes as stalking, financial crimes and theft crimes. Additionally, the author provides places his arguments in contemporary developed societies which best typify both modernism and the nature of the crimes thereby achieving great effectiveness in comparing the two policing techniques and their ability to combat crimes. Author’s key theoretical argument â€Å"Hard† policing refers to a policing technique that portrays zero tolerance to criminals. The approach to community policing pro pagates for scathing handling of criminals with the implementation of extremely punitive sentences to the convicted criminals as a means of curbing the spread of criminals. Soft policing on the other hand approaches policing as a means of restoring behaviors. The two have relative advantages and therefore applicable in different contexts, the modern society is dynamic and presents numerous security challenges. The author of the book thus alludes to the relative application of each of the two policing mechanisms. The effectiveness and preference of any of the two policing techniques is not readily evident, he however provides perfect examples, which would invoke the application of hard policing and further provides other perfect examples that would require soft policing. Scope of phenomena covered Just as explained earlier, the modern society has diverse security requirements. The dynamic lifestyles coerce unique security needs thereby the governments to formulate and implement diver se policing techniques. The most readily available and comply applicable policing techniques include the zero tolerance technique and the soft policing technique. The two are divergent approaches and therefore view policing differently. However, the author finds each relative relevance in the contemporary society since he considers specific attributes of the society and the modern types and natures of criminal activities. The development and the subsequent spread of the use of the internet have resulted in the proliferation of cybercrimes in the modern society. The internet for example provides users with specific anonymity features, which enables the successful execution of the crimes. In addressing such modern society crimes, the author uses developed societies in the west including the United Kingdom, Germany, and other examples of police systems in the United States of America. The developed countries exemplify contemporary societies. They have unique security requirements as th ey present their citizens with diverse possibilities that thereby necessitate the execution of crimes. The choice to use developed countries thus provide the author with the ability to observe the developing trends in crimes thereby the different security requirements most of which necessitate the type of policing technique considered effective

Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Report - Research Paper Example Now the products of the organization is broadly known and accepted as Pepsi in global market place. The organization has implemented strong brand and product extension strategy since 1965 in order to gain competitive advantages within the industry. The organization has able to achieve huge success and potential competitive advantages due to continuous improvement in the operation management process (Heizer, 2011). This report will compare the old and new operation management process of the organization and will determine the competitive advantages of the company. In addition to this, the report will analyze several facts in order to prove following thesis statement. Thesis Statement Constant innovation in operation management, and integration of technology, sustainability and cost reduction strategy helped Pepsi to become one of the leading organizations within food and beverage industry. Analysis PepsiCo is considered as one of the leading organizations in the global food and bevera ge industry. The organization always tries to ensure fairness and business ethics in each and every business operation process to achieve potential competitive advantages and develop global client base. The organization tries to take care of all stakeholders such as society, community; employees, shareholders, consumers and suppliers by maintain sustainability in the business operation process. ... Pepsi Cola Company achieved huge success initially through the implementation of business operation strategy. Unfortunately the organization went bankrupt in the year 1931. However, the brand redeveloped and repositioned later. The organization merged with Frito-Lay Inc. in the year 1965 and formed PepsiCo, Inc. The soft drinks of the organization are broadly known as Pepsi among the people in this world. The mission statement, corporate values and operation management processes have changed of the organization throughout these long operating years. Previously the organization was aiming on becoming one of the most profitable consumer products organization by maintain honesty, integrity and fairness in the business operation process. However, the organization changes its business value and aim quite slowly and steadily in order to address the critical changes in several external environmental factors. Recently the organization is focusing on several corporate social responsibility ac tivities, community engagement programmes in order to maintain its strong global brand image. Pepsi Cola Company used to follow three different steps in the operation process such as manufacturing of the soft drinks, transferring of the soft drink to the packaging house and storage of the soft drink products. The organization used to incorporate ingredients like flavour oil, kola nuts, vanilla beans and sweeteners as the major ingredients to manufacture soft drinks. This product got huge popularity among the people in this world. The organization always used to focus on the adoption and implementation of advanced technological processes and tools in the business operation processes in order to maintain efficiency in the business operation

Lean implementation in chinese manufacturing SMEs Essay

Lean implementation in chinese manufacturing SMEs - Essay Example I will spend all the holidays and time other than module attendance and other post module assignment project on the research work. Moreover, when my supervisor will not be available then i will try to improve the work already done as per last meeting with supervisor. The minimum time required to complete the project is 6 months, in which sample selection limitation will persist Despite it being easier to implement lean manufacturing in SMEs, its implementation is quite different from large companies and as such most SMEs usually face some obstacles in implementing the method successfully. The main barrier for SMEs is the lack of support and knowledge from top management with regard to the method. In addition, both employees and management tend to have a resistant towards change and new practices, which hinder the implementation of lean management. Most SMEs also have some constraints in resources, both operational and financial resources that will help in their path of becoming lean. Another obstacle is the instability in production schedules and cooperation from suppliers in most SMEs that makes it difficult to carry out lean manufacturing practices (Nordin & Deros, 2013). As Womack, Jones & Roos (1990) concluded in their study, lean manufacturing can be implemented by any company anywhere in the world in all industries and it regarded to benefit both small and large organisations regardless of the size factor. Several scholars, which have dealt with the concept of lean management, have stressed that when implementing this method, SMEs should not start with massive financial investment in lean practices but should go slow. One of the proposed framework by Herron and Braiden (2007) pointed out that, SMEs should focus on five basic practices as the stepping stone towards developing lean manufacturing in a company that include quality circle,

Indoor Plumbing and Public Sanitation in Developing Countries Essay Example for Free

Indoor Plumbing and Public Sanitation in Developing Countries Essay The porcelain throne, the pot, the pooper, the potty, the latrine, the toilet. That is something we don’t give much thought to, unless something is wrong with it. What about the shower or the sink? How often to do you go to your sink to get a glass of water and wonder â€Å"Am I drinking someone’s poo? Will it be clean today or will I get sick? † I know for myself, I rarely give this any thought at all and I can honestly say that I have never worried that my drinking water would be contaminated by feces. However, for many around the world, this is a constant concern. Many today either don’t have access to clean water or don’t have access to very much water at all. They openly defecate, as well as drink, cook, and bathe in contaminated water. This causes several life threatening diseases and illnesses. I will discuss the water and sanitation issues in under developed countries, as well as what is being done to improve these situations. Early one December morning in Boise Idaho, I woke up to an especially cold day. I tiredly scuffled myself to my bathroom, went pee and when I went to flush my toilet, nothing happened. Still slightly asleep and confused, I tried a couple more times to get it to flush. Still nothing happened. Frustrated, I opened my tank and found that there was no water in it at all. I thought that that was strange, so I checked my faucet. I turned the handle and no water came out, I quickly checked my shower and kitchen sink next. I had no water at all. Realizing that I had to work in a few hours and I had no way to shower, brush my teeth or clean up in any way, I became quite irate. I called my management company and apparently pipes had frozen in most of their properties. After this experience I started thinking about my reaction and how there are countries that don’t have access to clean water ever. Though I think that the reaction that I had would have been the same for any person living in the U. S. , I don’t know if it was as big of a deal as it felt like in the moment. I didn’t die from not having water for one day, I wasn’t forced to defecate in my front lawn or drink from a sewer. I didn’t get sick and I didn’t even have to go the entire day without a shower. In fact, I didn’t have to go even a couple of hours without access to water. We, in America, are so used to having constant access to clean water and indoor plumbing that if we have to go an hour without it, it’s as though our entire world is crashing down. We rarely give thought to those in underdeveloped countries that lack access to clean water at all. There are approximately 7 billion people living on earth today. There are about 2. 6 billion people today that don’t have a toilet or access to one (Yamaguchi). That is about 40% of the world’s population! That is a huge number of people without toilets. Here in America, there is not a single home that does not have a toilet. Even the homeless have constant access to restroom facilities and clean water. I had a conversation with a friend of mine that works with the homeless on a daily basis to see what the situation was like for the homeless in America in regards to restroom access and sanitation. I asked him if any of the homeless people that he worked with were ever forced to openly defecate or go without a shower. He informed that the only ones that did that were never forced to, but they did it by choice. He also told me that many that are homeless are on Medicaid, so if they get sick they can just go to the doctor. This is quite different from developing countries, where people die all the time from not being able to afford medical care. Developing countries not only lack affordable medical care but they have very limited ability to prevent the spread of illness, such as those caused by exposure to fecal matter (Yamaguchi). However, in America we have sewage systems and plants that filter and treat our sewer water. In Los Angeles there is the Hyperion sewage plant that processes enough fecal matter to fill three Rose Bowl Stadiums every day (Yamaguchi). That is just in Los Angeles, what about the rest of the U.  S.? It is mind boggling to think about how much is processed. Now let’s look at India, a country that has significantly grown economically, however is still severely lacking proper sanitation systems. According to UNICEF, about 600 million people in India are without access to a toilet (â€Å"World Toilet Day 2012†). That is more than half the population of India. Instead of using a toilet, they openly defecate wherever they can. Many use the Yamuna River (Yamaguchi), the largest river in the Ganges of Northern India. The result has been a severely contaminated water source. The river has literally turned black and bubbles from the methane gases. The shores are not only polluted with fecal matter but trash as well and yet still the people are using the water from the river (Yamaguchi). I think many American’s reaction to this would be â€Å"Gross† or we might generalize and think that Indians are just unsanitary people. Is that really the case, though? The people living in underdeveloped countries are rarely living in unsanitary conditions by choice. Many are ignorant to proper sanitation practices and/or are living in conditions where they have no access to clean water. In the urban slums of New Delhi, people are defecating anywhere they can; in the middle of the streets, next to rail road tracks, or just feet from where they eat, drink and sleep. The water they are using to cook, drink, and bathe with is water from a sewer (Yamaguchi). About 1000 children die every day from diarrhea (Bajait, Thawani). This lack of proper sanitation systems is exposing these children and adults to fecal matter on a daily basis, which is causing diseases like Typhoid, Cholera and other severe illnesses linked with diarrhea. Is this the fault of the individual or the fault of their governments? In my opinion, both are at fault. Though developing countries have very little access to informational services, I do believe that it falls in the hands of the individual to get informed and I believe that it is the responsibility of the government to provide the services required to inform its people on proper sanitation, as well as provide a clean environment to live in via sanitation systems. This lack of toilets, which results in a lack of clean water, is obviously a very big problem. So what is being done about it? In 2001 Jack Sim founded the World Toilet Organization. This organization is dedicated to improving the world’s toilet and sanitation situation. They make toilets that are affordable for those living in impoverished conditions. Jack Sim also works with governments of developing countries and small organizations to help provide toilets to those in need. One of those small organizations is run by Bapak Sumadi in Indonesia. Sumadi is a major leader in Indonesia in providing the public with toilets and teaching the importance of public sanitation. Together their goal is to end open defecation (Yamaguchi). Though the changes and effects are small, they are not insignificant. The conditions that these people are forced to live in, is truly a crisis. Thousands die every day from not having proper sanitation systems. The invention of the toilet and sewage systems has not only given us a way to get rid of our feces, but it has provided us with sanitary conditions which keeps our water clean and reduces the chances of contracting diseases. No matter who you are or where you live, everyone deserves to have access to a toilet and clean water. The question now is; what more can be done? Should the government help provide better access to toilets and sanitation systems? What about other countries? Do we hold any responsibility in helping these developing countries? In my opinion, yes we do. One scholarly journal, in reference to David Hemson, stated â€Å"†¦ regular water supply to the rural poor is both a constitutional requirement and a social necessity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Phaswana-Mafuya 298). I think it is imperative that we learn to help one another, so that we can grow together rather than grow apart. I know the next time that I use the restroom, take a bath, or even just get a glass of water; I will be grateful for all that I have and that I don’t have to worry about what I am drinking or bathing in. What about you?

Molecular Weight Effect of Different Grades of HPC Polymer

Molecular Weight Effect of Different Grades of HPC Polymer Introduction Bioavailability enhancement Wet media milling + spray drying Issues have impact on dissolution performance Novelty of the work Objective Material and methods wet stirred media milling Spray dryer Characterization techniques Results and discussion Physical stability of the milled precursor suspensions Drug breakage kinetics Formation of the NCMPs via spray drying of the precursor drug suspensions Impact of different polymers on the drug dissolution from NCMPs PVP-K30 HPMC-E3 HPC-SSL, HPC-SL, HPC-L Molecular weight effect of different grades of HPC polymer on drug dissolution performance and stability It is estimated that a large percentage of newly developed drug compounds have limited bioavailibity due to their poor water solubility and very slow dissolution rate [1]. According to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS), class II drugs are categorized as poorly water soluble and highly permeable in human body [2]. To achieve the therapeutic efficacy of these drugs it is very essential to enhance the bioavailability by increasing the solubility or dissolution rate. A number of approaches have been developed over the time to resolve this issue. The reduction of drug particles size to sub-micron or nanometer has been one of the most popular and effective approaches of all [3-6]. By reducing the particles size order of magnitude, specific surface area of the particles increased radically and enhances the rate of absorption and dissolution [7, 8], according to the Noyes-Whitney equation [9]. Drug nanoparticles production technologies are classified into Bottom-up or Top-down or combination of both. The bottom up techniques include precipitation using supercritical fluid, liquid anti-solvent precipitation, and evaporative precipitation, where small drug particles are produced from drug molecules dissolved in organic solvent [10, 11]. In case of top-down approaches, the particles are reduced to the nanometer range [11]. High pressure homogenization [5] and wet media milling [3] are included in top-down approaches. To prepare drug nanosuspension, wet stirred media milling (WSMM) has achieved the most popularity because of its effectiveness, robustness, scalability, high drug loading, and low polymer side effects [5, 12, 13]. Due to many advantages of drug solid dosage form, it is the most popular dosage form to the patients/clinicians. To encounter this high demand, drug nanosuspensions are usually converted into nanocomposite microparticles (NCMPs) using different drying techniques and incorporated into standard solid dosage forms such as tablets and capsules [13, 14]. Vacuum dryer [15, 16], spray-freeze dryer [17, 18], spray dryer [19, 20], and fluidized bed [17] are very prevalent and widely used drying tools in the pharmaceutical industries. Among all the drying techniques, spray drying has already got attention due to its energy intensive, continuous and scalable drying process characteristics and ability to produce micro to nano-sized particles with a very narrow distribution within a very short time frame [21]. Albeit particle size reduction is an effective technique for bioavailability enhancement, stability issue has always been critical for the efficacy of the drug products. In the nanosuspension, drug particles start losing their specific surface area by aggregation due to relatively high surface energy and specific surface area and also for enhanced Brownian motion [22]. For the prevention of aggregation in the wet media and having better stability, polymers and/or surfactants are added to the suspension as stabilizers. These stabilizers provide stability by electrostatic or electrosteric mechanisms [22]. Steric stability provided by the polymer is drug specific. Only few polymers can help to reduce the particle size of a specific drug down to nanometers. Therefore, selecting a proper stabilizer for a specific drug is a very complex process and cannot be generalized easily [23]. Thus, having a better insight about the polymer properties is very crucial to figure out the right stabilize r for a particular drug. Molecular weight of the polymer is a very significant property of polymers, which determines the capability for steric stabilization along with solution properties [24, 25], regulates mechanical property of the films [26], and controls the drug release during oral administration [27]. Consequently, optimum MW and polymer concentration may help to get the best stabilization performance during and after milling, and faster drug release from the composites.   Choi et al. [16] investigated the impact of lower range MW (11,200-49,000 g/mol) of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HW) on itraconazole suspension production and their recovery from the drug composites. In that work, HPC was used solely with the same concentration, and dissolution performance study was absent.   Sepassi et al. [28] studied MW effect of two different polymers hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the particle size reduction of milled nabumetone and ha lofantrine suspensions; however, drying and dissolution rate were not studied. Li et al. [29] studied the MW and concentration effect of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) on the dissolution performance of poorly soluble drug griseofulvin (GF) in presence/absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant. In that investigation, drug nanosuspension was coated and dried on to the surface of pharmatose using fluidized bed technique and also determined the optimum concentration and MW effect of HPC for complete release of the drug particles during dissolution. To authors best knowledge, no comprehensive and systematic study has been performed so far to get the insight about the head to head comparison of different polymers performance and MW effect of the same polymer on the suspension stability after milling and during dissolution of NCMPs produced via spray drying. It is known from prior study that the combined use of polymers and surfactants provide a synergistic effect leading to better stability in the nanosuspension than individual stabilizers [30, 31]. Due to the side effects of surfactant, it is always expected to use minimal amount in the formulation. If only the use of polymer can provide substantial stability in the nanosuspension and immediate release of the drugs in the dissolution from NCMPs, then it is more viable than using surfactant.   Therefore, this study aims to develop an understanding of the polymer MW and different polymer effect on the physical stability of Itraconazole nanosuspension and drug dissolution fr om the composites. Itraconazole (ITZ) suspensions were milled in a WSMM and the nanocomposite particles were produced using a co-current spray dryer. Three different polymers HPC, PVP, and HPMC were used at 4.5% (w/w) concentration to see the polymer effect and for MW effect, three grades (SSL, SL, and L) of HPC having different MW were used. Laser diffraction, SEM, UV- spectroscopy, XRPD, and DSC were used to analyze the drug suspension and composite particles. Dissolution test of the NCMPs were performed by a USP II paddle apparatus. Materials Itraconazole (ITZ), is an antifungal drug with a water solubility 0.13 mg/L (at pH-7 and 25  °C), is a sparingly water soluble drug belong to the BCS Class II was purchased from Jai Radhe Sales (Ahmedabad, India) and was used as-received condition. Three different polymers, hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were used as polymers. Three grades (SSL, SL, and L) of HPC with ~40, ~100, and ~140 kDa molecular weight, respectively, were donated by Nisso America Inc. (New York, NY, USA) and used for steric stabilization. Polymeric stabilizers Methocel E3 grade HPMC and PVP Kollidon 30 were donated by Dow Chemical (Midland, MI, USA) and BASF Corporation (Florham Park, NJ, USA) respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is an anionic surfactant used as a wetting agent during dissolution and provide electrostatic stabilization in the suspension, was purchased from Sigma Aldrich (Milwaukee, WI, USA). Zirmil Y grade wear-re sistant yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) with a median size of 430  µm (400  µm nominal size) was used as the milling media and purchased from Saint Gobain ZirPro (Mountainside, NJ, USA). Methods Wet Stirred Media Milling (WSMM) The presuspension (before milling) was prepared following the same procedure used in Afolabi et al. [32]. All the suspension formulations are tabulated below in Table 1. API (Itraconazole) concentration was kept constant at 10% (w/w) and polymer concentration was 4.5% (w/w) for all the formulation. All the concentrations are reported with respect to deionized water (200g). The formulation with 2.5% (w/w) HPC-SL and 0.2% (w/w) SDS was used as a baseline formulation, because from earlier study it was found to be the optimum for fastest and complete drug release from the composite powders. Prepared drug suspension was milled in a Netzsch wet media mill (Micorcer, Fine Particle Technology LLC, Exton, PA, USA) with 80 ml chamber; 50 ml of the chamber was filled with 400  µm (nominal size) Zirconia beads, which is the milling media and a screen with 200  µm opening was used to hold the beads into the chamber and allowing only the passage of the suspension. A shear mixer (Fisher Scientific Laboratory Stirrer, Catalog No. 14-503, Pittsburgh, PA) was used to prepare the suspension prior to transfer into the holding tank of the miller. The suspension was pumped through a peristaltic pump and was milled under the following conditions: suspension flow rate 126 ml/min, rotor speed 4000 rpm corresponding to a tip speed of 11.7 m/s. To keep the suspension temperature below 35  °C, milling chamber and holding tank both were equipped with a chiller (Advantage Engineering Greenwood, IN, USA).   All the parameters were selected from the earlier work done by Afolabi et al. [31]. To determine the breakage kinetics, particle sizes were measured at different time intervals up to 65 minutes and the suspension were refrigerated at 8  °C for one day before spray drying. Preparation of NCMPs via Spray Drying The prepared nanosuspesions were dried within a day of milling using a spray dryer (4M8-Trix, Procept, Zelzate, Belgium) running in a co-current flow set up. All the operating conditions were taken from Azad et al. [19].The suspensions were atomized at 2 bar atomizing pressure using a bi-fluid nozzle having 0.6 mm tip diameter. In each run, ~120 gm nanosuspensions were sprayed at 1.3-1.6 g/min spray rate using a peristaltic pump (Makeit-EZ, Creates, Zelzate, Belgium). Drying air was fed co-currently from the top of the column at 120  °C temperature and 0.37-0.40 m3/min volumetric flow rate. To avoid sedimentation of the drug particles during spraying, the suspension was stirred using a magnetic stirrer throughout the run. A Cyclone separator was used at 54-70 mbar differential pressure to separate the NCMPs from the outlet air stream and collecting them in a glass jar. The dried powders later on were used for powder sample characterization e.g., XRD, DSC, Rodos, and dissolutio n testing. Particle Size Analysis Particle size distributions of the suspensions were measured at different time interval during milling and after 7-day storage in the refrigerator by laser diffraction (LD) technique using Coulter LS 13 320 (Beckman Coulter, Miami, FL). All the steps involved for measuring PSDs of the suspensions were followed from Li et al. [29]. During sample addition, intensity was maintained between 40-45% while obscuration was below 8%. Mie scattering theory was used to compute the volume-based PSDs in the software. Refractive index value is 1.68 for ITZ and 1.33 for deionized water (medium). Before measuring the PSDs, 2 ml suspension sample was collected from the outlet of the mill chamber and diluted with 5 ml of the respective stabilizer solution using a vortex mixer (Fisher Scientific Digital Vortex Mixer, Catalog no: 0215370, Model No: 945415, Pittsburgh, PA) at 1500 rpm for 1 min. The Particle size distributions (PSDs) of produced NCMPs via spray drying were measured by Rodos/Helos laser diffraction (LD) system (Sympatec, NJ, USA) based on Furnhofer theory with dry powder dispersion module. On the sample chute of the Rodos dispersing system, just about 1 g of the sample was placed. To feed the samples, the sample chute was vibrated at 50% settings and 0.1 bar dispersion pressure was imposed to suck in the falling powder through the sample cell of the laser diffraction system. Determination of Drug Content in the Composite Powders Drug content of the composite powders were measured by assay testing. ITZ solubility is - in dichloromethane (DCM). 100 mg of the NCMPs was dissolved in 20 ml DCM, sonicated for 30 mins to ensure all the ITZ is dissolved in the solvent and then they were allowed to sediment overnight. An aliquot of 100  µl is taken from the supernatant and diluted to 10 ml with DCM. The absorbance of all the samples was measured at 260 nm wavelength via Ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometer (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA). Six replicates were prepared from each NCMP formulation to calculate mean drug content and percent relative standard deviation (RSD). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) SEM imaging was performed to understand the morphology and particle size of the ITZ particles before and after milling. SEM images of as-received ITZ and baseline formulation was taken using a LEO 1530 SVMP (Carl Zeiss, Inc., Peabody, MA, USA) SEM machine. Approximately, 0.1 ml milled suspension sample was placed on top of a silicon chip (Ted Pella Inc., Redding, CA, USA), and then on top of a carbon specimen holder. The sample was placed into a desiccator for overnight drying. The samples were then sputter coated with carbon before analyzing [33]. X-ray Powder Diffraction (PXRD) The crystallinity of the as-received ITZ, physical mixture of ITZ-excipinets, and spray dried powders were analyzed using PXRD (PANalytical, Westborough, MA, USA), provided with Cu KÃŽÂ ± radiation (ÃŽÂ »= 1.5406 Ã…). The samples were scanned at a rate 0.165 S-1 for 2ÃŽÂ ¸ ranging from 5 to 40 °. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) DSC of the as-received ITZ, Physical mixture of ITZ-excipients, and spray dried powders was performed using a Mettler-Toledo polymer analyzer (PolyDSC, Columbus, OH, USA). The samples were heated at a rate of 10  °C/min within a range of 25-220  °C under nitrogen gas flow. With the help of the integrated software of the machine, melting temperature Tm and fusion enthalpy ΆHm were determined. Dissolution Testing Dissolution of ITZ from the as-received drug, and spray dried composite powders were determined via a Distek 2100C dissolution tester (North Brunswick, NJ, USA) according to the USP II paddle method.   The dissolution medium was 1000 ml SDS buffer with 3.0 gm/ml concentration at non-sink condition.   The medium was maintained at 37  °C temperature and 50 rpm paddle speed.   The composites were weighed equivalent to a dose of 20 mg of ITZ. Composites were poured into the dissolution medium and manually 4 ml of samples were taken out at 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 60 min. Aliquots of the samples were filtered using a 0.1  µm PVDF membrane type syringe filter to avoid any effect of undissolved drug during UV spectroscopy measurement. The absorbance of ITZ dissolved was measured via UV spectroscopy (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA) at 260 nm wavelength. The blank was measured using SDS buffer at the beginning. The amount of drug dissolved was measured using a calibration curve generated from drug concentration vs. absorbance (R2=0.9995 with p Apparent Shear Viscosity of Milled ITZ Suspensions The apparent shear viscosity of the nanosuspension was measured by following the procedure from Afolabi et al. [32], using R/S plus rheometer (Brookfield Engineering, Middleboro, MS, USA). To impart controlled shear rate on the samples from 0 to 1000 1/s in 60 s, a coxial cylinder (CC40) was used. To control the temperature the jacket temperature was kept constant at 25 ±0.5  °C. Drug nanoparticles formation and physical stability of the milled suspensions The formulation of the milled drug (ITZ) suspensions are presented in Table 1. Drug (ITZ) nano suspension was first produced in presence of both steric and an anionic surfactant, SDS (Run 1). Due to the synergistic effect of HPC and SDS [31], Run 1 was used as a baseline to assess the impact of various stabilizers (HPC, HPMC E3, PVP k30, and SDS) in their breakage kinetics and physical stability of the resulting suspensions. This baseline formulation was found to be the optimum formulation from a previous work performed by Meng et al [29]. The molecular weight effect of HPC was then studied in absence of SDS surfactant (Run 2-4) using three different grades of HPC; SSL, SL, and L grades having molecular weight ~40, ~100, and ~140 kDa, respectively. The apparent shear viscosity of all the formulations (Run 1-7) are represented in Figure 1. Formulations with 2.5% (w/w) HPC-SL/SDS, 4.5% (w/w) HPC-SL, and 4.5% (w/w) HPC-L (Run 1, 3, and 4) are showing near Newtonian behavior, indicating the extent of aggregation is very low. Milled drug suspensions stabilized by SDS or polymer alone (except HPC-SL and HPC-L) are showing significant shear-thinning behavior, indicating significant amount of aggregates. References 1.Kesisoglou, F., S. Panmai, and Y. Wu, Nanosizing-oral formulation development and biopharmaceutical evaluation. Advanced drug delivery reviews, 2007. 59(7): p. 631-644. 2.Amidon, G.L., et al., A theoretical basis for a biopharmaceutic drug classification: the correlation of in vitro drug product dissolution and in vivo bioavailability. Pharmaceutical research, 1995. 12(3): p. 413-420. 3.Merisko-Liversidge, E. and G.G. Liversidge, Nanosizing for oral and parenteral drug delivery: a perspective on formulating poorly-water soluble compounds using wet media milling technology. Advanced drug delivery reviews, 2011. 63(6): p. 427-440. 4.Panagiotou, T. and R.J. Fisher, Form nanoparticles via controlled crystallization. Chemical Engineering Progress, 2008. 104(10): p. 33-39. 5.Keck, C.M. and R.H. Mà ¼ller, Drug nanocrystals of poorly soluble drugs produced by high pressure homogenisation. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 2006. 62(1): p. 3-16. 6.Mà ¼ller, R., C. Jacobs, and O. Kayser, Nanosuspensions as particulate drug formulations in therapy: rationale for development and what we can expect for the future. Advanced drug delivery reviews, 2001. 47(1): p. 3-19. 7.Singh, S.K., et al., Investigation of preparation parameters of nanosuspension by top-down media milling to improve the dissolution of poorly water-soluble glyburide. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 2011. 78(3): p. 441-446. 8.Tanaka, Y., et al., Nanoparticulation of probucol, a poorly water-soluble drug, using a novel wet-milling process to improve in vitro dissolution and in vivo oral absorption. Drug development and industrial pharmacy, 2012. 38(8): p. 1015-1023. 9.Noyes, A.A. and W.R. Whitney, The rate of solution of solid substances in their own solutions. 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