Mechanical Test of Ldpe and Hdpe P

Mechanical Test of LDPE and HDPE Processed by Extrusion, Injection Molding, Compression Molding and Sheet Extrusion Abstract LDPE and HDPE were processed by extrusion, injection molding, and sheet extrusion. Their mechanical properties such as tensile strength and percent elongation were measured by tensile test and analyzed statistically (Table 2). During the extrusion process, both polymers underwent die swelling. The water cooled polymer cords have a higher tensile strength but lower % elongation compared to the air cooled cords. HDPE has a much higher strength than LDPE due to its high crystallinity.LDPE and HDPE samples processed by injection molding and sheet extrusion show the same tendency in the extent of yield strength and elastic modulus. For sheet extrusion, the heat treated polymer sheet has a higher strength than the non-heat treated sheet because heating leads to an increase in both crystallinity and crystallite size. The specimen in rolling direction also has a higher strength than those in transverse direction due to the alignment of the polymer chains in rolling direction. UHMWPE (Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) saucer was processed by compression molding.The cross section of the saucer was examined by optical microscopy. Further, the melting temperature of PEO was determined to be 74. 0Â °C ~ 78. 9Â °C. Introduction A polymer is a chemical compound or mixture of compounds consisting of repeating structural units created through a process of polymerization. 1 The units composing polymers derive from molecules of low relative molecular mass. When all the repeating units along a chain are of the same type, the resulting polymer is called homopolymer. Chains composed of two or more different repeat units are termed copolymers.The physical characteristics of a polymer depend both on its molecular weight and shape, and the structure of the molecular chains. The chain structures include linear polymer, branched polymer, crosslinked polym er and network polymer. The polymer synthesized in this experiment, LDPE and HDPE, have different chain structures (i. e. LDPE is a branched polymer and HDPE is a linear polymer. ). The polymer chain structure has a significant influence on polymer crystallinity, which is defined as the packing of molecular chains to produce an ordered atomic array. The mechanical properties that investigated in this paper, such as tensile strength, elastic modulus and percent elongation, greatly depend on the crystallinity of the polymer sample. Polymers play an essential and ubiquitous role in everyday life from those of familiar synthetic plastics and other materials of day-to-day work and home life, to the natural biopolymers that are fundamental to biological structure and function. 1 Quite a variety of different techniques are employed in the forming of polymeric materials. Molding is the most common method for forming plastic polymers.The several molding techniques used include extrusion mold ing, compression molding, blow molding and injection molding. 3 During molding, crystal regions in polymer melts upon heating. The resulted polymer melts are non-Newtonian fluids, and their viscosity depends on the shear rate. Melt index (MI) could be used to indicate the viscosity of the fluid. It is defined as the mass of polymer flowing in ten minutes through a capillary of a specific diameter and length by a pressure applied. 4 Polymer melts are formed into a continuous charge of viscous fluid.The viscous fluid then solidifies into polymer product with specific shapes. During the solidification process, polymer melts recrystallizes and forms spherulite structure consisted of both amorphous region and lamellar. Experimental Procedure Crystallization of PEO Crystallization of PEO (Sigma-Aldrich Co. , St. Louis, MD) was observed by optical microscopy. Sample of PEO powder was placed on glass slide and heated up using hot stage. Both the melting and the solidification processes were observed under optical microscope under crossed polarizer. The melting range was determined to be 74. 0Â °C ~ 78. 9Â °C.Extrusion of LDPE and HDPE Both LDPE (MI = 0. 25, Equistar ) and HDPE (MI = 9, Equistar) pellets were processed into cords using single-screw extruder (Model TL3215B, Extruders ). The die temperature was 350 Â °C, Zone temperatures were all 425 Â °C and the screw speed was about 3. 6 rpm. Water cooling and air cooling were carried out for mechanical properties evaluation. Tensile tests were performed on both LDPE and HDPE cords in order to evaluate their mechanical properties. Compression Molding UHMWPE (Ticona) powder was used to produce UHMWPE saucer by using a compression molding apparatus (Model 3725, Carver).The starting temperature was 245 F, and the molding temperature was 310 F. The cross section of the saucer was examined by optical microscopy. Injection Molding Both LDPE (MI = 9, Equistar) and HDPE (MI = 7, Equistar) pellets were processed into dog b one specimens by injection molding. The barrel, nozzle and mold temperatures used are listed below. Tensile tests were performed on both LDPE and HDPE specimens in order to evaluate their mechanical properties. Table 1. Barrel, Nozzle and Mold temperatures for injection molding. | LDPE| HDPE| Barrel Temperature | 390Â °F| 400Â °F|Nozzle Temperature| 395Â °F| 405Â °F| Mold Temperature| 275Â °F| 275Â °F| Sheet Extrusion Both LDPE (MI = 0. 25, Equistar) and HDPE (MI = 9, Equistar) pellets were processed into polymer sheets using sheet extruder (Model KLB125, Extruders). The die temperature was 375 Â °C. Zone temperatures were all 420 Â °C. Adapter temperature was also 420Â °C. The screw speed was about 20 rpm and the roller speed was set up to 2. 0 rpm. Heat treatment using glass furnace was performed on both polymers. Tensile tests were carried out in order to evaluate the mechanical properties of both LDPE and HDPE. Result and DiscussionCrystallization of PEO The melting tem perature of PEO was determined to be 74. 0Â °C ~ 78. 9Â °C, where the literature melting temperature of PEO is 65Â °C. The polymer melting behavior is a function of the rate of heating5. That the measured melting temperature is higher than the literature value results from the relative high heat rate (20Â °C/ min). Besides, the melting temperature for polymer is a range instead of a single point. The melting temperature depends on the molecular weight of the polymer chain, the thickness of the chain-folded lamellae, the heating rate and the impurity content.Since the PEO samples used contain polymer chains with different size, and they were heat at an inconstant rate, the melting must take place over a range of temperatures. | | | | Figure 1. Micrographs of PEO melting stage at 10X. (a). Full spherulite (red circle) growth at 54. 8Â °C. (b). Spherulite starts to disappear 74. 0Â °C. (c). Spherulite completely disappeared at 78. 9Â °C. A A | B B | C C | D D | Figure 2. Microgr aphs of PEO crystallization stages at 10X. (a). Completely melted polymer. (b). Spherulite start to grow from nucleation site (red circle). (c). Growing of spherulite (red circle). (d).Spherulite structure of PEO and interspherulite boundary. The spherulite consisted of chain-folded crystallites (lamellae) and amorphous region start to grow from the nucleation site at 56. 7Â °C. Individual lamellae are separated by amorphous materials. As shown in Fig. 2 (c), the spherulite keeps growing and getting larger as the recrystallization process continues. When the crystallization of a spherulite structure nears completion, the extremities of adjacent spherulites begin to impinge on one another, forming planar boundaries (Fig. 2 (d)). At 56. 0Â °C, the crystallization process of PEO sample reached completion.Compression Molding A A | B B | Figure 3. Micrographs of middle cut (B) and outer cut (A) of UHMWPE saucer at 20X. The mold is closed with a top force. Pressure is applied to force t he material into contact with all mold areas, and heat and pressure are maintained until the molding material has cured. During that process, particles diffuse together and become one piece. As shown in Fig. 3, the outer cut of the UHMWPE saucer has lower porosity, and the middle section of the saucer has a much higher porosity. The outer region of the saucer was cooled much faster than the middle section of the saucer.Slowing cooling rate in the middle section led to the high porosity. Liquidus polymer shrinks as it solidify into solid leaving a large amount of pores in the middle section. Extrusion and Sheet Extrusion Die swell happened during extrusion as shown in Fig. 4. A flow stream has a constant rate before entering the die. It also occupies a spherical conformation and maximizes the entropy. 6 As it goes through the die, polymer loses its spherical shape and becomes less entangled. Therefore, the entropy is lowered. When polymer melt comes out of the nozzle, the remaining p hysical entanglements cause the polymer melt to relax (i. e. egain a portion of its former shape) and restore the entropy. It appears like the polymer is swelling at the nozzle. Figure 4. Die swelling happened when polymer melt came out of the nozzle. Air cooled LDPE took 3 runs before fracture, and the water cooled LDPE took 2 runs before fracture. As shown in Fig. 5, both water cooled and air cooled LDPE cords have similar elastic modulus and yield strength. However, the air cooled cord has a higher tensile strength but lower percent elongation. Since the degree of crystallinity depends on cooling rate during solidification, the higher the cooling rate , the higher the degree of crystallinity.Increasing in crystallinity increases the hardness but lower the ductility of the polymer cords. Thus, water cooled LDPE cord has higher tensile strength but lower % elongation compared to the air cooled one. Figure 5. Extrusion sample stress vs. strain plot. Red curve represents water cooled LDPE cord, and blue curve represents air cooled LDPE cord. Figure 6. Sheet extrusion sample Stress vs. Strain plot. Blue curve represents heat treated LDPE specimen in rolling direction. Purple curve represents non-heat treated LDPE specimen in rolling direction.Red curve represents non-heat treated LDPE specimen in transverse direction. Green curve represents heat treated LDPE specimen in transverse direction. Figure 7. Sheet extrusion sample Stress vs. Strain plot. Blue curve represents non-heat treated HDPE specimen in rolling direction. Purple curve represents heat treated HDPE specimen in rolling direction. Red curve represents non-heat treated HDPE specimen in transverse direction. Green curve represents heat treated HDPE specimen in transverse direction. Tensile test result of sheet extruded LDPE and HDPE specimens are shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 above.HDPE specimens have higher yield strength, elastic modulus and % elongation. HDPE has a linear chain structure. It was highly packed. Therefore, it has a larger density and higher degree of crystallinity than LDPE. Molecular chains are closely packed in an ordered arrangement in crystalline region. The alignment of the packed chains in crystalline region makes the intermolecular secondary bonding much stronger than it is in amorphous region. Thus, HDPE with higher crystallinity has a much higher strength than LDPE. The heat treated specimen has higher yield strength and tensile strength than non-heat treated specimens.It is also due to the increasing in the percent crystallinity, which makes the polymer harder but less ductile. Further, polymer specimen in rolling direction has higher yield strength and elastic modulus, but lower percent elongation compared to samples in transverse direction. It is because during drawing the molecular chains slip past on another and become highly oriented. This alignment once again enhances the tensile modulus in the direction of drawing (RD), while reduces the tensile st rength in the direction (TD) perpendicular to the rolling direction. Injection Molding Figure 8.Stress vs. Strain plot of HDPE samples processed by injection molding. Figure 9. Stress vs. Strain plot of LDPE samples processed by injection molding. Table 2. Statistic data of HDPE and LDPE samples processed by injection molding. | HDPE| LDPE| | ? y (MPa)| E (GPa)| %EL| ? y(MPa)| E (GPa)| %EL| 1| 19. 317| 0. 41| 163| 5. 29| 0. 040| 131| 2| 23. 216| 0. 44| 265| 5. 38| 0. 050| 155| 3| 23. 77| 0. 49| 69| 6. 302| 0. 049| 144| 4| 24. 142| 0. 78| 509| 6. 408| 0. 058| 141| Average| 22. 61| 0. 53| 251. 50| 5. 85| 0. 049| 142. 75| Standard Deviation | 2. 23| 0. 17| 189. 41| 0. 59| 0. 0073| 9. 8| 95% Confidence Interval | 22. 61Â ±3. 54| 0. 53Â ±0. 27| 251. 50Â ±301. 35| 5. 85Â ±0. 94| 0. 049Â ±0. 012| 142. 75Â ±15. 72| Compared to literature value , P-value| t = 3. 22,Df=3,P

How is the atmosphere of evil achieved in Macbeth? Essay

† Fair is foul, and foul is fair; Hover through the fog and filthy air† (I,i,L-11-12) The witches immediately set the scene for the whole play with these two lines at the end of Scene One. They are describing a role-reversal where everything that was good is now evil, and everything that was evil has become good. These ‘creatures’ (for there is some doubt as to whether they are actually human) are responsible for much of the atmosphere that is created in the play as a whole). They are also one of the driving forces behind Macbeth’s ambition, because if they hadn’t told him that he’d â€Å"†¦be King hereafter† (I,iii, L-50) he would never have wanted to become King, or at least he would have waited his turn. The witches therefore gave him the initial spur to kill Duncan, and are the cause of unnatural effects that happen in the play. These are also a main factor in the atmosphere that is created. Ross talks to an Old Man in Act 2 about â€Å"†¦the heavens† being â€Å"†¦troubled with man’s act† and says that â€Å"by th’ clock ’tis day† (II,iv, L 6-7). He is explaining how the sky has been perpetually dark for as long as he (and the audience) can remember. The effect of the sky being dark on Shakespeare’s audience would be profound. Since they saw the whole of nature as created by God, an evil force overturning creation and the equilibrium of nature would undoubtedly shock and quieten the audience. Ross also describes inversions in the animal world. Ross’s first example is of â€Å"A falcon†¦Ã¢â‚¬  being â€Å"†¦hawked at, and killed† by a mousing owl (II,iv, L 12-13). He also tells how â€Å"Duncan’s horses†¦turned wild in nature†¦as they would make war with mankind†. Shakespeare here makes a reference to the â€Å"Chain of Being†, in which it was thought that all animals, humans, plants and objects had their place. The tales that Ross tells are all of creatures trying to move up in the Chain of Being. The owl is below the falcon in the Chain of Being, and so due to the supernatural, the owl wants to become greater and ‘usurp’ the falcon. The horses are trying to fight against humans. At the start of the play, Macbeth is a patriarchal figure. He’s a strong warrior who is also loyal to King Duncan. This all changes soon after he meets the witches. There was no way he would ever think about killing Duncan. Indeed, his wife has to use a strong argument to persuade him to go through with the murder. After he has gone through with it, after a short period of anxiety, and almost insanity, Macbeth does not hesitate when planning to â€Å"seize upon Fife† and â€Å"give to the edge o’ th’ the sword/His wife his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line† (IV,iii, L 151-153). This shows what a dramatic and startling effect the witches prophecies and Macbeth’s actions have had upon him. At the start of this essay I mentioned how the witches set the scene of the play. During the play, they also continue the evil and unsettling atmosphere by their numerous appearances with Macbeth, or on their own. One such scene is at the start of Act 4 when the witches all use powerful and descriptive language to disgust and amaze the audience. For example, all kinds of parts of all kinds of dissected animals are thrown into their â€Å"charmed pot†. They throw in the â€Å"wool of bat, and tongue of dog† and â€Å"eye of newt, toe of frog†. (IV,i, L 14-15). To Shakespeare’s audience this will have not only disgusted the audience but such witchcraft would have frightened them as well. The other theatrical tool that Shakespeare employs is to use strange and vivid characters to show how the evil has been absorbed into every living thing. I’ve already mentioned the witches, but nearly every character (except for the ‘non-evil’ people like Duncan) are affected in some way. Lady Macbeth is seen reading a letter in Act I Scene 5, and also talking to the evil spirits which she believes to be at play. This could show how she is affected in the play as a whole. Macbeth is also dramatically affected, as I have already mentioned. The Porter is another character who is in the play to both amuse and unnerve (two ideas seldom used together). He does this through his loud and aggressive soliloquy and his mentioning of satanic ideas.

Country Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Country Studies - Essay Example The invasion led to the devaluation of the Iraq currency, which sent away the investors who had invested in the desert country. The depreciation of the currency led to the withdrawal of support from international bodies2. The invasion also confirmed to the world that the country was unsafe for inhabiting. This process made the products of the country have very low value to the international community while the international commodities became expensive. It caused an economic crisis. Additionally, this led to a long period of economic recovery. The US in conjunction with the UN undermined Iraq’s international image. The negative signal of terrorism associated the whole country with terrorism, while a small section of the country was affected by the aspect of al-Qaeda3. Iraq was also destabilized because the nation’s dictatorial leader was ousted and hanged. This cut links the leader had established with the nation’s allies to the detriment of the Iraq nationals. The reign of dictatorial leaders is better than instability. The political and economic instability caused by the US was costly to the

Religious Life of the Planet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religious Life of the Planet - Essay Example Humans appear to be psychologically pre-disposed to accumulate a certain system of beliefs and practices that can be called religion. From psychological point of view religion is a means of assuaging anxiety. From cognitive perspective religion provides explanation of phenomena encountered in daily life and abstract concepts. From sociological point of view religion is a means of creating order and establishing group identity (Tremlin, 2010). Religion appears to manifest itself in the way it functions, and that is in its ability to serve psychological, intellectual, and social human needs (Tremlin, 2010). Being a system of rituals, beliefs, and considerations religious practices are institutionalized and help to connect humans with the world beyond. They provide people with the sense of fulfillment, leading adherents to another level of consciousness. (Super, Turley, 2006). Religion can be regarded as fundamental element of society, as it shares concepts with collective consciousness. It is a type of human activity that manifests itself as a specific behavior accepted by the members of the group sharing a certain system of beliefs. The nature of beliefs cannot be validated by direct observation (Super, Turley, 2006). However, elements of religious behavior can be singled out: gathering in groups, communal eating, theoretical discourse about the existence (Dow, 2007). Strictly speaking, religion can be defined as a collec tion of behavior patterns and observable behavior complexes. The latter include: prayer, music, physiological exercise, exhortation, reciting the code, simulation, mana, taboo, feasts, sacrifice, congregation, inspiration (Dow, 2007). Criteria to be employed in the attempts to determine whether human beings are religious may include the following: 1) theory or system of beliefs concerning unobservable agents or powers, which is shared by the members of the group; 2) meetings, processions and feasts; 3)

Political Science Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Political Science - Research Paper Example Before we can call the Danish government conservative, we must first briefly discuss, What is conservatism? It can be basically divided into two parts: fiscal conservatism and social conservatism. For the purposes of this essay we will focus mostly on the former. Edmund Burke, the father of conservatism, once wrote: [I]t is to the property of the citizen, and not to the demands of the creditor of the state, that the first and original faith of civil society is pledged. The claim of the citizen is prior in time, paramount in title, superior in equity. The fortunes of individuals, whether possessed by acquisition or by descent or in virtue of a participation in the goods of some community, were no part of the creditors security, expressed or implied...[T]he public, whether represented by a monarch or by a senate, can pledge nothing but the public estate; and it can have no public estate except in what it derives from a just and proportioned imposition upon the citizens at large.1 The focus on individuals and their economic rights are a cornerstone of conservative thought. (It should be noted here, that Burke’s version of conservatism is essentially the same as classical liberalism.) The state should not unduly interfere in the lives of its citizens. While extensive state spending—as implemented by the Danish Social Democratic party during their many years in power—may appeal to key sectors of the population (e.g. unions and students), it does nothing to provide economic opportunities for the average citizen and indeed captures many in a cycle of dependence. In this regard, the election of Rasmussen in 2001 was a breath of fresh air. He is, after all, the author of a book called From Social State to Minimal State and the author of a signature policy that freezes new taxes. He has gone someway to remake his Liberal

Media as a Global Standardiser Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media as a Global Standardiser - Assignment Example Thirdly, can a media holding private interests actually operate as a public sphere forum effectively?   The public sphere as a concept is most often associated with Jurgen Habermas, who conceptualized the idea in his book â€Å"The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere† (1962) – an inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. According to this work by Habermas, the public sphere in its most basic and ideal form is a realm or space where opinions particularly focusing on the needs of society are freely and openly exchanged between people without any restraints or external hinderances. (Habermas 1991: 176)This realm can also be a â€Å"virtual or imaginary community† (Soules: para 2) whose existence may not necessarily occur in any singular space. In today’s modern wold, where massive global communication networks spread their webs over the world, the current media scenario in all its forms and branches is the closest substitute to Habermasâ€⠄¢s ideal and the best implement towards working and achiving that goal. However, we must ask ourselves that how comfortably positioned is this role with a vehicle that is propelled, fuelled and controlled primarily by the private interests of media conglomerates, corporate sponsorship and state string pulling? The public sphere is a multifaceted entity possessing a number of interlinked functions. It is through the processes of dialogue and particularly through means of critical discussion and debate that opinions and attitudes are generated in the public sphere (Soules: para 2) and is a foundation for â€Å"emancipatory social thought† (Holub 1997: para 7). In an ideal state, the function of the public sphere is to act as a mediatory space between society and the state. It is the source of mass opinion which is required to legitimize and guide the state’s affairs (Soules: para 2), and challenge and legitimize governments and authority (Rutherford 2000: 18 ).   Habe rmas traces the origin and in a way proper concretization and emergence of an entity resembling the public sphere in 18th century emerging from the growth of coffee houses, the emergence of literary societies, and the expansion and rise of print media. As part of their efforts to keep the state under its reins, the parliaments and other agencies of representation based governments have sought to manage this public sphere (Soules: para 4). Habermas also acknowledges that there are precedents to public culture and traces their roots to the ancient Greeks. He mentions how in the discussion among its citizens, citizens interacted as equal and only through this interaction without restraints was it that that which existed in the public sphere become apparent, and in entering into the public sphere, by the core nature of the sphere as inclusive of all, become apparent to all (Habermas 1991: 4). He has however been criticized for idealizing the rational discussions of the 18th century bour geois ignoring â€Å"‘the extent to which its institutions were founded on sectionalism, (and) exclusiveness.’† (Eley 1992: 321 in Crossley 2004: 11). Habermas' idea of the public sphere refers to a realm between the state and civil society where decisions were publicly reached through rational discourse. He identifies the English press in the nineteenth century as the prime of the public sphere, in which a multitude of ideas were aired free from contextual

Gender, Race, and Class in Latin American Literature and Film Annotated Bibliography

Gender, Race, and Class in Latin American Literature and Film - Annotated Bibliography Example ved on to 19th-century accounts of widespread socially approved cannibalism among Polynesian people of Rarotonga in cook islands this record was written by a Christian convert for the London missionary society. However, he highlights a number of inconsistencies and logical impossibilities in Ta’unga’s claims. The author explores the accounts of cannibalism produced by European colonialists and travelers in America during the modern era. According to Christopher Columbus Caribs gad been described as man-eaters by the neighboring Arawak people of West Indies, the book widely explores the possibility of existence of cannibalism among people the author choose to remains dubious about it. Nevertheless, he does not rule out the possibility that it had never existed among people. The author who was a professor in Florida international university wrote the book he majored on the height of Brazil’s political repression through revolutionary and consequential art. Through the use of different film makers like Leson Pereira dos Santos directed a period –piece inspired by the 1557 account of a German captive among the Brazilians. During his captivity, he was waiting to be eaten by his captives in their ritualistic cannibalism is paramount to understanding the author intention to bring out the meaning of the book. Alternatively, the author in a different issue he argue that a person’s diet determines how close related to whom one can have sex with in many preindustrial or rural societies. The author also notes that marriage and kinship system is a more fundamental ideology as opposition between the relations which gives a person we group notion. According to the author the perception of relation, where siblings do not marry, and cousins can in some societies and neighbors. Nevertheless, strangers are not immediately selected until their qualities are discerned. Professor Levi a French anthropologist, discusses the issue of kinship in a deeper manner according to

Business environment challenges or trends that threaten the long run Essay

Business environment challenges or trends that threaten the long run performance and survival of the company. Develop a coheren - Essay Example The businesses are also tasked with corporate social responsibility issues and the same time expected to observe business ethics in their daily operations. Facebook Company Case Analysis This company is situated in the United States and it serves over a billion clients in the internet, making it the largest social networking site. Its an internet corporation company that runs the social networking site whereby people express their views and communicate all over the work. By the year 2012, the company had over 4500 employees working on various capacities in the company. The main competitors of Facebook are MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, IGLOO, among other companies that offer internet social services (Strategic Management Insight, 2013). STEEPLE Analysis of Facebook SOCIAL TECHNOLOGICAL ECONOMICAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICAL LEGAL ETHICAL Lifestyle changes New inventions and development Economic growth Sustainable energy Trade polices Employment laws Reputation Career and leisure attitudes I ndustrial focus on technological effort Taxation Global warming International trade regulations Contract laws Business ethics Labour and social mobility Rate of technological transfer Competition Threats from natural causes Political stability Consumer protection Client confidentiality From the STEEPLE Analysis, the challenges facing Facebook range from social, technological, economical, environmental, political, legal, and ethical problems. The users and the governments have been expressing privacy concerns leading to legal suit against the company (Marketing Mix, 2013). The privacy issues have made most consumers to question the business ethics of the company resulting to reduced confidentiality. Facebook being the market leader in social networking services enjoys the benefits that come with economics of scale, but the company profits are also subjected to global economic performance. The lifestyle changes and social mobility of most users is also affecting the company since some begin to see Facebook as a social interaction site for the younger generation. Facebook pays tax from their businesses with rates changing from time to time thus largely consuming their profits. There is stiff competition from related companies like Twitter and MySpace who have launched aggressive campaigns and products to outshine Facebook. Facebook was a result of technological invention and others are also exploiting the same to come up with other related services that are likely to give Facebook a strong competition. Facebook being a company with global footing is vulnerable to problems with corporate social responsibility being a major concern facing most companies and Facebook is not exempted. All businesses are expected to practice business ethics in their daily operations to avoid conflicts and hence Facebook must abide by it. Competition is a major threat to all businesses as Facebook is facing competition from MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Challenges facing Facebook Cor porate Social Responsibility (CSR) The role of the business is critical in ensuring that the corporate social responsibility is well taken care of since businesses can only flourish when the communities around them and their ecosystems are well taken care of (Hart, 1995). There is growing recognition that everything we do has a positive or negative impact on

Businesses and International Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Businesses and International Strategy - Essay Example This has made it necessary to conduct research across boundaries as it helps to identify regional and global market segments. As firms need to collect information from a broader and more diverse range of markets conducting research in developing countries has become essential. However, conducting market research in developed countries poses certain challenges. These challenges range from collecting accurate and updated data on existing behavior patterns in a cost-effective manner. Collection of data has become easier due to technological advancement but also complex at the same time. The communications infrastructure enables data collection on a much broader and diverse scale. The removal of barriers between countries, the growth of regional and global market infrastructure and the increased mobility of consumers have exerted pressure to have an integrated international marketing strategy. The emerging economies are promising in terms of sales and expansion of the multinationals and hence conducting international market research in these countries is of paramount importance. Before entering these markets, firms have to collect information to assess potential opportunities and determine how to position, price, promote and place their product. International Marketing Research (IMR) has been defined as market research conducted either simultaneously or sequentially to facilitate marketing decisions in more than one country (Kumar, 2000). The process entails taking into account various market characteristics for facilitating marketing decisions. The various components that are responsible for marketing the product can be traced. Marketing research is an important part of the marketing intelligence system as it helps to improve management decision making by providing relevant, accurate and timely (RAT) information (Aaker, Kumar & Day, 2001).

Terrorism is in the eye of the beholder Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Terrorism is in the eye of the beholder - Essay Example After 9/11, there were some publications that even described the new face of terror as being well funded, well organized and lethal. Such terms as â€Å"new terror† can be questioned on grounds that it lacked empirical data or proof that the new network of terror was lethal. President George Bush coined the term war on terror. This preempted and justified the attack on the â€Å"new terrorist† and the nations perceived of harboring them. It is important to mention 9/11 whenever the term terrorism is mentioned since the â€Å"new face† of terror was born then. Attack on Afghanistan and Iraq followed. The question remains, who are the terrorist? Blain in his book endeavored to shine a light on the discourses of the American Government on war on terror. As it is hard to quantify facts, the misery of who is the target for raging war. What are the motivations? And how this is to be done? According conclusions the United States’ war on terror can be characterized by imperial agendas that are far much different from securing American citizens from terror (Simon, 2000). It can, therefore, be concluded that terrorism is failure to conform to the â€Å"Elite’s† policies and countering its

Nazi Germanys discrimination against the Jews Essay Example for Free

Nazi Germanys discrimination against the Jews Essay As a result of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany, a system of violent suppression and control emerged that ultimately took the lives of an estimated 6 million Jewish people Anti-Semitism is an opposition to, prejudice against, or intolerance of Semitic people, most commonly Jews. Anti-Semitism has existed throughout history, since Israels dispersion in 70 AD. In every land in which the Jews have lived, they have been threatened, violated and murdered, century after century. After Germanys defeat in World War I, many Germans found it hard to accept their defeat. These Germans connived a theory that the citizens at home had betrayed them, especially laying blame on Jews and Marxists in Germany for undermining the war effort (http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/ends.htm). This is the main reason that led to the extreme discrimination and removal of basic rights of Jewish people in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, however, there were many other reasons including Christianitys general hatred for Jewry. Jews were often the victims of Nazism. The first Jewish victims of the Nazi era were 8 innocent people who were killed in the streets on 1 January 1930 by Brownshirts. Soon after that, violence against Jews in the streets became common. Violence was an integral part of the Nazi programme Jews were molested in cafes and theatres, synagogue services were disrupted and anti-Jewish slogans became the daily calling card of Nazi thugs. (Gilbert,2001:31) One particular night of violence, known as Kristallnacht, is remembered with fear. During the night of November 9-10, 1938 thousands of windows were smashed out of Jewish businesses and homes, hundreds of synagogues were burnt to the ground, and more than ninety Jews were murdered. On March 9, 1933 the first Nazi concentration camp was opened at Dachau. On  April 1, a boycott of all Jewish shops was put in place. It only lasted a day, because of threats of a counter-boycott in the USA of all German made goods. However, the expulsion of all Jewish people from Germanys Universities and then the Burning of the Books quickly followed the one-day boycott. The Burning of the Books consisted of 20 000 books burned in a massive bonfire in front of the Berlin Opera House, and opposite the University of Berlin. The books that were destroyed were judged to be degenerate and intellectual filth by the Nazis, many being written by Jewish authors. Also during this time, Jewish scientists and intellectuals were dismissed from their positions, and Hitler was quoted as saying If the dismissal of Jewish scientists means the annihilation of contemporary German science, we shall do without science for a few years. In late 1939, the first ghettos were created in Poland. All Jews were forced to move into a designated area of a city or town, which was surrounded by brick walls topped with barbed wire, and guarded by armed men. SS General Heydrich ordered that the ghettos were to be located on railway junctions, or along a railway so that future measures may be accomplished more easily. Large numbers of people had to share small living quarters, and medical supplies and food were limited. The Jews could only bring into the ghettos what they could carry, and their luggage was searched and pillaged on their arrival. Life in the ghettos was hard, and death rates were high. Most of the deaths in the ghettos were by starvation or disease. In the two largest ghettos in Poland, Warsaw and Lodz, the death toll from starvation alone in the first twelve months after the creation of the ghettos reached approximately 42 000. In most of Western Poland, there were no ghettos. This was because General Heydrich had ordered Western Poland to be cleared completely of the Jews. Immediately after the Germans invaded a town, they rounded up all the Jewish people, made them dig large pits, then shot and buried them just outside the town. The ghettos were also referred to as concentration camps and slave labour camps. This was because while the Jews resided in the ghettos, they could be forced to work up to fourteen hours a day in some circumstances. Some were deported to separate concentration camps where they would work on farms in the country to maintain a food supply for the German war machine. Others who stayed in the ghettos worked for the Nazis in munitions factories making armaments, or for local businessmen who paid the government for the use of slave labour to work their factories. These Jews were mostly considered totally expendable, and were subject to minimal food rations, a lack of medical attention, and violent beatings. At least half a million Jews died as slave labourers. The extermination camps, or death camps were the sites for hundreds of mass murders. Men, women and children were deported from ghettos and concentration camps to these death camps and usually taken straight from the train to a gas chamber where they were gassed to death. A few hundred people were kept alive as slave labour to sort through the clothing and luggage of the victims. A small part of this labour force was known as the Death Jews. These Jews performed the task of removing bodies from the gas chambers and stripping them of anything of value. They then dragged the corpses to a crematorium where the naked bodies were burnt. Most of the labour forces were killed and replaced whenever a new group of deportees arrived. The most infamous death camp was Auschwitz, where mostly deportees from Western Europe and southwest Poland were taken. Lilli Kopecky, a deportee from Slovakia recalls arriving at Auschwitz: When we came to Auschwitz, we smelt the sweet smell. They said to us: There the people are gassed, three kilometers over there. We didnt believe it. (Gilbert,2001:77) More than a million Jews were murdered at Auschwitz alone. The Holocaust is probably the most infamous instance of anti-Semitism in History. The oppressive tactics of Nazi Germany took away all the rights of the Jews, and wiped out almost the entire race of Jewish people in Europe. If the Nazis had succeeded in what they came so close to doing, there would not be a trace of Jewry remaining in Europe today.

The intelligence and definition of Led Policing

The intelligence and definition of Led Policing A lot has been discussed about Intelligence Led Policing (ILP), yet there is no standard definition of ILP (McGarrell, Freilich, Chermak, 2007). Ratcliffe (2003) said it is the application of criminal intelligence analysis as objective decision making tool in order to facilitate crime reduction and crime prevention through effective policing strategies and external partnership projects drawn from an evidential base. His notion found support from Sheptycki (2005) who defined Intelligence Led Policing as The technological effort to manage information about threats and risks in order to strategically manage the policing mission. Lint (2006) differs slightly and says ILP is a policing model which is built around risk assessment and risk management. He also says ILP is a strategic, future-oriented and targeted approach to crime control, focusing upon the identification, analysis and management of persisting and developing problems or risks. In the last several years, the definition of ILP has been expanded to include more integrated to tenets of Problem Oriented police solving. This has led to revision and a new definition of ILP as : Intelligence ­led policing is a business model and managerial philosophy where data analysis andcrime intelligence are pivotal to an objective, decision ­making framework that facilitates crime and problem reduction, disruption and prevention through both strategic management and effective enforcement strategies that target prolific and serious offenders. (Ratcliffe, 2008) The 3i Model Ratcliffe (1993) was looking for a simple model to intelligence and crime analysts what their function in an intelligence-led policing environment should be. This was because most of them spent analysing crime on a micro environment while forgetting about the bigger picture. Ratcliffe along with an Australian Federal agent analysed the situation and came up with a 3i model to show or suggest to the crime analysts the purpose of crime analysis in the modern policing world. It is a more proactive model compared to the previous methodology of problem oriented policing. Ratcliffe (2003) said that intelligence-driven crime reduction is a three-stage process, which requires that: law enforcement agencies interpret the criminal environment, influence decision-makers which may include people not sworn in as police officers like the general public, judiciary, the legislature, other organisations and the criminals themselves, and finally the decision-makers impact on the criminal environment. This 3i model (interpret, influence, impact) is used as the framework for an evaluation of the intelligence process. In the 3i model (interpret, influence, impact) the analytical arm of the police department gathers data or intelligence, understands and analyses the criminal environment and determines or interprets things like who the main players are, and what are the significant and emerging threats. This is the intelligence part of the model. As the diagram shows the intelligence thus gathered is used to influence the decision makers whoever they are. The 3i model does not determine who the decision maker is. It depends from case to case and situation to situation. The Decision makers then decide the best course of action and implement it. This impacts the criminal environment. ILP does not occur by just one or two functions, it needs all three to work together. The Intelligence needs to be collected and the analysts need to interpret the information and Influence the decision makers, the decision makers then need to act on the given information. If one of the steps is missed, ILP will collapse. Importance of Interpretation Out of the three Is I personally feel that Intelligence gathering and interpretation function is the most critical of them all. If intelligence collected or gathered is incorrect or interpreted wrongly, then the remaining actions would not solve the purpose or the aim of ILP. In the model that Ratcliffe suggests, the arrow represents the flow of data and it runs from the intelligence analysis unit to the criminal environment. This is a reflection of the way things work in real life in crime intelligence analysis. While a push model, where analysts send out information requests via forms and then wait for the requested information to come back sounds easier and more manageable; in practice it is not so. The reasons for this include a lot of information is at times hear say or word on the street. Also a lot of times, the information is tacit. It is not advisable to write down such information for fear of moles in the police departments, who might let the criminals know of the moles in their organisation. It is a bit James Bond-ish with espionage and counter espionage activities going on all the time. The situation is aptly described by Higgins (2008, 80) as: The Push model does not work well in practise. The bureaucratic structure and culture of law enforcement agencies militates against the effective communication of intelligence requirements. The culture also thwarts the push model because a large volume of information remains tacit, inside officers heads rather than recorded in intelligence records which can be shared at the push of a button. Since the push model does not work effectively, the analysts have to resort to a pull model for gathering information. It is a more proactive way of doing things. In this approach, the analysts seek information or intelligence from investigating officers, confidential informants and debriefing handlers. It is a more active approach as the analysts might even have to go to the field rather than getting all the information at the fingertips. The analysts can hence have a better feel of what is actually going on. The added benefit that I see in this model is that while it is the job of the analysts to interpret data and influence the decision makers, if they are fed data, they can in turn be influenced easily on what data is to be sent. They would be more open to manipulation by field agents. In the pull model, since the analysts actually meet some people, they have a better chance at evaluating if a person is lying to them or manipulating them by looking at the person. Officers are tra ined to spot such people who lie. They can notice the nervous twitch, sweating, tone of voice, rate of speech etc and have better judgement if the intelligence is true or useful. Practical Observations The General Department of Criminal Investigations (CID) is the backbone in all matters relating to crime and criminals. It has varied functions and duties can accommodate wide geographical area of the United Arab Emirates. The mission of the department is a) to utilise all available means to prevent crimes. B) Detaining outlaws and providing conviction evidence in accordance with the regulations and legislation in force in the country and c) Maintaining security and stability, and sustaining regulations and legislation. It is entrusted to controlling crime in all forms, following the ways it develops, and utilizing all means to prevent it, and to achieve social stability. To meet its aim, the CID in UAE follows the 3i model. Intelligence is gathered by various means including surveillance, scientific evidence collection and analysis, use of people inside crime rings- informants and constabulary on patrol. The data is interpreted and then the decision makers are informed. As is in the 3i model, sometimes the decision makers are not from the police departments but affected parties as the case study would demonstrate. Case Study I have worked as a police officer for three years in Al Modena police station in CID section. It is a great place to work. The senior officers and the government is very supportive. There is a feeling of doing good and giving back to the community working as a police officer. In last few years we noticed that the number of shop theft crime increased dramatically especially at night in different areas. That was because the careless on the part of shop owners. They would keep their shops open late into the night and employ people without verifying their antecedents. The shops were designed like the newer malls but without the added precautions like RF security tags on goods or parabolic mirrors. There would be little or no security at the shop in form of security guards or cameras and this coupled with other factors like low population of people and police at streets in night, lure of easy money and quick getaways thanks to small size of the emirates meant the shopkeepers were sitting targets for the shop lifters. Process for prevention: We created new strategy when we recorded the names of all people who were working at the shops in that area. This helped reduce the number of fake cases of shoplifting being reported as police could analyse the trend if a worker moved to a shop and they started reporting an increasing number of shoplifting cases. This pointed towards collusion between the workers and the shoplifters. Encouraged the shopkeepers to invest in RF tags for goods. Police and government cooperated and made new law, shops most close before 11 p.m. Also shops should put alarms. This was done after analysis of the data that most of the shopliftings take place late in the night. There were several factors that came to light including low police presence and lesser people meant fewer witnesses. Increase the number of patrol cars in the hot spot areas. This was done after going through several studies which concurred that police presence acts as deterrence and the most effect is generated when the visit is between 11 and 15 minutes.(Koper, 1995) Send undercover officers who were of different nationality so they did not rouse suspicions amongst the criminals. The known bad characters of the area were kept under constant surveillance. This led to the criminal environment being aware that the police was aware of the problem and would not tolerate shoplifting as petty crime. Challenges: Shops did not follow rules. Not enough police men to cover area. Long working hours of policemen meant that they were tired and did not want to register complaints or work on them as they were considered non serious offences. No experience with the some officers to deal with such crimes. The shopkeepers did not have any training to react to shoplifters. The ethical question: should owners be still allowed to keep money at shops so that encourage the criminals to steal? Use their money as bait? This had the possibility of someone getting hurt besides loss of money. (Barocas, 1973) Shopkeepers reluctant to invest a lot into security as they said it was a state matter. The government should provide for security for the people. Police did not work very well at night. Very few policemen on streets and at police stations. Non Co-operation even in the department as different officers had different styles of working. Some were just not interested in working hard as they were on a loan from a different area and solving or not solving the crime had no affect on their career growth chart. Suggestions: Better and more frequent training for the policemen. This would include the introduction of the 3i model right from the academy training days so that new policemen know the value of intelligence, how it how it is to be collected, interpreted, how it influences the decision making process and what or how does it impact the criminal environment. Employ more policemen to tide over the shortage. This would also mean more police presence on the street which is a great visual deterrent. Several studies conducted have long proven this. (Andenaes,1974)(Goldstein, 1990)(Felson, 1987) et al. Provided training to shopkeepers on what to do in situations like hol ups or shoplifting. Imposition of heavy fines and cancellation of shop license for shops that flout the rules and stay open past the closing hours of 11 PM or do not have adequate security measures like the silent alarms or security guards etc. Reward and recognition for police men who perform well. Mandatory installation of CC TV (cameras) at these shops. CCTVs act as great deterrents. (Webster, 2009) Working with the 3i model, information was first collected on the crimes committed. This included getting data of the number of people arrested, the times when these crimes were committed, understanding the psyche of the criminals, the environments where these incidents took place. It was noted that most of the crimes occurred at night when the police presence was minimal. It was also noted that the security measures at the places was next to none. There were no cameras, no security guards, no alarms and the store owners did not even train the workers how to react in cases of theft or holdups. The information was interpreted and the crimes were analysed as crimes of opportunity. The Police realised that there were only so many things that they could do and more effort was needed from the shopkeepers too. The shopkeepers hence were the critical decision makers in this example. They had to perform majority of the actions including installation of RF tags, alarms and Closed Circuit TV c ameras. They were also explained that the state would not be able to cover their losses, but at most would try and find the persons who stole. Recovery rate of stolen goods is low. They also had to register their employees and provide sufficient training. The impact of these actions was that the crimes eventually reduced to low levels as the criminals understood that they had little to gain from petty shoplifting and the punishment was not worth the crime. The above mentioned steps also align with Situational theory of crime. Enhancing natural surveillance is a prime objective of defensible space, and also, more explicitly, of neighbourhood watch. (Ronald V. Clarke 1992 pg 18). The basic tenets of the theory include Target hardening, Access Control, Deflecting Offenders, and controlling facilitators, Identifying property, increasing guilt and shame of offenders. By constant Policing the acquisition of a soft target became difficult. The offenders too understood that the crime is not worth the time. By installing alarms and security guards and CCTV Cameras, the control over the premises was facilitated. All the steps working in cohesion helped the problem come down to manageable levels. Conclusion There seems to be no standard definition of what ILP- Intelligence Led Policing is. Its definition has been dynamic and open to interpretations. While some see it as a philosophy (Ratcliffe 2003 and Sheptycki, 2005) and as an objective decision making tool to facilitate crime reduction and crime prevention through effective policing strategies and external partnership projects, others see it as a model (Lint 2006) built around risk assessment and Risk management. He also sees it as a strategic, future-oriented and targeted approach to crime control, focusing upon the identification, analysis and management of persisting and developing problems or risks. The 3i model talks about the process of ILP as a three stage model where intelligence is collected from the criminal environment and analysed and interpreted by the analytical wing of the department. The second stage is influence where the decision making happens. The decision makers need not be sworn police officers, they could be an yone from organisations to people, judiciary etc. The decision thus made impacts the criminal environment. The process can not be complete unless all the three stages happen. If the information is collected wrongly or interpreted wrongly, this in turn would influence the decision makers in an incorrect fashion and the impact on the criminal environment would not be the desired impact. The paper also talks about my personal experiences in the CID in UAE and how the 3i model has helped reduce the crime of shoplifting.

Analysis of Obesity in the UK

Analysis of Obesity in the UK Obesity in England:  Reason Consequences Generally, the objective of this statistics report is to evaluate the obesity in England. 1.0 Abstract The main purpose of this report, is to identify the statistics analytical report regarding ‘Obesity in England’ that is specifically based on the physical activity and the lifestyles of people in England. In addition to the objective of this report, is to highlight the fact that peoples physical activities and lifestyles are changing year by year. Additionally, this report will analyse the obesity statistics of the population in England. The report will then discuss about the physical activity of the population relating to obesity in England. In order to ease the understanding of the reader, historical tables and pie charts will be included in this report which can also help readers to make comparisons between the obesity rate, physical activities and lifestyle statistics. 2.0 Introduction Figure 1 represents the calculation formula of BMI with different units of measurements. The unit of ‘masses in BMI can be applied by using Kilograms (kg), Pounds (lbs), or Stones (st). However, the SI units for BMI is still remain on kilograms. (Figure 1) Obesity can be defined as an individual who is overweight with a significant degree of body fat and fatty acid (NHS, 2012). In the past twenty five years, the occurrence of obesity in England, was measured and studies found that the statistical records, had doubled the figures from the past years (Publich Health England, 2014). There are several reasons that could cause obesity to happen. The two main factors influencing obesity are, due to lack of physical activities and lifestyles. Obesity is undoubtedly harmful for an individuals health. An individual who face obesity, may encounter some severe health issues such as diabetes, strokes, heart disease and even some common cancer such as breast cancer or colon cancer (NHS, 2012). The question is, how can one determine whether an individual is considered obese or not? An individual’s weight can be measured in various ways and measurement to determine the severity of overweight. However, according to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), the method that is widely practice for body weighting is the body mass index (BMI). By using the calculations in (Figure 1), individuals can acknowledge whether he/she is overweight or obese. BMI overweight severity is separated into a few categories. For instances, individuals with BMI range of 25-29 would be considered as overweight, while individuals who falls in the second category with BMI between 30 and 40, would be considered as obese, followed by people who has his/her BMI over 40, would be considered as unhealthy obesity (NHS, 2012). This report will provide essential statistics data to give a bigger picture of obesity in England for readers. The statistics will be supported with graphs, tables and pie charts that will be included as well to demonstrate a better illustration of the comparison between the variables. Last but not least, by the end of the report, readers will understand the potential reason of obesity in terms of physical activities and consequences of obesity. 3.0 Methodology The information that was used in this report, were collected through various types of sources such as online journals, articles, internet and books. These sources were done using secondary data. In addition, several reliable websites and annual reports of official institutions were used to interpret and analyse the data and was converted into information to discuss this statistics report. The websites that were used in this report consists of Guardian, Telegraph, and National Health Service (NHS). Furthermore, regarding to the obesity’s data and information, the data were mainly obtained from the reports published by NHS in order to improve the creditability and reliability of this report. In short, the information, data and materials in this report are extremely genuine, trustworthy and reliable. 4.0 Findings 4.1 Statistics of obesity in England by age group (2002 to 2012) (Graph 1) Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health Social Care Information Centre (2014). According to (Graph 1) above, the graph specifically shows the statistics of obesity in England from year 2002 to 2013 according to age groups from the age of 16. The statistics showed that the obesity’s population in England, is trending up from 2002 to 2013 for all age group (16 to 74 and over). In 2002, there was a record of 29,237 people facing obesity while in 2003 the obesity rate had significantly increased to 33,546 people which calculated 14.74% change. During that moment, the population of obesity in England rose rapidly from year 2004 to 2009 with 21.45%, 27.68%, 29.20%, 20.39%, 27.28% and 38.90% increase respectively. In population, the numbers of people suffering from obesity, had gone up dramatically from 40,741 to 142,219 people. By comparing to year 2009, the percentage change of the obesity’s population had reached its peak which is 48.91% in 2010. There was a record of 211,783 individual which are obese from the age of 16 to 74 and over. Additionally, the statistics of people facing obesity in England climbed up to 266,666 with a 25.91% change comparing to year 2010. Last but not least, the total population of obesity in England in year 2012, had reached up to 292,404 people. However, this increase had accounted to only 9.65% change in population of obesity. In the bigger picture, the population for obesity in England had been escalated from year 2002 to 2013 with an increase of massive 900%. 4.2 Obesity between men and women in England (Year 2002-2012) (Graph 2) Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health Social Care Information Centre (2014). As you can see, (Graph 2) represents the obesity’s population between the men and women in England. The graph shows a significant uptrend formed with the recorded statistics of obesity’s population. Other than that, you can see the difference between the obese men and women. The difference between the men and women that are obese, showed that both genders were increasing year by year. In 2002, the number of women who suffered from obesity (17,169 people) were 5,100 people higher than the number of obese men (12,068 people). Furthermore, in 2007, the number of obese women (48,829 people) had a 16,749 people of difference compared to the obese men which was tripled the result of year 2002. Nevertheless, the most significant data recorded was in year 2012. The population of women being obese (192,795 people), was approximately twice as many as the population of obese men (99,579 people). In result, we can conclude that regarding to England’s obesity’s population, the number of women who suffered from obesity are higher than men. According to the research, lack of physical activity were the cause of obesity. 5.0 Physical activity Physical activity is known to bring healthy benefits to individuals and it is proved that this will reduce incidence of many chronic conditions such as obesity (HSCIC, 2012). However, individuals that are lack of physical activity may suffer from obesity. 5.1 Physical activity guidelines MPA (minutes/week) VPA (minutes/week) Active 150 10 Some activity 60-149 30-74 Low activity (Overweight) 30-59 15-29 Inactive (Obese) MPA: Moderate intensity Physical Activity VPA: Vigorous intensity Physical Activity (Figure 2) Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health Social Care Information Centre (2014). HSCIC (2012) had set up a standard for physical activity guidelines as shown in (Figure 2). The activities are divided into four categories to determine whether an individual is active or inactive. Individuals must meet the requirements of at least either MPA or VPA or both in order to fall into that category. 5.2 Self-reported physical activity of men and women (Chart 1) (Chart 2) Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health Social Care Information Centre (2014). HSCIC (2012) stated that individuals must have at least 30 MPA in order to get rid of obesity. Low activity and inactive individual will be considered as overweight and obese. Chart 1 and Chart 2 are the pie charts that represent the self-reported physical activity data that HSCIC (2012) collected. According to both of the figures, the percentage of active individuals in terms of physical activity of men (67%) is obviously more than the women (55%) by a difference of 12%. Relatively, 26% of women in year 2012 are inactive regarding to their physical activity. Furthermore, the percentage of low activity of women is slightly (2%) higher than men. In contrast, the inactive population of men in their physical activity was just 19% which is 7% lower than the women. In comparison, the percentages of inactive women are higher than inactive men whereas the percentages of active men are higher than the women. In short, since the individuals that fall in the ‘low activity’ and ‘inactive’ category, are considered to be overweight and obese. Therefore, referring to (Figure 3), we can conclude that physical activity is be one of the main reasons that caused obesity and it also showed why the population of obese women was more than men since year 2002 until 2012. 6.0 Comparative rates of adults’ obesity in 2010 (Graph 3) Source: National Obesity Observatory, International Comparisons of Obesity Prevalence, available at: www.noo.org.uk/NOO_about_obesity/international/ Graph 3 shows latest data of comparative rates of adults obesity in year 2010. As we can see, the countrys highest obesity prevalence is the United States (35.70%). This is followed by Mexico, Scotland and New Zealand coming in second, third and fourth place accordingly with the obesity prevalence of 30%, 28.20% and 26.50% respectively. England’s obesity prevalence is 26.10% which is considered high by comparing to countries such as Australia (24.60%), Northern Ireland (23%), Luxembourg (22.50%) and Slovak Republic (16.90%). Last but not least, Japan and Korea have the least obesity prevalence by comparing to other countries in the graph shown; they have a percentage of 3.90% and 3.80% relatively. Ultimately, this graph shows that the obesity level of England which is considered severe. 6.1 Map of excess weight of England Map 1 shows the percentage of adults that are involved in obesity from different regions of England. Guardian (2014) stated that it has an average of 64% adults bringing obese in England by considering all the regions. (Map 1) 7.0 Cost of Obesity The cost of obesity, consists of human cost and National Health Service (NHS) cost. This session will discuss about both the cost for obesity. Figure 2 shows the relative risk of women and men in terms of the diseases caused by obesity. The table consist of diseases that may cause hypertension, stroke and cancer. It can be seen that the relative figures of women, is higher by comparing to the men especially in the Type 2 Diabetes which is two times more of the probability. Type 2 Diabetes can cause serious life shortening that will affect the mortality of human being (NAO, 2011). 7.1 Human Cost of obesity Disease Relative risk Women Relative risk men Type 2 Diabetes 12.7 5.2 Hypertension 4.2 2.6 Myocardial Infarction 3.2 1.5 Cancer of the Colon 2.7 3 Angina 1.8 1.8 Gall Bladder Diseases 1.8 1.8 Ovarian Cancer 1.7 Osteoarthritis 1.4 1.9 Stroke 1.3 1.3 (Figure 2) Source: National Audit Office estimates based on literature review 7.2 NHS Cost of Obesity (Graph 4) Source: National Audit Office estimates (2012) Graph 4 shows the approximate obesity cost in 2012. It is estimated a spending of  £457m on obesity cost, is considered as a burden to the England’s economy. NAO (2012) estimated that the obesity cost for year 2015, will increase dramatically up to  £6.3 billion and up to  £9.7 billion by year 2050. The reason behind the cost of obesity will be significant high, is because of the indirect cost of lost output in economy. NAO (2001) stated that the economy will be in recession due to the sickness or death of the England’s workforce caused by obesity. Therefore, the consequences of obesity must not be ignored but must be taken into serious considerations. 8.0 Conclusion In short, the statistics of this report identified some important details regarding obesity in England. It is important to understand how the impact of obesity and the growth of population can cause the increase of people with obesity to be two times more in the past 25 years. Furthermore, the trend for obesity in all different age groups, showed an increase in England from year 2002-2013. The differences between the genders as well, will show the reasons to why there is an increase in obesity in relations to physical activities because of the activeness of men, inactiveness of women and vice versa. Importantly, this report stated the consequences of obesity which is severe illnesses that causes death with related risk statistics about men and women. Lastly, the report showed the comparison between other countries related to obesity, the percentage of obesity in the regions of England, followed by the human and NHS cost of obesity. 9.0 Recommendations As aforementioned, the level of obesity in England is getting more and more significant year by year. Government should conduct more campaign to fight obesity as it will provide more information about importance of physical activity in life to individuals or families. In addition, government should continue to subsidise NHS for the ‘Health Check programme’ in order to prevent and avoid severe disease such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Besides, government should not just focus on physical activity; they must focus on other reason that causes obesity as well, such as diet and lifestyle. Government could implement some political strategy to fight obesity, such as increase the taxation of fat-food in order to stop people from buying the unhealthy product. Last but not least, government could also increase the advertising of healthy campaign and advertisement of disadvantages of obesity to encourage people to get rid of obesity. 10.0 References: Boseley, S. (2014). The Guardian: Almost two-thirds of adults in England classed as overweight by health body. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/04/two-thirds-adults-overweight-england-public-health [Last Accessed 28th March 2014]. National Health Service. (2014). Obesity: Introduction. [Online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Obesity/Pages/Introduction.aspx [Accessed 27th March 2014]. Public Health England. (2014). Trends in Obesity Prevalence. [Online] Available at: http://www.noo.org.uk/NOO_about_obesity/trends [Accessed 20th March 2014]. Figure 1: Source :http://healthy-living.knoji.com/does-your-bmi-really-matter/ HSCIC. (2014). Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England 2014. [Online] Available at: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13648/Obes-phys-acti-diet-eng-2014-rep.pdf [Accessed 20th March 2014]. HSCIC. (2012). Physical activity in Adults. [Online] Available at: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13218/HSE2012-Ch2-Phys-act-adults.pdf [Accessed 24th March 2014]. NAO. (2012). An Update on the Government’s Approach to Tackling Obesity. [Online] Available at: http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/tackling_obesity_update.pdf [Accessed 24th March 2014]. HSCIC. (2012). Chapter 7: Health Outcomes. [Online] Available at: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/searchcatalogue?productid=13887returnid=3945 [Accessed 24th March 2014]. NAO. (2001). Tackling Obesity in England. [Online] Available at: http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2001/02/0001220.pdf [Accessed 28th March 2014]. Public Health England. (2013). Social Care and Obesity: A Discussion Paper. [Online] Available at: http://www.local.gov.uk/documents/10180/11463/Social+care+and+obesity+-+a+discussion+paper+-+file+1/3fc07c39-27b4-4534-a81b-93aa6b8426af [Accessed 29th March 2014]. HSCIC. (2012). Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England, 2012. [Online] Available at: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB05131/obes-phys-acti-diet-eng-2012-rep.pdf [Accessed 20th March 2014]. HSCIC. (2013). Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England, 2013. [Online] Available at: http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/userfiles/Documents/obes-phys-acti-diet-eng-2013-rep.pdf [Accessed 20th March 2014].

My Personal Philosophy on Education :: Educational Teaching Teachers Classroom Essays

My Personal Philosophy on Education One of the questions I was asked most while growing up was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Little did I know that I would continue to be asked that very same question all the way up to the age of 25. Who could possibly know the answer to that question out of the many possible answers? It seemed like everyone did besides me. I have had so many interests throughout my life, but just couldn't decide what I wanted to do the rest of my life. I have always loved to be around children, whether it be babysitting, teaching, or assisting in Bible School and Sunday School. Many people in my family are teachers, including my mother. They are not just regular teachers who carry that title, but they are teachers who mean something to their students and schools and possess that positive intuition that all students can succeed through hard work and determination. It wasn't until the summer of 2000 that I finally answered the question, that for so long I always dreaded to h ear. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I finally could say, "I want to be a teacher." How wonderful six words can make you feel. It wasn't just finally being able to answer others questions, but the joy of knowing I'm going to be someone who can make a difference in a child's life. Teaching holds an honor that allows me an opportunity to instruct students in hands-on experiences, to develop an atmosphere for learning, and to create a positive influence on the children with whom I am entrusted. I want to teach elementary aged children. What should be taught in school varies from individual to individual. However, the student's best interest must be kept in mind while planning a curriculum suitable to their needs. I would really like to work with the third and fourth grades, but that could change due to having experiences with the other grade levels. After graduation, I would like to work towards my masters and earn a degree in reading. I feel that reading is the basis for all learning. After receiving my masters, I would still like to continue with my education and be active in teacher supportive groups.

Soulless Humanity in George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) :: Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essays

Soulless Humanity in 1984    The year 1984 has since passed but George Orwell's prophetic vision of the future could still happen.   1984   portrays a society that has lost all trace of individuality, love, and critical thought.   George Orwell's "Negative Utopia" depicts the despair of the future of humans and also serves as a warning about fascism.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Orwell's sets the mood of the book as one of hopelessness for the future of humans.   He contrasts this mood with a popular philosophy: belief in the progress of humanity and the ability of people to institute peace and justice in the world.   These contrasting views set up the premise for the life of Winston Smith, who is one man caught in a society devoted to conformity.   Orwell's warning to this is that if people cannot change the way things are going, our society will lose their human qualities.   They will become soulless machines and not have a clue as to their new world they created.   This is the world in which Winston Smith is caught in.   He is different from the others and in a civilization which does not approve of individuality, Winston is targeted by the government from the beginning.   Being different in this populace only means rebellion and that exactly is what Winston sets out to do.   Winston believes that although he must conform on t he outside, that no one can take his individual thought away.   Winston's individuality is the only hope for human nature for he questions the most basic principles of the regime, a thoughcrime.   One doctrine Winston questions is the concept of freedom-    "How could you have a slogan like 'freedom is slavery' when the concept of freedom has been abolished?"    Winston goes on to say there will be an end to thought.   "Orthodoxy means not thinking..."   "Orthodoxy is unconscienceness."   Ã‚  Ã‚   The belief that humanity is progressing while they are really losing their individuality is actually halting human progress.   Every aspect of life is changing for the worse while people believe humans are advancing.   One example is Newspeak.   As Syme put it, "You don't grasp the beauty of the destruction of words."   The destruction of words is seen as progress while in actuality, it is another step in destroying individuals and creating a hopeless future.   Once this happens, Orwell warns, all hope is lost.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Currently, Winston lives in a world filled with the ravishes of war.

Reducing Employee Productivity :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Reducing Employee Productivity Loss, After Connecting to the Internet Overview Today companies continually search for ways to improve efficiency, and Internet e-mail has helped to achieve this goal. One of the problems not foreseen in connecting the office to the Internet is the millions of Web sites that exist. Making it simple for workers to connect to the Internet allows users to waste time, money, and bandwidth, only to return with virus-laden files as souvenirs of their efforts. This report examines corporate need for effective Internet controls, and strong access policies. Topics Covered  · Web Surfing Costs  · Unauthorized Access, Attacks, and Virus Contamination  · Network Security  · Creating a Network Use Policy Web Surfing Costs Costs are contained if employees use the Internet at work as intended. A â€Å"wired† workplace finds its productivity hampered as often as augmented due to employees having Internet access. The Internet is vast; the temptation to Web surf pursuing personal interests at work is hard to resist. United States Department of Labor estimates printed in The Standard.com (2000), are wasted time cost corporations three million dollars a year per each 1000 employees. The article continues: â€Å"Where are employees wasting most of their time these days? It is not the water cooler". Companies that want to improve efficiency are looking to rein in Web surfing workers.† In a Christmas 1999 article about electronic greeting cards, ZDNN (1999) reported: â€Å"There is rising corporate fervor against opening unnecessary files amid concerns about excessive personal usage among employees.† Unauthorized Access, Attacks, and Viruses Web sites proliferate as a means of corporate promotion, customer service, and commerce. Unauthorized Internet access in the form of Web site intrusions, breaches and viruses can lead to lost time, money, information, or worse. Internet Hackers work to crack passwords, breaking into corporate networks believed secure. Thestandard.com (1999) reported Microsoft fell prey to a hacker attack on its network in October that year. The company says someone transferred its passwords to an e-mail account in Russia, where hackers posed as Microsoft employees. Increasingly sophisticated viruses used against Internet sites endanger corporations everywhere. The 1999 Babylonia virus found by Symantec (1999) started its spread through Internet chat rooms. Unlike typical viruses, Babylonia updates itself automatically with files from the Web. Network Security Banning corporate Internet use to avoid problems is impractical. Too many companies are unaware of the dangers and need a more responsible strategy. Network security should include:  · Protection against Information Loss  · Productivity Monitoring  · Maximizing Network Speed Network speed is a function of connection, hardware, and software.

Hello Kitty

| HELLO KITTY| | Obsah Introduction3 1. Hello Kitty4 1. 1 History4 1. 2 Hello Kitty in Japan5 2. Globalization – localization6 3. Famous brands create for Hello Kitty6 3. 1 Forever 21 (US)7 3. 2 Sephora (Francie)7 3. 3 Swarovski (Austria)8 3. 4 Vans (US)8 3. 5 Eva Air (Taiwan)9 Conclusion10 Bibliography11 Appendix I. : Hello Kitty Story12 Appendix II. : First product with Hello Kitty motive – 197413 Appendix III. : Hello Kitty Products14 Appendix IV. : Hello Kitty a celebrities19 Appendix V. : Hello Kitty products in magazines20 Introduction Lately I have been noticing many articles in the shops carrying a name Hello Kitty with the typical oversized-head kitty image. To be quite honest until I started looking for information I did not know anything about this brand, where it is coming from, what is its main product, who is its targeted group, nothing. But it got my attention because I have been spotting the Hello Kitty image on so many different products and in such an amount that I started to feel like it is everywhere and I cannot escape. This essay is about one Japanese brand, that was invented as a new Sandio? company design for coin purse that turned into a global brand, presenting her as a western brand and not carrying so much about its origin. Introducing the company secret about such a popularity of Hello Kitty brand – licensing. Starting by introducing the brand and saying few details about its history, continuing by describing the Japanese market and some cultural differences. Naming few categories of p roducts that are available in Hello Kitty design concentrating more on chosen famous brands that decided to provide its good name, quality and prestige to this Japanese cartoon brand. . Hello Kitty The reason for this name is expressed in this statement, made by Bill Hensley, marketing director of Sandrio? s company: â€Å"Gift-giving is an important part of the Japanese culture. In Ja-pan, ‘Hello’ communicates the idea of open communication. That’s why she was named Hello Kitty. † Since Sandrio? s motto is â€Å"Small gift, big smile† it explains very well the statement and the character? s name, as it is all about gifts and making other people happy even with small things. (ICMR, 2007, online). 1. 1 History This Japanese brand Hello Kitty founded in 1974. When we look for more details about this brand, nowadays very famous one, we can found out, that the company is not really associating Hello Kitty with its home – Japan, but with England, where it was â€Å"born†. The official story behind this character is as follows: â€Å"Hello Kitty was born on November 1st and she lives in London, England with her parents and her twin sister, Mimmy. They have a lots of friends at school with whom they share many adventures. Her hobbies include travelling, music, reading, eating yummy cookies her sister Mimmy bakes, and best of all making new friends. As Hello Kitty always says, you can never have too many friends. † (Sandrio. com, 2011, online). Hello Kitty is not, as many other characters (Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Pikachu, etc. ) a cartoon figure. At appeared as mysterious cat, that nobody knew. The reason why she was created was that Sandrio – the company that owns this brand, needed a new motive to use for their change purses. Back into 1970s Hello Kitty was originally used on popular little merchandise – toys and stationary like coin purses or pencil boxes and other small gifts targeted at small girls – mainly at the age of 4 to 6. And in those days the prices were quite low so it would be affordable for most of the kids. (ICMR, 2007, online). . It was not Yuko Yamaguchi, who created Hello Kitty, but she invented the story of Kitty? s life and since then she has been responsible for this product, and very successful one have to say. She was also responsible to extend the brand to a wide variety of products – clothes, accessories and even electronic goods. Yoko was very concerned about making the product up to date, so she was constantly asking customers what they want, what are their expectations from Hello Kitty etc. For example in mid 1980s company received a letter from a high school student, asking for products with Hello Kitty targeted at customers her age, so the company did so and changed positioning of the brand targeting on girls from about 5 years old to teenage. Sandrio soon realized that Hello Kitty is growing with her original customers, little girls, in 1970s who were teenagers in 1990s and adult women in 2000s but they still kept on buying Hello Kitty stuff so nowadays the targeted group is said to be from 4 years old girls to women in their 30s. ICMR, 2007, online). Thank to voluntary endorsement by celebrities, as during 1990s Hello Kitty became very popular in US, the brand develop into a fashion symbol in early 2000s and turned into a â€Å"premium brand†. We can name few celebrities who were (maybe still are) big Hello Kitty fans: Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Kate Perry, Lady Gaga and others like Cameron Diaz, Heidi Klum, Carmen Elektra, Madonna etc. that posed for fashion magazines wearing Hello Kitty products. (See Appendix IV. ). At the present time Hello Kitty products can be found in many magazines recommending them as one of the thing the modern, cute and sexy girl or woman has to have (See Appendix V. ). 1. 2 Hello Kitty in Japan As it was said above, Hello Kitty started as a brand in 1970s targeted at little girls. But they grown and in 1980s and 1990s they turn into teenage girls who mostly stayed faithful to their childhood toy. The company realized that and changed the positioning of the brand on teenagers, found a Hello Kitty a boyfriend called Daniel and helped its brand to be even more popular by focusing on a larger group of customers. As a result, nowadays is Hello Kitty loved and adored by girls age of approximately five to women in their thirties. Even though a significant number of Hello Kitty fans are male it is still considered as a female brand in Japan. (ICMR, 2007, online). The huge popularity that is Hello Kitty receiving in Japan can be explained by many factors actually. First of all, Japanese women love cute things and Hello Kitty is said to be a â€Å"cutie queen†. It is her sweet, cute, friendly and innocence appearance in the Japanese female customers represented by its big head, small black-dot eyes, yellow nose, red or pink ribbon and no mouth. The motionless expression in Hello Kitty? s face is actually big advantage of this character as every single person can give her the motions they feel like – sad, happy, thoughtful, angry, etc. , so it will be the way they need. (Wai-Ming Ng, 2011, online). Since Sandrio gave to its character Hello Kitty a London identity, it is considered as a western brand in Japan. So being a Japanese brand, it has, funnily enough an exotic appeal in Japan. It actually represents a Western or dreamlike world and that is way, Hello Kitty is not very liked in local characteristic ways – for example Hello Kitty dressed up in Kimono. The popularity of this brand is supported by the fact that mostly anything can be found with Hello Kitty motive on it. We talking about products starting from office & school stuff (pens, pencils, sell tapes, stickers, etc), clothes, shoes, kitchen & bathroom things, electronics, as well as wedding stuff (dresses, rings, invitations) or as famous brands? collection – Sephora for Hello Kitty, Swarovski Hello Kitty collection, Hello Kitty MasterCard, Forever 21 fastion collection and much more (see Appendix III. ). Only in Japan are about 90 companies possess a Sandrio? s licence allowing them to use Hello Kitty design on their products. Just a little comparison with Singapore? s customers as even though it is an Asian country and not that far from Japan, many attitudes and believes are completely different. In Singapore is Hello Kitty considered as a Japanese brand, not as a western or English one as it is in Japan. So it does not look any exotic to them. Asian versions of Hello Kitty – in traditional costumes and so are very popular here, which we cannot say about Japan. And last difference between these two countries is that very little variety of Hello Kitty products are imported into Singapore. (Wai-Ming Ng, 2011, online). 2. Globalization – localization American cartoons like Donald Duck or Mickey mouse can be considered as one of the tools to spread American ideology all over the world, we cannot say the same about Hello Kitty and propagate Japanese culture. First of all the company wanted Hello Kitty to be a western brand, so they created a life story about the character coming from London. As it was mentioned, Japanese customers prefer the western Hello Kitty, but it does not bother Americans to promote Asian series in US. So surely Hello Kitty is a global brand available all over the world but with local differences to suit the particular needs. This fact we can illustrate on another Sandrio? s move in order to be liked by more customers, by making a special blue Hello Kitty collection in the US to make look Hello Kitty less childish. (Wai-Ming Ng, 2011, online). 3. Famous brands create for Hello Kitty In 1976, Sanrio started licensing the Hello Kitty image to many different companies for use on their merchandise. The Hello Kitty brand success, and other character brands too, made Sandrio one of the leading companies in this area. But Hello Kitty has become a â€Å"global licensing phenomenon† as nowadays it is possible to buy almost everything with Hello Kitty design. The only exceptions, that were not permitted from Sandrio to use Hallo Kitty images from Sandrio are producers of guns, cigarettes and alcohol. (ICMR, 2007, online). But it is possible to get Hello Kitty wine, so I am not really sure, what they consider as alcohol. In Appendix III. re examples of some products that are available in Hello Kitty design. As the most â€Å"unexpected† things to find decorated whit Hello Kitty motives, in my opinion, are: vegetable peeler, hair drier, shower curtain, frying pan, chopping board, kitchen sponge, iron, sewing machine, wedding dress/rings, car, wine, sleeping bag, shoes and adult stuff – vibrator or condoms. Now I would like to present few companies that success of H ello Kitty impressed so much and saw such a potential in this brand that asked for a license and produced many products under their names, giving them the quality and prestige. As well as I want to demonstrate of the international act as none of the companies are Japanese so it helps give the brand the global appearance. 3. 1 Forever 21 (US) It all started in 1984 as a 900 square ft. Shop in Los Angeles, originally named as Fashion 21. Now quickly growing clothing design and accessories producer at affordable price having 120 locations in 25 states. This company targeting at teenagers and young people in their 20s decided to entice more customers by buying a Sandrio? s license to use Hello Kitty motives. In November 2011 Forever 21 introduced New Hello Kitty Exclusive collection containing items like: T-shits, bags, socks, tights, sweaters, raincoats etc. With the new collection Forever 21 organized for their customers and Hello Kitty fans a party in US on 18th November to celebrate the new collection. (Forever21. com, 2011, online). 3. 2 Sephora (Francie) This company was founded in 1970 in France and now, forty years later is leading chain of perfume and cosmetics in France and selling in another 24 countries. In July 2011 Sephora introduced Hello Kitty Graffity Collection. Limited edition of cosmetics and accessories including suitcase, brush set, eye shadows, compact mirror and perfume. In November 2011 new collection was introduced by Sephora: Hello Kitty Noir collection. It symbolize cinematic Hollywood romance. This limited edition is much richer in the number of offered items then the previous one presenting: eye shadows, perfumes, powders, held and compact mirrors, make up bags, brushes, combs and nail polishes. (Sanrio – blog, 2011, online), (Sephora, 2011, online). When looking at Sephora? webside, it looks like that the company is very please to co-operate with Sandrio: â€Å"She's iconic. She's adored. She's known around the world. Now, Hello Kitty is bringing her playful spirit to a new beauty line presented exclusively at Sephora. This sophisticated collection mixes the essence of Hello Kitty with a touch of style and fun. With charming designs and luxurious formulas infused with ingredients she loves, Hello Kitty Beauty is the ulti mate must-have. Hello Kitty. Hello Pretty. â€Å" (Sephora, 2011, online). 3. 3 Swarovski (Austria) An Austrian company, in these days very successful and known worldwide, founded in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. Celebrating over 100 years on the market Swarovski could be spotted in James Bond movies, wore by celebrities or seen in popular music videos – lately Swarovski used product placement in Jennifer Lopez song called On the Floor which was seen over 445 million times on youtube. com, so the fame of this brand is undisputed. In July 2011 Swarovski launched the first Hello Kitty Collection including necklaces, rings, earrings, glass statues, handbags, key chains etc. For Hello Kitty fans there is a Limited Edition also available offering only 88 pieces worldwide to ensure its exclusivity. 3. 4 Vans (US) Earlier on this year (March, 2011) was announced that Sanrio teamed up with famous Californian shoe producer Vans, founded in 1966, to create a new Hello Kitty shoe collection for its fans. Vans used Hello Kitty design on several kinds of their footwear – Slip-on, Authentic and Sk8-Hi – offering different types and sizes for Toodlers/Infants, Kids and Adults – both women and men. (Sanrio – blog, 2011, online). On the official Vans. om website there is a promotion video to be found out about how the Vans ; Hello Kitty story started. There is a meeting recorded where Hello Kitty â€Å"chose† the design she wanted, but there is no representative of Sandrio? s company but actually a person dressed up as Hello Kitty so she is kind of â€Å"alive†. And as it is said in the promotion spot as well, it might not be the last time when Vans ; Hello Kitty comes together. (Vans. com, 2011, online). 3. 5 Eva Air (Taiwan) Eva Airways Corporation is second largest airline in Taiwan founded in 1989. In 2005 the company decided to buy a Sanrio? license to use Hello Kitty motives and dedicated one of their planes completely to this cartoon. By word „completelyâ€Å" it means everything you can think of while flying in plane. Apart from huge pictures on the Airbus itself everything changed: boarding passes, flight crew uniforms, food and its packaging, seats design, tissues, sick bags, entertaining system – program on aboard TV etc. As crazy as it sounds it was a huge success for the company was booked more than 90% on average. (Salman, 2011, online). Conclusion Hello Kitty is a cute little kitty with oversized head and ribbon over her right ear. Even thought it was not successful from the right beginning and had ups and down during its 30 years history, it is now very famous worldwide known Japanese brand. I am sure that most of the people do not know that the owner of this brand – Sanrio – created a story for this character to be coming from London, where its family lives as well. They did not want to associate the brand with its home – Japan. Nowadays we can find Hello Kitty products everywhere and this is thanks to Sanrio? s marketing policy, selling the license allowing the owner to use Hello Kitty motives on their products. It is actually very good as it has many advantages. Licensing other companies to use Hello Kitty character on their product helps Sanrio to spread its brand all over the world by not investing a penny, actually getting very large amount of money for the license. Secondly, the licensed companies are well chosen so they do not undermine Hello Kitty image, the other way around, they actually add more value because they invest their name, prestige and quality. Thirdly, the fact that it is possible to buy mostly anything with Hello Kitty character it encourage its fans to buy more and more in order to be surrounded by this little cutie they love so much. Since Sanrio co-operate with companies all over the word, it gives Hello Kitty really multicultural look – Eva Air (Taiwan), Vans (US), Swarovski (Austria), Sephora (France), Samsung (Korea) etc. And obviously there are cultural differences between states where is Hello Kitty sold, which is being considered in the selling strategy and cooperating with local companies – like Swarovski in Austria helps to get local people as well as Swarovski customers all over the world. The only thing which I am worried about is, that one fine day, there will be too much of Hello Kitty everywhere and all the success, madness and obsession about this brand will turn into disaster presented by hate and disgust. Bibliography Forever21. com [online]. 2011 [cit. 2011-12-09]. History ; Facts. Dostupne z WWW: ;http://www. forever21. com/Company/history. aspx? br=f21;. SALMAN, Maya. Scribd. com [online]. 2011 [cit. 2011-12-08]. Hello Kitty – The Iconing Japanese brand. Dostupne z  WWW: ;http://www. scribd. com/doc/49138163/Hello-Kitty;. Sanrio. Sanrio. com [online]. 2011 [cit. 2011-12-08]. Hello Kitty. Dostupne z WWW: ;http://www. sanrio. com/characters/HelloKitty/? chr=HelloKitty;. Sanrio. Sanrio. com [online]. 2011 [cit. 2011-12-08]. Hello Kitty Blog. Dostupne z  WWW: ;http://www. sanrio. com/hellokittyblog/;. Sephora. Sephora. com [online]. 2011 [cit. 2011-12-08]. Hello Kitty. Dostupne z  WWW: ;http://www. sephora. com/browse/brand_hierarchy. jhtml? brandId=5988;. Shop. vans. com [online]. 2011 [cit. 2011-12-09]. Collections: Hello Kitty. Dostupne z WWW: ;http://shop. vans. om/catalog/Vans/en_US/category/collections/hello-kitty. html;. The Icfai Center for Management Research (ICMR). Scribd. com [online]. 2007 [cit. 2011-12-08]. Hello Kitty – Japanese Superbrand. Dostupne z WWW: ;http://www. scribd. com/doc/19584011/Case-Study-Hello-Kitty;. WAI-MING NG, Benjamin. Scribd. com [online]. 2011 [cit. 2011-12-08]. The Hello Kitty Craze in Singapore:A Cultural and Comparative Analysis. Dostupne z WWW: ;http:/ /www. scribd. com/doc/46952018/Hello-Kitty-Asian-Profile;. Appendix I. : Hello Kitty Story (Source: http://www. sanrio. om/characters/HelloKitty/? chr=HelloKitty) Appendix II. : First product with Hello Kitty motive – 1974 (Source: http://houseofkittyblog. com/) Appendix III. : Hello Kitty Products 1. Bathroom: Hair drier, towel, shampoo, hand cream, mirror, shower curtain, tooth brush, make-up removal cream, sunbathing cream, manicure, bath cap, nail file, cotton swabs, soap holder, dental floss, soap,†¦ 2. Kitchen: Chopping board, kitchen sponge, pan, kettle, kitchen cloth, pots, water battle, vegetable peeler, bowls, plates, lemon juicer, oven mitt, kitchen paper towels, sandwich maker,†¦ . Room: Bed sheets, drawers, alarm, shoe cabinet, lamp shade,†¦ 4. Electro: Headphones, keyboard, computer mouse, CD, DVD, cover for monitor and keyboard, mobile†¦ 5. Household: Doormat, clearing mop, iron, ironing board, air freshener, sewing machine,†¦ 6. Weddin g: Wedding invitations, rings, wedding dresses, wedding glasses,†¦ 7. Car – Mitsubishi 8. Car accessories: Seat belts covers, window sunshade, in car sign, car seat barrier, air freshener, tissues holder, rearview mirror, steering wheel cover,†¦ 9. Other stuff: Contact case, jewel case, dog leash, sleeping bag, mobile charm, weighing scale, beach stuff, wet tissues, fondue,†¦ 10. Obleceni: Underwear, T-shirts, pyjamas,†¦ 11. Accessories: Watch, necklace, badges, earrings, bracelets,.. 12. Shoes: 13. Babies: Bib, bottles, babies dummy, baby carriage, car inside sticker,†¦ 14. Bags ; luggage Luggage, bags, handbags, purse,†¦ 15. School ; office: Calendars, diaries, pens, pencils, pencil sharpener, scissors, sell tape, highlighters, schedule books, file folders, clip boards, stamps, water color pens, oil pastel, calculator, paper clips,†¦ 6. Toys: Soft toys, playing cards, trampoline toys, plastic purse toy, robot, board games†¦ 17. Happy meal? s toys (McDonald? s): 20. Swarovski: Glass figures, card holders, bag charms, pens, earrings, rings, necklaces,†¦ 19. Aduls? stuff: Vibrators, condoms,†¦ Appendix IV. : Hello Kitty a celebrities (Course: http://www. sanrio. com/hellokittyblog/) Lady Gaga Ben Affle ck? daughter Adam Sandler? s children Heidy Klum? s daughterAvril Lavigne Megan Fox