European trails Essay Example for Free

European trails Essay As I amazed with the beauty of the European trails through backpacking, I began to investigate some of the reasons behind these magnificent sceneries. Since I have not been in Europe, the internet and my friends who have been in Europe are my two primary source of information. But the former gives a lot more details and information regarding Europe as compared to the stories of my friends. Internet could give information on the whereabouts of these places as well as the price tags of these adventures. The All Mountain Vacation web page is one of the sites that I tried to get the necessary information. It gives the minute details on how to get in a backpacker’s site in France. It includes the information about the whereabouts of the hotels and restaurants to dine in. also, the page includes the description of the terrains and the history of the place. It is very exciting to know that they preserve this beautiful region for such a very long time. They include the first hotel to stay in. They also mentioned the level of difficulty in tracking down the terrains. One of the interesting packages that they offer is that you would actually encounter the local people in these places. I also did some researches for my favorite spots like the West Highland Way in the western Scotland. It is just 100 miles in length although the exotic beauty of the scenery and the outrageous ambience of the place have kept the backpackers to return. This trail has long been discovered by the early Romans and they used it to conquer Scotland. About 20,000 people defended this place to protect the western Scotland. The West Highland Way was one of the major routes that have been used in war and it is a very memorable place for the local people today. As of now, about fifty thousand people form Scotland and other countries come to visit this place. And the people that experienced the beauty of this region always find ways to come back yearly. It is one of the flagships of terrains in all of the United Kingdom. There is a section in the website where the foreign visitors comment on the European services and accommodations. They would tell that there are plenty of fabulous people to meet Also, European ambience is perfect for families according to one of the comments of the visitors. The hotels and facilities are superb and organized. The peaceful environment makes it very ideal for those people who would want a relaxing vacation. Since Europe has relatively cooler environment than most regions, backpacking in summer the people can unwind indefinitely. There is website that offers package that includes an eight-day trip to different places in France. Everyday, there is a new destination to go to and different hotels are expecting them. I also noticed the punctuality that they show because they scheduled the time up to the last minute. The accommodation that they give is comparably higher than most of the American packages. The package price for this expedition is roughly $1300. most of their clients would come from different places such as the United States, Japan and other European countries as well. Section III: What I Found Out So why does this European accommodation differ from the others? And how well they could keep the cleanliness of their own natural parks and mountains? Since the people in Europe have very high standards of living, the possibility of the price of accommodation here is expected to be high. After thorough investigation of the European trails, I found out that it is quite good to explore. The European countries have the facilities to utilize in order to maximize the beauty of their nature. In this sense, more sophisticated equipments and gadgets are being used so that optimum level of performance and quality are attained. For example, they have high technological gadgets such as the GPS which could enable them to track down the routes in the forests. They even have garbage containers in the mountains to assure that the Mother Nature is free from wastes. It is something missing in most of the countries where there is abundance of nature locations such as those in the Asian region. Moreover, the sceneries that could be seen in this region can be boasted all throughout the world since they have some of the most magnificent terrains worldwide. Form the Ural Mountains to the Alps, there are limitless possibilities of defining the beauty of this region. Some say that Europe is a place that was blessed by God the abundance of nature and peace. Switzerland for example is a European country that boasts magnificent views and sceneries. Its temperate climate and cool ambient temperature makes it very ideal for those who are planning to get a summer vacation. This country lies in the central Europe where mountain peaks collide with each other. There are many theme parks and other amusement areas where backpackers like me would surely love. Among its magnificent sites are the snow covered mountains and the crystal clear lakes. It also has some animal and botanical gardens to visit. There are many high-quality restaurants throughout the country and most of them are internationally recognized. Meanwhile, I also admire the beauty of the French terrains. Although this country is known for its romantic ambience, I do not expect that it has full of exciting terrains to visit. Numerous establishments surround their nature parks and they have the atmosphere is actually hospitable for guests and visitors. Beside Paris, where the lovers stay, countryside of France is also a magnet for those who would like to zip champagne and walk around the grape yards. Although the beaches are not as comparable as those in the tropical countries, their mountains and other sceneries are not matched by their beauty. Since this region is small compared to America or Asia or even Africa, we could see the limit of place to go through. But the society here is as old as time has begun and they are very interesting to see. Backpacking is not always a trip to the Mother Nature but it is also an activity where backpackers could explore the metropolis and other cities. In terms of the service that they provide to the clients especially those backpackers, I would say that they have the experience of entertaining these people. They train themselves to prove to everybody that they are world class and that their standards are one of the highest in the contemporary world. It could be proven that they have high standards of living by the way they interact with foreign people. Most of the people in Europe have high income and they can afford to do their leisure activity in the way that they are pleased. And to match the quality of life they are having right now, they provide the most convenient and maximum effort to accommodate other races. It could be noticed from the way they build their hotels and establishments. They have an advance society that has the capability of providing an excellent community. Their hotels are some of the most sophisticated hotels in the world. I would not blame the high price of the tour packages that they offer because they do the right thing to give the best possible ambience for the tourists. The European community also ensures the security of the people from their territory and thus it is more secured to travel in this region. They are very strict in accepting tourists because they want to ensure that they would not be sabotage by terrorist and other notorious groups of people. The sanitation that they imposed on the environment could not be paralleled by others who tried to imitate. Also, the cool environment is one of the reasons why tourists keep on touring this region. During the spring and summer, while most of the tropical countries are very hot and humid, most European countries has a mild weather temperature like Germany and Switzerland. They provide a cool and refreshing atmosphere suitable for those people living in the topical countries. I also learned that the beauty of nature should be maintained and preserve by the local people nearby. The local government is also a key factor in preserving the nature. They are responsible for the development of these areas because they mandated to do this. Europe is being united by the formation European Union which the goal is to protect and develop all countries of Europe. And now, almost all of the European countries are members of the EU and other countries are also planning to conglomerate to the unification of Europe. By the cooperation of the local people and the government, nature would be protected thoroughly. Europe has responsible citizens that cooperate and honest governments that rule. Basically, all of these would attribute to the greatness of this region. As for the part of the backpackers, they would have the best experience if they travel to Europe. Mountain treks and national park reserves are some of the best places to visit. Also, the exploration of major cities in Europe can give excitement to adventurous people like me. Given the money, although there are also some trips that are very economical, and the will, they would have a perfect time exploring this region while at the same time enjoying the advantages and luxury that the European accommodations are offering. I hope that someday, even those people living in poor countries could avail this wonderful experience also. References: Edc Content Tours. 1994. Education Development Center, Inc. December 11 2006. http://main. edc. org/tours/parent612. asp.

Role of 5-Methylcytosine Oxidation in Mammalian Development

Role of 5-Methylcytosine Oxidation in Mammalian Development Iram Ali 5-methylcytosine (5mc) is the methylated form of DNA at the 5-position of the DNA base cytosine found in mammals. Its significance is in epigenetic modification, which demonstrates an important role in development and genome regulation. Furthermore the oxidation of 5-methylcytosine in Tet catalyzed reactions has been suggested to play an vital role in the regulation of transcription and gene expression, and DNA de-methylation (Wu and Zhang, 2011). There has been a considerable amount of research into 5-methylcytosine oxidation; clearly indicating that 5-methylcytosine oxidation in the genome has an effect on mammalian development due to its contribution to normal mammalian development as well as being associated with disease. This is a review of recent research in the key roles of 5-methylcytosine oxidation products in the development of mammals. As described by Liu et al., (2013) the addition of a methyl group during DNA methylation in mammals occurs at the position of 5th carbon of cytosine residues primarily at CpG dinucleotide regions. Methylation of DNA plays a role in repressing gene expression including repressing transposable elements (TEs) (Ito et el., 2011). This process of methylation is first established during embryonic development in embryogenesis and then retained during cell division due to the presence of various de novo DNA methyltransferases (DNMT). Research shows the significance of cytosine methylation in mammalian development as it was observed that mice that lack DNA methyltransferases will die at the age of 4 weeks (Liu et al., 2013). 5-methylcytosine is a crucial epigenetic marker, as methylation of cytosine in DNA has a main role in gene expression due to methylated genes in the DNA being able to express differently even though the DNA sequence remains the same. It has also been recognised that CpGs can be methylated in various areas of the genome due to differences in cell type and in points of development (Xu et al., 2013). Recent studies within the past have suggested that aberrance in DNA methylation pattern can cause the process to become deficient through either passive or active mechanisms. Passive cytosine DNA demethylation refers to removal of DNMT1 activity during cell division. Active cytosine DNA demethylation refers to the 5-methylcytosine being converted to cytosine due to the removal of a methyl group, which is independent of DNA replication. These mechanisms of DNA demethylation are associated with defects in development (Liu et al., 2013). A series of enzymatic oxidation reactions in the genome using ten-eleven translocation 1-3 proteins, also known as TET dioxygenases, allow 5-methylcytosine to produce 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5HmC), 5-formylcytosine (5FoC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5CaC). The Tet-catalysed process relies on iron and alpha-ketoglutarate dependent oxidation. This sequence of oxidation reactions is said to be linked to active mammalian cytosine demethylation (Ito et al., 2011). DNA demethylation can be categorised as either global referring to genome wide, or locus specific referring to just certain sequences being methylated. In mammals, genome wide DNA de-methylation is said to occur in mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs) in embryos as early as E8.5-E11.5 days (Schomacher 2011). During early embryogenesis it has been suggested that removal followed by re-establishment of cytosine methylation occurs in a process of major reprogramming. Due to the ten-eleven translocation proteins having the ability to convert 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, there is a possibility that 5-hydroxymethylcytosine may work in an epigenetic manner and may contribute to dynamic alterations in the regulation of transcription and in DNA methylation during embryogenesis. Research shows that embryonic stem cells express high levels of the Tet dioxygenases Tet1, and reasonably high levels of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine compared to many differential cells. The large distribution of Tet1 and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine throughout the embryonic stem cells of the mouse genome, demonstrate the role of Tet proteins and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in regulating gene expression associated with cellular differentiation and pluripotency (Wu and Zhang, 2011)2. The occurrence of oxidation of 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in DNA to 5-carboxylcytosine, and subsequent thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) excision of 5-carboxycytosine is said to establish a route for active DNA demethylation. Moreover study into TDG reduction in mouse embryonic stem cells has been found to cause an evident build-up of 5-carboxylcytosine. Research showed that 5-carboxylcytosine was absent in the embryonic stem cells and neurons of mice who presented high levels of Tet dioxygenases. However 5-carboxylcytosine was seen to be chemically stable and did not freely decarboxylate to cytosine, implying that in genomic DNA, 5-carboxylcytosine may be actively removed directly after being generated in cells (He et al., 2011). Furthermore, it is suggested that oxidation products 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine can partake in the base excision repair (BER) mechanism. This allows 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine to be excised followed by being repaired leading to regeneration as unmodified cytosines by thymine DNA glycosylase. Research, using genome wide distribution maps, into TDG deficient embryonic stem cells, found that reduction of TDG in mouse embryonic stem cells caused noticeable build-up of 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine in genes. Therefore, these results imply that active DNA demethylation is TDG dependent and occurs widely in the mammalian genome (Shen et el., 2013). Additionally, in order to determine if oxidation of 5-methylcytosine to 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine occurs in the zygote in vivo, research was conducted in which antibodies were produced specific for 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine. An immuno-staining technique determined that the depletion of 5-methylcytosine in the mouse paternal pronucleus is concomitant with the presence of 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine. It was notably significant that rather than being instantly removed, both oxidation products displayed dilution which was replication-dependent during preimplantation development in mice. (Inoue et al., 2011) It is well recognised that 5-hydroxymethylcytosine is associated with mammalian development, as studies show the importance of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine activity in both passive and active DNA demethylation, during phases of reprogramming in development. It has also been found that brain tissue has copious amount of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine suggesting that the mammalian brain relies on 5-hydroxymethylcytosine for development. Recently, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine has also been associated with a potential role in cancer as current research has suggested that the levels of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine are considerably reduced in tumour cells. In addition it has been proposed that mutations in the Tet2 protein can cause lack of function which may also be implicated in tumour suppression (Pfeifer et al., 2013). In conclusion, modified versions of cytosine due to oxidation by Tet proteins, are important in the roles of DNA demethylation and reprogramming of stem cells. Hence, future additional research into the function of Tet proteins and further advanced stem cell research could benefit by acquiring more knowledge into alterations in DNA methylation. This will greatly develop understanding of epigenetic regulation in normal mammalian development and disease. References Wu, H. and Zhang, Y. (2011) Mechanisms and functions of Tet protein-mediated 5-methylcytosine oxidation Genes Dev, 25 (23), pp. 2436-2452 Liu, S., Wang, J., Su, Y., Guerrero, C., Zeng, Y., Mitra, D., Brooks, P. J., Fisher, D. E., Song, H. and Wang, Y. (2013) Quantitative assessment of Tet-induced oxidation products of 5-methylcytosine in cellular and tissue DNA Nucleic acids research, 41 (13), pp. 6421-6429 Ito, S., Shen, L., Dai, Q., Wu, S. C., Collins, L. B., Swenberg, J. A., He, C. and Zhang, Y. (2011) Tet proteins can convert 5-methylcytosine to 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine Science, 333 (6047), pp. 1300-1303 Xu, Y., Wu, F., Tan, L., Kong, L., Xiong, L., Deng, J., Barbera, A. J., Zheng, L., Zhang, H., Huang, S. and Others. (2011) Genome-wide regulation of 5hmC, 5mC, and gene expression by Tet1 hydroxylase in mouse embryonic stem cells Molecular cell, 42 (4), pp. 451-464 Schomacher, L. (2013) Mammalian DNA demethylation Epigenetics, 8 (7), pp. 679-684 Wu, H. and Zhang, Y. (2011) Tet1 and 5-hydroxymethylation Cell Cycle, 10 (15), pp. 2428-2436 He, Y., Li, B., Li, Z., Liu, P., Wang, Y., Tang, Q., Ding, J., Jia, Y., Chen, Z., Li, L. and Others. (2011) Tet-mediated formation of 5-carboxylcytosine and its excision by TDG in mammalian DNA Science, 333 (6047), pp. 1303-1307 Shen, L., Wu, H., Diep, D., Yamaguchi, S., D’Alessio, A. C., Fung, H., Zhang, K. and Zhang, Y. (2013) Genome-wide analysis reveals TET-and TDG-dependent 5-methylcytosine oxidation dynamics Cell, 153 (3), pp. 692-706 Inoue, A., Shen, L., Dai, Q., He, C. and Zhang, Y. (2011) Generation and replication-dependent dilution of 5fC and 5caC during mouse preimplantation development Cell research, 21 (12), pp. 1670-1676 Pfeifer, G. P., Kadam, S. and Jin, S. (2013) 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and its potential roles in development and cancer Epigenetics Chromatin, 6 (10), pp. 1-9.

Theoretical Framework for Research Study

Theoretical Framework for Research Study Chapter 3 Research Methodology 3.0 Overview As chapter 1 had discussed about the introduction to the research and chapter 2 had provided an insight into the literature review, chapter 3 would be focusing on the research methodology that would be carried out during the course of the research. In essence, it is the foundation of how data would be collected and analyzed. Chapter 3 would begin by discussing on the theoretical framework designed specifically for this paper, encompassing and providing an overview and relationships of all the variables present in this research. From then on, 3.2 would discuss about the different forms of hypotheses development and the chosen method for the researchers hypotheses. Proceeding through, 3.3 would discuss about the sampling design, or in other words, how the researcher intends to represent the target population. This section also gives detailed steps on the researchers planned implementation of a pilot test, the sampling design method used and the sampling procedures that would be initiated. Section 3.4 would then touch base on the data collection methods that would be used by the researcher, both secondary and primary sources. The data analysis section would be under 3.5, where techniques regarding the methods of data analysis and hypotheses testing would be discussed. Chapter 3 would then conclude with a chapter summary at 3.6. 3.1 Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework has been created to be a â€Å"conceptual framework of how one theorizes or makes logical sense of the relationships among the factors that have been identified as important to the problem† (Sekaran, 2003). It is developed to have an insight into the inter-relationships among the variables that exist in this research. Throughout this research, there are three set of variables have been identified to be of utmost importance to the researcher and can be categorized as the dependent and independent, and moderating variable. The dependent variable is the variable of primary interest to the researcher, in order to predict its variability. This variable is often known as the outcome variable. In this research, the dependent variable refers to the purchase of luxury goods by Generation Y. The independent variables on the other hand, are the factors that influence the dependent variable in a positive or negative way or in this context, the factors that influence the purchase of luxury goods. Figure 3.1 provides an insight into the relationship between both set of variables. 3.2 Hypotheses Development A hypothesis can be defined as â€Å"a supposition made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation† (www.askoxford.com). Generally, reference group influence is a group of people influences the individuals behaviour. They give the information and provide the awareness to specific brands or products. The reference groups influence can be affected through peer, families, celebrities and others are the key that etermine the purchase decision of Generation Y. â€Å"People tend to behave in accordance with a frame of reference produced by the groups to which they belong† (Bearden and Etzel 1982). Therefore, this study believes that the association exits between reference groups influence and purchase of luxury goods. To empirically proven this association, the first hypothesis of this study is formed as followed: H1: There is a significant relationship between reference groups influence and purchase of luxury goods. The conspicuous consumption is used to display wealth, power and status. Veblenian consumers attach a greater importance to price as an indicator of prestige because they wan to impress others. Price of the products determine the quality of the products which used by the consumers to judge the products. The researches show that â€Å"conspicuousness of a product was positively related to its susceptibility to reference group influence† (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). Besides that, identity or self concept also has been display from the consumers to show the status and wealth. The conspicuous consumption had dominated in numerous researches, and it can be stated that conspicuous is important to be identify as perceived value (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). Thus, the following hypothesis is formed for the association between perceived conspicuous vale and purchase of luxury goods. H2: There is a significant relationship between perceived conspicuous value and purchase of luxury goods. The perfectionist effect exists when â€Å"consumers purchase luxury items and expects superior products and performance as well as quality† (Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). The research conducted by Barnier, Rodina, Florence (2005) found that quality is the main criteria lead to luxury purchase. According to Luong Thi Bich Thuy (2008), â€Å"the consumers quality perception would play a positive role over his or her perception of prestige over the same brand if the consumer perceived the brand as having an excellent level of quality†. Thus, the following hypothesis is formed for the association between perceived quality vale and purchase of luxury goods. H3: There is a significant relationship between perceived quality value and purchase of luxury goods. Brand image can be defines as â€Å"perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory† (Keller, 1993; Cheng, 2006; Rio, Varques, Iglesias, 2001). It influences consumer perception and crucial to purchase choice. Consumers able to evaluate the products, lower the purchase risk, obtain experience and recognize the product differentiation through brand image. According to Grewal, Krishnan, Baker, and Borin (1998), â€Å"the better a brand image is, the more recognition consumers give to its product quality†. Thus, the fourth hypothesis of study is as follow: H4: There is a significant relationship between brand image and purchase of luxury goods. Aesthetics have strong influence on purchase of luxury good and it should always be the case according to Dubois, Laurent, Czellar (2001). Aesthetics reflects a sensory response in an audience such as satisfaction, pleasure or affect. â€Å"The aesthetics dimension is composed of design, colour and style that create beauty, they are of primary importance† (Barnier, Rodina, Florence, 2005). The research also proved that French, Russian and UK consumers have a hedonic approach for luxury derived from aesthetics which Aesthetics dimension in France earned the highest position, 29%, in comparison to Russia, 19% and the UK, 15%. Hence, the fifth hypothesis is formed for the association between aesthetics and purchase of luxury goods. H5: There is a significant relationship between aesthetics and purchase of luxury goods. 3.3 Population and Sampling 3.3.1 Population â€Å"Population can be defined as total number of inhabitants constituting a particular race, class, or group in a specified area.† (http://www.answers.com/topic/population, no date). With reference to the topic at hand, the researcher has set that the target population for this research would be the Generation Y in Malaysia. Even the generation Y has been defined as born in between 1977 and 1994 by Horovitz (2002) and Sriviroj 2007, the study would survey specifically generation Y who are aged between 20 and 29 which focus on the college students, university students and young working adults. 3.3.2 Pilot Test for Questionnaire â€Å"Pilot test is a smaller version of a larger study that is conducted to prepare for that study to ensure that the ideas or methods behind a research idea are sound, as well as to â€Å"work out the kinks† in a study protocol before launching a larger study.† (http://ms.about.com/od/newsresearch/g/pilot_study.htm, no date). In this research, the researcher intends to conduct a pilot study containing 10 questionnaires to university students in Multimedia University Melaka in order to justify the content and reliability of the questionnaire. This is done as the researcher feels that the students in the University campus serve as a just representation of the intended target population. The feedback from the respondents will be corrected before distributing to the targeted respondent. 3.3.3 Sampling Design Method A sample of the population can be drawn from one of two ways, either in the form of probability sampling or non probability sampling. Sekaran (2003) described that â€Å"when elements in a population have a known chance of being chosen as subjects in the sample, we resort to probability sampling design†. There are several forms of probability sampling. The first is simple random sampling which also known as unrestricted sampling. In a simple random sample (SRS) of a given size, all such subsets of the frame are given an equal probability. Each element of the frame thus has an equal probability of selection. Simple random sampling is also known as unrestricted sampling. The other form is known as restricted or complex probability sampling. â€Å"The main difference between the two is that efficiency is improved in that more information can be obtained for a given sample size using some of the complex probability sampling procedures† (Sekaran, 2003). Example of this form of sampling is the stratified random sampling method where the population is divided into subgroups and subsequently sub samples. On the flipside, Sekaran (2003) stated that non probability sampling designs are those where â€Å"elements in the population do not have any probabilities attached to being chosen as sample subjects†. One popular mode in this kind on sampling is the convenience or accidental sampling method. It is one â€Å"that is simply available to the researcher by virtue of its accessibility† (Bryman and Bell, 2003). The selection of units from the population is based on easy availability and/or accessibility in convenience sampling. The researcher intended to proceed with the convenience sampling method based on two reasons. First of all, the data can be collected easily which is the main advantage and another advantage is that it is much cheaper to implement than probability sampling (Jankowicz, 2005). 3.3.4 Sample Size The question of how many people should be in ones sample depends on the form of sampling adopted. â€Å"Convenience sampling, sometimes called grab or opportunity sampling, is the method of choosing items arbitrarily and in an unstructured manner from the frame†. (www.wikipedia.com, no date). A total of 200 Generation Y would be surveyed in Malaysia. 3.3.5 Sampling Procedure The sampling procedure would start once the feedback from the pilot study and the questionnaires for the survey is finalized. The questionnaires would be by printed handouts of by the researcher to the general public who fall under the age range of 20 to 29 years of age. This would typically be done in the State of Melaka, Kuala Lumpur and Pulau Pinang. A total of 500 printed questionnaires would be given out in the process. 3.4 Data Collection method 3.4.1 Secondary Data Through this research, secondary data is collected from mainly journals especially in those area concerning consumer behavior and luxury goods, informational website, articles, and books. Previous researches from a variety of authors were found from databases that include Emerald, Google Scholar and others. These sources of data provided useful background information on the luxury goods market, as well as indicating investigations that had already been taken place. 3.4.2 Primary Data Sakaran (2003) stated â€Å"data gathered for research from the actual site of occurrence of events are called primary data†. The questionnaire will be used as the primary method to collect primary data on the factors that influence Generation Y on purchase of luxury goods. 3.5 Data Analysis There are 3 objectives in the usage of data analysis. â€Å"Getting a feel for the data, testing the goodness of the data and testing the hypotheses developed for the research† (Sekaran, 2003). The first objective of getting a feel for the data is to get an idea of how the respondents reacted to the questionnaires and how they are answered. The second objective of testing the goodness of the data is to test the reliability of the data gathered. Lastly, is to test the hypotheses of the research with various research tools. 3.5.1 Descriptive Analysis Descriptive analysis will be conducted to examine the background of the respondent and the pattern of their responses. Frequency analysis will be carried out to study the background of the respondents that contribute in this study. The mean, range, standard deviation and variance would also be calculated using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) to show the variability of the data and gauge the pattern of the questions answered. 3.5.2 Hypotheses Testing After the data is ready to be analyzed, the testing of the hypotheses would be the next logical step. There are many frequent hypothesis testing modules used by researchers to test their hypotheses. The researcher has decided to use the ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and Reliability Analysis for this research. 3.6 Chapter Summary In this study, the framework has been developed to meet the objectives of the study. Hypotheses have been developed from the framework and questionnaire has been designed to collect the primary data for the study. Next, the sampling design and methods to obtain data were considered and discussed for this study. The results of the primary data will be analyzed by using SPSS. Results of the analysis and interpretation of the results are presented in the next chapter.

Gun Control is Racial Discrimination Essay -- Gun Control Essays

Gun violence is one of the most serious problems in the United States. Each year in the U.S., more than 35,000 people are killed by guns, a death rate much higher than that in any other industrial nations. In 1997, approximately 70 percent of the murders in the United States were committed with guns. However, ironically, the United States also is the country that has the most gun control laws. Gun control laws generally focus on passing legislation—by local state, or national government—to restrict legal ownership of certain firearms. Seemingly, gun control laws may decrease criminals’ access to guns, but in fact the same laws also have their negative effects. Thus, the controversy over gun control is always heated. But my paper is not about whether guns should be controlled or not. From another angle, looking closely at those gun control laws and their enforcement, we can not only see the criminal problem in America, but also another important social problem in America—racial discrimination. The racial problem of gun control has raised attention of some American scholars in the U.S. For example, a black man, General Lancy, who is the founder of a little organization known as the National Black Sportsman’s Association, often called â€Å"the black gun lobby† said when asked his opinion of gun control: â€Å"Gun control is really race control. People who embrace gun control are really racists in nature. All gun laws have been enacted to control certain classes of people, mainly black people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Some white men have said almost the same thing. Investigative reporter Robert Sherrill concluded in his book The Saturday Night Special that the object of the Gun Control Act of 1968 was black control rather than gun control. Congress passed the act... ...ontrol certain classes of people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  References: 1. Sam B. Girgus, 1981, The American Self. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. 2. Michael Golay and Carl Rollyson, 1996, Where American Stands. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 3. Seymour W. Itzkoff, 1994, The Decline of Intelligence in America. London: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. 4. Don B. Kates, Jr., 1988, Restricting Handguns. Durham, N.C.: Duck University Press. 5. Jonathan Rauch, 1994, Demosclerosis: The Silent Killer of American Government. New York: Time Books. 6. James D. Wright, Peter H. Rossi, and Kathleen Daly, 1988, Under the Gun: Weapons, Crime, and Violence in America. Colorado: Sage Books. 7. Zhu Yongtao, 1991, Essentials of British and American Cultures. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. 8. http://www.handguncontrolinc.org/history.htm

Related Change :: essays research papers

I have chosen to link the text Saving Private Ryan with The Door by Miroslav Holub, and The Murder Of Ackroyd with Burnt Offerings by Flacco, from the stimulus booklet. I linked these texts as Saving Private Ryan is similar to that of The Door, because both dwell on the changing of worlds, perspective and self. Saving Private Ryan deals with the actual changing, the effects it causes and the regrets of change, Whereas The Door deals with resisting the change, the benefits of the change and the regrets of not changing. Saving Private Ryan presents the soldiers entering into the New World, arriving at Omaha beach, and the pains/obstacles of the change, the death of comrades and ultimately staying alive. Like said earlier in Part Two, the characters discuss their situation and regret ever coming to the war. The Door incorporates the idea of new and exciting things, with the line â€Å"Maybe outside there’s a †¦ or a magic garden†, and regret for not doing so, as showed in the line â€Å"even if there’s only the hollow wind †¦ at least there will be a draft†. I linked the other two texts, The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd and Burnt Offerings, because they both deal with the consequences of changes in circumstances. In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd the circumstances change and James Sheppard has to change in order to keep the circumstances as same as possible, whereas in Burnt Offerings the activist has to change the circumstances so as to stay the same as possible, i.e. in one piece. In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Sheppard tries to keep his life the same as before Mrs. Ferrars commits suicide. But to do so he has to change himself, he has to become a killer and abuse the trust of all those around him, and ends up becoming someone completely different in trying to remain the same. To a lesser extent, you can see how in Burnt Offerings the activist tries to do the exact opposite, he tries to change the circumstances of the trees in the forest and ends up with some very physical changes. My understanding of the concept of â€Å"change† has been altered, or shaped, by the reading of my chosen texts. The original idea I had of â€Å"change† was physical and personal/environmental change. I used to think that changes could only be what is written or put obviously forward by the text, the idea of changing circumstances or values having any impact on the â€Å"change† of a text was beyond me.

Why Does Being A Philosopher Help In Philosophical Practice? :: Philosophers Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Why Does Being A Philosopher Help In Philosophical Practice? I think of personal consulting and much of what others call therapy as like dancing with another person. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow and sometimes the hardest part to learn is how to stay out of your partners way. You must understand your partners way of moving very well indeed if you are to follow it, move with it and know what will embellish and accentuate and what will interrupt. The 'dance' of personal consulting requires the kind of intellectual ability we should expect a well trained philosopher to have even if it also calls for traits and skills philosophers are not likely to have. Philosophers are specialists in understanding people who are notoriously hard to understand. What philosophers do is listen to and think about other philosophers and their job is to pit their minds against the minds of some of the greatest intellects our civilisation has known, 'understand which is not the same as memorising', what those thinkers did say, would say, avoided saying, assumed or presupposed; who influenced them and how; which ideas connect with which; and how it all fits together. They must be able to do this so well that they can take the part of any major philosopher, know that philosopher so well that they can become him or her 'from the inside'. All academic disciplines breed a degree of self criticism that goes with a sense of never knowing as much as one ought to know, but this is especially true of philosophy which has historically been one of the most self critical and introspective of disciplines. Indeed the popular image of not being good for much owes a great deal to philosophers criticisms of themselves from Socrates on, and perhaps the world at large would not have had enough imagination to change the discipline with being useless if the philosophers had not themselves intimated as much. It is no wonder that philosophers are insecure given the stature of the minds against which they must match wits and given the complexity of the problems with which they deal. Granted philosophers tend to be 'out of touch' with their feelings — a drawback in a consultant— which would be shared by representatives of other disciplines such as psychiatry, psychology or medicine, but they are well used to keeping themselves in focus, to bringing a question back to 'what do 1 make out of all this?

Numeric Investors

Diversey, founded in 1923, in Chicago, currently sales in 160 countries. It started its operations in India during the year 1998 as one of the major providers of cleaning, sanitation and hygiene products and solutions to institutional customers across the industries in India market. It established itself as pioneer in providing the cleaning, sanitation and hygiene needs of the large government and private institutional clients from different industries in India. The clientele spread across various industry segments like hotels, airports, metro, railways, hospitals, shopping malls, offices of the MNCs companies etc. Challenges in Indian Industry:- The cleaning industry in India is majorly unorganized sector accounting for almost 70% of the market. The perception of cleaning as a daily chore rather than a science followed by the lack of awareness on the criticality and sustainable benefits of hygiene and cleaning resulted in lot of resistance and reluctance on the part of the institutional customers, in accepting the need to shift from labor-oriented cleaning process to technology-oriented cleaning products and services. Diversey wanted to change this mind-set in India market. It gained more than 30% of the market share in the organized cleaning market segment by 2012. It was the only company in India, which was in the business of providing end-to-end cleaning product and services solutions to the customers and it had a nearest global competitor in Ecolab, who also entered the India market directly in 2008. In the cleaning equipment segment, Diversey competed with 4-5 key namely Roots Multiclean, Eureka Forbes, Diversey, Dulevo and Karcher. However, unlike Diversey, most of these equipment players focused only on offering the cleaning equipment products. Point of differentiation – A total solution provider, which combined the cleaning, sanitation and hygiene product offering with consulting services to improve operational efficiency for its customers. – Offering cleaning products, which did not involve any banned chemicals or harmful substances. -Offering the best quality product to its customers and provided supplementary education and awareness on need based usage of the same Segmentation 1. According to type of industry:- building service contractors, hospitality & healthcare, retail & food service and food & beverage 2. According to size of customer:- it divided its customer according to the size within any industry as a. International large accounts as customer having presence in multiple countries b. Large domestic local accounts as five star hotels, large corporate hospitals, large Indian corporates c. Mid-size units as hotels, hospitals and offices; and d. Smaller units as roadside eateries, offices, shops Goal A sales turnover of INR 10,000 million by 2015. Problem Identification There are primarily five main issues that have been identified. 1. How to benchmark the products and services against the local competition, especially against the low-cost and low-quality local players, who were offering low-quality but cheaper products for cleaning purpose. 2. How to change the social mindset of majority of the Indian customers, who believed that cleaning and hygiene was a day-to-day chore, which did not require anything else other than any simple cleaning agent. 3. How to convey the importance of applying the right type and composition of chemical solution for each of the specific need, i. e. he one-size-fits-all mindset of the Indian customers. 4. How to create a distribution channel, which could change the existing relationship and convert ‘Dhobis’ to Diversey. 5. How to manage the inventory of slow moving but time critical spare parts for the cleaning equipments Strategic options To capture market share in organized sector 1. Communicate the eventual low cost of use of Diversey products in the long run to by linking it to the costs reduced due to reduced maintenance costs. 2. Focus on attracting the attention of customers of hospitality, edical-care, airlines etc on the health aspect through advertisements and print ads in magazines served in hotels, airlines etc. which is achieved far better by using diversey products. This in turn would lead to increased demand of diversey products as the customers would be more health-conscious and force the above industries to cater to their demand which would be fulfilled by diversey’s products. 3. Press on the fact that diversey gives personalized end to end serv ice and after sales service according to the needs of the clients. Communicate that diversey uses world class products which are highly safe and effective. Hence it increases the life of the surface on which the product is used and does not affect the health of the applicant. To capture market in unorganized sector 1. It’s important to change the mindset of people to shift from water-based cleaning to chemical-based cleaning which could be achieved by giving free demonstrations at their homes by hiring trained cleaning gangs. 2. Increase brand awareness through advertisements which focus on the health and germ protection advantage by the use of diversey products over the use of cleaning by water. And specially focus on children protection from germs which would drive families spending into diversey products. 3. Create awareness through social media through videos and blogs highlighting the superiority of diversey products over pochas and involve young minds into it who will be the future prospective buyers. 4. Portray diversey products as safe which can be used by all members of the family, reduces time to clean and gives effective results. . Use R&D to come up with a multi-purpose product which could satisfy one-fits-all mindset of the people. Diversification 1. Provide cleaning service to clients by hiring cleaning gangs or recruiting and training people as training gangs on daily or weekly or monthly basis as per client’s requirements. 2. Enter into business of cleaning houses by launching in tier 1 and tier 2 cities where people could use diversey products to clean their clothes which could bring in customers by eliminating dhobis and in turn promote diversey products. 3. Foray nto the business of providing waste handling and storage equipments as this business would supplement their core business. Inventory reduction 1. Standardization of products and use of common parts to make different products would reduce inventories 2. Identification of parts of products and not stocking those which could be manufactured quickly after the demand of the product. 3. Tracking of demand of each product from each region over time should be done which would give a fairly rough estimate of the inventories to be kept for that product.