Quality Management principals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quality Management principals - Essay Example The backbone of an organization is its clients or customers because of the mutual independence and this forces the organization to strive to meet and exceed the customer expectations. Customers will stick to an organization that upgrade its services and develops new products that are genuine. A leader should always ensure that there is unity and purpose for the internal environment of the organization that he or she guides. Leaders must be people whose intelligence quotient is very steady and high in order to make wise decisions. This means that a leader should clear visualize the mission and vision of the organization in the future (Robbins & Coulter, 2012). Leaders should develop a participative environment through the formation of partnerships. Other important principles that a leader should consider are encouraging innovation, change and operating in a secure environment. Individuals at all points are the core of the firm and their proper participation makes their ideas to be an important factor for the firm’s benefits. Workers will also perform perfectly in their areas of specialization when the appropriate work tools are available. Goals set for the employees must be realistic and empowerment of the various cultures of employees should be empowered and this will facilitate the idea of group work (Robbins & Coulter, 2012). Processes in an organization should satisfy customer needs. If they don’t then they are not the required processes. Processes are always flowing and focus on creating the appropriate methods for converting products into finished goods and services. Effectiveness and efficiency of an organization is done through identifying, understanding, and managing a system of interrelated process to a given objective. Since a system is identifying all interrelated processes and their interdependence then they should be properly managed. There are three factors to consider in order for

Discussion Board Week 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Board Week 3 - Essay Example On the other hand Aristotle has always appeared to me as a proponent of a closed society (Keuth pg, 22). His work is always aimed at maintaining the social order. His philosophy is actually state centered and not people centered. He tells the society to behave in a way that is appropriate for the state. The doctrine of mean is also just an extension of this aim of Aristotle. It really doesn’t do any good for the society except for the fact that it helps to make the members of the society docile. The idea behind this doctrine is that people should try to behave in a manner that is not extreme in nature. For example according to this doctrine, one should not be rash nor he should be coward, but one should be somewhere in the middle of these two extremes thus one should be courageous. This is just an attempt to preserve the status quo of the society and avoid an upheaval of the public. Because of the greatness of benefit Utilitarianism provides to humanity, the principle of Mill is the best moral philosophy. The doctrine of Aristotle is not only state driven but also calls for a submissive and a closed society. That is the reason of its

Design a simple apnea detection system

Design a simple apnea detection system CHAPTER 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION AIM The aim of the project is to design a simple apnea detecting system with an alarm and to classify the type of apnea identified using LabVIEW. 1.1.1 Normal Respiratory Event: Respiration is the phenomenon of supplying oxygen to the tissues and removing the carbon dioxide from the tissues. External respiration is the process of exchange of gases between the lungs and atmosphere. Internal respiration is the process of gas exchange in the tissues. The balance between the absorption and excretion of these gases in blood are maintained as breathing activity. During inspiration the level of blood in oxygen increases and it decreases during exhalation. Chemoreceptors are the sensory receptors in the blood stream that senses the level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in blood ,and sends signals to the brain. Then the brain allows the opening of larynx and vocal cords, followed by the expansion of ribcage and diaphragm muscles. The chest cavity enlarges to allow the inflow of oxygen into the lungs thus resulting in inhalation process. Similarly the chest cavity occludes during the process of exhalation and expels the carbon dioxide from lungs. More of oxygen inflow re sults in maximum tidal volume and a normal respiratory flow. Fig 1.1 shows the normal respiratory signal with respiration rate of 12 breaths per minute. 1.1.2 Applications Sleep analysis Polygraphy Pulmonary function Stress test Sports Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) 1.1.3 Respiration Signal Specifications Amplitude 2-200mV Frequency waveform-0 150Hz Repetition frequency- 20 cycles per minute (adults) 100 cycles per minute (neonates) 1.1.4 Respiratory Measurements Respiration rate Tidal volume Apneas Obstructive apnea Central apnea Hypopnea Tachypnea Bradypnea Apnea index Also several correlations between EEG, REM sleep, apneas, quiet sleep, non-quiet sleep and de-saturations. 1.2 APNEA AND ITS TYPES Apnea is the cessation of breathing during sleep which may precede the arrest of the heart and circulation in several clinical situations such as head injury, drug overdose, anesthetic complications and obstructive respiratory diseases. Apnea may also occur in premature babies during the first weeks of life because of their immature nervous system. If apnea persists for a prolonged period, brain function can be severely damaged. Therefore, patients suffering from apnea require close and constant observation of their respiratory activity. Apnea monitors are particularly useful for monitoring the respiratory activity of premature infants. There are three types of sleep apnea. They are Obstructive apnea Central sleep apnea Mixed or complex sleep apnea 1.2.1 Obstructive Sleep Apnea Individuals with obesity due to low muscle tone and soft tissue around the airway give rise to a narrowed airway ,so they are at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea. The elderly people are more likely to suffer from OSA than young people because of their food habits, smoking and alcoholic life style. Men are more typical sleep apnea sufferers when compared to women and children.The risk of OSA rises with increasing body weight, age, high cholesterol, sinus problems, and in addition, patients with diabetes have up to three times the risk of having OSA compared to others. Loudsnoring, restless sleep, and sleepiness during the daytime are some of the common symptoms of OSA. Diagnostic tests include homeoximetryorpolysomnographyin a sleep clinic. Treatment includes CPAP apparatus that gives continuous positive airway pressure in order to expand their narrowed nasal pathway 1.2.2 Central Sleep Apnea When the brains respiratory control centers are imbalanced during sleep, it results in pure central sleep apnea ,also called as Cheyne-Stokes respiration. In this type of apnea the brain pauses to trigger the respiratory activity for about 30 seconds and triggers when it realizes that the patient suffocates for oxygen. The sleeper do not breathe for a certain period, during which there are no chest movements and no effort by the patient. Brain does not react immediately with a neurological feedback to make the respiratory rate even. There is a swing between apnea and hyperpnea in order to compensate the need for oxygen. After an apnea episode the hypoxia condition is reduced by breathing faster and absorbing more oxygen. Central sleep apnea may be due to hypertension, excess stress,and neuronal damage.In most of the cases CSA is treated with medications while some need surgery. Fig.1.3 shows Central Sleep Apnea. 1.2.3 Mixed Sleep Apnea Mixed sleep apnea is a combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea . It is also called as complex sleep apnea.When obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is severe and longstanding, some episodes of central apnea develop during the course of sleep. Though the exact mechanism of the loss of central respiratory drive during sleep in OSA is unknown it is most commonly related to acid-base and CO2feedback malfunctions originating fromheart failure. Complex sleep apnea has been described by researchers as a different dimension of sleep apnea. Patients with complex sleep apnea when treated with positive airway pressure for OSA was observed to exhibit persistent central sleep apnea. In sleep-disordered breathing there is a collection of diseases and symptoms relating to body mass, cardiovascular, respiratory, and occasionally, neurological dysfunction that have a synergistic effect. 1.2.4 Hypopnea Hypopnea refers to a transient reduction of airflow (often while asleep) that lasts for at least 10 seconds, shallow breathing, or an abnormally low respiratory rate. Breathing that is shallower or slower than normal. Hypopnea is distinct from apnea in which there is no breathing. Hypopnea comes from the Greek roots hypo- (meaning low, under, beneath, down, below normal) and pnoe (meaning breathing). Hypopnea is less severe than apnea (which is a more complete loss of airflow). It may likewise result in a decreased amount of air movement into the lungs and can cause oxygen levels in the blood to drop. It more commonly is due to partial obstruction of the upper airway 1.2.5 Tachypnea Tachypnea means elevated respiratory rate. In some situations, this might be usual, for example when climbing a flight of stairs. In disease it is indicative of problems with oxygenation. It occurs when the patient is breathing really hard to compensate for the higher than usual PCO2. When the patient is tachypneic it is important to sit him up in bed. In tachypnea the tidal volume is decreased, the minute volume may be the same because the respiratory rate is increased. Decreased tidal volume will have bad consequences for the patient because a lot of energy is being spent on moving dead air space which does not help oxygenate the interior of lungs where gas exchange takes place. 1.2.6 Bradypnea This is a slow respiratory rate which is seen in the post anesthetic or sedated patient. Bradypnea is also seen in patients who have taken overdoses of barbiturates and/or hypnotics. Bradypnea with a respiratory rate of more than ten breaths may correct itself as the patient recovers from the anaesthetic gases. Sometimes, in bradypnea, the patient compensates by increasing the tidal volume thereby the blood gases and oxygen saturation remain stable.Fig 1.6 shows bradypnea with respiratory rate 8b/min. 1.3 IMPEDANCE PNEUMOGRAPHY Impedance pneumography is another practical method to monitor the breathing of the patient. The technique also enables the simultaneous monitoring of the heart rate and respiration. This has certain inherent disadvantages. One is that the placement of the electrodes is very critical and other is cardiovascular artifact. This results from the detection of movement between the electrodes because of the cardiovascular system, rather than due to respiration. Apnea monitors need to be designed to reject this artifact. The principle of impedance pneumography is to pass a current through the chest between two electrodes, and from the resultant voltage to determine the changes in chest impedance which occur during respiration. It has been proposed that the impedance change occurring in respiration is directly proportional to the change in volume of air contained in the thorax, and therefore reflects tidal volume. The technique works by applying a current of approximately 10 microamperes to 1milliamperes with a frequency of 30-100 kHz to the thorax. This frequency is high enough to avoid stimulation of tissues, electrode polarization and excessively high skin impedance. The electrodes are always maintained with negligible potential difference which makes it possible to measure the impedance of a central core of thoracic tissue.Thus these impedance changes are obtained as thoracic changes that gives details about respiration.Fig 1.7 shows the block diagram Of impedance pneumography technique. 1.4 LABVIEW AND ITS APPLICATIONS LabVIEW Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench.LabVIEW is a graphical programming environment used by millions of engineers and scientists to develop sophisticated measurement, test, and control systems using intuitive graphical icons and wires that resemble a flowchart. Biomedical Application: Multisim Simulation with anECGAmplifier Noninvasive Blood Pressure (NIBP) Analyzer Analog ECGGenerator Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Analyzer ECG Feature Extractor Online Biosignal Noise Reduction Data Logger Biosignal Logger OBJECTIVES To collect the respiratory database To study the apnea characteristics To detect and classify apnea To achieve maximum accuracy To design a respiratory signal simulation system CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE SURVEY 2.1 RESPIRATION DATA ACQUISITION, CONVERSION AND DISPLAY SYSTEM 2.1.1 Methodology Respiration data is acquired and converted into a series of pulses, the frequency of which is related to the respiration rate of the data measured . The output pulses switch a timing device on and â€Å"off †, and the average time of a respiration cycle is then converted and displayed as respiration rate. The timing device includes a means for delaying a first output pulses before beginning the sampling period and registering a count of clock pulses for a specified number which represents the time period of a second specified number of the output pulses occurring subsequently to the first specified number of output pulses. 2.1.2 Conclusion This invention relates to an acquisition unit for acquiring data relating to one or more physiological variables from a patient. Displaying the data digitally and, upon operator approval, recording the data in an internal memory. Further, the invention relates to a data storage system responsive to data stored in an acquisition unit for a display presentation. 2.2 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING A RESPIRATIONPARAMETER IN A MEDICAL DEVICE Shrivastav, Maneesh, Cho, Yong K., Bennett, Tommy D., Erickson, Mark K., Greenhut, Saul E., Kleckner, Karen J., Sperling, Charles P., Corey, Robert A. 2.2.1 Methodology A pressure sensor senses pressure signals, and a signal processor, coupled to the pressure sensor, receives the sensed pressure signaland generates corresponding sample points. A microprocessor continuously adjusts a breath detection threshold in response to the generated sample points to generate a current adjusted breath detection threshold. Then it compares a current generated sample point to the current adjusted breath detection threshold, suspends the continuous adjusting of the breath detection threshold. Then the microcontroller sets the breath detection threshold equal to the most current adjusted breath detection threshold generated prior to the suspending, and determines the respirationparameter in response to a comparing of a next generated sample point to the set breath detection threshold. 2.2.2 Conclusion This invention relates to a method of acquisition of respiratory signal using pressure sensor and displays that respiration parameter using a microcontroller. 2.3 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING RESPIRATION Rymut, Russell, Slotty, Eric, Kini, Narendra 2.3.1 Methodology The apparatus includes a piezoelectric film which converts acoustical waves generated by the patients respiration activity into electrical signal output. The piezoelectric film sensor placed in the subject can be used to monitor the respiration of a patient by correlating the sound generated in the patients airway with respiratory activity. Further, the data generated by the sensor may be further analyzed by a patient monitor to diagnose respiratory conditions and display it. 2.3.2 Conclusion This invention relates to a method and apparatus for monitoring and quantitatively measuring the respiration of a patient , particularly, using a flexible piezoelectric film sensor. 2.4 APNEA MONITOR Guixian Lu 2.4.1 Methodology 1. A conductive rubber string is used to measure the chest volume changes. It is not suitable for OSA. In that case a differential gas flow sensor is used. The output of the sensors is amplified and then fed to a re-shaper. 3.The re-shaper re-shapes the signal and generates pulses to trigger the counter. 4.The counter triggers the alarm circuit if the count exceeds a predetermined threshold. 2.4.2 Conclusion For adults one rubber string is enough. But for infants, the frequency of the body movement is measured. So an additional rubber string with motion detector is needed. The gas flow sensor is reliable and sensitive. A buzzer is used to give alarm. 2.5 DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A PROGRAMMABLE APNEA MONITORING SYSTEM Mustafa ÇavuÅŸoÄŸlu, Osman EroÄŸul , Ziya Telatar 2.5.1 Methodology Respiratory signal is perceived by a thermal sensor. The signal is amplified and then fed to the microcontroller. The output of microcontroller is transferred to the computer and the relation between ECG and the signal is evaluated. An alarm system is also provided to indicate apnea 2.5.2 Conclusion The system is capable of detecting apnea, warns during the apnea and transfers the respiration signals to the computer. Finally,categorization of the apnea intervals is done to generate a real-time histogram of their frequency and duration which makes possible to investigate the relations between the EEG, ECG or other physiological signals and the respiratory patterns. 2.6 APNEA ALARM SYSTEMS 2.6.1 Methodology A crib or bed with piezo electric or strain gauge transducer attached to each leg is used to acquire the movement of infants. Whenever the infant is breathing there is a variation in the force distibution in the foam mat, so the vertical force applied on the frame of the crib also varies,which is captured by the sensors attached to the leg of the crib. These sensors convert the force into an electrical output signal and gives it to a summing amplifier to provide a summed output signal from all four legs. The summed output is given to a microcontroller where it is compared with the patients physical parameters to give an alarm if there is apnea detected using a buzzer or flashing light. 2.6.2 Conclusion This apparatus helps to detect apnea in infants who can be monitored even at home instead of hospitals.This alarm system is more comfortable to babies as it does not attach any sensor to infant s body.Mainly used to detect death due to apnea (‘crib death or ‘cot death ) very common in premature infants. 2.7 APNEA MONITOR DATA SYSTEM 2.7.1 Methodology An apnea monitoring system along with a portable data storage cartridge is presented. Respiration is monitored through the electrodes located on the thoracic cavity of the patient. Detected events are compared with respiration rates and when it is exceeded the signal is transmitted to audio and visual alarms indicating apnea. In addition to that a poratable data storage cartridge is provided which has enough memory to store all monitored events and waveforms that can be transferred to computer. 2.7.2 Conclusion This invention not only helps to monitor also contains a portable cartridge,that can be easily carried or mailed,which makes it time efficient and cost efficient method to store data.Another advantage is that the cartridge is replaceable,which provides an unlimited amount of memory space that helps in transfer of data. 2.8 A MODEL ANALYSIS OF ARTERIAL OXYGEN DESATURATION DURING APNEA IN PRETERM INFANTS Scott A. Sands, Bradley A. Edwards, Vanessa J. Kelly, Malcolm R. Davidson, Malcolm H. Wilkinson, Philip J. Berge 2.8.1 Methodology Independent influence of clinically relevant cardiorespiratory fators on the desaturation of arterial oxygen during apnea is determined using a two-compartmental lung-body mathematical model which incorporated realistic oxygen stores and gas exchange dynamic Analytic solutions were derived for arterial oxygen desaturation to quantify the importance of cardiorespiratory factors on arterial oxygen desaturation such as cardiac output, lung volume, metabolic oxygen consumption, pre-apneic ventilation, blood oxygen affinity, hemoglobin content and blood volume The model analysis reveals that lung volume, hemoglobin content, cardiac output, pre-apneic ventilation exerts a unique effect on arterial oxygen desaturation throughout the time-course of desaturation and metabolic oxygen consumption is uniformly influential throughout the process. Infants with elvated metabolic needs and low lung volume and those with anemia, cardiac dysfunction or hypovolemia which are common in prematurity are at heightened risk of rapid and profound arterial desaturation during apnea. 2.8.2 Conclusion A mathematical framework for quantifying the relative importance of key cardiorespiratory factors on the rate of arterial oxygen desaturation during apnea with particular relevance to preterm infants is provided. Each of the factors examined has a signature influence on the trajectory of desaturation, providing quantitativeinsight into the causes of rapidlydeveloping hypoxemia during apnea have been demonstrated. 2.9 OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA AS A RISK FACTOR FOR STROKE AND DEATH H. Klar Yaggi, M.D., M.P.H., John Concato, M.D., M.P.H., Walter N. Kernan, M.D., Judith H. Lichtman, Ph.D., M.P.H., Lawrence M. Brass, M.D., and Vahid Mohsenin, M.D. 2.9.1 Methodology 1.In this study patients underwent polysomnography and subsequent events like stroke and death are verified. 2.The diagnosis was based on apnea-hypopnea index of the patients.Patients with apnea-hypopnea index of less than 5 served as a comparison group. 3.Proportional hazards analysis was used to determine the independent effect of OSA syndrome on the outcome of stroke or death from any cause. 4.The mean apnea-hypopnea index for the patient with syndrome is 35 while the same for patients in the comparison group is 2. 5.After adjustment for age,sex, diabetes mellitus, smoking status, alcohol consumption status, body-mass index, hypertension, the OSA syndrome retained a statistically significant association with stroke or death. 2.9.2 Conclusion The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome significantly and severely increases the chance for stroke or death from any cause. The increase for the risk of stroke or death due to OSA syndrome is independent of the other risk factors,including hypertension. 2.10 AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE FOR THE TREATMENT OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA-HYPOPNEA SYNDROME Helen L. A. Weatherly, Susan C. Griffin, Catriona Mc Daid, Kate H. Durà ©e, Robert J. O. Davies, John R. Stradling, Marie E. Westwood and Mark J. Sculpher. 2.10.1 Methodology This study reports on the cost-effectiveness of the continuous airway-pressure(CPAP) compared with the dental devices and lifestyle advice to the patient. The Markov model compared the interventions over the patients life expectancy. The primary measure for cost-effectiveness was the incremental cost per quality adjusted life-year(QALY) gained for every patient. On further analysis, CPAP was associated with higher costs and QALYs compared with dental devices and lifestyle advice. The result of analysis was that the probability that CPAP is more cost-effective than dental devices or lifestyle advice at a threshold value of  £20,000 per QALY was 0.78 for men and 0.80 for women. 2.10.2 Conclusion This model suggests that CPAP is cost-effective compared with dental devices and also the lifestyle advice for adults with moderate or severe symptomatic Obstructive Sleep Apnea -Hypopnea Syndrome are at the cost-effectiveness thresholds used by NICE. This finding is reflected in the NICE guidance. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 EXISTING METHODS Several contactless methods are available for monitoring the respiration of infants. The most successful apnea monitors to-date been mattress monitors. These instruments rely for their operation on the fact that the process of breathing redistributes an infants weight and this is detected by some form of a pressure sensitive pad or mattress on which infant is nursed. The mattress, in its simplest form, is a multi-compartment air bed, and in this case the weight redistribution forces air to flow from one compartment to another. The air flow is detected by the cooling effect it produces on a heated thermistor bead. Though the technique is simple, the main disadvantage with the air mattress is the short-term sensitivity variation and the double peaking effect when inspiration or expiration produces separate cooling of the thermistor. Alternatively, a capacitance type pressure sensor in the form of a thin square pad is usually placed under or slightly above the infants head. Respiratory movements produce regular pressure changes on the pad and these alter the capacitance between the electrode plates incorporated in the pad. The capacitance change is measured by applying a 200 kHz signal across the electrodes and by detecting the current flow with a phase-sensitive amplifier. The disadvantage of this method is that the system is much too sensitive to people moving nearby and thus an electrically screened incubator is essential for the infant. 3.1.1 METHOD ADOPTED This project is based on impedance pneumography method. Impedance pneumography is one of the practical methods to monitor the breathing of the patient. The technique also enables the simultaneous monitoring of the heart rate and respiration. This has certain inherent disadvantages. One is that the placement of the electrodes is very critical and other is cardiovascular artifact. This results from the detection of movement between the electrodes because of the cardiovascular system, rather than due to respiration. Apnea monitors need to be designed to reject this artifact. So in this project the respiratory signal is considered to be acquired by using respiratory sensor. As there is no availability of sensor, respiratory signal is simulated using our own designed impedance pneumography technique based circuit. Then this signal is given to microcontroller where apnea is detected and it then triggers an alarm. The classification of apnea is also done using LabVIEW. In future respiratory sensor will be designed and the respiratory signal will be acquired. Then this signal can be given to the microcontroller directly. 3.2 RESPIRATORY SIGNAL SIMULATION The respiratory signal simulation circuit consists of an excitation source and a constant current source circuit which gives a high frequency, low voltage and constant current signal. This constant current will be applied to the thorax of the subject. But due to the ethical issues the current is applied on the resistance circuit which acts as the thorax impedance. This circuit in turn gives a voltage signal. This voltage signal will be amplified by an instrumentation amplifier. The amplified signal will be fed to the LabVIEW for classification of normal and apnea signal and also types of apnea. Figure 3.2.1 shows the block diagram to simulate respiratory signal and the hardware design of the circuit 3.2.1 EXCITATION SOURCE The wien bridge oscillator which produces 50kHz and 8 V peak to peak signal is used as the excitation signal. The operational amplifier used in the circuit is LF351. The Voltage gain of the amplifier must be at least 3. The input resistance of the amplifier must be high compared toRso that theRCnetwork is not overloaded and alter the required conditions.The output resistance of the amplifier must be low so that the effect of external loading is minimized. Some method of stabilizing the amplitude of the oscillations must be provided because if the voltage gain of the amplifier is too small the desired oscillation will decay and if it is too large the waveform becomes distorted 3.2.2 CONSTANT CURRENT SOURCE The constant source circuit is used to generate a 4mA constant current to be applied on the resistance circuit. CL100 and CK100 transistors are used in this circuit and these are npn and pnp paired transistors. The base emitter on voltage of these transistors is 0.9V. The collector current can be found by using the formula, Ic= (Vcc-Vbe)/Rc Where Vcc-Supply voltage Rc-Collector Resistance Vbe-Base emitter on voltage 3.2.3 PHANTOM MODEL The model consists of four resistors of 500 ohms which mimics the thoracic resistance. 3.3 DATA COLLECTION To know about characteristics of normal respiration and apnea their corresponding signals were essential. So 40 respiration data sets with 100 sample values in each data set were collected from PHYSIONET -PHYSIOBANK ATM. Among these 20 were normal data sets obtained from SLEEP HEART HEALTH STUDY POLYSOMNOGRAPHY DATABASE (SHHPSGDB) while the other 20 were apnea data sets obtained from UCD SLEEP APNEA DATABASE (UCDDB). In Apnea data sets 10 belonged to Central Sleep Apnea and remaining 10 to Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Each Data set contained 100 samples whose units are volts(V).They were recorded for 100seconds.So on plotting each data we get time in X-axis and volts in Y axis. 3.4 CLASSIFICATION OF APNEA USING RESPIRATION RATE Input data which contains 60 samples each. Normalizing of the signal by squaring the signal. Extraction of maximum peak for every 5 samples.Display of respiratory cycles. If the peak value is greater than 6V it will be counted as normal respiratory cycle. If the count is between 10 and 20 the signal will be having normal respiratory rate. If the count is less than 10 the signal will be classified as bradypnea. If the count is greater than 20 the signal will be classified as tachypnea As the parameter of respiratory rate alone is not enough for classifying the types of apnea the statistical parameters are calculated and then signals are classified using LabVIEW. FLOWCHART 3.5 CLASSIFICATION OF APNEA USING STATISTICAL PARAMETERS The signal data was imported from a spread sheet into labview using READ FROM SPREADSHEET block in labview. Then signal was plotted as a graph using WAVEFORM CHART block. The data cannot be manipulated directly so the transpose of the data is taken to find the statistical parameters using TRANSPOSE ARRAY block. Now using the STATISTICS block the signals various parameters like arithmetic mean, median, mode, maximum peak, minimum peak, range, standard deviation variance, and rms value are found and recorded. Considering the range and mean of the signal it can be classified as its respective type. Give the upper and (or) lower limit for range and mean. Now using AND operator the signal is classified when its condition are satisfied. When the signal s range is greater than 7 and its mean is less than 0.1 it is normal. When the signal s range is lesser than 6 and its mean is greater than 0.21 it is abnormal. When the signal s range lies below 3.0 it is obstructive. When the signal s rang e lies between 3.1 and 6.99 it is central. FLOWCHART CHAPTER 4 4.1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1.1 Hardware Results Output from the excitation source (wein bridge oscillator) was checked in MULTISIM and then implemented using hardware. On applying the constant current to a resistance network that imitates human thoracic impedance , the current varied to a greater extent because of loading effect. The same problem will occur even when the patient is connected to the high frequency, low voltage, constant current module. Also, due to ethical issues the constant current generated cannot be given to the patient directly. So monitoring of real time data could not be done using the hardware design. Hence ,the idea of respiration signal simulation was dropped and offline data were collected from respiration databases for further classification. 4.1.2 Normal and Apnea Data To know about characteristics of normal respiration and apnea their corresponding signals were essential. So 40 respiration data sets with 100 sample values in each data set were collected from PHYSIONET -PHYSIOBANK ATM. Among these 20 were normal data sets obtained from SLEEP HEART HEALTH STUDY POLYSOMNOGRAPHY DATABASE (SHHPSGDB) while the other 20 were apnea data sets obtained from UCD SLEEP APNEA DATABASE(UCDDB).The Resulting plot for each type of respiration signal is plotted below. The following figure shows the normal respiration data plotted for 100 samples with time in x-axis and amplitude in y-axis with a maximum peak to peak voltage of 8V and 24 respiration cycles for 100seconds. The following figure 4.4 shows Ce

Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream Essay -- essays research papers fc

Ben and Jerry’s Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and the amazing success the company has experience over the years could be loosely summed up as a story that began with two friends coming together with a vision to create a company that did not adhere to the traditional corporate rules of running a business. They both had certain ideals and a socially and economic responsible opinion on how a capitalist business should be run. There are a lot of similarities in the way this company is run and operated when compared to South West Airlines. They are of course offering two different things to there customers, South West providing a service where Ben and Jerry’s are providing a product but the way that they go about there daily business in the spirit of treating people a certain way, and setting out to complete a different kind of vision then say a more traditional company would is very similar. Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen where both born in New York in 1951. On Merrick, Long Island Jerry and Ben first met one another in junior high school. Jerry graduated from high school with a national merit scholarship and enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio to study pre-med. While studying there Jerry got his first experience working in the ice cream industry when he hired by the his schools cafeteria as an ice cream scooper. After graduating from college Jerry applied to medical school but did not accepted. He worked as a lab technician back in New York where he moved in with Jerry in a small apartment on East 10th St. In 1976 Ben and Jerry relocated to Saratoga Springs, New York. Where they both decided to pursue their dream of starting a food business together. They decided to go with ice cream and began researching the industry. They both enrolled in a five dollar correspondence course in ice cream making at Penn State and soon after they set up their first Ben & Jerryâ€℠¢s ice cream parlor in Burlington Vermont.(1) Like Ben and Jerry’s South West to began with two friends coming together with a vision. Rollin King and herb Kellher where talking one evening complaining about the high fares for short airline commutes between Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston, and Rollin King said to Herb "let’s start an airline." However it was not that easy for South West Airlines to get off the ground. They had many legal battles from the major airlines companies at the time to ... ... a dynasty on this planet has yet to live forever. There is documentation of empires and governments that have fallen, and the reason behind them failing is always, for the most part, the will of the people in action. Corporations have established themselves as the corner stones of our modern society that we live in today. New ways of thinking are the best approach to avoid making mistakes that have been made in the past. Ben and Jerry’s have been known for there unprecedented rate of giving to charitable organizations in the corporate world, a full 7.5% of its pretax profits(4) as compared to the average American corporation of one percent.(2) Works Cited (1) www.benandjerrys.com (2) Article; Joel Makower Business For Social Responsibility, Beyond the bottom Line.(1994) http://www.findarticles.com/ (3) Daniel Kadlec, The New World of Corporate Giving, (May 5, 1997) www.time.com/time/magazine/1997/dom/970505/business.the_new_world.html (4) The Ben & Jerry's Foundation, Foundation Guidelines, www.benjerry.com/foundation/index.html (5) Murray Raphel, What's the Scoop on Ben & Jerry, DIRECT MARKETING MAGAZINE (1994) http://www.findarticles.com/

Leadership in organizations Essay

Leadership is a term with a variety of definitions depending on the context that it’s been defined. One common definition of leadership is â€Å"the behavior of an individual directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal.† The following paragraphs would elaborate on one major approach of studying leadership, its strengths and weakness, and an example in which it was used in an organization. (Yukl, 2010) Participative Leadership style Participative Leadership is the most common leadership style in business settings such as hospitality. Participative Leadership â€Å"involves all members of a team in identifying essential goals and developing procedures or strategies to reach those goals.† It is also known as democratic leadership. In which the leaders often provide guidance to the group. There is active involvement on the part of everyone on the team. It also expands the range of possibilities for the team. (Yukl, 2010) Strengths of Participative Leadership Some advantages of participative leadership involve acceptance, morale, creativity and retention. Participative leadership allows employees to readily accept policies because they were involved the policy change, development one way, or the other. Morale of employees remains high because they feel that they are part of the team. It also helps bring a lot of creativity and creative ideas to the team. (Yukl, 2010) Weaknesses of Participative Leadership One potential disadvantage of participate leadership is the time factor. This leadership style does often involve the need for more time before action is taken. The disadvantages or weaknesses of participative leaderships are fewer than its advantages. Mostly employees are confused, with too much responsibilities and little guidance from management. There is room for major errors that can affect the organization at large. This  leads to lower performance, high employee turnover, customer dissatisfaction and decreased profitability. (Yu kl, 2010) Organization Example: Arizona Biltmore One example of participative leadership is at the front desk department of the Arizona Biltmore. Front Desk Agents are often involved in policies that pertain to the front desk. For example agents are given authority to resolve guest issues by rewarding them with dollar amount credit up to $100.00 based on the issue. Anything over $100.00 needs to be approved by a manager. In addition, employees are encouraged with incentives on room up sells. Thus, this motivates employee morale, brings about creativity with new ideas to improve their performance. On busy days the front office manager is at the front desk working with employees to assist guests. There is active involvement with everyone on the team. One disadvantage that applies to this organization example is there are too many responsibilities for employees and little guidance. Sometimes when agents need a manager to be around with an unresolved guest issue, the manager is not around. Therefore, this type of behavior motivates guests to give negative ratings on line about service or give positive rating if their problems are resolved. Participative Leadership has its advantages and disadvantages, and would determine an organization’s improvement or downfall if used wisely. (Yukl, 2010) References Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in Organization (7th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

‘Desiree’s Baby’ by Kate Chopin Essay

At a glance, ‘Desiree’s Baby’ published in 1893 By an American writer Kate Chopin, depicts the miscegenation in Creole Louisiana during the antebellum era. The Antebellum period in American history is generally considered to be the period before the civil war and after the war of 1812. The technological advances and religious and social movements of the Antebellum Period had a profound effect on the course of American history, including a population shift from farms to industrial centers, sectional divisions that ended in civil war, the abolition of slavery and the growth of feminist and temperance movements. Though Kate Chopin is known to be a writer of American Realism and naturalism, the story ‘Desiree’s Baby’ is strenuous to classify, because it is extremely short. Kate Chopin often wrote about subjects that were extremely sensitive, and many of them still strike as a nerve in the United States today. In this story Kate Chopin highlights a compelling critique of the class and racial prejudice that permeated the behaviors of Antebellum South. There are many perspectives to the story including racial and ethnic abuse, shades of patriarchy and discrimination by class. There are also political and semiotic panoramas to this story, according to Ellen Peel. In addition, through the relationship between Desiree and Armand, Chopin expounds the precarious status of both those without a family and those of biracial descent. Undoubtedly, the story despite of its brevity, highlights the disruption of meaning. The character mainly responsible fo this disruption is, Desiree. She acts as a synergist to the whole subversion of meaning. The whole political and semiotic perspective, combined together gives the looming shadows of race, sex and class discrimination. According to Ellen Peel, this whole charade of disruption reaches its climax when Desiree, who everyone including her knew as white, gives birth to a baby boy that has shades of black. She is eventually rejected by her husband due to the fact that she belongs to a black race. Later in the story Armand, Desiree’s husband reveals that he himself is black from his mother side.  The story takes place in an antebellum Creole community. Looming shadows of patriarchy, slavery and racism were the accepted and adopted crisis of that era. Everyone had accepted the categorized and distributed system. Racism was at its peak and the worst part about it was that the undermined people had accepted this fact, as mentioned in the story, â€Å"Negroes had forgotten how to be gay, as they had been during the old master’s easy-going and indulgent lifetime.† Furthermore, as Emily Toth has inferred, in the story of the three dualities parallel each other. Clearly, the symbol of the multifaceted society is the character Armand Aubigny. He is self-confident because of some minor yet major facts encapsulating him being white, being a male and being a master over several slaves. In order to get a grip on how this poignant story depicts various perspectives and drawbacks lets follow through the whole story. The tale begins when Madame Valmonde is going Desiree and her newly born baby. On her way, she reminisces about when Desiree herself was a baby. Monsieur had found her asleep at the gateway of Valmonde. Though many people believed that a band of Texans had abandoned her, but Madam Valmonde stuck to the theory that providence sent her this child as she lacked any children of her own. Like a queen and king in a fairy tale, they were delighted by her mysterious arrival and named her Dà ©sirà ©e, â€Å"wished-for one,† â€Å"the desired one.† The beginning of the story points towards no bitterness but a good and happy side to the story. Though the racial and slavery crisis were tremendous but the fact that even the masters of that particular society adopted a homeless child, knowing that she belonged to a black origin, shows signs of kindness and humanity. It also depict the ulterior motives behind adoption, which was the lack of her own children. But neither in the beginning nor in the end, has it ever mentioned the feelings of resentfulness from mother to her daughter or vice versa. Desiree seemed a blessing in disguise for them and they raised her as their own daughte r. Desiree grew up to be beautiful, gentle and affectionate and sincere too. She turned out to be exactly like their perfect daughter. Skipping the eighteen years of Desiree’s life, Chopin has directly jumped to the love part of the story, where Armand Aubigny saw Desiree standing next to the stone pillar of the gateway and he falls in love with her instantly. Although, he had known her for years since first arriving from Paris after his mother’s death. â€Å"That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if  struck by a pistol shot. The wonder was that he had not loved her before; for he had.† This love part of the story, highlights many things. The way it is shown that Armand fell in love with Desiree delineates the male dominance and pride in that society. It also depicts the lack of maturity and a bit ruthlessness in the prescribed culture. Monsieur Valmonde takes a practical approach and wants Armand to get ensure first that Desiree origin was unknown but Armand is so deeply in love with her that he doesn’t care about her origin. He decided that even if she hasn’t a family name, then he would give her his own and soon as depicted in the story, they get married. Living deeply in the roots of a society where slavery and racism is all-in-all, accepting a girl despite of her known origin highlights true signs of love as Armand doesn’t care before marrying whichever origin she belongs to. Another important universal truth and human nature has been highlighted here. Not only in the era of antebellum but since the world has started, it is but human nature to fight for what he truly loves and believe and there are so many examples and incidents in the history which show that once that thing is achieved, a person starts to lose interest in it and that is what is overshadowed by the intensified love. As soon as the story builds up its plot, a major transition is portrayed. Armand, other household staff and eventually Desiree too, see some unusualness in the complexion of the baby. She isn’t sure about the underlying problem and on confronting to her husband she finds out that the child is not while and hence she doesn’t belong to a white origin. Desiree couldn’t believe him because this was a total disastrous surprise for her. The fact that is portrayed here is the significance of the facts. The issue regarding Desiree’s origin was already present but her husband didn’t care. But confronting the truth of her origin suddenly changed every bit of him. The narrow-mindedness and injustice of that society is delineated again. What if there’s some friend of mine and we are very much close. Someday if I find out, that he originates from a family who were slaves. Would it change anything between me and him? What if someone asks the same question from Armand? The difference would be obviously seen and that is the whole point and the major transition in the story. The reasonless transition of a character from being attached and so full in love with a person to rejecting her. As described by Ellen Peel, that there are moments of surprises and transitions in the story. So, the  first surprise comes when he interprets his baby’s appearance, concluding the fact that the child and its mother are not white. This fact revealed a major flaw and weakness in her husband’s character. There’s another perspective to this transition as well as it can be inferred that Desiree seems to invite projection: Madam Valmonde wanted a child so she got deceived by herself and the urge to be a mother. That doesn’t change the fact that she denied symbolism. She was a true believer and that too contradicts the writer’s beginning enlightenment. Secondly, Armand too got fooled by himself for believing that they could safely project their desires onto Desiree. In this manner, it is illustrated that even though Desiree didn’t look like from black origin but the discovery to her origin made her black. In this regard, a person who look white but has a tiny drop of black blood is considered black. As Joel Williamson believes, that the ‘one-drop-rule’ has a stand point but it eventually leads to the invisible blackness crisis. At this point in the story, two major panoramas can be looked upon too, miscegenation and disruptiveness. Disruptiveness is also a semiotic point of view explained by Ellen Peel. There’s a complex perspective to Desiree’s nature and its relevance to society. She doesn’t herself produce flaws as the flaws were there before she was even born but the role she plays is to reveal them which makes her disruptive. Another major transition to the story presents itself in the end of the story. Armand finds out that the black genes come from the baby through his own mother who was black. After Armand kicks out his wife and child, in the abusive storm of racialism and cruelty, he comes across a letter to his mother by his father, â€Å"I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.† As Ellen Peel believes that the heart of darkness lies within the self and so do I, the letter, unveils Armand’s shadowed face to himself. At this point, a big shift occurs when Armand is actually is in a position where he left his wife and child. Also, Armand had rejected his own blood because he was a product f rom a white man and a black woman and after the unveiling of the letter he finds himself in the same place as his child. This revelation shakes the whole picture of the story and the main dominant and brutal figure, Armand as he is now in the same position as his son. The famous quotation, ‘What  does around, always comes around ‘: Could be the best way to explain his situation. Though the whole plot is shaken but that only highlights the issue of society at a micro level. Neither it describes the change factor nor does it propose any possible solution. In the nineteenth century, sexual relations between two people of different races, or miscegenation, bore a distinctly deprecatory connotation. As seen by the quadroon slave child who fans Dà ©sirà ©e’s own baby, interracial relations did occur with relative frequency, but such children often ended up as slaves under the theory that even one drop of African or black blood made a person black rather than white. Likewise, many biracial people who happened to inherit pale skin and European rather than African features were able to in corporate at least temporarily into white society, passing for white if they chose. In Armand’s case, he did not even have to hide because he did not know his status. Some people who passed as white, like Armand, even successfully entered the Southern ‘ruling’ class, which was not only putatively white but also rich from owning plantation lands. Meanwhile, whereas most people fell on one side of the social divide between black and white, those of mixed descent lived on the border of social acceptability. Thus, the quadroon boy serving the quadroon master is ironic but also representative of the biracial group as a demographic sector of the population. Another irony of Chopin’s story is that although Dà ©sirà ©e is probably of Caucasian blood after all, only she and her innocent baby suffer from the accusation of miscegenation, whereas the mixed-race Armand Aubigny will probably not face any consequences for either his racial descent or his cruelty to his wife. This patently unjust state of affairs occurs not only because Armand will probably take the secret to his grave but also because, as Chopin informs us in the third para graph, Dà ©sirà ©e’s status is as much a question of familial class as of racial class. Although her presumed European ancestry places her above the slave class in the hierarchy of Louisiana, being white is not sufficient to place her in a class equal to that of the Aubignys. Note also that although Armand can echo his father in forgiving a beloved woman for her societal status, Armand can never be his father’s equal because he cannot forgive her presumed racial heritage. By contrast, Madame Valmonde is portrayed as loving, kind, and eminently ethical in her refusal to condemn Dà ©sirà ©e for her questionable blood. In addition to hinting at Armand’s  family secret, Chopin hints at his cruelty toward his slaves and creates an obvious parallel between his treatment of them and of his wife, who was by the legal code of the era barely higher than property. Whereas his father is described as â€Å"easy-going and indulgent,† Armand lives too strictly by the social mores of his era and not enough by a true moral code. Despite her name, Dà ©sirà ©e is only desired insofar as his standards are exceeded, and when he burns their wedding corbeille, it is the physical manifestation of the destruction of their wedding vows, in which he presu mably would have promised to cherish and care for her until death. In this manner, his seemingly ardent love shows itself to be shallow and undeserving. Another view to this story is a very different idea by Gary H, Mayer, who believes that this story originates and explains the general semantics or in other words, the story revolves around observation-inference confusion. An inference is nothing more than a mere guess which could be really destructible for anyone, according to Gary H, Mayer. According to him, the main sick character Armand, highlights a semantic error called ‘allness’, which happens when a person believes that he/she happens to know everything. Delving into the story, it can be seen that there’s a sequence of conclusions without any solid reasons by the characters. Adding icing to the top, it can also be delineated that the story represents a series of rational decisions. The decision of instantly falling in love. The decision of kicking Desiree and the child out of the house and most importantly the very first decision in the story where without any thinking, Desiree is fondled. Another weakness of human nature can be seen if we take into account a much deeper perspective to the story, which is to judge people by appearance. Armand loved Dà ©sirà ©e’s outer beauty, not her inner beauty. She was like a trophy to him. When the trophy became tarnished in his eyes, he removed it from its shelf and discarded it. He also rejected his child, for its skin exhibited a taint of impurity. Finally, like other Old South plantation owners, he viewed the blackness of his slaves as a defect that colored even their souls. However, conversation between Dà ©sirà ©e and Madame Valmondà © indicates that he apparently found time for La Blanche, the slave woman whose name (French for white) suggests that she was of mixed heritage, with light skin that made her a tolerable sexual object for Armand. Dà ©sirà ©e, speaking of the loudness of her baby’s crying, says, â€Å"Armand heard him the  other day as far away as La Blanche’s cabin.† To put it briefly, the whole panorama to this short little story contains versatility in it. The beauty of Kate Chopin is that she has presented this story as a symbol as well as a lesson that should be learnt. The extent of understanding differs for the readers as some readers would find it only a depressing tragedy. Unarguably, this story portrays the racial and gender based differences in the society. Though it should be mentioned that in the present day, this major issue has been eradicated to great extent but traces can still be found at a very micro level. Overall, the human weaknesses and tantrums and can cause to such differential crisis but society as we speak, has transformed into a better example of humanity. References Peel, Allen. â€Å"Semiotic Subversion in Desiree’s Baby.† Pegues, Dagmar. â€Å"Fear And Desire: Regional Aesthetics and Colonial Desire in Kate Chopin’s portrayals of The Tragic Mulatta Stereotype.† Mayer, Gary. â€Å"A matter of behavior: A semantic analysis of five Kate Chopin stories.† Khamees, Raghad. â€Å"Desiree’s Baby.†< http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3088548-desiree-s-baby>

Free Essays on Daniel Pearl

The United States of America is a â€Å"special nation†, with a manifest destiny to become the â€Å"protectors of the free world†. And so the ironic battle begins here as we began to realize that the free world is in a paradox of itself. As protectors, this ideological thinking has grown into a foreign policy, and freedom is no longer just a gift but instead every human’s right and a moral of society. Since 1776, when America had declared freedom its almost as if â€Å"freedom† became a never-ending battle to fight for. And as if on a crusade the United States has enforced their ethics creating an ideological illusion to be enforced globally by the most powerful individual and in turn protected by the most powerful country in the world. This never-ending war for individual freedom has resulted in an inevitable Yin Yang, conflict of values, a creation of heaven vs. hell, and thus concluded to an ideological battle of Good vs. Evil. This disagreement of Good Vs. Evil is taken upon as a war for individual freedom fought at all costs even if the â€Å"ends justify the means† along with the theory that violence outside the law to achieve justice is acceptable. This â€Å"above the law† status created by American ideals has sunk into the blood and veins of the people. Other myth such as technology, being the protector and savior of the people, is demonstrated by the status of the United States as a world â€Å"super power†. All these myths help to form a culture of individuality and heroic mindsets. These ethics grow out of myths and transform into reality as Americans witness, its government policies leap into international waters to take action, through their â€Å"technological savior†: the media. The ideology of America has created a visible paradox making it evident of a glitch in its media, culture, and society. By analyzing the ideology of the American individualistic culture that is apprais ed in Society and in fact practiced ... Free Essays on Daniel Pearl Free Essays on Daniel Pearl The United States of America is a â€Å"special nation†, with a manifest destiny to become the â€Å"protectors of the free world†. And so the ironic battle begins here as we began to realize that the free world is in a paradox of itself. As protectors, this ideological thinking has grown into a foreign policy, and freedom is no longer just a gift but instead every human’s right and a moral of society. Since 1776, when America had declared freedom its almost as if â€Å"freedom† became a never-ending battle to fight for. And as if on a crusade the United States has enforced their ethics creating an ideological illusion to be enforced globally by the most powerful individual and in turn protected by the most powerful country in the world. This never-ending war for individual freedom has resulted in an inevitable Yin Yang, conflict of values, a creation of heaven vs. hell, and thus concluded to an ideological battle of Good vs. Evil. This disagreement of Good Vs. Evil is taken upon as a war for individual freedom fought at all costs even if the â€Å"ends justify the means† along with the theory that violence outside the law to achieve justice is acceptable. This â€Å"above the law† status created by American ideals has sunk into the blood and veins of the people. Other myth such as technology, being the protector and savior of the people, is demonstrated by the status of the United States as a world â€Å"super power†. All these myths help to form a culture of individuality and heroic mindsets. These ethics grow out of myths and transform into reality as Americans witness, its government policies leap into international waters to take action, through their â€Å"technological savior†: the media. The ideology of America has created a visible paradox making it evident of a glitch in its media, culture, and society. By analyzing the ideology of the American individualistic culture that is apprais ed in Society and in fact practiced ...

Essay on Greece and Greek Philosopher

Essay on Greece and Greek Philosopher Essay on Greece and Greek Philosopher The Ancient Greek contribution ranged by the 1900-133 BC, however its influence on the Western Literate Society lasts to this day. As the Greeks expanded their empire, they spread their ideas to other countries, while also borrowing from other cultures. During this period of time, the Greeks made many significant and long-lasting contributions to our modern culture in Philosophy, Art, Democracy, Drama, Math, and Science. These giving of important ideas, inventions, and structures have had an extraordinary influence on the surrounding environment, society, and in the future. The essential contributions of Greeks to the Western Civilization are Democracy, Art, and Philosophy. One thing that the ancient Greek affected western civilization is politics. It was the Greeks who developed a democracy, they were the very first. Pericles stated that he wanted all citizens to have an equal opportunity to serve the public. In both the US democracy and the Greeks democracy, political privilege can be use by citizens. An example of a political privilege can be use by citizens in Greek was that laws were voted upon and to able to nominate by the assembly of all citizens. In the US when citizens are 18 and older they are granted the right to vote. In the US most of the democratic system that the government uses is either identical or very similar to the Ancient Greek system. Perhaps the most famous piece of ancient Greek art work is Myron’s famous marble sculpture of The Discus Thrower. Myron’s art represents an Olympic event called Discus. The marble sculpture is notable because it reveals the ancient Greek value of athletics. The ancient Olympics were made up of a series of athletic matches that the people of the city-states within Greece would participate in. The city-states would put aside all differences to participate in these events to show their victory. The Olympics, that the ancient Greeks held, inspired other civilizations to hold an Olympics to test their athletes as well. A world Olympics is still held

Battle of Brandy Station in the Civil War

Battle of Brandy Station in the Civil War Battle of Brandy Station - Conflict Date: The Battle of Brandy Station was fought June 9, 1863, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders Union Major General Alfred Pleasonton11,000 men Confederate Major General J.E.B. Stuart9,500 men Battle of Brandy Station - Background: In the wake of his stunning victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee began making preparations to invade the North. Prior to embarking on this operation, he moved to consolidate his army near Culpeper, VA. Early June 1863, the corps of Lieutenant General James Longstreet and Richard Ewell had arrived while the Confederate cavalry, led by Major General J.E.B. Stuart screened to the east. Moving his five brigades into camp around Brandy Station, the dashing Stuart requested a full field review of his troops by Lee. Scheduled for June 5, this saw Stuarts men move through a simulated battle near Inlet Station. As Lee proved unable to attend on June 5, this review was re-staged in his presence three days later, though without the mock battle. While impressive to behold, many criticized Stuart for needlessly tiring his men and horses. With the conclusion of these activities, Lee issued orders for Stuart to cross the Rappahannock River the next day and raid advanced Union positions. Understanding that Lee intended to begin his offensive shortly, Stuart moved his men back into camp to prepare for the next day. Battle of Brandy Station - Pleasontons Plan: Across the Rappahannock, the commander of the Army of the Potomac, Major General Joseph Hooker, sought to ascertain Lees intentions. Believing that the Confederate concentration at Culpeper signaled a threat to his supply lines, he summoned his cavalry chief, Major General Alfred Pleasonton, and ordered him to conduct a spoiling attack to disperse the Confederates at Brandy Station. To assist with the operation, Pleasonton was given two select brigades of infantry led by Brigadier Generals Adelbert Ames and David A. Russell. Though the Union cavalry had performed poorly to date, Pleasonton devised a daring plan which called for dividing his command into two wings. The Right Wing, consisting of Brigadier General John Bufords 1st Cavalry Division, a Reserve Brigade led by Major Charles J. Whiting, and Ames men, was to cross the Rappahannock at Beverlys Ford and advance south toward Brandy Station. The Left Wing, led by Brigadier General David McM. Gregg, was to cross to the east at Kellys Ford and attack from the east and south to catch the Confederates in a double envelopment. Battle of Brandy Station - Stuart Surprised: Around 4:30 AM on June 9, Bufords men, accompanied by Pleasonton, began crossing the river in a thick fog. Quickly overwhelming the Confederate pickets at Beverlys Ford, the pushed south. Alerted to the threat by this engagement, the stunned men of Brigadier General William E. Grumble Jones brigade rushed to the scene. Barely prepared for battle, they succeeded in briefly holding up Bufords advance. This allowed Stuarts Horse Artillery, which had nearly been taken unawares, to escape south and establish a position on two knolls flanking the Beverlys Ford Road (Map). While Jones men fell back to a position on the right of the road, Brigadier General Wade Hamptons brigade formed on the left. As the fighting escalated, the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry unsuccessfully charged forward in an attempt to take the Confederate guns near St. James Church. As his men fought around the church, Buford began probing for a way around the Confederate left. These endeavors led him to encounter Brigadier General W.H.F. Rooney Lees brigade which had assumed a position behind a stone wall in front of Yew Ridge. In heavy fighting, Bufords men succeeded in driving Lee back and taking the position. Battle of Brandy Station - A Second Surprise: As Buford advanced against Lee, Union troopers engaging the St. James Church line were stunned to see Jones and Hamptons men retreating. This movement was in reaction to the arrival of Greggs column from Kellys Ford. Having crossed early that morning with his 3rd Cavalry Division, Colonel Alfred Duffià ©s small 2nd Cavalry Division, and Russells brigade, Gregg had been blocked from advancing directly on Brandy Station by Brigadier General Beverly H. Robertsons brigade which had taken a position on the Kellys Ford Road. Shifting south, he succeeded in finding an unguarded road which led into Stuarts rear. Advancing, Colonel Percy Wyndhams brigade led Greggs force into Brandy Station around 11:00 AM. Gregg was separated from Bufords fight by a large rise to the north known as Fleetwood Hill. The site of Stuarts headquarters before the battle, the hill was largely unoccupied except for a lone Confederate howitzer. Opening fire, it caused the Union troops to pause briefly. This permitted a messenger to reach Stuart and inform him of the new threat. As Wyndhams men began their attack up the hill, they were met by Jones troops riding in from St. James. Church (Map). Moving to join the battle, the Colonel Judson Kilpatricks brigade moved east and assaulted the south slope of Fleetwood. This attack was met by Hamptons arriving men. The battle soon deteriorated into a series of bloody charges and countercharges as both sides sought control of Fleetwood Hill. The fighting ended with Stuarts men in possession. Having been engaged by Confederate troops near Stevensburg, Duffià ©s men arrived too late to alter the outcome on the hill. To the north, Buford maintained pressure on Lee, forcing him to retreat to the hills northern slopes. Reinforced late in the day, Lee counterattacked Buford but found that the Union troops were already departing as Pleasonton had ordered a general withdrawal near sunset. Battle of Brandy Station - Aftermath: Union casualties in the fighting numbered 907 while the Confederates sustained 523. Among the wounded was Rooney Lee who was later captured on June 26. Though the fighting was largely inconclusive, it marked a turning point for the much-maligned Union cavalry. For the first time during the war, they matched their Confederate counterparts skill on the battlefield. In the wake of the battle, Pleasonton was criticized by some for not pressing home his attacks to destroy Stuarts command. He defended himself by stating that his orders had been for a reconnaissance in force toward Culpeper. Following the battle, an embarrassed Stuart attempted to claim victory on the grounds that the enemy had departed the field. This did little to hide the fact that he had been badly surprised and caught unawares by the Union attack. Chastised in the Southern press, his performance continued to suffer as he made key mistakes during the upcoming Gettysburg Campaign. The Battle of Brandy Station was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the war as well as the largest fought on American soil. Selected Sources National Park Service: Battle of Brandy Station CWPT: Battle of Brandy Station

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Through these, the company has remained in position to control their finances, their demand, supply rotating around labor supply, the raw materials supply and even the supply to the market has remained controlled hence influencing the business and the company’s growth. The company dominates a value chain that with its Chandlerian model in industrial administration aspects. An integrated company has a high level of vertical integrity applicable in defining their brand to the market. The sector matrix through the dynamics held internally has grown to have a positive impact to the general performance of the organization. Their targets of mass markets and standardized products dominant in quality make them a company to reckon with in the automotive industry. Through these, the demand for the company’s products and their supply remains on a positive scale weighing well for the owners of the company. The positive results it boosts of result from these making it a good example for the case on sector matrix. A bad example on the sector matrix is that of the Lehman Brothers. A company that was closed down due to the poor management of their supply and demand factors. The failure of the company was leveled on the financial crisis that the world faced during the great depressions and financial turmoil experienced in 2008. The poor preparation effects and the failure to detect and proactively plan from down times also mark the company’s failure. The demand factor was handled well by the company. The challenges met that drew the company down included the supply effects. The failure to control and sustain the demand and the pressure exerted on the financial position of the company and the supply chain changes made the company close down. Aspects of sector matrix aim at controlling factors of demand and supply. The demand for the services that the company offered was high though at

Project management plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Project management plan - Essay Example An effective planning process offers details and facilitates in formation of the project work strategies along with ascertaining an approach to continue and achieve effective findings and objectives of the project (ANA Eastern Region, 2006). An effective project planning ensures to provide effective designs for future initiatives in order to clarify project goals and it also enables to develop the vision of the processes which facilitate to attain the ultimate project objectives. It also evidently enables to identify different issues and provides efficient alternative courses in order to address those issues. Moreover, an effective project planning process further enables to make best utilisation of the resources and it also plays a major role in motivating workforces to effectively utilise the resources and assign responsibilities to achieve the ultimate outcome of the project (ANA Eastern Region, 2006). In terms of preparing an effective plan for ethnic marketing activities, projec t planning stage can also identify certain impacts that can lead to provide substantial benefits towards the organisation’s strategies. With this concern, innovation can be considered as one of the major beneficial aspects for conducting the plan for ethnic marketing to achieve sustainable position as well as to attain competitive advantage in the global market. Moreover, the project plan related to ethnic marketing is further beneficial to achieve substantial growth in the global marketplace due to the reason that there has been a rapid expansion of multicultural consumer segments across different regions (American Hotel & Lodging Association, 2010). Key Stages and Milestones Necessary to Complete Ethnic Marketing Project Plan...In terms of preparing an effective plan for ethnic marketing activities, project planning stage can also identify certain impacts that can lead to provide substantial benefits towards the organisation’s strategies. Key Stages and Milestones Ne cessary to Complete Ethnic Marketing Project Plan A successful and effective project planning considerably encompasses certain major stages. The planning stage in the project management process encompasses a series of activities which involves different elements/parameters of the overall project in order to make the project ready for the execution process. Project plan consists of three major activities such as: Risk Management Plan Quality Management Plan Issue Management Plan Change Management Plan Acceptance Plan Communication Plan Execution & Controlling Stage Project execution and controlling stage can be identified as a major phase where the resources and all project activities are implemented. Project Closing Stage The closing stage of the project management related to the ethnic marketing project is the final step which significantly aims to evaluate the implementation and the results of the activities of the overall project.

Humidacure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Humidacure - Essay Example The product is reliable, comfortable, palatable, and effective to treat flu, cold, and cough. The aim of having a product with pleasant flavours is to enhance an added advantage over other competitors in the market. The product does not only focus on treatment but expands out to reach people who enjoy taking products with flavours such as ginger, lemon, or orange. The product is good both in consistency and quality, which is more likely to attract many consumers in the market. As many people struggle to identify the best medicine that heals flue, cold, and cough, this product aims to provide consumers with adequate information on how to take the medicine and the various ways they can do to prevent the illness. With this, consumers will be in a better position to comprehend about their illness and evaluate ways to prevent it in future. Still, there will be contacts displayed in the product, which consumers can use to communicate to the company in case of any complication, and this wil l create trust and confidence of consumers on the benefits of using the product. 2.0 Situational analysis At this point, it is important to understand the internal and external factors that will be affecting the business as this will lead to a better understanding of what will influence the product future. The product will be affected by the government that has a strong control over the product manufacturing activities. The company may spend some resources to ensure that the product align with the health standards of law. Secondly, economic crisis may make consumers to cut down their spending on medicines and instead prefer to make drinks that heal the cold. With many products in the market, most consumers may be forced to purchase other products that may be cheaper than Humidacure. It is pertinent to note that, a culture has a strong effect on people’s perception and preferences. Natural ingredients are among the crucial aspects of culture, which marketers will put into cons ideration. The product will contain various ingredients that help in relieving cold, flu, and cough such as ginger, lemon, and orange just to name a few. A comprehensive marketing strategy will be crucial to understand how to address the external environment of the product. Extensive training will be conducted to those manufacturing and distributing the product to keep good relations with consumers and maintain quality product that attract consumers all over regardless of various challenges that may emerge such economic crisis. Customer satisfaction will be considered as the most vital thing for the company’s progress. MARKET ANALYSIS 3.0 Market Demographics The product targets adults from urban middle class segment. The reason for this group is that adults are more likely to purchase medicine than adolescents or teenagers. In most cases, parents purchase medicines for their kids. Still, this target group is most preferable in that most adults are more concern with their heal th and children’s health. 3.1 Market Summary The product is intended to use the combination of promotion advertisements where the focus will be placed on attracting clients to purchase the product while converting the first users of the product to frequent and potential users. To accomplish these, the product will be marketed via technology tools such as internet that will create awareness in many people. Still, this will create a strong

Ebola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ebola - Essay Example Such an observation allows the authors to focus on the magnitude of risks associated with the eventual adoption of the measures that may be suggested to mitigate the possibilities of an outbreak in the region. The authors proceed to further mention of the cases that have been diagnosed within the American soil. The preparedness of the city is further weighed against that of regions such as texas, which have already registered possible outbreaks of the disease. The authors are keen to outline that the prospective address of the disease from findings its way to the communities in New York remains best considered under the description of collective efforts. In an effort that remains related towards the harmonization of the medical facilities in the city, the authors seek to consolidate the respective outfits of healthcare that are related to the city and harmonize them towards developing a steady outfit that aims at addressing the virus. In that effect, the authors propose the possible avenues upon which the detection and subsequent control of an outbreak may be considered. Their work does not place into consideration the possible effects that may be related to animals vectors. The focus is oriented on the human patients that traffic into New York from the various infected areas. Such allows for the description of their proposals as being narrowed on the control of human to human transmissions. Additionally, the prospective process of EVD detection has been mentioned intensely in their work. It is further argued that the adoption of a functional detection systems remains the ideal path upon which the address of the ailment is considered. The authors proceed to make references to experiences registered in the address of the disease in other regions. Their attention is oriented on the plight of eighty-eight patients that were being screened of the disease, with the aim of gathering the required experience

Product Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Product Assessment - Essay Example A product could therefore be rendered obsolete due to its inability to meet the technical, functional or other aspects whereas other products in the same line of operation may be consistently meeting these conditions. This paper will assess this idea with relation to the market of compact cassettes in the US. 2.0 Compact Cassettes Commonly known as cassettes with some even calling them audio cassettes, they use a format of recording where the utilization of magnetic tapes. The sales for this product has constantly been going doing in the US market as very few people are becoming more and more modern. The target market for audio cassettes has always been the young generation who spend most of their life time in the rural areas. According to the demographic data of the US released in April 2013, the total population is slightly above 315million people. Out of this populace, about 82% are inhabitants of the cities leaving other people approximating about eighteen percent in the rural ar eas. These therefore are the ones that are targeted by the compact cassettes due to the fact that the technology in the rural areas has not been escalated to higher levels as seen in the urban areas. Additionally, those who aren’t in a position to access compact discs are even better suited to use the compact cassettes. Another dimension on the same issue is that the compact cassettes use common gadgets like radio cassettes which are not wholly dependent on technology (Lee & Winzenried, 2009). Others like the CDs require complicated machines and depend on the technical ability and aspects of the user. The rate of unemployment in the USA, according to the same statistics, has crossed the 7% mark which means that most of these people will opt for cassettes in larger scale to cut on their costs. The disposable income for this fraction of the entire population is low thus should devise other means of survival whereby low cost products will be sought for. However, the market for t hese products has been going down considerably and the same may face an imminent decline. The sales being registered have gone down tremendously and although these products are still performing well, peoples’ interest in them is becoming scarce by day. This has been rendered true by a myriad reasons, most of which the cassettes have failed to satisfy. Technical obsolescence takes the center stage in the whole affair. The advent of CDs and other gadget that purpose to serve the same line of business coupled with technology has superseded the old audio cassettes in spite of them being still in functionality. For example, introduction of multimedia of high quality including the DVDs have rendered the compact cassettes useless due to their unreliability and lack efficiency (Kalb, 2000). To therefore remain consistent with the advancing technology in electronics, many people today in the US have opted for other alternative means to augment their music thirst and needs. Many other version which are newer in the industry has been introduced which also gives a blow to the usage of audio cassettes. Furthermore, the technologies available in the market have gone a series of transformation thus are no longer in a position to produce the cassettes or even repair them. The cassettes

Luxury Marketing. Chanel case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Luxury Marketing. Chanel case - Essay Example The French product Chanel is the luxury brand established by Gabrielle Chanel in 1909 (Chanel, 2013). Chanel’s success is credited because the attention that it gives to various segments of customer, its use of luxury brand components in advertising and video promoting in publications of luxury brand which it was likewise broadcasted by Luxury Daily as Luxury Marketer in the year of 2013. Chanel targets ladies with high salaries between 23 and 80 age. The most simple strategy to talk to more young buyers was to incorporate VIP underwriting with on-screen Kristin Stewart actress in advertising promotion (Abbing, 2010). Other technique to speak its young customers is via digital media, which includes the versatile procedure, commercials on online buyer interaction and on Hulu. As far as this current, Chanel's luxury brand picture in consumer minds exceedingly takes up with its center products, premium evaluating procedure, quality and feel (Chanel, 2013). Chanel is the luxury br and for mold accessories, watches, jewelry, cosmetics product, scents and healthy skin. Because of the reality, it is still one of only a valuable few luxury brands that don't offer its products on the media, which, despite, does not change its performance, as it remains the best promoter in this portion.

Product Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Product Assessment - Essay Example A product could therefore be rendered obsolete due to its inability to meet the technical, functional or other aspects whereas other products in the same line of operation may be consistently meeting these conditions. This paper will assess this idea with relation to the market of compact cassettes in the US. 2.0 Compact Cassettes Commonly known as cassettes with some even calling them audio cassettes, they use a format of recording where the utilization of magnetic tapes. The sales for this product has constantly been going doing in the US market as very few people are becoming more and more modern. The target market for audio cassettes has always been the young generation who spend most of their life time in the rural areas. According to the demographic data of the US released in April 2013, the total population is slightly above 315million people. Out of this populace, about 82% are inhabitants of the cities leaving other people approximating about eighteen percent in the rural ar eas. These therefore are the ones that are targeted by the compact cassettes due to the fact that the technology in the rural areas has not been escalated to higher levels as seen in the urban areas. Additionally, those who aren’t in a position to access compact discs are even better suited to use the compact cassettes. Another dimension on the same issue is that the compact cassettes use common gadgets like radio cassettes which are not wholly dependent on technology (Lee & Winzenried, 2009). Others like the CDs require complicated machines and depend on the technical ability and aspects of the user. The rate of unemployment in the USA, according to the same statistics, has crossed the 7% mark which means that most of these people will opt for cassettes in larger scale to cut on their costs. The disposable income for this fraction of the entire population is low thus should devise other means of survival whereby low cost products will be sought for. However, the market for t hese products has been going down considerably and the same may face an imminent decline. The sales being registered have gone down tremendously and although these products are still performing well, peoples’ interest in them is becoming scarce by day. This has been rendered true by a myriad reasons, most of which the cassettes have failed to satisfy. Technical obsolescence takes the center stage in the whole affair. The advent of CDs and other gadget that purpose to serve the same line of business coupled with technology has superseded the old audio cassettes in spite of them being still in functionality. For example, introduction of multimedia of high quality including the DVDs have rendered the compact cassettes useless due to their unreliability and lack efficiency (Kalb, 2000). To therefore remain consistent with the advancing technology in electronics, many people today in the US have opted for other alternative means to augment their music thirst and needs. Many other version which are newer in the industry has been introduced which also gives a blow to the usage of audio cassettes. Furthermore, the technologies available in the market have gone a series of transformation thus are no longer in a position to produce the cassettes or even repair them. The cassettes

Brice Family Essay Example for Free

Brice Family Essay The Brice family consisted of a family unit of five. The father Davie a lawyer, the mother Caroline, their teenage daughter Claudia, the younger daughter Laura and younger son Don. The family was referred by a psychiatrist who had been seeing Claudia, but felt the whole family needed to be in therapy. The first session was a challenge, the family agreed to go in all together only for the initial session and they were not very comfortable to begin with. The mother Caroline felt the problem that should be address was the issues their teen daughter was having and she did not believe the entire family should be there. Both the mother and daughter came in angry to the therapy session and there was a lot of tension in the room. The father was respectful and stated he was happy to be there, but his body language told the therapist he has not comfortable being there. The youngest daughter Laura seemed to be in a cheerful mood with high energy. The youngest son Don did not show up for the first session. During the session there was an argument that broke out between mother and daughter, Carolyn seems to think they are in therapy to resolve the daughter’s issues that is affecting the entire family, but she does not feel the family as a unit has a problem. Both therapists agreed that it would not be ideal to start the family session without the youngest son Don who did not show up. David and Carolyn did not seem happy with this choice and felt the longer they waited  for their daughter to get help the worst it would get. Carl explain the dynamics of the family and how important it was to have Don at the initiation of the family session, and asked the family to think if they wanted to be a part of the family they are in, and if they did to call and set up a time for the next session with Don include. Dave did not hesitate and agreed to set up an appointment then and there; he looked over at his wife and asked he if she agreed. Carolyn agreed and towards the end of the session Carl connected with Laura the youngest daughter by engaging her in dialog and asking what she thought about everything that was going on in the family. By doing this Carl was able to show the family how every member of the family has a valuable place in therapy, and it is not just about one person. Second Session The second session with the Brice family was as intense as the first one. Don the younger brother did attend the second session. He came in with a sloppy walk. Don has long blond hair and dressed in body shirt jeans and sandals. He introduced himself to Carl and seemed confident. Once the family was settle and the session started the focus of the session would always seem to try and come back to Claudia. Both parents think that Claudia is the cause of the family dysfunction and their marriage is in trouble because of her. Carl did a great job by taking the focus away from Claudia and putting it back on both parents. He was able to have them see that there were other issues that stemmed with them as a couple, and the structure of the family unit. David over working and not being a part of the family and Carolyn being over involved with her mother and her needs. Whitaker and Napier conceptualized the family’s difficulties as a whole problem. They did not see it stem form one family member. They felt the family all had some issues as individuals and as a couple for the parents that were not address when they should have been. Because the issues were set aside they resurfaced and intensified along with Claudia’s changing attitude and miss behavior. This is one of the reasons both parents seem to focus on Claudia and identified her as the main cause of the family’s problems. When using individual understanding of a family’s problem each family member is seen separate. The family is not taken in as a unit, but instead they work on the individual to be able to create harmony in the family. Each member issue are addressed  individually and worked on without the rest of the family having a part. When looked at as individual there is a targeted behavior the individual is seeing as the problem not the family unit as a whole. Carl used the systemic family approach with the Brice family, both therapist looked at the circular interaction of the family problem, the family role of each family member and how they fit in to contributing to the family dysfunction and made sure the entire family was present for the first intervention. Both therapist looked for positive contributions to the social organization of the family that they could look back on to start working with the family as one unit and not focus on one member of the family to be the problem. One of the interventions came by the simple sitting arrangement the family had. The family in the beginning of the session unconsciously sat according to the family structure and how they felt it was. By having the therapist change the seating arrangements was a symbolic change and shift in the family structure to what it should be. Systematic therapy seems to be the best time of therapy for the Brice family. In this paper I have talked about the first two sessions of the Brice family, I have included Whitaker’s and Napier’s conceptualization of the families difficulties and described ho this differs from individual understanding. I also talked about specific interventions used with the family.

Influence Of Media On The Public Behavior Sociology Essay

Influence Of Media On The Public Behavior Sociology Essay This research paper analyses the impact of Bollywood movies and generated ideas of romance and love marriage within middle and upper-middle class urban Pakistani marriages. It especially focuses on the influence of this on the acceptability of love marriages. It looks at selected samples of youngsters falling in the age group 17-29 and parents. Exceptions looked at are those falling outside the age group who had love marriages. The similarity of Indian and Pakistani mindset is scrutinized with respect to love marriages. It explores the issue of unacceptability of love marriages in Pakistan and the gradual changing trend. The vital role played by fantasy within Indian marriages is explored and the focal point is commercial Hindi films watched by the middle class of Karachi which fall within the genre of melodrama. Love marriages in bollywood are looked in depth. Finally the paper aims at exploring the factors responsible for the change in attitudes towards marriage and analysis of whe ther Bollywood movies influence is one of those factors which has considerably influenced the mindsets towards acceptance of love marriages in Pakistan. Research Question Have Bollywood movies influenced the increased acceptance of love marriages amongst the middle class of Karachi? Research Hypothesis Based on a review of literature as noted later in this proposal, there is one major hypothesis area that will guide the analysis of data i.e. Bollywood movies have influenced the increased acceptance of love marriages amongst the middle class of Karachi. Secondary Research Influence of Media on the public behavior How Does the Media Influence the Way People Behave? The influence of media on public behavior is becoming more and more significant as time is passing. With the development and advancement of new technology, it is possible to distribute media content pervasively with minimal costs. Because of a high demand and supply of media content, producers engage in competitive behavior and come up with new ways to catch attention of consumers. The type of content free media shows is solely dependent on the demand for media content. However, numerous research studies on the topic have revealed that media content can shape our thoughts and alter our behavior in a number of ways. The following part of the literature review will focus on the effects of media on the behavior and perception of the general population. Furthermore, a critical analysis of the impact of media on the conception of love marriages will be discussed with reference to research studies. Watching media content takes us into a different world or more specifically, a different level of consciousness. Media content not only arouses our cognitive neurons, but also changes our behavior if exposed frequently. The effect of media is not stopped even after exposure to media content is removed; instead it causes a lingering effect by initiating a gradual thought process that can lead to behavioral changes in many cases. A good example of behavioral manipulation caused by media content is the impact of action films on children. Research on television shows, movies, music and video games which contain violent behavior shows unequivocal connection between media violence and violent behavior in both short and long term (Anderson, et al., 2003). Empirical evidence shows children emulate violent behavior portrayed by the heroes in the movies thinking that they would be able to achieve their desired outcome though violent behavior just like hero tends to be victorious in the end of the movie. Children tend to adopt some behavioral aspects from media content over a long period of time. Moreover, some behavioral changes might change throughout the whole population as children adopt those behaviors as adults, practice those behaviors over others and leave a mark on the future generations. This is the reason why media is able to change some social norms that existed previously and why some nations are afraid o f cultural imperialism through media invasion. Media consumers, whether they know it or not, are affected by what they watch and what they see over a long period of time will still shape what they perceive as normal, thanks to oft-repeated themes and images in the land of movie love (Hefner, 2011). And while movies are not intended or expected to be entirely realistic, scholars of communication theorize that exposure to media like romantic comedies, especially for young people, can shape expectations about both romance and marriage, shifting adolescent perceptions about what love is like, and how to show it (McLanahan, 2008). Researchers followed 329 subjects over 15 years. They found that those who as children were exposed to violent TV shows were much more likely to later be convicted of crime. Researchers said that, Media violence can affect any child from any family, regardless of social class or parenting (Dispenza, 2011). All our actions are based on what we learn and what we know, and we as human beings learn by seeing and imitating. Following this trend of thought we can infer that as we see from movies, we tend to act accordingly, by the means of learning and practicing. Marriages When Frank Sinatra sang about love and marriage going together like a horse and carriage, he did not consider that to a great extent the cart is put before the ox. Marriages are arranged by parents in China, India and Indonesia three countries with 40% of the worlds population plus others that practice Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism. Pakistan is one such country where arranged marriages are practiced and dating is not permissible. Couples might get a 15-minute meeting followed in a few months by a wedding. But sparks are flying, and love marriages are breaking out in India, the worlds largest democracy, with 1.1 billion people.  CEO Raju Reddy of Sierra Atlantic in India, himself in an arranged marriage to childhood friend Neeraja, was surprised to learn at the Sierra Atlantic holiday party in December that about a dozen love marriages have germinated in recent years at the 13-year-old company. The Indian government does not differentiate in its marriage statistics. But young Indians interviewed say their observations suggest that 10% to 20% of their friends are having love marriages, and expert Poonam Barua, director of the Conference Boards India Operations, says that is probably true in most of Indias cities. Bollywood movies such as  Salaam Namaste  are based on the old formula of boy meeting girl and eventually fall in love. It will be decades, if ever, before love marriages dominate worldwide. In India, the trend is specific to the middle class of 350 million, not to the 70% of the country that remains rural. But the trend is undeniable, says Barua, whose niece began a love marriage on Feb. 2 with an Indian working for Citibank. Chambravalli and Mishra say if they have children, they also will be allowed to search for true love. In the meantime, Mom and Dad will be on the lookout. Plan A and Plan B, Mishra says. It seems like the neighbouring country Pakistan has been much influenced with this breakout of love marriages too. Similarity of Indian and Pakistani Mindset This section of the literature review focuses on how the Pakistani society and its mindset is similar to that of India which has led us to use most of our secondary research with regard to the Indian population. The fact that India and Pakistan have shared the same history coupled with the reality that both nations stand next to each other in the topographical location of the world map alone can point out how similar the thinking of these nations can be at one point in time and this section specifically focuses on the aspects through which the mindsets of the populations of these two nations can be hold similar. Originally, Pakistan and India have been a part of the same Indus civilization which has led them to having similar experiences and influences across decades. Before separation, Pakistan and India shared the same goal of freedom against the colonial rule and they were united in their fight against the British. Because of the division, a multitude of issues occurred regarding the distribution of power and dominance over the new nations and these resulted in frustration which turned the countries bitter towards each other. (India and Pakistan historic conflict and future outlooks, 2003). India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, all comprised the sub-continent at that time and the people residing in Hindustan lived together except the religious and cultural differences that had led to extremely brutal reactions and vast bloodshed at times, but this is only one side of the story the other side sticks to the fact that before the arrival of east India company in 1600 a mental asylum was created which reflects the sense of hospitability among the population there to take care of the mentally ill people as well as their society (S Sharma, 10/1984 ). This sense of love and affection is still present in both Pakistani and Indian community when residents of both countries visit the one another  [i]  . Furthermore, the established fact that the people of Pakistan came from the subcontinent makes it likely that the mind set of both the nations is parallel. Politically, both the countries have more or less a similar government structure consisting of the head of the country as the President, followed by the head of the government known as the prime minister and elected ministers who are answerable to the prime ministers. Despite the coups and political violations in both the countries, they manage to hold democratic elections. Due to all the similarities in their political framework, working alongside each other would be a lot less of a hassle as there are no starkly alien political systems to contend with. The economic structures of both the countries also hold a lot of similarities. The rates of unemployment and inflation are around 6% in both the countries. Indias 63% of workforce is concentrated mainly in the production primary goods and is self sufficient in food grains and it also produces cotton, tea, sugarcane, tobacco for export. Similarly, Pakistan also has more than 50% of its population involved in agriculture and the rates of labor involved in secondary and tertiary activities in both the countries are also similar which indicate high success rates of free trade agreements if both the countries agree for it.  [1]   As per the similarities among their cities, the two extreme ends of poverty and wealth in the city of Bombay bear a strange resemblance to that of the two extremes of living standards in Karachi. Bombay, like Karachi, is an industrial port city, plagued by over population, with colonial architecture dominating certain parts of town, and only the distance of 500 miles separating the two cities. The affinity between the two cities is not confined to the infrastructure and the living habitat, but even the afternoon breeze racing in from the sea at the verandah of the Bombay Gymkhana, is a de ja vu of the experience at the Karachi Gymkhana. Focusing on the differences between Bombay and Karachi, the most attention drawing aspect is the absence of statues in Karachi. We have monuments of fountains and swords and mountaintops in the middle of a landslide depicting Pakistans first successful nuclear test in 1998 but unlike Bombay, we have no statues of people. And then there is the city of Madras, which is a city that belongs clearly to the same region as Karachi and that is where their similarities end. The realization of being present in Southern India when in Madras is inevitable at all times, as Pakistanis, our association is stronger with the Northern India. For the students (of Stella Maris College), when asked which South Asian country they most strongly associated with, responded unanimously as Pakistan in complete contradiction to anyones expectations. When enquired as to why the students correlate with Pakistan, they replied that Pakistan had been a part of India. And when asked if they felt the same affinity towards Bangladesh, they declined profusely. (India and Pakistan historic conflict and future outlooks, 2003) To conclude, the mindset of both the nations can be attributed to be similar because of the sole reason that their forefathers have spent years together which has made their traditions, political systems, economic stances as being similar. It is the matter of self interest which has made the two countries apart like Kashmir issue is one where a conflict of interest between both the nations is seen. Apart from that religion has always been a major source of division and this is one subject where definitely no consensus can be reached as everybody has a right to religion. Models of Marriage Marriages can be put in four categories in Pakistan. There are: Partially Arranged Marriages Partially Love Marriages Totally Arranged Marriages Totally Love Marriages Totally arranged marriages and totally love marriages are two extreme forms of marriages and between these two extremes are Partially arranged and partially love marriages in which parents may take their selection and give their children the option to accept or reject their choice. Broadly these can fall under the two types of marriages (in India and Pakistan): Arranged and Love, as explained by Kavita Ramdya in her book Bollywood Weddings. These models are diametrically opposed. Love marriage will often involve a whimsical and incidental meeting followed by months and often years of dating. The arranged marriage excludes dating altogether and rarely allows for more than one meeting before the wedding day. When the boy and girl, words used to describe prospective marriage candidates despite their age, profession, or education, meet for the  ¬Ã‚ rst time, it is usually in a highly-regulated environment where both sets of parents sit in the same room accompanied by supportive extend ed family members. A wedding follows shortly thereafter, making it the second time the couple is allowed to see each other and after which the husband and wife embark on years of dating or getting to know one another without the nagging possibility of rejection. In the middle class, often family members stay on a lookout finding a suitable match, or a number of suitable matches. Then, the families meet to see if things work out. Long before this happens, though, the young men and women are carefully vetted for likes and dislikes, traits in common, complementary characteristics, and any other information that can be discovered and deemed relevant. Often, the process is much more informal, with the families in the community already knowing much about each other, and having already decided what could be potentially good pairings, and which may well be disastrous. The two opposed models of marriage are negotiated by the present generation as observed by Kavita Ramdya. Her examination led her to discover a middle path, which she called arranged meetings. Arranged meetings is an already negotiated and well-established third model for marrying. The second generation uses this method to  ¬Ã‚ lter out prospective marital candidates who do not have the right ethnic, religious, linguistic, and regional traits desired by their parents. In this way, neither arranged nor love marriage are excluded and the needs and desires of both generations are respected. The  ¬Ã‚ rst generation is still involved in  ¬Ã‚ nding a suitable partner for their child, whether through introductions by family and friends, or placing an ad on-line or in a newspaper. Additionally, candidates who do not come from the same religious sect, speak the desired dialect are cast away before a set of eligible prospects are considered. (Ramdya) Prevalence of Arranged Marriages Family forms the building block of a society. Human beings in turn follow the standards and norms set by the society to lead a perfect life. But everything is prone to change and so are the values and standards set by a society. In the same way, the ways of getting married are changing at a noticeable but slow pace. East is known for its traditions. Many countries in the East have been practicing arranged marriages since long. It is a known fact that love marriages are more common in the west than in the eastern countries. In Pakistan, marriages are most of the time arranged by family members. The reason is that the Pakistani society preserves family continuity through arranged marriages. collectivist societies like Pakistan prefer group decision over an individual one so marriages are a family affair rather than an individual one, and children are brought up to expect arranged marriages. It is seen that children can have veto power in few families but normally it is expected that the parents and other family members should commence and settle on the matter. In this society, marriage is not merely based on love relationships but family economics and social needs play a great role. Changing Trend of Marriages A couple of decades ago arranged marriage was the only known way to get married. But today it is not so. We see many Pakistani girls  and guys marrying by their own choice instead of that of their family. Love marriages are becoming more and more acceptable. Most of the marriages are arranged in Pakistan but some of the marriages are also based on love. Love marriages have been taking place in Pakistan in the last few years with the influx of western cultures and invasion of electronic media. Due to family obligations the trends of compromising and striving to sustain relationships have become the hallmark of eastern culture. However, this fact could not be denied that these trends are eroding day by day. People realize that the traditional system of totally arranged marriages needs to be adjusted. Partially arranged and partially love marriages are supported by the state religion. Today the exposure to various stimuli through the media has increased awareness. The improved education system could also be held responsible for this change. As compared to the previous years, the literacy rate among the Pakistani Women has increased by leaps and bounds over the past couple of decades. Education gives exposure and a sense of enlightenment. Women have become opinionated and smart. Many young women are given the right to exercise their choice in choosing a partner and the family members accept and support their decision. Dating agencies are emerging and proclaiming that although compatible partners inclined to marriage cant be picked off a supermarket shelf, they can be found on a website. Most work on the false assertion that a good profile and an insignificant  financial investment  is the only obstacle standing between you and the love of your life. If they are to be believed, a couple of cheesy emails can determine your compatibility. In a typical electronic dating set-up, the average person role plays in a desperate bid to make an impression.   It seems that love marriages are trending but we cannot deny the fact that the practice of an arranged marriage still heavily prevails in our society. Many times, the young individuals prefer not to take the decision themselves and they rely upon the family to find the best match for them. Gender Interaction The gender interactions part focuses on the evolving nature of interactions between male and female students and the resultant effect of this change on their marriage choices. Title: Student Attitude toward Mate selection in a Muslim Society: Pakistan Author: Henry Korson Journal: (Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Feb., 1969), pp. 153-165) The study was conducted on 765 participants in two universities of Pakistan (University of Karachi and University of Punjab) and provides a treasure trove of vital insights into how marriage was viewed by students in urban Pakistan 40 years ago. The study results showed that atleast a quarter of respondents believed that the choice of life-partner should be left to them, while another quarter wanted their parents to consult them before making the final decision. This showed that over 50% of the respondents in that era wanted to have a say in the final decision of their life-partner. Another question that was asked was if the respondents would make a completely independent choice when it comes to marriage to which only 3.8% respondents replied positively. 17.1% female respondents from Karachi and 16.7% female respondents from Lahore also believed that their parents would arrange their marriage without consulting them. This is in contrast to the 45% female respondents from Karachi and 52% female respondents from Lahore who said their families will accept their opinions on the life-partner. Keeping in mind that these are graduate students from the 1960s when education for women was still at a nascent stage in Pakistan, they can only be classified as a minority. The women belonged to wealthy, forward-thinking families who were amongst the first to educate their daughters and thus had a progressive mindset. They were open to the idea of their daughters having a say in their own marriage decision but were not yet willing to accept their daughters to have complete cont rol over the decision. This is reflected by the fact that only 9.8% of female students from Karachi and 6.3% of female students from Lahore believed that their families would accept their decision of marriage if it was their own personal initiative. One of the most interesting statistic provided by this study revealed that upto 30% of the sample believed that meeting ones spouse before marriage was unnecessary. Females from Karachi (44%) and Lahore (47%) showed a great liking to this option thus showing confidence in their parents ability to choose the right spouse for them. This mindset is unthinkable amongst most contemporary university students of Karachi and Lahore who are more independent compared to their counterparts of yesteryears. The combination of higher education, globalization and media local, Bollywood and western has resulted in a mindset where the choice of life partner is no more the sole domain of the individuals parents. Moreover, the need to meet the prospective spouse whether alone, with mutual friends or with family has become paramount before the final decision is made. Students today believe that couples should have understanding and this can only be gauged if there is some level of interaction before the marriage. The above mentioned statistic was further reinforced when the students were asked about the optimum length of time for knowing ones future spouse before marriage. Although a quarter of the respondents did say that knowing ones future spouse for about 6 months is necessary, the majority of these respondents were male. 34.5% of female respondents from Karachi and 27.1% of female respondents from Lahore were of the view that there was no need to know ones spouse before marriage again indicating confidence in their parents ability to choose a spouse who was appropriate for them. The conclusions that Korson derives are insightful and can be used to explain todays phenomena of how traditional arranged marriages are wearing away. Korson says that because most families live in extended households, the presence of senior members of the family prevent any young student from initiating any change which runs counter to the belief systems held by the senior members. Uncles, aunts, grand-parents ensure that the parents conservative view is supported and reinforced within the family. This is primarily because of the belief that if one person is given leeway in deciding their marriage decision, others in the family will follow suit, thus creating disorder and depriving the senior members of their authority. Korson further states that male respondents showed greater self-assurance and liberality in their responses whereas majority of females favoured conservative options. This is probably because of both males and females already understanding their own personal situations. He believed their answers on what they believed will happen with them with respect to marriage were based on the experience of someone close (sibling, cousin, friend) who had already been married and the respondents belief that their marriage will be conducted in the same manner because they belonged to the same caste, class or family. The last and most notable finding that Korson reveals is that the Pakistani university system is based on Western education and that in the race to achieving higher education (and resultant higher social standing), people are bound to be in touch with Western values and principles and to be influenced by them. The mindset of collectivism that is the root of traditional arranged marriages where it is popularly said that families marry each other will gradually and eventually be trumped by the Western ideal of individualism students will begin to make their marriage decisions based on their own personal liking instead of following age-old conservative customs entrenched in their baradaries . Today this mindset of individualism has taken hold in the mindset of urban educated youth who are striving to ensure that their decision be respected and upheld when it comes to marriage. The Western education system in combination with media (primarily progressive and romantic Bollywood films of the last decade and a half) have led the youth to question the conservative practices that were previously held with much respect. Title: Attitudes of University Students from India Toward Marriage and Family Life Authors: Vicki T. Davis and Raghu N. Singh Journal: International Journal of Sociology of the Family 1989, Vol. 19 (Autum) : 43-57 In this research, 83 Indian students in Texas Universities were asked about their opinions on marriage and family life. The report says that many social institutions in India have faced constant and gradual change. In India, the family is a very sacred institution and ranks second in importance after religion (Rao Rao, 1975). Many researches have been conducted to explore the impact of higher education on family patterns. When people go abroad to study, they experience greater freedom to make their own decisions and are no more bound by the controls of their families, and develop individuality, which may affect all family patterns of dwelling (Ross, 1961). In Rao Raos study (1976), 65% college students preferred nuclear families as compared to 35% supporting joint families. A study by Sharma and Shriram (1979) surveyed 25 newly married Indian couples about their opinions on the selection of marriage partners. The importance of interaction with their future partners was stressed by 80% of the respondents. These couples believed it was necessary to meet, socialize with, and have the opportunity to truly get to know the potential marriage partner. The majority of the couples also thought that the main choice in the selection of the marital partner should be made by the individuals, with consent of the parents. When the same kind of questions were asked of graduate students in Pakistan in 1969, 65% believed it was important to meet and know ones potential spouse before marriage. 30% of the respondents believed that there was no need to meet the future spouse, thus indicating their confidence in their parents ability to find them a suitabl e match (Korson, 1969) Author: Lord, Keelin (2007) Title: Romantic Love vs. Marriage: A Psychoanalytic Approach, Journal: ESSAI: Vol. 5, Article 30. The research by Keelin Lord questions and critcizes Western countries for promoting the concept of love marriage and explains the reasons behind the failure of love marriages and the rising number of divorces in America. Although there are many reasons why Pakistanis oppose the concept of love marriage including difference in social status between families, loss of parental authority and conservative mindset, the fact that love marriages lose their charm soon after the wedding is also an important factor. The writer says that the vehicle for promoting romance in American culture is its cinema industry. Romantic love has been portrayed in visual arts of western culture for centuries, such as operas, plays, dramas, paintings and films. Although these arts directly influence culture, most view art as an illusion as well as an escape from reality. Yet Americans still believe that romantic love is tangible and serves as a solid base for marriage. The writer further goes on to say that instead of taking romantic love as granted, it should be questioned and its mistakes should be learned from otherwise it will continue to be the cause of failed marriages. The writer conducted scientific tests on a number of participants to explain how the concept of love holds in an individuals mind. The tests revealed that romantic love is associated with higher levels of dopamine being released to the brain resulting in increased energy, higher motivation to acquite rewards and feelings of ecstasy things that people relate to romantic love. However, with time the feelings of romance fade away because of increased levels of the hormone oxytocin. Keeping these findings in mind, when romance is a base for marriage and attachment, the romance fades shortly after vows and the craving for a new romantic relationship evolves. In realizing this, one would begin to question why peoples now look for romance to provide them with a happy marriage. Primary Research Methodology Focus Group Interview Survey The survey sample was 66, with the age group being 17-26 years. 31 males were part of the survey and 35 females. This is the data that was obtained for whether the sample people thought there has been an increased acceptance of love marriages in our society. Do you think there has been an acceptance of love marriages in our society? Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent Yes 55 83.3 83.3 No 11 16.7 100.0 Total 66 100.0 83.3% of the people (55 people) felt that there has been an increased acceptance of love marriages in our society and 16.6% (11 people) did not feel so. Of the 55 people who felt there was an increased acceptance, 28 were females and 27 males. And there was no correlation between gender and their opinion regarding acceptance of love marriages though, as analyzed by the Pearson correlation. When asked about whether Bollywood has played a role in the increasing number of love marriages amongst youth in Pakistan, 71.2% of people felt that it has had a role to play (47 people). Of these 47 people, 22 were males and 25 were females. Do you believe Bollywood movies have a role to play in the increasing number of love marriages amongst youth in Pakistan? Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Yes 47 71.2 71.2 No 19 28.8 28.8 100.0 Total 66 100.0 One person said As far as I have seen, Bollywood movies have created this fantasy-like image of love marriages in the minds of youth and lead to our youth to aspi