Communications Journal Essay

Write a 700- to 1,050-word journal entry in the narrative style. Refer to this week’s readings to inform your responses. Describe the flow of information in your company. In your journal, discuss the following: The intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational, and intercultural levels of communication within your company How information travels up, down, and across your organization and how it relates to the basic communications model The functions of the Y hierarchy of managerial communications. Does it apply to your organization’s communication hierarchy? A comparison of at least three managerial communication approaches you have observed in your organization At least three potential barriers to effective communications that exist in your company Format your journal entry consistent with APA guidelines. Information flow within an organization is just one key element to any organizations success. During this entry I will be describing the communication levels of Cubic, which is currently the organization that I work for. How that information flow from top to bottom, and the communication of the upper level management. I will also be comparing three managerial approaches within the company that I have observed, and three potential barriers to the communication within my organization. The intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational and intercultural levels of communications are all on display within the Cubic organization. There are multiple Taff’s within building 990 on Fort Irwin providing the same product for the government. Each Taff is comprised of six to nine personnel who are continuously communicating to provide a product for the government. Interpersonal communication is continuously conducted within each group so that nothing ever falls between the cracks. Indi viduals are always communicating with themselves due to the constant mission changes and be able to adapt to change quickly. There is a very diverse workforce here also, mostly all retirees but from many different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As mentioned previously we generally work in small groups and communicate like one. It is almost like every Taff is its own little click,  we talk about others and they talk about us. So outside of our Taff we can generally be considered rivals in a matter of speaking. Information travels generally in one direction from our customer (Government) to us. There are occasions when we have a little say so in the actual product but for the most part it is a one-sided show. We have the Government, site manager Paul Zamora, our Taff Lead is Clarence Butler, and then there is the Taff. Generally the government provides Paul with marching orders that are eventually passed to out Taff lead Mr. Butler and we perform the tasks necessary to meet the quota of the government. The channel used is generally internet from the sender (government) to the Taff, via site manager and t aff lead. The feedback would be the product produced by the individuals working in the taff, and as long as the product meets the standards of the sender all is in good working order. The functions of Y Hierarchy of managerial communications do exist within this organization. Our manager is continuously creating and encouraging a wonderful work environment and providing opportunities for employees to take the initiative and self-direction. Management is always looking for new ways for employees to make significant contributions within the organization. Behavioral, empowerment, and contingency are the three managerial communication approaches that I have observed within the organization that I currently work for. Empowerment is the distribution or entrustment of power or authority to his or hers subordinates within an organization. Generally used when upper management is out of work for certain amount of time. Empowerment also encourages the employees to get more involved with the organization. The contingency approach is seen a lot in our Taff, Mr. Butler knows that there is more than one way to skin a cat and whichever way produces the best result is generally the path that is taken. This is probably the approach seen mostly around the Cubic organization because of the results that are produced. Behavioral approach comes with trust and individual character. Managers have been seen trusting and respecting the employees more now than ever due the product that the taffs put out for the military customer. Personality, emotional, and physical are the three potential barriers to effective communication within the Cubic organization. Everyone here has their own personality and that can sometimes create an issue throughout the  business day. Individuals are loaded with many traits that create personal attitudes, approaches, angles, quirks and different views on the world. There are many occasions in which this trait has stalled communication between two individuals and in some case hurt the overall product. Emotional barriers can be the worst. There are many individual at cubic that let things go straight to the head and forget that we are at the workplace. Emotions should not be brought to work with you at all, you should be able to brush things off and move on with the job. Managers are often seen using a softer touch to get through to the individuals with emotional issues. Physical barriers are one of the most common around my work place. There are many occasions that we are working with a wall between co-workers and with communication being the key to our success problem will generally arise on occasions. We have made complaints on many occasions with the same results â€Å"deal with it†.

Novel Chronicle Of A Death Foretold English Literature Essay

The secret plan of Chronicle of a Death Foretold revolves around Santiago Nasars decease and events taking up to his ghastly slaying. The writer seems to utilize both animate and inanimate objects to show symbolism that could convey important subjects. This essay will place and analyse certain scenes where objects have specific symbolism.The narrative is by South American writer named Gabriel Garcia Marquez who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. Marquez was born in the tropical town of Aracataca in northern Colombia in 1928. He grew up with his maternal grandparents who were important in his development. His gramps in peculiar, shaped Marquez ‘s political and ideological positions. A cardinal factor possibly associating to this novel is the gramps ‘s occasional words to Marquez that â€Å" you can non conceive of how much a dead adult male weighs † . Marquez attended college to analyze jurisprudence but subsequently he worked as a journalist in New York, Paris, and Barcelona. In the first portion of the novel, there is an copiousness of prefiguration and symbolism. The first scene is Santiago Nasar ‘s dreams. The supporter ‘s female parent, Placida Linero, states in the really first page that he was â€Å" ever woolgathering about trees † . Trees are normally interpreted otherwise by persons but it seems to be a representation of a individual. For illustration, a healthy green tree would typify a individual who is accomplishing success or a individual ‘s physical and mental strength. The storyteller provinces in page seven that â€Å" he besides learned the good art of heroism and prudence † , the supporter ‘s steadfast strength of head and his ability to train himself could propose grounds that he had dreamt large green trees. The trees could besides portray the male parent, as he was a important other in Santiago Nasar ‘s life before he died, proposing that Santiago misses his male parent or has fond memories of him. The hebdomad before his decease, Santiago had another dream about trees, his female parent informs the storyteller that Santiago had told her â€Å" he was entirely in a tin foil aeroplane and was winging through Prunus dulcis trees without knocking into anything † ( p4 ) . Possibly the Prunus dulcis tree in Santiago ‘s dream could typify people of Colombia and the scene of the narrative, which is a little coastal town in Colombia. Possibly the writer chose Prunus dulcis trees to stand for his South American beginning and civilization. Almonds normally have a chocolate-brown colour and it seems to resemble the skin colour of South Americans. The tin foil aeroplane could stand for ignorance, as he was unaware of what inevitable wretchedness awaited him. He was besides winging entirely and queerly non knocking into the Prunus dulcis trees. This could farther propose that the people in his town had known about the secret plan to slay him but Santiago was incognizant of this danger because ironically, his slaying secret plan was a chief chitchat amongst the townsfolk yet Santiago was entirely non being informed of the danger. The strong presence of ignorance likely shows itself in this first dream. Santiago Nasar ‘s female parent recalls the inside informations of his dream the dark before he was murdered. She states that he dreamt he was traveling through a tree where a soft mizzle was falling, she farther states that he was happy in his dream but woke up â€Å" splattered with bird crap † . Sing that this novel was translated from Spanish to English, the word â€Å" crap † could be used otherwise in the two linguistic communications. Possibly in Spanish it could be a less awful word and could merely intend the dungs of fecal matters. In English, the word â€Å" crap † has a really strong and coarse significance normally used in general society as a really bad word even though it still refers to the same definition as the Spanish significance. The writer could hold used similar footings to replace the word â€Å" shit † but he might hold used a stronger more coarse word to convey to the reader how much problem Santiago Nasar was in. Trees used for bring forthing lumber are normally associated with comfortable life of an person or peaceable surrounding. Possibly it could typify success, the storyteller ‘s sister explains how he was rich and fine-looking but there was no strong grounds to demo these features of Santiago. The supporter was happy but all of a sudden found himself covered in bird dungs, the bird dungs were non in his dream but hold symbolism excessively. Bird dungs normally mean that there is failure of an person who is about reaching success but falls short. The bird dropping could stand for his slaying, he fails to be cognizant of the danger and avoid being killed. The 2nd scene bearing symbolic significance is the bishop ‘s visit to the town. Possibly this scene holds a batch of symbols of faith, particularly Christianity. In page 21, it states that â€Å" people were excessively excited with the bishop ‘s visit to worry about any other intelligence † , proposing another symbol of ignorance, people were willing to happen the bishop ‘s visit more of import so they did non trouble oneself to recognize another adult male ‘s life was in danger. Disappointingly the bishop did non acquire off the boat as everyone turned up aroused to run into him ; some came to be healed while other people brought well-fattened cocks and firewood as a manner of idolizing a holy figure in the Catholic faith. The delivery of fertile animate beings and workss to idolize a holy figure was used in the Christian Old Testament, a manner of worship. Today, Christians normally worship God straight by praying. The fertile offering brought to the bishop suggests that early Catholic ‘s still practiced worshipping by offering forfeits to holy figures trusting that blessing would be bestowed upon them. It could farther typify the South American civilization of the 1900 ‘s and besides typify faith. It could be identified from the two scenes that the objects have a really important function in typifying certain subjects or thoughts.Maybe these symbols are being used in an effort by the writer to convey the subjects and thoughts to the readers. There are certain major subjects that seem to look from both scenes. A really obvious subject is ignorance ; this is displayed by the supporter himself who was unaware of the baleful sign of his dreams and his failure to larn from others that his life was in danger. His female parent, in a manner, could hold shown ignorance by non seeking to understand the boy ‘s dreams. The female parent had a well-earned repute of construing dreams provided the dreams were told to her before she eats. This could propose that the female parent has been making this for a certain period of clip and she should hold besides gained experience of construing dreams. Unfortunately, she was non able to construe the boy ‘s dream. Possibly the female par ent did non hold a strong mother-son relationship with Santiago or she could non hold been bothered to try and detect the representation of her boy ‘s dreams. The townsfolk besides displayed ignorance when they made a determination that the bishop ‘s visit was deemed as more of import than seeking to salvage another adult male ‘s life. They had cognition of what awful event awaited Santiago but none of the town ‘s people warned Santiago himself. Another major subject that appears in both scenes is faith. The novel was written during a clip when most South American states were Catholic, the writer might hold shown inside informations of how the Catholics behaved in society and how they worshipped God or the cardinal figures in the faith. For illustration, Catholics believed that the virginity of adult females should be preserved until matrimony and this was shown with Angela Vicario in the novel. Angela Vicario was the female in the narrative who had lost her virginity before matrimony and was rejected by Bayardo San Roman. She so accused Santiago Nasar of doing her impure and this lead to Angela ‘s brothers, Pablo and Pedro, plotting to slay Santiago. The construction and the secret plan of the novel seem to be fragmented. Information is given to the readers about the character but non plenty to wholly analyse each one of them. The narrative is really cryptic and journalistic in a manner that there are no definite replies to the events happening in the novel. This could reflect the writer himself as he had antecedently worked as a journalist in many states. This journalistic manner of authorship could hold been adapted to his novels, this gives the novel a more entertaining position to the reader. The reader will hold to suit the narrative together and make up one's mind on their ain decision. I enjoyed reading this book because of its copiousness of subjects and how it was like a detective narrative. The writer besides seems to typify his civilization utilizing the objects in the text. Word Count: 1,431

Nacirema Case Paper

The Nacirema case study reminds us how cultural rituals were many years ago and how some of them are still existing today. The Nacirema tribe has many unconventional practices of how they live day to day. From the article â€Å"Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,† it is clear that they believe their bodies are not attractive and should not be presented in a promiscuous way. Professor Linton documented the North American Tribe who think their bodies as naturally disgusting. They perform daily magic rituals to their bodies to prevent it from being decayed or diseased in anyway. Some of the rituals use potions, charms and physical suffering. One ritual they focused on was the one that was concerning the mouth. The Nacirema tribe believed that there is a strong relationship between their mouth and their social life. If they did not perform the oral rituals, it was correlated to them losing their friends and families. They perform a daily â€Å"mouth-rite† which is done by â€Å"inserting a magic bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powder, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures. † (Allard 20) This body ritual is performed daily by everyone in the Nacirema Tribe. If I was to relate this ritual to something similar in the American culture, I would relate to people brushing their teeth every morning. The bundle of hog hairs (pretty disgusting to put in your mouth) is the same as the American toothbrush. The magic powder is similar to the toothpaste and the action of moving it in a series of formalized gestures is the same as us moving our toothbrush around our mouth to brush our teeth (I’m pretty sure everyone has a routine of how they brush their teeth every morning – I know I do). Along with that, the people also visit the â€Å"mouth-men† voluntarily once or maybe twice a year for torturous mouth rituals. The â€Å"holy-mouth-man† enhances any existing holes in the person’s teeth by using crude tools and then continues to fill the holes with â€Å"magical materials. † These magical materials that are placed into the holes of the teeth are used to stop their teeth from decaying and to draw friends closer. What surprised me is that even if these people did not have any naturally occurring holes in their teeth, the â€Å"holy-mouth-man† would gauge out normal teeth to purposely make holes in the client’s mouth. He would then follow through to filling them with the â€Å"magic materials. Part of this ritual is similar to the American culture of visiting the dentist. It is recommended for people to visit the dentist at least once or twice a year. The idea of filling any holes in the teeth seems like they are talking about people having cavities in the teeth. In the American culture, dentists use ‘fillers’ which is similar to the â€Å"magic al material† used to fix the holes in the teeth. I am surprised that the â€Å"holy-mouth-man† would proceed to make a hole in a client’s teeth even if they are perfectly fine. I find that appalling and not similar to the American culture. I also find it to be strange that these people still visit the â€Å"holy-mouth-man† even though their teeth are not getting any better. They still continue to go through the suffering just to be accepted in the Nacirema Tribe. After reviewing the article by Horace Miner, it is apparent that people of the Nacirema Tribe seem to have a reason for everything they do regardless of whether it is right or wrong or makes sense or not. Some of those reasons make sense but the main one that concerns me is why they inflict pain and harm on one another in these forms of rituals when physical torture is not even required for them. A prime example would be the one I discussed earlier of making holes in teeth when their teeth are perfectly fine. There is no need to purposely cause pain to the client to make a hole in their teeth when it is not necessary. This kind of behavior is related to people who are associated with masochism and sadism. Masochism is derived from inflicting pain on one self and sadism is derived from inflicting pain on others. The people are going to the â€Å"mouth-men† to inflict pain on themselves even if they do not need to. What is interesting is that Nacirema is actually American spelled backwards. It brings attention to whether these types of rituals are all make-believe or fantasy with the terms used such as â€Å"magic. † These rituals would not be accepted in the American culture (in the horrendous way it is described) but it relates to diversity and the acceptance of everyone’s culture regardless of whether you will follow it or not per say. This article is a great example of people during barbaric things which might not be acceptable to one person but is the norm to another.

Increasing taxes of alcohol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Increasing taxes of alcohol - Essay Example According to the health minister, when in the year 2000 the previous government initiated a tax decrease on these products, it led to a drastic increase in the consumption of these products. Official data suggests that the consumption increased form 14 percent to around 60 percent with young girls. Moreover, an even more alarming situation for the government is that the consumption of ready to alcohol drinks is increasing within teenagers and data suggests that girls are even more responsive towards this trend in comparison with boys. The government hopes to reverse this trend with this price increase since the segment is price sensitive plus the government also promises to spend the tax revenue in preventive health schemes. The above-mentioned case in many ways relates to different concepts of economics. The first one can be the very basic relation of price and demand. Economics at its initial level teaches that price charged for any product and quantity demanded of that product enjoy a negative or inverse relationship. If price charged for a product increases than the quantity demand decreases and vice versa1. This case shows a similar kind of a situation. According to the health minister when in year 2000, the previous government decreased the taxes, it led to the decrease in the price charged for it to consumers and this decrease in price led to a drastic increase in the quantity demanded for ready to drink alcohol drinks. Official data suggests that it rose from 14 percent to 60 percent within the segment of young girls. The price demand relationship explains the idea and phenomenon behind this happening. Another important concept of economics applied here is the price elasticity of demand. Sensitivity of quantity demanded to the changes in the price charged is the price elasticity of demand. In order words, it can also be said that it refers to the responsiveness of demand in relation to the changes in price.

Investigative Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Investigative Study - Essay Example But from 1 October 2011, employers will no longer be able to dismiss an employee just because they have reached 65 unless they can objectively justify doing so, which in many cases will be difficult to prove. For example, an employer recruiting within the emergency services will be justified in having a retirement age as such a service requires a significant level of physical fitness. ‘When the DRA was introduced in 2006, it was not intended to be subject to initial consultation and review until 2011. This review date was brought forward due to the economic climate and the changes this has brought with it. In addition to this, the Government consider that people are living longer and should therefore be given the right to work longer if this is something they wish to do’(McGowan 2011). Between 6 April 2011 and 1 October 2011, only employees notified before 6 April 2011 and whose retirement date is before 1 October 2011 can be compulsorily retired using the DRA procedures . This effectively means that after 6 April 2011, if procedures have not already been commenced, employers will not be able to compulsorily retire employees without objective justification for doing so. a. Discussion of the implications to employees e.g. assessment of fitness to work, HRP, L&D, compliance with equality legislation The implication of this for employers is it may cost the business more in terms of insured benefits like life insurance and private medical coverage beyond the normal retirement age. The Government responded by stating that an exception will be introduced to the age discrimination rules so that employers do not suffer a detriment in this respect. However, this has not been confirmed yet. Employers can no longer simply rely on an employee reaching 65 for retirement to occur. This has the potential of affecting succession planning in an employer’s business. Employers are therefore under more pressure than ever to introduce policies and procedures that deal with the workforce generally such as work force planning and formal performance management procedures. The default retirement age of 65 for employees is currently an important exception to the ban on age discrimination in the workplace. Currently, if the statutory retirement procedure is followed employees cannot bring legal claims against their employer for forcing them to retire. Employees can ask to continue working, but employers are under no obligation to say yes. ‘The statutory retirement procedure requires an employer to notify an employee of their intended retirement date no more one year and no less than six months before that date’ (http 2010). ‘Less than a quarter of employers are in favour of scrapping the default retirement age of 65, while even fewer have made plans for it, according to new research’ (GP Business 2011). Law firm DWF's study discovered that only 24% think the new regulations that come into effect on April 6 this year are a good idea and just16% have made provisions for the change. In the wake of the findings, DWF held an HR directors' forum in

Business assignment 2 Nader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business assignment 2 Nader - Essay Example ution of the firms internal resources between all the aspects, such that the firm is able to gain cost efficiencies as well as competitive edge against its competitors. The 4 step chain of management very comprehensively summarizes the vital tasks that have to be performed by a manager. They are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Planning is the visionary discussions on how factors have to be distributed, and how a certain project will be finished on time. This is just the pen and paper phase of the management, where the manager is keen on making a plan which is as crisp as possible, and which can be referred to upon as the project moves on. Organizing is the distribution of the resources among the various departments, various teams, various product divisions etc. so that every entity can start working as per the plan that was made in the first stage. (Dale, 1969) Then comes the third stage of leadership, where the manager has to perform the roles of the leader by motivat ing his staff to achieve the plan that was made by organizing the resources allocated to them in the best possible manner. And lastly, is the stage of controlling, where the manager has to ensure that the resources are not being misused, that the tasks and duties being assigned to individuals are being fulfilled, and that the plan is going according to what had been decided upon. This last stage is actually a check and balance stage, which is very important and helps them do any form of corrective actions that might be required. Leadership is the influential power that one holds to motivate, encourage and inspire a team to perform better than they usually would and someone who makes a vision and then continuously communicates it to his subordinates, also vigorously trying to increase the enthusiasm level of individual employees for the attainment of that vision. A leader is someone who is bent upon selling his vision to all his subordinates, so that a collective effort is exerted upon

Fukuyamas Philosophical System and the Ethics of Biotechnology Essay

Fukuyamas Philosophical System and the Ethics of Biotechnology - Essay Example There is ‘something’ that separates humans from other animals. This concept leads to his other theories on bioethics. Such that experimentation on humans should not violate their dignity. And that the essence of being human should remain intact as this separates humans from animals. According to Fukuyama, factor X makes humans as the world knows them. It is the factor in the human body that cannot be reduced to moral choices, language, sociability, sentience, emotions, or any quality that has been put forth as a ground for human dignity. He terms the factor that is responsible for the dignity in mankind, the factor X. In other words, it is an ideology that each person holds. According to Fukushima, Jews, Christians, and Muslims share a common theme that the man is created in the image of God. This theory is the base for Factor X among those followers. Similarly, an atheist also has factor X, which can be a moral authority. Fukuyama is not against biotechnology. He is against violating the sacredness of humans. This concept might be abstract for scientists. Factor X cannot be calculated. It does not have that form that scientists would like to consider relevant. In fact, the concept of factor X is relevant to the person’s beliefs. Different belief systems generate different factor X’s. Such a thought might seem too spiritual for scientific study, but Fukuyama has dedicated his studies to preserve human sanctity. Francis Fukuyama, a bio–conservative, along with other writers such as George Annas, Leon Kass, Jeremy Rifkin, Bill McKibben, and Wesley Smith, opposed the use of technology to modify human nature. Fukuyama fears that the man's nature is the most precious thing that can be affected by the recent advances in human biotechnology.  

How does aviation impact the environment What could be done to improve Essay

How does aviation impact the environment What could be done to improve things - Essay Example Many aircrafts use avgas (Aviation Gasoline) as a fuel. It contains tetra-ethyl lead (TEL) that is a highly toxic chemical. It causes soil pollution at airports. It also pollutes air and causes various respiratory problems. The greatest threat caused to the environment is in the form of the chemical gases that emit out of the aviation aircrafts. So, these should be considered specifically. First of all, improvement in the design of aircrafts engine is required. An engine which reduces the emission of toxic gases such as Carbon dioxide, Carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides is required. This may greatly reduce the environmental pollution caused due to these gases. Despite manufacturing new engines, the improvement in older engines can also be helpful. High-pressure turbine nozzles, upgraded gas turbines and steam injection can greatly assist in minimizing the pollution. Another requirement is to design engine which reduces the fuel combustion as fuel burn also contributes heavily to the air pollution. Moreover, light aircrafts can be run on lower-compression engines which may be operated on mogas (Motor Gasoline) mogas does not contain tetra-ethyl lead (TEL). thus, using mogas instead of avgas will be hel pful in minimizing air pollution. Another way of reducing environmental pollution caused from aviation is by improving operational efficiency of the aircraft i.e. by increasing the number of passengers in each flight. This will reduce the emissions per passenger. The reduction in taxi time may also be helpful in reducing pollution. Pollution may also be reduced by reducing energy output during landing, takeoff and taxi

Intercultural communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intercultural communication - Essay Example This happens when cultural differences interfere in the interpretation of the message, wherein difficulties may arise, as well as misunderstandings and hatred. Surface-structure cultural transfer comes in either the language form or the speech act. The language form involves understanding of the different lexical culture, such a vacant words, words with strong cultural connotation, idioms, proverbs and polite formulas. Since native speakers acquire them unconsciously, second language learners learn them according to their own cultural background. On the other hand, speech act may only be avoided if the people involved in the communication process should take time in analyzing first the culture of the speaker in which the speech is delivered. The negative transfer of deep-structure culture, on the other hand, occurs in situations where individuals have varying cultural values, thought patterns, religious beliefs and ethics. In Wei’s study of Chinese and the American intercultural communication, culture plays a big factor in the negative transfer of ideas. China, as a country driven by collectivism, puts emphasis on the views, needs and goals of the in-group (relatives, clans, organizations) rather than oneself; social norms and duty defined by the in-group rather than behavior to get pleasure; beliefs shared with the in-group rather than beliefs that distinguish self from in-group; great readiness to cooperate with in-group members. In contrast, American culture is deeply rooted in individualism, thus the interpretation of these two cultures vary. In addition, Chinese associate and depend their decision according to their past experiences. They give emphasis on their past such that they believe that the past guide s them for their actions in the present. However, Americans believe the other way. They give more emphasis on the future such that they give much attention to what would happen next rather than look at the

Reveiwing the titanic movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reveiwing the titanic - Movie Review Example Simon Adams writes, â€Å"The Titanic’s builders, Harland and Wolff, claimed that the ship’s system of watertight bulkheads made the vessel virtually unsinkable.†(8) But the power of the ocean was awesome, once the ship was caught in its watery trap. The shooting of the movie is the saga of the technical expertise of the highest order. Once the ship sank, it began to move towards its resting place in the ocean bed. Most of the underwater shots of the wreckage of the ship were real. â€Å"James Cameron hired in 1995 the Russian vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and its two submersibles. The technical team worked at a depth of 12,500 feet below the North Atlantic. The special cameras and housings withstood the 6,000 pounds per square inch of water pressure. He made twelve dives of fifteen hours each and the cameras succeeded in storing 500 feet of film only. Twelve minutes of footage was shot per dive. (www.imdb.)So, one can see introduction of many fake underwater shots in the movie. The sinking process of Titanic has gathered momentum. The ship is moving towards its final destination in a rapid pace and grandeur in consistent with its gigantic size. Jack and Rose rush to the stern of the ship, along with many others, as it rises higher and higher. A priest is remembering God with the Rosary prayer. The passengers in freight, mob him. Jack and Rose reach out to the stern and are clustered together and lean on the railings. Rose looks to Jack and says to him, "Jack, this is where we first met!† (www.imdb)Cameron credits Kate Winslet with writing the heart-wrenching line during the final sinking. Jack kisses her forehead and presses her to him even more firmly. The ship now seems in a hurry to reach its final destination. It hangs in the air with a 30-degree angle between it and the water. People lose balance, slip and begin to fall/slide and crash into water. Many fall from the stern,

Political Parties and the Electoral Process Essay - 1

Political Parties and the Electoral Process - Essay Example In considering this topic, it is important to understand the differences between the two major parties, to look at the role that campaigns play in keeping a strong hold on the two-party system, and to explore possible reasons why third-part candidates have never had much success in American Presidential elections. Differences in Ideology Just as family members offer differ amongst themselves in regards to important issues, the two major political parties are no different. While there are some issues that the two surprisingly agree on, there are many ideological differences that have formed through the years, resulting in the huge divide that we see today. Some differences regarding social issues are evident. Democrats, for example, by and large are in opposition to the death penalty, while a substantial majority of Republicans are in support (Newport, 2009). Another social issue that is even more decisive is that of abortion. Democrats overwhelmingly are pro-choice, meaning that they support a women’s right to an abortion. Republicans, on the other hand, are in staunch opposition to abortion and believe that it should be made illegal at the national level. Finally, consider the differences in terms of the scope of government. The Democratic party supports a larger government that provides more government services to the country, while Republicans push for a smaller and more streamlined government that focused on business and private development (Pletka, 2013). Third-Party Candidates, The Electoral Process, and Presidential Campaigns When one is looking at political news in America, it becomes obvious rather quickly that many citizens are unhappy with their political choices. While the two parties offer different choices, many argue that they seem out of touch with the average America. As such, it would stand to reason that a third-party would be possible in the country, yet for decades such a party has tried and failed time after time. The current system is simply stacked against them. Since most financial donor in the country give to one of the two major political parties, they control the campaigns, air time, and debate cycles. It is difficult for a third-party candidate to even wage a serious national campaign. This is largely due to an electoral system that divides the presidential election into separate contests in each of the 50 states. As such, third party candidates cannot even get on the ballot everywhere because they do not have the financial and logical resources to gain support in each of the 50 United States (Schultz, 2009). Because of these and other reasons, such candidates have never really managed to find much traction when waging a national campaign. Conclusion While there is certainly a basis for having a third-party in the United States, conditions simply have not allowed it. Some of this can likely be attributed to voter and political apathy, while the crux of the issue is likely related to money. The reality i s that there are enough ideological differences between the two major political parties in America that it keeps them separate and distinct in the eyes of campaign donors, and the public in general. Add to this the fact the electoral college system views the race for President as a state-by-state contest,

Playing Upon the String of Emptiness Essay Example for Free

Playing Upon the String of Emptiness Essay Nowadays, the search for something new has been greatly pursued. The availability of resources helped individuals to innovate. It impels them to work beyond the existing rules and surpassing limitations, be it in the field of music, architecture, literature, etc. The modernity of this world brought upon by globalization made it easier to reach cultures. Cultures that were bound by their physical territories before have been accessible because of modern technologies. This easy, unlimited exposure provides endless ideas and innovations that bring about different works of art. For Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, this infinite flow of innovations or novelties offers unrestricted venues for artists to produce their works—venues that are free from rules and do not conform to a certain set of standards. According to him, this poses a threat to the morality of society as well as of the artists’. He argued that novelty is an art with unlimited freedom and thus equates to a soulless art. This perspective was explained in the context of Russian’s struggle with communism which Solzhenitsyn directly experienced. He focused on the deterioration of arts’ standard after the fall of Communism, specifically with literature. Due to the given freedom, arts do not fall under a set of standards, causing the artistic value to suffer. He then related that Communism promoted a new society. To be able to build a new one, the old cultures and traditions should be thrown away: To start a new world is to start from scratch. Solzhenitsyn then compared this situation to the literary artists in his country. They were writing outright criticisms of every aspect of Russian roots like language, religion, and traditional cultures—a move that was so desperate for a change to be made by who he termed as ‘desperate innovators’. The author disapproved of forgetting the roots of any artistic work, for this is important in the development of a new face of art. Solzhenitsyn does not believe in the aggressive step of aiming forward in the arts starting from nothing. Novelty becomes relentless with the absence of ancient roots. It is an unintelligible art with no significant value to the world—an art without a purpose and is useless. Solzhenitsyn cited what kinds of arts were produced because of the frantic novelty frenzy. The arts arising from novelty does not have that spiritual connection from the artist with the world. Since the ‘great cultural tradition’ has been detached, the spiritual grounds that were developed from it are missing as well. Arts were not produced for a greater purpose anymore. Thus, it does not emanate a higher sense of value for the world. It is reduced to a mere display without a profound significance. It was from the author’s observation that the absence of artistic limits has resulted in irresponsibility and apathy. Solzhenitsyn mentioned the ‘what do you care’ attitude of the Russian writers who created literary works when the censorship has been lifted after the downfall of communism. This kind of artistic mindset alienates the welfare of its audience. The line between right and wrong has become thinner, its boundaries blurry and sometimes interchanging. The arts, according to Solzhenitsyn, have been turned into more of a personal ambition of the artists rather than an intentional product of passion and love. He stressed that artists do not bring the world as the subject; they are the focal point. The arts became a movement of personal interests of the artists. Novelty becomes like a venue for affectation. Going back to Solzhenitsyn main argument, novelty became ruthless because it eradicated the classical foundation of arts. Arts cannot push for development if its foundation will be forgotten. It would be more disruptive if it will be forced to progress aggressively without any fundamentals to back it up. Alexander Solzhenitsyn sees novelty as a cause for a more individualistic nature rather than being communal in interaction. He was alarmed by how the current generation responded to old traditions. These traditions were treated as something useless and irrelevant in the present. Novelty was portrayed by the author as something anti-cultural and antagonistic of anything universally accepted. The saying ‘to each his own’ in arts or in general constitutes obscure distinction between good and evil. Another supporting factor for Solzhenitsyn’s argument is that this particular freedom attached with novelty developed into a negative relativity. This has been embraced by young artists who turn self-expression into a lack of sensitivity with regard to the effects of their work to other people. Social responsibility slowly ceased to exist anymore. Artistic freedom has always been believed to be helpful in maximizing an artist’s work. However, Alexander Solzhenitsyn presented an opposite view. The freedom vested on the artist implies a threat of producing an art with is a much lesser value. With no artistic limitations and no principles to follow, art becomes less of a recreation instead of serving a higher purpose. Solzhenitsyn emphasized the need to take the cultural tradition into account because without it, progress will be impossibly successful. He sees novelty as a trend resulting in chaos—socially and morally disruptive. It promotes an individualism that is obviously selfish and divides humanity even more. Innovations should be created for the benefit of others. Arts may be a compiled output of an individual’s unique skills and talents, but there will always be a responsibility attached to it because people get to grasp these works. An art is a huge factor in contributing to the formation of an ideology in a society. It is a powerful tool to propagate a message that can reach a huge number of people. Hence, Solzhenitsyn sees its development as critical because this will determine where the world will be heading to. The world will not be able to move forward without revisiting and considering the past. The cultural traditions within human society should be embedded for development. It is an important basis to learn from past mistakes and to improve on the present. It can be seen that Solzhenitsyn somehow views relentless novelty as the anarchism of art that will later on transcend into society. He mentioned the absence of laws in the process of arts and the lack of absolute truth. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn provided the view of novelty enclosed in a reckless handful of freedom and a lack of traditional grounds. He presented it as something negative because he had witnessed what it did to his people especially to the younger generations. As an artist himself, the author poses a huge concern on what kind of directions the arts would take since he knows the powerful influence of it to the society. He hopes to spread his view to make the younger generations be exposed of what history has brought the Russian country and what were its implications. Solzhenitsyn firmly believes that through history, it may shape the new artists to work for a greater purpose for humanity.

Daiichi Sankyos Ranbaxy Acquisition Analysis

Daiichi Sankyos Ranbaxy Acquisition Analysis With the spiraling up healthcare charges and government expenditure on public healthcare, many developed countries are trying to promote generic drugs. The demand for generics is also complemented by wider access to healthcare in developing economies. This coupled with the expiry of many patented drugs around the corner, many brand name pharmaceutical companies tried to acquire generic drug companies, in this paper we try to analyze one such acquisition. On 11th June 2008, Daiichi Sankyo the third largest pharmaceutical company in Japan made an offer to buy control stake in Ranbaxy, the largest drug-maker by revenue in India. The purchase price of INR737 represented a premium of 53.5% over Ranbaxys average daily closing price on the National Stock Exchange for the three months ending on June 10, 2008 and 31.4% over closing price on June 10, 2008. In this paper we would analyze why Daiichi Sankyo must have picked Ranbaxy and Daiichis Strategy behind the acquisition. We also try to do the valuation of Ranbaxy at the acquisition time and whether Daiichi paid a hefty premium over its intrinsic value. Post-acquisition Daiichi Sankyos stock moved southwards, later in this paper we try to address this shareholder reaction. The acquisition was termed bad and Daiichi had a one-time writing down of $3.45 billion off its balance sheet. We also analyze what might have gone wrong in this cross-border transaction, issues such as lack of proper due-diligence on Daiichi Side and lack of transparency on Ranbaxy side. INTRODUCTION The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies can deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices. They are governed by a variety of geography specific laws and regulations regarding the patenting, testing and ensuring safety and efficacy and marketing of drugs. Its origins can be traced back to the nascent chemical industry of the late nineteenth century in the Upper Rhine Valley near Basel, Switzerland when dyestuffs were found to have antiseptic properties. Many of the modern pharmaceutical companies started out as Rhine-based family dyestuff and chemical companies e.g. Hoffman-La Roche, Sandoz, and Novartis etc. Over time many of these chemical companies entered into pharmaceuticals business and gradually evolved into global players. The industry expanded rapidly in the sixties, healthcare spending skyrocketed as global economies prospered in this period. In the seventies the industry evolved further with the introduction of tighter regulatory controls, especially with the introduction of regulations governing the manufacture of generics. The new regulations abolished permanent patents and allowed patent protection for branded products for fixed periods only, and a new competitive segment branded generics evolved in the pharmaceutical sp ace. With the patent expiries of many blockbuster drugs nearby and increasing demand for cheaper drugs, many pharmaceutical companies are trying to offer a generic drug portfolio as well. The fastest way to add this portfolio is the inorganic way; lets look at one such case wherein a Japanese Pharmaceutical giant acquired a large bracket Indian Generic drugs company. Daiichi Sankyo before Acquisition (Year ending March 2008) Daiichi Sankyo was Japans 3rd largest pharmaceutical company, established by the merger of Sankyo Co., Ltd. and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd in September 2005. Daiichi was mainly a brand, RD oriented pharmaceutical company with revenues of 880 billion yen ($8.8 billion) in FY 2007-08. The company was cash rich and had around ÂÂ ¥574 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its portfolio comprised of pharmaceuticals for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and bacterial infections, the Group was also engaged in the development of treatments for thrombotic disorders and focused on the discovery of novel oncology and cardiovascular-metabolic therapies. With the shrinking Japanese market the company had a clear inclination towards overseas sales, the Overseas Sales/ Net Sales had steadily increased from 33% to 40% from 2005-2008, however markets other than the traditional Japan and North America were the ones which were showing real movement. The company clearly aimed to build Asia, South and Central America markets. Daiichi already had business operations in 21 countries and aimed to be a Global Pharma Innovator by 2015. In India they were already underway forming a Sales subsidiary. The Company also was trying to concentrate on its core pharmaceutical business by spinning off non-pharmaceutical businesses from the group. One of the mid to long-term goals of Daiichi was to increase its presence in novel therapeutics in oncology arena; on these lines they also acquired a German company named U3 Pharma AG. Ranbaxy before the Acquisition (Year Ending December 2007) Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, Indias largest pharmaceutical company, was an integrated, research based, pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, used across geographies. The Company than served customers in over 125 countries and had an expanding international portfolio of affiliates, joint ventures and alliances, operations in 56 countries. Ranbaxys revenues and bottom lines were continiously on the rise since 2001, the RD expenses were stable around 6%. In FY 2007 the company had revenues of 69,822 million INR ($1.5billion) excluding other income. The earnings of the company were well diversified across the globe, however the emerging world contributed heavily to the revnues (Emerging 54%, Developed 40%, others 6%). However the Japan market, with low generics penetration contributed just $25 million to the top line. The company had just begun to re-orient its strategy in favour of the emerging markets. Ranbaxy had been on shopping spree in the previous year acquiring BeTabs South Africa, additional stake in Zenotech Laboratries, 14.9% in Jupiter Biosciences India and 13 Dermatalogy products from Bristoll Myers Squibb in the USA. The company was still open for acquisitions and growth through inorganic activities. To take advantage of the upcoming RD outsourcing story Ranbaxy also demerged the New Drug Discovery Research under Ranbaxy Life Science Research Limited (RLSRL). Ranbaxy also had developed great partnerships with companies focused on research and manufacturing in speciality and niche areas, two of which were collabrative research programs with Glaxo Smith Kline. Ranbaxy also had signed some exclsuive inlicensing aggrements with Global companies, Sirtex Australia being one of them.To optimize its First to File (FTF) opportunities and hence ensure the revenue flows, the company entered into 3 independent litigation settlments with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for Valacyclovir and Su matiptan and with Astellas Pharma for Tamsulosin. The company entered into segments such as Bio-generics, Oncology, Penems, Limuses, Peptides, etc. due to the high potential they offered. On the operational front too the company was aggressive and had reduced the working capital by almost 3% of sales. The company undertook the modernization and capacity expansion in plants in India, Romania, Malaysia, Nigeria and South Africa. The company also discontinued operations in some of their inefficient plants in India. The product, patent and API portfolio of the company was strong. The company made 526 product filings and received 457 approvals globally (Annexure A gives a detailed overview of the product, API and Patents in 2007). The company also continued its effort to develop effective herbal drugs that could comply with international quality standards. The Deal On 11th June 2008, Daiichi Sankyo made an offer to purchase more than 50.1% voting right in Ranbaxy which included 34.83% stake of promoters, preferential shares and an open offer. Daiichi offered a share price of INR 737 with a transaction value of around $4.6 billion, valuing Ranbaxy at $8.5 billion. Daiichi ended up acquiring 63.92% shares of Ranbaxy by Nov, 2008 (details are provided in Annexure B). Including transaction costs the deal costed Daiichi $4.98 billion (details are provided in Annexure C) and they recorded goodwill of $4.17billion (details are provided in Annexure D). For Daiichi Sankyo, in addition to the traditional high-risk/high-return business model employed in developed-country markets, Ranbaxys generic business model would help them build a hybrid business model with a mix of patented and generic drugs. The deal also required the current CEO/Promoter Malvinder Singh to stay with the company for 5 years. The deal financing was through a mix of debt and existing cash resources of Daiichi Sankyo. With the acquisition Daiichi got access to Ranbaxys basket of 30 drugs for which the company had approvals in the US, including 10 drugs for which Ranbaxy had exclusive sales right to sell for six months after the expiry of their patents. The deal gave Daiichi an access to best FTF 180 day exclusivity pipelines in the industry. Ranbaxy had already de-risked its FTF pipeline through a series of settlement with innovator companies; this in-turn lowered the litigation expense and removed uncertainty with regard to the launch date of these generic drugs. It also helped in better planning of inventory, launch quantities and supply agreement. DAIICHIS GAIN FROM THE DEAL The era of Generic drugs Most of the pharmaceutical companies in developed world have been concentrating on the patented drugs market, and hence were more RD oriented. But recently the generic drugs market has received more attraction because of: Dates of patent expiry of blockbuster drugs discovered during 1990s are nearing Governments and Insurers are encouraging use of generic drugs to control the spiraling up healthcare costs With saturation occurring in the developed markets, the major markets now are the emerging countries. However the earnings of the citizens in these nations are not high enough to buy the costly patented drugs, so generic low-price drugs form a majority part of the drug markets in these countries. These Pharmerging nations were forecasted to account for the biggest share of pharmaceutical industry growth over 2008-13 period, it was supposed to be a $160-190bn market by 2013. However majority of multi-national pharmaceutical companies were underpenetrated in these markets. With this changing market dynamics Daiichi made the decision to acquire a generic drug manufacturer from second largest populated country, India. This will help them establish presence in a new area (Generics) in the pharmaceutical value chain. India: an emerging hub for Global Pharma India in 2008 had gained a respected place in the in the space of Contract Manufacturing, Drug Development and Drug Discovery and Research. This had become possible due to a strong stream of talent flow, compliance with quality and regulatory standards, distinct cost advantages both in manufacturing and drug development. India also had a large naive patient pool with some of the fastest patient recruitment rates and an innovation and original research engine. Indias strength in this space was reflected by its research collaborations with global Pharmaceutical Companies. For Daiichi its RD expenses and COGS stood at around 45% of the Sales, shifting the RD and manufacturing to India made sense to operate in the highly competitive environment and address continuous pressures from government to reduce drug prices. Access to new markets Daiichi believed that realizing sustained business growth would need the expansion of its prescription drug business in advanced country markets along with tapping growth opportunities in developing countries. Ranbaxy had a strong presence in markets such as Africa, where Daiichi had never ventured. By using Ranbaxys network, Daiichi Sankyo could more than double its global reach from 21 countries currently to 56. As growth would slow in the developed markets, Ranbaxy will give Daiichi a strong position to expand their businesses in emerging markets including India, China, Russia and Brazil. Emerging Markets was a strong geographic component of Ranbaxys revenues. India was undoubtedly the biggest market that Daiichi would get access to now, the Indian market was supposed to triple by 2015 from its 2005 size. Ranbaxy with its strong distribution reach and excellent brand recognition was well positioned across the Indian metro and extra urban areas. Collaborations and Subsidiaries In order to optimize value at various points across the pharmaceutical value curve, Innovator Pharmaceutical and Generic Companies were moving from a competing business model to a collaborative one. On this front too Ranbaxy had strong collaborative projects with companies such as GlaxoSmithKline. Some of them were in Oncology space, Oncology being an area of focus both for Ranbaxy and Daiichi would greatly bolster its presence in this space. Ranbaxy itself had made many acquisitions in previous 2 years, BeTabs Pharmaceuticals South Africa being the recent one. These acquisitions made Ranbaxys position stronger in the Pharmaceutical space. Japan Markets Due to government measures to curb healthcare expenditure, in spite of growing prevalence of lifestyle diseases and aging population the Japan market was growing only quantitatively but not value wise. This government control on pricing is rare in many Asian countries and USA, making Japan an unattractive market. However in-line with encouraging the use of generic drugs, many Japanese hospitals were applying the diagnosis procedure combination (DPC) reimbursement system. The Japanese government was also making efforts to restrain drug-related expenditures through systemic reforms as well as other factors such as drug price revision under the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. So generic drugs was surely a promising business opportunity in the Japanese markets, in fact in FY 2008 Ranbaxy registered a sales growth of 38% in Japan (Sales of $20 million). However Daiichi later formed a new company in Japan for handling its generic space in Japan, the strategic intent of this step is a bit doubtful to me. OTC and Biogenerics Given the focus on OTC drugs by both the companies, opportunities existed to expand OTC product offerings of both Ranbaxy and Daiichi across world markets. Biogenerics was also a common interest area for both the companies, Daiichi had just acquired U3 pharma AG and Ranbaxy had acquired Zenotech in the Biogenerics space. Both of them could use each others expertise in clinical trial design, relationship with regulators and marketing power in the US and the EU RANBAXYS VALUATION We used simple DCF valuation methodology to valuate Ranbaxy stock in June 2008, with following assumptions: Sales will grow at 12% for 10 years (McKinsey projections for Indian Pharmaceutical industry) and then slowed down to 8% for 5 years. In order to account for the losses caused due to FDA action against Ranbaxy we have lowered the growth rates for 2008 and 2009 to 10% because Ranbaxy had made alternative arrangements through its US its subsidiary Ohm Labs in the US. NOPAT Margin maintained at 14% for 10 years and then lowered to 10%. The company is making continuous efforts to decrease the working capital so we assume they would decrease it till 25%. The Net Long Term Assets to Sales ratio would fall down to 45%. DCF Valuation 254.6 FTF Value 106 Investment in Associates 5.03 Total 365.63 With these assumptions we came to a value of INR 254.6 (details in ANNEXURE J, K); however this value does not incorporate the value the strong FTF pipeline that Ranbaxy had. This FTF pipeline is valued at around INR106/share (details in ANNEXURE E). Going further we also need to adjust the value for investment in associates (refer ANNEXURE F) for market value wherever information is available. The effective price as per our calculation for Ranbaxy in June 2008 should be INR 365.63. This shows how much premium Daiichi paid above the intrinsic value of Ranbaxy, with an acquisition price of INR 737, they paid almost a premium of 100% over the intrinsic value. I think this was a huge premium for a friendly takeover, suggesting that Daiichi would take long time to enjoy the real benefits of this acquisition. SHAREHOLDERS REACTION The market reaction to this announcement was positive only during the open offer period, post that both the stocks plunged to almost 50% of their pre-transaction values. In Feb 2009 in response to FDAs action against Ranbaxy share price of Ranbaxy was almost 1/3 of what Daiichi Sankyo had paid. Later the Ranbaxy stock moved up considerably but Daiichi was still trading a low levels. To reflect the fact that the market price for the shares of consolidated subsidiary Ranbaxy was way lower than the acquisition price, Daiichi recorded ÂÂ ¥351.3 billion one-time write-down of goodwill associated with the investment in Ranbaxy. This led to a considerable net loss for Daiichi in fiscal 2008. The write down itself signifies that the shareholders money, the retained earnings were wiped out in this acquisition and hence the southwards movement of stock price was as expected. The market expectations from Daiichi were low due to this write-down. WHAT MIGHT HAVE GONE WRONG? In September 2008 the FDA sent Ranbaxy warning letters regarding current good manufacturing practice violations at two of its plants Paonta Sahib and Dewas and forced restrictions on the import of drugs manufactured at these plants. This banned the entry of almost 30 Ranbaxy products in the USA. In February 2009, FDA also invoked its Application Integrity Policy (AIP) against the Paonta Sahib facility. The FDA enquiry had started long back in 2006 itself. According to the FDA report, Ranbaxys quality control scientists took shortcuts on the stability tests for at least two major drugs. They conducted these tests on the same day or within a few days of each other, not over nine months as claimed by the company. The FDA also claimed that Ranbaxy had submitted manipulated data as a part of its application to market new generic drugs in the US, as well as kept hundreds of improperly stored samples in its factories in Paonta Sahib and Dewas. This was partly to blame to the organizational structure of the company as well. Traditionally the analytical research and quality assurance (QA) departments always had firewalls between them; the QA department job was to keep a watch on the activities of the research unit. However in the recent past, Ranbaxy brought both departments together, encouraging the problems to stay confined within the walls of the company. Daiichi should have assessed the standard pharmaceutical organizational structure and also tried to estimate the full extent of the legal risk arising out of the US FDA letters. They should have asked for information on plant inspections done in 2006 and details of submissions made by Ranbaxy in defence. However the fact that a Japanese company like Daiichi decided to tackle the issue when presented with the problem rather than spending time evaluating the risk, was really impressive. Ranbaxy was said to have poor human resource practices, which led to high employee turnover. In research and development alone, four departmental heads had resigned in quick succession in the period just before acquisition. This phenomenon of resource attrition at Ranbaxy continued even after the acquisition. Mr Malvinder Singh the CEO and promoter of the company left the company in May 2009. In the original agreement he was to stay with Ranbaxy for 5 years after the acquisition. By leaving 4 years before the contractual date not only did he have to pay a hefty severance package but also raised doubt among foreign companies, looking for Indian partners. For a foreign company like Daiichi it was natural to rely on promoters and their team to continue running the company for a while. Daiichi paid INR 737 for a company with an intrinsic value of just INR 365. This valuation glitch clearly demonstrates Daiichis lack of understanding of generic business. I believe inadequate due diligence was done considering the size, scale and scope of the deal, reflecting Daiichis inability in understanding of India and the generic world. I also feel Daiichi was not able to properly access the possible impact of the ongoing FDA enquiry. Ranbaxy was also to blame for not being transparent about the actual status of the FDA enquiry. One more prominent thing that Daiichi probably missed on was the continuously increasing debt levels of Ranbaxy. The year of 2007 witnessed great currency volatility in response of unforeseen global financial crisis. Through 2007 until early 2008, INR steadily appreciated against the US Dollar. From around levels of INR 44, it strengthened to about INR 39 with the market forecasting further appreciation. In order to de-risk export revenues Ranbaxy took derivative positions to protect against exchange volatility. However INR movement sharply reversed to the US Dollar in June 2008 sliding past the INR 50 mark in H2 of that year. Owing to these loss making derivative positions Ranbaxy recorded foreign exchange losses of INR. 10,856.24 million in 2008. Daiichi with its global expertise should have reviewed Ranbaxys overseas investments, including derivative instruments with open positions. There must have surely been cultural differences and management style differences between the two companies and they did not get enough time to handle these issues. In an interview Atul Sobti, CEO Ranbaxy said The Japanese are very process-oriented. They have a tremendous respect for teamwork. On compliances and quality, there can be no compromises. And those are the areas that we need to work on. Culturally, those are also not our (countrys) biggest strengths. We will be sharply focussing on these issues. Daiichi also realized the need of global management structure and hence building a global management structure with clear roles and responsibilities for all locations and functions was one of the strategic agendas for them. I am also sceptical about the synergies achieved in the patented drugs space, because even after the acquisition RD expenses for Daiichi had grown from 18.6% to 21.9% of sales. Should the synergies have been achieved, with the directing of RD and manufacturing to India, COGS and RD expenses for Daiichi should have decreased or at-least remained stagnant. CONCLUSION Initially the Ranbaxy deal seemed a win-win, allowing both companies to use each others networks and technological power. The deal seemed very lucrative for Daiichi Sankyo due to the access to best FTF pipeline, access to the generics product line, access to new markets and an opportunity to diversify away from Japan into the emerging markets. However looking at the post acquisition financial statements of these companies we realize that this deal was a failure and Daiichi is trying its best to make the acquisition work in its favour. In the immediate year after the acquisition Ranbaxy reported a loss of INR 9,512.05 million and Daiichi in spite of diversifying its geographic footprint booked a loss of ÂÂ ¥215,499 million and they also made a onetime goodwill write-down of ÂÂ ¥351.3 billion for investment in Ranbaxy. These losses were mainly rooted in Ranbaxys poor performance owing to the FDA ban and bad decision in hedging currency risks. The pre-acquisition due diligence should have understood that Emerging markets are lucrative but corporate governance and integrity are surely not to be assumed in these markets. Valuations in these markets are way higher than their real potential and valuation in strongly regulated industries like pharmaceutical is strongly linked to regulations in the major markets. For the export oriented companies developed markets with stricter regulations are the main revenues streams due to higher margins; however the regulations in these markets are stricter unlike merging nations. Ranbaxy also had ease in clearing the Indian drug regulations but failed to clear the US FDA regulations and hence its US subsidiary Ohm Labs had to pitch in. Other factors such as top-management retention rates, organizational structure, internal firewalls and proper use of financial instruments to hedge risks should have been analyzed before the deal.

Impact of Pro-Eating Disorder Websites

Impact of Pro-Eating Disorder Websites Kosalina Vignarajah Harithra Chandrasehar Abstract This paper examines the impact of pro-eating disorder websites as determined by the researches done on the area. During the course of this paper, we have critically analyzed the findings, methodologies and conclusions given in eight research papers while providing suggestions for our opinions on them. After the analysis, we have come to a conclusion that pro-eating disorder websites are harmful to both novice viewers and regular viewers as these websites negatively affect the self-esteem, perceptions of beauty and the patterns of thinking. However, these websites are also a forum through which people with eating disorders communicate, which acts a supportive network, and is therefore positive as well. Key words: Pro-eating disorder websites, thinspiration, Pro-ana/pro-mia. Kosalina Vignarajah Introduction Nothing tastes as good as thin feels is a quote which is often seen in pro-eating disorder websites (Bardone-Cone Cass, 2006). Pro-eating disorder movements or websites focus mainly on influencing individuals to practice disordered behaviors of eating (by sometimes undermining the harm it can do) and increasing the eating disorder behaviors overtime without seeking treatments from professionals. These websites claim that they are pro-ana and/or pro-mia (for anorexia and bulimia respectively) and that they represent a lifestyle choice rather than eating disorders (Csipke and Horne, 2007). The objective of this paper is to understand the impact of pro-eating disorder websites on people. This paper will mainly focus on why pro-eating disorder movements negatively impacts people already diagnosed with eating disorders. Additionally, this paper will have an in-depth explanation of pro-eating disorder websites, what these websites contain that benefits and negatively impacts the users, find appropriate approaches to reduce the consequences of these sites, the precautious steps that clinical professionals/therapists could take to help the victims, and the limitations and possible future studies will also be explored. Pro-Eating Disorder websites Pro-eating disorder websites are where individuals with anorexia or bulimia join together to feel like a community, share values and beliefs (Csipke and Horne, 2007). These movements are especially spread through websites have main three goals: the sites prevent from seeking professional help; increase the behavior of eating disorder, and using the guise of support to harm the users (Yom-Tov, Fernandez-Luque, Weber, Crain, 2012). Csipke and Horne (2007) have characterized websites regarding eating disorders into four main types: (1) eating disorder websites run by professionals concerned with health; (2) recovery sites run by people with eating disorders; (3) moderate pro-ED sites that consists of beliefs and quotes regarding being thin, and (4) severe pro-ED sites that consists of ANA creed or commandments which is similar to a movement and contains inspirational facts and information about maintaining a low body weight and looking thin. Most of these sites contain images and messages that motivate disordered behaviors; drugs that help induce vomit; chatrooms that include individuals that support each other; a disclaimer to warn people who accidently come across the site and sometimes information about the organizer of this site is given (Overbeke, 2008). Also most of the sites have calorie charts and BMI calculator to advice the users of the exercises to undertake, to reduce weight and to help hide the disorders from others (Csipke and Horne, 2007). Addition to sharing thinspiration pictures of thin supermodels, the users who have eating disorders find themselves more deep into these websites because of the identity that these sites provide. And in this way, they are taught self control on food consumption and encourage to diet or fast with other fellow chatters, this is one of the main defense statement of pro-eating websites (Csipke and Horne, 2007). The contents of these sites could be harmful and is a health concern, as explained below. Impact of Pro-Eating disorder websites Csipke and Horne (2007) concluded that there was a positive impact (without counting the motivation to diet together) on frequent users of the pro-eating website , who were supported emotionally found themselves connecting with other users who had the same view and thought than the silent users who were physically supported to maintain restricted eating behaviors. It is important to remember that a frequent user of the sites is not safe from disordered eating behavior, and also it is difficult for the users to come out of this behavior to recover because these sites gives them an identity. Despite giving sense of belongingness, clear identity, and practical information in regards to anorexia, the sites have negative impacts such as lowered self esteem, and self-efficacy of being perceived as overweight which leads to eating disorders (Overbeke, 2008). For example, Bardone-Cone and Cass (2006) stated that women who viewed pro-anorexia website showed an increase on their perceived weight and a decrease in how attractive they looked to opposite sex compared with women who viewed neutral sites, thus both the mood and the cognition of women are affected by viewing pro-eating disorder movement websites. Also users of pro-ana sites had a longer duration of illnesses and higher number of absenteeism of school due to health concerns (Overbeke, 2008). The impact of pro-eating disorder on eating disorder is a topic that requires more attention in the future, especially the role the sites play in helping to maintain and increase eating disorder behaviors, an explanation of these popularities despite the negative impact and the reasons for why the individuals continue access these sites (Overbeke, 2008). Approaches to Reduce the Impact of Pro-Eating Disorders Websites A better approach can be taken to prevent these sites causing more harmful effects such as a censorship to shut down these sites from stopping the frequent users and also the users yet to connect with the site members (Csipke and Horne, 2007). Parents should also educate themselves and their children with media literacy that gives a critical evaluation of the media and its messages and it is wiser to use block technology at home computers if the children were alone with a technical device or else place the computers in public area of the house (Bardone-Cone and Cass, 2006). It is the duty of the parents to be aware of their childrens health to not only check for eating disorders but to also prevent from other diseases. Yom-Tov et al. (2012) illustrated that some of the countries like Israel has taken the precaution of these harmful sites and have banned advertisements containing severely underweight models. On the other hand, the online servers (e.g Yahoo, MSN) have taken it upon themselves to create awareness for the harmful drugs used for eating disorder. Overbeke (2008) suggested that by understanding the factors that influences the popularity of these sites, professionals can take relevant steps to prevent popularity of these sites. Clinical scientists should defend against statements such as these where pro-Ana movements is compared with homosexuality, that given time pro-Ana movements will be considered as a chosen lifestyle as homosexuality is considered today (Overbeke, 2008). Treatments could include acknowledgement of these sites and how to address these issues with clients to prevent relapse and help acquire a healthy eating behaviors by letting the clients know about the influence these sites have on their health (Csipke and Horne, 2007). In addition to above mentioned precautions that parents and therapist could take, there are some areas of studies that require the attention of researchers to study on. For example, The ambiguity of pro-Ana makes it difficult for the researchers to study on it because different meaning is given to pro-eating disordered movements by many and most of the studies are pilot or descriptive studies that are not evidence enough to make conclusion from to check the real impacts (Overbeke, 2008). Therefore, Yom-Tov et al. (2012) emphasized that future studies can focus on interventions where warnings about the content of the sites should be clear, understandable to any user, and importance should be given to adhere to these warnings to avoid being caught up in problems that may lead to eating disordered behavior. As mentioned above, the use of blocking from the internet servers for these sites is necessary because a caregiver cannot monitor the users all the time, and parental control software should be present for the users especially to avoid the first time users attention towards these sites. Harithra Chandrasehar â€Å"E-Ana and e-Mia: A Content Analysis of Pro–Eating Disorder Web Sites† is an article by Borzekowski et al. analyzes the content shown in a one hundred and eighty pro-eating disorder websites. According to the article, pro-eating disorder websites are often defined by their urging of viewers to use unconventional and dangerous methods to lose weight such as using laxatives. The article also mentioned that 79% of the websites were interactive thus giving viewers a forum, and that they contain â€Å"thinspiration†, tips and techniques to lose weight, and â€Å"reverse triggers† – pictures of morbidly obese people (Borzekowski et al. 2010). What was most fascinating was the details accumulated regarding the sites such as them being very easy to understand as they were compiled in eighth grade English which aids its ability to cater to its audience, and more importantly, that most of the sites had themes – including bringing control to life t hrough eating-disorders, isolation from those who they think are fat and impure, and as artistic transformation (Borzekowski et al., 2010). A drawback of this study is the unavailability of information regarding the â€Å"underground† websites which are pro-eating disorder, as they may contain the most damaging information, as opposed to what is found in the public domain. The article titled â€Å"Potential risks of Pro-eating disorder websites† claims that despite the negative out-cry against them, that there are currently around five hundred websites which are pro-eating disorders currently on the internet, and that around 200-400 users will be accessing those sites at any given time, while also mentioning that those who view these websites can be girls of twelve years or younger. This article also shed light to three important factors which seem to carry the most risk to those viewing a pro-eating disorder website. They are; â€Å"Operation under the guise of support†, â€Å"reinforcement of disordered eating, and â€Å"prevention of help-seeking and recovery† Interestingly it also mentions that not all pro-eating disorder websites are anti-recovery as some websites encourage the users to seek help when their eating disorder progresses (Rouleau, von Ranson 2010). This does confirm the fact that eating-disorder websites are a fo rum which provide support and comfort too. However, it is also possible that the triggers in the website may discourage people from seeking help, despite the disclaimer in the beginning of the page. A suggestion to counter these pro-eating disorder websites would be to have a website which appears along with the pro-eating disorder websites, which is run by completely recovered individuals who once lived with eating disorders, who can understand and even guide a person to seek help. The site can even be monitored by clinicians. The research titled â€Å"What does viewing a pro-Anorexia website do? An experimental examination of website exposure and moderating effects† seems to be a remarkably well-thought out study. It is also a study that has been cited by many research articles discussing this topic. Technically, the article seems to be quite flawless as it covers every aspect necessary, including a pilot study, the randomization of participants, explanation of methods of testing used, and the explanation of results. the results of this study determined that viewing a pro-anorexia website made a significant impact on the participants compared to those who viewed the control websites in terms of a negative mood, low social self-esteem, low appearance self-esteem, higher likelihood to exercise and think about weight in the forthcoming days. This study was a critical point in the research of pro-eating disorder websites as it showed the immediate after effects of viewing one. Unfortunately, it has not followed the participants out of the lab and analyzed how these websites affect their life after the initial viewing – despite the debriefing they received and the availability to psychological help. (Bardone-Cone, Cass 2007). It would be interesting to know whether any of these participants returned to viewing these websites, and to understand what drew them to it as they are considered first-time viewers, (and should technically have no reason to search for companionship in an eating-disorder website which is the reason given by many people living with eating disorders when asked why they access these sites), and whether viewing these articles and images are as damaging as they were the first time, or if the effect of it reduces each time through desensitization as the Bardone-Cone and Cass study suggests. It would also be interesting to know what changes will occur in the results if the subjects were male, or if they were from a culture that appreciates body fat, or even if it were someone who is obese and having a good self esteem. The variations of the sample are quite necessary as these sites are quite freely available on the internet, and therefore it is important to find out how different people react to these websites, as opposed to only considering the stereotypical relationship between women and anorexia. However, it would be quite dangerous to expose people to sites like these without having a good understanding of their psychological state, as eating disorders can be hidden for so long, and disguised as many other less harmful things that it may be difficult for the researchers to notice changes in a participant unless it is a long term study. The final article â€Å"disordered eating in a digital age† is a questionnaire/survey which was linked to pro-eating disorder websites, which was answered by those accessing the site. The results were then analyzed to determine the harm caused, and although it has been impossible to determine the causality of many of these negative symptoms including low BMI, low quality of life, co-morbidity of illnesses along with psychological diagnosis, and an alarming twenty one sick days in a month of thirty days, but its strongly linked to eating disorders and these websites (Peebles et al. 2012). However, this research had a response rate of less than 40% which is not an adequate sample, while only English websites were accessed. However this study was one of the best online studies conducted in this area, was well analyzed, and the article contained the survey for references which can be helpful to the reader. Conclusion The articles above show comprehensive details about pro-eating disorder websites. Upon careful reviewing of both articles and some of these mentioned websites, it is easy to understand that there is a completely different mind-set attached to those who have purposely disordered eating habits. It seems to be like they think that they have a higher purpose, a better understanding and purer image of the human body. Their mentality seems like that of a cult, a united front with adherence to a strict regime, but it’s members breaking down within it unable to cope up with the stress and the difficulty, but struggling each day, because if they don’t, their entire belief system and the purpose they have assigned to themselves may fall apart. Perhaps one of the most ethical ways to help these people who may not acknowledge that they require it is by doing more research about pro-eating disorder websites which helps develop their dangerous bonds and by matching each of it with a less harmful blog/website run by clinicians but is suitable and accessible to the general public. Another such proactive action would be having a minimum standard guideline that these pro-eating disorder websites need to adhere to, required by law, where the harm is detailed and the ways to get help are found, like the warning that is mandated on packs of cigarettes. It is best if these websites can be closed down by all internet servers as a matter of public safety, and encourages instead a forum or web pages which speak creatively about the struggles of beating eating disorders and victory. In the case of research, it would be best to do more studies with diverse samples, and to do studies which assess the long term effects of these websites. It would be also interesting to have a research perspective about why these websites should exist, and it would be ideal if this research could be conducted by those who believe in the pro-eating disorder movement as it would be a good way to understand each other, with the basis of science. References Bardone-Cone, A. M., Cass, K. M. (2006) Investigating the Impact of Pro-Anorexia Websites: A Pilot Study. European Eating Disorders Review 14, 256-262. Bardone-Cone A M. and Cass K M. (2007) What Does Viewing a Pro-Anorexia Website Do? An Experimental Examination of Website Exposure and Moderating Effects, International Journal of Eating Disorders 40:6 537–548 DOI 10.1002/eat Borzekowski D LG, Schenk S, Wilson J L, Peebles R (2010) e-Ana and e-Mia: A Content Analysis of Pro–Eating Disorder Web Sites. American Journal of Public Health, Volume 100, No 8. Csipke, E., Horne, O. (2007) Pro-Eating Disorder websites: users opinions. European Eating Disorders Review,Volume 15, Issue 3, pages 196-206. Overbeke, G. (2008) Pro-Anorexia Websites: Content, Impact, and Explanations of Popularity. Mind Matters: The Wesleyan Jounral of Psychology, 49-62, Vol. 3. Peebles R, Wilson J,Litt I F,Hardy K K;Lock D (2012) Disordered Eating in a Digital Age:Eating Behaviors, Health, and Quality of Life in Users of Websites With Pro-Eating Disorder Content. Journal of Medical Internet Research 14.5 Rouleau C R, von Ranson K M (2010) Potential risks of pro-eating disorder websites, Clinical psychology review 31- Elsevier. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.12.005 Yom-Tov, E., Fernandez-Luque, L., Weber, I., Crain, S. P. (2012) Pro-Anorexia and Pro-Recovery Photo Sharing: A tale of Two Warring Tribes. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

How Do The Attitudes To Love E :: essays research papers

How Do The Attitudes To Love Expressed In The Following Poems Differ From One Another? The following three poems “To His Coy Mistress';, by Marvell, “The Good Morrow';, by Donne, and “Sonnet 116';, by Shakespeare all tackle the theme of love. Although they are all written about the same subject, they show remarkably different approaches. Two are written from the narrator to his lover to persuade her into commitment into a sexual or loving relationship. The third gives a neutral definition of true love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marvell’s is concerned with seizing the moment and living life to the full, and satisfying his need for sexual intercourse in his relationship. The narrator is more concerned about lust than love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Donne’s point of view comes after sex and he discusses the love between him and his lover and puts lust in his past.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116'; is slightly different as it provides the reader with a definition of ideal and ‘true’ love which gives the effect of a conclusion to Donne’s and Marvell’s poems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In “To His Coy Mistress';, the speaker, created by Marvell, is trying to get his girlfriend into bed by saying that if they had all the time in the world they could spend a lot of time together and he would really take his time over her, worshipping her as if she were sacred:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   “An hundred years should go to praise thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze. Two hundred to adore each Breast: but thirty thousand to the rest.'; Marvell clearly exaggerates the time into years, which adds to the full effect of this idea of her being worshipped upon and praised almost like a God or a priceless work of art. At the beginning of the first section, the narrator tries to flatter her by saying: “Thou by the Indian Ganges side should’st Rubies find:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I by the Tide of Humber would complain.'; Picturing her by the Indian Ganges looking for Rubies makes her sound oriental and possessing exotic beauty. He makes it sound as if he is not worthy of her exotic beauties, he being a complaining commoner. In the second section, it is stated that the couple in fact, does not have all the time in the world: “But at my back I always hear   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Times winged chariot hurrying near.'; This gives the reader a dramatic image of a graceful, winged chariot coming out of the sky where clouds have partitioned to allow it through. “Thy beauty shall no more be found;

Preparing for Success in a High Tech World Essay -- essays papers

Preparing for Success in a High Tech World The expectations of teachers when faced with teaching and learning technology can often be a difficult subject. Teacher technology standards can often be hard to define and preparation is needed to ensure the quality of both the teacher and their student’s education. The intention of this paper is to examine educational practices and training experienced by teachers to guide them in the process of implementing classroom activities designed to meet National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). National Expectations of Teachers According to the NETS website, its main goal is to develop standards to guide educational leaders in recognizing and addressing the essential conditions for effective use of technology to support Pre K-12 education. The standards that are being developed and refined are to build a technology foundation and set student standards (which will reflect the teachers teaching skills), the connection of the curriculum and technology, educational support standards, standards for student assessment and evaluation of technology use in learning and teaching, accredited teacher preparation programs, unit guidelines, and general standards for all teachers. These standards are what is shaping the future of educational technology and how it used by both teachers and students. Hopefully they will go into affect soon so that the nation can evaluate what areas of technology need the most attention. A Strong Hold on Technology To ensure a teacher is able to instruct technology properly adequate training must be provided . As well as a large effort put forth by the instructor to gain the knowledge of technology and to be able to teach it. The National Educational... ...rview.html This site went over the ISTE standards as well as overviewed the NETS project and offered other related links. (2000). Teaching and Learning on the Internet. Technology Standards for Teachers. Retrieved September 22, 2003, from http://dragon.ep.usm.edu/capstone/tonette/nets.html This site went over six steps for teaching and learning on the Internet from educational operations and concepts to ethical issues to help teachers understand what, why and how to teach technology. (2003). US Department of Education. Department Seeks Broad Input for New National Education Technology Plan. Retrieved November 23, 2003, from http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2003/05/05232003.html This site went over how the US Dept. of Education was going to go about implementing a plan for new technology education and Rod Paige the Dept.’s secretary was directly quoted.

Helen Gardner :: Helen Gardner Essays

Helen Gardner In act one scene one we discover that Helen is a very down to earth type of person as she says â€Å"when I find somewhere for us to live I have to consider something far more important than your feelings. . . .The rent†, this shows that she is thinking about the more important things in life, she is also emphasising the letter â€Å"I† which is implying that she is a lot better than her daughter, this also shows that she has a roof over Jo’s head. The beginning of this play shows that Helen enjoys drink, â€Å"pass me a glass Jo† the first thing that she thinks about is alcohol, this shows that if she can afford to buy whisky then she may have been able to find a better place for them to live, although the accommodation isn’t very appropriate it still provides Jo with a roof over her head, we also get the impression that she is an unfit parent as her priorities should be towards her daughter and not towards alcohol. Helen feels that Jo owes her a lot, Jo feels the total opposite, and there is not a close relationship, Helen feels that she deserves respect from Jo, most people may think that as Helen is Jo’s mother then Jo does owe her a lot but most people would think that Helen owes a lot to Jo as she hasn’t really been there for her daughter all these years, but as an adult Helen does deserve respect from her daughter no matter what she has done, because at the end of the day Helen did bring Jo into the world and has brought her up to be what she is now. As we can see in act one Jo shares a bed with Helen this is a redeeming quality because if Helen despised Jo that much she wouldn’t be willing to do this, because at the end of the day the both need somewhere to sleep. Helen has a very negative view on life as she says, â€Å"that’s where we all end up sooner or later†, this was related to Jo trying to decide where to put her bulbs, she felt that the best place to put them was in a cold dark place, the cold dark place meaning to Helen a grave, this is yet another reference of death which Helen seems to use. I think that by being a prostitute and sleeping around is a way for Helen to find someone to love her, she craves it. Helen seems to be addicted to men, She gives Jo a distorted view on

Commentary on Ten Trillion and Counting

Commentary on â€Å"Ten Trillion and Counting† The video is a well demonstration of debt issues that the U. S. government faces. It starts with the tough economic condition that Obama inherited from Bush. Then, it talks about Bush’s centerpiece economic agenda: cut taxes, as well as the way Bush always put politics ahead of economics. After a serious of expenses related to two big wars; two enormous tax cuts; and a variety of new entitlement program signed by Bush had been spent, the economic began to go down.He not only squandered the entire budget surplus he had inherited, but started to confronting a stubborn recession and a steadily escalating budget deficit. Next, the video shows the bitterly partisan fight over Obama’s expensive economic recovery plan. The Republicans worried about if the plan goes well, they will get no credits for anything they have done. So they strongly disagree with this huge amount of recovery expenses. The main issue regarding of thi s plan is about reform healthcare in order to save money in the long run.However, it is difficult to persuade interest groups and politicians who have been battling over healthcare for a long time. Besides, it is especially tough to talk to Americans about the government are going to spend less on benefits in a recession time. In the end, this video talks about Obama’s budget, and the rigorous debt deficit condition that the U. S. is going through. The reason I think the â€Å"Ten Trillion and Counting† is a well explanation of the debt deficit is because I learned a lot from this video. Before I watched this video I have no idea about the serious debt deficit problem that the U.S. is facing right now. The only thing I realized from my personal experience is that the U. S. government has relaxed the policy regarding to the threshold of international student. Several years ago, it is not easy for Chinese student to go abroad. Which reflects that the U. S. government rea lly wants to stimulate the economy by increase more demand. International student is a good resource of money. Another â€Å"interesting thing† I found in my daily life is that not only numerous retailers put advertisement like â€Å"buy 2 get 2 free,† some luxury brand starts to go on sale as well.It is rarely to see decades ago for a brand like Burberry put promotion in front of its showcase. From this perspective, people’s buying power has decreased sharply. Which results in less investments and staffs cut-off made by companies. In addition, a really serious recession was already happened. The stock market collapse, the banking system is imploded. Although keep borrowing from foreign countries is a way to buffer these problems, it is not a permanent way to solve the economy. So the U. S.Government needs to take some actions to decrease debt deficit. According to the video, there are two ways to reduce deficit, either by higher taxes or lower benefits. Today, forty percent of budget pays for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. However, the first baby boomer is getting retired sooner and they are claiming early retirement for social security. Moreover, as they grow order, they will make claims on Medicare. The U. S. government cannot afford these promises made before, especially in this kind of terrible economic downturn conditions.The Obama’s administration tries to bring deficit down by reforming healthcare in order to save money in the long run. In my opinion, the recovery plan needs to have a try. As Obama said: â€Å" the most important things we can do for our budget crisis right now is to make sure the economy does not continue to tank. And that is why passing the economic recovery plan is the right thing to do. Even though it is expensive. † In the short run, the debt deficit may tend to be bigger than Bush’s time. But after the healthcare has been taken, the economy will benefits in the long run.