What are computer viruses and how do they work?

A computer virus is nothing but a programme that is built to â€Å"infect† other programs by making certain changes in that programme that render it unable to perform its designated function.During this procedure of ‘infection’, the virus also self perpetuates, in that it makes many copies of itself, so that it can then further infect other programmes, much like the viral infections that affect human beings.Surprisingly, there is so much similarity between the tow, in that during the replication process the copies are made exactly like the original, with no posttranslational modifications.Depending on what the virus was created to do, it can either delete the programmes it infects, or it can make it completely useless, and may itself turn it into an ‘infecting’ programme also.Major categories of viruses are1 Parasitic virus:   these are the most common form of virus, it attaches itself to executable files and replicates when the infected program is executed.2 Memory-resident virus: this virus attacks the main cache memory of the system, and gains access to all the programmes that are executed.3 Boot sector virus: this virus infects the boot segment, and then infects all the files that are executed from the disc4 Stealth virus: like the stealth machine, is virtually immune from anti virus softwares5 Polymorphic virus: after each infection, the virus changes its character, thus making cleaning or treatment very difficult6 Metamorphic virus: unlike the previous, the virus completely changes itself after every infection. .In the lifetime of the virus, a number of phases have been identified that allow the identification and possible clean up of the virus.1 Dormant phase: virus is not attacking in this phase. It waits for a specific trigger for which it has been programmed. It may be a particular date or a specific programme that is required. These are specific viruses, while not all viruses have been programmed to follow this phas e2   Propagation phase: virus makes multiple copies of itself to infect many files at the same time. Thus the virus may enter the files or the system areas itself.3 Triggering phase: the virus gets its signal to become activated. Having received its signal, it then assumes a position from which it can attack easily.4 Execution phase: this is the final step, when the virus actually performs the step it was made to do. Thus the virus may delete the file, make the programme corrupt, make multiple copies of itself, or whatever it was programmed to perform.Viruses are operating system specific and some even only attack specific hardwares. For example the linux operating system has not yet faced a virus attack, while the microsoft system is continuously batting many virus attacks, even the apple OS is not immune from these attacksAnother identity is a worm. This is a program that can replicate itself (like a virus), but it has the additional ability to send copies from one computer to a nother computer across network connections, via e-mails or VPN systemsReferances1 Heidari M. Malicious Codes in Depth. Accessed from   www.securitydocs.com. on 13 June, 20082 Brain M. How computer viruses worl. Accessed from www.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm on 13 June, 2008

Amazon’s Competitive Analysis Essay

Competitors are the firms that compete to serve the same customers in the same marketplace. Competitors can compete directly or indirectly. Competition happens on two levels: Product or service competition. Due to the shift of focus for Amazon, it has become the â€Å"Earth’s biggest anything store†. Its competitors have expanded from just online book retailers Barnes and Nobles and Borders to top audio retailers CDNOW.com and online auction house e-bay.com. Amazon has an overall lead of 40% market share against the other online retail firms. Their international business has more than doubled over the past 2 years Amazon’s primary value chain includes purchasing/sourcing, marketing, distribution and after-sales services, which includes returns and exchanges from unsatisfied customers. Their main focus is in the purchasing/sourcing and in the distribution of the products to the consumers. Their investments are therefore, geared towards warehouses in key points of high consumer demand areas and an efficient delivery and distributing system to service all its consumers. Thus, Amazon controls most of its distributing system that spans across borders. How does Amazon compete? Competes through Quality, service, and low price. How effective is each? Quality – they make sure that their product reach the customer with no damage and always serve their customer with the best product. Service – Amazon delivers the product within a week. Less lead time Low price – reasonable pricing. How powerful? Amazon is power because they were the first to start an online business. They have more customers due to this. The customers are loyal to Amazon and will do their shopping only at Amazon. Amazon is very profitable and is doing well currently. How aggressive? Amazon.com has remained on top of the online retailing business despite the entrance of giants such as Barnes and Nobles and Borders. Their success is attributed to two factors; timing and continuing to invest heavily into the inventory and distribution systems. Amazon, by being the first of its kind, has a big lead over the nearest competitors due to their experience and its reputation as the first movers. Their thrust remains on improving efficient delivery systems across borders and to build name recognition as the number one retailing firm in the Internet. They have also ventured into different retail options to keep that lead. Marketing, Innovative inventory and distribution systems, and name recall have helped Amazon build a sustainable competitive advantage. Will diversification into new markets finally turn a profit for Amazon.com before the dotcom godfather burns through the last of its savings? In five years Amazon.com has built the world’s biggest online store. However, despite generating expected $1bn ( £0.67bn) sales from the Christmas retail season alone, profit has proved elusive. Despite its profligate sales, business-to-consumer e-commerce’s pre-eminent player is not expected to enter the black until year-end, according to financial analysts’ most-optimistic forecasts. Meanwhile, a cost-intensive diversification strategy casts doubt on the prospect of the company ever turning a profit, according to a growing chorus of company-watchers. In order for any online retail company to remain prosperous and income generating, they must invest a lot of time and money into research and development of more efficient operations and distributions systems. This proved to be key for the Market Leader in online retailing, Amazon.Com. Conclusion – Many Amazon-watchers believe diversification will saddle the company with an unsustainable cost burden. â€Å"There is an incompatibility between its brand proposition of offering a dominant breadth of assortment and achieving profitability,† b. While the threat from dotcom upstarts has receded with their reduced ability to raise funds on the investment market, the challenge from bricks and mortar retailers adding online stores is getting fiercer. As well as wielding generous Internet war chests from established profitability, physical retailers will benefit from a maturation of the online market. The lunched of Amazon.com in July of 1995 was the creation of a new and bold way of doing business on the Internet. Amazon.com forced the traditional physical world brick and mortar retailer in the book industry to change the way they target the industry’s consumers and then epitomized Business-2-Consumer e-retailing. Although, Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, The bricks and clicks mantra revolves around the idea that the winning — and profitable — formula for electronic commerce success is leveraging the best of the physical and virtual worlds. In theory, it should give physical retailers venturing on to the Web an edge over pure dot-com e-commerce companies because they can efficiently extend their existing infrastructure and complement their real world stores. So far, the most successful retailers have been those that have taken an aggressive approach to the Internet like Amazon. The bricks-and-clicks model is gaining momentum as the e-commerce market matures. A growing number of retailers have finally gotten serious about doing business on-line, now that fast-moving dot-com players such as Amazon.com Inc., eBay Inc. and eToys Inc. have carved out market niches. By creating an independent on-line unit that has the freedom to develop its own merchandising and marketing strategies, Amazon has the freedom and flexibility to capitalize on opportunities. Toys â€Å"R† Us Inc. stumbled when  it decided to protect its stores and offer only a limited selection of merchandise on its Web site. That gave eToys and Amazon.com a window of opportunity to win customer loyalty and rapidly grow sales, while Toys â€Å"R† Us struggled to play catch-up. The Market is moving toward a system where it is no longer going to be only Internet or only bricks and mortar,† he says. â€Å"Amazon’s mandate is not focused on where the business was, but rather where the opportunities are.† Another model is being pursued by Peachtree Network Inc., which is creating an on-line grocery network across Canada. Rather than spend heavily to build warehouses and purchase delivery trucks, Peachtree offers a service to regional grocery chains that lets them provide consumers with an on-line ordering system. The grocers, which already have the infrastructure, process the orders and handle delivery. Amazon.com has parlayed its Internet expertise to compete very successfully against traditional â€Å"bricks & mortar† book retailers such as Barnes & Noble, and Borders; Price line has leveraged its e-commerce patents and business model to challenge the incumbent travel agent industry. Thus, the pure Internet plays are very well-positioned to leverage the Internet to overwhelm their incumbent competitors who are locked into their â€Å"bricks & mortar† channels. However this is not necessarily true for all industries. If an incumbent can update its business model and supporting organizational infrastructure, it can successfully leverage the Internet just as effectively. Companies that exist to engage in commerce in the Internet’s digital marketplaces are known as digital players. For example, Amazon.com exists as a digital player that uses digital processes to transact physical products such as books, and videotapes. By using the Internet as its sole marketing and support channel, Amazon.com has been able to avoid heavy â€Å"bricks and mortar† investments that weigh upon its physical competitors such as Barnes and Noble, and Borders. Incumbent competitors are beginning to establish their own websites so that they can continue to serve their clients who are already on the Internet, and also to serve new market segments. However the pure digital players, if they do not already have brand-recognition or are not affiliated with existing brand names, often have to invest significantly  in marketing and other promotional expenditures to gain consumer awareness. Market Entrants Leverage Disruptive Innovations Since market entrants by definition do not have established business models and distribution channels  with the related cost structures, they can exploit the strategic flexibility provided by disruptive innovations to devise business models and strategies to compete successfully in the emerging marketplace. Unlike the incumbents who have to work within the constraints of their existing business models, organizational structures, and cultures, these entrants can craft their business strategies based upon the unique enabling opportunities provided by the disruptive innovations.

Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Assessment - Assignment Example This theory postulates that early stages of human development through the adolescent stage are highly determined by nurture and nature aspects in relation to the socialization process. The cognitive theory, on the other hand, focuses on an individual’s thoughts and behaviours. This is what marks it as a personality theory. This is because thoughts determine individual’s emotions and behaviours. Most cognitive theorists explain this philosophy metaphysically that individuals who lack emotions and behaviours could not function (Thomas, 2001). This is a value laden assumption of the theory, which can easily be explained rather philosophically than scientifically. In conclusion, cognitive theory is much more inclined towards the Christian perceptive of human development explanations. This is because it postulates that thoughts often come first before any actions or feelings. This could only be in the spiritual world, which is a more appropriate environment for a Christian believer. Christians strongly believe in the existence of the supernatural forces behind an individual’s social actions through his or her beliefs. After discussion about these theories, I conclude by postulating a question that is the belief that a leader’s rate of success depends on the way different people

Pharmacology case studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pharmacology studies - Case Study Example It busulfan falls in the categories of immunosuppressive Agents, Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating agents and Myeloablative Agents. It works by interupting replication of DNA and transcription of RNA ultimately causing disruption in the nucleic acid functions. In the end it induces irreversible apoptosis and therefore disrupts the spread of cancerous cells. Busulfan is used therapeutically in synergy with cyclophosphamide to produce a conditioning course of therapy before progenitor cell transplant protocols in Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia. The drug is also used widely in the used as part of the pre-transplant preparations for those patients requiring bone marrow transplants for advanced Myeloid LeuKaemia as well as other conditions that are non-malignant. This is therefore a very important chemotherapeutic agent in the management of Myeloid Leukaemia and other non-malignant cancers due its apoptosis causing effects on target cancerous cells. The drug is in three forms i.e. 2mg tablets; 25 mg capsules a liquid injection. Delivery of the drug is therefore possible through the oral and intravenous routes. When used in the treatment of Chronic Myeloid leukaemia, the drug should be given as follows; the patient should first be pre-medicated with anti-convulsion drugs followed by an initial busulfan dose of 60 mcg/kg/day or 1.8 mg/m ²; 4-8 mg PO qDay. Maintenance doses should be given subsequently at 1-4 mg/day to 2 mg/week PO. The patient is closely monitored and once the white blood cell count is 50,000/mcl the initial dosage should be resumed. When given in combination with cyclophosphamide, an intravenous dose of 0.8 mg/kg at intervals of 6 hours for four days until WBC count reaches 15,000/mm3. When preparing an intravenous injection dose the preferred diluents are NS or and D5W. It should be prepared with diluents volume being 10 times that of busulfan until the desirable concentration of >0.5 mg/ml is attained. The preparation is then prepared through

Enterprise Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Enterprise Management - Essay Example l 2009), Sky News, UK, [Online] Available: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/British-Airways-Job-Losses-Profits-Down-During-February-Snow-As-Passenger-Numbers-Continue-To-Fall/Article/200904115255103 [April 28, 2009] 11 Brimelow P., March 2009, First a Rally, then Hyperinflation? Market Watch, New York, [Online] Available: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/first-rally-then-hyperinflation/story.aspx?guid={F8CFE313-144B-4CFD-9EE7-BC2F4A4B9A63}&dist=TNMostRead [April 28, 2009] 11 Krasny R., April 2009, What the Fed is considering at this weeks meeting, Reuters, [Online] Available: http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE53Q6KP20090427?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews [April 28, 2009] 11 The growth potential of the core companies with a country largely impacts the economy. At the same time the economic health of a country instantly affects the companies working within it. The enterprises within a nation and the nation’s economy are two inseparable entities; one affects the other. Any economic downfall thus results in the poor health of the enterprises. And if the affected economy is the largest and in the world, the ill effects of the economic downturn is dissipated throughout the countries of the world. History has witnessed on such severe economic downfall in 1929, named Great Depression. The present economic recession, termed as the Credit Crunch of 2009 is and perhaps will be more striking. Globalization has led to integration of companies all over the world. Organisations have taken a cue from the Global Commodity Chain model and went overseas, often to enjoy comparative advantages of cost. These moves have boomeranged now. Different divisions of the same company are facing problem for being based out in different countries (February Snowfall Cost British Airways  £20m, April 2009) There is a very low probability that the cash and cash equivalents of a company deposited with a bank gets dissolved. In fact banks always invest their

A short-term e-Marketing Plan for a specified company Essay

A short-term e-Marketing Plan for a specified company - Essay Example still has a crucial role to play within the marketing mix, the discussion herein focuses upon three main strategies, as highlighted as being three of the most successful online marketing activities, in terms of return on investment. The three strategies focussed upon here include primarily Paid Online Advertising, via products such as Google AdWords, Search Engine Optimisation and Email Marketing. Each of these initiatives offer specific and definite measurement mechanisms, which allow the company to steer their marketing efforts in accordance with what is working and away from what may not be working, specifically for the paid advertising and email marketing aspects. The search engine optimization remains an ongoing initiative that requires up to date knowledge and implementation on a regular basis, as these aspects predominantly hinge upon the specific algorithms of the search engines at any given time. The specific initiatives and activities are provided briefly and then each is d iscussed in depth in order to display the necessary steps and requirements within the overall online marketing strategy. The internet has revolutionised business in a multitude of ways, from products becoming directly available, to offering the consumer the option of view reviews and opinions of products and services, not to mention the viral capabilities of the various social media platforms, such as Twitter, My Space, FaceBook, to name but a few. Many organizations, both large and small have taken advantage of the internet in both a marketing, as well as communications medium to remain in contact with the clientele, and more importantly from a branding perspective as well as seeking to secure new customers. However success within this ever evolving medium is not guaranteed and a number of key factors must be taken into account when seeking to establish a so called offer and service on the internet. These factors should furthermore be incorporated with specific, and proven strategies

Ethics, Genetics and Reproduction Philosophy Essay

Ethics, Genetics and Reproduction Philosophy - Essay Example Had the things been that simple, any type of intellectual debate would have become a mere travesty that would have predominantly remained confined to evaluating the emerging social and ethical issues by the established yardsticks. However, this was never to happen. Luckily, such a travesty of intellectual and ethical catechism is infact next to impossible in the contemporary technology driven society where the emergence of latest scientific discoveries and novel possibilities infact more then ever impinges upon the collective human consciousness to see and analyze the emerging issues in a multifaceted context. In such a mature and liberal social scenario, issues related to fertility, reproduction and surrogate motherhood assume special significance in an ethical, legal, theological and philosophical context that attract the attention and interest of thinkers and intellectuals from all the spheres of social life. In her work 'The Case against the Legalization of Contract Motherhood', Christine Overall defines surrogate motherhood as, "a reproductive practice in which a women agrees before becoming pregnant, to surrender the baby she gestates to a man who has commissioned the pregnancy, usually in return for a set fee (112)." As is evident to any thinking individual, the issue is doubtlessly open to a variety of conflicting opinions and is fraught with contention, so far as its ethical and legal ramifications are concerned. It not only invites a debate on the issue of the 'right to reproduce', but also implores whether the criminalization of commercial surrogacy contracts infringe upon the right to reproduce. A whole spectrum of opinions exists on the issue under consideration that vary from being outright endorsing or reprehensive to those somewhat being mild, liberal and situation based. The case of Mary Beth v/s William Stern litigated in the Supreme Court of New Jersey infact raised more issues that are relevant to the given topic then coming out with ample i nalienable and irrefutable conclusions and guidelines. Many of the outspoken feminists hold that commercial surrogacy amounts to trivializing the whole concept of labor and motherhood. The very fact that such activities are coordinated and conducted by astute brokers makes the whole thing sound more of an industrial activity then the scared and sensitive experience of becoming a mother. This issue is fraught with grave possibilities, so far as the status of the women and the children in the society is concerned. It can not only thwart the society's onward march to achieving sexual equality, but has the potential to infringe upon the rights of the children. The problem is that most of the heard of opinions till now, pertaining to this issue were forwarded by theologians and conservatives. This temporarily obfuscated the logical and rational moorings of the whole issue and made it seem anti-science and recidivist. Still, there is no dearth of critics who are outright modern and contemporary in their perspective and who denounce the idea o f contractual surrogacy on the more understandable grounds of human exploitation and the blatant commercialization of the ability to reproduce. There exists a school of opinion makers of

Organizational Ethical Issue and Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organizational Ethical Issue and Policy - Essay Example The laws should insist that truth has to be reported and beyond going to the truth is unlawful. 4 1. Why I chose this dilemma? This dilemma selected is of high relevance in respect to the mounting IT related security issues today. An array of websites in various industries tends to disclose clients’ important personal information deliberately or inadvertently through their websites. This involves numerous security issues as the website owners or even other users of the sites can misuse the date disclosed. 2. Why you chose the three principles? Confidentiality is the core element of every online business, especially which deals with clients data. Hence, organizations and their members have the moral responsibility ensure data security while they carry out their business activities irrespective of the size or nature of the websites they own. Finality is another important principle as there are situations when an organization has to extend its service beyond legal, religious, or social parameters to ensure reliability. Justice also becomes important when an organization pays attention to clients requirements fairly without any bias. In this regard, the firm will ensure that all risks and benefits are equally distributed among the beneficiaries involved. 3. An analysis of the research used to identify the actions in the matrix An extensive research has been conducted to analyze the way various websites collect and use clients’ information. Admittedly, many of the social networking sites are highly prone to data theft. The research altogether reached the conclusion that legal intervention is essential in this matter to curb the intensity of the threat. Organizational Policy to Address the Issue The ethical dilemma based on the dependency to information technology is evident in every sector as there are possibilities of manipulation and illegal activities. Today there are many websites existing with wrong intention of deceiving the users or more specifi cally general public. The prime motto of such websites is to interfere into the privacy of individuals. Apart from the mere interference and proclamation, they also exaggerate the fact with rumors, finally destroying the character of an individual or the reputation of the organization itself. Many policies have been proposed to safeguard the individuals from the treat caused by technology. Reynolds (2011, p. 105) insists the importance of establishing a security policy to meet the basic requirements of an acceptable ethical standard. There is more than one reason behind choosing this particular dilemma. Although the term ethical dilemma seems ambiguous, in fact it is simple as Reynolds describes it. According to him, it is â€Å"moral code or morality† that is highly related to business application and relation to information technology (p.3). Today many websites exist in the networking world collecting and disclosing information which is highly personal. Although, the target ed individuals are not very often ordinary people, in

John Stuart Mill Essay Example for Free

John Stuart Mill Essay James P. Sterba writes about how people can become more ethics, challenges environmentalism, feminism, and multiculturalism when pursuing their goals in school, work place, and relationships in his book â€Å"Introducing ethics: for here and now. Moreover, he also has a concern that ethics are a personal set of principles that conduct right and wrong. This can be based in religious beliefs, based on a fear of the law and its consequences or just behavior. What is ethical for one person may not be the same for someone else. Someone who is ethical may or may not be religious but have a high ethical standard (a feeling of right or wrong) but that does not mean that you have to have a religious belief to be ethical. Ethics are a personal set of principles that conduct right and wrong. This can be based in religious beliefs, based on a fear of the law and its consequences or just behavior. What is ethical for one person may not be the same for someone else. Someone who is ethical may or may not be religious but have a high ethical standard (a feeling of right or wrong) but that does not mean that you have to have a religious belief to be ethical. As Chin-Ning Chu wrote in the book â€Å"Thick Face, Black Heart†: â€Å"you can succeed the way you are† (107). So, it is pretty clear that the result of doing all things will be greater when prompted by intrinsic motivation rather than external forces. Everyone has his or her own personal ethics, for me this means being honest to my self in everything I do. I use my personal ethics to help in making choices that affect every aspect of my life. Personal ethics for me mean that I choose to be who I am and don’t let others effect the way I think or behave. Ethics are what makes us who we are and how we react to situations. In school it is important to have personal ethics, this helps us to be honest, uphold the academic integrity, and be able to follow the rules that are set for us. When at work, home or while dealing with others your personal ethics come into play. People don’t even realize that they use these every day to make choices that will affect them. Ethics is important for too many ways: its standard code of living, it is a code by which we live by, ethics help determine what is right or wrong in our individual cultures. It also is an important factor in the way people see each other’s and do stuff together. Ethics its also important because it decides what action we will take. It is the foundation for any civilized society. Also because ethics help us to remain on stable ground in an ever-changing world and that a person’s ethics can be changed. It means this challenge could only effectively be met by a non-question begging argument that favored morality over both egoism and altruism(Stebra 48). People are fully willing to do what they love, and they embrace the activities with a sense of interest and commitment. Moreover, autonomy is the opposite of being controlled. The distinction between â€Å"I choose to do this† and â€Å"I have to do this† is the essence of autonomy. But, first thing they have to think that its right or wrong to do it. John Stuart Mill, in his book Utilitarianism, claims, It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied [Mill JS: 1863]. This will show that the advantages of being a human dissatisfied are better than those of a pig satisfied. But before this can be proven, we have to understand the metaphor that compares humans to pigs. Mill compares two types of people: people who prefer to be humans according to his definition, and those that prefer to be pigs. As pigs would eat up anything that comes their way, those who choose to live the life of the pig, accept all that they are exposed to. They live unexamined lives [Mill JS: 1863] in that they do not question anything, but rather accept all that they are told. A human on the other hand, doesnt just accept everything, but questions what there are exposed to. This type of person lives an examined life, and it is that life that Mill proposes that we should strive for. But besides this fact, pigs and humans do have something in common. This is consciousness, as both humans and pigs are aware of their surroundings and can interact with their environments by basic instinct. This common factor helps in making an intelligent comparison between the two. The consciousness though, that they both have, is of a different character. A humans consciousness has character, and can be broken up into three main faculties. Firstly a human has conscience: the inner voice that tells between right and wrong. Secondly a human has free will, in that humans can override instinct in order to make free choices. In addition, if you have good ethics you will have good business. Business ethics are a moral code that people conducting any sort of business should feel honorably obligated to follow. People are definitely morally responsible to follow a code of ethics and should never cheat each other. Parts of this code of ethics should be honesty, integrity, fidelity, charity, responsibility, and self-discipline. Those ethics should apply both to a person buying something, and a person selling something. I dont believe that a person should be forced to follow the caveat emptor policy, on the basis that it is unfair and unjust both to the buyer and seller. If you are an ethical person, you should not have to warn people to beware. A person selling something is morally obligated to inform the purchaser of several things: the value of the car at cost, faithfulness to the client, and be able to answer any questions honestly, without any holdbacks. In The Grapes of Wrath, it is obvious that the car dealer was not ethical at all. For example, they used to coerce women into liking specific cars, so the husband would have to feel forced to buy the car to impress their girlfriends/wives. Another example is how the car dealer used to put lousy parts into the cars and sell them, knowing that the car would break down 5 miles down the road. He took advantage of the peoples necessity to get out of Oklahoma for his own personal gain. Also, the buyer has a certain responsibility too. They need to make sure to not completely trust the seller, because not everyone is ethical. They should examine the goods carefully, ask educated questions, and read up on the topic before going ahead and buying something. For example, in The Grapes of Wrath, the car dealer was able to take more advantage of the people because he can see the raw need on their faces, and how they didnt really ask anything to make him give them a better deal. So, people become successful easily when they have good ethics. We will do it better and enjoy it more than those told to do it for reward. In the world, many people succeed because they feel comfortable and enjoy what they have done. Life has many ups and downs, but we can survive in our life because we are who we are and we believe in our abilities to do everything; this will help us overcome our problems. Like me, I chose my own way because I enjoy learning about business and believe that I can do it the best. My personal ethics can support me while I achieve my goals in life. Works Cited Chu, Chin-Ning. Thick Face Black Heart. Beaverton, Or: AMC, 1992. Print. James P. Sterba Introduction Ethics: for here and now. Pearson; 1 edition (February 8, 2012). The Grapes of Wrath. Penguin Classics; Revised edition (March 28, 2006). I define myself as an individual who is strong and possess a will that motivates me make any sacrifice to satisfy my inner perfection that I desire. Others see me as someone who is analytical, organized, and self-conscious. And yet, those characteristics that I have can help me become mature and understand this world with different points of view. I have a dream to be successful. . Even though I only spent five hours a week, I really enjoy and am proud with this job. Her experience also taught me an invaluable lesson: â€Å"Never give up. † Therefore, I can be better if I try my best and keep going on the way I chose.

Is Religion Opposed to Change?

Is Religion Opposed to Change? Religions are often presented as if they are opposed to choice and change. To what extent do the controversial futures examined in Book 4 support or challenge this view? Controversies surrounding religious futures rely on a premise of religions either remaining true to their origins to retain authenticity or adapting to change to accommodate an increasingly spiritual and consumeristic world. The tensions that arise stem from assertions that religion, in an unaltered state cannot remain relevant to modern adherents and therefore will eventually die, alongside a view that a religion that adapts loses the essence of its original message to the pressures of consumerism and therefore its integrity is depleted. Proponents of the latter view argue that when an adopted message become too far removed from the revealed religion a cut flower culture (Herberg, cited in Mercadante, 2014) is created where the moral and spiritual messages of the root religion withers and dies; in other words, they lack the moral depth and social cohesiveness of more traditional religions (Gauthier et al., 201, p. 292) The choice between stasis and change is not binary, however, as there is a continuity between sacred scriptures and the most eclectic, free-spirited spirituality of today (Gottlieb, 2012). This continuity has become increasingly important as the terms religion and spirituality become less synonymous than they have previously been, highlighting a shift from a static, structured and institutional view of religion to a more individualistic pick and mix (King cited in Harvey, 2013, p. 20) approach to spiritual futures. This transition has witnessed approximately 40% of Americans unchurched with no connection with organized religion who claim to be strongly religious or spiritual on a personal level (Fuller, 2001, p. 1), exemplifying the balancing act that religions must take in charge to maintain identity against a maelstrom of modern demands whilst adapting to attract or retain the consumers needed to exist in the competitive spiritual marketplace. The change of emphasis from institutional to individual has been in discussion for many years, indeed the definition of religion varies from the personal and psychologized versions of spirituality (Harvey, 2013, p.19) where the individual feelings and experiences are of supreme importance or the feelings, acts and experiences of individual men in their solitude (James, cited in Harvey, 2013, p.9) to the institutional view of a religion where the church is central and essential to a faith, or as Durkheim suggests the idea of religion is inseparable from that of the Church (Durkheim, cited in Harvey, 2013, p.9). Durkheims view could be considered to represent a view of religion that is resistant to change, placing emphasis on the continuity of the Church and the sacred things therein (Durkheim, cited in Harvey, 2013, p.9), whereas James view of religion, being more individualistic in nature is infinitely more susceptible to change because the very nature of the individualism adapts spi rituality to the person who perceives it, a situation in which a spiritual seeker creates or rec-creates his or her own private system of symbolic meanings and values (Hanegraaff, 2009, cited in Harvey, 2013, p.25). Such individualism allows for exploration of spirituality outside of the constraints of church mores, spirituality then, can be seen as the positive aspects of the ancient religious traditions, unencumbered by the dead hand of the church; (Carrette King, 2005, p.2), with a strict emphasis on the self and on spiritual experience not a concept of God, but, rather, of the higher self (Hanegraaff, cited in Houtman et al., 2009, p.170). Such contrasting viewpoints highlight a definition of religion as a being concerned with external dogmatic authority set over the individual and spirituality being concerned with the deepest experiences of the individual (Vincett and Woodhead, cited in Woodhead and Catto, 2013, p.158). The individualistic element of spirituality has often bee n labeled as New Age, although this is an all-encompassing label for a multiform hypersyncretic splicing of ideas (Sutcliffe, 2000, cited in Harvey, 2013, p.23) that is hardly satisfactory. Such is the diversity of human spiritual need and options available to the seeker that a consistent formula for spiritual satisfaction cannot be achieved, in which case a label such as New Age can only be used as a contrast to traditional religions under the assumption that traditional religions do not undergo any form of borrowing from other faiths; as Hanegraaff suggests the term New Age is a label attached indiscriminately to whatever seems to fit it and as a result, the New Age means very different things to different people (Hanegraaff, 1996, p.1, emphasis in original). However, New Age belief invariably stems from traditions as there has been a mutation of traditional religions for a New Age believer to accommodate, in this sense New Age religion unquestionably emerged from esoteric traditi ons in Western culture (Hanegraaff, 1996, p.383). Such variation means that New Age believers, with such an infinite matrix of needs become ready consumers and, as their spiritual needs change so do their material wants, a phenomenon borne out at Glastonbury in the South West of England; which is a keen example of the mutation, adaptation and commercialisation found within religion and spirituality. Glastonburys past is steeped in claims made for it on behalf of goddess worship, paganism, Christianity and new age spirituality. These claims range from Glastonbury being the site of Avalon; the site where Joseph of Arimathea washed and buried the Holy Grail and a venue that Jesus himself visited; it is therefore a popular pilgrimage site for Christians and non-believing pilgrims as pilgrimage is not clearly distinguishable from acts such as tourism (Hedges, 2017). Such a diverse pedigree in one venue has the potential for conflict and controversy between groups of believers, as well as between believers and local residents; however, Gl astonbury, as a religious site, has successfully incorporated all of these claims in such a way that, not only do different belief groups co-exist but they do so symbiotically, with each group benefiting, often financially, from the lure of diversity for spiritual consumers keen to sample all that beliefs that Glastonbury has to offer; this has created a spiritual marketplace of significant proportions. The attraction of Glastonbury for the spiritual seeker is evident in the windows of the shops which display a plethora of spiritual material culture catering for a wide variety of spiritual interests within one shop. This enables the spiritual seeker to purchase containers of the sacred (Colman and Elsner, cited in Bowman, 2013, p.55) from one or many religions to suit their particular needs; this example of vernacular religion in which consumers either produce ritual objects themselves, re-purpose traditional religious props, or shop off the shelf from other religious traditions to use for their own inventive, often empowering, spiritual practices (Twitchell, cited in Scott and Maclaran, 2009, p.60). Such commercial opportunity creates a level of competition with each religion vying for custom and therefore creating a spiritual economy which is leading to the establishment of an appropriate, sustainable and new Glastonbury economy (Ivakhiv, 2001, p.124), an economy fed by competition which traditional religions are not immune to. The consumer spiritual market place has encouraged the Abbey at Glastonbury to retain and recruit new adherents by marketing their own brand of religion that resonates with dominant social values of individualism, empowerment and aspiration to affluence (Yip and Ainsworth, 2010, p. 702) indeed, the Glastonbury Abbey website not only describes the history of the Abbey but also displays a level of commercialism as it advertises entrance to the Abbey at  £8.25 as well as an array of gifts including Celtic designs, the Green Man, and ch urch mice among other gift ideas (Glastonbury Abbey, 2017), many of which are not directly Christian in nature but are available as a commodity for tourists, spiritual or otherwise, thus demonstrating a recognition and an acceptance of change within a traditional religious setting. The commercialization of Glastonbury Abbey is not new, historically it has been a land owner and wool trader and as such played a major part in developing market capitalism in Glastonbury (Bowman, 2012, p.15); however, the Abbeys economic influence is no longer restricted to the physical world as the Abbey has adopted technology to create a website capitalises on e-commerce, trading on the provenance of Glastonbury as a sacred space, to allow people who may not have attended Glastonbury to purchase items in order to support the upkeep on the Abbey stating that All profits from the shop are used to help to care for the abbey ruins as well as enhancing the experience for our visitors and that Shop and ticke t sales and donations are the abbeys main source of income'(Glastonbury Abbey, 2017). Glastonbury therefore is an example of religious change in which a traditional religion has recognised that competition within the market and has adapted its offerings to retain custom. Glastonbury Abbey is by no means unique in its willingness to adapt to the demands of its consumers; Luss Church in Scotland boasts fifteen hundred years of continuous Christian presence and, despite a small population, and a smaller local congregation, attracts seven hundred and fifty thousand visitors to Luss many of them to our Church and Pilgrimage Centre (lusschurch.com, 2017) This represents a significant change from the churchs past in which a financially struggling church has adopted the availability of the internet in which New technology has opened up alternative ways of making relationships with visitors real and profitable and our small congregation is enjoying discovering new ways of being the Church in a new century (Luss Church, 2017). This is clearly a development that has been embraced by a worldwide congregation of people who regularly access online services streamed over the internet, this technology also allows friends and relative to view the weddings of people f rom over 40 countries (Bowman, 2013, p.79) express a desire to marry at the church. The exposure that Luss has received from the internet has enabled them to tap into a lucrative wedding industry, removing market share from local hotels who previously would have enjoyed the income from overseas couples wanting to marry in the picturesque setting of Luss. In return, the church adds to the local tourist economy as many friends and relatives will stay for prolonged periods after the wedding at local hotels. The adoption of new technologies has allowed Christianity to reach a larger audience of potential customers, as Pope John Paul II states With the advent of computer telecommunications and what are known as computer participation systems, the Church is offered further means for fulfilling her mission (Pope John Paul II, cited in OLeary, 1996, p.782), a sentiment that has been taken up in many churches. A survey by Elena Larson finds that the Internet is being used being used by congr egations to strengthen the faith and spiritual growth of their members, evangelize and perform missions in their communities and around the world (Larson, 2001, p.2) with the main use of technology being to encourage people to visit the church and become part of the local congregation. Regardless of the success of this mission religions are embracing the opportunity that change brings, indeed Larsons survey suggests that 83% of those responding to our survey say that their use of the Internet has helped congregational life (Larson, 2001, p.2). The spirit of change lies not just with the church but also with by the congregation who, according to a job to vacancy for a new Minister are looking for someone not bound to the past, who are open to change (Luss Church, 2017). In conclusion, traditional religions are not averse to change, indeed, the adoption of different practices and ideas has long been part of religious traditions and a need to adapt to accommodate modernity is essential for a religions survival. Modernisation, and a shift from religiosity to spirituality, is not necessarily a prelude of the death of religion, or its social extinction, but its continuing relevance has required a change in and transformation of its social forms (Adogame, 2014, p215). The continuation of traditional religion within an individualized spiritual market proves it to be a constantly moving target (Beaman, 2016, p. 185) that consistently displays the elements of individualism, mutation and commercialism that enable it not only to survive, but in its manifold manifestations thrives (Bainbridge, 2004). Indeed, the arrival of competition within the spiritual marketplace, rather than being detrimental to traditional religion has encouraged it to mutate into marketa ble entity that has increased its presence and market share of consumers worldwide. Word count, 2047 Bibliography Adogame, A. (2014) Putting God in Place! Religious continuities and mutations in classic and diasporic communities, Social Compass, 61(2), pp. 207-218. [Online] DOI: 10.1177/0037768614524662 (Accessed 8 March 2017). Bainbridge, W. (2004) Thinking about religious futures, Futures, 36(9), pp. 943-946 [Online] Available at http://dx.doi.org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1016/j.futures.2004.02.006 (Accessed 3 March 2017). Beaman, L. (2016) Grace Davie, Religion in Britain: a persistent paradox, Religion, State and Society, 44 (2), pp. 185-186. [Online] Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09637494.2016.1210345 (Accessed 3 March 2017). Bowman, M. (2012) Understanding Glastonbury as a site of spiritual consumption in Lynch, G. and Mitchell, J. (eds). Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader, Abingdon, Routledge. [Online]. Available at Google Books https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=enlr=id=z4eoAgAAQBAJoi=fndpg=PP1dq=Religion,+Media+and+Culture:+A+Readerots=U-7W5rpHptsig=oS-Qq2lYBhtPm4hpFIW_TSXWyFs#v=onepageq=Religion%2C%20Media%20and%20Culture%3A%20A%20Readerf=false (Accessed 21 March 2017). Bowman, M. (2013) Consuming religion: materiality, markets and spiritually shopping around in Controversial Futures, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Bratton, M. (2015) Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious, Journal of Contemporary Religion, 30(2), pp. 327-329 [Online] Available at http://dx.doi.org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1080/13537903.2015.1025565 (Accessed 4 March 2017). Carrette, J. and King, R. (2005) Selling spirituality, [Online], London, Routledge. Available at ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/open/detail.action?docID=182496. (Accessed 7 March 2017). Fuller, R. (2001) Spiritual, but not religious, [Online] Oxford, Oxford University Press. Available at ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/open/detail.action?docID=3051860 . (Accessed 7 March 2017).. Available at ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/open/detail.action?docID=3051860 (Accessed 7 March, 2017). Gauthier, F., Martikainen, T. and Woodhead, L. (2011) Introduction: Religion et societe de consummation/ Religion in Consumer Society, Social Compass, 58(3), pp. 291-301. [Online] DOI: 10.1177/0037768611412141 (Accessed 10 March 17). Glastonbury Abbey, (2017) Gift Items Glastonbury Abbey Shop [online]. Available from http://www.glastonburyabbeyshop.com (Accessed 20 March 2017). Gottlieb, R. S. (2013) Spirituality what it is and why it matters. New York, Oxford University Press. [Online] DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199738748.003.0006 (Accessed 5 March 2017). Hanegraaff, W. (1996) New Age religion and Western culture, Leiden, Brill. [Online]. Available from ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/open/detail.action?docID=253432. (Accessed 20 March 2017). Harvey, G. (2013) Religious individualism: the rise of spirituality in Controversial Futures, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Hedges, P. (2017) Remembering and the Creation of Sacred Place: Glastonbury, Anglican Christian Theology, and Identity, Implicit Religion, 17(3), pp. 297-320, [online] DOI: 10.1558/imre v17i3.297 (Accessed 19 March 17). Ivakhiv, A. (2001). Claiming sacred ground. Bloomington, Indiana University Press.[online] Available at https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QNHTOvnZ3poCdq=adrian+ivakhiv+glastonburylr=source=gbs_navlinks_s (Accessed 8 March 2017). Larson, E. (2000). Wired churches, wired temples: Taking congregations and missions into cyberspace Pew Internet American Life Project: Online life report [Online]. Available at http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media/Files/Reports/2000/PIP_Religion_Report.pdf.pdf (Accessed 21 March 2017). Luss church. (2017). Luss Parish Church. [online]. Available at http://lusschurch.com/history.html (Accessed 20 Mar. 2017). Maclaran,P. and Scott, L. (2009). Spiritual Tourism: Mystical Merchandise and Sacred Shopping in Glastonbury, Advances in Consumer Research, 36, pp. 60-63.[Online] Available at http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/14366/volumes/v36/NA-36 (Accessed 21 March 2017). Meradante, L. (2014). life without borders: inside the minds of the spiritual but not religious, 1st ed. New York, Oxford University Press, [online] Available at http://www.oxfordscholarship.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931002.001.0001/acprof-9780199931002-chapter-1 (Accessed 14 March 2017). OLeary, SD. (1996). Cyberspace as Sacred Space: Communicating Religion on Computer Networks, Journal Of The American Academy Of Religion, 64, 4, pp. 781-808, [Online]. Available at http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk (Accessed 21 March 2017). Woodhead, L.and Catto.R. (2013), Religion and Change in Modern Britain, [Online]. Available at ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/open/detail.action?docID=957397. (Accessed 17 March 2017). Yip, J. Ainsworth, S. (2010). Religious Artefacts as Consumer Culture Products, Advances in Consumer Research, vol. 37, pp. 702. [Online] Available at http://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=bthAN=57668009site=ehost-livescope=site . (Accessed 20 March 2017). Should the State Promote Positive Liberty? Should the State Promote Positive Liberty? Critically discuss the argument (Isiah Berlin) that the state should not promote positive liberty. The term freedom has always been a difficult discussion; there are various views of freedom in different fields. According to Heywood, A, (2004), he pointed out that in philosophy, freedom is often described as an attribute of the will to observe and study. However, in economics and sociology, freedom has always been seen as a social relationship. The political theorist often viewed freedom as a liberal ethic or normative principles. Among many definitions of freedom, Isiah Berlin subdivided freedom into positive and negative liberty. On the basis of this distinction, Berlin not only declared that positive liberty concept is the theoretical basis of totalitarianism, but also aggressively criticized the concept of positive freedom. He believed that the state should not promote positive freedom. In this essay, we will discuss the theoretical structure from Berlin’s concepts of liberty and pros or cons respectively. Also discussion about whether the state should not advocate posi tive liberty will be included. According to the Berlin (1958) in the Two Concepts of Liberty à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’the concepts of negative liberty and positive liberty were clearly distinguished. The negative liberty was defined as a personal action without interference from others. For instance, the individual has the freedom that others do not have right to attack him. The positive liberty means that the choices of individuals living pattern were decided by themselves rather than any other factors, or simply known as everyone has the freedom to pursuit happiness. In other words, the purpose of negative freedom is the protection of individual rights and resistance of collective rights, which serves for the implementation of various individual rights. For the positive freedom, its main purpose is to obtain certain interests or achieve contain goals. Mostly it displays in the social rights of various participatory. Therefore, it is often expressed as social rights. Isiah Berlin indicated in his theory of freedom that positive freedom always lead to despotism and society should focus on negative freedom. Pursuing positive freedom may lead to no freedom. For instance, we asked for the right of education, which is a positive freedom. It will require government intervention; hence the power of government will increase accordingly. It may result in a violation of individual freedom. As comparison, the negative freedom is less risky. The freedom of not suffering from invasion by external forces is a fine illustration of such point. If people want to enhance the negative freedom, we only need to change regulations. However to promote the positive liberty, not only we need to change the distribution system, but also the ability of mankind. More importantly it is related to the desire of people. Therefore, compare with negative freedom, positive freedom has more opportunities for people to abuse. Criticism of positive freedom from Berlin was very critical. He warned us that dangers come with positive freedom, which are restriction and compulsion. Berlin thought that positive freedom has a generally applicable correct mode, rationale for instance, and we should do everything in accordance with this model. However, in reality, people are affected by various factors including level of understanding, which leads to diffident opinions about right model. Therefore, they need an authority to define what the right model is and force people to comply such rule. Eventually, people will follow the rules under the power of authority, but meanwhile it has changed freedom to restriction. Berlin called the procedure of turning positive freedom into not restriction as strange conversion. After such change, the reversal of positive liberty becomes deprival of freedom. However, in fact such phenomenon is unlikely to happen. Berlin was not completely certain about positive freedom will move tow ard to constraint and inevitable fetter. He only recognized that the possibility was extremely high. Based on that, Fromm,E (1941) refuted the view of Berlin. He thought that positive freedom has a generally applicable correct mode. This mode implies that people can only act in accordance with this model without other choices. He analyzed through German history to understand the reason of Nazi successful controlling their power. He believed despotism of Nazi could be achieved based on the two premises. The first one is that with the development of society, people have the negative liberty, which appeared before the rise of capitalism. The second one is that people obtained the negative liberty, but not the positive freedom. He also indicated that freedom will become constraint even tyranny, if and only if society does not have positive freedom. Fromm’ opinion was consistent with other members from Frankfurt school. They all thought that fascism and capitalism had a close rela tionship. The tyranny of Nazi will become a powerful weapon to deny Berlin’ view, as no matters what negative freedom will always stay the same. In Fromm,E s opinion, state should promote positive liberty due to it will promote development of society. Although in Berlin’ view, the positive freedom is always connected with rationalism and through the rationalism, it can turn into constraint or autocracy. However, negative liberty will also face such problem. For example, when people do not have any restrictions, they will do anything just based on their desires, and this will lead to conflict inevitably. Therefore, as a result, we need the law to limit the people’ freedom. Based on that, positive and negative freedom face the same issue as law is required to restrain both of them. The negative freedom and positive freedom must be considered as equally important factors when people discuss the problem of freedom. However, because of positive freedom is very easy to be used by the autocratic government. It always associated with a very poor reputation, which makes people embarrassing to advocate positive liberty. Taylor, (1985) pointed out, contemporary liberalism paid too much attention to the negative freedom and rejected positive freedom. This behavior was inappropriate. The negative freedom and positive freedom are indispensable parts of the liberty. In order to achieve real freedom, it is necessary to link both of them. Secondly, in the real practice, positive freedom is one of the most essential freedoms in any society. Negative freedom alone can never constitute freedom completely. If there is no positive freedom, negative freedom cannot exist by itself. For example, the right to vote is recognized in all free societies. Such freedom is an essential condi tion for guaranteeing various freedoms. However, this freedom itself is not a negative freedom, but a positive freedom. According to this, positive freedom is always the condition of guaranteeing and completing negative freedom. So the negative liberty could not be understood and implemented alone. Apart from voting right, we can cite many other apparent examples, which also belongs to the positive freedom and also very important that we cannot understate it. For example, it includes obtaining the basic right of survival; the rights of freedom of speech, press freedom; the right of education; the right of obtaining medical support and healthy environment; the right of obtaining healthy food; and the right of enjoying the sunshine, clean air and water. Everyone has to admit that these rights are critically important, but they are all positive freedom. Therefore, it is incorrect that Berlin suggested that state should not promote the positive freedom and only keep the negative freedom . He ignored the importance of positive freedom, as the freedom that people wanted to obtain it directly is always a positive freedom, these freedoms help people to carry their life. Negative freedom should only be used to guarantee or protect the positive freedom. If there is no positive freedom, negative freedom will lose its meaning. The goal of freedom is the positive freedom; negative freedom is just a rational agreement, which provides a limit upon positive liberty. It can be seen that the negative freedom itself is hollow; its only content is to guarantee rational strategy of positive freedom. In the conclusion, Berlin’s theory was against positive freedom, and mainly it was directly against the positive freedom of Marxism. He stated that the positive freedom of Marxism will lead to a totalitarian society, which will vanish individual freedom. However, we cannot just focus on negative liberty and ignore positive liberty, and vice versa .We need to link them together, use the negative freedom as the premise, then we could carry out various positive measures to protect the negative freedom. Therefore, if the positive freedom implemented without negative freedom, it will fall into compulsion or tyranny as Berlin said. However if the negative freedom does not involve positive freedom, it will become weak and fragile, as such freedom cannot maintain a long time by itself. So if a state wants to achieve a good level of development, only negative freedom is inadequacy. Hence the state needs to promote the positive freedom, as it has its own unique value, which also made a certain contribution to the society. Reference: Heywood,A.,(2004).Political Theory: An Introduction .3rd Edition Berlin, I., (1969). Four Essays on Liberty,Oxford: Oxford University Press Matravers, D., Pike, J., Warburton, N. (2000). Reading Political Philosophy: Machiavelli to Mill.P231 Fromm,E.,(1941). Escape from Freedom. Inc., New York Fromm,E., (1942). The Fear of Freedom. Inc., Great Britain Taylor, C., (1979). Whats wrong with Negative Liberty, in D. Miller (ed.) (1991), Liberty. P141-162

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Pet Rabbits S1009684

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Pet Rabbits S1009684 Analyzing the prevalence of intestinal parasites in pet rabbits s1009684 ABSTRACT Domestic rabbits are becoming increasingly popular as household pets. There is conflicting advice currently given to pet owners with regards to the prevalence of intestinal parasites. 36 rescue rabbits were faecal sampled and assessed for intestinal parasites using a McMasters counting chamber method whereby oocysts per gram (OPG) were calcualted. Of the 36 rabbits sampled, 30 were shown to have intestinal parasites, coccidia being the most prevalent at 83%. Age of the rabbit sampled showed to be a significant indicator for prevalence of infection with rabbits 3 months to 1 year old having the highest prevalence of coccidia. Breed or number in housing environment had no effect on prevalence. Nematodes and cestodes were found in some of the rabbit faecal samples but were not considered significant. No rabbit sampled showed signs of disease or ill health, therefore concluding that OPG was not an indicator for prophylactic intestinal parasite treatment. INTRODUCTION Rabbits are currently rated the third most popular pet in the UK with PDSA estimating the pet population to be around 1.7 million (PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report 2012). As pet rabbits are available in a multitude of varying breeds, sizes, body shapes and personalities it is no wonder they have increased significantly in popularity as pets over the years. Typically domestic rabbits have a life span of 8-12 years with many living longer if cared for in the most appropriate manner. Cat and Dog owners today are very aware of the importance of routine intestinal parasite prevention however, the same cannot be said for rabbit owners. Currently there is a lack in continuity of advice from breeders, pet shop owners and vets as to whether or not it is appropriate to routinely prevent against intestinal parasites. Common intestinal parasites of pet rabbits are Coccidia, Nematodes and Cestodes all of which show little to no zoonotic threat. Coccidiosis is the most common intestinal parasite in rabbits and is a highly contagious protozoal sporazoral infection (Bhat et al 1996). It is caused by the protozoal parasite Eimeria sp. There have been as many as 25 species of coccidia identified, each with varying degrees or pathogenicityand organ specificity (AL-Naimi et al 2012). Healthy rabbits can be asymptomatic carriers of the protozoa. All Eimeria species undergo complex life cycle having both intracellular and extracellular stages and asexual and sexual reproduction (AL-Naimi et al 2012). Coccidiosis is initiated by oral ingestion of the sporulated oocyst by a susceptible host (AL-Naimi et al 2012) and the â€Å"infection will develop into disease in young rabbits primarily whereas adults are mostly carriers† (Coudert P., 1989). There are two main forms of the disease, hepatic and intestinal with the latter being more common (Coudert et al. 1995). The majority of the intestinal species develop in the small intesti nes. Symptoms of the disease include failure of young animals to gain weight, diarrhoea, anaemia and growth retardation (Hobbs and Twigg 1998). There are non pathogenic to slightly pathogenic Eimeria sp (E.media, E. exigua, E.perforans E. coecicola), moderately pathogenic (E. irresiduia , E.magna, E.piriformis) and extremely pathogenic (E.intestinalis, E.flavescens) (Licois and Coudert, 1980; Coudert et al., 1993). In all the intestinal types the prepatent phase lasts from 5-35 days. The nematode or pinworm Passalurus ambiguus is a very common parasite of the domestic rabbit (Boag 1988). They are long thin worms which are often first noted by owners on the surface of freshly passed faeces (Boag et al 2001). The adult worms are inactive with the immature larvae being mildly pathogenic causing weight loss (Cattadori, Albert and Boag, 2007). Infection is spread through faecal oral route from contaminated animals (Cattadori, Albert and Boag, 2007). Less common nematodes found in domestic rabbits are the Obeliscoides cuniculi and the Trichostrongylus spp (Cattadori, Albert and Boag, 2007). The most common cestode or tapeworm to be found in the domestic rabbit is the Taenia pisiformis, however in general cestodes are not commonly isolated from pet rabbits (Cattadori, Boag and Hudson, 2008). The larval forms of the tapeworm develop in the liver and abdominal cavity, compared to the adult form which can be found in the intestines of the rabbit (Cattadori, Boag and Hudson, 2008). The larval forms are more common in hutched rabbits. The life cycle of the T. pisiformis is dependent on the dog. Rabbits acquire tapeworms by ingesting contaminated feed and water containing tapeworm segments and eggs from the faeces of dogs (Poderson and Fenton, 2006). The young larvae are then released from the egg, penetrate the digestive tract and migrate to the liver (Poderson and Fenton, 2006). They migrate within the liver, entering into the abdominal cavity. Here they will form fluid filled cysts (cysticerci) which can exit the abdominal cavity with faeces which can then be ingested by do gs (Dolibes-Matcos et al,. 2009), where it is able to develop into a mature tapeworm (Poderson and Fenton, 2006). Therefore parasite prevention within multi pet households plays a pivotal role in cestode population within domestic rabbits (Poderson and Fenton, 2006). There has been considerable research done on intestinal parasites of rabbits used for farming purposes, whether it be for meat or fur production as they have the potential to be a production loosing expense. However the same cannot be said for the domestic household pet rabbit. For this reason there is inconsistent advice given to rabbit owners with regards to the prevalence, prevention and treatment of intestinal parasites. In an attempt to correct this short coming, this study aims to analyse the prevalence of intestinal parasites in a random population of domestic rabbits, to ascertain if prophylactic intestinal parasite treatment is warranted. METHODS AND MATERIALS Faecal samples were collected from 36 randomly selected domestic rabbits. The rabbits were all rescued or surrendered rabbits with unknown previous parasite treatment history. The rabbits were all of varying ages and breeds. The rabbits when sampled were all housed outdoors either in multi rabbit accommodation or single hutches. It was unknown if the rabbits had previously been housed indoors or outdoors. Fresh faecal pellets were collected from each rabbit individually. The faeces was stored in plastic sealed bags and stored at 4 °C until analysis. The McMasters technique was used to assess the faecal samples. 4 grams of faeces was placed into a container and 56ml of saturated salt solution was added (400grams of sodium chloride in 1000ml of water with a specific gravity of 1.18-1.20) (Carvalho et al. 2011; Mundt et al. 2005; Velkers, et al. 2010). The contents of the container were thoroughly mixed and then filtered through a tea strainer (Cattadori, Albert and Boag, 2007). The r emaining suspension was then transferred into the McMasters counting chamber using a pipette and rested for 5 minutes (Coudert et al. 1995). The number of oocysts, nematodes and cestodes were calculated within each chamber and then multiplied by 50 to give the oocyst, nematodes or cestode per gram of faeces (OPG) (Cattadori, Albert and Boag, 2007). Analysing the McMasters chamber allowed for the identification of different nematode and cestode eggs however only the Eimeria sp was able to the identified. Further analysis into what subspecies was present was not completed as this required sporulation of the oocysts which was not feasible in this study. This statistical package Minitab was used for data analysis and a value of P RESULTS Of the 36 rabbit faecal samples tested, 30 rabbits showed to have intestinal parasites. Table 1 shows the most common parasite found on faecal analysis was coccidia, Eimeria sp with a prevalence of 83% followed by Passalurus ambigious 22%. With 83% of the population sampled infected with Eimeria sp further analysis was done with regards to possible influences on the intensity of invasion. Table 2 shows the effect of age of the rabbits with regards to prevalence of Eimeria sp. There was a significant difference (P value Eimeria sp. There was a higher prevalence noted with rabbits who were aged 3 months to 1 year compared to less than 3 months or over one year old. This is consistent with results recorded by Fa Jing et al. 2011. Table 3 shows the effect of breed with regards to the prevalence of Eimeria sp. The Lionhead rabbits were most effected with Eimeria sp, with a prevalence of 28% however there was no significant difference (P value >0.05) in varying breeds with prevalence of th e parasite. Table 3 reports that there was a slightly higher prevalence of Eimeria sp in rabbits housed in a multiple rabbit hutch compared to rabbits who were housed signally, prevalence being 44% and 39% respectively. However, there was no significant difference seen between the two groups (P value >0.05). Table 1: Prevalence of intestinal parasites of 36 sampled domestic rabbits Table 2: Prevalence and intensity of coccidia infection in rabbits sampled dependent on age groups Table 3: Prevalence and intensity of coccidia infection in rabbits sampled dependent on breed Table 4: Prevalence and intensity of coccidia infection in rabbits sampled dependent number in housing DISCUSSION Rai et al. (1985) reported that coccidosis was the most common protozoan disease encountered by rabbits causing acute and chronic disease in all age groups. Be it that the subject group Rai et al 1985 reported on were farmed rabbits destined for the meat trade, this study focussing on domestic pet rabbits has revealed comparable results, with Eimeria sp being the most prevalent internal parasite recorded. Coudert, (1989) suggested that there was no correlation between OPG and the severity of the disease seen in the rabbits. This suggestion correlates to the results reported in this study as even the rabbits with the highest OPG’s, Lionhead breeds and rabbits of 3 months to 1 year of age were not showing any signs of clinical disease (Licois and Coudert, 1980; Coudert et al., 1993). Previous studies by Pakandl et al. (2008) and Papeschi et al. (2013) showed that adult rabbits have the ability to be asymptomatic carriers of the protozoa which stands to reason why non of the rabb its sampled for this study who showed to have a coccidia infestation were not showing any clinical signs of illness. Bhat et al. (1996) described rabbit coccidia as â€Å"very immunogenic† with the ability for hosts to develop natural resistance especially with regards to E.intestinalis. Possibly this may be the reason for 6 rabbits of the 36 sampled to be free from coccidia. A â€Å"crowding phenomenon† was described by Brackett and Bliznick, (1952) which discusses the importance of housing population numbers with respects to OPG’s recorded. Although the prevalence of coccidia in rabbits housed in multiple numbers was higher compared to rabbits housed as individuals, there was no significant difference to be found between the two in this study. Subclinical coccidiosis disease is a possible explanation for 30 of the 36 rabbits sampled who showed to have OPG but not showing clinical signs of disease. As there was no previous history on the rabbits, it is not possible to determine if the rabbits have been slowly decreasing on body weight over time. Even though body weight is a simple recording to be made it is the most accurate when determining if subclinical protozoan disease is present or not (Boag et al 2001; Licois and Coudert, 1980). Multiple studies have shown that there is a relationship between myxoma virus and internal nematode infections within rabbit populations (Boag, 1988; Boag et al., 200; Lello et al., 2005). It has been concluded by Cattadori et al., (2007), (2008) that rabbits which are infected with myxoma virus and or rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) are more susceptible to intestinal nematode and cestode infections (Licois and Coudert, 1980). Given that the vast majority of domestic rabbits are commonly vaccinated against both myxoma virus and RHDV, it stands to reason that this is a contributing factor for the low nematode and cestode prevalence recorded in this study. The aim of this study was to determine if the prevalence of intestinal parasites in pet rabbits warrants routine worming. Given that no rabbit in the sample population was showing signs of clinical intestinal parasitic disease and there were low prevalence percentages for nematodes and cestodes, it can be concluded that routine worming of pet rabbits is not warranted. The high prevalence of coccidia within the population could be contributed to asymptomatic carriers, whereby until clinical signs of disease develop namely weight loss and diarrhoea it would then be appropriate to consider treatment for the disease. This topic should not be considered exhausted by any means. There is great room for scope in this field with only limited research published on this subject to date. Further studies would benefit from greater background knowledge on the sample population, especially with regards to previous medical history and treatment. Given that the domestic rabbits as household pets is continuing to increase in popularity further research into preventable disease is paramount.

anthoy lister :: essays research papers

Fox Galleries (103 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley) has opened the doors on it newest exhibition, â€Å"Anthony Lister: subtitled†. The showcase displays Anthony Lister’s unique brand of street art. His works can be described as anywhere from abstract to pop, to graffiti. The style is very free-form and none confined. Many mediums were used to create his art but he seems favor putting it all on canvas. When Lister paints he tells a story about whatever kind of environment he’s in at the moment. The layout of the exhibition itself is rather structured and organized. I think simple and neat was the aim here. I have chosen three painting to closely analyze: â€Å"Portrait of Egon Schiele†, â€Å"Discard the Retard† and â€Å"Paddington from Pratts†. When compared to his mentor, Max Gimblett the two distinctive styles would probably be as far as each other as possible. Max prefers his paintings to be on irregular canvases and his work can range from patterns to abstract, yet don’t have the slight chaos of Lister’s. Predominant throughout the three mentioned works you can see the use of repetition, restriction of colour, emphasis and line. His particular style seems free, spontaneous and sees no real confinement. The general restriction of colour make anything not in bland almost scream off the canvas and creates a very effective focal point. Anthony has said himself â€Å"I’m not trying to change the world, I’m just reacting to the world trying to change me†. That would perfectly describe Lister’s motivation to paint and create. Whether it’s a social statement or purely something for himself he has created something that people can enjoy. Again Lister stated he normally chooses his subject matter by simply finding something within his immediate environment. Any deeper meanings one might find would probably be purely speculation, but the interesting composition in â€Å"Discard the Retard† where the constant stencil of a duck pattern has been used and a single â€Å"stand-out of the crowd† duck can be seen (solid black rather than just black outlining).

Canterbury Tales Essay - The Assertive and Vulnerable Wife of Bath

The Assertive and Vulnerable Wife of Bath Society was different in Chaucer's time; males dominated and women were suppressed.   The manipulative and destructive nature of women was emphasized by men. Much like Eve in the Bible, women were blamed for the 'downfall of man'. Through the Wife of Bath, Chaucer investigates the difficulty of self-realization for a woman in this restrictive environment.   The wife of bath, Alison, represents antifeminist stereotypes and searches for happiness and a place in a patriarchal society.   Unfortunately, Alison is never in tune with who she really is as a woman.   Chaucer uses a series of ironies to eventually show that under her seemingly confident guise, there hides the soul of a vulnerable, lost woman. The Wife of Bath argues in favor of women.   She disparages the works of the male scholars that denigrate women.   Using her "savage lion" analogy, she reasons that "if women had but written the stories", then such negative portrayals would not exist.   Therefore, at first, the Wife of Bath appears to be in favor of women's rights.   Ironically, the Wife of bath does not help women, her actions coinciding with the scholars' accusations. Alison DOES dress gaily, with her stockings of "fine scarlet red".   The color red is indicative of a quarrelsome, bold lady, as is the symbol of the gap in her teeth, to indicate licentiousness.   When she goes "walking out by night", and "followed on my appetite, Whether the lad was short, long, black, or white."(275), the Wife does prove to be adulterous.   In relationships with her husbands, the wife IS devious and deceitful, making up accusations to pre-empt any on the part of the husbands. Therefore, while on one level attempting t o protest the "negative s... ...son into obedience, and has been the partner who dominates and controls all along.   Her efforts to find true happiness are futile, and she lives a lie. The Wife of Bath is admirable in that she is assertive and has attempted to succeed in her life. Despite being a woman of the fourteenth century, her ideas, beliefs, and actions are more like a woman of the twenty-first century. She is truly a woman ahead of her time. Unfortunately, her restrictive environment prevented her from self-realization.   Therefore, she fails to effectively cope with and change her situation.   The wife of bath is a sad, lost woman, who used the wrong methods to find true love and happiness.   Hiding behind a confident mask, this woman is never truly free.   Works Cited: Chaucer, Geoffrey.â€Å"The Wife of Bath’s Tale.† The Canterbury Tales.Trans. Nevill Coghill. New York: Penguin, 1977.

Pricing policies Essay

1. In making promises that are not guaranteed by third parties and in imposing penalties that are not enforced by third parties, all of the following are credibility-enhancing mechanisms except 2. Essential components of a game include all of the following except: 3. A key to analyzing subgame perfect equilibrium strategy in sequential games is 4. When airlines post prices on an electronic bulletin board at 8:00 a.m. each morning, the decision-makers are engaged in 5. Credible promises and hostage mechanisms can support a continuous stream of cooperative exchanges except when 6. Firms that have a cover charge for their customers and charge for each item they purchase as well are exhibiting 7. The segmenting of customers into several small groups such as household, institutional, commercial, and industrial users, and establishing a different rate schedule for each group is known as: 8. Vacation tours to Europe invariably package visits to disparate regions: cities, mountains, and the seaside. Bundling, a type of second degree price discrimination, is most profitable when: 9. Which of the following pricing policies best identifies when a product should be expanded, maintained, or discontinued? 10. ____ is a new product pricing strategy which results in a high initial product price. This price is reduced over time as demand at the higher price is satisfied. 11. Which of the following is not among the functions of contract? 12. Mac trucks and their dealers would likely have an organizational form of 13. Contracts are distinguished from tactical alliances by which of the following characteristics: 14. Which of the following are not approaches to resolving the principal-agent problem? 15. When retail bicycle dealers advertise and perform warranty repairs but do not deliver the personal selling message that Schwinn has designed as part of the marketing plan but cannot observe at less than prohibitive cost, the manufacturer has encountered a problem of ____. 16. ____ occurs whenever a third party receives or bears costs arising from an economic transaction in which the individual (or group) is not a direct participant. 17. The antitrust laws regulate all of the following business decisions except ____. 18. The sentiment for increased deregulation in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s has been felt most significantly in the price regulation of 19. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index (also shortened to just the Herfindahl index) is a measure of 20. The lower the barriers to entry and exit, the more nearly a market structure fits the ____ market model. 21. If the acceptance of Project A makes it impossible to accept Project B, these projects are: 22. Cost-benefit analysis is the public sector counterpart to ____ used in private, profit-oriented firms. 23. The weights used in calculating the firm’s weighted-average cost of capital are equal to the proportion of debt and equity ____. 24. In order to help assure that all relevant factors will be considered, the capital-expenditure selection process should include the following steps except: 25. The social rate of discount is best approximated by: 1. Theoretically, in a long-run cost function: 2. The degree of operating leverage is equal to the ____ change in ____ divided by the ____ change in ____. 3. Which of the following is not an assumption of the linear breakeven model: 4. In the linear breakeven model, the breakeven sales volume (in dollars) can be found by multiplying the breakeven sales volume (in units) by: 5. In the linear breakeven model, the difference between selling price per unit and variable cost per unit is referred to as: 6. The short-run cost function is: 7. The problems of asymmetric information exchange arise ultimately because 8. A firm in pure competition would shut down when: 9. An â€Å"experience good† is one that: 10. In the purely competitive case, marginal revenue (MR) is equal to: 11. If price exceeds average costs under pure competition, ____ firms will enter the industry, supply will ____, and price will be driven ____. 12. Buyers anticipate that the temporary warehouse seller of unbranded computer equipment will 13. What is the profit maximization point for a firm in a purely competitive environment? 14. The practice by telephone companies of charging lower long-distance rates at night than during the day is an example of: 15. The demand curve facing the firm in ____ is the same as the industry demand curve. 16. Declining cost industries 17. Of the following, which is not an economic rationale for public utility regulation? 18. When the cross elasticity of demand between one product and all other products is low, one is generally referring to a(n) ____ situation. 19. Regulatory agencies engage in all of the following activities except _______. 20. Barometric price leadership exists when 21. A cartel is a situation where firms in the industry 22. The existence of a kinked demand curve under oligopoly conditions may result in 23. Some industries that have rigid prices. In those industries, we tend to 24. If a cartel seeks to maximize profits, the market share (or quota) for each firm should be set at a level such that the ____ of all firms is identical. 25. A(n) ____ is characterized by a relatively small number of firms producing a product.

CRM at Minitex Essay

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a strategy used to learn more about customers’ needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. It plays an important role in understanding customer’s needs by gathering the information about the customers that helps in marketing and selling the company’s products. With an effective Customer Relationship Management strategy, an organization can increase revenues by providing better services and selling products effectively what the customers want. CRM is the key to better customer services. Through CRM, it is possible to discover new customers and retain the existing ones. For it to function effectively, it is of importance for the organization to understand about their customers, their needs and develop a strategy to meet those needs. Therefore, an organization must look at how the information can be saved and how useful it can be. (Wailgum, 2007) Minitex is a company that sells its products which mainly centered through finance and insurance. These 2 divisions are administered by 4 systems namely marketing, insurance, finance and CFO. (Reddy, 2015) George Degas is the director of sales at Minitex. Harold Blufmen is the VP of insurance division and Mariella Hopkins head of the finance division. It consists of the administration system that works on the billing and payments of the customers, a General Management system that keeps track of the customers are the two back-end systems for the insurance division. (McKeen, 2008) The main Problems at Minitex are: Unprofessional Sales Calls to same customers because the data in Minitex is not centralized, so as the Sales people cannot keep track of customer information with current systems. Mariella Hopkins, VP of the finance who is IT enthusiast is open to collaboration with other department do not want to compromise existing systems. Another drawback is its divisions have specialized system terminology. (Reddy, 2015) Figure 1: CRM relationship and Management (Mckeen, 2008) Aspects for Flow of Information in Minitex The Customer Contacts System: The Customer Contacts system was created recently by Degas’s boss, Jon Bettman. This system gives sales people a better way to keep track of customer information. This system schedules,  sales call on a periodic basis and provides mechanisms for generating and tracking new leads and it also forms the basis on which the marketing department pays the sales people’s commissions. Real- time information on sales by product, salesperson, and region gives Bettman and his team excellent feedback on how well their centralized marketing strategies are performing. For purposes of invoicing and servicing the accounts, the Customer Contacts system also feeds data into the insurance and financing divisions systems after sales are made. The Management Business Center System: Mariella Hopkins the VP of financing, and her division funded the development of a management business center application. This system acts as an online customer self-service system. By this system, customers can obtain statements and online financing and often can get credit approved instantly. Customer service representatives use the same basic system, with to track customer transactions and to provide customer support as needed. The Credit Administration System: Minitex is using a Credit administration system which was developed 20 years ago. Harold Blumfen, VP of insurance is a major profit maker at Minitex, he and his division uses a credit administration system to track customer billings and payments. The General Management System: Minitex uses a general management system to keep track of which products a customer has bought and what services the customer is entitled to. Both Credit Administration System and General Management System fundamentally back end systems. (McKeen, 2008) Discussion Questions 1. Explain how it is possible for someone at Minitex to call a customer and not know (a) that this is a customer and (b) that this is the third time this week that they had been called. With Minitex’s systems, both of these seem easy to accomplish. With the divisions not sharing the same system, they may not have the most updated information when one person is looking up information. This would explain why an employee may call and not know that they are calling a customer. This is especially true, because some of the employees track their own information to their own records, thus not updating the systems. It is possible to not know that a customer has been contacted three times, because the employees use their own memory to keep track of who they have called. 2. Outline the steps that Bettman must take in order to implement CRM at Minitex. In your plan, be sure to include  people, processes, and technology. To start this process of implementing CRM, Bettman needs to get everyone on the same page. He also needs to take leadership of his department, making final decisions based on evidence of the best choice for the entire department, whether or not everyone agrees. Bettman needs to get with Harold Blumfen and Mariella Hopkins and create unity between the two departments of things such as terminology, explaining that both divisions need to collaborate. The next step would be to get a handle on the current system, until they can obtain a new system. This needs to start by making sure that all information is input into the system, ensuring all employees have the most accurate and up-to-date information. This will prevent blunders, and can be a major example to put in Degas’s business case petitioning for a new IT system. Degas, meanwhile, will be working on his business case to give to IT, explaining that a new centralized system is needed. The system needs to be able to have a customer interface, but functionality for both divisions to input information and receive the information output related to their department. He can show the difference of customer interaction with less and more information flow. Degas needs to get Bettman to network with IT in the request for the new system, having the main boss involved will give it more importance. Finally, with leadership and CRM at Minitex, the department will be back on track. (McKeen, 2008) References McKeen, J. D., & Smith, H. (2008). IT strategy: Issues and Practices (2 nd Ed) Reddy, A. (2015, February 12). Crm at Minitrex. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.papercamp.com/essay/147554/Crm-At-Minitrex Wailgum, T. (2007, March 6). CRM Definition and Solutions. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.cio.com/article/2439505/customer-relationship-management/crm-definition-and-solutions.html

Golf Industry Competition

Case #3: â€Å"COMPETITION IN THE GOLF EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY† From its earliest beginnings in the 1450’s, golf was a peculiar game that tested the individual skill of each person who played. It is a game that takes a player on a journey through a number of â€Å"greens. † The player must try to get the small, hard golf ball into the â€Å"green† or â€Å"putting green† which contains a hole in the ground. The player can only hit the ball with a golf club. Golf equipment, such as golf clubs, golf balls, and the like are the subject of this report.There are five competitive forces: â€Å"competitive pressures stemming from buyer bargaining power and seller-buyer collaboration; competitive pressures coming from companies in other industries to win buyers over to substitute products; competitive pressures stemming from supplier bargaining power and supplier-seller collaboration; competitive pressures associated with the threat of new entrants into the mar ket; and competitive pressures associated with rivalry among competing sellers to attract customers.This is usually the strongest force)† (Gamble & Thompson, 2011). There are a handful of rival competitors in the golf equipment industry. The leading manufacturers and marketers of Golf Equipment were Callaway Golf Company, TaylorMade-Adidas Golf, Titleist/cobra Golf, Ping Golf and Nike Golf. Innovation in regards to new technology â€Å"as allowed by the USGA and R&A, product performance, brand image, tour exposure, and price were the competitive forces that had the greatest effect on the industry.In 2009, most golf club manufacturers had met dimension, volume, CT, and MOI limits and were attempting to achieve differentiation in drivers by either lowering the center of gravity to increase launch angle or by offering clubs with adjustable features† (Gamble & Thompson, 2011). The pace of rivalry is not becoming more intense since the industry services a limited amount of p layers and must work within the industry’s guidelines and regulations. Drivers of industry and competitive change include â€Å"changes in an industry’s ong-term growth rate; increasing globalization; emerging new internet capabilities and applications; changes in who buys the product and how they use it; product innovation technological change and manufacturing process innovation; marketing innovation; entry or exit of major firms; diffusion of technical know-how across more companies and more countries; changes in cost and efficiency; growing buyer preferences for differentiated products instead of a standardized commodity product; regulatory influences and government policy changes; and changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles† (Gamble & Thompson, 2011, p 61).Differentiation of product, quality control, and touring professional golfers’ endorsements and their design preferences, along with other industry forces continue to shape the golf e quipment industry. A charismatic professional touring golfer with perfected golf skills can bring a lot of positive changes to the golf industry. This might lead to increased awareness and viewership, an increased number of new golfers and returning golfers, and innovative design of products.Key success factors (KSFs) may include â€Å"particular strategy elements, product attributes, resources, competitive capabilities, or intangible assets†¦and answers these questions: on what basis do buyers of the industry’s product choose between the competing brands of sellers? That is, what product attributes are crucial? ; given the nature of the competitive forces prevailing in the marketplace, what resources and competitive capabilities does a company need to have to be competitively successful? and What shortcomings are almost certain to put a company at a significant competitive disadvantage? † (Gamble & Thompson, 2011, pg 67, 69). Common key success factors include â €Å"technology-related; manufacturing-related; distribution-related; marketing-related; skills- and capability-related; and other types of KSFs† (Gamble & Thompson, 2011, p 68). Technology, innovative design, and cost control are the key factors that determine success of companies competing in the golf equipment industry. Callaway Golf, Ping Golf, and Taylor-Made Golf utilized the innovations in club head design the best.Important factors in evaluating industry and competitive environment include: the industry’s growth potential; whether powerful competitive forces are squeezing industry profitability and whether competition appears destines to grow stronger or weaker; whether industry profitability will be favorably or unfavorably affected by the prevailing driving forces; the company’s competitive position in the industry vis-a-vis rivals; and how competently the company performs industry key success factors (Gamble & Thompson, 2011, p 69).Net sales for Callaw ay Golf is: $1,117,204,000 in 2008 up from $934,564,000 in 2004; TaylorMade-Adidas Golf is: â‚ ¬812,000,000 in 2008 (when the exchange rate was 2. 008 US dollars for every â‚ ¬1) up from â‚ ¬633,000,000 in 2004; Fortune Brands’ Golf is: $1,369,000,000 in 2008 up from $1,212,000,000 in 2004. Operating income for Callaway Golf is: $84,188,000 in 2008 up from ($24,702,000) in 2004; operating profit for TaylorMade-Adidas Golf is: â‚ ¬78,000,000 in 2008 (when the exchange rate was 2. 008 US dollars for every â‚ ¬1) up from â‚ ¬60,000,000 in 2004; Fortune Brands’ Golf is: $125,000,000 in 2008 up from $154,000,000 in 2004.TaylorMade-Adidas Golf is doing extremely well. TaylorMade-Adidas Golf seem to have a strategy that copes strategically well with the competitive forces prevailing in the industry. The recession of 2008-2009 was very telling in the financial performance of the industry’s major sellers. Some increased financially while others decrease d. Callaway Golf ‘s net sales decreased $7,387,000 in 2008 from 2007; TaylorMade-Adidas Golf’s sales increased by â‚ ¬8,000,000 in 2008 (when the exchange rate was 2. 08 US dollars for every â‚ ¬1) from 2007 numbers; Fortune Brands’ Golf decreased $31,000,000 in 2008 from 2007. I would recommend more research and development to Callaway Golf. I would also recommend that their employees play golf with their clubs, balls, and other equipment and suggest product design to an unbiased top management. Perhaps Callaway Golf could make a few high-end specialty items that cater to player preferences including players with disabilities. Buyer access to its product line could also be streamlined and revamped to include low or no-cost shipping and handling.To Fortune Brands, I would recommend selling the golf division. It seems like Fortune is in the golf business to make money and although this is an essential trait, the golf business requires the company to be all i n it to win it. I would recommend buyer seminars, classes, instruction offered to TaylorMade-Adidas Golf customers and business clientele. I would suggest that notification of these instructional seminars be marketed through high-end retailers and office pools in locations where golf is an accessible sport.Maybe a golf celebrity or other celebrity could show up at the seminars to increase the enthusiasm of TaylorMade-Adidas Golf product line. I would suggest that TaylorMade-Adidas Golf research the options of wider distribution points such as the internet and other outlets. If the issue is the instructional experience of the buyer, perhaps TaylorMade-Adidas Golf could offer some quick internet video access instruction or live instructional seminars (as mentioned above) to the internet buyer as well.Essentially, a company is to perform at its best capacity: â€Å"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men† (Colossians 3:23) and â€Å"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God† (Romans 13:1) REFERENCES Gamble, J. E. & Thompson, Jr. , A. A. (2011). Essentials of Strategic Management: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: 2nd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Holy Bible (KJV). Public Domain.