Marketing Intelligence About Childrens Toy in Vietnam free essay sample

Children’s toys have been sold quite well in recent years in Vietnam. However, this fat land of hundreds of million dollar worth has been underexploited by the domestic producers. The fact is that 90% of toy on sales are originated from China and made in various types of materials such as plastic, metal, wood, cotton, and so on. Shops in some toy-selling streets show 500-1,000 items, including superman, moon sailors, dolls and battery-cars. Besides a few toy with educational features, a vast availability is for violent and anti-education toy products. According to Vietnamese standard, there are 26 indicators applied for children’s toys. However, none of the product currently available in the market meets these requirements of material safety, design and function. For this reason, experts said that Vietnamese companies should follow the specific way which helps them to take full advantage as think of product reach requirements which can not be provided by Chinese ones. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Intelligence About Childrens Toy in Vietnam or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page II. Detail: Task 1: assess current and potential market size and demand 1a) Identify market size growth and trends within a given market Market Size is measured by the total volume and or value of all sales in the market. Sales volume is measured in terms of the number of units of goods purchased, whilst sales value measures the total amount spent by customers on the volume of goods sold. The number of toy importers increase sharply in Vietnam. In this case, domestic toy take only 5% of the market share. To identify and estimate the market size, the marketer needs to base on three indicators such as number of buyers in the market, quantity purchased by an average buyer per year, and price of an average unit. As the marketer knows, the price of wooden intellectual toy is 20,000 – 180,000 VND/set, so the average price per unit is 100,000 VND. Vietnam is developing country. For this reason, the number of parent who have low or average income may not care much about this kind of educational toys. The customers of this product range will be urban people or high income households. The number of people living in main cities such as Ho Chi minh, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Hue, Nam Dinh, and Qui Nhon are 7,985,000 people (2005) . However, educational toys just are considered as potential, they are marked as â€Å"blank† on Vietnamese toy’s map. Therefore, the number of buyers in the Vietnam market is supposed about 3,000,000 customers. As the marketer knows, children usually receive gifts in special days as birthdays, children days and ‘Trung Thu’ days. Finally, the quantity purchased by an average buyer per year can be calculated: 100,000 VND*3,000,000 people*3 days=900,000,000,000 VND. In the term of 10-year growth, Vietnam market tends to favor the supplier, because there is usually a time lag before the supply side catches up with increases in demand. The increasing number of high income households makes ways for desire of high quality toys among their children. The toy sets that cost millions of VND like Barbie doll collection, technical tools or building bricks and branded as Mattel, Lego, Barbie, and Fisher-price are step by step occupying this high and segment of the market and Vietnam is evidence with a network of more than 130 shops opened nation wide. According to scenario, most of the left part of the market was taken by Chinese toys, which mainly target the children form average and low income families. Another trend is that the children are growing older youngers. They are more familiar with technology and require something more expressive and functional. In the current map of Vietnam’s toy market, educational toy are marked as â€Å"blank†. Over 2 years of discovery, some products are still struggling for foothole of their brand name in the market. The number of competitors are also limited to few, for example Duc Thanh wooden toys, Gamma Joint-stock company, Dai Phat tai, Hung Phat, Vinh Phuc Plastic companies and school Books and Equipment Company, and Etic as the one of a few companies that are qualified for export. Domestic producers are now targeting schools and parks rather than individual customers. Therefore, this segment of the market is considered as highly potential. Certainly, in the long term a growth market will attract new businesses, and thus increase competition. Moreover, summer is coming, parent always concern about the fact that what kind of entertainments is really reasonable and useful for their children. In order to meet that demand, the wooden intellectual toys become the priorities for children. This year, the children toy market has tendency toward the education. Vietnamese products are gradually emerging, despite less attraction; the consumers also pay a lot of attention to them because many Vietnamese suppliers offer free consulting service about health and safety for children, the manner to handle circumstances and the way of educating children. In fact, Vietnamese producers have been trying to put out ‘made in Vietnam’ products, but their products producers prove to be uncompetitive with Chinese ones in term of price and design. However, experts said in a recent workshop that Vietnamese companies could retain the market. For example, China once dominated the domestic market, but after that domestic Hanoi beer, Saigon Beer and halide have successfully dislodged the brand name from the market. Furthermore, the news that China-made toys have been recalled in many countries in the world has been worrying Vietnamese parent. Vietnamese government should have suitable policy to help the companies take full advantage to make their product meet the requirement on safety, and the products which aim to protect the users’ health and to develop their intelligence, which can not be provided by Chinese products. 1b) Plan and carry out a competitor analysis for a given organization This kind of product is new and in the long term period, the organization can not avoid appearance of competitors. In the next following, I will suggest the 5 competitive forces model Porter. 5 completive forces model The five forces are environmental forces that impact on a company’s ability to compete in a given market. The purpose of it is to diagnose the principal competitive pressures in a market and to assess how strong and important each one is. A business has to understand the dynamics of its industries and markets in order to compete effectively in the marketplace. Porter (1980a) defined the forces which drive competition, contending that the competitive environment is created by the interaction of five different forces acting on a business’ . The first of five forces is ‘the threat of substitute products’. The existence of close substitute products increases th e propensity of customers to switch to alternatives in response to price increases (high elasticity of demand). It depends on: †¢buyer propensity to substitute relative price performance of substitutes †¢buyer switching costs †¢perceived level of product differentiation The second one is ‘the threat of the entry of new competitors’. Profitable markets that yield high returns will draw firms. The results are many new entrants, which will effectively decrease profitability. Unless the entry of new firms can be blocked by incumbents, the profit rate will fall towards a competitive level: †¢The existence of barriers to entry (patents, rights, etc. ) †¢Economies of product differences †¢Brand equity †¢Switching costs †¢ Capital requirements Access to distribution †¢Absolute cost advantages †¢Learning curve advantages †¢Expected retaliation by incumbents †¢Government policies The third one is ‘the intensity of competitive rivalry’. For most industries, this is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry. Sometimes rivals compete aggressively and sometimes rivals compete in non-price dimensions such as innovation, marketing, etc. †¢Number of competitors †¢Rate of industry growth †¢Intermittent industry overcapacity †¢Exit barriers †¢Diversity of competitors †¢Informational complexity and asymmetry Fixed cost allocation per value added †¢Level of advertising expense †¢Economies of scale †¢Sustainable competitive advantage through improvisation The forth one is ‘the bargaining power of customers’. It also described as the market of outputs. The ability of customers to put the firm under pressure a nd it also affects the customers sensitivity to price changes. †¢ Buyer concentration to firm concentration ratio †¢Bargaining leverage, particularly in industries with high fixed costs †¢Buyer volume †¢Buyer switching cost relative to firm switching costs †¢Buyer information availability Ability to backward integrate †¢Availability of existing substitute products †¢Buyer price sensitivity †¢Differential advantage (uniqueness) of industry products †¢RFM Analysis The last one is the bargaining power of suppliers. It described as market of inputs. Suppliers of raw materials, components, and services (such as expertise) to the firm can be a source of power over the firm. Suppliers may refuse to work with the firm, or e. g. charge excessively high prices for unique resources. †¢supplier switching costs relative to firm switching costs †¢degree of differentiation of inputs presence of substitute inputs †¢supplier concentration to firm concentration ratio †¢threat of forward integration by suppl iers relative to the threat of backward integration by firms †¢cost of inputs relative to selling price of the product The Porter’s 5 Forces tool is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. This is useful, because it helps you understand both the strength of your current competitive position, and the strength of a position you’re looking to move into . The wooden educational toys are diversified and target to reach the requirement of Vietnam’s standard. Certainty, company can not avoid competitors. There has 4 level of competition. They are: †¢Product form competition †¢Product category competition †¢Generic competition †¢Budget competition and entertainment The first one is the product form competition. In this case, it is the ability of competitive of wooden company about educational products with the other companies such as the safe, design and materials. The next one is the product category competition. It is the competitive possibility of wooden educational products with the other products. The third one is generic competition. It is the ability of competitive of wooden product with the other products in general. The final one is budget competition and entrainment. It is the wooden company’s ability of educational toys in compare with the other toys at the same budget. 1c) Evaluate an organization’s opportunities and threats for a given product or service There have many threats for wooden company when they approach Vietnamese market. Children’s toys have been sold quite well in recent year in Vietnam but it seems that this fat land of hundreds of million dollar worth has been underexploited by the domestic producers. According to the scenario, the most recent survey by Hanoi Market Management Department shows that 90% of the toy on sales are originated from China and made in various types of materials e. g. plastic, metal, wood, cotton, and so on. . Shops in some toy-selling streets show 500-1,000 items, including superman, moon sailors, dolls and battery-cars. Besides a few toy with educational features, a vast availability is for violent and anti-education toy products. Following the Vietnamese standards, there are 26 indicators applied for children’s toys but none of the currently available in the market meets these requirements. On the other hand, no requirement has been set for import products, which are now available everywhere in the domestic market and most of them are sourced from China. Chinese toys target the children from the average and low income families. Besides, the fact is saying that the domestic market is now dominated by Chinese products, although Vietnamese produces have been trying to put out ‘made in Vietnam’ products but their products prove to be uncompetitive with Chinese ones in terms of prices and design. For all these kind of reasons, Chinese toys are very strong to compete. Despite of challenges, Vietnamese market is also a highly potential because over 2 year of discovery, some products are still struggling for foothole of their brand name in the market. The number of competitors is also limited to few. It means the advantage for wooden company. Domestic producers are now targeting schools and parks rather than individual customers. Therefore, this segment of the market is considered as highly potential. Moreover, when summer’s coming, parent concern about what kind of entertainment is really reasonable and useful for their children. With some limitation of weather this year, many parent would like their children to stay ay home to play while learning similar with the education method in some developed countries in the world. In order to meets the requirement, the wooden intellectual toys become the priorities for the children, because, according to many parent, these toys can help children develop their creativeness, the exercising skills together with the plentiful imagination. This year, the children toy market has a tendency toward the education. Vietnamese products are gradually emerging, despite less attraction, the consumers also pay a lot attention to them because many Vietnamese suppliers offer free consulting services about health and safety for children, the manner to handle circumstances and the way of educating children. Vietnam has never had a real toy industry but it also a good condition for the development pf the toy industry. In addition, Vietnamese government should have suitable policy to help the companies take full advantage to make their product meet the requirement on safety, and the products which aim to protect the users’ health and to develop their intelligence, which can not be provided by Chinese products. If Vietnamese companies follow the right development track, have suitable policies for investment and cooperation, it will be able to develop a toy industry which could make products for domestic demand and for export. Task 2: Discuss the importance of customer satisfaction and feedback 2a) Identify and evaluate techniques of assessing customer response In order to identify and evaluate customer response, after having their compliments about company’ s product, company can use some technique such as do survey research, 2b) Design and complete a customer satisfaction survey The questionnaire was designed to collect customer’s opinions about company product or services to ma ke the necessary improvements. The questionnaire contained 12 questions. It is divided in 2 parts. The first part is demography, ask interview about their gender and age to distinguish the percentage of male or female use company product or service. The second part, ask them about their satisfaction of product and service. Question 1 asked them time they use company product or service to find regular customer, target customer. If they use the service and buy good often they will know what the service or product need to make the necessary improvement. Question 2 asked them about the purpose in last time they used to define exactly what they need. Question 4,5 and 6 asked them about their satisfaction when they use the product and service.

Biography of Tom Hayden, Activist and Politician

Biography of Tom Hayden, Activist and Politician Tom Hayden (December 11, 1939–October 23, 2016) was an American anti-war activist and the co-founder of Students for a Democratic Society. In later life, he was elected to public office in California. Fast Facts: Tom Hayden Known For: Co-founder of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and a political activist focused on anti-war efforts, civil rights, and progressivism in American politicsOccupation: Activist, author, professor, and politicianBorn: December 11, 1939  in Royal Oak, MichiganDied: October 23, 2016  in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSpouse(s): Casey Cason  (m. 1961–1962), Jane Fonda  (m. 1973–1990), Barbara Williams  (m. 1993–2016)Children: Troy Garity, Liam Jack Diallo Hayden Early Life Hayden was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, to Genevieve and John Hayden. His father, a former Marine of Irish Catholic descent, was an accountant for Chrysler. The Haydens divorced when Thomas was ten, in large part due to John’s violent alcoholic tendencies. Hayden was raised by his mother and grew up attending Catholic elementary school, but he broke with the Church when he grew older. Hayden began his career as the editor of his high school’s newspaper. He then went on to attend the University of Michigan, where he served as the editor of the student newspaper, the Michigan Daily. It was at this time that he became more politically active, eventually co-founding the leftist student group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He met his first wife, Sandra Cason, through their shared activism, and the couple married in 1961. Radical Activism Hayden began his larger-scale activism as a Freedom Rider in the South, riding into the segregated South to protest the non-compliance with a Supreme Court ruling that had made segregated buses unconstitutional. As president of the SDS, Hayden drafted their manifesto, the Port Huron Statement, which became an early inspiration for the â€Å"New Left† and young, radical leftist movement in the United States. After divorcing Cason in 1962, Hayden moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he worked from 1964 to 1968 with inner-city residents and witnessed the 1967 â€Å"race riots,† which he attributed to more than just racial conflict. It was in 1965, however, that Hayden began his more visible and controversial activism. Alongside Communist Party USA member Herbert Aptheker and Quaker peace activist Staughton Lynd, Hayden visited North Vietnam, touring villages and factories. He continued his anti-war activities into 1968, when he joined the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam and protested outside the Democratic National Convention. Those protests led to his indictment, along with several of his fellow protestors, on charges of incitement to riot and conspiracy. Their case became known as the â€Å"Chicago Seven† (named after the city where the convention and protests occurred), and although Hayden and other protestors were initially convicted of crossing state lines with the intention to riot, the decision was later reversed, and the government did not retry the case. Following the trial, Hayden continued to make highly visible visits to Vietnam and Cambodia, the latter of which had been drawn into the war under the Nixon administration. Hayden had become involved romantically with actress Jane Fonda, who was also an anti-war protestor and famously took a trip to Hanoi, the North Vietnamese capital, in 1972. The couple married in 1973 and welcomed their son, Troy Garity (given Hayden’s mother’s maiden name for his surname). He also founded the Indochina Peace Campaign, which organized anti-war dissent and fought for amnesty for those who dodged being drafted. Entry into Politics In 1976, Hayden made his first political move when he challenged incumbent Senator John V. Tunney for a California Senate seat. Although he was initially viewed as a fringe candidate, he wound up finishing a strong second in the Democratic primary. In the 1980s, he served in the California state assembly and, in the 1990s, in the state senate. Hayden served on the advisory board of the Progressive Democrats of America, a political organization and grassroots political action committee created to advocate for more progressive policy within the Democratic Party. He also became a strong advocate for animal rights and authored a bill that improved protections for pets and shelter animals. Throughout his career, Hayden taught at the university level at several California universities. For the most part, his courses specialized in social movements, political science, and history of protests. He also authored or edited nearly 20 books. Later Life In 1990, Hayden and Fonda divorced; three years later, he married his third wife, Barbara Williams, a Canadian-American actress. The couple adopted a son, Liam, who was born in 2000. The 2016 election would be the last campaign season he participated in: although he reportedly supported Bernie Sanders early on, he publicly supported Hillary Clinton. However, Hayden did not live to see the results of the election. After a lengthy illness and a stroke, Hayden died on October 23, 2016, in Santa Monica, California. He left behind a large volume of published work, as well as a legacy of pushing for progress, even (and especially) when it went against the â€Å"establishment† thinking. Sources Finnegan, Michael. â€Å"The radical inside the system: Tom Hayden, protester-turned-politician, dies at 76.† The Los Angeles Times, 23 October 2016, https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-tom-hayden-snap-story.html.McFadden, Robert D. â€Å"Tom Hayden, Civil Rights and Antiwar Activist Turned Lawmaker, Dies at 76.† The New York Times, 24 October 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/us/tom-hayden-dead.html.Schaffer, Scott. â€Å"Tom Hayden: American Activist and Author.† Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 7 December 2018, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tom-Hayden.

Crimes of Killer Cop Antoinette Frank

Crimes of Killer Cop Antoinette Frank Antoinette Renee Frank (born April 30, 1971) is one of two women on death row in Louisiana.   On March 4, 1995, Frank was employed as a New Orleans police officer when she and accomplice Rogers Lacaze committed an armed robbery  at a restaurant and a killed New Orleans police officer and  two family members who were working at the restaurant. The motive of the murders was money. Frank interviewed with the New Orleans Police Department in January 1993. Despite that she was caught lying several times on her application and that after completing two psychiatric evaluations a firm do not hire status was recommended, the decision was made to hire her anyway. As a police officer cruising the streets of New Orleans, she came off as weak, indecisive and as some of her co-workers stated, borderline irrational. After her first six months on the force, her supervisor was close to having her return to the police academy for more training, but there was a shortage of manpower and she was needed on the streets. Instead, he teamed her up with a seasoned officer. Rogers Lacaze Roger Lacaze was a known 18-year-old  drug dealer who had been shot. Frank was the officer assigned to take his statement and a relationship between the two immediately transpired. Frank decided that she was going to help Lacaze turn his life around. However, the relationship quickly turned into a sexual one. Frank and Lacaze began spending a lot of time together and she did little to hide it from her fellow police officers or her superiors. She allowed him to ride in her police car when she was on duty and he sometimes accompanied her on calls. She would sometimes introduce him as a trainee or nephew. The Murders On March 4, 1995, Frank and Lacze showed up at the Kim Anh Vietnamese restaurant in east New Orleans, Louisiana, at 11 p.m. Frank had worked security at the restaurant and was on friendly terms with the family that owned and ran it. They would often give her food for free, even when she was not working. Fellow police officer Ronald Williams also worked security at the restaurant and was responsible for scheduling the other officers. He was there when Frank and Lacaze showed up.  Frank introduced Lacaze  as her nephew, but Williams recognized him as a thug who he had stopped on more than one occasion.   At around midnight, 24-year-old Chau Vu, who was working the restaurant with her sister and two brothers, decided it was slow enough to close. She was headed to the back to balance the money, when she noticed that the key to the restaurant was missing since the last time she had let Frank and her nephew out. She continued on to the kitchen to count money, then returned to the dining room to pay Williams who was working security that night.  Frank suddenly appeared back at the restaurant, shaking the door to come in. Sensing something was wrong, she went into the back and hid the money in the microwave, then returned to the front of the restaurant.   Earlier, after the first time the couple left, Williams told Chau Frank and her nephew were bad news. Chau had already decided that she did trust Frank after seeing her nephew, who looked like a gang member with his gold front teeth.   Chaus 18-year-old brother Quoc Vu, was talking with Williams when Frank returned. Chau shouted to him, not to let her in, but Frank came in on her own, using the missing key to open the door. As Frank walked into the restaurant, Williams approached her and confronted her about having a key, but she ignored him and continued towards the kitchen, shoving Chau and Quoc along with her. In the meantime, Lacaze, armed with a 9 mm pistol, came into the restaurant and shot Williams in the back of the head at close range, which immediately severed his spinal cord. Williams fell, paralyzed, and Lacaze shot him two more times in the head and back, killing him.He then took the officers revolver and his wallet. During the shooting, Franks attention turned to Lacaze, and Chau grabbed Quoc and an employee named Vui and they fled to the restaurants walk in- cooler, turned off the lights and hid. Chau, then Quoc carefully looked through the glass of the cooler to see what was going on. They watched as Frank and Lacaze searched frantically for the money. When they found it, they went to where Chaus older brother and sister were and forced them to their knees. The two siblings held hands and began praying and begging for their lives.   Frank shot both of them at close range with the same gun LaCaze had used to kill Williams. Then the killers began searching for the others. Assuming that they had escaped, Frank and Lacaze left the restaurant and drove away. Quoc ran to the neighbors to call 9.1.1. while  Chau stayed at the restaurant. She also called 911 but was so distraught after finding her brother and sister, and Williams dead, that she was unable to communicate clearly. Frank returned to the restaurant just seconds before the police. As Chau ran from the restaurant to a female police officer, it appeared that Frank was running after her, but she was stopped by the officers. She identified herself as a police officer and said that three masked men had escaped out the back door. Frank then approached Chau, and asked her what happened and if she was alright. Chau, in disbelief, and in broken English, asked why she would ask that, because she was there and knew what had happened. Sensing Chaus fear, the female officer pulled Chau away and told Frank not to leave. Slowly Chau was able to say what had happened. When Quoc returned to the scene, he validated what Chau had said. Frank was escorted to headquarters, after supplying the investigators with information on where she had dropped Lacaze off after leaving the restaurant after the shooting. When they were each interrogated, they pointed the finger at each other as being the trigger man. Frank finally said that she shot the younger brother and sister, but only because Lacaze had a gun to her head. They were both charged with armed robbery and murder. Death by Lethal Injection LaCaze trial was first. He tried to convince the jury that he was not at the restaurant and that Frank had acted alone. He was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to death by lethal injection. In October 1995 the jury sentenced Frank to death by lethal injection for the murders of Officer Ronald Williams and Ha and Cuong Vu. Update:  Rogers Lacaze is Granted a New Trial On July 23, 2015,  Ã‚  Judge Michael Kirby granted Rogers Lacaze a new trial because a former police officer was on the jury, which was in violation of jury rules. The juror,  Ã‚  David Settle, never revealed that he had worked for 20 years with the police.

Discuss Hamlet as a revenge tragedy Research Paper

Discuss Hamlet as a revenge tragedy - Research Paper Example Thesis statement: The basic elements of the play Hamlet proves its importance as a revenge tragedy (special references to the elements of revenge tragedy like revenge, ghost, hero’s hesitation, madness, capable villains, philosophical content, horror and suicide/murder) Hamlet as a revenge tragedy As pointed out, the basic elements of revenge tragedy are applicable to the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The basic elements of revenge tragedy like revenge, ghost, hero’s hesitation, madness, capable villains, philosophical content, horror and suicide/murder are discussed under. A. Revenge: One can see that revenge is the most important element of the play. Within this context, Hamlet’s revenge is to be considered as most important because his aim was to regain the lost honor of his father. At the same time revenge leads him towards his ultimate doom at the end of the play. Rebecca W. Bushnell points out that the basic quality of a revenge tragedy is the protagon ist’s inability to understand his own self or the outside world (68). From a different angle of view, Hamlet’s revenge can be evaluated as his attempt to escape from mental and emotional trauma originating from his personal feeling/fear of losing his mother. In short, revenge is the main component of the play which entraps the protagonist (Hamlet) and his enemies. B. Ghost: The basic element of revenge tragedy consists of the presence of a ghost, which curtails the deeds of the protagonist and acts the role of a motivation to take revenge. Within the context of Hamlet the play, King Hamlet’s ghost acts the role of the ghost who deeply influences prince Hamlet to take revenge of his father’s untimely death and the following incidents. The ghost encourages Hamlet by pointing out that â€Å"So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear† (16). One can easily identify that the ghost’s inspiration forces Hamlet to be suspicious about his uncle†™s and mother’s roles in the conspiracy against his father. But he hesitates to believe in ghost and tries to ignore. Gradually, the ghost forces his son to destroy his enemies and to regain the throne. In short, the presence of ghost, similar to the other revenge plays, ignites fury in the mind of the protagonist and forces him to take revenge of his father’s death. C. Hero’s hesitation Like other revenge tragedy heroes, Hamlet did not believe in ghosts. When his father’s ghost tried to influence him, he did not believe in him and hesitated to act against his enemies. Later, his friend forced him to act according to the will of the ghost and to act against his enemies. Paul Arthur Cantor opines that Oedipus complex hindered Hamlet from his actions (21). The hero’s hesitation can be evaluated from different levels. For instance, he was not sure about the presence of his father as the ghost. Later, he did miss more than one attempt to kill his unc le. This hesitation caused more troubles in his life because he accidentally killed a counselor who was so close to his uncle. This hesitation ultimately led him towards his doom in the end. D. Madness Madness, whether acted or real is one of the most important elements of revenge tragedies. When this element is superimposed to the context of the play Hamlet, one can easily identify that Hamlet’s madness was not real. For instance, Hamlet acted himself as a mad person because he wanted to know more about the deeds of his enemies. He was aware of

The country of Armagede Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The country of Armagede - Essay Example A wild animal refuge spans an area of some 1500 miles to the south. This refuge is heavily guarded against poachers and contributes more than three million dollars a year in tourism dollars that offset the cost of the reserve and contribute to the hospitality and cultural art industries in the country. The country supports a population of 4,763,271 Armagede nationals with about population of 3,445,192 who are largely subsistent farmers with a per capita income of about population of $223. The largest concentration of citizens is in the two largest cities in the north and south where residents are employed in government jobs. There is a population of approximately 544 people per square mile. In the past decade the country has begun to maintain vital statistic and economic records that help show a continuing improvement in the country’s economic indicators. The per capita income has increased by nearly 5% per household over the past decade, as represented by the graph below. The re is one university, Aduine University, in the north, a state sponsored university staffed largely by well educated professors from countries that offer incentives for foreign academic services. Most of the graduates go on to work for the government and in state sponsored elementary, middle schools and high schools. A large number of graduates leave the country for graduate studies in medicine and law, but statistics support the fact that these individuals return to Armagede upon completion of their studies.

Stem Cells -- Ethics, Research, and Regulation Essay -- Embryonic Stem

Stem Cells -- Ethics, Research, and Regulation I. Introduction: â€Å"Embryonic stem cell research offers both great promise and great peril.† - President George W. Bush, Aug. 9, 2001 Stem cell research is not new but only recently has it become widely known to the public because the benefits of the technology are coming closer to reality; the field of stem cell biology is advancing at an incredible pace with new discoveries being reported in scientific literature on a weekly basis. Scientists first announced a method of growing embryonic stem cells in a laboratory in 1981, but the cells were from a mouse. It wasn’t until five years ago that James Thomson (pictured to the leftP3) at the University of Wisconsin- Madison announced that he was able to isolate cells from the blastocyst of an early embryo.5 From research he gathered in the fields of applied reproductive biology and mouse embryology, he was able to develop the first human embryonic stem cell lines. At the same time as Mr. Thomson, John Gearhart (pictured to the rightP4)reported the first derivation of human embryonic germ cells from the primordial germ cells located inside the fetal gonadal tissu e that is key in the development of eggs and sperm. Dr. Gearhart, working at Johns Hopkins University with other prominent stem cell researchers, was then able to develop pluripotent stem cell lines by isolating stem cells from early human embryos and grow them in culture. Most recent research is focusing on two types of stem cells: pluripotent cells and adult stem cells that have been in clinical use for use but just recently were discovered to be able to develop into cells that have many of the characteristics of neurons. But even with all the information known alrea... ... the National Bioethics Advisory Commission. 4. National Institutes of Health Online. 27 August 2001. National Institutes of Health Update. 5. National Institutes of Health Online. September 2002. Stem Cell Primer. Pictures related to topic may be foud at: P1. http://www.americanfieldguide.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec01/stem_cells.html P2. http://www.stemcellresearch.org/ P3. http://www.jsonline.com/lifestyle/people/aug01/jamie05080201.asp P4. http://www.stemcellresearchfoundation.net/Research/Gearhart.htm P5. http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm P6. http://www.klaj.nu/bilder/glasyrkonst/embryo.jpg P7. http://organtx.org/images/stem%20cells%20022301.jpg P8. http://www.firstivf.com/ivf.htm

Manipulation of Psychology in Macbeth Essay

The play Macbeth highlights William Shakespeare’s own opinions on correlations between committing unethical deeds and the manipulation of a person’s psychology. While modern psychological research did not appear until the late 1800s it is evident that with the help of his son-in-law John Hall (a man who introduced one of the first psychological concepts of hypochondriac melancholy), Shakespeare was able to use many psychological abnormalities to highlight that partaking in evil changes the mind. But this little knowledge has left plenty of room for ambiguity in Macbeth and has resulted in many modern debates to arise over differing interpretations of the play. One interpretation details Shakespeare wished to show to his audience that mental illness will form within them if they commit a particularly sinful act. While Shakespeare did not know the official diagnosis of mental disorders such as schizophrenia or bi-polar Robert Munro states within his Lady Macbeth: A Psychological Sketch that ‘which a knowledge of psychology which was far in advance of his time†¦ e always speaks of the abnormal conditions of the mind with marvellous accuracy’. In Act 5 a doctor comments on Lady Macbeth’s sleep walking saying ‘unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles; infected minds/ To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets’. This comment upon her case of what the responders of the time knew as Severe Somnambulism is the pinnacle of Shakespeare ’s claim that guilt from an unethical deed will result in an ill mind. The darkened stage and inclusion of a taper as a prop in Lady Macbeths’ hands helps to illustrate for the responders the issue of her mind falling into symbolic darkness as she struggles to cope with the guilt caused by her deeds. Also personification of deaf pillows is used by Shakespeare to show that her unusual habits of sleepwalking places Lady Macbeth in an isolated situation as she cannot tell anyone the cause of her troubles. Munro also states ‘As to somnambulism, the most incredible views were held [by Elizabethans]†¦ it was regarded as a prophetic†¦ state in which the subjects were believed to be under the influence of angles or demons’. This contextual evidence provides insight into how Shakespeare would have terrified his responders through the inclusion of a disease in which they feared; developing within Lady Macbeth as a result of her deeds. Hence Macbeth is often said to demonstrate that individuals will inevitably succumb to the maladies of the mind if they commit acts frowned upon by society and God. Another psychological correlation with unethical deeds is not one that is a result of them but in fact is the cause of them. Some interpret the play as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth being motivated to murder by a monomania-desire for children. Munro states ‘it was clearly the intention of Shakespeare to represent them†¦ n the attitude of one suffering from the effects of an ever-increasing monomania’ This is first seen in Act 1 before the murder occurs, Lady Macbeth says ‘I have given suck and know/ How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me’ before she says ‘I would, while it was smiling in my face, / have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn / As you have done to this’. This juxtaposition of love and hatred towards an innoce nt symbol such as a child highlights a deep conflict of emotion occurring within her and provides reasons that she may not have had success with raising a healthy child. Lexical choice of the word tender still highlights her desire for a child which raises a thought within responders that attempting to become king and queen is their effort to become symbolic parents for a nation. Then throughout the play murder follows Macbeth wherever he becomes jealous for the fertility of others such as Macduff’s children and the chance that Banquo’s children will become successive kings. Freud effectively sums up the famous quote by Macduff ‘He has no children! ’ in Act 4 when his family is murdered as ‘Only because he himself is childless could he murder my children’. Once again this recurring imagery throughout the play continues when in Act 4 Shakespeare uses the character of a bloody child to confront Macbeth which can be interpreted by responders as the child of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who is assumed to have died of still birth or unnatural causes. Uses of these props and characters which reiterate the theme of family and children throughout the play create a strong motif which the Elizabethan audience could relate to as family values were significantly important. Hence Shakespeare uses this growing obsessive frustration at the inability to have a family within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as a the motivation for their multiple acts of the unethical deed of murder. Therefore Shakespeare shows correlations in Macbeth between changing psychological patterns in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and unethical deeds such as murder through cause and effect. Cause being a monomania frustration causing more unethical deeds to be committed. The effect being the development of mental illness which can cause somnambulism within an individual as a result of committing a crime.