The role of the brain in addiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The role of the brain in addiction - Essay Example Photoreception and Signal Transmission: The photoreceptor cells of the retina are the cones and rods. Light stimulus causes changes in the visual chemical of the cones and rods producing a receptor potential. This passes through the bodies of the rods and cones and acts at the synapses to induce a signal in the bipolar cells. This signal is then transmitted to the ganglion cells. The axons of the ganglion cells leave the eyeball posteriorly to become the optic nerve. The two optic nerves enter the cranial cavity and join to form the optic chiasma. In the optic chiasma, the axons from the nasal (medial) halves of the retinas cross over to the opposite sides. From the optic chiasma on either side of the brainstem, the optic tracts continue. The optic tracts relays information to the LGB (lateral geniculate body) of the thalamus. From here, information is carried to the occipital lobes of the cerebral cortex, where the information is perceived as conscious vision. Due to the crossover, the right visual field is perceived within the left hemisphere, and the left visual field is perceived within the right hemisphere (Lesson assignment, n.d.) The nervous pathways for sound The neuron associated with the hair cells of the organ of Corti (located in the basilar membrane of the inner ear) carries the sound stimulus to the brainstem. Through a series of connections, the signal reaches Brodmann's area number 41, in the temporal lobe of the brain where the stimulus is perceived as sound.

Importance of Demand Analysis to a Business Enterprise Essay Example for Free

Importance of Demand Analysis to a Business Enterprise Essay Importance of demand analysis to business enterprises.They are the source of many useful insights for business decision making.The success of failure of business firms depend primarily on its ability to generate resources by satisfying the demand of consumers.The firms unable to attract consumers are soon forced out from the market. The importance of demand analysis in business decisions can be explained under following headings: Sales forecasting :The demand is a basis the sales of the production of a firm. Hence,sales forecasting can be made on the basis of demand.For example,if demand is high,sales will be high and if demand is low,sales will be low.The firms can make different arrangements to increase or reduce production or push up sales on the basis of sales forecast. Pricing decisions :The analysis of demand is the basis of pricing decisions of a firm.If the demand for the product is high,the firm can charge high price,other things remaining the same.On the contrary .If the demand is low,the firm cannot high price.The demand analysis also helps the firm in profit budgeting. Marketing decisions:The analysis of demand helps a firm to formulate marketing decisions.The demand analysis analyses and measure the forces that determine demand.The demand can be influenced by manipulating the factors on which consumers base their demand on attractive packaging. Production decisions:How much a firm can produce depends on its capacity.But how much it should produce depends on demand.Production is not necessary if their no demand.But continuous production schedule is necessary if the the demand for the production is relatively stable.If the demand is less than the quantity of production,new demand should be created by means of promotional activities such a advertising. Financial decisions :The demand condition in the marker for firms products affects the financial decisions as well.If the demand for firms product is strong and growing,the needs for additional finance will be greater.Hence,the financial manager should make necessary financial arrangement to finance the growing need of the capital.

Cultural sensitivity is a crucial factor to success

Cultural sensitivity is a crucial factor to success Due to progress in communication, transformation and technologies which have performed in development of worlds economy, people from different nations, cultures, languages and backgrounds are now communicating, meeting and doing business with each other more than ever. As there is increase in business activities between people from different nations, cultures, languages and backgrounds, companies who are operating internationally or which are going to be a global they have to concentrate on many factors to be a successful in international market. One of the significant factors among them is a culture. For the success of any business in variety of countries or regions it requires to have understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way business is practiced. The main determinants of culture are religion, political philosophy, economical philosophy, education, language, social structure etc. Businesses have to understand and match with all this cul tural determinants, as cultural sensitivity is a crucial factor in a companys international business success. Cultural sensitivity means being aware that cultural differences and similarities exist and have an effect on values, learning and behaviour (Stafford et el. 1997). Culture is defined by many authors as collective programming of the minds that distinguishes the members of one group of people from another (international marketing page 181). It is in various forms which cover the areas such as politics, history, faith, mentality, behaviour and lifestyle. To be a successful in international markets any business must have to determine the specific role culture plays in the companys product markets. Culture may influence business success by consumer culture and business culture. In international business the situation is more difficult due to differences in culture between stakeholders and customers which may lead to different views and behaviour of people even in similar products markets. Therefore even in similar product markets across the countries it is crucial for the international marketers to understand the cultural differences and similarities exist to be a successful. CONSUMER CULTURE: Consumer culture deals with the factors determining consumer decision making and behaviour therefore to be a successful international businesses are required to understand such determinants. Social learning: Social learning is one of the important factors determining consumer decision. People may take decisions on base of what they thinks, feels and what they have learnt. Most of the learning takes place in groups of people such as family, occupational group, religious groups etc. Such learning is a result of shared knowledge and views of people from a particular group. For example generally people behave in a way of what they think and what they have learnt which may be from family or from groups of people of the same age, sex, occupation, interests, religion etc. Subcultures: Every culture has different subcultures such as religions, regions, racial groups etc. Group of people with similar values, views, habits, consumption preferences formulate subcultures. It is very important for the businesses to understand each subculture as it helps them to make the products or services according to needs of specific group. For example, In U.S., there are various subcultures depending on different ethnic, religious and regional groups. Each group in its own way influence the performance of business, consumer and buyers behaviour. For e.g., Campbells sells different flavours of tomato soup depending on region of the country. Tomato soup sold in Montana is not as spicy as that sold in Texas. Education: Education level is important for success of any business locally or internationally. From an international business perspective, education plays a vital role in determining the national competitive advantage. The main reason behind this is the availability of skilled and educated workforce is the main determinant of economic success of any country or business. International businesses can choose the location of doing business on the base of educational level of that region. For example, now a days India is a good choice of destination to outsource information technology jobs, which is result of Indian education system. International businesses can also design their marketing activities according to the level of education of particular country or region. Language: Language is one of the important characteristic of culture. It is a mean of communication which plays a crucial part in understanding the culture, values, perceptions, beliefs and attitudes of the particular region or country. Therefore language is considered as a key to establishing excellence business relationship. For example if German company is marketing their product in India, it is necessary for the company to understand or get knowledge of different Indian languages depending on regions, religious etc. and if the company fails to do that it would affect overall success of the company in that country. Religion: It is necessary for any international company to understand religious factors while doing business in any country because such factors plays a important role in determining consumer choice and view about that company. For example, In India there is a large amount of Hindus and Muslims. Therefore international company like McDonald would not be successful if they keep selling the foods containing beef and pork. To be accepted by the population of the particular region or country, it has to follow the culture in which country it is operating in. Political Philosophy: Political philosophy means system of government in particular country. Success of any international company in particular region is depends on how the political factors of that country facilitate or obstruct the business. For example: Due to the government laws some international country might be able to run the business in particular country but if the people of that country are might be encouraged to go for domestic substitutes, then it can affect the success of any international business. BUSINESS CULTURE: It deals with all cultural factors influencing business behaviour. Same as consumer culture which influence personal consumption pattern and buyer behaviour, business culture is equally important to determine accepted business behaviour. There is a significant effect of societys culture on the workplace of international business operations. Greet Hofstede has given five cultural dimensions as given below which gives better understanding about the intercultural differences within regions and between countries. Power distance: This focus on the equality or inequality between the people in society of particular country or in organisation. It indicates how society or organisation deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities. Hofstede states that high power distance cultures were found at the places that let them grow overtime into inequalities of power and wealth whereas low power distance culture were found at places that tried to lower down such inequalities as much as possible and culture of low power distance is better for smooth running and overall success of any business. Individualism Vs Collectivism: This focus on relationship between individuals and their fellows. In individualistic societies ties between members are loose whereas in collectivism it is tight. For success of any business Collectivism culture is more preferable. Uncertainty avoidance: It deals with the societys tolerance for uncertainty. It measures the level to which different cultures socialize their member to tolerate uncertain situations. Members in high uncertainty avoidance cultures requires strict laws and rules to minimise the possibilities of such situations whereas in lower uncertainty avoidance cultures, members are ready to take risks and less emotional resistance to change. Required level of uncertainty avoidance is depends on types of business though, high Level of uncertainty avoidance is preferable up to certain limit as in such culture people resist change, which is sometime not preferable for well-being of the company. Masculinity: This focus on the relationship between gender and work roles. In masculine cultures organisation makes difference between sex roles while handover particular job or task whereas Feminine culture does very less difference between sex roles. Very little difference is made between men and women in the same job. Long-term Orientation (LTO): It focuses on the level to which the culture holds the long-term orientation. High LTO shows that the country or organisation imposes long term commitment and respect for the traditions whereas in low LTO its vice-a-versa. In low LTO, change can take place much faster as traditions and commitments dont turn into barriers to change. Thus any international businesses have to follow the business culture depending on the countries they are operating in. Ethnocentric: It is the view that ones own culture is better than others. Ethnocentrism can be seen in many aspects of culturemyths, folktales, proverbs, and even language. As per ethnocentric culture, home countrys culture is used to define the culture of the whole company i.e. such companies use their domestic culture in all the countries they are operating in. This may could be unaccepted for the people and management working in different countries due to their own beliefs, values and culture which might be totally different than companys culture which could affect the success of company in other countries. Polycentric: As per the polycentric, host country culture is dominant within the MNE i.e. international companies are likely to accept culture of the countries they are operating in. Management follows the traditions, values, styles and customs of local staff. That means there is no common culture in whole company which may create a gap in its operation in different countries. However more often such companies are more likely to be accepted in any countries as companies follow the traditions, values and customs of host country. Geocentric: It indicates that instead of following home country culture or host country culture, companies formulate a hybrid culture across the company. In geocentric companies management consider organisations overall goals and plans from a wider view rather than simply follow the culture or traditions of the company. The companies which implements geocentric approach can make best possible use of its available resources and achieve the highest possible overall performance. Companies are more likely to follow geocentric culture to be a successful internationally as well as to avoid internal and external conflicts related to its operations. Thus after understanding all above different point we can understand that the cultural sensitivity is crucial for companys international business success. It is the company who decide which kind cultural sensitivity i.e. ethnocentric, polycentric or geocentric is required to be a successful international company though geocentric approach is preferable for the companies to follow as it formulate the cross-culture instead of following host or home countys culture and simply gives importance to goals of the company. Due to such kind of approach employees familiarise with both countries culture which also helps to socialise them with each other which is necessary to avoid conflicts due to the cultural gaps between the employees of different countries. This results in smooth running of operations of the company and thereby it leads company towards success. Along with the cultural sensitivity it is also important for the international companies to understand the consumer culture and business culture of the country they are operating in. Consumer culture helps companies to understand demand of the consumers of the particular country depending on different factors such as language, religion, religious, beliefs, education etc. Whereas business culture helps companies to design their operations or activities based on business culture of the country they are operating in. For e.g. If Indian company operating in UK where power distance is much lower compared to India, it has to follow the culture of UK otherwise employees are unlikely to behave or perform well which can affect the overall success of the company. Therefore companies are also required to understand consumer and business culture as it plays a crucial role in overall success of international companies.

Protecting your Privacy from the Government Essay -- Politics Persuasi

Protecting your Privacy from the Government Privacy and the Government, for century’s people have debated the conspiracy theory that the government is always watching you.With integration of information System, this fear is fast becoming reality.Since September 11, the Government has developed a completely new understanding of information the individuals that live in the United States.They are now focusing on the any and all potential threats to national security.The Government’s big imitative, which is part of Homeland Security, is Total Information Awareness (TIA) also known as Terrorism Information Awareness.This campaign is the closest thing to ‘Big Brother’ that the United States has ever seen.It is a focus on pulling as much information together on as many people as possible into a single database, making the information available to government officials to weed out and find potential people involved in terrorism.On the surface this would seem to be a good thing, but if you look at the situati on closer, you will find that they are gathering information on anyone and everyone.This means that they are gathering information on people for future purposes.They are gathering information on the pretense that they may use it in the future in the name of Homeland Security.The TIA is not the only mode of extraction of information from our privacy; the airlines in conjunction with the government have developed a similar system for airline passengers.The government is also purchasing information from other companies on its customer to gain more data on potential wrong doers.We will discuss basic points on all three later on this site.In essence many believe that they are violating our privacy. The Total Information Awareness ... ...ng the awareness of privacy within its agencies.They have begun to create positions called Private Contact Officers (PCO), which have the responsibility of maintaining the integrity of the implied privacy agreement with its citizens.Of the government agencies polled over 74% respondents thought that privacy was extremely important to their agencies.Some of the main focuses of the agencies are on Internet security and personal information security and integrity.Most of the agencies polled expressed that privacy was a priority; it did not rank as one the top priorities.The issue of privacy and the government is getting better but at an extremely slow pace.Once people understand that when you lose your privacy you can never get it back, they will guard themselves and there personal information better.The only one that can help prevent invasion of privacy is ourselves.

British and American Culture Essay

Most of us used to think that there is just one important difference between British and American culture, that is accent of English language. However, experience of the american exchange students shows that is not true.There are a lot of others cultural, social and economical aspects differing USA and Great Britain, but still they have got some things in common, probably because English culture used to be considered as mother- culture for American. I would like to start with such an interesting and modern cultural aspect as food. In Great Britain they have got a number of restaurants representing cousins from all parts of the worlds, just like in USA. For example, when you are traveling to New-York, you have a possibility to try Chinese food and by passing few stations by subway, you may have a dinner in Russian restaurant. Also, both countries have a big assortment of goodies at the stores. Nonetheless, there is a difference between the diets following by citizens of the both countries. One of the good examples is the breakfast, in England people are eating a lot of proteins such as mushrooms and beens; in contrast, in USA for breakfast people are eating some flakes with milk or juice, or some toasts, pancakes,etc. I suppose we can observe this difference, because people in this countries are living different lifestyles. We can see a good number of social differences between American and English cultures, one of them is sense of humor. English sense of humor was named by american students as â€Å"dry†; however I would characterize it as ironic and a bit sarcastic, also I believe that the sense of humor is something personal, than national. One more important thing is the using of cell phones, british people have got one special habit as talking on cellphone in subways, while American people don’t have it , they are using phone wherever they want.Also, I guess English people are used to talk on cellphone, and American are using messages more, then actually talking on phone. Apparently, there is a huge culture difference in social aspect such, as attitude to history. Americans are looking through history with modern prospective, on the other hand, British people are feeling respectfully for their past, being proud of the rich for events and old history that England has. Obviously, America is much more younger country , than England, therefore they donot have such a long history. American students for time being in England had to point out that living in England is more expansive ,then in America. I believe , that it  has to do with life- level in both countries, it is well known fact that salaries in Great Britain are pretty high. Statistically , the young people over 21 have a sallary around 12$ per hour , while in USA is just 7.25$ per hour, therefore the rent in England is more expensive, then in USA. In conclusion, I would like to say, that students who are going for exchange program, are very good example of how lively culture is, and everyone can notice just these differences which is familiar to himself.All cultures have got differences, and when we are going for living abroad, we are challenging ourself for adaptation foreign culture to our own lifestyle, also I believe that such a unique experience can help us to valuate and appreciate our own cultural aspects.

Abolishing Mandatory Attendance For Schools Essays - Student

Abolishing Mandatory Attendance For Schools Essays - Student Abolishing Mandatory Attendance For Schools So that nobody has to go to school if they don't want to, by Roger Sipher states that compulsory attendance laws should be abolished. His argument is that students that don't wish to be in school are antagonistic to the school and prevent others form learning, and therefore not be forced to attend school. There are six advantages. Although these six advantages produce enormous dividends, there are still some major flaws with his plan. First flaw with the plan is where are the children going to go? The children can't just run the streets not being able to even read or write. Therefore you need supervision, but with supervision comes money. And there are not many people who would even take this babysitting job because of the money. Money is the second big issue. The funds are just not there to run a quality, high-tech school and pay the teachers. Thirdly, can children of that age make a sound decision about something as important as school? No, of course not. Children of this age just don't have enough experience with life to make that important of a decision for their future. Another motive for children not performing up to standards is the pressure. Maybe to much pressure is being put on students to perform in this high-tech world. The emphasis as faded away from the basic skills of reading and writing and arithmetic and has now focused on technology. The pressure needs to be taken off the children at such a tender age in their lives. And be put back on what really matters. The students who chose to be antagonistic can be sent to alternative schools such as Boot camps, Boys and Girls club, YMCA, and other local programs and organizations. The problem here is not attendance; the problem here is attitude. Although this plan has great features there is however an effect that is detrimental. The ability to read, write, and even the basic arithmetic are skills that everyone NEEDS to know. What in the world are you going to do with a kid that is in his twenty's and can't perform these basic skills. This is not going to be good. Although Sipher's plan is a very good idea, the cons outweigh the pros. This plan would solve many problems, but in the long run it would create more.