Operations Management Of Coca Cola - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2456 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Best Score Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Coca-Cola Essay Did you like this example? Essay for Operations Management CONTENTS ChapterPage 1. Summary3 2. Introduction4 3. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Operations management of Coca Cola: Applying the model" essay for you Create order First main section5 4. Second main section8 5. Conclusions10 6. References11 7. Appendices12 1 SUMMARY 1.1 Coca Cola is one of the most valuable and well known retailers in the world. The secret to its success comes from its focus on its supply chain, which is made as efficient as possible through the use of ERP systems and integration up and down the chain. This boosts its financial efficiency and improves its customer service. Fizzup can potentially experience similar benefits to Coca Cola, but will need to use change management techniques, cost benefit analyses and significant training in order to realise said benefits. 2 INTRODUCTION 2.1 This report was prompted by the belief that Coca Cola is one of the most efficient and valuable companies and brands in the world, and hence Fizzup, as a small manufacturer and distributor of soft drinks, could benefit from Coca Cola’s expertise. The main reason for Coca Cola’s success appears to be its efficient distribution system , which allows the company to sell over 1.4 billion servings of its product every day. As such, this paper aims to examine the extent to which the factors which have caused Coca Cola’s distribution system to be so successful can be applied to Fizzup. In order to achieve this it is, of course, necessary to determine the factors that actually differentiate Coca Cola from its competitors. 3 THE COCA COLA SUPPLY CHAIN 3.1. OPERATIONS WHICH DIFFERENTIATE COCA COLA The main part of Coca Cola’s operations which act to differentiate the company is its focus on logistical efficiency throughout the distribution section of its supply chain (Foley and Kontzer, 2004). With 1.4 billion servings of Coca Cola purchased every day around the world, including Diet Coke and other varieties, it is clear that this supply chain is extremely large and complex (Parker, 2007). As such, Foley and Kontzer (2004) claim that Coca Cola is unparalleled in its ability to efficiently manage the deliver y of Coke to stores and retail outlets around the world. A key part of this is Coke’s drive to provide new capabilities to tis account managers, merchandisers and delivery drivers, through the use of a coherent SAP suite across the entire business. This not only provides Coca Cola with more information at an individual store level, but also helps eliminate inefficiencies and automate the distribution process from Coca Cola right through to the end retailer. Indeed, Coca Cola uses a single form of SAP throughout its entire manufacturing supply chain in all forty five countries, providing massive consistency benefits. However, all the company’s beverages are distributed through franchise agreements with 53 bottlers around the world, whom Coca Cola only supplies with post mix syrup and other ingredients (Thomas, 2004). Parker (2007) claims that as a result Coca Cola’s distribution network includes over 1,000 production plants and a delivery fleet which is five time s larger than that of UPS. Whilst many of these bottlers also use SAP, their systems were previously not compatible with Coca Cola’s. As such, Coca Cola is now working on increasing the degree of integration and process commonality across all its distributors. Parker (2007) claims that a key aspect of this is that Coca Cola spent six months studying the various processes across all bottlers, finding that over 90 percent of the business processes of all bottlers are common across the entire distribution chain. As such, Coca Cola has begun upgrading to the latest version of SAP ERP in order to develop a services oriented architecture and hence boost the compatibility between the various systems across the distribution network. The main goal of this endeavour is to produce common processes across all bottlers, allowing information on purchasing, manufacturing, sales and distribution to pass quickly up and down the supply chain, thus maintaining Coca Cola’s logistical edge (Parker, 2007). In addition to this, Kant et al (2008) report that Coca Cola has implemented a specific vehicle routing software in order to maximise the efficiencies in the supply chain. As a result, over 10,000 trucks in the Coca Cola distribution fleet now have their routes automatically planned, saving the company $45 million each year and massively improving customer service. 3.2. COCA COLA SYSTEMS MAP ManufacturingDistributionRetail Bulk TransportFranchisesVansSupermarkets InputsSyrup BottlingSports Events Manufacture and canning Restaurants Bulk transport of post mix Kiosks I have elected to include the manufacturing, distribution and retail aspects of Coca Cola’s operations in my systems map. This is because the distribution chain can only truly be understood by also considering the systems which sit around it, and dictate its processes. Firstly, the raw ingredients arrive at the Coca Cola manufacturing facility where they go into the syrup manufacturing process. There is little additional detail here, as Coca Cola closely guards its recipe and the way in which it manufactures Coca Cola. From here, the syrup is packed and proceeds in one of two directions. Firstly it can be transported in bulk to kiosks and restaurants, where it is mixed with carbonated water to produce the final product and served to customers. Alternatively it can be transported in bulk to the bottlers, who will mix it with carbonated water and bottle or can it. From the bottlers, it is then distributed to supermarkets, other shops, and sports events, where it is sold in its bottled or canned form. In general, the physical flows within the system will almost all compromise the syrup and its diluted and carbonated form. Indeed, given that all the Coca Cola bottlers are franchised, Coca Cola only ever deals with the post mix syrup and the various ingredients which go to make it up. The bottlers then add in the bottles or cans as appropriate, and the carbonated water can be s upplied by simply adding compressed carbon dioxide to water. As such, the production processes for these parts of the distribution chain have not been included, as they do not represent a core part of Coca Cola’s supply chain, rather they are up to individual bottlers and retailers to address. The informational flows generally comprise customer data moving back up the chain from the retailers. The retailers will inform the bottlers of their expected sales in the future, and the bottlers will inform Coca Cola of how much post mix syrup to produce. In addition, Coca Cola will inform the bottlers and retailers around any potential issues such as shortages or new varieties being launched. 3.3 INPUT-TRANSFORMATION-OUTPUT DIAGRAM PrimaryPost Mix -gt; gt; Served Coca Cola SecondaryCarbonated Water -gt; Transformation -gt; Bottled or canned Coca Cola TertiaryBottles / cans -gt; gt; None As has been discussed above, the primary input into the whole production process is the post mix syrup produced by Coca Cola. This is the only input that in fundamental to it actually being Coca Cola, as it is the input which carries the Coca Cola recipe and brand. The secondary input is the carbonated water, which is required to turn the post mix syrup from its concentrated and easy to transport form into diluted, drinkable Coca Cola. The tertiary input is the bottles and cans which are needed to served Coca Cola in its bottled or canned form, but which are not needed if it is served directly to customers from a siphon, as would happen in a restaurant or at a kiosk. Coca Cola’s distribution chain only provides two distinct outputs. The first of these is Coca Cola served directly in its diluted form in a glass or paper cup at a restaurant or from a kiosk. The second is bottled or canned Coca Cola, which is how Coca Cola would be sold in a supermarket or at a sports event. 4 POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS TO FIZZUP 4.1 PROPOSAL FOR IMPLEMENTING COCA COLA PROCESSES If Fizzup was t o implement the Coca Cola processes in its distribution chain, the main concept it would need to consider would be change management. This is because the move from a disparate supply chain where all companies tend to look after their own concerns to one where all members communicate and cooperate is likely to require significant cultural and process changes. Therefore, it is important to consider the various aspects and tenets of change management, including the fact that everyone will react differently to change, and the fact that expectations will need to be managed and fears will need to be addressed (Kotter, 1990). As such, one of the best frameworks for managing this change would be Kotter’s (1990) change phase framework. This involves companies going through eight phases in order to drive change, right the way from establishing a sense of urgency and creating a clear vision, to anchoring the change in the hearts and minds of employees and managers throughout the distrib ution chain. In addition, Fizzup would need to analyse the decision using the cost benefit analysis concept to ensure that the costs of integrating systems and processes up and down the supply chain would be worthwhile (Boardman et al, 2000). This is reflected in the fact that Coca Cola spent six months analysing the processes in its distribution chain. Whilst Fizzup’s operation is much smaller than Coca Cola’s, the same principles should still apply, and the company should be careful to address and control the potential costs of implementation. Fortunately, Boardman et al (2000) claim that the cost benefit analysis concept itself provides an excellent framework through which the costs can be controlled and the benefits assessed, thus helping Fizzup to carry out this analysis and ensure the implementation is successful. With regards to the potential benefits, the Coca Cola example gives an idea of the scale of potential cost savings. Even by applying a simple system fo r route planning to 10,000 of its vehicles, the company was able to save $45 million each year, a saving of around $4,500 per vehicle. Whilst Fizzup’s fleet is considerably smaller than Coca Cola’s, a saving on this scale would still be extremely valuable in improving the efficiency of the company and the supply chain. In addition, as discussed in the Coca Cola example, integrating systems up and down the supply chain not only provides significant financial benefits, in terms of cost savings, but it also provides significant customer service benefits, as the distribution chain can be more responsive to the demands of retailers and their changing customer preferences. Whilst this benefit can be hard to quantify, given that the competition for sales space in the drinks industry is very large, particularly when many pubs and restaurants will only take drinks from one manufacturer, the customer service benefits could be invaluable. In addition, greater integration up and d own the chain will facilitate information flows. 4.2 EVALUATION AND CONTROL OF NEW SYSTEM Evaluation and control should be fairly straightforward, as the majority of modern ERP systems come with built in evaluation procedures, including the ability to view how the system is being used and by whom (O’Leary, 2000). As such, the main issue will not be implementing procedures to evaluate the use of the system; rather it will be attempting to control the use of the system, to ensure that it is being used in the most effective manner and that it is providing benefits to the entire supply chain. One of the most productive methods of controlling the performance of the system could be to hold regular meetings amongst the various stakeholder groups operating in the supply chain. This would allow the various participants in the supply chain to voice their concerns and suggestions for improvement. In addition, it is also important to train the users and managers who will be responsible f or the system around how best to use the system. This is because without sufficient training managers will be unable to exert control over their users, and the users will not be able to operate the system to its full capacity. Therefore, initial training sessions on how the use the system, and any new functionality introduced from previous ERP systems which may have existed beforehand, should be provided to ensure that everyone is familiar with the system and there will be no issues in operation. 5 CONCLUSIONS 5.1.1 OPERATIONS WHICH DIFFERENTIATE COCA COLA The main operations which differentiate Coca Cola from its competitors are its use of ERP systems to help it focus on efficiency and communication throughout its supply chain. This enables the company to provide as much of its product as is needed to customers on a timely basis, with minimum cost. 5.1.2 COCA COLA SYSTEMS MAP Coca Cola’s distribution system proceeds through two main channels: post mix syrup is either distrib uted directly to retailers, or it is sent to bottlers who process and bottle or can it and then distributed it on to retailers in a different form. 5.1.3 INPUT-TRANSFORMATION-OUTPUT DIAGRAM Coca Cola has a very simple distribution system, with the only inputs being the post mix syrup, carbonated water and bottles / cans and the only outputs being Coca Cola in bottles / cans or Coca Cola ready to serve 5.2.1 PROPOSAL FOR IMPLEMENTING COCA COLA PROCESSES Implementing Coca Cola’s processes would be a major change affecting the entire distribution chain. As such, change management techniques should be used and cost benefit analyses should be run. However, the potential financial and customer service benefits could be massive and very significant. 5.2.2 EVALUATION AND CONTROL OF NEW SYSTEM Evaluation of the new ERP system should be fairly straightforward, due to the ability to produce reports on usage and other statistics. However, controlling the new system will require significa nt training, as well as regular communication between the various parties in the distribution chain. REFERENCES Boardman, A. E. Greenberg, D. H. Vining, A. R. and Weimer, D. L. (2000) Cost-Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice: 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall. Datamonitor (2008) Coca-Cola Company, The. Datamonitor Company Profiles. 15th September 2008. Foley, J. and Kontzer, T. (2004) Coca-Cola Plans To Refresh Supply Chain. InformationWeek; Issue 976, p. 22. Kant, G. Jacks, M. and Aantjes, C. (2008) Coca-Cola Enterprises Optimizes Vehicle Routes for Efficient Product Delivery. Interfaces; Vol. 38, Issue 1, p. 40-50. Kotter, J. P. (1995) Force For Change: How Leadership Differs from Management. Free Press. OLeary, D. E. (2000) Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: Systems, Life Cycle, Electronic Commerce, and Risk. Cambridge University Press. Parker, K. (2007) ERP and SOA at The Coca Cola Company. Manufacturing Business Technology; Vol. 25, Issue 5, p. 2. Slack, N. Chambers, S. and Johnson, R. (2006) Operations Management: 5th Edition. Financial Times / Prentice Hall. Thomas, D. (2004) Coca-Cola and SAP collaborate on managing supply chain networks. Computer Weekly; p. 27. APPENDIX ONE: COCA COLA Coca Cola is one of the largest manufacturers of non-alcoholic beverage syrups in the world. The company now owns or licenses over 450 brands, however its primary brand is still Coca Cola. The company employs over 90,500 people, and in its last financial year it increased its revenues by almost 20%, to reach $28.8 billion (Datamonitor, 2008).

An Influential Psychologists Of All Times - 906 Words

One of the most influential psychologists of all times is Burrhus Frederic Skinner, also known as B. F. Skinner, who was born on March 20, 1904 in a small town called Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. B. F. Skinner was raised in a warm and wealthy home. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a stay at home mom. In Skinner’s early childhood, it was noted that he and his younger brother, Edward James, liked to build things such as arrows and shack in the woods, to name a few ( ). These construction skills would enable an older Skinner to build the equipment invented for his psychology research. As he grew up, he went through all twelve grades at the same school, graduating with less than eight students. Within these years, he developed an interest in art and literature through drawing and later reading Shakespeare (Dews, 1970). In Skinner’s higher education, he attended Hamilton College in New York, where he majored in English Literature to become a writer ( ). Soon after college, Skinner tried to write his first psychological novel but failed to do so because of family trouble and lack of success. After becoming discontent with his literary skills, and inspired by John B. Watson and Ivan Pavlov’s Behaviorism, he obtained a degree in psychology from Harvard University in 1928. Soon after, Skinner graduated with his PhD from Harvard in 1931, which led him to the development of his influential operant behaviorism ( ). B. F. Skinners had many contributions within in hisShow MoreRelatedHow Psychology Has Remain A Progressive Science1541 Words   |  7 Pages Psychology has remain a progressive science due to the many contributions of influential leaders. In this paper I will mention three historical figures who I believe were important in the development of the field of psychology in the past and till this day. Paul Ekman is an American psychologist who became a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions. 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The worn path Free Essays

Where was the old woman traveling to and why? She’s traveling the worn path to go and get her grandson some medicine. She’s been doing this for 3 years since he swallowed lye and burnt his throat. 2. We will write a custom essay sample on The worn path or any similar topic only for you Order Now What were some of the obstacles encountered by the old woman? She struggles intense fatigue and poor eyesight, as well as such obstacles as thorn bushes and barbed wire. She runs into a white hunter who drops a nickel and she picks it up and he points his gun t her but since she appeared not afraid he lowered it. 3. Why did the hunter point his gun at Phoenix? Was she in danger? Because she picked up the nickel he dropped but it’s still really unclear of his motive as to why he pointed his gun at her. She’s in danger because she’s an elderly woman a who has bad eyesight and has a gun pointed at her. 4. Phoenix says that she is an old woman without education, does she meme to have any knowledge that the other characters lack? Although she did not go to school and isn’t book smart at all, I do believe she knows a lot about life and hard it can become sometimes. She seems to be like an old person you know very wise, has a lot of wisdom. 5. What happens to Phoenix when she gets home? Well then story doesn’t tell you what happens when she gets home. But I assume she started her long walk back to her grandson and gave him his medicine. How to cite The worn path, Papers

Aztec Success Essay Research Paper Aztec SuccessThe free essay sample

Aztec Success Essay, Research Paper Aztec Success The Triple Alliance was a bond formed in 1482 between the metropoliss of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tacuba. We know the imperium they created as the Aztec Empire. Their reign included the conquest of many adjacent communities. The huge sum of land and people they reigned over caused many jobs because of the tremendous distances and fundamental agencies of communicating. This led to a particular sort of regulation where the distant metropoliss received discriminatory intervention to vouch their trueness. The testimonial system the Ternary Alliance set up was the anchor of their Empire, and it financed the of import spiritual festivals and the luxuries of the opinion category. The testimonial was collected from conquered lands and consisted of everything Mexico could bring forth and devour. The system was rather flexible and adaptable to the jobs of conveyance and the deficiency of an alphabetical authorship system which made rapid communicating troublesome. The ever-expanding conquerings created # 8220 ; a bureaucratic and economic machine of tremendous complexness that fed on a diet of testimonial, trade, and a changeless supply of sacrificial victims from near and distant lands # 8221 ; ( Fagan, 95 ) . The success of the Triple Alliance, in such a short period, came from the alone authorities it created, which incorporated a testimonial system capable of uniting the spiritual, political, and societal values of the clip. The development of the Aztec Empire occurred in an surprisingly short period. The Mexica were the last group to migrate to the vale of Mexico toward the beginning of the 13th century ( van Zantwijk, 40 ) . Their late migration left them moo on the societal graduated table coercing the Mexica to roll for many old ages seeking to happen a lasting colony ( Duran, 13 ) . They lived off the western shore of Lake Texcoco, at Chapultepec for a short clip, but this land belonged to the Tepanec people. In 1299 the Tepanec forced the Mexica to take safety to the South of the lake, on the outskirts of Culhuacan ( Leon-Portilla, 88 ) . The Tepanec sent them there trusting the toxicant serpents of the country would kill them. Alternatively, the Mexica ate the serpents. The Tepanec once more chased the Mexica out in 1323 and so the Mexica founded the site of Tenochtitlan, which was to go a great capital. Meanwhile, the Tepanec were constructing a great imperium in nearby Azcapotzalco. The Mexica s trived to go privileged members of the Tepanec imperium. Although Tepanec confined them to secondary functions, they managed to take advantage of this clip to develop themselves ( Gruzinski, 26 ) . In 1426, Tezozmoc the leader of the Tepanec imperium was succeeded by his boy Maxtla, who hated the Mexica. Soon war broke out between the two groups ( Duran, 61 ) . Texcoco, a adjacent metropolis, besides was at odds with the Tepanec, and so the Mexica, the Tecocan and Tlacopan formed the Ternary Alliance against the Tepanec. The Ternary Alliance formed what is today known as the Aztec imperium. The power of these three metropoliss defeated the Tepanec and took control of their land after a besieging enduring 114 yearss. Tenochtitlan, the Mexica capital, controlled the armed forces and tribute payments while Texcoco held authorization over juridical and cultural personal businesss. Tlacopan became a subordinate to Tenochtitlan and cover largely with external dealingss, like showing offic ial declarations of war for the imperium ( Van Zantwijk, 111 ) . After merely a little more than one hundred old ages in the Valley of Mexico, the Mexica became great leaders. In 1440 the emperor Moctezuma I came in to power. He was to be known as the male parent of the Aztec Empire ( Gruzinski, 31 ) . Moctezuma knew the importance of suppressing neighbouring lands to spread out the power of the Aztecs. The ageless conflicts that Moctezuma I began puting the basis for the success of the imperium. The conquest of neighbours # 8217 ; land was really of import to the endurance of both the Aztec Empire and the universe ( Davies, 42 ) . The testimonial payments gained by suppressing supported the authorities economically and provided the victims for the forfeits which the Aztecs # 8217 ; believed fueled the universe. The conquering of new lands was of import to Aztec faith and society because of the turning demand for worlds to give. The Aztecs believed that someday this universe or Sun would hold to stop. The lone manner to avoid the decease of the Sun was by giving it critical energy enclosed in the chalchiuhatl or # 8220 ; the cherished liquid # 8221 ; which keeps humanity alive, blood. This called for a uninterrupted supply of sacrificial victims, whose Black Marias and blood would be offered up to the Sun, giving the Sun the nutriment necessary to protract its life indefinitely ( Leon-Portilla, 101 ) . To do this possible, the Aztecs started a pattern known as the # 8220 ; flower wars, # 8221 ; periodic conflicts whose intent was to capture possible sacrificial victims. The Aztecs fought these pseudo wars with the people of Texcoco, Tlacopan, Tlaxcala, and Huexotzinco. Soldiers did their best non to kill oppositions but instead to take them alive for forfeit ( Duran, 348 ) . The Aztecs believed the continued being of the existence depended on them, if they did non feed the Sun the dark forces of the dark would destruct it. This gave the Aztecs a justification for all their conquerings. By repressing other people and cut downing them to feeders, they were recognizing a supreme mission ( Leon-Portilla, 102 ) . The Aztec province was therefore devoted to the impression of ageless war ( Davies, 51 ) . Due to the importance of war the Aztec Empire finally expanded to great lengths, stretching from the seashore of the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and from Northern Mexico to Guat emala ( Fagan, 95 ) . The spiritual, political and societal demands of the community led to this enlargement. The Aztecs # 8217 ; conquerings were besides honoring because the testimonial system required the payment of goods in add-on to prisoners. The Aztecs required any conquered community to pay testimonial or revenue enhancements to the chief imperium in Tenochtitlan. The metropolis of Texcoco received an equal portion of this testimonial, but the control was in the custodies of Tenochtitlan ( Davies, 45 ) . The beginnings province that they distributed the testimonial in a 2:2:1 ratio. Tenochtitlan and Texcoco got two-fifths each and Tlacopan one fifth ( Coe, 171 ) . Tribute could dwell of many things, such as cherished rocks, plumes, chocolate tree, cotton, apparels, unrecorded animate beings, shells, corn, beans, fruit and much more. Gruzinski notes that # 8220 ; Several 10s of 1000s of dozenss of nutrient, more than 100,000 cotton garments, and an impressive 30,000 packages of plumes, and an impressive measure of cherished objects and rare animate beings constituted the testimonial paid in a twelvemonth # 8221 ; ( 44 ) . States that lacked groceries and apparels used people as testimonial, and their services were used for military or public work undertakings ( Fagan, 148 ) . Imperial governments supported local dynasties if they delivered their testimonial payments on clip ( Smith, 76 ) . The local dynasties included land granted to Lords and land controlled by calpullis, a group of households that controlled a territorial unit moving as a channel of goods and services to the province ( Fagan, 146 ) . The authorities imposed and linked societal position to the testimonial gross ( Brumfiel, 679 ) . At the underside were the common mans whose tribute payments supported all the Lords and calpulli ( Smith, 76 ) . Those who worked to supply testimonial received small benefit other so obscure promises of aid in times of dearth and war. Merely a few extremely privileged swayers and Lords enjoyed the full fruits of the trade and testimonial system ( Fagan, 125 ) . The construction of the testimonial system besides allowed the imperium to enroll big nu mbers of people in a short sum of clip. These recruits came from the calpulli and the people controlled by the Lords. This was a major factor in the success of the Aztec Empire. In most of the runs capable neighbours furnished big contingents to organize forces that a individual city state could non conceivably muster ( Davies, 42 ) . The Aztecs could penalize any community that did non pay testimonial about instantly because of the empire’s ability to mobilise military personnels from other feeders in a short clip. The Aztec Empire presided over a assortment of vassal provinces and tense political confederations which kept their ground forcess in the field every twelvemonth ( Fagan, 113 ) . The societal construction of the Aztec community complemented the authorities # 8217 ; s aims. Aztec life existed non for the person but for the group ; each member conformed to societal norms and contributed to the saving of the community and province through revenue enhancement, labour and, in war times, through military service ( Fagan, 138 ) . The authorities imposed the definition of an single # 8217 ; s societal position ( Brumfiel, 679 ) . Authority and testimonial flowed up and down a societal pyramid built on a solid base of close household ties, ancient line of descent connexions and communal ownership of land among the common mans ( Davies, 120 ) . The Aztec Lords consisted of two degrees: the secular bureaucratism of Judgess, functionaries and soldiers and the organisation of priests ( Fagan, 95 ) . Another of import factor that led to the success of the Aztec imperium was their alone construction of the authorities. The communities that they conquered merely felt the repression of the authorities through testimonial payments ( Davies, 41 ) . After suppressing lands the Aztecs left no fort behind, merely a revenue enhancement aggregator. Apart from the revenue enhancement aggregator the Aztecs respected local governments, establishments and traditions ( Gruzinski, 40 ) . The autochthonal swayers and Lords were left in topographic point, but were demoted to the position of center and lower rank functionaries ( Coe, 167 ) . The thought of transition was foreign to the peoples of Mexico. Sometimes the Mexica stressed the cult of their Sun God Huitizilopochtli, but they did non necessitate the conquered people to idolize him. The Aztecs maintained a comparatively peaceable relationship with the conquered by allowing them spiritual freedom. The Aztecs did non hold a regular ground fo rces to function as an busying force ( Gruzinski, 40 ) . Their lone communicating from the conquered towns came through the testimonial payments and merchandisers. The merchandisers sometimes acted as undercover agents for the Aztec authorities, and were compensated for any information refering rebellions in the conquered lands. The Aztecs were more interested in testimonial so appropriation ( Fagan, 130-131 ) . The construction of the authorities caused the different societal groups to experience of import so that there was small opportunity for rebellion. The dominant groups kept subservient groups under control by doing them responsible for some portion of the authorities. Each group had a defined topographic point and got satisfaction by overstating the importance of their function in the system ( van Zantwijk, 26 ) . The Aztecs divided the authorities operations among different cultural groups so that the province could work merely through their cooperation. The societal hierarchy relied on a web of societal and economic dependance that bound Lords and common mans to one another through duty of service ( Fagan, 179 ) . The supreme power ballad in Tenochtitlan and the emperor, nevertheless. The emperor # 8217 ; s place was based on familial sequence by election ( van Zantwijk, 25 ) . Rule depended non merely on force and panic but on personal qualities and model life styles. The maps of the hierarchies and their common relationships changed overtime harmonizing to the administrative, societal, economic and spiritual development of the society ( 74 ) . At first the people acquired rank through accomplishments but finally birth became the overruling factor ( Fagan, 137 ) . This progressively stratified society needed to keep the high degrees of testimonial to feed of all time more non-farmers ( 179 ) . The Aztec imperium faced two major jobs that blocked complete control: tremendous distances and fundamental signifiers of communicating. The imperium at its tallness consisted of Northern Mexico to Guatemala and from the seashore of the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. Not merely was this a huge sum of land, but it besides contained a assortment of clime and topography. To add to this problem, the Aztecs had no animals of load, so everything had to be carried on the human back. Messages could take hebdomads to make their finishs, doing communicating really hard. Besides, the Aztecs did non hold an alphabetized authorship system but relied on glyphs, ideographic representations ( Leon Portilla, 44 ) . These failings frequently led to revolts in conquered lands. However, these rebellions were few and easy put down. Since the Aztecs could bring forth a force from any of their tributary communities in a short clip, they could maintain their imperium in line ( Fagan, 148 ) . After such rebe llions the Rebels were crushed and so forced to pay even higher testimonials, non so much of measure, but value and trouble of supply ( 114 ) . The Aztec success at authorities can be attributed to their ability to command such a big district and population through testimonial and fright. The Ternary Alliance knew how to take attention of the populations of the Valley of Mexico. In exchange for warriors the Aztecs, granted the feeders portions of the war loot. Distant metropoliss received discriminatory intervention to vouch their trueness. The Aztecs entrusted others with guarding the frontiers, which exempted them from testimonial payments. The imperium # 8220 ; resembled an huge spider web, with the Ternary Alliance at its centre and a thousand webs linked through matrimony confederations, exchange of services, mutuality and extortion # 8221 ; ( Gruzinski, 42 ) . The whole construction was flexible and adaptable to the imperium # 8217 ; s altering demands. The Aztecs could non trust on efficient agencies of conveyance or an alphabetical authorship system, but they found ways around these troubles. The Aztec Empire was nil like a extremely centralized and totalitarian power, and this is what made it so successful. We can outdo depict it as a # 8220 ; sophisticated tribute-gathering machine # 8221 ; ( Fagan, 113 ) . Every facet of the Aztec imperial authorities was focused on two ultimate terminals: the eating of t-he Sun with the blood of sacrificial victims and the care of the power and prestigiousness of the emperor and the Lords ( 113 ) . Both terminals rested on the complex testimonial system of the Aztec authorities. Lynn Opulski Bibliography Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. # 8220 ; Consumption and Politicss at Aztec Huexotla. # 8221 ; American Anthropologist Sept. 1987 v89 n3: 676-679. Coe, Michael D. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc. , 1994. Davies, Nigel. The Aztec imperium: the Toltec revival. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. Duran, Diego. Aztecs: the history of the Indies of New Spain. New York: Orion Press, 1964. Fagan, Brian M. The Aztecs. New York: W.H. Freeman and Co. , 1984. Gruzinski, Serge. The Aztecs ; Rise and Fall of an Empire. New York ; Discoveries harry N. Abrams, Inc, Publishers, 1992. Leon- Portilla, Miguel. The Aztec image of ego and society: an debut to Nahua civilization. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1992. Smith, Michal E. # 8220 ; Life in the States of the Aztec Empire. # 8221 ; Scientific American Sept. 1997 v277 n3: 76-78. Van Zantwijk, Rudolf. The Aztec Arrangement.

A Second Chance free essay sample

We often imagine about how see our lives go by in seconds when we placed in life or death situations. This was no exception, I recalled the most important moments in my life as I spun on that ATV bike. Everything came to my mind, my most treasured memories that reminded me how I had lived my life to the fullest. As other people spent their spring break at the beach or watching movies, I was being medically treated, due to my severe scrapes. What was supposed to be a perfect vacation turned out to be the most painful thing that I have ever experienced. It was spring break so my family and I decided to go to the beach. The first couple of days, we enjoyed the sun and clear waters. It was until the third day that we decided to ride our bikes to the border between Honduras and Guatemala, which was about thirty kilometers away from the beach. We will write a custom essay sample on A second Chance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was the perfect day for early bike run, with excellent weather conditions. Every minute that passed by as I rode my bike, I felt more and more exhausted. It seemed we were on an endless road. Finally, we reached our destination. I was glad I was able to experience this with my family, but little did I know what was going to happen on my way back to the beach house. It seemed impossible riding another thirty kilometers to go back to the beach. Luckily, some friends were lazy enough to ride their ATV motorcycles instead of their bikes. My dad and I switched our bicycles for their ATVs. It was getting dark, so we had to get back as soon as possible. I was driving at a high speed, and a man appeared from the side of the road. I tried not to run him over, but as I skipped the man I hit a bump on the road, which caused me to roll several times with the ATV bike. I got up immediately, my legs and hands were shaking. I still remember the burning sensation on my arms, legs and face. My dad rushed to help me. Even though he did not say anything, his face ratted him. A family friend came to help us and took me back to the house, where there was a doctor waiting. I was completely dirty, since I had scraped myself against the pavement. Indeed, cleaning the wounds hurt more than the accident itself. At the beach house, I was cleaned with hydrogen peroxide, soap and water. It was beyond all bearing, but it had to be done. It was not until I had been cleaned that I noticed all my bruises and scrapes. It was obvious that we needed to head back to the city, I needed to treated by a dermatologist, not by a general practitioner. Once we were in the city, I was taken to the hospital, where I was placed in a dermatological treatment that lasted for six months. Recuperation was even harder, Imagine having injuries on all your joints, and every time you tried to walk or move, they would just start bleeding and the healing process would have to start again. The purpose of the treatment was to leave as least scars as possible. In the end, I was left with scars on my arms, hands, and legs. Every time I see someone riding an ATV without protection, I tend imagine the worst. I still get flashbacks of what I saw and felt as I was rolling on that bike. I was lucky enough to be left with a scar instead of a major medical condition, or even death. When I see my scars, I do not think about the accident itself, but how fortunate I am to be alive. It took myself an accident and six months of painful recuperation to learn that I should always wear the appropriate gear when riding a motorcycle. I believe that once we have been placed in life or death situations, we realize how fragile we are, and that we most live our lives to the fullest because we do not know if there is going to me a tomorrow.

Major Courses Needed for a Statistics Degree

Major Courses Needed for a Statistics Degree So you want to study statistics in college. What courses will you need to take? Not only will you be taking classes that pertain directly to statistics, but you will also take classes that are similar, if not identical, to those taken by students majoring in mathematics. Below is an overview of courses that commonly make up the core of a Bachelor’s degree in statistics. Requirements for a degree vary from one  institution to another, so be sure to check with your own college or university catalog to be certain what you will need to take in order to graduate with a major in statistics. Calculus Courses Calculus is foundational for many other areas of mathematics. The typical calculus sequence involves at least three courses. There is some variation on how these courses segment the information. Calculus teaches problem-solving and develops numerical competency, both skills that are important for statistics. In addition to this, a knowledge of calculus is necessary to prove results in statistics. Calculus One:  In the first course of the calculus sequence you will learn to think carefully about functions, exploring topics such as limits and continuity. The main focus of the class will move to the derivative, which calculates the slope of the line tangent to a graph at a given point. Towards the end of the course, you will learn about the integral, which is a way to calculate the area of regions that have strange shapes.Calculus Two:  In the second course of the calculus sequence you will learn more about the process of integration. The integral of a function is typically harder to compute that its derivative, so you will learn about different strategies and techniques. The other major topic of the course is typically infinite sequences and series. Intuitively, this topic examines infinite lists of numbers, and what happens when we try to add these lists together.Calculus Three:  The underlying assumption of calculus one and two is that we deal with functions with only o ne variable. Real life is much more complicated with several variables in the most interesting applications. So we generalize the calculus that we know already, but now with more than one variable. This leads to results that can no longer be depicted on graph paper but need three (or more) dimensions to illustrate. Other Mathematics Courses In addition to the calculus sequence, there are other courses in mathematics that are important to statistics. They include the following courses: Linear Algebra:  Linear algebra deals with the solutions to equations that are linear, meaning that the highest power of the variables is the first power. Although the equation 2x 3 7 is a linear equation, the equations that are of most interest in linear algebra involve several variables. The topic of matrices is developed to solve these equations. Matrices become an important tool to store data in statistics and other disciplines. Linear algebra also directly pertains to the area of regression in statistics.Probability:  Probability is foundational for much of statistics. It gives us a way to quantify chance events. Starting with set theory to define basic probability, the course will move on to more advanced topics in probability such as conditional probability and  Bayes theorem. Examples of other topics may include discrete and continuous random variables, moments, probability distributions, the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem.Real Analysis:  This co urse is a careful study of the real number system. In addition to this, the concepts in calculus such as limit and continuity are developed rigorously. Many times theorems in calculus are stated without proof. In analysis, the goal is to prove these theorems using deductive logic. Learning proof strategies is important to develop clear thinking. Statistics Courses Finally, we arrive at what you want to major in, statistics. Although the study of statistics is heavily dependent upon mathematics, there are some courses that do specifically pertain to statistics. Introduction to Statistics:  The first course in statistics will cover basic descriptive statistics such as average and standard deviation. In addition, some topics of statistical inference such as hypothesis testing will be encountered for the first time. Depending upon the level and aims of the course, there may be a number of other topics. Some courses overlap with probability and will involve a study of different types of probability distributions. Other courses are more data-driven and will focus on how to use computational software to analyze the statistics of these data sets.Mathematical Statistics:  Here the topics of the introduction to statistics course are dealt with in a mathematically rigorous fashion. There may be few if any data involved in this course. Rather the ideas from most if not all of the mathematics courses are used to deal with statistical ideas in a theoretical way.Specialized Courses:  There are a variety of other courses that you could then take to earn a degree in statistics. Many colleges and universities have entire courses built around regression, time series, actuarial studies and biostatistics. Most statistics programs require that you complete several of these courses in specialized topics.

Urban planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Urban planning - Essay Example The meeting starts at 5.00 p.m. From my first impression, the meeting was going on smoothly although there are some changes that could be made to ensure that the meeting is more efficient. The chairman was commendable in his role and ensured that order was maintained throughout the meeting. People respected his calls and he was the final authority in regards to all the matters in regards to the meeting. The members of the public who attended the event had also been informed on the need of order during the meeting. One improvement I would recommend is that the meeting be held on Saturdays instead of during the agenda week. This is because of several factors. People might not want to go home late in the night and therefore the meeting can run late into the night and be adjourned. If the meeting is held on a Saturday afternoon, people will have ample time to go through the meeting and also further time to air their contributions. I was surprised to notice various prominent people in the town at the meeting. One that I did not expect was the mayor, John Lewis, who was also in attendance. Most of the time, he was silent and just took down notes, however, when it to the AOB segment he thanked the commission for assisting him in trying to fulfill his election agenda of a better Gilberts Town that would be the envy of the country. He requested that this cordial relationship continue into the future. His presence there was a sign of the importance of this meeting to the community. Initially, I thought that any attendee of the meeting could speak at the meeting but I realized this was not the case. Anyone who wants to speak at the meeting must fill a speaker card. An individual fills the agenda items he wants to speak on and filing it with the clerk before the actual meeting. There are several guidelines that determine the use of speaker cards: When a designated speaker is called to air their views, the speaker shall use the microphone set for public

The films we have screened in the second part of the course display Essay

The films we have screened in the second part of the course display some reactions to the challenges (social, political, cultura - Essay Example In this way, each of the main characters in each of these films represented the way that change is inexorable, even if society doesn't really want it, because these figures do not fight for change. They are witnesses to the changes, on the sidelines, yet, at the same time, are driving the revolutions that they are a part of. This is true of all three films – they are not necessarily portraits of people who are railing against the establishment so much as they are portraits of people who, ironically, don't really care about the establishment. This is what makes their characters so ironic and poignant at the same time. For instance, Wyatt and Billy are the ultimate nihilistic characters. One could see that, within their heads, there was never a thought that they would bring about the cataclysmic changes that men like them brought about in the 1960s. After all, the hippies were the ones who helped to end the Vietnam War, who helped usher in a period of civil rights, who preached the gospel of peace and love and freedom. They were the counterculture who helped change the dominant culture, yet there was no sense that these two men even realized how important they were in the big scheme of things. They literally were drifters – they rode their bikes, smoked a lot of weed, picked up a hitchhiker and stayed on the commune for a few days. Then they â€Å"crashed† a parade by riding in it as a joke – this got them put into jail, where they met a drunken ACLU lawyer, picked him up and brought him along on their adventure. That lawyer was killed in their camp, and they continued on their way, virtually as if nothing happened, and had a great meal and a visit to a prostitute by using the money found in George, the dead lawyer's, wallet. They give LSD to the two prostitutes, have an interesting trip in the graveyard by the Mardi Gras parade, continue on their way, and both of them soon end up dead. The nihilism of these two is shown in just about everything that happens to the two. Everything's all good, really, even though Billy does try to protest about certain things – the first hippy they pick up pumps gas for them, and there is money in that tank, which makes him paranoid, but Wyatt assures him its all good. They go to the commune and get in with that lifestyle for a little while, admiring the fact that they are living off the land. But what shows the ultimate in their nihilism is how they treated George – the man was beat to death in their camp, and, while they did seem sad about it, they weren't so broken up about it that they used George's money to treat themselves to wine, women and song. The film doesn't even show what they do with the body – presumably they left the body there in the woods, with the sleeping bag covering it. What the film is also trying to show is the struggle that the counterculture had against the dominant culture, assuming that the dominant culture is represented by the pol icemen who arrested them for â€Å"parading without a license,† the men who beat them up in their camp, or the hillbillies who killed them in the end. Which makes their nihilism all the more ironic, because they weren't struggling against the dominant culture at all, so much as they were in their own little bubble of a world. This was

History and Political Sciences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History and Political Sciences - Essay Example Let us discuss these factors in some detail in order to know how borders protect us from different national, social, and economic problems. 1. Borders Reduce Crimes Borders protect us from a large number of crimes. Border security forces stop illegal immigrants from entering the premises of a country. Illegal immigrants pose a great threat to the overall safety of the citizens of a country. Increase in the number of crimes and drug trafficking are two of the most noteworthy problems that illegal immigrants cause in any particular country. Illegal immigration refers to the process of crossing the borders of a country illegally. Illegal immigrants are such people who do not have legal documents which can help them enter the premises of a country in a legal way. Such people use illegal ways to cross the borders of well-developed countries. The intent of most of such people is to earn money through illegal ways because they do not have legal work documents with them using which they can earn legal money. Border security forces protect us from such people by continuously looking for people crossing the borders of their countries without legal documents. Almost every country has a proper border security force which protects the borders of the country. The main aim of border forces is to look for suspected people moving near the borders. Most of such people are usually illegal immigrants who are in continuous search of hidden paths through which they can cross the border without coming in sight of the border security forces. A large number of illegal immigrants fall into criminal activities when they find it difficult to earn their livings through legal ways. Crimes, such as, rapes, drug trafficking, violence, and terrorist attacks inject terror in the minds of the citizens. An increase in the number of terrorist attacks in a country and threats of terrorism can also be associated with the presence of a large number of illegal immigrations in the country. The well-kno wn incident of 9/11 which took away the lives of thousands of people is also an outcome of illegal immigration. The terrorists entered the premises of the United States of America illegally and launched a terrorist attack on the world trade center. Since then, the government of America has increased its border security to make its borders safe and secure for the citizens of America. It is a fact that borders ensure safety and security of citizens. If a country will not have any borders, everyone will get the opportunity to enter the premises of the country while destroying the peace of the society. Therefore, we can say that borders ensure safety of citizens by controlling the arrival of suspected people. 2. Borders Improve Economy Borders of a country play a vital role in improving economy of a country. The economy of a country having clearly defined borders flourishes more rapidly and at a constant pace because the government of that country can set proper economic and infrastruct ural policies based on accurate calculations of the total area of the country. On the other hand, the government of a country having weak borders finds it difficult to design a proper economic policy based on total area of the country. Moreover borders reduce illegal immigrations which also results in improving the economy of a country. Illegal immigrations harm the economy of a country as they reduce the number of job opportunities for local people, increase poverty, and decrease foreign

Strategies That Capitalize On An Organizations Strengths Marketing Essay

Strategies That Capitalize On An Organizations Strengths Marketing Essay A SWOT Analysis is used to develop strategies that capitalize on an organizations strengths, minimize the effects of any weaknesses, exploit available opportunities and defend against threats. Implementing these strategies leads to achieving the organizations objectives. SWOT analysis looks at your strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats your business faces. By focusing on the key factors affecting your business, now and in the future, a SWOT analysis provides a clear basis for examining your business performance and prospects. INTRODUCTION General Motors Corporation is the worlds largest automaker company founded in 1908 which Employs about 326, 999 people around the world with its headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Founded in Flint, Michigan as a holding company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant and acquired Oldsmobile later that year. The following year, Durant brought in Cadillac, Elmore and Oakland. In 1909, General Motors acquired the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan, the predecessor of GMC Truck. A Rapid became the first truck to conquer Pikes Peak in 1909. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to the companys bankers, because of the large amount of debt taken on in its acquisitions. GM holds the biggest share in GM Daewoo Auto Technology Co. of South Korea and has product, powertrain and purchasing collaborations with Suzuki Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. of Japan. The company also has advanced technology partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, DaimlerChrysler AG and BMW AG of Germany, and vehicle manufacturing Ventures with several automakers around the world, including Toyota, Suzuki, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation of China, AVTOVAZ of Russia and Renault SA of France. GM along with its strategic partners manufactures trucks cars in 31 countries, and the vehicles through these well-known brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, FAW, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. China is known to be the largest national market, followed by the U.S., Brazil, Germany, U.K., Canada, Italy. General Motors Company develops, produces, and markets cars, trucks, and parts worldwide. The company offers its products under the brand names of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Isuzu, Vauxhall, Jiefang, FAW, and Wuling. The companys cars, trucks, and parts are marketed through retail dealers in North America, and through distributors and dealers outside of North America. In addition to the products it sells to its dealers for consumer retail sales, the company also sells cars and trucks to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments. As of December 31, 2009, the company had 5,619 vehicle dealers in the U.S.; 568 in Canada; and 263 in Mexico. Additionally, there were a total of 14,317 distribution outlets throughout the rest of the world. Significant Events In February 2010, the company completed the sale of Saab Automobile AB to Spyker Cars NV. In September 2009, the company decided to wind-down the Saturn brand and dealership network. On August 18, 2010, General Motors Corporation is collaborating with SAIC Motor Corporation. The collaboration is targeted at developing 1.0 litre and 1.5 litre engines for small cars. On August 26, 2010, General Motors Company has collaborated with Bright Automotive, Inc. The collaboration is targeted at offering an electric commercial fleet vehicle. In October 2010, General Motors Company had set up a used car joint venture with Shanghai Automation Instrumentation Co., Ltd. to expand into an untapped segment of the worlds biggest auto market. Mission and vision GM is one of the respected auto companies in the world. It has a variety of products that ensure that the company is faring well in the market. The companys headquarters is located in New York, United States and looks forward to establishing an outlet in every country of the world. Product analyses The planning strategy is looking on how the GM products are faring in the world auto market. The existence of the company in the market is based on an extensive research that was carried out in the European market which shows that there is still large untapped market potential in the auto industry in Europe and other parts of the world. The GM Company specializes in Designing and making of automobiles, trucks, locomotives, and related parts such as chassis, interiors, drivetrains, and electronics (Brandi, 2007). The company employees more than 205,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 157 countries. GM and its strategic partners manufacture cars and trucks in 31 countries of the world. The SWOT analysis of General Motors is given below. Strengths 1. Large Market Share Although GMs market share in the US has dropped it is still very much competitive at 26 percent. They also have an increasing share in the Chinese market. With the right decisions there is no reason for GM to not become the automotive leader it once was. 2. Global Experience As explained above even with GMs recent decline they still have the market share and the experience to bounce back. They have been a worldwide company for nearly a century now and have established themselves as the global leader for most of them. If you recall I mentioned above that a current opportunity for GM is to expand globally and as we can see they already have the experience to do so. It is just a matter of the correct planning and proper implementation of those plans that will decided whether or not GMs goals are achieved. 3. Variety of Brand Names GM as I mentioned has been the automotive leader for the majority of the last century. A large reason for that is the wide variety of quality brand names that appeal to all target markets. The current GM brands include: Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab, Daewoo, Opel, and Holden. 4. GMAC Customer Financing Program Since its establishment in 1919 it has proven to be GMs most reliable source of revenue. 5. OnStar Satellite Technology Developed in 1996 OnStar currently has over 3 million subscribers and is standard on all GM vehicles. This technology allows the vehicles to be tracked in the event of an emergency or theft. It also allows the driver and or passengers the ability to communicate with OnStar personnel at the click of a button. Weaknesses 1. Behind on Alternative Energy Movement This is GMs biggest weakness. The alternative energy/hybrid trend has begun to take place in the automotive industry and GM has been one step behind the competition in terms of alternative energy vehicles. This has led to many problems including loss of market share and a decrease in company profit. In order for any automotive company to be successful from this point forward they must be Hybrid friendly and fuel efficient. 2. Poor Organizational Structure As we can see in exhibit 1 of the case GMs organizational structure seems to be too vertically integrated. This causes a lack of communication between employees from top to bottom and may have played a part in GM falling behind on the alternative energy movement. 3. Stagnant Profitability Looking at GMs profit we see that they are certainly struggling with respect to the size of their company. Their profit margin was about 1.5% and the ROE has dramatically decreased over the recent years dropping to 10% in 2004. This is a situation that shareholders will not be pleased with. 4. Overly Dependent on US market GM has become too dependent on the US market and must take advantage of the opportunity to expand globally. The competition is becoming too strong to focus on just one country. 5. Overly Dependent on General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) Financing GM has become too dependent on its financing program. Granted it is a great strength for GM, however they once again cannot rely solely on financing in order to turn profit, especially if they want to compete with Honda and Toyota who are rapidly growing. 6. Poor Credit Status GMs credit status has like everything else has been steadily declining. Their current ratio is just barely above 1 and their acid test is even lower. Although, I dont see them getting denied based on their credit at this point, the seriousness of the matter is certainly apparent. Opportunities Produce fuel-efficient, smaller, and higher-quality models that can attract the consumers. Chinese government condensed automotive taxes in order to encourage declining sales. In February 2009; citing declining manufacturing numbers, the State Bank of India decreased interest rates on automotive loans. Establish or Equip facilities to manufacture advanced technology vehicles that would meet up certain fuel economy and emissions standards. One of the big opportunities is to shift manufacturing to other amenities in order to produce in-demand vehicles. Manufacturing could be done in those countries where the labor as well as material cost is low. Diversification in other related and unrelated products or shifting to the hybrid electric engines. The purchasing power of consumers is increasing due to end of financial crisis 2007-10. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The firm can use the knowledge that it gained from Toyota Nummi joint venture and Saturn experience. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It should build its image and gain more share in the market with its newly build confidence regarding the customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ New car models and designs should be introduced keeping in mind the customer preferences, because in the automobile industry, the needs of the customer are the valid puncture points that will provide profitability if concerned with delicately. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expansion of their business processes, but also keeping in mind the preferential influence of the customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ VEBA can help General Motors save up to $2.5 to $2.8 billion a year in cash if the process is implemented strictly. 8. Alternative Energy Movement It is obvious that GM was behind its competition with regards to the research and development of hybrid vehicles. However hybrid technology is still very much new giving GM the opportunity to once again become the automotive industrys leader in innovation and technology. 9. Continuing to Expand Globally. Recently GM saw an increase in the Chinese automotive market, which proves their needs to be more emphasis put on foreign markets. If GM can infiltrate these markets and successfully grow along with their continuing focus on the US market they will be headed in a positive direction. 10. Low Interest Rates With the right marketing strategy the low interest rates have the potential to generate an immediate increase in sales. 11. Develop New Vehicle Styles and Models This is an opportunity that will never be satisfied, meaning that GM should always be attempting to develop the automotive worlds most popular vehicles, and as we know, what is in today will be out tomorrow. Threats The automotive industry crisis of 2008-2010 was the big downturn. Now it is challenge for industry players to recover. The financial crisis of 2007-10 caused by a liquidity deficit in the U.S banking system resulted decrease in consumer wealth. The crisis mainly felt in the U.S and also affected Asian and European automobile manufacturers. Car companies from North America, Europe, and Asia have implemented innovative marketing strategies to attract disinclined consumers. Major producers, including the Toyota and Big Three offered significant discounts across their lineups. North American consumers shifted to more fuel-efficient and higher-quality product of European and Japanese automakers. Environmental politics and allied anxiety concerning carbon emissions have sharp sensitivity to environmental protection worldwide and gas mileage standards. U.S manufacturers are facing soaring gasoline prices, health care costs for an aging workforce, dependence on declining SUV and eroding market share. The company is facing very high labor and raw material cost as compared to Asian manufacturers. GM is also facing criticism on its culture and corporate practices. In 2007, its employees union went on the first countrywide strike due to which a transmission facility and two car assembly plants were closed down. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The industry although has matured considerably, but there is still room for more improvements, and due to which new entrants are entering the market even though the competition is already tough. (New entrants, not likely pose much of a threat, although Domestic and Foreign competition both act as active threats for the firm that has already gone through losing its market share.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Regulations and legislative authorities engaging the industry more actively. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Consumer lawsuits are also present to be accounted for. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Japan being a high manufacturing ground for automobiles, is being affected by the decline in its currency Yen. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Current threat to the image of the GM is posed by the Senator Charles Grassley has accused GM for using bailout money to bailout of the loans it had taken from the U.S. and Canadian Govt. (The money used were paid, not through GMs profitability, but it was yet another loan acquired, so it is accused.) 11. Rising Fuel Prices With GM being a large producer in both trucks and SUVs, sales have drastically decreased due to the lack of fuel efficiency. The rise in fuel prices has played a significant role in creating the opportunity for development of both hybrid and more fuel efficient vehicles. As you will find with most threats, an equal opportunity will usually emerge as is the case here with GMs opportunity mentioned above. 12. Growth of Competitors GM no longer has the luxury of being the known leader in the automotive industry and faces the reality that they are in serious trouble. As I mentioned earlier Toyota took the first step in the direction of hybrid technology and has since drastically grown and become the questionable automotive frontrunner to start the 21st century. 13. Pension Payouts. Part of this threat is their own doing and the other is simply unavoidable. GM is responsible for providing generous pension benefits to its employees, which at the time seemed like a great idea, however they are now experiencing problems as more and more people begin to collect. 14. Increased Health Care Costs GM, like many large companies with quality employee health care benefits, is experiencing a large financial hit that only gets worse as time continues. 15. Rising Supply Costs, i.e. Steel Once again this threat affects the entire automotive industry and forces each company to cut manufacturing and production costs as much as possible, without taking away from the quality of the product. OVERALL POSITION The current global crisis has affected almost all aspects of the economy. It has resulted to borrowing of money by the companies from the government and General Motors (GM) and Chrysler are among these companies. GM has already borrowed 13 .4 billion from the Treasury Department but they announced that they need 30 billion in total to compensate for the declining auto market. Chrysler on the other hand needs 9 billion in total. Since the General Motors has issued to be resolved, then GM will have a hard time coping up with the crisis. Two of the major issues are (1 ) GM needs to drop their unsecured debt burden from 27 billion to 9 billion which still has to be negotiated with the bondholders and (2 ) the debt of GM to United Auto Workers (UAW ) which amounted to 20 billion . GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoners plan for the company is to pay its debt and reduce its long-term debts thus making the company economically viable. Wagoner claims that if their turnaroun d plan will work then GM will profit within 24 months. General Motors already presented their plan to the bondholders and it is up to them to scrutinize the plan and conform for a deal to be done. With the General Motor s new CEO , Mr . Frederick Fritz Henderson s determination to reorganize the company , and the US government s strong effort to support the ailing businesses , recovery would be possible for General Motors . General Motors Corporation gets into supervised bankruptcy as the new strategy upon the advise of Steven Rattner , President Obama s auto task force chief (Whoriskey . Bankruptcy is the term given once a company seeks for financial aide in form of loan from the government however , this agreement involves direct intervention and manipulation of the government in the overall operation of the company bankruptcy is another President Obama s strategy to help in the recovery of the economy of the United States . The initial impacts of this agreement between GM and US government are the firing of GM s former boss Rick Wagoner and the formulation of new business plan for submission within sixty days . The new business plan , which was submitted to the US governm ent in December last year constitutes new strategies and endeavor that will benefit in the recovery of General Motors Corporation . In the restructuring plan submitted to Senate Banking Committee and House of Representatives Financial Services Committee , new approaches are outlined with the hope to competitively dominate the market once again . CONCLUSION A SWOT analysis is a popular decision making tool in business which analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the organization in relation to a specific objective. This decision making technique can also be used for making personal decisions and in a variety of different situations.

Optimizing Chloroquine to Make a Better Drug to Fight Malaria Essay

Optimizing Chloroquine to Make a Better Drug to Fight Malaria Abstract: Malaria has haunted man for centuries. Humanities experiments in drugs allowed for the discovery of chloroquine, perhaps the most successful cure against the parasitic infection. However, a new strain of malaria, plasmodium falciparum, has proven to be resistant against chloroquine and other cures we have for this virulent disease. Should man then cast aside this antique drug? Not before trying to optimize it to once again combat malaria. There has been a disease that has never been completely assessed nor understood, yet it has been a scourge to humanity for centuries. Consequently, it has never quite been fought off. Malaria has haunted man for millennium, and even today we are really unable to claim conquest over it, as it still infects millions of victims every year, killing close to a million each year (WebMed). How then has malaria been nearly eradicated in North America and Europe? There are drugs that fight malaria, the most famous of which is probably chloroquine, one of the oldest drugs made by man. Chloroquine is one of now several drugs that have fought malaria to the tropics, but now has become almost useless against a new, drug resistant strain of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum. P. falciparum has perhaps come to claim the title of the most virulent strain of malaria as well. Today it is certainly the deadliest, requiring specialized treatment that might not exist in the poorer tropic regions where it is most rampant. Even now, research against this strain of malaria is ongoing, in the hope to find a cure. Where can this be found? One of the most explored methods is optimizing the drugs we have, particularly chloroquine. I... ... I made in GaussView should not be considered the only or even the best changes. For instance, replacing all the nitrogens with oxygens, I completely changed how it would react to acidic conditions. The extra rings I added increased the molecular weight, in some cases to huge proportions that violated lipinskis rules. By changing the way this molecule bonds, very likely I made this drug very poisonous. It could take years, but eventually this drug could be optimized to fight plasmodium again. Perhaps humanity’s defense against malaria will again come from this nearly antique drug. Plasmodium in the blood. Bibliography weblogs.madrimasd.org/images/weblogs_madrimas WebMed. Malaria. July 12, 2008 Westerfield, Scott. Peeps. Razorbill, 2006. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Chloroquine. July 16, 2008. Zimmer, Carl. Parasite Rex. Simon and Schuster, 2000.

How Do You Define Success?

Success is defined differently by different people. For some, success means becoming rich, for others reaching high social position. Everyone has his / her own definition of success. Depending on how you see the world, your definition of success will differ from others. However, achieving success is far from easy. Depending on the definition of success, it can be achieved through many ways and come in different forms. Nonetheless, whether small or big, success in any form carries the same worth as long as people continue to strive for it.There are many different ways to achieving success, you should just consider which way is the most appropriate for your desired results. Perseverance also plays a role, if you are willing to put in the effort; you will achieve more success and thus will be more satisfied in the end. To achieve success you should never give up. There is no use in just waiting for wishes and dreams to come true. Success can only be achieved if people learn from their m istakes.You never come close to success unless you experience failure. Believe me; you can embrace success if you only believe in yourself and your abilities. Moris Meterling said, â€Å"People are born of their thought, so think positively. † In short, no matter what situation you are involved in, in order for your goal to be achieved, you must always give your best effort, persevere, learn from your mistakes and believe in yourself. The most important thing to remember is that all you achieved is only to your benefit.

Rape Culture Essay

In the United States, rape has become one of the most underreported crimes each year (â€Å"Reporting Rape† 1). The term rape culture refers to how our society has taught women how not to be raped instead of teaching men not to rape. Through jokes and the sexualization of women we are more likely to believe rape is not a big crisis in our nation. Rape culture leads to the acceptance of rape as a natural occurrence through images that objectify women, media, and the stigmatization of rape victims. In our culture we are made to believe that victims should be blamed for their own abuse according to their state of mind or what they were wearing at the time. Rape culture has become such a major part of own lives that we don’t know its even happening. In todays society, women have become such a â€Å"sex† object from the media, movies, and advertisement, or even jokes. Through images that dehumanize women, they turn them into objects, leading to the increase of violence towards women. In a Stop Violence Against Women event students face the issue face on and said: When the media objectifies women, it also creates an analogous definition of masculinity. She added that the media imposes these societal roles, causing people to ignore complex human personalities and identities (Turmam 1). The over-sexualization of women in today’s media gives women the wrong hopes. At one-angle women see sex as a necessity to be in todays â€Å"norms† but not to put themselves out enough to be sexually assaulted. The word â€Å"slut† has oppressed women by telling them to dress a certain way, where to go or not go, who to talk to and who not to talk to. â€Å"Slut† shaming is an act of shaming a person based on how much they flaunt their sexuality. Taking the word too lightly can have awful consequences on how rape will be justified. Women who show too much skin or dress provocative are labeled as â€Å"sluts† and are tormented as well as looked at with less respect. Women should be able to wear whatever choice of clothing they want, go out where they want and not be in constant fear of rape. We are living in a culture where survivors are afraid to speak up (Kacmarek 2). Most women are afraid that by speaking up they are putting themselves out to be judged. People around us judge a person who has been raped not on the  circumstances but by the type of clothing they were wearing, saying that they have â€Å"lost their self-respect† which means they might have brou ght it upon themselves. Research has found that an increase in sexist jokes can have a negative outcome for rape victims (Viki 1). By creating a society that looks down on those who show their sexuality, it creates fear when women are sexually assaulted. This also makes men believe that it is â€Å"okay† to come onto women. Nobody but the rapist should be blamed for the abuse that happened. No one ever asks to get raped, in any situation. Jessica Valenti confronts the issue of â€Å"no means no†: Until American culture and law frames sexual consent, as proactively, enthusiastically given, there will be no justice for rape victims. Its time for the U.S to lose the â€Å"no means no† model for understanding sexual assault and focus â€Å"only yes’ means yes† instead (Broderick 3) America has looked at consent is such a loose way. Many forget that â€Å" no† does not mean â€Å"convince me.† A survey reveals that many people between the ages of 14-25 do not actually learn about consent in mandatory sex-education classes (Broderick 2). A consent sex does not mean there wasn’t a no, but rather that the yes was not forced upon by convincing or hostile situation where they feel like th ey were pressured to say yes. Also that being when people are under the influence or even unconscious, just because they didn’t say no does not mean that it gives the right for a person to have sex with him. Two people consenting is a necessity when it comes to sex. Many people are not aware of how frightening the statistics involving sexual assault is. The crime of rape is at an alarmingly high rate due to the fact that â€Å"slut†-shaming and victim shaming, many are afraid to speak up about rape. Every year there is 237,868 people sexually assaulted (â€Å"Statistics† 1) Only 40% of rapes actually reported to the police (â€Å"Reporting Rates† 1) That means that 60% are too afraid to report a sexual assault and many rapist getting away for what they have done and possibly doing it again. Out of the 40% of rapes that are actually reported 3% of rapist will ever spend a day in prison (â€Å"Reporting Rates† 1). There is no justice for women in the United States who are being raped. Angie Epifano states how rape is somehow have to more â€Å"legitimate† compared to other crimes: If you were mugged in New York City people would be horrified. No one is going to sit there and say ‘Are  you sure you were mu gged?’ With sexual assault there is always this question of ‘Are you sure?’ ‘What were you wearing?’(Kacmarek 2) Men rape on a daily basis because they know they can get away with it. Our culture has become so involved in bashing others on how to dress or how to act we have forgotten that it is not the victims fault, but that people rape because they are rapists. Another thing that most people forget is that rapes do not happen by random strangers. Most rapes happen by the people we know, friends or family. We are afraid that to face the fact that the rape is not only committed by evil psychopaths but instead by those who we look up to or those who we’ve got to know the best (Broderick 1). About â…” of rapes are committed by someone the victim knows (â€Å"Statistics† 1). Some of best examples how rape culture has taken such huge effect in the United States is in the media. Rapists are made to look like victims in today’s society. A culture where it’s believed that â€Å"boys will be boys,† where men cannot control themselves if they see women in revealing clothing. In the media, rape culture has affected the way rape cases are looked at. The bias opinions on the way news coverage looks at the rapes have been having a negative effect on the viewers. A prime example of this is seen in the rape case in Steubenville, Ohio. The trial was against two young men, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, both in high school. These two boys raped a unconscious girl who was highly intoxicated. They referred to this young 16 year old as the â€Å"dead girl,† but in trial denied knowing that they were raping her because it â€Å"wasn’t violent†(Plank 1). A person who is unconscious is unable to consent any type of penetrati on. Just because there isn’t a no, does not mean that means that is what the girl wants. Silence is not consent. Rape is usually not violent or forced. The two boys continued to urinate on her, live-text, and disseminated naked pictures of the victim (Plank 1). During this many watched as the girl was being raped, most laughed and took pictures as this was happening. This rape trial is being dismissed because she was not saying â€Å"no† during this. Rape apology in the media was clearly shown when CNN, covered and responded the rape trial. Finally a trial where the rapists were sent to jail the way the reporter dismissed the rape and instead victimized the rapist. Poppy Harlow went on to discuss on how deeply sorry she was for this rapist: I’ve never  experienced anything like it Candy. It was incredibly difficult even for an outsider like me to watch as these two young men that had much promising future, star football players, very good students literally watch as they believed their lives fell apart (Plank 1). Here she makes the rapist seem like a victim when he was the one that made the decision to rape and hurt another human being. Even one of the nicest guys can rape. No one but the rapist should be blamed for violence they inflicted on the others. No matter what the girl was wearing or how her state of mind was, no one but the rapist should be blamed. â€Å"As long as we publicly sympathize with rapist, we are glorifying them. Rapist deserve no apology, rape victims do† (Plank 2) Therefore, there is conclusive evidence that rape culture is prevalent in the United States. Our culture has desensitized and minimized traumatic experiences for its victims. Women are being dehumanized because of they are objectified and over-sexualized. Victim blaming has become such a norm in our society we forget that no one but a rapist should be blamed for what they have done. Statics show how there is not justice for women, when men are not being put away for their crime. Culturally men and women are taking bias sides because of sexist ways that the victim is somehow responsible for being raped.

The pathogenesis of measles virus infection The WritePass Journal

The pathogenesis of measles virus infection Introduction The pathogenesis of measles virus infection IntroductionInfection and SpreadThe virusInfectionSpreadSymptomsSubacute sclerosing panencephalitisVaccinationAttenuated virus vaccineOther virus vaccines(2134 words excluding Refs. And plagiarism statement)References:Related Introduction Measles is one of the most important contagious diseases of mankind. It remains one of the leading causes of infant deaths in developing countries (1). In 1998 the world health organisation (WHO) estimated that despite all the efforts to eradicate measles it still accounted for more than 30 million infections and 1 million deaths every year (2). Most of infections, it is believed are from countries where vaccination has not been taken up properly and developing countries where vaccination programmes are not that robust. Measles is very infections with an infection rate of 90% (3) when susceptible individuals are exposed to the organism that causes measles. This organism is an RNA virus of the genus morbillivirus, hence measles sometimes being referred to as morbilli. This virus belongs to the virus family of the Paramyxoviridae (4). The measles virus is transmitted through bodily fluids mainly as aerosols (airborne exposure) or droplets (5). It enters the host through the respiratory tract and immediately starts to replicate in the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract (6), from here the virus start to invade some cells of the immune system in the lymph nodes particularly the monocytes (7) through which it then spreads to rest of the host body. Measles is a self limiting disease, which means it will normally resolve itself after a few weeks, but because measles also induces a transient profound immunosupression (8), most of its victims succumb to fatal opportunistic infections. Without these infections the host will normally clear the virus from its system as illustrated by the graph below. Fig.  1.  Pathogenesis of measles in-host. The level of measles virus in the plasma is plotted versus day of infection (7) It should be noted that in very rare cases the measles virus cannot be cleared from the host and persist in the host system in what is termed persistent measles virus (PMV). This is the cause of most measles complications which includes a subacute sclerosing pan encephalitis (SSPE) (5)(9) which may occur in about 1:10 000 measles cases (9) and inclusion encephalitis (5) which may occur if the host does not have adequate cellular response to the infection. Infection and Spread Clinical symptoms of measles include fever, malaise, coryza (runny nose), conjunctivitis and tracheobronchitis (10). Other symptoms that appear at a later stage during infection are the Koplik’s spots,   10-12 days post exposure, and erythmatous maculopapular rash which appears at around day 14 (5). Symptoms like diarrhoea and pneumonia, which are from opportunistic infections, will not be discussed here as they are not a direct result of the measles virus. The direct results will be discussed later in this essay after discussing how the virus infects and spread around the host body. To fully understand the mechanism of measles virus infection, one has to understand the measles virus structure. The virus As a morbillivirus in the paramyxoviridae family, the measles virus is a negative, single strand enveloped RNA virus (11). It is about 150-300 nm in diameter and has a lipid bilayer surrounding the RNA forming the envelope. Protruding from this envelope are two glycoprotein ligands called haemagglutinin (H) and fusion (F), necessary for virus attachment to host cells. The RNA is enclosed in a nucleoprotein (N) and associated with two proteins called phosphoprotein (P) and large protein (L) (12). See diagram below for a schematic picture of measles virus. Fig. 2 Showing the components and structure of measles virus. (5) The lipid envelope on the outside of the virus is acquired from the host cell during budding (13), because this outer layer is made up of host material it becomes difficult for the body’s immune system to detect the virus as non-self in the initial stages of infection enabling the virus to gain a foothold. Directly beneath the lipid envelop is the matrix (M), a protein that is important in virus replication as it facilitates the assembly of virus particles to the cell surface membrane during budding (5). The nucleoprotein (N) forms a protective sheath around the virus RNA called the nucleocapsid. The associated proteins P and L have been suggested to act as virus polymerase by some studies (12), helping in RNA replication. Then there are the two glycoproteins H and F. As their names suggest, they are responsible for anchoring the virus to the host cell and penetration of the cell membrane. The haemagglutinin binds (agglutinates) the virus to the host cell receptor (CD46, to be discussed later) and the fusion protein fuses the virus envelope with the cell membrane (5). Infection The infective process occurs in two key stages of attachment and fusion. In order for the virus genome to gain entry into the host cell and start replicating it needs to â€Å"catch† and â€Å"inject† host cells with its genome. The â€Å"catching† of host cells occurs when the virus haemagglutinin protein (H) attaches to the host cell receptor CD46. CD46 in the human cell act as a co-factor for serine protease degradation of C3b and C4b (14), these are the complement proteins of the immune system hence immunosupression by the measles virus. Studies (15) suggest that there exist more undefined virus receptors that enable the virus to attach to its host cells. The formation of syncytiae, cell-to-cell contact, also allows virus to spread to other cells (5). The â€Å"injecting† of host cells with the virus genome occurs during fusion, and the processes are less understood. It is thought that the same fusion processes occur for all enveloped virus, and studies (16) on human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) has shed some light into this. Two glycoproteins are involved, gp41 and gp120. gp41 is anchored onto the virus envelope and gp120 attaches to the host cell CD4 receptor next to the CCR5 co-receptor. Structural changes then occur whereby the gp41 is driven into the membrane of the host cell thereby linking the two cells (virus and host). The whole structure of gp41, gp120, co-rector CCR5 and CD4 receptor then collapses leaving the two membranes in apposition for fusion (16). Spread As discussed earlier, the virus enters the host through the respiratory tract, where it replicated in the epithelial cells. Then it infects cells of the immune system, monocytes are the mostly affected cells (6,7). B and T lymphocytes are also infected but at less proportions as compared to monocytes. This amplification of the virus occurs in the lymph nodes of the host (5). Monocytes, B and T lymphocytes are cell of the peripheral blood and therefore circulate around the body, carrying with them the virus and spreading the infection to other parts of the body including the skin, gastro-intestinal tract, liver and the central nervous system. Disseminated virus proliferation occurs in the epithelial and endothelial cells of the blood vessels and other infected organs. Another mode of spread (mentioned earlier)   is the formation of syncytia, not   only do infected cells aggregate together, they can also form syncytia with non infected cells therefore infecting them in the process. Symptoms The symptoms of measles infections as mentioned earlier are fever, malaise, coryza, conjunctivitis, cough and Koplik’s spots in the oral cavity, later on the erythmatous maculopapular rash appears.   These symptoms are tied with the immune’s response as the virus infection progresses. From day 0 when the virus first enters the host to around day 8, the first response from the immune system is the innate one, which is characterised by inflammation, giving rise to fever and general body malaise. As the virus continues to replicate in the epithelial cell of the host especially the nasal cavity (causing coryza), the trachea and bronchus (causing coughs), the nasolacrimal duct (causing conjunctivitis) and the oral epithelia cells (causing Koplik’s spots), it irritates these mucosal surfaces and cause their inflammation. The appearance of Koplik’s spots is diagnostic of measles (7) and it signals the appearance of early symptoms and viral load start to peak in the blood (refer to fig 1 for the measles timeline in-host infection). These spots are transient and last for only about 3 to 4 days; also it is about this time that the adaptive immune response starts to kick in. At day 14 the viral load is at its peak and the adaptive immune response is fully operational and is clearing the pathogen from the system, the formation of the immune complex on the skin as the virus gets cleared result in the measles rash signalling cytotoxic T cell clearance of virus-infected cells (5, 7). After peak levels of the virus, following successful adaptive immune response, the virus levels drop and the immunological memory begins (7). In rare circumstances the virus can persist in the host, causing complications (17). One of these complications is the subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), discussed below. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis This is one of the complications of persistent measles virus infection; it affects the central nervous system of children who are infected by measles virus at a very early age (18). These children normally lack the maternal antibodies in their circulation to help combat the infection at its early stages. Studies (19) found that 50-75% of children who develop SSPE had measles infection before the age of two and also the prevalence rates of SSPE are 1:10 000 cases (9). This complication can take a very long time to manifest itself, with an average time of 8 years before SSPE symptoms appear and the reported range is between 9 months and 30 years (9). The disease leads to neurological deficits and eventually the patient dies (20). The other two measles complication worth mentioning are progressive measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE) which can occur in patients who are immunocompromised, and the post infection encephalomyelitis which is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the myel in sheath covering neurons. Recovery from measles (assuming opportunistic infections have not prompted medical intervention) requires both the humoral and cell mediated immune response. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes clear infected host cells and measles antibodies reduce free viral load by serum neutralisation (5) these antibodies can also be directed directly against the virus. The humoral response as usual is mostly for preventing re-infection and is involved in building immunity, a process taken advantage of by vaccine developers. After cytotoxic clearance of infected cells; there follows an immunologic type 2dominance where cytokines IL4, IL5 and IL10 are secreted by type 2 CD4+ T cells (21). Vaccination Many virus infections are untreatable, they are either self limiting, maim, or kill the host, so the only intervention that is available is to prevent infection in the first place. As noted from fig 1, after day 21 when the pathogen has been cleared, immunological memory is activated. This activation of immunological memory can only happen after the host has encountered the measles virus. Subsequent infections are met with a robust humoral response and the virus does not progress to cause infection. This is the basis of immunisation, the host immune system has to be introduced to the virus first, and as there is a risk of the virus overwhelming the immune system most virus used in vaccines are â€Å"controlled†. Attenuated virus vaccine Once the measles virus was isolated and cultivated by Enders and Peebles (5) it was then able to be manipulated. They found that the virus once cultured in chick embryos was attenuated in virulence and immunogenic enough to stimulate the host immune system to produce antibodies against it and remembering it (22). Work to produce a licensed measles vaccine begun in 1958 (5) and by 1963 the first licensed measles vaccine, RUBEOVAX ®, was available. In 1968 a more attenuated vaccine ATTENUVAX ® was licensed. As more vaccines for viruses e.g. mumps and rubella were developed there was a need to combine the doses into one single shot. In 1971 (5) a trivalent vaccine with all the three vaccines, measles-mumps-rubella was licensed. In recent times a fourth vaccine has been added to the MMR vaccine, resulting in a tetravalent vaccine MMRV (23). The fourth vaccine is a chicken pox vaccine, varicella. Other virus vaccines Other less favourable virus vaccines exist. Experiments were done on high titre vaccines by Sabin et al (5). These were aimed at infants who are at risk because they have circulating maternal measles antibodies which prevent vaccine uptake by neutralising it. The other vaccine, an inactivated measles virus vaccine produced by killing the virus in formalin was produced and licensed in 1963. It fell out of favour because the immunity if offered lasted for only one year and it had to be taken in three doses (5). With vaccination and great knowledge gained from studying measles it can be said that total eradication of the virus is possible. It is the beliefs and cultures of people that are slowing this up because they are not taking up vaccination. (2134 words excluding Refs. And plagiarism statement) References: Mrkic B, Pavlovic J, Rulicke T, Volpe P, Buchholtz C.J, Hourcade D, Atkinson J.P, Aguzzi A, and Cattaneo R. Measles virus spread and pathogenisis in Genetically modified mice, Journal of Virology (1998), 72, 7420-7427 World Health Organisation. Standardization of the nomenclature for describing the genetic characteristics of wild-type measles viruses. Weekly Epidemiological Record (1998);73:265–272 Clements CJ, Cutts FT. The epidemiology of measles: thirty years of vaccination. In: Meulen V, Billeter MA, editors. Measles Virus. Berlin: Springer Verlag, (1994) Lamb RA, Kolakofsky D. Paramyxoviridae: the viruses and their replication. In: Fields BN, Knipe DM, Howley PM, editors. Fields virology. 3rd ed. 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Measles virus. In: Fields BN, Knipe DM, Howley PM, editors. Fields virology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven, 1996. p. 1267–1312 [Chapter 3. Dimova P, Bojinova V. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis with atypical onset: clinical, computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging correlations. J Child Neurol (2000);15:258- 61. Dunn RA. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Pediatr Infect Dis J (1991); 10: 68-72. Rima K.B, and Duplex W.P, Molecular mechanisms of measles virus persistent. Virus research (2005), 111; 132-147 Karp CL. Measles, immunosuppression, interleukin-12 and complement receptors. Immunol Rev (1999); 168: 91–101. Katz SL, Enders JF. Immunization of children with a live attenuated measles virus. Am J Dis Child (1959); 98: 605–7 Vesikari T, Sadzot-Delvaux C, Rentier B, Gershon A. Increasing coverage and efficiency of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and introducing universal varicella vaccination in Europe: a role for the combined vaccine. Pediatr Infect Dis J (2007) 26 (7): 632–8